A blush came over the princess' face when she heard this and she lowered her head in shame.
But then a soft voice suddenly rang out, "How did you notice?"
The king just said with the same smile, "You're my daughter, did you really think that I wouldn't notice?"
The princess lowered her head even more when she heard this, but in the end, she still said, "I don't know…"
The king shook his head with a sigh before saying, "Then I guess I can't help you."
The princess quickly looked up with sparkling eyes when she heard this before saying, "Royal father, do you really mean it?"
The king gave a sigh when he saw this.
This was his only daughter, the gem of his eye.
If possible, he didn't want her to leave his side at all…but he knew that it would come eventually.
So if it would come, he would do all he could to prepare for it. He would never hand his precious daughter to anyone that he wouldn't approve of.
And the one that his daughter had fallen for…could barely be said to pass his standards.
But in the end, he still gave a nod in response.
Seeing this, the princess started going into detail about what she thought of that person.
"He seemed mysterious at first, but when I learned more and more about him, I realized that he was…"
The king just revealed a bitter smile as he sat down to listen to his daughter brag about another man.
This was like being stabbed in his heart again and again by countless blades.
There was truly nothing more painful than listening to one's daughter praise another man like this.
…
After leaving the palace, we didn't leave right away.
Instead, we went to the same old bookstore from before and took the same secret entrance to head back into the palace.
Waiting there in that office for us was the same bunny doll.
Seeing us come in, he waved at us to sit down on the couch in the reception area before asking, "What happened?"
Though he asked this like it was a general question, it was clear that this question was directed at me.
As the leader of the Shadow Garden, the biggest information organization in this kingdom, it should have been easy for him to get a report on what had happened at the royal audience. In fact, he should have even been invited and would have gone if not for his personal problems.
Of course, what he was talking about was…the viscount issue and the coat of arms.
So both Scar and Shaka looked at me as well as they waited to hear an explanation.
All I gave them was a shrug and a simple 'I don't know'.
That was because it was true, I really didn't know what was happening right now.
I had only thought that I would be called in to give my report, but then before I could react, I had been given this title and this coat of arms.
I was the one that wanted to question someone, but the other side was the king…so what could I do?
It wasn't as if I could grab the king and question him, right?
There was a silence that followed after I gave this explanation, but then Bunny Boss said with a sigh, "Alright, let's forget about this then. At the very least, you need to stay in the capital for a few days now."
"Huh?" I said in a confused voice before asking, "Why do I need to stay in the capital for a few days?"
Bunny Boss just calmly explained, "Now that you're the center of attention, do you really think that you can go wherever you want? If you leave the capital now, it's not certain that you won't be kidnapped."
I couldn't help jolting when I heard this.
That was right, those ministers and generals clearly wanted something from him and they had been very aggressive about it. It would make sense that they would do something if he left the capital without any guards.
So what Bunny Boss was saying was to stay in the capital for now so that they could protect him during this time. Then once the heat around him died down, he would be able to return while everyone's attention was on someone else.
In the busy capital of this kingdom, what was in the spotlight would change in just a few days, which was why Boss Bunny told him to stay for a few days.
I looked at the bunny doll at the desk with a touched look as I said, "Boss…"
The bunny doll revealed a smile and said, "I have to take care of my subordinates at the very least, right?"
But I could tell from the way that he looked at me, it was clear that he wanted something else as well.
Shadow Garden wasn't made up of people who had no desires.
They would also want benefits and I had something that made them want to protect me.
I didn't know what it was, but I knew that it was better to trust the ones that I already knew than people that I didn't. Since I had done quite a bit for Shadow Garden, it wasn't as if they would toss me away right away.
So it was better to trust them for now.
After settling this, Boss Bunny then said, "Also, you should take this time to talk to some of the other nobles while you're here."
I once again revealed a confused look since I had been planning on living the hikki life by staying in my inn during my time here.
Boss Bunny saw the look on my face, so he said, "It's better to build a few relationships where you can. Then at least you'll have a few allies, won't you?"
After thinking about it, I realized that he was right.
My plan was valid, but his idea was better. It was all about walking the fine line and getting to know just enough people that didn't have ill intentions towards me that would be able to help me in the future.
So with this, I said with a sigh, "I'll try."