Chapter 19: Cass Gets Angry

"It’s about time for you to head back," Lady Jacqueline said.

"Understood. I’ll head home," I replied obediently.

"Already!? You should at least say something like ’I want to stay with you a little longer’!" she complained with a smile. But I’m only ten years old on the outside. Even with a thirty-year-old mind, that kind of line doesn’t come easily.

Lady Jacqueline seemed to realize that too. She let out a small laugh and said,

"I shouldn’t say such things. You’re still caught between being a child and an adult, after all."

With that, she took my hand again and pressed it against her chest. When I looked up at her face, my reflection was visible in her blue eyes.

Then she said, "You’ve got quite a bit around your mouth," and gently wiped my lips with a handkerchief. When I looked at the cloth, it wasn’t stained with sweets — it was lipstick.

"We can’t keep doing this forever," she said. "I’ll call for your carriage. It’s a shame, but you should head back now. I’ll invite you again, so please come visit. Ideally... I’d love it if you could sneak in through the window at night."

She looked a little lonely, but her smile was full of girlish expectation.

When we left the room, her expression instantly became elegant and composed again. She called the head butler to arrange the carriage and had a maid bring a return gift.

Until I got into the carriage, she smiled warmly and waved goodbye.

"Haaah~..."

I let out a big sigh. The escort knight asked,

"Prince Robby, are you tired?"

It wasn’t the kind of question that implied "Did something naughty happen?" — it just sounded like normal concern, like my shoulders might be stiff.

"Yeah, I’m really tired. I hope I didn’t leave a bad impression on the Countess."

"You’ll be fine. Among the maids over twenty, your popularity in the palace is outstanding."

"Really?"

"Well... among the married maids, that is. The unmarried ones seem a bit wary of you. That’s just a rumor though."

"Where do you even get that kind of information?"

"I have acquaintances among the maids. My cousin works as one, so I hear all sorts of rumors about the princes and princesses on the down-low."

"I see. I won’t ask who, but I hope my reputation is good."

"Don’t worry, I guarantee it. Especially since you woke up from that illness, your reputation has shot up."

"That’s nice to hear. Tell me more next time. Here, this is for you."

I handed him one large copper coin from my pocket. According to Cass, one large copper coin was enough for a meal in the city. The knight’s face lit up.

"Thank you very much! I’ll be sure to share more stories from the maids. If you ever go out again, please request me specifically. I’ll make sure to have plenty of information for you. Looking forward to serving you!"

His name was apparently Roger Grover — 22 years old, Sword Skill 3, Bow Skill 3. If he could keep his mouth shut, requesting him might be a good idea.

When I got back to the palace and was changing clothes, I started thinking about how I would eventually sneak into Lady Jacqueline’s room. I decided I needed to train for it. Sneaking out of the palace at night and climbing up to the second floor of her mansion from outside would be quite difficult, but the idea made my heart race. Even if it seemed impossible, I had a feeling I could pull it off. First, I needed to test exactly how effective "Agile Legs 2" was. It probably made me faster, but I needed to check if it also improved my vertical jump. I also wanted to see how well "Concealment 1" worked.

Trying anything where people could see me was risky, so I headed to a quiet part of the inner palace’s backyard. It was close to sunset, so no concubines were out enjoying tea. I dashed toward a wooded area in the corner.

Whoa! I was much faster than I expected — it even surprised me. My explosive power was insane. This would definitely look suspicious if anyone saw me. I tried activating Concealment, and I felt something like a switch flip inside me. When I looked at my reflection in a pond, my figure seemed slightly blurry. At least, that’s how it looked to me.

I moved into the shadow of a tree and tried a vertical jump. There was a branch about 2 to 3 meters up — well out of reach if I just stretched my hand. I crouched, gathered strength, and jumped!

Not only did I reach it — I landed *on* the branch! I was so shocked that I lost my balance and fell, landing safely on the ground. My jumping power was unbelievable. The distance between the first and second floors of the inner palace was roughly three meters. If I could reach that height, I could make it. Worst case, I could use a grappling hook or something. Since my leg strength had improved so much, my overall physical abilities must have increased too.

