Looking for My Fiancé's Lover

Clearly, my primary goal would be to ask what his schedule was, so I needed to accompany him. But when I came to my senses, my body was already in a speeding carriage. Not even as an aristocratic woman, but as Nezar’s aide.

“Um, Nezar.”

“What is it?”

“No matter how much I think about it, I think I made a decision too hastily. Aside from not knowing how to act as an aide, what if someone recognises me?”

He opened his closed eyes and took a look at my awkward face before answering.

“You said only Rick knows you at the academy, Kate.”

“What if Rick laughs at me?”

“No one can laugh at you except for the emperor, who is above me.”

Well, that’s true, but that did not mean my anxiety would go away.

“I’m not Nezar or your father, and I’ve never had an aide, so I don’t know exactly what to do.”

“Think of Ron. You just have to follow what Ron did and said.”

“You want me to imitate every detail?”

“Hm, yeah.”

Before long, Nezar’s expression turned tired and he closed his eyes again. As it was the road from the capital* to the Imperial Academy, the road was well paved and there was little rattling in the carriage.

Nezar and I were on our way to the Imperial Academy to celebrate Prince Andrew’s graduation ceremony. It was my first visit to the academy since the day we celebrated Lockherd and Nezar’s graduation, and my heart trembled at the thought that it would be crowded with students of a similar age. (prince Andrew’s the current empress’ son)

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‘You want to go to the academy graduation ceremony? In that case, I don’t want to go. Going with Nezar would draw a lot of attention, and I’m sure I would be in trouble if I come along as your fianceé. Also, I don’t like crowded places. I will never get caught up in such places.’

‘Don’t feel too burdened, you just have to stand still, that’s more than enough to show your respect.’

‘How could I not feel burdened? I hate it in every way.’

After our light tea time, when I refused to accompany him, Nezar came up with the best solution after a while of pondering.

‘Then you can follow me as someone other than my fiancée. Instead, you shall serve as my aide in Ron’s place.’

It was such an absurd statement that I still found it ridiculous until now.

‘Quit joking around. Nezar, what makes you think I can imitate such a smart professional?’

‘Kate, you underestimate yourself too much. It’s possible enough, so don’t be anxious and just think of this as us going out together. Have I ever spoken nonsense to you? Or are you just going to head back after seeing each other briefly in a while?’

Of course I didn’t want that. As I became concerned for a moment, Nezar held out a neatly designed outdoor outfit that I didn’t know where he got from.

‘I’ll be by your side all day.’

Along with what Nezar said, there was determination and confidence on his face, which I could not express in words.

‘What do you think? Will you come with me?’

In the end, I agreed to him, as always, a given. I felt like those foolish pot-bellied kings who are easily bewitched by a great beauty.

❇❇❇

After that, I got ready in a short while and got on the carriage. It was a short distance from the capital to the Imperial Academy, taking about an hour by the carriage. Surprisingly, I arrived at the academy in the blink of an eye. And so, I set foot there as Nezar’s aide.

“Sir Kial will accompany you, and Sir Inferno will guard and watch ahead.”

“Alright.”

Both were names I had never heard of. It was because the knights who had previously served Nezar gave up their knighthood to avoid participating in the war and returned home.

“And miss…”

I hurriedly spoke to Nezar’s escort knight, Tuld, who had an awkward smile on his face.

“Kaitlyn.” (probably a fake name she’s using while in disguise)

“Miss Kaitlyn, I shall accompany you.”

“Is that okay? Who would protect His Highness?”

“About His Highness…Of course, he needs protection, but he’s not someone who needs an escort.”

At Tuld’s words, I raised my eyebrows.

“Is it okay for you, a knight, to say that?”

“It’s because His Highness actually said so himself. If Kial wasn’t such a conservative man, there might be two people standing next to you by now. His Highness is stubborn, but Kial is even more hard-headed than him.”

“Is His Highness Nezar that stubborn?”

Nezar had a notable assertiveness befitting an authoritative royal family member, but that did not necessarily mean he had the bull stubbornness unique to the imperial family. Though there were times when he insisted on something until the end, there were also times when he pretended that he couldn’t win and gave in. Tuld, who let out a big laugh, stopped in the middle of the quiet fourth-floor hallway and replied.

“Rather than being stubborn… It is especially difficult for him to do something that is not acceptable to his standards or that he considers inefficient.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Haha. I’ve expressed it as sensitively as possible. It’s better to refrain from personal sentiments and opinions when you’re with a high-ranking person.”

He slowly pushed the door where we stopped. At the same time, the background surrounding me changed from a quiet hallway to a small room bustling with noise. It wasn’t a sound coming from inside the waiting room. It was the cheers of the graduation ceremony pouring through the wide open window.

“Your Highness Andrew.”

Standing in front of the fluttering red velvet curtains, the boy turned around. Blond hair blowing in the wind and a heavy red shade as if overshadowing the velvet curtains met my gaze. Dark red eyes. Even though they had the same hue and saturation as Nezar’s, they felt quite different.

At the same moment, I recalled the scent and air Nezar had at the age of nineteen. It felt much closer to that of wildflowers than his, but the two had so many similarities, at least as far as the looks were concerned. Based on that, I was sure. That the boy was clearly of the imperial bloodline.

“His Highness Nezar has just arrived. May I take you to His Highness?”

The boy, Andrew didn’t answer my polite question right away. Instead, he scanned my entire body up and down brazenly. It took me quite some desperate effort not to show that I was offended.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen your face. Who are you?”

“I am Kaitlyn Eisel.”

“What about Ron Minerva?”

“For personal reasons, he is…”

“My older brother’s never had a female aide by his side. But you want me to believe that you, whom I’ve never seen before, are replacing Ron Minerva?”

What the hell is with this guy? It was the first time I had to accept malice for no reason. He probably didn’t recognise me.

Until five years ago, Nezar had very little interaction with her half-siblings. His stepmother, the current Empress, had one prince and one princess under her care, but out of the four occasions I had ever visited Nezar’s imperial castle, I recalled no incidence of meeting other members of the imperial family.

Indeed, that cheeky prince couldn’t have recognised me. No, even if he recognised me in the first place, wouldn’t it be a matter of personality if he’s this rude?

“His Highness Andrew, miss Kaitlyn is a temporary aide to His Highness Nezar. She is a close relative of sir Ron and is recognised by His Highness Nezar personally, so you don’t have to be wary.”

When I couldn’t respond right away out of bafflement, Tuld, who stood behind me, intervened. He was wary of me? Were all the members of the imperial family cynical and wary like this?

At his words, Andrew shifted his eyes and stared at Tuld without changing his expression. It’s hard to read what he was thinking. No, on the contrary, it was actually too easy to read? His feelings towards me were clear hostility.

I had heard that prince Andrew was nineteen this year. However, he was quite on edge and sensitive, unbefitting of his age.

“…let’s go.”