Everything was calm—except for the mood of that man standing in front of me.
Still, it didn't matter.
I had a feeling today would be especially pleasant.
Raphael and his group ventured into the forest, while Haniol and Mariana stayed on the other side with me and Rora, waiting for them.
I was forbidden from serving, by the prince's request.
How comforting that was—by the heavens, I felt an unparalleled sense of relief.
Yet the memories of last night resurfaced, of the tone I had used with Mariana.
It had been rather unpleasant.
She was the one who ignored me—
and yet, I had ignored her instructions as well.
If I apologized, I would feel humiliated.
But if I stayed silent, I would regret it.
And no matter how intelligent I believed her to be, I didn't want to cross the boundaries of our relationship and turn it into hostility.
"Rora, what do you think—should I apologize to them?"
he asked while lying beneath a tree trunk, glancing at them intermittently.
"Honestly, remembering this now? You should absolutely do it,"
Rora replied mockingly. "You owe them thanks—and an apology."
He straightened up, dusted the dirt off his clothes, and walked toward them.
The moment the two noticed him, the corner of the girl's eyes lifted, her smile curving slightly—
clear signs of feigned anger.
Haniol knew this very well.
He looked at Jinho, standing silently before them.
"Didn't you come to say something?"
Jinho bowed slightly and said calmly,
"I apologize for the disturbance. And… thank you for yesterday."
She hadn't expected that—not gratitude, nor an apology.
His sharp words and bold demeanor had made her assume he was the arrogant type, hiding conceit behind fabricated kindness.
"For what are you thanking us?"
she said, folding her arms over her chest, looking at him with faint annoyance.
He scratched the back of his head and smiled.
"It was kind of you to order dinner to be prepared for me. Thank you for caring."
She bit her lower lip and turned her face away, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"I swear, Raphael taught you flattery well,"
she muttered to herself.
Haniol, however, was puzzled—why was she embarrassed? He was merely a servant thanking her.
"Tch. Don't worry about it. You may leave if you're done."
"Oh no," he said lightly, "yesterday I truly owe you my thanks. What you did in the forest was something I won't forget. If you ever need anything, just tell me."
"Tell you—so His Highness can eat me alive?"
Haniol replied sarcastically, though his eyes held a strange warmth.
Then his expression shifted to curiosity.
"Come with me for a moment."
Jinho stepped closer, confused, until Haniol said quietly,
"If you wish to show your gratitude, tell me—how did you get past the guards?"
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue, clearly reluctant to speak, but forced to repay the debt.
He lifted his head, eyes pleading.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone. And that you won't get the guard involved."
"So he let you pass."
Haniol stepped back, but Jinho grabbed his arm.
"Please—he didn't let me through. I passed without his help. Listen to me, don't implicate anyone. Please."
His gaze softened, brows knitting gently, eyes glistening as his hand tightened on the other's arm.
Flattery and pity—skills Jinho had relied on in his former life to survive… and to be liked.
A small manipulator, one could say.
Haniol pulled his arm away, face tense.
"Fine. I won't tell anyone how you crossed."
The effect of those cat-like eyes worked. Now—another simple lie.
"I observed the guards for a while and noticed they switched positions. I used that moment to bypass the lake guard. He sensed my presence, but I hid well until he left."
"Curiosity satisfied? I don't know why everyone finds this difficult—it was easy."
Haniol looked at him with a hint of astonishment.
He was right. The ten guards were stationed in a circular formation around the forest, spaced far apart.
Since the competition prohibited anyone from entering the forest, they guarded only the perimeter.
Thus, entering undetected was all that mattered.
His explanation sounded convincing.
He whispered deliberately, loud enough to be heard, wearing an exaggerated expression:
"You know I only said that yesterday so your guards wouldn't kill me."
"You're late—what are you talking about?"
Mariana shouted from afar. Haniol glanced at her with slight annoyance.
Somehow, he wanted Jinho to keep talking.
And somehow, he began to understand why everyone favored him.
He was clever, reckless—
yet still pure-hearted.
Perhaps it was good to start getting used to him now.
