Kane looked at the other Princess in front of him, who was deliberately tilting her head and squinting at him provocatively.
Although it was a bit rude to her, Kane couldn’t help but think she was a little cute.
She was like a white cat that believed she was the true master, looking up at a human with high-pitched pride and confidence.
Perhaps because Edwina always treated him like a male mother, Kane subconsciously viewed Vanessa, who was also Corellia’s adopted daughter, as a harmless existence.
He didn’t think for a moment that she would actually do anything to him.
Even though she spoke in a tone that suggested she had caught a major fraud red-handed, Kane only found it amusing.
“It is quite late, Princess. Is there something I can help you with?”
Amusement aside, he still had to maintain basic manners. No matter how she acted, she was still a princess. Therefore, Kane did not react to her provocation. He simply smiled politely and asked why she was looking for him.
However, it was this very reaction that further convinced Vanessa of her judgment.
Although Edwina hadn’t explicitly said anything, Vanessa had already seen through it. Edwina wanted to choose a magic sword as a gift for someone, and that someone was Kane — the “distinguished foreign guest” everyone in the palace had been talking about lately.
She hadn’t made a scene. After seeing Edwina off, she conducted her own investigation.
She questioned several people in the palace, including the head maid who managed the internal affairs, and subsequently confirmed her suspicions.
Kane’s current calm and unhurried attitude was the best evidence.
In her eyes, Kane was undoubtedly an exceptionally skilled veteran scammer. He intended to deceive Edwina, who was a princess just like herself, to swindle gold, silver, treasures, and perhaps even honors and status from the royal family.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain how he had gained the trust and favor of the quiet and introverted Edwina so quickly.
And after her investigation, now that she was personally testing him, she understood Kane’s methods.
Even she had almost mistaken the suspicious man before her for her most admired Mother.
But that was clearly impossible. They looked nothing alike. Therefore, Kane must have cast a magic spell on himself that created a psychological suggestion in specific targets.
Now, not only had Kane deceived Edwina, but he was also using a gentlemanly demeanor paired with suggestion magic to try and “conquer” her, making her believe he was a polite and humble good person.
Hmph, she wouldn’t fall for it. Men really weren’t to be trusted.
“Is there a problem? Since you aren’t a fraud but just an ordinary guest, what is wrong with me, a princess, visiting you?”
For a certain reason, Vanessa was born with a prejudice against men.
Now that she was certain Kane was an emotional fraud, her attitude was naturally very distant.
However, to call her attitude cold would be an overstatement.
Vanessa lacked the obvious coldness Corellia used to keep others thousands of miles away, nor did she have the businesslike, emotionless severity and sharpness of Altina.
If Corellia was an iceberg and Altina was a cold wind, then Vanessa was merely a light snow.
If anything, this sense of distance was quite comfortable for Kane, who liked to keep his distance from others.
“I see. If it is an ordinary visit, you are of course welcome. It is just that the timing is a bit inappropriate, isn’t it? Also, why do you call me a fraud? This is our first time meeting, right?”
Feeling quite pleasant, Kane didn’t let her in immediately. Instead, he kept his hand on the half-open door, leaning most of his body out with what he considered a harmless and polite smile.
“What is inappropriate about it? It isn’t time for bed yet. As for why I call you a fraud, don’t you think you should invite me in before we talk further? Or do you think it is polite to make a lady and a princess talk to you at your doorstep?”
Having labeled Kane an enemy, Vanessa was full of rebellion. She didn’t hide her prickly attitude, which she considered a sharp confrontation, but in Kane’s eyes, it was just adorable huffing.
“Then I am truly sorry. If you are willing, you may certainly come in.”
The more Kane looked at her, the more he felt she was as cute as a child in her rebellious phase. Although he used formal language, his attitude held no real sense of subservience. Instead, he felt like a kind father playing along with a child’s games.
Of course, one could also say he felt like a mother. There wasn’t much of a difference anyway.
“Hmph.”
Vanessa naturally noticed Kane’s unhurried attitude that seemed to “look down” on her. However, being serious by nature, she took her beloved mother, Corellia, as her role model and tried her best to maintain a cool and elegant demeanor at all times.
Thus, she only gave a dissatisfied huff before fearlessly walking past the space Kane had cleared for her.
