18.

When Leo chose not to leave and took a seat, Ateira felt a small sense of relief.

She had fought hard to secure this opportunity.

After fully grasping her mission, the first thing Ateira requested from Count Zellered was her freedom within the mansion.

Initially dismissing her request as nonsense, the count raised an eyebrow, but Ateira furrowed her own in defiance.

‘Do you believe I can eliminate him while locked up in this room, Count? If you want a mage, you might want to look elsewhere.’

In the end, he agreed to grant her the chance to approach Leofric. However, he insisted that a knight would accompany her at all times, to which the princess shook her head slowly. She had to restrain herself from openly mocking Count Zellered, who clearly didn’t understand the situation.

‘I already attacked him once. It’s unlikely he’d let me near him, even without a knight following my every move. Well, I’d certainly have an easier time if they did that.’

Realizing she had a point, Zellered replaced the knight with a maid as her chaperone. With this arrangement, Ateira managed to secure a measure of freedom under the maid’s watch.

Ateira and Leo sat facing each other at opposite ends of a long table, with Jinpetsu and a few other knights seated near Leo’s side.

Jinpetsu remained vigilant, unable to let his guard down around Princess Ateira, as the memory of his commander’s injury was too vivid to ignore.

But since the wounded party himself sat unfazed, there was little else Jinpetsu could do.

Meanwhile, the other Black Wolf knights observed her with a more innocent curiosity.

‘Is this young lady really… her?’

‘The princess who scratched the commander’s hand?’

Although she was technically their enemy, the frail-looking woman didn’t instinctively inspire fear. Knowing she’d attacked their leader prompted a mechanical watchfulness, yet they sensed no real threat.

It was hard to believe that this petite woman had injured the commander. One knight shifted his gaze back and forth across the table, only to quickly look down when Jinpetsu shot him a sharp glance.

‘They say she was raised delicately in a palace… How could that be?’

The knights exchanged glances, uncertain of what to make of her.

They only believed Jinpetsu’s account because he was the one who witnessed the event; had Edgick told them, they’d have dismissed it as another of his jokes.

So the knights of Leo’s unit observed Princess Ateira with guarded fascination, sneaking glances from the corners of their eyes. Watching their ridiculous efforts to be inconspicuous, Jinpetsu clicked his tongue in mild disdain.

“So, she’s supposedly his fiancée?”

Leofric tilted his head slightly as he posed the question, an amused smile creeping across his face.

The woman who had once sworn she’d rather die than marry him. And now?

“…When I arrived for a meal, the baron’s servants refused to let me in, claiming Sir Leofric was expected. I merely pointed out that there was no reason his future bride couldn’t join him for a meal. Nothing for you to concern yourself with.”

Ateira’s tone was cool as she spoke, breaking a soft roll in half with a hint of indifference.

The baron, still doing his utmost to keep these peculiar guests from clashing, was finding his efforts sorely tested. Ateira had no intention of playing along; she had work to do.

Her time was limited. She couldn’t afford the luxury of slowly building trust.

Rather than wasting time on useless preambles, she decided to confront him directly.

Even if only by getting him accustomed to dining together, she would be making some headway.

Although he might initially be suspicious, people tend to relax around someone who approaches them openly. After a few encounters without incident, he would begin to lower his guard. She hoped so.

She needed an opportunity.

With this in mind, Ateira held herself with as much brazenness as possible.

Leofric, meanwhile, quietly observed the princess as she ate with composure.

She wouldn’t be here without an agenda. Eager to discern her intent, he posed a question meant to unsettle her.

“Is that so? I just wondered if, unlike last night, you’d changed your mind about marriage.”

He emphasized ‘last night’ with a deliberate inflection, aiming to provoke. Her hand paused momentarily, her gaze narrowing as she shot Leo a sharp, dissatisfied look. He returned her stare with a single raised eyebrow as if to say, ‘I’m not lying.’

Yes, this felt more like an actual person. Leo found himself subtly pleased. This was far more engaging than interacting with the perfectly composed princess she was pretending to be.

“…My sentiments are irrelevant to the matter of marriage. I can only hope things proceed as fate wills,” she responded calmly, lowering her gaze. Her once-burning animosity seemed oddly tempered.

Leofric’s pale blue eyes narrowed slightly.

After all that fuss, was she really fine with marrying him? He certainly wasn’t.

Then again, she had no choice.

Her situation was entirely different from his. At least he had the option of attempting to escape this arrangement.

As Leo mused over this, his earlier mention of ‘last night’ had the knights all inwardly agog.

‘No wonder he showed up so late last night, even claiming to be fetching Nepi. Weren’t they supposed to be at each other’s throats?’

Though managing to maintain neutral expressions, the knights exchanged glances in rapid succession.

Soon, dishes were brought out before Leo and his knights. Normally, they’d have chatted over trivial matters while eating, but today everyone was intently focused on their plates.

The meal continued in silence, with neither words nor glances exchanged. Yet after a while, something unusual happened.

A maid unexpectedly arrived with tea.

“…What is this?”

Leo didn’t have a habit of drinking tea, especially not in the middle of a meal. Since it had never accompanied a meal before, Jinpetsu turned to the maid to inquire.

“It’s Hogen tea, a popular drink in Ledetian,” came the answer, not from the maid but from the princess. Ateira accepted her cup with familiarity.

“It seems the baron was thoughtful enough to remember my Ledetian origins. I never expected to find Hogen tea here,” she remarked calmly, expressing gratitude for the baron’s attentiveness.

She planned to push forward, taking another step.

“Is this your first time trying Hogen tea?”

“….”

“It’s a pity you never had the chance to bring any back from Ledetian.”

Her tone was mild, but the words were layered with a subtle bite.

Leo felt a renewed sense of absurdity in this situation. Here he sat, the man who had played a decisive role in the downfall of the empire, now sharing a meal with its princess—his designated fiancée.

“Would you like to try some?”

“….”

Ateira offered him a taste, though she hardly expected him to drink it. Today was merely the beginning.

She was carefully observing how guarded he was with what she offered, taking mental notes of his preferences, dietary habits, and behavior.

‘I doubt he’ll eat anything I offer him. If he keeps refusing, it’ll make it harder to poison him when the time comes…’

Ateira needed to understand the dining setup here. Just as Hogen tea was being provided specifically for her, there could be particular foods or ingredients served exclusively to him and his knights.

Unaware of her true intentions, Leofric chose to stay silent, opting to observe the situation.

Since when had they become the type to offer each other food? Up until now, all they’d exchanged were injuries—decidedly one-sided ones at that.

Today, this woman was truly acting out of character. She’d barely flinched upon seeing a beast earlier, and now, after seemingly being confined to her quarters, she was suddenly sitting down to share an awkward meal.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

No… Could it be?

The maid set down the smooth teacup and saucer before him, pouring from the teapot at a measured pace. The dark brown liquid emitted a pleasant aroma.

But surely not.

Both Leo and Jinpetsu watched the steaming tea cup with narrowed eyes, as if inspecting it for threats.

How likely was it that this cup held poison?
TL/N: I decided not to add his middle name init too sorry guys