(The Hidden Disciple Hides His Power)
“I have to return to the palace early today.”
“Thief, you haven’t even been here for ten seconds.”
The next morning, the moment I stepped into the lab, I declared that I would be leaving work early.
Right away, Kanyak looked at me with a disapproving gaze.
“Now, if you look here, the cross-section of the wing is curved in an airfoil shape. This asymmetrical slope pushes the air backward, and—”
Whether he cared or not, I immediately began giving the mages a quick explanation of the physics behind the mana fan blades that were being developed smoothly.
“Why do you need to leave early?”
“Ah, Eain came back.”
While I was finishing the briefing and adjusting the structure of the fan, Kanyak had somehow come closer and quietly asked the question.
He acted like he was not interested, but in the end, he must have been curious.
“Who’s that?”
“Eain Haver, my fiancé. He left six months ago for monster subjugation and came back yesterday. He waited for me all day, but I was at the Magic Tower, so I couldn’t meet him.”
Now you know, right?
With that meaning, I patted his back twice, telling him to cooperate with my early return, and worked faster to finish what I was doing.
But why was it?
From the moment he found out the reason I was leaving early, Kanyak started interfering with everything.
And it was not my imagination or me being sensitive either. He really was.
“A motor made with this spell is dangerous because the metal will corrode too easily. Do it again.”
“That hypothesis does not have enough samples. Rejected.”
“Didn’t you know this report was discarded because the margin of sample error was too large? Recalculate the estimated values from the start.”
I had tried to ignore it, but because of Kanyak’s strict interference, time started getting delayed terribly.
In the end, I could not take it anymore, so I secretly dragged Kanyak outside the lab where the other mages could not see.
I did not mean for it to happen, but somehow I ended up in a wall-slam position.
Since I was shorter than Kanyak, it looked a little ridiculous, but that was not the important thing right now.
…
“Kanyak, didn’t I clearly say I had to leave early? Why do you keep picking at every little thing?!”
“I have no idea what you mean. I merely did my job.”
Even at my threat, Kanyak only shrugged with innocent eyes and acted like he knew nothing.
So he was really going to act like this until the end?
Fine. Then I had my own method too.
“Robel, Kanyak has been stuck in the lab lately, so the Tower work has piled up a lot, hasn’t it?”
I secretly called Robel over and promised to fully cooperate so he could drag Kanyak away.
“Hah, as expected, only Your Highness understands my hard work! It really has piled up a lot. There are mountains of approval documents, but Lord Kanyak never leaves the lab…”
Robel cried out in pain, saying that anyone watching would think Kanyak himself was the head researcher.
See? I knew it.
Why did he keep sticking to the lab when he had so much of his own work to do?
After finally getting rid of Kanyak like that, I quickly finished my work and returned straight to the palace.
“Ah! It’s the Princess! You’re finally here!”
“Princess… why are you only coming now…”
“Do you know how long we waited?”
The moment I returned, I was greeted by maids who looked ready to cry in front of the portal set up in one corner of my room because I had not arrived at the announced time.
“Hm? I just need to change into the dress quickly— no, I guess that’s not all, is it?”
After seeing their dazed eyes shining dangerously, my voice slowly trailed off.
A riot had almost broken out.
“This is a meeting with the Young Duke after a whole half year! We absolutely cannot send you like this, looking like a researcher crushed by society!”
“That’s right! Exactly!”
A researcher crushed by society?
I had only been going to the lab for how long, and they were already saying that…
While I was despairing, I was scrubbed clean and repeatedly dressed in one thing after another, and only after all that was I finally able to meet Eain while wearing a blue dress that everyone had carefully chosen.
‘This is exactly why I just wanted to change dresses!’
No matter how fast we prepared, I was already fifteen minutes late for the appointment.
Rushing to the reception room, the moment the door opened, I spoke without thinking.
“Eain, I’m sorry for making you wait again!”
…
“….!”
At my small cry, Eain stared blankly at me with a surprised face.
He looked flustered by a situation he had never expected.
No, usually when you are late, apologizing is the normal thing to do, isn’t it?
…Then I thought back, and it seemed Sierra had never really apologized before, even when she was late.
Mm, then his surprise made sense.
“Welcome. Sierra, it has been a long time. Even the waiting itself was pleasant, so there is no need for you to apologize.”
Under his neatly arranged golden hair, his impressive blue eyes curved gently.
Those sea-colored eyes, which made people feel good just by looking at them, were very beautiful.
“I heard recently that your health has improved, so I prepared this happily.”
Then he slowly came closer and gave me a large, splendid bouquet.
At the center were many green roses, and perhaps because the color was so rare, they gave off a very mysterious feeling.
