The One Who Was Never Supposed to Find Me”

The man who had suddenly barged into the bedroom was none other than Kazen, with a face full of anger.

“Y-Your Grace…?”

Never having expected Kazen to appear here, Eren was startled, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Seeing Eren’s reaction, Kazen broke into a brilliant smile.

“Eren, so here you were.
No wonder I couldn’t find you at the mansion all day; we meet here, of all places.”

Harold had clearly said just moments ago that he had sent word informing Kazen that Eren was staying at the Imperial Palace.
So, it was highly likely he had known and come looking, yet Kazen wore an expression as if he had no idea Eren would be here.

“Kazen, what’s the matter, suddenly?”

Harold also seemed surprised Kazen had visited, as if he hadn’t expected it.

“Hmm, I came to finish a conversation we were having earlier, but it seems there’s an unexpected guest.”

Kazen still wore a smiling face as he approached and stood before Harold.
Only then did Harold also slowly rise from his seat to face him.

Just seeing the two standing face-to-face brought back the memory of that night, making Eren’s heart beat low and fast.

“I sent a messenger earlier.
Didn’t you get the message?”

“Message?
I haven’t heard anything of the sort.”

Harold furrowed his brow as he looked at Kazen, who answered so brazenly.
His expression seemed to think something was off.
Kazen was probably lying.

“I, well, I was just about to return home.”

Eren cautiously rose from his seat.
He knew it was presumptuous to interrupt their conversation, but he no longer wanted to be in this place with them.

But as soon as Eren finished speaking, Kazen and Harold simultaneously turned to look at him and spoke firmly.

“I told you to just rest here.”

“You’re saying you’ll leave because I’m here?
Just stay put.”

He thought they would both be pleased if he excused himself.
But as if they had coordinated in advance, they both insisted he stay, leaving Eren perplexed and unsure what to do.

Why were they keeping him?
If this was some new form of torture, it was quite terrifying.

Eren looked in turn at Harold’s gently smiling face and Kazen’s frowning one.
No matter how he thought about it, he really did not want to be in the same space with those two.

“I have evening duties to attend to, so I think I should return to the Ducal household now.”

“Then at least stay for dinner.
I’ve already had it prepared.”

Eren thought Harold would let him go after he had expressed his intentions this clearly, but he was detained once more.
Even out of consideration for the Imperial Palace servants who would have prepared the meal, Eren couldn’t leave.

“Right, I also skipped a proper meal tonight because dinner wasn’t properly prepared at my place.
We can all eat together.”

Kazen responded to Harold’s suggestion faster than Eren did.
He had wanted to leave to avoid being with the two of them, and now he was supposed to stay and eat with them?
He wondered why such trials kept being imposed on him.

Though frustrated, there was nothing he could do.
No matter what, Eren could not disobey Kazen’s words.

“I’ll do that.”

Satisfied with Eren’s answer, given without hesitation, Kazen finally regained his smile.
He strode over and grabbed the arm of the dazed Eren, pulling him toward himself.

“Whoa!”

Caught off guard by the sudden force, Eren lost his balance and ended up leaning against Kazen’s chest as if falling into his embrace.
Seeing how lightly Eren fell into his arms, Kazen’s expression twisted slightly.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, my apologies.
My legs gave way for a moment.”

Kazen, who had been looking down at Eren with cold eyes, noticed his pallid complexion and scowled even more.

“So it wasn’t a lie that you said you weren’t feeling well.”

“N-no, it’s not that I’m unwell.
It’s nothing like that.”

Eren hastily put strength into his legs and stood up straight.
Kazen lifted the hand that had been holding Eren’s arm and instead grabbed his face.

“Your face is as white as if you’d been dusted with flour.”

Kazen turned Eren’s face left and right, observing it as if examining him.
With his mouth suddenly muffled by Kazen’s large palm, Eren could only blink his wide-open eyes.

“I told you before, didn’t I?
That you looked unwell.
Do you finally see what I meant?”

Harold asked from behind, as if finding it absurd.
Despite Harold’s reaction, Kazen merely stared at Eren with a serious expression.

“So it’s true you lost consciousness, then?”

Finally letting go of the face he’d been holding, he asked Eren seriously.
It was absurd—earlier he’d claimed not to have received Harold’s message, yet now he seemed to know Eren had lost consciousness.

