"…When I saw you at the banquet celebrating your return."
I cleverly changed the story of our first meeting to avoid creating an awkward atmosphere.
In fact, the first time I saw the Crown Prince was at the second prince's birthday party.
Because of this, the image of the Crown Prince from that day naturally came to mind.
A tall man striding confidently across the red carpet, his red cloak billowing in the wind.
"Your hair was shining in the chandelier light, like floating gold dust…"
Before he noticed the assassin trailing behind him, I thought he truly looked like a member of the royal family.
The real appearance of the Crown Prince, whom I had only seen in illustrations, was shockingly noble and imposing.
I bluntly expressed the impression I had at that moment.
"Moreover, your eyes looked like they were set with top-quality rubies, which made me think of a butti."
"But… ti?"
The Crown Prince repeated my words in a tone that suggested he was at a loss.
"Is that why you fell in love with me at first sight?"
"Money makes a person look good, doesn't it?"
Since I wasn't really in love, I answered evasively.
"I like jewels, of course, and gold too."
"Hmm."
The Crown Prince seemed to find my reason absurd, and he kept letting out sighs.
"You are truly…"
The Crown Prince looked at me with an unreadable expression, muttering to himself.
"You're a strange woman."
"…?"
"Really strange."
At the same time, a notification appeared above his head.
[Goodwill: 29%]
Why would his goodwill increase when he called me strange?
'You're the one who's strange.'
Feeling as if I had been unjustly insulted, I asked bluntly.
"Is that enough? I've told you everything, so don't ask any more questions."
"…Huh."
The Crown Prince stared at me for a long time before letting out a hollow laugh.
Then, he gestured with his chin and said,
"…We need to leave the forest as soon as it gets light, so go to sleep."
It seemed he had roughly accepted the reason I had fabricated.
"Good night, Your Highness."
As if waiting for those words, I turned my back and lay down.
I heard a dissatisfied click of the tongue from behind but ignored it.
'Finally, I'm free!'
Feeling relieved to be free from his obsession, I closed my eyes.
I was covering myself with the Crown Prince's cloak, so I realized he would have to sleep in just his pants, but I didn't care.
'It's not my problem.'
Despite having just regained consciousness from fainting, I felt extremely tired and exhausted.
Today had been incredibly spectacular. How many things had happened from early morning?
If I continued playing the game like this every day, I would die before I could even gain his goodwill.
'No! I can't die!'
I shook off the ominous thoughts and tried to fall asleep.
But no matter how much time passed, I couldn't fall asleep.
I closed my eyes tightly and tried to count the sheep scattered across the meadow.
'9, 10, 11, 12…'
As I counted the sheep, I gradually drifted into the world of unconsciousness.
'11… 10… 9…'
Suddenly, the sheep started to decrease.
Crunch, crunch.
A giant something was eating the sheep one by one, starting with the farthest one.
The sheep in the meadow quickly dwindled.
Finally, after eating all the sheep, the giant something, dripping with blood, approached me.
It raised its hand over me.
Whoosh.
Its front paw was getting closer and closer.
With its mouth wide open, ready to devour me, it roared—
It was the head of a monster bear.
- Roar!
"Huh."
I flailed and opened my eyes wide.
I looked around reflexively, but the monster bear was nowhere to be seen.
The sound of the burning bonfire.
I was still in the dark cave.
'Thank goodness.'
I took shallow breaths and slowly got up.
Then, I met the eyes of the man poking the bonfire with a stick.
"…Ah, not sleeping, Your Highness?"
The Crown Prince, who had been sitting in the same spot, looked at me with a surprised expression.
Then, he answered curtly.
"Wouldn't it be great if we both became beast food while sleeping together?"
It was quite a skill to twist my offer to stand guard into such a response.
I was momentarily stunned by his unexpected reliability.
Then, the Crown Prince suddenly spoke.
"Can't sleep?"
"Me? Ah, yes…"
I couldn't bring myself to say that I had woken up from a nightmare, so I evaded the question.
