Alex was still staring at me intently. I let out an exasperated breath. “He used to be extremely intelligent. He’s probably clever now too. Don’t judge him based on his appearance or what you hear from others.”

“Is that so?” said Alex.

I leaned back on the chair and tried to listen to sounds from Aaron’s room. He was probably sleeping. 

I turned to Alex and said in a low whisper so that no one could hear us. “That thing about the gift of foresight. Is it only possessed by kings in the royal family?”

“Foresight? Of course. They ascend the throne because of that gift.”

Was it sensible for someone to have the gift and still not take the throne? The princess claims she has the foresight. The late king assigned the current king to the throne because of that power…

“…my mother thought I’d gone crazy. It was understandable because most gifts of foresight have been accompanied by madness in the royal family.”

A person deemed crazy couldn’t ascend the throne. The Royals had thought that the Grand Duke was crazy when he was younger. The King must have kept his right to choose a successor to the throne. But the Princess…

“Ah, it’s so complicated!” I exclaimed. Alex glared at me when I let out a curse word. 

“What?”

“It’s a secret. I can’t tell you.”

“What is it?” Alex kicked me on my leg lightly. I glared at him. 

“It’s extremely rude to do that to a lady.”

“What kind of lady are you?”

“Are you trying to pick a fight?”

“Oooh, I’m so scared. Look at me shaking in my shoes.”

I glared at him and my lips started trembling. I buried my face in my hands. When a quiet sob rang in the room, Alex jumped up from his chair and knelt in front of me.

“Alice! I am so sorry. I was only joking…”

Of course, you were. But I wasn’t joking, Viscount of Wishburn.

When I punched him on the Adam’s apple, Alex’s eyes widened and he fell back. I towered over him and grinned. “It’s better not to pick fights carelessly, Viscount of Wishburn. There are people in this world who won’t find your jokes funny. And among them there might be some dangerous people that you shouldn’t mess with.” 

I suddenly recalled the criminal. Was he murdering prostitutes for revenge? Or was he insulted somehow by them so he killed to prove his superiority? It was hard to decide. 

Of course, that is detective Jang Seong-hoon’s territory. 

But here, he was not detective Jang Seong-hoon anymore. He was the Grand Duke of Glouster. Do I really want to talk to him about this murder?

Just like in the past, murder cases can become a way to maintain some distance between us. It may be an opportunity to observe each other. I decided that this was a good idea. Satisfied, I looked down at the shocked Alex and tapped him on his cheek.  

“I’m not joking. There are so many crazy people out there. Someone you think you can joke with can turn out to be very different.”  Alex still looked shocked. I smiled.

“If someone hurts you, you know I have to kill them. Don’t make me do something so tiresome.”

“Huh?” Alex’s eyes widened even more. I stood up and stepped back. 

“I should go and choose what to wear for dinner. They say you can’t outshine the Princess, but this is not the royal palace. The Princess doesn’t seem to have any good taste in clothes so I can show off for today, at least.”

I didn’t have the intention to compete with the princess but seeing how Aaron acted today, some actions needed to be taken. Aaron as the king’s son-in-law didn’t sound half bad. He would be royalty! But I found it suspicious that Aaron was so quickly and suddenly smitten with the Princess. 

I didn’t know how the seating arrangements were. But my looks will be needed as a weapon. I headed towards the door. Amy and Sam glanced at Alex anxiously. Amy followed me to my room.

“Excuse me, My Lady,” said Amy, nervously. “Could you tell me how you did that? Can you teach me whatever you did to the young Master?”

I raised my eyebrows as we reached my room. “Why?”

“It could be of some help to me. Um… for the men who try to make advances on me when I don’t want.”

I stared at Amy for a split second. “Do a lot of men do that?” I asked.

“Ah, no. Of course, not!” Amy denied vehemently. She then lowered her head and groaned. She then let out a weary sigh. “Sometimes. At the castle, and even when I return home during holidays. It is incredible that I work as a lady’s maid in the Wishburn castle. Everyone knows that the marquess of Wishburn always pays his employees well.”

“Even regular fiefs don’t starve at Wishburn,” I said and nodded.