After all…
in two days, he would be seeing him every day.
The siblings were immersed in a long conversation, as Haniol began to think about the fact that they would be heading to the palace the day after tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Jinho moved away from them, returning to the tree root to lie down once again, waiting for Raphael and the others to finish.
Alright.
My conscience is at ease.
My heart feels light.
Even the cold air no longer bothers me.
He closed his eyes while still waiting.
A long time had passed since the competition began.
Eventually, dusk fell, and the prince and Seongjin emerged from the forest.
It was clear — Raphael's victory was overwhelming, though Seongjin had nearly caught up.
This time, Raphael had hunted a massive bear, enough to silence everyone completely.
Seongjin, on the other hand, had settled for hunting several deer.
Jinho lay on his right side, watching them calmly, a piece of carrot in his mouth as he chewed it, resting his head against the palm of his hand.
He straightened up when he saw them approaching to enter the palace after the winner was announced.
The place felt unusually dull.
So he chose silence.
Seongjin approached him, holding a white rabbit with a soft pink nose and beautiful blue eyes.
He handed it to Jinho, who showed clear fondness and said,
"This should keep you sitting in one place without causing trouble."
"Tch. Thanks."
He said it as he held the rabbit, staring at it like someone about to devour it.
Despite his preference for cats, rabbits were still beautiful creatures.
Mariana approached him, while Haniol rolled his eyes in boredom.
"It's really cute," she said.
She reached out to touch its nose, but it pulled away and tucked its small head into Jinho's palm.
Jinho laughed at her and looked at the rabbit smugly.
Unfortunately, his luck was unusually bad.
He felt something wet inside his sleeve — and on his hand.
He shut his eyes tightly, pressed his lips together, grabbed the rabbit by both ears, and gently pulled it away.
All he heard was Mariana's laughter and her pitiful voice saying,
"It thought you were a bathroom."
Her laughter continued.
He opened one eye and glanced at her.
"Damn it— not on my clothes!"
He shouted and released it, causing the rabbit to hop away.
"Don't stop— damn it!"
He shouted while chasing it, a scene everyone found amusing, though they tried to suppress it since Raphael was seriously urging them inside the palace.
Haniol pulled out a knife he had hidden in his clothes and aimed it toward the rabbit.
Jinho turned sharply, raising his finger in warning.
"Don't play with a knife. Don't you dare throw it at him."
"Tch."
Haniol clicked his tongue, returned the knife, and smiled crookedly, as if barely holding back his laughter.
He left before losing what remained of the dignity and charisma he had tried to maintain since entering the estate.
Mariana laughed quietly as she watched Jinho stumble and rise again while trying to catch the rabbit.
Before it jumped straight into her arms.
She looked at it, then at her favorite dress —
a purple lace gown, stitched with silver threads and decorated with small delicate jewels at the chest, reaching slightly below her knees.
She took a deep breath and screamed,
"Jinho! Get it away from me!"
He laughed harder after seeing her reaction.
Her screaming wasn't from fear of the rabbit —
but from the fear it might do to her what it had done to him.
Haniol and Raphael watched them from the window.
Raphael turned and said in disbelief,
"Are you sure? She's not a child."
Haniol scratched his head with an awkward laugh and replied,
"I'm not sure anymore."
It was clear to everyone present — even Sylvester himself — that they were all happy.
As if they had forgotten, for a moment, about etiquette, noble conduct, or even that they were princes and commanders.
They simply chose to spend the night in spontaneous warmth together.
Jinho was usually calm and sarcastic, but sometimes he slipped into this kind of mood.
Enjoyment hadn't been part of Jinho's or Mariana's plans —
but there was no harm in taking different paths to reach the same goal.
The second day passed peacefully.
The third day arrived, and the contest ended once more with the victory of one of the knights who had accompanied the prince, having hunted a small bear.
Raphael looked at Mariana and said,
"The bear you hunted yesterday — I want you to make use of its hide by crafting clothing from it.
And I'll be precise: if you wish to make trousers out of it, then do so."
His words, which broke the clothing norms of that era, were unexpected.
And they were enough to make her genuinely happy.