~Chapter 13~
‘Ah, right.’
Floria nodded to herself as she stared at the young prince like he had just stepped out of the pages of a novel.
By now, her nervous trembling had completely disappeared.
Right—
In the original story, the male lead and the heroine just happened to share the same birthday.
‘I think… their first meeting in the novel also happened on their birthday.’
It was supposed to be five years later, when Rose was older and awakened as the Saintess.
But if that was true, then this meeting was happening much earlier than in the original story.
The young prince’s face was completely red now.
And he couldn’t take his eyes off Rose.
There was a sparkle in his gaze—yes, the look of someone falling in love.
‘Well, if they’re going to end up together anyway…’
An idea suddenly struck Floria
‘Why not help them meet earlier and play matchmaker?’
If she got close to the male lead now, maybe she could avoid any future situation where he might want to kill her.
Sure, it was annoying to run into Duke Ponhas on her day off—but if this worked, she might avoid the worst death imaginable.
‘Well, second-worst. Let’s not forget overwork.’
But even so, she knew she shouldn’t use Rose on her birthday for her own benefit.
As her thoughts spun, Floria glanced beside her.
Rose was holding Floria’s hand tightly while sneaking shy glances at the prince.
‘…Ha.’
She was just too cute.
These little kids didn’t even understand what was happening, and yet their hearts had already connected.
Floria smiled and held up the nicely wrapped cake box toward them.
“It’s her birthday too. Since we’re here anyway… would you like to share the cake with us?”
And with that, Project Matchmaker Floria officially began.
No one objected to the idea.
The prince’s golden eyes were still completely focused on Rose.
***
“…And then I was so hungry I almost fainted, but the squirrel gave me some acorns!”
“I see.”
In less than an hour, Rose and the prince were chatting like lifelong friends.
Mostly, it was Rose doing the talking while the prince just nodded and listened.
Meanwhile, Caspal and the prince hadn’t touched their cake—but Rose had already finished hers and was holding the little animal decorations from it.
The prince rested his chin on the table, staring at her gently.
Rose looked so happy—her cheeks were glowing.
She even had whipped cream all over her face without noticing.
The prince saw this and softly chuckled.
He pulled out a handkerchief to clean her face.
“See? Kids like her should be taken care of,” he muttered.
He completely forgot that he was just a kid himself, the same age and height as Rose.
But—
“Rose, did you enjoy the cake? It’s all over your cheeks.”
“Ah! Thank you, big sis!”
Before the prince could move, Floria beat him to it and wiped Rose’s face—with her hand.
The prince’s hand stopped awkwardly midair.
He frowned slightly, then smiled again as he looked at Rose’s happy face.
Caspal, who had been watching all of this with his arms crossed, snorted in amusement.
But truthfully, he hadn’t been paying attention to the kids at all.
He was watching Floria, and how gently she looked at Rose.
“Floria. Have you been well?”
“…Didn’t we just see each other yesterday?”
Floria blinked as she wiped her cream-covered hand on a handkerchief.
That horrible slave auction happened just yesterday, and after she fainted from exhaustion, she had only just woken up today.
“A whole day is a long time. I missed you a lot.”
“…”
His flirty tone left Floria completely speechless.
Her lips twitched, unsure whether to laugh or scowl.
Then, as if to finish her off, Caspal gave her a charming smile with those golden eyes of his.
Floria groaned inwardly.
He was already handsome—but when he smiled like that? It was unfair.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“Wow… Duke, you look so beautiful when you smile.”
Rose, who had been happily chatting nonstop, suddenly muttered with awe the moment she looked at Caspal.
It was proof enough—his beauty could stun anyone.
Maybe it also helped that he had previously brought Rose desserts and won her over at the temple.
Still, it wasn’t romantic admiration.
It was just a child’s honest and pure compliment.
“Of course I do. Don’t you think your sister should feel the same way?”
Caspal didn’t miss a beat. He even emphasized the word “sister” while looking sweetly at Floria.
His golden eyes looked relaxed and dreamy under those long lashes.
“Ha… ha ha…”
Floria quickly turned her head away and swallowed hard.
Yes, he’s beautiful. Honestly, dangerously beautiful… too much so.
Floria swallowed her real thoughts, which were rising all the way to her throat.
Saying he’s handsome enough to fall for doesn’t mean I’ve actually fallen for him. Not yet, anyway.
She had no desire to compliment a narcissist like him.
Her pride wouldn’t allow it.
Meanwhile, the prince glanced enviously at Caspal and began secretly practicing how to smile nicely, folding his eyes just right.
It was clear now—there was a reason the prince and the duke came to this café.
While they were eating the cake Floria had bought earlier, suddenly all the café staff gathered and moved the terrace tables together.
On top of the table, they brought out a massive cake—so big that even six people would struggle to carry it.
Worried that Rose might feel overshadowed, Floria made a joke:
“Who bought such a ridiculously huge cake?”
But then she found out—it had been chosen personally by the prince and pre-ordered from the Imperial Palace months ago.
“Wow! Happy birthday!”
Trying to fix the awkward mood, Floria quickly put candles according to their ages and began to sing the birthday song.
She wondered why she hadn’t noticed the gold ribbons and glittering jewels all over the cake earlier.
Holding back tears, she gently said to the prince:
“Your Highness, they say if you blow out birthday candles, good luck will come to you.”
She smiled nervously, afraid he might react coldly. After all, it’s hard to be mean to someone who’s smiling.
“I’m too old for that. Let Rose do it.”
Thankfully, the prince didn’t seem annoyed. He just waved his hand, acting like blowing candles was too childish for him.
Then Rose jumped up—she had clearly been waiting for her turn, full of excitement.
The cake was so big, she had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the candles.
After finally blowing them out, she clapped her little hands with a big, happy smile.
It was so pure and adorable that everyone watching couldn’t help but smile too.
Even the prince, smiling softly with her, whispered quietly:
“It would be nice if Rose could come to my birthday party too…”
But no one heard him.
Because just then, Floria suddenly stood up in a panic after checking the time.
“Oh no, we have to go now!”
The sky was already starting to get dark. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed.
“Why?”
Caspal and the prince asked at the same time.
They even raised one eyebrow the same way—it was eerily similar.
“I ordered flowers for Rose’s present, and we also have to eat dinner at the temple.”
Well… the truth was, when Floria checked her wallet earlier, she almost screamed.
She thought she had planned everything perfectly, but after a few minor purchases, she was down to only a few coins.
She wanted to buy Rose a nice dinner, but she was totally broke.
She couldn’t even afford a simple meal now.
Still, she wanted to make the day perfect for Rose.
Floria grabbed Rose’s hand and began to lead her away—but then Caspal stood up too.
“I’ll buy dinner. I’ll have my knight inform the high priest that you’ll be late.”
“…Huh?”
He was offering to buy dinner?
To eat dinner with them?
Before Floria could protest and say they already shared cake…
The prince also silently stood up and followed Caspal, clearly planning to come along.
They didn’t seem to think Floria would dare say no.
‘Wait, excuse me, everyone—’
Floria raised a hand toward their backs, trying to stop them.
But they had already walked too far ahead.
Even Rose was looking up at her with hopeful eyes.
‘……’
Sigh. Oh well, what choice do I have?
He is a duke. It’s not like she could say no to that.
I was planning to eat at the temple, she muttered to herself, quickly justifying the situation.
Then she smiled faintly and grabbed Rose’s hand tighter, following behind the two men.
“Let’s stop at the flower shop first!”
Floria told herself this was all to make Rose’s birthday perfect— But without realizing it, she was smiling too.
