* * *

Watching Erdian smile always felt like admiring a painting—whether that smile was bright or crooked.

“Today, it’s a bit crooked.”

Seo Woohyun silently judged the smile that appeared at an inconvenient moment.

He then clasped his hands together.

He had something personal to tell Erdian.

‘Lord Erdian, the prince found out about my identity. I was being careful, but… I accidentally let it slip. Do you think it’ll be a problem?’

Woohyun confessed what had happened while Erdian was absent.

He knew that keeping it hidden would only lead to it being discovered later, so it was better to come clean now.

[Ah, so that’s why he’s here, pretending to offer greetings? How exactly did he greet you?]

Erdian whispered, his voice audible only to Woohyun.

Whether the prince knelt or bowed his forehead to the ground to offer his greetings, Erdian didn’t care.

His only concern was whether there had been any physical contact.

If that scum had laid his filthy hands on Woohyun, Erdian was prepared to reduce the number of competitors for the throne by one.

Quietly, of course.

‘He issued some kind of formal greeting as decreed by Sihiero, but just briefly touched my sleeve…’

[Is that so? Hm…]

Erdian clicked his tongue briefly before motioning towards the birds Justin had brought over.

He spoke lightly, “We caught more than usual. Anyone want to help prepare them?”

The question, asked in a tone that was neither formal nor informal, received an unexpected response.

“I’ll do it!”

The one who eagerly raised his hand was Marvin, a temporary porter who had been hovering nearby, pestering for more tasks.

He had originally been set to be handed over to the guards once they reached the fief outside the Great Forest, but a few days ago, Erdian’s whim had spared his life.

‘Well, since his attempt to steal from us failed, and since he’s become a cleric, it would be wrong to show no mercy.’

Despite threatening Marvin with severe punishment before, Erdian now spoke of mercy, letting the would-be thief repay his crime through labor.

Marvin, thinking he’d be handed over to have his hands cut off and his neck tied in a noose, had wept tears of relief.

“Let me take that. I’ll carry it—it must be heavy. You spared me, after all.”

Marvin fawned, rubbing his hands together as he tried to curry favor with Erdian.

But Erdian ignored him, heading straight to Woohyun.

Marvin, undeterred by the cold shoulder, cheerfully took the birds from Justin.

“My lord, will you be roasting skewers again today?”

“And why do you ask?”

“Well, I thought I could try preparing the skewers for you, if that’s the plan.”

“What makes you think I’d trust you with a blade?”

Though Marvin had become a porter, he had not yet earned enough trust to handle sharp objects.

But even as Justin scolded him, Marvin followed along, grinning.

To Marvin, simply being alive made the scolding seem trivial.

After all, having lived at the bottom of society, the verbal reprimands of a refined knight barely stung.

“Flang, can you handle all the preparations yourself today?”

“Of course!”

Mollang puffed out air proudly. Justin had taught him that a skilled hunter should also be adept at preparing the game.

Since he couldn’t eat it whole while pretending to be human, preparation was essential.

Justin, satisfied with Mollang’s confident answer, led him away.

Meanwhile, Erdian stood beside Woohyun, looking down at the prince.

Since Woohyun had admitted to being the Saint, the prince would naturally be curious about why Erdian was acting so friendly with him.

However, the look in the prince’s eyes was clear—it was jealousy.

‘How dare this whelp…’

Erdian scoffed internally and wrapped an arm around Woohyun’s shoulders, as if to show off.

The prince’s eyes flickered with surprise.

He stared at Woohyun and then spoke.

“Um… I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

Though his question was directed at Woohyun, it was the priest, ‘El,’ who responded.

The prince hesitated, his lips twitching.

‘Priest El must not know the Saint’s true identity. That’s why he so fearlessly touched the Saint.’

It was common to mix in people unaware of a guest’s true identity when trying to maintain a disguise.

When the prince hid his own identity, he too hired porters who were unaware of who he truly was.

“May I have permission to continue traveling with you after we leave the Great Forest?”

The prince was requesting not just a temporary companionship but a more permanent one.

Erdian’s face twitched slightly.

‘If you’re an unmarried prince, you should be staying in the palace. Why wander around outside? I’ve been holding back, waiting for you to leave when you reunite with your men…’

The only reason Erdian had tolerated the prince’s presence was to stay in Woohyun’s good graces.

