Lucretius had shown me a few of the secret paths already in the past. With them, he managed to sneak in during the recent rebellion, and he also used the path to assassinate his father, the former emperor.

I became excited at the prospect of an adventure.

“So can we really leave the castle through the secret paths?’

He nodded. “Yes.”

As Lucretius put on a worn-looking cloak, Samantha looked worried.

“Y, your highness!”

When I agreed to his idea, Lucretius called for Samantha so she could help me get ready. The way he talked to her, it sounded like he had done this many times before.

Samantha tried to dissuade Lucretius and me desperately, but it was no use. Lucretius replied, “There is no threat to Bina and I anymore. Besides, I can take care of us.”

“But your highness’ injury hasn’t healed yet!”

I knew he wouldn’t listen to her. I wasn’t either.

I grabbed the clothes Samantha was holding and put them on. Lucretius and I laughed together as we became excited about our escapade.

Samantha begged again, “If you must go out… Then please take a guard with you for protection.”

Lucretius shook his head. “No, that’s not necessary. We’ll be fine.”

Suddenly, the door opened, and a guard walked in. I knew this man. He was one of the royal guards and was the chief of Lucretius’ personal protection team.

I also saw him fight during the recent rebellion. Lucretius told me later that he was the one who saved him after he was injured by the rebels.

The knight wasn’t wearing his normal silver armor. Instead, he was wearing normal clothes a commoner would wear like Lucretius and me.

Lucretius shouted, “Samantha! Did you call Sir Clark here?”

Samantha nodded coolly. “Yes. Your highness is still wounded, and you are taking your lady with you. I couldn’t stand by and watch. You can’t leave unless you let Sir Clark accompany you.”

Samantha seemed determined. I had seen that face before. She looked just like how my mom looked when I asked to go on an overnight trip with my friends.

In the end, Samantha won.

It wasn’t our plan, but it didn’t matter. This was our first date outside of the castle.

I felt my heart beating fast.

***

“You will stay far away from us.”

As we passed the secret path, Lucretius ordered his knight.

“Yes, your highness.”

As soon as we left the castle, Sir Clark disappeared. I knew he must be somewhere near enough just in case, but no matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find him.

Lucretius chuckled and asked, “Does his presence bother you?”

I nodded and kept looking.

Where was he?

“I don’t see him anywhere.”

He smiled and replied, “Don’t worry. He is following us from nearby, but not so near that he can hear our conversations.”

“Really?”

When I asked excitedly, he nodded. “So it is basically just the two of us, and… you won’t be able to find him, or else he needs to find another job.”

However, I couldn’t help but keep looking. I turned towards an alleyway and studied the area.

“Still…”

Suddenly, Lucretius held my shoulder gently and whispered to my ear.

“By the way, you need to stop making be jealous.”

“J, jealous?”

“You keep looking for another man… How could I not get jealous?”

My face became hot.

Why was he always trying to embarrass me?

He added in a low voice.

“A man’s jealousy can be… very aggressive and ugly. If you want to see what happens, go for it.”

“I, it’s fine! I don’t want to see it!”

He smiled in satisfaction. I found him so annoying that I considered complimenting Sir Clark, but I decided against it. It was a bad idea.

Who knew what he would do?

What if Lucretius gave the poor man a hard time?

Instead, I took his arm and started to walk with him.

“Now, let’s go!”

This was our first date. A real date. I wanted to have fun.

We headed towards the city center.

***

Except for the year I spent in Aeal, the rest of my time was spent in Cransia’s capital Rombrook. However, despite it, I had never seen how regular people of this land lived.

Today, I did. I gaped when I saw the city.

Rombrook was a huge town. Even compared to modern day Korea, it was big.

There were so many people and tall buildings. Not as tall as the contemporary buildings in Korea, but still quite large. The city was filled with people even though it was late in the evening. With all the lights, it didn’t even feel like it was night.

I exclaimed in pleasure, “Wow!”

Lucretius said to me proudly, “What do you think? It’s great, right?” He then whispered to me, “This is the country I rule.”

He sounded so smug I couldn’t help replying haughtily, “This is nothing. My homeland’s capital is ten times bigger and fancier than this place.”

I knew I was being petty, but I didn’t like losing. Besides, it was true. Seoul was a big city. I wondered how Lucretius would react if he saw it.

… I guess it didn’t matter since it would never happen.

He shook his head. “No way. You’re exaggerating.”

“No, I’m not! I’m telling the truth.”

He placed his finger on my lips and shook his head. “I know how you like to exaggerate.”

“You…!”

When I was about to yell, Lucretius’ expression changed suddenly, and he pulled me close.

“Huh?!”

When I turned around, I saw a drunk coming nearby. He fell and broke a glass bottle, making sharp pieces fly everywhere.

Lucretius pulled me close to protect me.

He asked gently, “Are you okay?”

My cheeks felt warm. I turned away from him and nodded. “Y, yes.”

He guided me to safety, and it made me feel like a princess being protected by a knight.

I, I liked it. A lot.

I used to be big on being an independent woman.

Who needs a man?

Who needs romance?

That used to be me. In the past, I also made sure not to lead anyone on falsely. Lucretius, especially, used to not be on my radar as a candidate for romance.

However… Now that I admitted my feelings for him, I began to notice how well he treated me. They were little things, but they made me feel… special. I was happy.

Our past didn’t matter. I didn’t care what he did or what he was like before.

I wasn’t so naïve that I believed we would feel this strongly about each other forever. There was a saying that love usually expires in three years. Afterward, many couples remain with each other out of loyalty and affection.

Lucretius and I had known each other only for half a year. We officially started our romantic relationship very recently.

However, I knew to worry about how we may feel in a few years or decades was pointless. I needed to learn to enjoy the moment.

Therefore, I decided to revel in this feeling. I decided to be honest about my love for him and accept him with an open heart.

We held each other’s hands and roam the city. Many walked past us, but no one paid any attention to us. At least for this night, we were one of them.

While we walked, I noticed a café with a beautiful second-floor terrace. I insisted on stopping by because, after an hour of walking, my legs were getting tired.

I wasn’t sure, but I assumed we were on the busiest part of the town. The seat on the second-floor terrace would have been very expensive. When I looked up, it was already occupied.

However, somehow, Lucretius was able to get us the exact spot I wanted. I didn’t know how he did it. He just talked with the owner of the café for a few minutes before taking me upstairs arrogantly.

“Now, let me escort you, my lady.”

I took his hand and climbed the stairs expectantly. When we arrived, the table was cleaned up for us. I was sure there were customers already occupying this spot, so how did Lucretius accomplish this?

In fact, the entire second floor was empty and this all happened in ten minutes.

How was this possible?

If we were still in the castle, it would have made sense, but we were in the city pretending to be nobodies.

Well, perhaps he paid a lot of money. I decided not to ask about it since I didn’t want to ruin the mood.

I wanted to just enjoy the night.

Of course, I ended up finding out about it soon enough.