Chapter 418

“Good.”

Upon hearing this, Leon nodded to indicate he understood, then stood up and got off the carriage.

At the request of the lady-in-waiting, he donned a cloak and pulled up his hood, covering most of his face before walking into a nearby restaurant called “Golden Sagebrush” and finding the private room that Princess Veronica had booked in advance.

Seriously… even eating has to be so secretive, like an underground party meeting…

After grumbling about the princess’s mysterious dinner style for a bit, Leon, who was starving, took off his cloak, sat down in the obviously well-prepared private room, and patiently waited for his dining partner to arrive.

But ten minutes, fifteen minutes, twenty minutes… more than forty minutes passed, and the princess, who claimed she would definitely arrive within fifteen minutes, still hadn’t shown up.

And Leon, who had slept all day after going home in the morning and last ate at noon yesterday, was really hungry enough to have his eyes turn green.

Might as well order something to eat first…

Unable to wait any longer, Leon asked the waiter for a menu, planning to order something to fill his stomach, but after looking at the prices marked on the menu, he quickly abandoned the idea of ordering and instead asked for two glasses of water.

There’s no helping it. Although cleaners are considered a “high-paying job,” he could afford it, but so far, he’d only received two months’ salary. Rent, tuition, furniture purchases, Anna’s medicine, and buying cigarettes for that unlucky black goat…

When you add it all up, there wasn’t much left over. Plus, with Anna, who managed the finances, sent out of the capital by him, if he ordered food and the princess didn’t show up, the next week before Anna returned would be pretty tough.

…

Seriously… I just repelled an evil god trying to invade the present world yesterday, and now I’m reluctant to even enjoy a decent meal. I’ll have to ask the director for extra field duty allowance when I get back.

After pinching his wallet, which was embarrassingly empty, Leon couldn’t help but shake his head and was about to stand up to leave the private room and find a cheaper place to eat when suddenly there came a hurried set of footsteps outside the room.

“Leon?”

The princess burst into the private room, saw that Leon hadn’t left yet, and immediately let out a long sigh of relief, then said apologetically with a weary expression: “Something came up and delayed me. Sorry, did you wait long?”

“It’s fine, I guess it’ll take a few hours before I starve…”

With a sarcastic tone, Leon looked at the princess whose face was full of fatigue, and her elbow was slightly bleeding. He hesitated for a moment, then asked curiously:

“Didn’t you go meet with the prime minister? How come you’re in such a state?”

“Because I got played…”

Upon hearing Leon’s question, the princess couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh and said helplessly:

“Recently, the Minister of Defense and I have been pushing for officer selection reforms in the military department, aiming to gradually replace those officers who got their positions through family connections among the junior ranks.

I originally planned to propose this selection reform during the upcoming parliament session in a few days, but someone leaked it ahead of time. Not only that, they also leaked my schedule for today.

Then, those officers worried about being replaced were incited by someone and gathered together outside the Prime Minister’s residence to block me. The patrol guards probably received some notice too, because no one stopped them along the way.

They blocked the residence, not only throwing stones inside but almost breaking through the guard lines and rushing in. I barely managed to escape; my arm got injured during that.”

Ah… This explains why having dinner is like doing something sneaky. Looks like life isn’t easy for the princess either…

Looking at the princess who was sweating from running and whose elbow was still bleeding, Leon’s resentment lessened slightly. He then took out the [Infected Blood Band] from the Mirror World and said sympathetically:

“Judging by your wound, it will probably leave a scar. Do you want me to treat it for you?”

“Yes! Of course yes!”

After seeing Leon’s expression, Princess Veronica smiled brightly, sat beside Leon, rolled up her sleeve to reveal her white arm, and leaned her injured elbow towards him, cooing: “Leon, thank goodness you’re here~”

“…”

Watching the princess look at him with trust, her eyes twinkling like stars, Leon felt a slight tingling sensation on top of his head and muttered irritably: “Stop pretending! It takes at least twenty minutes from the Prime Minister’s residence to here, you should’ve had time to deal with your wound and bandage it on the carriage ride over.”

“But I was in such a hurry to see you~”

Not embarrassed at all after her attempt at sympathy was seen through, the princess held up her white arm while smiling and replied:

“Both of us are usually very busy, and it’s rare to have some free time. Of course, we should make time when we can, taking advantage of our spare moments to spend as much time together as possible. Otherwise, what happens if our marital feelings grow distant?”

“…”

Wait… We aren’t even married, where does this ‘marital feeling’ come from? Borrowed from the Bank of Heaven and Earth? Upon hearing this, Leon couldn’t help but roll his eyes, then grabbed the white arm waving in front of him, intending to wrap the [Infected Blood Band] around it.

However, upon touching the princess’s smooth and soft arm, which felt cool like it contained a pool of water, he was momentarily stunned and unconsciously gave it a light squeeze with his right hand.

“Hmm…”

Apparently, Leon’s movement tugged at her wound, causing Princess Veronica to softly hum and her beautiful eyebrows to furrow slightly.

Realizing what he had done, Leon’s face turned slightly red. He began wrapping the bandage somewhat clumsily, even accidentally getting one of his fingertips caught in the process.

“Done.”

Hastily activating the effect of the [Infected Blood Band], healing the princess’s arm wound, Leon avoided eye contact and removed the bandage. However, instead of pulling away, the white arm suddenly lifted and gently brushed against his lips.

“?!”

Feeling the warm and soft touch on his lips, Leon froze for a moment, then quickly pushed the arm away and glared back.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything~”

Glancing at Leon’s slightly flushed ears, Princess Veronica blinked and covered her mouth with her hand, smiling brightly: “You were so absorbed earlier, I thought you liked it~”

“I’m not interested!”

“You still pinched it.”

“…”

“Do you want to pinch again? You can continue if you want~ I don’t mind at all~”

“…”

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as…”

“Hurry up and order! I’m starving!”

“Okay okay, I’ll do whatever you say~”

Pushing the menu holder towards him, Leon wanted nothing more than to split the ground and hide forever as he stared at the princess’s teasingly smiling face.

Damn it! Seriously… Why can’t I control myself?! Laughing nervously, noticing how Leon, who initially had a resentful look on his face, was now instinctively avoiding eye contact, Princess Veronica grinned smugly, lowered her sleeve to cover her arm, and picked up the menu standing by the table with perfect decorum.

After teasing him, it’s best to give him a break, can’t keep going continuously. After all, although little men may blush easily, they have quite the temper. If teased too much, like last time, he might bite back~