Ch.299Chapter 299 – Some Days Just Don’t Work Out

The moment Karen met Pathos, she had to doubt her own ears.

“It wasn’t that difficult, Karen.”

It felt incredibly strange to see him addressing her by name and speaking in such a familiar tone.

‘W-what! Why is he addressing me so casually?’

“Uh, w-why are you suddenly acting like this?”

Karen felt awkward about Pathos suddenly showing such familiarity toward her.

They had clearly maintained a proper distance by using honorifics with each other in public.

How was she supposed to react when he suddenly approached her like this?

If Karen had extensive dating experience or had picked up knowledge from various sources, it might have been different, but sadly, Karen was a complete novice at romance.

Throughout her repeated regressions, her priority had never been romantic games but saving this world and the people she loved.

In short, she was completely clueless when it came to romance.

‘When we’re alone, suddenly showing such a familiar attitude must mean he’s interested in me, right?’

Unless the love goggles were removed from Karen’s eyes, she was in no state to think rationally.

If she hadn’t been interested in Pathos, she would have immediately noticed that he was behaving in a way she disliked.

“Do people who like each other really need to speak so formally?”

“B-but. I am the Imperial Princess. I have a certain image to maintain as the princess…”

Karen was at a loss facing Pathos’s complete change in attitude.

If she had truly disliked his behavior, she would have slapped him for disrespecting her royal status.

However, she was unconsciously pleased that Pathos was treating her with such familiarity.

While pretending to dislike it, she secretly hoped he would become even more familiar with her.

“Is there anyone else here besides the two of us?”

“C-certainly, there’s only you and I here, but…”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we addressed each other comfortably when we’re alone?”

Seeing Karen flustered, Pathos moved closer to her, using even more familiar expressions.

“We’re still getting to know each other, isn’t it too soon to address each other so casually? I cannot allow this.”

Karen frowned slightly and stepped back as Pathos approached her.

This was due to advice that Maria, who was concerned about Karen, had whispered to her.

‘Your Highness. Do you know what kind of woman men find attractive?’

‘A woman popular with men? Do men have any criteria for looking at women besides their faces?’

‘Yes. Men dislike women who accept everything too easily because they seem too accessible. So when you meet Marquis Severio, don’t accept everything he says. Sometimes it’s good to show a bit of dislike.’

‘Hmm, since you’re the one saying this, Maria, it must be credible. I’ll keep it in mind.’

What Maria had explained to Karen was the push-and-pull strategy. She advised that it wasn’t good to only pull, but sometimes pushing away was also necessary.

“Hmm, in that case, I’ll postpone speaking casually until later. Your Highness.”

Pathos, not realizing Karen was playing hard to get, saw her serious expression and happily corrected his speech, secretly pleased.

After an awkward moment passed, there was a knock at the door.

“I’ve prepared some appetizers for you to enjoy while the main course is being prepared. I hope you have a pleasant time.”

Hearing that appetizers had arrived, I opened the door.

The waiter entered and placed before Karen and me a salad with dressing on vegetables, crab soup, and small bread with butter.

After setting up the food, he bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

“…W-well, start eating.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I hope you enjoy your meal.”

Soon, the two began their meal.

‘Ugh, what’s wrong with me? My hands aren’t working properly today.’

But perhaps due to her earlier nervousness, Karen accidentally applied too much pressure while spreading butter on bread, causing some to fly off the knife and land on her face.

“Oh my!”

Pathos took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the butter from Karen’s face.

‘Royalty dislikes unauthorized physical contact. Especially Karen, who supposedly doesn’t tolerate contact from anyone, regardless of gender, without her permission.’

Following the Black Feather’s information, he carefully wiped the butter from Karen’s face with his handkerchief before she could say anything.

“What do you think you’re doing? Who gave you permission to touch my royal person?”

Karen was startled by Pathos suddenly touching her face.

But at the same time, she felt sorry for him. He had clearly wiped her face out of consideration for her.

Since it was obvious he had feelings for her, it wasn’t really a problem if he wiped something off the face of someone he liked.

Besides, this place was private, with only her and Pathos present.

In public settings, she would maintain an imperious attitude to preserve her dignity as the Imperial Princess, but this was a private setting.

So she thought it might be appropriate to show the human side of Karen rather than the imposing princess.

‘No. Even though I like him, Maria said I shouldn’t appear too easy if I want to maintain the upper hand.’

But she also felt that being too strict wasn’t right either.

“I-I apologize. This is the first time a man has touched me without permission, so I was surprised.”

“Is that so? Then I am the first person to touch Your Highness’s royal person without permission.”

“…”

Karen felt she should say something in response to Pathos’s reply, but she didn’t know what to say.

She tried to pretend she wasn’t flustered, but Pathos’s attitude was too serious for that.

At this point, she decided to play a little prank.

“Hehe, how bold. To play such a mischievous joke in front of the Imperial Princess.”

“If I’ve offended you, I apologize…”

“Oh my, some dressing has fallen on my body.”

Her prank was to drop some salad dressing on herself.

But as if heaven itself was playing a joke, the dressing from the salad on her fork fell in an artful place.

“…”

“…”

Karen, who already had a generous bosom, had worn a revealing dress to seduce Pathos.

It was a dress that daringly showed her chest and thighs, considered quite bold by this world’s standards.

And as luck would have it, a couple of drops of dressing had fallen on her upper right chest.

It was obvious that if not wiped quickly, the dressing would drip down and stain her dress.

‘Why why why why WHY did it have to fall THERE!’

‘Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm. She’s the Imperial Princess. If I offend her, I’m in big trouble.’

Pathos carefully reached out to wipe the dressing from Karen’s upper chest.

“I-I’ll wipe it myself! So just sit still…!”

“Y-Your Highness!”

But at that very moment, as she tried to stand up to stop him, Karen’s legs got tangled and she began to fall toward the table.

Pathos quickly embraced her to prevent her from falling.

In other words, if anyone were to see them now, it would look like they were embracing each other passionately in the middle of their meal.

“I hope you enjoyed your appetizers… Oh my, I see you two are having a pleasant time.”

“N-no, that’s not it!”

“Whatever you’re thinking, that’s not what’s happening.”

“Here is your main course. I hope you have a wonderful time.”

Despite Karen and Pathos’s protests, the waiter placed the main meat dish on the table with a knowing expression, then quietly left the room and closed the door.

“…”

“…”

Since everyone working at this establishment was employed by the imperial household, this incident would likely spread throughout the imperial palace before long.

If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before the Emperor and Empress learned of it.

The First Imperial Princess embracing the Empire’s hero during a private dinner?

If this information leaked out, it would become a tremendous scandal that would shake the entire empire.

Pathos released his arms from around Karen to help her regain her posture, and Karen sat back in her seat after steadying herself.

“Your Highness. That person who just left, he won’t say anything strange, will he?”

“If what I’m thinking is correct, His Majesty the Emperor will receive a report about what happened here by the end of today.”

Pathos felt dizzy at Karen’s words.

“However, I wouldn’t mind having a serious relationship with you.”

Seeing Karen blush and respond this way instead of getting angry in this situation, Pathos realized something.

No matter how dense he might be about relationships between men and women, Karen’s behavior clearly showed that she had feelings for him.

With this realization, Pathos looked at Karen and spoke.

“Your Highness. What exactly is it about me that appeals to you?”

Of course, his question still showed his lack of tact.