“Wow, it’s so pretty. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
After spending the whole morning looking at Kanyak being difficult, Eain, who was gentle and kind, looked like a real angel.
All this time, I had just been a frog in a well.
I had never properly seen a real angel before, so I mistook Kanyak for one.
After asking a maid to put the flowers into a vase, I turned back to Eain and smiled softly.
“I have a gift for you too.”
I had prepared it in a hurry last night, but after thinking seriously about it, I chose something Eain would probably like.
When I carefully handed it to him, his clear blue eyes widened.
“Sierra, this is…”
It was a gift I had chosen after checking through the treasure boxes the Emperor had bestowed before.
Since Eain was a Sword Master, he must naturally care a lot about maintaining his sword.
So what I picked was a mysterious polish that, when applied just once to a blade, would keep it shining and make a dull edge sharp again.
‘The maids told me I shouldn’t give him something so rough and suggested I choose something else, but…’
…
According to Sierra’s memories, Eain treasured his sword so much that he never entrusted it to others and always sharpened the blade himself.
He cared for it that deeply.
At one point, he had even come to meet Sierra with his sword at his waist.
Of course, that was when they were children, and since it was against etiquette, it happened only once.
‘That just means Eain’s feelings for swords run that deep.’
So I had simply brought it, but would it be okay?
“It’s polish. I heard it’s a precious imported product made in the western kingdom. It should be good for your sword. Though you probably know more about that than I do.”
“You’re giving me something so precious that the gift I brought feels lacking in comparison. I will use it gratefully.”
Fortunately, he seemed to truly like the gift, because instead of handing it to a servant, he kept it with him.
Good thing I searched through those treasure boxes last night with a tired body.
Now that the mood had grown warm, it was time to slowly say the main point.
He was the one who came first, but today I was the one who invited him.
“First, I’m happy that you returned safely. You really weren’t hurt anywhere, were you?”
“Yes. Thanks to your concern for me, Sierra, I was able to complete the journey safely and in good health.”
At my question, Eain nodded with a bright smile as if he had been waiting for it.
His manners were truly so perfect that they were blinding.
According to the original story, all the kindness and gentleness Eain showed Sierra came from duty and was fake.
In simple terms, right now, Eain was doing highly advanced social performance.
But he did not need to do that anymore.
“Actually, I invited you today because I have something to tell you.”
“Yes, please speak comfortably.”
I gently placed the annulment papers I had carefully kept with me in front of him.
“…Sierra?”
The moment he understood what the papers were, Eain’s beautiful brows narrowed.
They quickly relaxed again, but this was almost the first time he had ever shown a negative emotion in front of me.
“I can’t really call this a gift… but I thought it might become one for you. If you sign now, it can be processed within this week. I’ll explain it well to Father, so you don’t need to worry.”
“…..”
“Ah, and even if the temple rejects the annulment, I plan to submit it again and again, so don’t worry about that either. I’ll handle everything myself.”
…
Since Eain said nothing, I thought perhaps he was worried about the trouble that would come afterward, so I smoothly explained all the measures I had prepared.
‘Phew. I said everything exactly the way I memorized it! Eain should be happy, right?’
But something unexpected happened.
“I’m sorry, but I will pretend I did not hear what you just said.”
“…Hm?”
“Then I will take my leave for today. I hope you have a peaceful day.”
And with that, before I could even stop him, Eain suddenly stood up and left the reception room.
Everything happened so quickly that I froze for a moment, then hurried after him.
“W-wait a moment. Eain!”
No, why was he so fast?!
He was clearly only walking, yet the distance between us would not close at all.
I finally caught up to him by half-running to match his wide steps, then grabbed the end of his sleeve while gasping for breath.
Maybe it was just because he had not met the heroine yet, so it was hard for him to accept.
It really had been a little sudden.
“If… if later you decide you want to annul it, tell me. I’ll sign right away.”
To think that this was what I said while stopping someone who was leaving.
I felt like the protagonist of some absurd drama.
“Sierra…”
…Wait a second.
“Did I do something that disappointed you?”
That absurd drama protagonist—
I think I had just become one.
Eain looked down at me and thick tears began falling one after another.
The sorrow filling his blue eyes did not even have time to dry before it fell.
“The Princess… made Young Duke Haver cry…?”
“My goodness, how did someone as angelic as him end up in tears…”
Unfortunately, I had stopped him in the main hallway of the Imperial Palace, so all the servants passing by began glancing over and whispering.
‘I’m going crazy. This is not how this was supposed to go…’
Refusal was one thing, but tears too?
I truly did not expect this.
What was I supposed to do now…?
