He wanted to caress her cheeks and touch her soft lips. Dark desires reared its head within his heart. He had to be patient. He had held it for two years. He had to consider her feelings. Dalia, tired after the eventful day, fell asleep on the way home. He looked at her and heat rose in him. F*ck! He wondered why his lower region wouldn’t follow its owner’s will. His heart was still pounding from her confession.

At that moment, the ring he wore on his finger flashed. It was a communication from Julius. Kaichen hesitated as he looked at the twinkling communication device. He felt uncomfortable accepting it today.

However, he needed to know about Dalia’s social debut and what others were planning. He had no choice, so he accepted it. Julius’ face appeared in the air, grinning. It was very clear that he knew about what had happened today.

Kaichen frowned. “What is it?”

[How do you feel? Did anything nice happen today?]

Seeing the grin on his face, Kaichen knew he was already aware. He ignored Julius. “Any news about the princess?”

[No different than usual. I added more people to keep an eye on her. Tell me, what happened today?]

“What is the nobles’ outlook?”

[Everyone wants to know more about Countess Alshine. Maybe the invitations will be pouring in from tomorrow. So, how do you feel now that the countess confessed to you?]

Kaichen sighed and pressed his temples. “Why the hell do you want to know?”

[Why do you think I moved the party venue and time at the last minute? Isn’t it obvious?]

“So, you helped her.”

[A lady wanted to confess her love to my dear friend. What do you think I should have done?]

“Why does it bother you that much?”

[Because I can’t watch my friend grow old alone. Finally, someone who really likes you, who is strong enough to keep you on your toes comes along. Shouldn’t I have helped?]

Julius gasped and placed his hand on his chest, pretending to be hurt. Kaichen knew Julius had done it as much for the fun as for helping his friend.

[I’m sorry though. It was supposed to be after the ball was over, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. I wanted to be there to watch!]

“You have some problematic interests.”

[To act according to my friend’s best interest is my priority.]

“You need to find another hobby.”

Kaichen glanced at the ring as if intending to cut off the communication, but Julius smirked.

[Well, it seems my hobby, or anything you can call it, has done its job. Looking at you now, it was not in vain.]

“…”

[Thank me later.]

“And why would I do that?”

[Well, you didn’t tell the countess you liked her. She had no inkling. And yet, she decided to confess to you. It must have been such a pleasant surprise for you and her.]

Kaichen realized that Julius had not told Dalia about how he felt about her. Julius must have kept it a secret. Julius had known about it for two years now and Kaichen had frequently been the object of ridicule. So, Dalia took a gamble all on her own…

“So, you hid how Dalia felt about me for this little game of yours”

[Um, that’s…] Julius wiped at his chin, with a troubled expression. Then he smiled mischievously. [I thought it would be fun, to be honest. I was absolutely not intending to see you happy after her confession—]

Kaichen cut off the communication abruptly. He did not want to hear Julius talk anymore.

If he had known she had feelings for him, he would have confessed first. Dalia knew nothing about how he felt, and she still did it…

He felt that Dalia was braver than he could ever be. When he had said he liked her too, she had tears in her eyes. He felt sad knowing that she had been so scared that he might reject her. It seemed that everything he had done for her hadn’t been enough to communicate how he actually felt towards her. He was a coward. He wasn’t courageous enough to tell her truthfully, so he had tried to express his affection in his actions.

“Teacher, what is this?”

“Oh, I thought this was your favorite.”

“…”

“I made it because you are always cooking for me and I wanted to make something for you, too.”

“But you don’t have to! I am fine.”

“I didn’t know how to make it properly. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to eat it.”

“No! I want to eat it. Thank you, teacher.”

Dalia had eaten every crumb of that burnt toast. She had said she loved it. After that, she had locked herself in her room for two days saying she needed to study. He wanted to make more of her favorite food, but he didn’t want to disturb her.