“Ah, it was more like…”

Of course, it couldn’t be, but fearing Kazen might worry, Eren tried to deny it.
However, he soon realized that doing so would imply Harold had lied, so he gave a small nod.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were unwell?”

“It’s not that I’m unwell.
It’s just that I couldn’t sleep, that’s all.”

Kazen’s eyes widened as if he were someone realizing this for the first time.

“You couldn’t sleep?
Why?”

“Only yesterday, only yesterday.
I slept deeply earlier, so I’m perfectly fine now.”

As if to prove he wasn’t unwell, Eren answered energetically, raising his voice.
Kazen looked down at him with dissatisfied eyes, then abruptly grabbed his wrist.

“Come here.
Let’s go to the dining room.”

Unable to resist his rough handling, Eren was dragged along.
Kazen strode down the corridor as if already familiar with the layout of the Imperial Palace.

“So there’s a dining room here too.”

The place Kazen and Harold entered was a small dining room located within the Crown Prince’s quarters of the Imperial Palace.

Although Eren had come to the Imperial Palace countless times, either trailing Kazen or handling his business, he had never had reason to come here.
Thus, sitting at the table and participating in a meal was naturally a first.

“Allow me to pour the wine.”

A waiter in a crisp uniform approached and filled their glasses with an exceedingly kind expression.
Watching this, Kazen raised his hand.

“Remove the wine and bring warm tea instead.”

It seemed he intended to prevent Eren from drinking, likely due to the memory of him passing out from alcohol.
Since that was also an embarrassing memory for Eren, he kept quiet.

“Yes, I will bring warm tea.”

In the awkward atmosphere, Eren surveyed the feast laid out on the table.
There were various dishes, including chicken, beef, lamb, and an abundance of seafood.

Unlike a restaurant where courses are served, in the Imperial Palace, he had learned that according to royal etiquette, all food is placed on the table, and each person serves themselves as much as they want onto a large plate.
Accordingly, he waited dazedly for the Crown Prince or Kazen to take first, but Kazen frowned and asked.

“Why are you just staring at the food without touching it?
Surely you’re not going to say you don’t know how to eat?
I taught you table manners.”

It sounded somewhat like concern, but listening closely, it also seemed like he was bragging to Harold that he had taught Eren table manners.

“I was waiting for the two of you to start before following.”

“Alright, then I’ll pick up my fork first.”

Understanding why Eren was waiting, Harold was the first to serve himself.
Only after Kazen had served himself did Eren pick up his fork.

“I noticed last time you don’t seem to be picky, so I had them prepare a variety.
Is that alright?”

Every time Harold showed such consideration, Eren felt burdened and grateful, not understanding why.
It was a kind of attention he had never received while with Kazen.

And because of that, Kazen’s intense gaze was unnerving.
He seemed extremely irritated that Harold was showing concern for Eren.

‘Because I disliked you daring to covet Harold.’

Eren quietly replayed Kazen’s words in his mind.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand his feelings.
If Eren were to see Harold worrying over Kazen, he probably wouldn’t feel very good either.

“Every single dish is delicious without exception.
Thank you for treating me to such a wonderful meal.”

As soon as Eren spoke politely, Kazen clicked his tongue as if finding it absurd.

“Delicious, my foot.
I even told them to fire the head cook.
Bennet’s skills are far superior.
Don’t you think so, Eren?”

Even if Kazen said that, Eren had never eaten food prepared by Bennet, the head chef at the Ducal residence.
He always made do with sandwiches or the like that Millie prepared whenever she had a spare moment.

Kazen probably didn’t know that, of course.
No, he didn’t need to know.

“Both seem delicious to me.”

As if Eren’s obvious answer was boring, Kazen shook his head side to side.

“More importantly, there was something you were going to tell me earlier.”

Just then, Harold looked at Eren and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Something you wish to say to me?”

“Yes.
The Imperial physician recommended a doctor who can properly assess your condition.”

The fact that he recommended a doctor likely meant something was wrong.
Alarmed, Eren’s eyes widened.

“Is there something wrong with me?”

“Well, I don’t know that either.
You’ll have to talk to the doctor to find out, right?
Doctor Rosalin—she’s famous, so you must have heard of her.
I’ll write you a letter of recommendation to take when you go see her.”