Chapter 3
“His butler is currently preparing the space where you will be staying, so please wait a little longer.”
“I came here without any prior arrangement, so of course he would need time.”
Baelin stepped away, giving the two men some privacy.
Even at that moment, Aivan’s gaze remained fixed on her retreating figure. However, the meaning behind his eyes was completely different from before.
After exchanging a few words about each other’s well-being, Haren carefully opened the conversation.
“I believe there must be a reason Your Highness came to find me.”
“As expected, a duke cannot be deceived.”
“Your Highness, just as I have always done until now, I—”
Haren had already vaguely realized the reason behind his visit and was about to answer hesitantly, but Aivan quickly stopped him.
He could not return without gaining anything.
Not after secretly leaving the Imperial Palace and coming all the way here.
“I know this is shameless of me to ask, but could I stay here for a few days?”
“Of course. It is always an honor to have Your Highness visit.”
“Then about my identity…”
“I will not tell the servants. So please stay comfortably until you leave.”
Since it was already quite late, Aivan ended the conversation and followed the butler to the room where he would be staying for the next few days.
The butler had served Haren since his days in the capital, so he immediately recognized that the guest before him was the Crown Prince.
“I prepared everything as quickly as possible. If anything is inconvenient, please let me know at any time. I will send someone to attend to you shortly.”
“I came without making any arrangements beforehand. This is more than enough.”
Because he had ridden nonstop on the way here, exhaustion finally caught up with Aivan. Without even looking around the room, he immediately collapsed onto the bed.
At the same time, he thought of the woman who had guided him to the castle through the rain.
He was certain.
He had never seen her before.
‘But she definitely acted as if she knew me.’
At that moment, a knock came from the door.
After receiving permission to enter, the person who stepped inside was Baelin—the very person Aivan had just been thinking about.
The butler had been debating who should attend to the Crown Prince, considering his identity.
Although she lacked experience, he decided Baelin would handle it calmly and well, so he asked her to take care of him during his stay while repeatedly reminding her to be especially careful.
She wanted nothing more than to refuse the butler’s instructions for the first time in her life, but she could not bring herself to do so.
“My name is Baelin. I will be attending to Your Highness during your stay here.”
Aivan only looked at Baelin silently as she introduced herself.
Feeling extremely pressured by his gaze, she decided to escape this situation first.
“Then I will prepare a bath for you.”
“Wait there.”
At his single command, Baelin’s movements stopped.
‘What?’
Confused, she watched as Aivan approached her.
Seeing how desperately she was avoiding eye contact, he spoke with even greater certainty.
“You already realized who I am.”
Baelin was so startled that she raised her head, and her eyes met Aivan’s directly.
After a brief moment of panic, she forced herself to remain calm and spoke without letting her voice tremble.
“I apologize, but I do not understand what you mean.”
“It is too late to pretend otherwise. You know who I am.”
“I am seeing you for the first time. Other than knowing that you are the Duke’s guest, I know nothing else.”
Just as he suspected, Baelin had recognized Aivan as the Crown Prince the moment she saw him.
But she had no choice but to deny it.
Because he would not remember her anyway.
As she continued to deny knowing him, Aivan stepped closer.
When Baelin tried to move back, he gave her a firm command.
“Stop.”
Whether it was because of the commanding voice that made it impossible to refuse, or because she knew his position, her body immediately froze.
Without realizing it, that reaction only gave Aivan more confidence.
“Then why did you let me into the castle without any appointment?”
“I only assumed you were an important guest because I heard you speaking comfortably with the Duke.”
“At the very least, you should have asked who I was, like any ordinary knight would. And besides…”
With those words, Aivan reached out and lifted Baelin’s chin, forcing her to look at him.
He already wore a victorious smile, as if he was certain he had won this argument.
“You did not even hesitate when I gave you an order. But what convinced me even more was when you brought me tea.”
“Why does the tea matter?”
“You placed the tea in front of me first without hesitation. Even if I was a guest, if you knew Duke Haren’s status, he naturally should have been served first. You already knew that I held a higher position than the Duke.”
Hearing the certainty in his voice, Baelin had no choice but to give up.