I jumped up to the branch again and again, spun around using it like a pull-up bar, and climbed the tree trunk. It was so much fun I couldn’t stop. Being able to do things I couldn’t before was incredibly exciting and joyful! Before I knew it, the sun was almost down, so I hurried back to my room.

Cass was standing there with her arms crossed, waiting for me.

Sorry about that.

---

Cass was furious. On the surface she looked calm, but inside she was seething. Even though our time together hasn’t been that long, the sixth sense that comes from having a physical relationship told me immediately. Cass rarely gets angry, so the different "wavelength" she was giving off was easy to notice.

The reason wasn’t that I had gone missing earlier — it was definitely because of Countess Rosette. She was probably jealous. She had practically raised me like her own child, and as I grew, her feelings had gradually shifted from maternal to something closer to romantic. Now she felt like someone was trying to steal me away from the side.

Anyway, the first thing to do was apologize.

"Cass, I’m sorry for coming back late. I was practicing in the backyard. Tomorrow is Marin-sensei’s last lesson, so I wanted to show her at least a little improvement!"

I bowed my head while carefully reading her mood. The prickly arrows were still flying from Cass.

"That’s not what I’m upset about! Look at this!"

She showed me the clothes I had worn to Countess Rosette’s mansion.

"Here!"

Cass pointed to the inside of the collar. There was a clear lipstick mark. *Oh crap... When did she put that there?* It must have been intentional on Jacqueline’s part.

"I didn’t notice. I had no idea."

I shrugged, but Cass pressed further.

"You didn’t notice? Really? You’re not hiding anything, are you? The Countess’s perfume is all over the clothes. Here, smell it!"

She shoved the clothes toward my face. This situation was exactly like a girlfriend suspecting her boyfriend of cheating. I really didn’t want to smell it.

"I really didn’t notice, so there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sorry it got on there. Can you wash it for me?"

My tone might have come off a bit curt, because Cass reacted immediately.

"That’s not what I wanted to say!"

"Then what do you want to say? Are you unhappy that I’m getting closer to the Countess? Are you trying to imply that the lipstick mark means I did something with her?"

Cass faltered.

"No... that’s not what I meant..."

"Are you against me getting closer to Countess Rosette?"

"No, it’s not that..."

"Then there was no need to show me the lipstick mark, was there?"

"Well... that’s true, but..."

"What exactly is our relationship, Cass? Are we lovers? We had one mistake, but that was a special occasion and it won’t continue, right?"

"...Yes."

Before I knew it, Cass had hung her head and was kneeling with her head lowered. From an outside perspective, it probably looked like a ten-year-old boy scolding a nearly thirty-year-old woman.

Realizing that, I instinctively pulled Cass into my arms and hugged her head to my chest.

"Prince Robby, please stop! I decided we would never do this again!"

Even as she protested, I held her head firmly against my chest. Her chignon came undone, and her beautiful hair spilled down. What a gorgeous sight.

"You’re beautiful, Cass," I said without thinking.

Cass froze, then whispered,

"Such undeserved words..."

"They’re not undeserved. You’re beautiful, Cass. You’re a beauty."

"That’s not true. I’m already getting old..."

"What are you saying? I love the self-deprecating Cass who says she’s getting old."

"There you go again, saying such things..."

I lifted her head from my chest. When I looked at her face, there were tears in her eyes. The trigger was probably Jacqueline, but many different emotions seemed mixed together. When I brought my face closer, Cass closed her eyes. That was the signal that a kiss was okay.

I kissed Cass and held it for a while. Eventually, she hesitantly slipped her tongue into my mouth. The moment our tongues touched, hers coiled around mine greedily, as if devouring me.

*Knock knock knock.*

There was a knock at the door, and we quickly separated.

"Prince Robby, it’s time for dinner," the maid called.