I saw Charlia’s pale face, and she was obviously stupefied. She was wearing a mask that was unsuitable for her to make a good impression and since she had just exposed her true nature, her shock didn’t come as a surprise. It was the same for the two maids. They had no idea what was going on, and from the beginning, there wasn’t anything they could do other than tremble in fear. Charlia spoke to try and fix this situation somehow, but it would be strange if she managed to come up with a decent excuse. The situation was very clear, and she was even caught in the act.

“Y-You see, this… well…”

“Ah, don’t worry. You don’t have to explain. I just came back to ask if you wanted to have dinner together since it’s almost dinner time. This is pretty awkward, so I think it’ll be best if we get this place cleaned up. Please take care of those outside as well. I used a pretty violent method before coming in here…” I requested.

“Ah…”

“And I apologize for my rudeness earlier, Your Highness. When having a deeper conversation, I thought it would be better to tell each other our true feelings, so I had no choice but to do what I did,” I added.

“Wait… no…”

“I’ll take care of Her Highness, so please prepare the food,” I requested.

When I helped the two maids up, I noticed their hesitation. They were looking at Charlia, and when the princess quietly nodded, the two ran outside.

“The tea was delicious,” I commented.

“Th-That’s a relief.”

“Princess Charlia, you don’t have to feel so embarrassed,” I told her.

“Brother Lee Ki-Young, what you saw just now—”

“I already know. You were correcting the mistakes of those below you,” I interrupted her.

“Ah, yes. I was,” she said.

“As I mentioned before, I completely understand. There was a problem while serving the guest, so it’s only right that you be angry with them. If I were in your position, I would have been angry as well,” I continued.

“Yes, you’re right.”

“There are people who will understand by telling them once, and there are those who won’t understand no matter how many times you tell them. Since they didn’t listen to you, they should be punished…” I added.

“Brother Lee Ki-Young…” she paused.

“Yes?”

“You really do understand me,” she said.

“I do. As I mentioned earlier, we’re the same,” I repeated.

I saw how she fell into deep contemplation, and she must have finally realized that I was being kind rather than causing her harm. She had to have thought that it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more honest, as I saw her looking at me cautiously. I was sure she was testing the waters to see how deep our conversation could go.

“There are many people who are lacking…” Charlia started.

“That’s because they’re different from you,” I told her.

“The majority of them are idiots…” she added.

“Ah, is that so?” I asked.

“They must have been born that way because they don’t understand if I say it just once. This wasn’t the first time they made me angry, so I’m always stressed out because of them,” she explained.

When I started reacting to her comments, she started talking more. The princess looked as if she had met an old friend because she was having fun while talking. Obviously, I didn’t want to be a long-time friend of the princess, but it was easy to nod my head.

“Hmm, that’s understandable. I can see why you did it,” I said.

“Of course, it breaks my heart to act this way, but to discipline them—” she paused.

“It’s necessary. There’s nothing you can do about it,” I said, finishing her sentence.

“Yes, you’re right.”

But I figured it was still difficult for her to stop acting coy. It seemed like she was trying to muddy the waters by bringing up the topic of discipline, but she was so honest that I couldn’t compare her to the Charlia I had seen earlier.

During all this, the maids started serving food. Since they had been notified that we would eat here, they started preparing the table as well as the appetizers. The maids looked extremely nervous. Even though these maids weren’t the same ones from before, their hands were still shaking, but since the princess was smiling, they must have thought it was going to be okay. I also thought that the atmosphere was peaceful.

“Hahaha. I’ve heard about you from my father,” Charlia mentioned.

“I want to know what he said about me. I’m worried that His Majesty has been saying all sorts of things about me again,” I commented.

“Ah! It’s nothing like that. About the incident last time… He… he said you defended me…” she answered.

“Haha. I don’t think defend is the right word. I just said what was right,” I told her.

“I’m not sure if it was because of that, but my father made a request,” she said.

“What…”

“To make the time to apologize to you no matter what… Of course, I didn’t call you here just because of my father. I wanted to talk to you again about my mistake at the party, and I also have a great personal interest in you, Brother Lee Ki-Young…” Charlia explained.

“Ah ha…”

“Talking to you like this makes me think that you’re a much better person than I originally thought,” she added.

It was starting to sound a bit ominous, and I was surprised that the emperor made Charlia make the first move. Of course, it was something she had to do, but I was worried that the emperor had something else in mind.

“I wonder what kind of interest you have in me… I understand you, though. The majority of the nobles have a big interest in summoners, especially now that I’m a seatholder… Did you manage to get your hands on the adventure log?” I asked.

“I was actually able to read the adventure log the Blue Guild released for a little bit yesterday,” she replied.

“Hahahaha. I’m honored. By the way, this is really a coincidence. I actually wanted to meet you as well, Princess Charlia,” I confessed.

“Really?” she asked.

“I wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with you, but who knew we would get the chance to meet like this? Haha,” I laughed.

We continued talking while eating. When I stopped talking and looked at the maid, she spoke as if she had been waiting. The maid looked as if there was something she had been wanting to say, so it seemed that I helped her speak.

“Excuse me, Your Highness. Your steak…”

“Rare,” Charlia answered.

“I’ll have it the same way as the princess,” I told her.

“Yes, sir.”

“You can bring the dessert an hour later. We have a lot to talk about,” I ordered.

“Understood.”

I actually preferred my steak well done, but I wanted to show that I was the same as the princess. I was kind of shocked when I was served a barely-cooked piece of meat, as I had no idea how to eat it. There was blood on the princess’s dish as she started cutting her steak. Maybe it was just me, but the sound of the meat being cut and its texture made it seem grotesque, but I looked at the princess and spoke as if it didn’t bother me. After cutting up the steak, Charlia spoke after the maids left the room. Seeing that she wasn’t eating, it seemed that she was curious about the conversation we had earlier.