It seemed everything had already been discovered anyway.
When Aivan released her chin, she immediately bowed respectfully.
“I greet the little sun of the Empire. Please forgive my rudeness until now. I acted as if I did not know because it seemed that Your Highness did not wish for your identity to be revealed.”
“As expected. But how do you know who I am? You are not in my memories.”
Even though Baelin admitted it willingly, Aivan did not remove the suspicion from his eyes.
There was still one thing he wanted to know.
How did she know him?
Thinking that the moment had finally arrived, Baelin offered a believable excuse to avoid further suspicion.
“When I lived in the capital, I happened to see Your Highness once. It was only from a distance, and there were many people around, so I do not believe Your Highness noticed me.”
Aivan decided to stop questioning her for now.
As she said, it was possible that someone living in the capital could have seen him by chance.
However, he had not completely let go of his suspicion.
‘She could still be someone sent by them.’
“If you do not reveal my identity, it is not a problem.”
“I will remember that.”
When he accepted her words without further suspicion, Baelin felt relieved. This time, she stepped closer to him first.
“If you continue wearing wet clothes, you may catch a cold. I will have your clothes washed and return them afterward.”
Perhaps because she knew his identity, Aivan allowed himself to rely on her more comfortably than before.
Baelin removed his outer clothing and placed it on the table, where a brooch attached to it caught her attention.
The brooch was made of a brilliant orange gemstone that reminded her of the sun.
It looked so precious that she did not even dare touch it.
So Baelin became even more careful, but her gaze lingered on the jewel longer than she intended as the light reflected off its surface.
‘Wait… surely…’
But that thought was cut short by Aivan calling her.
“Ah, give me the clothes for a moment.”
When she handed him the outer garment, Aivan did not take the clothes.
Instead, he removed the brooch attached to them.
It seemed to be an extremely important item to him.
“I will remove the rest of my clothes myself. Prepare the bath water first.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Baelin left the clothes behind and headed toward the bathroom.
Even while preparing everything quickly, her thoughts became more complicated.
Perhaps even more than when she had been caught knowing that he was the Crown Prince.
After filling the bathtub with water and informing him, Aivan entered the bathroom wearing a bathrobe.
Before removing it, he looked at Baelin standing in one corner.
“I will call you later. Wait outside.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Baelin left and began organizing the clothes he had removed.
At that moment, the door opened and En entered.
“I heard the Duke had a guest? The butler told me. He is not inside?”
“No, he just entered the bathroom.”
“I see. I was actually curious what kind of person he was. Ah, I will take the clothes that need washing.”
“Thank you. I’ll leave it to you.”
Baelin handed over the clothes she was holding, and En’s eyes were immediately drawn to the expensive-looking garments.
“Wow, he really isn’t an ordinary person.”
‘Of course not. He is the Crown Prince.’
“Then I’ll go. Tell me anytime if you need help.”
After En left, Baelin stood in front of the bathroom and fell into thought again.
‘If I am not mistaken…’
“But how could something like that happen? That person is His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Before her thoughts could deepen further, Aivan’s voice came from inside the bathroom.
“Are you outside?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Come inside.”
Thankfully, the bathroom was filled with steam from the warm bathwater.
Baelin was surprised when she saw the bare back of the man through the mist, but she desperately tried not to show it.
Holding the cloth to wipe his body, she approached him from behind and carefully placed her hand on his back.
‘This is just work. I am the person attending to him.’
On the other hand, Aivan seemed completely accustomed to having someone serve him, just as expected of a Crown Prince.
Baelin tried her best to appear skilled, but to someone who had always been attended by experienced servants, her lack of experience was obvious.
“You do not seem accustomed to this.”
“This is my first time attending to someone. I apologize. If you are uncomfortable, I can call someone else.”
“No. It is fine. It is not uncomfortable enough for that.”
Baelin moved her hands next to his hair.
Just as it appeared, his hair was incredibly soft.
Then Aivan finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
“We only met once from a distance, yet you recognized me so easily.”
At his words, the hand running through his hair stopped.
Her gaze fell onto his gray hair covered in foam.
As if she had recalled something, her eyes slowly darkened.
