Since this excitement was new to him, Evren tightened his grip on Lilian's hand even stronger.
Consider having her continue talking about what she is going to do now; So he can enjoy this different feeling for a little longer.
“Is this work that much fun? Even though it's not yours in the end.”
“The process is a bit cumbersome, but the result appears immediately, right?”
“Hmmmm”
“She also looks beautiful, and is helpful to others.”
Evren didn't quite get it; The values that Lillian was talking about were not things that he considered great or important.
However, he allowed Lillian to lead him and inspect the workbench with him.
Perhaps because she was in her familiar environment, Lillian spoke with a fluency he had never experienced before.
“That princess’s guardian was more vulgar than I expected. How dare he brainwash a child like that?”
“It is an effective method for those who lack capacity and want to live as a parasite.”
“He will certainly try to hinder me. Let him do whatever he wants.”
“By the way”
Evren took a closer look at the room: “Leaving things like this will make the room an easy target for thieves.”
Artifacts that required manual effort were expensive, not to mention that they belonged to the royal family, and jewelry that would be added for decoration was never cheap.
The problem is that this room was provided by the temple, and its basic security systems are not strong enough.
“I'll spread more 'shadows' around the place.”
“No..!”
Lillian shook her head dismissively: “It's better to leave some loopholes for the shadows. I'll set a 'mousetrap'.”
"mousetrap?"
“Your Highness, can you give me some of the remaining monster cores? They better be fresh...”
“…….”
“I mean, from monsters I just killed.”
She was asking for monster cores as if she was asking for fresh fish from the market, forgetting that the reason for their first meeting was a monster that almost killed her.
However, he calmly handed her a kernel that resembled a dried-up walnut; He was overcome with curiosity to see what this woman would do.
“This is considered a Class A hazardous material, but did you know, Your Highness?”
Lilian inhaled a deep breath: “Monsters store visual information in the nucleus and not in the brain, so.. like this!”
Lillian pressed her wet thumb with controlled force on the hollow part of the core.
buzzing...
After hearing the shaking sound, Efrain realized her intention.
He smiled, furrowing his eyebrows in admiration: “If I ask you how you know this, you will again say because you are from Tillard, right?”
This is expected. But Lillian contradicted his expectations: “Mmm..no.”
Lillian smiled brightly: “I'll just say that I knew it because I'm a little crazy.”
“Huh...”
Really, the more he talked to her, the more mysterious she became to him. How did he end up tagging a person like that?
“But Your Highness the Prince”
“What?”
“I need to use both hands to get to work now.”
“…….”
“…Ah, okay. I think I can get to work in thirty minutes.”
“A wise decision, miss.”
Evren tightened his grip on her hand.
What a stingy woman she is, taking control of his life.
* * *
The next day —
Princess Meliora herself came to visit the temporary workshop.
“Since it is my artifact, I came to have a look.”
“Yes, of course. Come in.”
The princess's companion following her seemed to have surrendered to the reality of the situation; It was clear that she could not hide her royal way of speaking in front of Lillian.
'Since she's still a beginner at stealth, she's not good at hiding her identity very well.'
The princess carefully examined the necklace that was being repaired, then began wandering around the workshop in confusion, observing the atmosphere.
“Tillard's daughter”
“Yes”
“Why...why are you helping me like this?”
The princess looked at Lillian anxiously from behind her veil: “I am fully aware that your skills are superior to Iris’s.”
“This is an honor for me”
“But showing your skills is definitely not the price you ask of me.”
“…….”
“At least I know that. People always want something from me.”
Lillian smiled slightly.
Of course, she is a princess, so has anyone ever approached her without ambition?
'It would be good if an outside power became our ally.'
But first, Lillian bowed her head and whispered in a low voice: “Get rid of the Count, Your Highness.”
“……!”
“He is only thinking of exploiting you in the future to expand his own fiefdom.”
In the original novel, Iris would actually help this princess, and thanks to that she would be called an “Icon of Peace” with the Kingdom of Tenberen.
But what will happen to this princess next?
'You will have already become a puppet of that count.'
Rather, she will face a greater abyss after securing her right to the throne.
At first, the people of the kingdom had high hopes for the princess because she was of brilliant ability.
'It's said that her performance in governance classes was also good.'
But they will be very disappointed when they see her giving everything to her guardian, without caring about the words that guardian dictates to her that destroy her dignity.
'Iris will live a comfortable life in the empire, but this princess will face disaster.'
The current princess bit her lips upon hearing Lillian's words; It is a reaction that appears when words touch a buried wound.
“The universe...no, that man is someone I need!”
Yes, denial and anger are normal reactions.
“He is my guardian, he is the one who protects me-”
"Oh, he protects you from your brother? He prevents assassination attempts? And he saves you from falling off a horse?"
“……!”
Her eyes were asking in astonishment: “How did you know that?”
From the corner of her eye, Lillian caught sight of the princess's companion without arousing his attention. From his looks, I felt it.
'Good, the words will leak brilliantly.'
And so, she threw the bait perfectly.
Lillian calmly looked at the princess who suddenly fell silent: “Your Highness Princess, there come moments in life when we must make decisions about our relationships with others.”
“…….”
“I know, it's easy for me to tell you to break up with him. But, even if you're thinking about doing so, it's not easy to do.”
You will say to myself: From tomorrow I will not believe him, from tomorrow I will not care about him.
This can be said with the tongue, but making the heart follow the tongue is quite another matter.
“However, remorse should be as short as possible. Make the pain sharp and short.”
This may sound preachy, but it's real-life advice.
The princess was silent for a while, then nodded calmly: “...I will take your words into consideration. Let us meet again when the repair is finished.”
“present”
But before the princess left, Lillian narrowed her eyes sharply.
'I have a bad feeling'
The stabs Lillian had received in her life were enough to make her very cautious.
'No, there's also the villain tag.'
From now on, Lillian has no alternative to proactive measures.
“Your Highness, may I touch your hand for a moment?”
“……?”
* * *
Late at night, the place where shadows gathered was buzzing with excitement.
“So, Miss heard that Princess Stone Registration?”
Jean was in the middle of everyone as she told what Lillian had done.
“That part where Iris Tillard threatens to use Mademoiselle to her advantage!”
“Ooooh...!”
“The princess’s looks completely changed at that moment. And the necklace she was wearing turned out to be designed by Miss!”
“Wow!”
The shadows clapped and shook the drinks in their hands.
In their harsh lives, they rarely had pleasant moments like this. Life beside their master was extremely stressful...
Margaret stood, leaning against the wall of the room, then quietly left.
I felt very isolated; In the past, all the shadows depended on her...
'She's even lower in rank than me'
Margaret was rank A, and Lillian was rank B.
'And yet she claims to be able to repair the piece of another country's princess.'
I may have stopped His Highness the Prince's rampage by sheer coincidence, but dealing with other countries' affairs is a diplomatic act, isn't it?
'What if I cause a disaster for all of us?'
And all because of Lillian Taillard...
“Huh, excuse me.. are you one of Miss Tillard’s companions?”
“Yes? Yes...”
The fact that Lillian was the Prince's prospective fiancée was a secret, so Margaret merely shook her head in confusion.
Count Joseph made an artificially sad expression, but inside he was boiling.
'That damned helpless girl seduces the princess and deceives her?'