The fury I’d been suppressing—because of the Crown Prince’s face—finally erupted all at once.

“You must’ve had a great time, huh? Flashing around that meal voucher the Crown Prince gave you like it was nothing, acting like you were treating me—when really, it was coming straight out of your own wallet. So no pressure, just eat up and enjoy, right?”

I curled my eyes and gave a bright smile.

“In this bleak and barren working life, you got to make your boss look like a complete fool without even trying. Must’ve been a blast.”

“...”

“The Scroll Department’s benefits are insane, huh? I’m so jealous.”

Kibon just stood there, looking blank and stunned for a moment, then finally began to speak slowly.

“In the bleak and barren Imperial Palace, I was really having the time of my life. I even came down with a serious illness—didn’t want to be apart from my boss.”

Seeing him throw me that sly, cheeky eye smile snapped me out of it.

The person standing in front of me was Kiaros, not Kibon in disguise.

“But you weren’t a fool. You weren’t wrong.”

But that face was so familiar, it was honestly confusing. As I opened my mouth, Kiaros intertwined our fingers and whispered,

“I really did lose my mind over Mia Mia Namia. I liked you so much I wanted to do everything for you. I was excited just to eat meals with you. And not one of the things you’ve said, even when you were ‘selling me out,’ was wrong.”

My face flushed hot. He sounded like he was teasing, but there was an unexpected boldness in his voice.

“Try accepting it. I’ll work on it.”

“Wait, accepting what...?”

“We like each other. Otherwise, this space wouldn’t be holding together like this.”

“What are you talking abou—”

“If a Dragonblood gets excited around someone who doesn’t share their feelings, the space collapses.”

“...Excited?”

“When I’m near you, I get so worked up I can’t bear it.”

I blinked slowly.

I remembered how Kibon’s house kept collapsing.

So when we were hiding together and the warehouse came crashing down—

“But this space is fine right now.”

It couldn’t be helped. I liked Kibon.

Even if Kibon wasn’t some humanoid experiment but Kiaros himself... my feelings weren’t going to change. Honestly, earlier I had seriously considered that even a scaly horse wouldn’t be a deal-breaker.

“What the hell... Do Dragonbloods get to read minds or something? That’s so unfair...”

“That’s why I told you how I feel too. Not that I could hide it anyway.”

And then I started remembering things.

[I was watching you look after Jaden.]

Kiaros had expressed his feelings to me plenty.

[What kind of lunatic gives their child the name of a love rival?]

I’d been doing my best to ignore it...

But to say I’d had no clue about his feelings—that would’ve been a lie.

His confessions and my memories of Kibon started to blur together.

“I really like you, Namia.”

Kiaros whispered low, like he was trying to soothe me, intertwining our fingers even tighter.

“I’m sorry I deceived you. But no matter what form I was in, both were the real me, both were sincere.”

His black irises slowly began to shift into red.

I didn’t even think to pull my hand away. I just stared at him, completely mesmerized.

“Look closely, Namia.”

Kiaros whispered. His voice was so gentle and smooth, it was like it was pulling me in.

“It’s the same person.”

Slowly, Kibon turned into Kiaros again.

He was definitely using the “confuse her into submission” strategy. Switching between Kibon and Kiaros like that—it really did make it hard to think straight.

“When you were in danger, the person you called out to in the end—it was me.”

Hmm...

He seemed to be misunderstanding something. The one I called out to was the dog.

But I didn’t really feel the need to correct him right now. There were more urgent things to talk about than dogs.

“Th-that said, Your Highness... If it were Kibon, maybe. But the Crown Prince accepting me? That’s not possible.”

I stammered with confused eyes.

“Back when we were talking about becoming each other’s whole world or whatever—that only applied to Kibon, someone without honor or title or status. The idea of the Crown Prince keeping me by his side is... absurd. As I’ve said before, I don’t know when I might be controlled again against my will...”

“Why is it okay for Kibon, but not for Kiaros?”

Now fully in Kiaros form, he tilted his head and leaned closer.

“I don’t have to be the Crown Prince. His Majesty’s health is improving, and Jaden might be a little hopeless now, but he’s still young—he might shape up.”

“...What?”

“If you’re rejecting me because of something as stupid as the Crown Princess position, you don’t need to worry. At all.”

I had been silent until then, but at those words, I finally opened my mouth.

“Stupid...?”

“Mm?”

As my foggy expression vanished and turned stern, Kiaros blinked, confused.

I explained with complete seriousness.

“According to Article 1, Section 8 of the Imperial Royal Law, the Crown Princess has access to all security-restricted documents across departments, and may preside over numerous committees. These committees cover budget, education, legislation, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ and personnel, granting powers that far exceed those of other royals.”

“...?”

“And according to Article 4, Section 10 of the same law, the Empress may delegate all her powers to the Crown Princess through mutual agreement. Since the Empress has consistently delegated all her powers to the Crown Prince due to the absence of a Crown Princess, that means all of it will naturally transfer to me if I become Crown Princess.”

“...”

“That is not nothing.”

How could he say the Crown Princess position was no big deal?

That was completely unacceptable.

“Y-yeah... good point.”

Kiaros, now fully himself again, awkwardly nodded.

I widened my eyes and continued my explanation passionately.

“Exactly. Even as a Minister, I can’t view restricted documents. But the Crown Princess can. And according to the 388 Agreement between the Magic Tower and the Palace, the Crown Princess now holds equal authority to the Crown Prince when dealing with the Magic Tower. Since the Tower has always recognized only Dragonbloods as official representatives of the royal family, that’s an enormous privilege.”

“R-right...”

Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about Kiaros giving up the Crown Prince title because of me.

Because from a regular imperial citizen’s perspective, Kiaros was clearly the ideal ruler.

“What if I’m just a civil servant... and Kiaros throws away the Crown Prince title for some girl?”

That could never happen.

I had once sincerely sworn: if that ever came to pass, I’d chase him to the ends of the continent and drag him back to his desk.

Sure, the Empire would still run with the Emperor and Jaden—but why throw away such a perfectly good heir?

“Even Jaden used to say it. That things would’ve been better if Kiaros were still around.”

In the future I’d seen, Jaden didn’t seem too happy being Emperor.

He’d even muttered that he missed living like a carefree thug.

“Jaden was an excellent warrior, but he never had the knack for administration...”

But Kiaros was different.

He had been handling government work since childhood, as proxy for the Emperor. He was already a seasoned veteran.

While I was thinking all this in full civil servant mode...

“Namia.”

As if he’d sensed my internal conflict, Kiaros blinked slowly and hesitated before speaking.

“Have you ever found it strange?”

“...Sorry?”

“His Majesty loves the Empress deeply... That love goes way back...”

His eyes dimmed, and he looked at me quietly.

“Have you ever wondered... how I came to exist in this world?”