Chapter 88

When Lilith got off the carriage, she was disappointed to find that Jesarld was not there.

Even as she waved in response to the villagers' welcome, Lilith searched for Jesarld with her eyes alone.

But Jesarld was talking to someone who seemed to be the village chief, and she decided not to interrupt, acting as befitting a princess.

Two nights later.

While having dinner in the room provided to her, Lilith whispered softly,

"His Highness is missing..."

Naturally, the person sitting across from her did not miss those words.

It was Frederick, who had been allowed to join her, finding it boring to eat alone.

"Oh, when I checked just now, there was definitely only one person... Could there be another His Highness in this country?"

"There isn't! Well, maybe I'll give birth to a bunch of princes who will surprise everyone!"

"Ho, that's very reassuring. Is that the reason for your earlier words?"

Glaring at Frederick, who was asking such a mischievous question despite knowing the answer, Lilith refused to respond, putting a piece of bread in her mouth.

Although he had been so kind to her before they left Tuisen, Jesarld was now avoiding Lilith for some reason.

And she had been sleeping alone every night.

"Hehehe. But I won't be discouraged by this. After all, I've been through this many times before!"

After swallowing the bread, Lilith inadvertently revealed her true feelings.

However, Frederick found it amusing and remained silent this time.

"At first, I thought maybe the journey had just begun and he was on guard against bandits, or maybe he was just tired. But if that's the case, it's fine to just sleep together. I wouldn't attack him when he's tired. A little touch or a heartfelt conversation would be enough. This isn't like our first journey. But I won't let him get away today. Hehehe."

Fortunately, today's inn had a door connecting to Jesarld's bedroom.

Lilith's principle since marrying Jesarld was, "If he won't pin me down, I'll pin him down."

Hearing Lilith's suspicious laugh, Taina, who was preparing tea, stopped, and Rese, who was preparing the bath, resolved to put in more effort.

"Taina, I'll skip the tea after dinner. Princess Lilith seems to be very busy afterward."

With that, Frederick stood up and smiled at Lilith.

"I hope to meet many princes while I'm alive."

"Of course. So, Mr. Hu, you need to live a long life."

Lilith retorted, and Frederick laughed out loud, bidding her goodnight and leaving.

Lilith quickly drank the tea Taina had prepared and stood up energetically.

"Make me look even more beautiful today!"

"As you wish."

Taina, who was equally puzzled by the sudden change in the crown prince's attitude, responded with more force this time.

While she might have tried to stop Lilith in the beginning, she couldn't do so now.

In fact, Taina herself wanted to confront the crown prince.

Lilith, her precious mistress, had been repeatedly given hope and then let down.

While Taina didn't think Jesarld was doing it on purpose, she couldn't tolerate him playing with Lilith's feelings, no matter what his past was.

Lilith always acted energetic and strong, but when she thought no one was noticing, she would sigh deeply or stare off into the distance.

It was worse than when it happened with Arnaud.

At the time, Taina couldn't understand the cause and could only watch, but later, when Arnaud and Princess Daria's engagement was officially announced, she finally understood.

Lilith had probably learned about the two of them in a dream.

Even though it wasn't officially decided, Taina felt a near murderous anger toward Arnaud for what he was doing while Lilith existed.

So, it was frustrating that Jesarld was giving Lilith hope and then acting like this.

To be honest, Taina was also worried.

The plan Lilith had told her about, which would be implemented upon their return to the palace, didn't seem likely to work given their current relationship.

The plan she had heard that day was typical of Lilith, but it was honestly reckless.

With the hope that Lilith would not be hurt again, Taina and Rese prepared Lilith for bed.

Then, they bowed and quietly left the bedroom.

"...Well, is His Highness already in the bedroom?"

After they left, Lilith, without getting into her own bed, stared at the door at the back of the bedroom and muttered.

Given Jesarld's sensitivity to presence, he would notice if she pressed her ear to the door.

If she did that, he would immediately open the door and find some reason to send her away.

So, the plan was this:

She would knock, but open the door without waiting for a response.

If Jesarld was there, she would barge in without giving him a chance to speak.

If no one was there, she would get into bed.

If a servant or someone else was there, she would immediately send them away and get into bed.

"Yes, perfect!"

Satisfied with her plan, Lilith put it into action.

She knocked with her left hand while opening the door with her right.

Unfortunately, Jesarld was not there. ——Nor was a servant.

But this was also as expected.

Using a step, she climbed onto the tall bed, threw off the covers, and lay down.

Right in the middle.

Then, she pulled the covers back over herself and took deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

Then she realized something.

Given Jesarld's sensitivity to presence, if someone was in the bedroom — in this case, it could only be Lilith — he might not come to the room at all.

Perhaps it would be better to barge into the adjacent room and forcibly bring him to the bedroom.

This might be more certain.

(Hold on. I'm a former princess, right? I'm the Crown Princess now, right? What am I doing...?)

Lilith, who had just realized this, felt a bit pathetic.

Certainly, Princess Corina would never do such a thing.

Is that wrong?

The more proactive Lilith became, the more disappointed Jesarld might be by the difference from Princess Corina.

From what she had seen in her dreams and heard in rumors, Princess Corina was so ethereal that she seemed about to disappear, more like a fairy princess than a noble lady.

Lilith, while not inferior in rumors, was well-known to Jesarld in reality.

(...I'm starting to feel empty. Maybe I should go back...)

Looking at the door leading to Jesarld's living room and then at the door to her own bedroom, Lilith slowly got out of bed.

She straightened the bed while standing on the step, opened the door to her own bedroom, and returned to her room.

She leaned against the door and sighed deeply.

She was sure that if she got into bed now, she wouldn't be able to sleep, so she opened the curtains to look for the moon.

But the moon was nowhere to be found, having already hidden behind the mountains, and she sighed again.

(What should I do when we return to the palace...?)

If things continued like this, she would have to change the "Plan to Make Jesarld Fall in Love with Me."

She didn't feel the need for it.

Her usual energy was not coming, and Lilith was at a loss.

"---Lilith"

An unexpected voice called out, and Lilith jumped and quickly turned around.

She couldn't believe it and stared wide-eyed.

Perhaps it was an illusion created by the moonless night.

Thinking it might disappear, Lilith softly called out the name.

"Jed...?"