Victor’s heart began pounding. He couldn’t believe the crown prince was asking for a conversation! It had been six years since Victor began his service in the palace and two years since he had been promoted to become Max’s aide. During these years, Victor had yearned for an opportunity to confirm that the crown prince trusted him, as Max had never asked him for serious counseling or sharing of concerns.
Just imagining that he would finally live as an aide who was also a close confidant, Victor was filled with joy. Swiftly putting his complaints aside, he vowed, “I, Victor, will endeavor to serve Your Highness to the best of my abilities.”
The crown prince seemed a little flustered by the serious tone, then he spoke softly, “There is actually… a lady I have in mind.”
Victor doubted his ears. The monstrous crown prince—one rumored to make babies in the northern country of Norwin cry—was chasing after a lady! Just then, a memory flashed through Victor’s mind. There had been something different during the battle at the southern border a few days ago.
“Pardon me for asking—but may she be the owner of the handkerchief?”
Startled, Max stared at his aide for a moment before slowly nodding. “Yes. I see that you’re quick to notice, as expected from a womanizer.”
Victor didn’t understand what being a womanizer had to do with anything since all the crown prince’s aides and advisors were aware of the handkerchief. Ignoring the subtle insult, he asked, “So, what happened with the lady that is upsetting you so much?”
Max remained quiet for a moment with a frown, then he finally admitted, “I must have done something wrong, but I can’t quite put a finger on what it might be.”
“Well, it is difficult to please the ladies, but once the basics are met, Your Highness, it is easier than you think.”
“Easy?”
“Yes. All you have to do is listen to them and respect what they are saying, and they won’t get mad at you! If the lady you’ve mentioned was upset, I’m sure she has already said why.”
Once again, Max recalled what happened this evening, but he could not come to an answer. He had lent his ear to her and also caught the pigeon for her. But all Jubelian had done was get annoyed and ask him to leave. Downcast, Max replied, “I don’t think so. She just told me to go back home.”
With a stern expression, Victor then asked, “Could you tell me what happened before that?”
“It seemed that she had mistaken something about me, so I tried to correct the misconceptions—using my methods, of course. But afterward, she didn’t look so happy.”
After being lost in thought for a while, Victor answered, “No matter how I look at it, it seems that way…”
“And what is that?”
Victor took a deep breath instead of answering.
Frustrated, Max urged his aide. “What the hell are you stalling about?”
Inhaling deeply once again, Victor opened his mouth. “Your Highness, I have never said things like this because I have found it somewhat embarrassing, but I think it is time to admit it. Although I have had a lot of dating experience, some of my previous lovers have said that they didn’t like me, and the reason is…”
As the introduction to the answer prolonged, Max grew more and more annoyed. “Just get to the point already.”
“No, I must explain all of this for you to understand it fully, Your Highness,” Victor added quickly, gradually realizing that building tension before revealing the answer for a dramatic effect did not work on the crown prince.
“Again, stop beating around the bush,” the prince snarled.
“Okay, fine! They said I was no fun because I was too accommodating!” Victor blurted out.
“I see… Wait, what?”
Seeing the crown prince perplexed, Victor spoke with a face full of sorrow. “They said I was too easy… and that I was no fun.”
Max thought back to what he had done for Jubelian until now—he had lied and said he liked to eat foods he didn’t such as cake, endured things that bothered him, apologized even when he didn’t want to, and listened to all of the lady’s requests. The last thing he was worried about was that she might find him uninteresting!
Max remained frozen in shock, to which Victor suggested, “So, how about playing hard to get?”
“And what does that mean?”
“You won’t visit her as often and stop listening to everything she asks for! Only then, she will realize how precious Your Highness is.”
Frankly, Max knew he would not be able to visit her even less than now, but Victor’s advice was tempting as he wanted Jubelian to recognize his importance. Max also knew that Jubelian was often slow-witted and that a little nudge wouldn’t hurt. Nodding slowly, Max replied, “All right, I will refrain from showing such aspects of myself to her and visiting her so often.”
Inferring that the crown prince meant he would be spending more time in the palace, Victor smiled and celebrated being free from the heavy dark armor at last. He relished the feeling of achievement of winning the crown prince’s trust.
“I won’t be in the palace for a while, so do your best to stand in for me.”
“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness?” Victor queried in disbelief. “But as we’ve discussed, you won’t visit the lady as often—”
“Yes, yes. I do not plan to show myself to her for the next few days.”
Biting his lip, Victor contemplated advising his master to stay faithful to his duties as the crown prince, but he was stopped by Max muttering something under his breath.
“It’s fine if she doesn’t know, right?”
The prince’s eyes were now glowing with a dangerous light, and his low voice was filled with an obsession toward the lady.
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