From his unchanged posture and the dark surroundings, it seemed he had only dozed off for a short while.
Even though I was fully awake, my head felt foggy.
'It's cold…'
I suddenly felt a chill.
The heavy rain and falling into the river had clearly had a bad effect on my frail body.
I pulled the cloak tightly around me and crouched in front of the bonfire to warm myself.
"…"
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow at me but didn't say much.
But even sitting by the fire, the cold didn't go away.
'Why is this happening?'
Not only did it not improve, but I could feel my body shivering uncontrollably.
I realized belatedly that it wasn't just the cold.
'…Should I take a sedative or something when I get back?'
I was usually slow to recognize my emotions, and the aftereffects were equally delayed.
Just like when I couldn't control my trembling hands after killing the monster the day before.
The trauma from the shocking situation I had experienced was now hitting me like a delayed reaction.
Actually, it was strange that nothing had surprised me that day.
The bear swinging its paw, the Crown Prince falling from an arrow, the assassins chasing us closely…
"…Are you cold?"
Thinking I was hidden by the cloak, the Crown Prince immediately noticed my condition.
"…Me? No."
I denied it. There was no point in telling him about my state.
However, the Crown Prince, looking doubtful, added a few more logs to the bonfire.
Whoosh. The fire grew stronger.
But the shivering didn't stop.
"Tsk. What a hassle."
At that moment, the Crown Prince got up abruptly.
His well-built upper body, which had been obscured by the flickering firelight, was now fully visible.
"Ah! What are you doing?!"
I let out a small scream and covered my eyes with both hands.
Of course, I had spread my index and middle fingers to peek at his actions.
The Crown Prince walked around the bonfire and approached me.
"Stop this ridiculous act and move over."
I was very flustered by his sudden behavior.
"Why, why are you doing this?"
"Not moving?"
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow and pressed me with a threatening tone.
But since I didn't move, he plopped down and pushed me roughly with his body.
"Hey!"
I jumped up in shock, intending to run to the opposite side where he had been sitting.
But that wasn't possible.
The Crown Prince had grabbed the end of the cloak I was wearing.
"Ah!"
With a yelp, I fell helplessly.
I closed my eyes tightly, expecting to hit the hard cave floor.
But I didn't fall on the cold cave floor…
'…Huh?'
I was in the Crown Prince's arms.
I could feel the warm heat radiating from his body.
Our bodies were tightly pressed together, separated only by the cloak.
'…What is happening?'
I stood there, frozen like a wooden stick, my mouth agape.
"Hey, what are you doing? Let me go!"
I finally regained my senses and struggled to get out of his embrace.
But the arms around my waist and back didn't budge.
"Rude. How dare you say 'hey' to the Crown Prince of the empire?"
The Crown Prince spoke without changing his expression.
"Stop struggling and stay still. I'm not doing this because I like you."
"Then, let me go! This is harassment…!"
"Whatever strange thoughts are in your head, get rid of them."
The Crown Prince's face hardened at my accusation of harassment.
"When isolated on the battlefield, maintaining body heat among comrades is most important. Many people die just because they underestimate the cold by a few hours."
"…"
I stopped moving at his words.
His reason for suddenly hugging me was valid.
Looking at his face again, his eyes seemed very uncomfortable, as if he really didn't want to do this.
'Well, we were trying to kill each other until recently. Even if it's a game, it can't be this ridiculous…'
If I were the normal heroine, it might be different.
There was no possibility of any strange atmosphere developing between the Crown Prince and me.
'But, why does he look more annoyed than me when I'm the one who suddenly got into this situation?'
While I understood his actions, his reluctant expression made me feel strangely annoyed.
I grumbled in a sulky voice.
"This isn't a battlefield."
"Then, you can either tough it out and die of hypothermia in an hour."
"…"
I tightly closed my mouth at his almost-cursed words.
Otherwise, I might say something that would completely erase the '29%' I had barely gained.
After our exchange, silence fell over the cave again.