“If… you don’t mind, could you tell me what kind of conversation you wanted to have with me?” Charlia asked.

“Haha. It’s nothing serious. It’s about this imperial family…” I answered.

“What?” she asked.

“Please don’t misunderstand. Princess Charlia, I’m nothing but a summoner, and I neither want to judge the imperial family nor do I want to talk about it. However, I’d like to hear your opinion about the second princess, Charlotte,” I replied.

“What do you mean…”

“There are rumors that the second princess is currently the influential figure controlling the Holy Empire,” I said.

“W-Who would say something so ridiculous?!” Charlia yelled.

“When the health of the great and wise emperor declined, it seemed like His Majesty had been handing over many of his tasks to the second princess. Many influential nobles have been supporting the second princess, and she’s actually very talented as well. Actually, I don’t want to sound like I’m insulting the imperial family,” I said.

“It’s fine. Please continue,” she requested.

“Ahem… We actually received many offers…” I continued.

It was a lie. We had never received any offers.

“C-Could you tell me the details? What do you mean by we…” she asked.

“Ah. This is information that had been secretly told to a few seatholders of the Eight Seats. It sounded like the second princess wanted us to support her after His Majesty passes away. I’m not sure if it’s okay for me to tell you this, but it seemed like she was hostile toward you, Princess,” I explained.

I wasn’t wrong. It still hadn’t happened just yet. Seeing that the second princess was trying to tame me, she was basically telling me indirectly to stand on her side, and Charlia looked as if she had no intention of revealing the truth. Actually, she wasn’t capable enough to reveal it. Charlia kept mumbling “Charlotte… Charlotte,”  so I figured that she was really angry at her younger sister.

“So did you answer?” Charlia asked.

“We’re holding it off for now, but the Eight Seats are trying to avoid getting too close to the political side of the Holy Empire since they’re foreigners. However, Princess Charlotte seemed dissatisfied with our half-hearted attitude. She doesn’t seem like a bad person according to the rumors, but there’s so much fabricated information these days that it's difficult to tell which ones should I believe,” I explained.

“Yes, you’re right about that. Charlotte, the second princess… No, the opinions about that dirty prostitute are fabricated. Yes, it’s true. Everyone got fooled,” she confessed.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m ashamed to say this, but she’s a mischievous bitch. I knew we shouldn’t have adopted that illegitimate daughter as a princess since she inherited her mother’s lowly blood. Everyone was worried about it. It’s true. I knew she was very greedy, but it seemed that as soon as she became a part of the imperial family, she quickly bewitched my father and revealed her ambitions,” Charlia continued.

“Hm…”

“She said she wasn’t interested in men, but she had brought so many men into the palace. I could always hear coquettish noises every time I pass by her room to the point that it started hurting my ears. Like daughter, like mother, I guess. She would always smile in front of everyone, but behind that smile is inexplicable filth,” she added.

I knew this would happen, but as soon as I mentioned Charlotte, Charlia’s attention seemed like it wasn’t on me anymore. Obviously, the short dinner time wasn’t enough for her to vent all her anger. I couldn’t help but find it amusing how Charlia kept on slandering Charlotte as if she was possessed. It was funny because it reminded me of the saying, ‘the pot calling the kettle black.’

“She deserves to die. A loach is defiling and harming the authority of the imperial family. I’m ashamed to see the faces of my ancestors. My father, I can’t believe my father. How, how could he… cherish that dirty… more than me…” she stuttered.

It was ridiculous how she bit her lips while her fists were shaking. It felt like the peaceful atmosphere we previously enjoyed didn’t even happen in the first place. Charlia’s eyes were bloodshot, and he must have found it really unfair because she started crying. Obviously, she wasn’t crying out of genuine and innocent care for the imperial family. It was simply jealousy. The headstrong Charlia was full of spite and anger toward Charlotte, who was enjoying the things she shouldn’t be enjoying. Charlia felt inferior to someone who had managed to monopolize the emperor’s life despite her lowly bloodline. The unjustness of it all made her cry.

Naturally, I quietly handed her a handkerchief, and after wiping her tears, she must have been surprised at what she had just done because she leaned back.

“Ah… I’m sorry,” I said.

“You’re… a kind person,” Charlia commented.

‘Huh?’’

For some reason, that line sounded dangerous. I had a bad feeling that if this continued, we would end up lying down on the nearby sofa, so I quietly pulled my arm back and quickly changed the subject.

“It was nothing. I never thought that something like that happened. As expected, there are more lies than truths when it comes to rumors. Haha,” I laughed.

“What?”

“To be honest, I have heard rumors about you as well, and the majority of them were bad things about you. But after seeing you like this, you’re definitely unique. You care about the imperial family more than anyone; you’re intelligent, beautiful, soft-hearted, and strong. Your wisdom, words, and actions—they make me feel like I’m looking at a vassal of the Benigoa Goddess…” I complimented her.

“Ah…”

“I dare say that…” I paused.

“Yes?”

“I think you’re more worthy of being the next ruler than her,” I told her.

When I took a bite of the sliced meat, the taste of the barely-cooked meat filled my mouth. Charlia smiled brightly after hearing my comment. She then nodded in silence and ate. I wasn’t sure whether it was because of the world’s sweetest compliment or if the cold meat tasted better than she had expected, but Charlia’s body started to quiver as if she was being pleasured.

‘Like father, like daughter.’