Chapter 9
“Greet him, Adelaide. This is, um…”
“Killian Siedel, Count Eport.”
With a smile that looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself, Killian bowed politely toward the count.
The count was momentarily thrown off by the sudden introduction, but recalling Bertholdt’s warning—that the crown prince’s identity must never be revealed—he barely managed to maintain his composure.
“Yes, yes. Killian here is Sir Siedel’s nephew—the imperial envoy who visited last time. You’ve met Roem before, haven’t you?”
With an awkward smile, Count Eport placed a hand on Adelaide’s shoulder.
“From today onward, Killian will be your friend.”
Hearing the word friend, Adelaide’s face paled.
‘A friend? With him?’
She barely managed to swallow the words rising to her throat.
She remembered perfectly well what he had done.
To be told she had to be friends with someone like that. It was something she simply could not accept.
“Nice to meet you. This is our first time meeting, right? I’m Killian Siedel.”
Killian extended his hand.
Killian Siedel—a fabricated identity, borrowing Bertholdt’s surname.
At his words, Adelaide’s expression twisted even further. What was he plotting? Why was he pretending they had never met?
And then she realized.
‘He’s telling me to play along.’
He hadn’t told the adults about what happened last time and now he was using that as a subtle threat.
‘What a coward.’
Adelaide glared at him. But she, too, wanted to avoid the adults finding out what had happened.
“…Nice to meet you. I’m Adelaide… Eport.”
In the end, she took his hand.
Under the fragile, hair-trigger tension between them, the count watched the two with unease in his eyes.
* * *
After the introductions, Killian was led to Adelaide’s room.
The sullen expression on her face as she walked ahead of him was, without a doubt, the most entertaining sight Killian had seen in quite some time.
The room, which he had briefly entered before, had been renovated—walls knocked down to make it larger.
Since it would now be visited by the crown prince, the imperial palace had issued special orders to ensure it was not too shabby.
“…How tacky. What is all this?”
Killian sneered as he looked around.
From the bedding to the curtains, everything was drenched in shades of pink.
No taste whatsoever. They had gone through the trouble of expanding the room, only for it to end up like this, something that looked exactly like what a commoner would come up with.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Killian stepped closer, leaning in as he spoke.
With his face suddenly right in front of hers, Adelaide recoiled, taking a step back.
“Say what?”
“About last time. I kept it a secret for you. I thought you’d at least say thank you. Or is that something a commoner like you was never taught?”
Adelaide stared at him, dumbfounded.
His smugness made her like him even less. She didn’t bother hiding her irritation as she shook her head sharply.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“Can’t you see? I’m reading. Like you said, I’m from a commoner background—I have a lot to learn.”
“…Ha. You’ve really got some nerve.”
Killian let out a disbelieving laugh. He strode toward her, snatched the book from her hands, and flung it across the room.
“What kind of treatment is this for a guest?”
“That depends on the guest.”
“…What?”
“You bullied my brother, and now you’re trying to bully me too, aren’t you? ‘Friend’? Why should I be your friend? You don’t even like me. And I don’t like you. So go find someone else. Someone of your level—with refined taste.”
She was small, yet her sharp eyes flashed as she fired the words at him in rapid succession.
For a moment, Killian was at a loss.
Adelaide huffed, stomping over to pick up the book he had thrown.
It was a history book Roem had used when he was younger—a gift to celebrate her adoption. The corner had bent slightly from hitting the floor.
She already disliked him, now she disliked him even more. Without sparing him so much as a glance, she completely ignored his presence.
Killian’s fist clenched. He wanted to snap at her, to corner her, to make her cry right then and there.
Only then would this irritation subside.
But he couldn’t.
Not yet.
He had already invested too much into Adelaide to be satisfied with just this.
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