He didn’t want to seem like a petty person who couldn’t protect a human injured in an assassination attempt.

And he definitely didn’t want Woohyun to feel guilty if the prince happened to die in some tragic accident.

Recently, Erdian had confessed to Woohyun that he had feelings for him, feelings that went beyond friendship to romantic interest.

Woohyun had asked for time to think, postponing his answer for now.

Waiting wasn’t a problem, but Erdian couldn’t stand the fact that this younger prince was hanging around Woohyun with that infatuated look in his eyes. It was infuriating.

Woohyun had already expressed his discomfort at the age gap between him and the prince, but…

‘The age gap between us is even bigger, though.’

Erdian worried that if Woohyun turned him down, he might fall for the prince’s youthful appearance.

That would be a real problem.

“You don’t seem too concerned about the lives of your men, Prince.”

Erdian’s sarcastic remark caused the prince’s face to flush.

Priest ‘El’ had hit the mark.

The prince had long since pushed thoughts of his scattered and potentially dead men to the back of his mind.

In truth, he had no desire to reunite with his incompetent guards, who had failed to protect him from the assassins.

Traveling with the Saint and his group, especially with a Swordmaster in their ranks, was a far safer option.

“Well…”

Erdian’s harsh words had caught the prince off guard. Woohyun quickly tried to intervene, but he couldn’t get past the first syllable.

He had no idea what to say, and he worried that saying the wrong thing would make matters worse.

Still, the prince finally responded, meeting Erdian’s gaze.

“It’s embarrassing to admit in front of clerics, but… yes.”

Even though the prince had learned Woohyun’s identity, he refrained from calling him ‘Saint.’

Instead, he opted for the more vague term, ‘cleric.’

‘The Saint went to the trouble of hiding his identity, and I was sharp enough to figure it out. There’s no need to give this fussy priest any more clues.’

The prince reveled in a slight sense of superiority for having figured out Woohyun’s secret, and as his lips curled into a smile, Erdian narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge his thoughts.

Then, with a casual shrug, he glanced at Woohyun.

Stretching out his smooth, callus-free hand, he whispered something loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Ciel, it seems the prince has a bit of a cold heart.”

“What…!”

The prince realized too late the trap he’d stepped into.

If the Saint was someone who deeply cared for his companions, then his earlier words would have sounded awful.

But having been born into royalty, the prince had learned long ago that being overly sentimental about subordinates wouldn’t keep him alive.

“He’s saying he doesn’t trust his men and wants to stick with us…”

“Haha…”

Seo Woohyun awkwardly smiled, trying to stall for time.

Even though he had revealed his true identity to Harbios, the fact that he still addressed him as “Ciel” made Seo Woohyun vaguely understand Eridian’s intentions.

‘He doesn’t want to reveal his own identity… Well, since he’s not part of the temple, there’s no reason to disclose it.’

Setting aside his brief thoughts, Seo Woohyun clasped his hands behind his back, as if preparing himself for something.

There was something he wanted to ask Eridian.

‘Eridian, if I refuse to accompany him, will that strain my relationship with the royal family?’

[There’s no need to worry about that.]

The gentle answer flowed into his mind as soon as his question ended.

Seo Woohyun fell into deep thought.

If he accepted the prince’s company, their party could be exposed to assassination threats.

But if he refused, he’d be leaving an eighteen-year-old behind on his own.

Either way, the unease wouldn’t disappear, and as his concerns began to deepen—

[Seo Woohyun, no matter what choice you make, I will respect it. Just remember that.]

The soft voice resonated in his mind.

Seo Woohyun reflected on his not-so-long, but not-so-short life.

In his 29 years of living, had anyone ever supported his decisions so unconditionally?

‘Seo Woohyun, do you think you can take responsibility for this on your own?’

‘What are you even doing?! Manager Seo! How do you plan to fix this mess?!’

He had grown used to shouldering everything on his own.

Since the decisions were his, he believed it was only right to handle the consequences by himself.

But he had never met anyone who said they would respect his choices, no matter what.

Seo Woohyun couldn’t bring himself to look at Eridian, staring at the ground instead.

Unclasping his hands behind his back, he pressed his lips together tightly.

‘…Why does Eridian keep seducing people? Out of nowhere, too.’

He felt his face growing warmer.

* * *