How to Survive as a Princess in a Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 117

It was a difficult matter to understand.

But one thing had become clear, the man’s claim that his younger sister had died because of the coquo was a lie.

‘That’s a relief, but…….’

There were still too many unresolved questions.

Why had the man lied about his sister dying during the verification? And what was this talk about scars appearing on his body after the test?

Reaching this point, I realized it was beyond what I could handle.

I was just an ordinary person, someone who knew far less than what I didn’t know.

‘What am I even trying to solve here…….’

I must have been too full of myself lately, misjudging my luck as skill.

Maybe I should’ve just handed out the sample batches and been satisfied with completing the quest. What had I been thinking, assuming I could uncover the cause and resolve it?

However, with Reno out there working hard, it didn’t feel right to draw my own conclusions just yet. For now, I decided to wait for his return.

* * *

At the break of dawn, I woke up to a tapping sound against the window, frowning slightly as I opened my eyes.

‘Ah, I fell asleep waiting for Reno last night…….’

Even as I was groggily piecing my thoughts together, the tapping noise persisted.

Half-conscious, I turned toward the source of the sound and pulled back the curtain.

A faint green shape was repeatedly knocking on the glass.

It was something I had seen before, long ago.

This spirit…….

“Reno?”

The spirit traced a large circle in the air, as if affirming my guess. Then it pointed down below the balcony railing with its tiny hand. (t/n: in Korea, the circle symbol (○) is commonly used to indicate “correct” or “yes”.)

I opened the window and stepped out onto the balcony.

Gripping the railing, I looked down to where the spirit had pointed. There, Reno stood, waving up at me.

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

His voice was faint, barely audible, but his greeting was clear enough from the situation.

“May I come up?”

“Huh? Uh, sure?”

“Please step back for a moment.”

“What? I can’t hear you well…….”

“Step back! Please!”

Step back?

Still half-asleep, I stared at him blankly for a moment before shuffling backward as he had instructed.

Just as I moved a fair distance from the railing, I felt a heavy thud resonate through the air.

A hand suddenly shot up from below the railing.

“……!”

What, what was that?!

While I stood there stunned, another hand gripped the railing, and Reno swiftly hoisted himself up. In no time, he was standing on the balcony, fully visible.

He lightly stepped onto the floor, and I blinked at him in disbelief.

Then I turned back toward the railing, looking alternately between Reno and the spot below.

“Did you climb up here? How on earth…….”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal? This is over three stories high!”

“I didn’t think it’d surprise you this much. It’s about the same height as the trees I usually climb.”

Trees?

For a moment, I recalled my first meeting with Reno—how he had hidden high up in a tree and, when I was caught, had nonchalantly leapt down.

Remembering that, I supposed my reaction might seem odd from his perspective. For him, this was probably just another ordinary day.

“It’s not exactly normal, you know. I forgot for a moment. But more importantly…… did you just get back now?”

As I spoke, memories of the previous day resurfaced.

My voice trembled as I asked, and Reno shook his head.

“No, I came back last night.”

“Really? I waited for you. You could’ve told me you were back.”

“It was very late when I returned. By then, you were already asleep, Your Highness.”

“You came back while I was asleep? It was that late?”

“I visited that man’s house yesterday. By the time I got back…….”

“You must’ve gone through a lot because of me. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Honestly, the man was surprisingly cooperative, so it was kind of fun. But I didn’t think it was worth waking you in the middle of the night to report back, so I decided to wait until morning.”

Reno smiled as he said he had come as soon as the sun rose.

Then, without warning, he took off his uniform jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

The fresh scent of grass filled my senses, soothing me just like Reno’s presence always did.

“Why are you giving me this?”