After entering the room, she quickly scanned the surroundings. There was nothing unusual.
But this was within her expectations. She walked straight to the center of the room, then turned around to face Kane, who had closed the door and was walking toward her.
Without waiting for Kane to speak, she honestly explained why she called him a fraud.
“The reason I call you Mr. Fraud is simple. Even though you aren’t Mother, you inexplicably give off her feeling. You’ve cast a suggestion magic on yourself to influence others, haven’t you? That is the same reason Aunt is so close to you, right?”
Although she was a princess with a lot of courage and momentum, she was unexpectedly blunt.
She didn’t hide anything and went straight for the jugular, stating her reasons for believing Kane was a liar.
This time, Kane was stunned.
Ah, so that was why. He had wondered why the Princess looked like she was here to interrogate him for a crime. It turned out she thought he was borrowing Corellia’s temperament to deceive people.
But then again, where exactly were he and Corellia similar? He should be much more easygoing and ordinary than Corellia.
“It seems I was right. You’ve shown your tail, haven’t you, Mr. Big Fraud?”
Kane’s stunned silence was immediately taken by Vanessa as the reaction of someone whose truth had been exposed. Although the emotional fluctuations on her cold and beautiful face weren’t large, her tone grew more hostile, and her gaze sharpened slightly.
It was as if a devout paladin had laid eyes on a despicable criminal.
“No, no, no. I am merely surprised by your reason for suspecting me. I wouldn’t dare admit to such baseless accusations. Your reasoning is a bit too imaginative. Even if, for the sake of argument, it were true, are you saying that even Princess Vita and Her Majesty were deceived by me?”
Kane could not admit to it, especially since it wasn’t true. He waved his hands with a slightly bitter and helpless smile, defending himself.
He hoped he could clear his name of this suspicion.
Truth be told, Kane found it quite funny. He was respected by one princess as a male mother, chatted and laughed with the Queen’s sister, and was asked to interact as an equal by the Queen herself. Yet, here he was, being so formal in front of another princess.
And he actually quite liked this sense of distance.
Of course, he only liked this mode of interaction, not being glared at by a beautiful girl with eyes full of hostility.
Some people might enjoy that, but he wasn’t a masochist.
“That is naturally impossible. Either your magic only works on specific people, or Mother saw through it long ago but intentionally chose not to expose you.”
For a serious person like Vanessa, nothing Kane said could change her conclusion until he presented clear evidence that refuted her.
Kane’s explanation did not count as clear evidence in her eyes.
Without even blinking, she offered her perspective.
Either Kane’s suggestion magic had target limitations, or Corellia had seen through it and was playing along for her own reasons.
Interestingly, Vanessa didn’t mention that her aunt, Vita, had seen through it.
This suggested that, in her view, it wouldn’t be surprising if the cheerful, flighty, and unreliable Vita was actually tricked.
And seeing this princess with white twin-tails and over-the-knee white stockings over her leg armor admire Corellia so much that she believed Corellia was intentionally staying quiet for some hidden purpose, Kane couldn’t help but laugh.
As expected, Vanessa was just like Edwina. She was simply a daughter with a mother complex.
“What are you smiling at? It is very unpleasant. Are you taking me for a fool?”
Since Kane couldn’t hold back his laughter, Vanessa naturally felt she was being mocked. Tiling her head and looking up at Kane again, she clenched her gloved fists.
Depending on Kane’s answer, she might just throw a punch to let him know she wasn’t some blustering small animal.
“Haha, sorry, sorry. I was just thinking that you really love your mother. Of course, I can understand your feelings. Her Majesty is indeed a profound, transcendent, and divinely beautiful existence.”
Seeing that Vanessa was truly getting angry, Kane quickly shook his head with a smile and explained that he didn’t mean it that way.
In passing, he simply followed her lead and said a few polite words he knew she would like to hear.
That is to say, he praised Corellia.
Kane was truly just being polite.
“Right! You think so too, don’t you!”
To his surprise, Vanessa, who had been full of hostility, suddenly seemed like a different person. Not only did her voice rise by several octaves, but her pure and cold face also surged with a wealth of emotion.
It was an expression of pure joy, as if she had found a kindred spirit who liked the same idol. The hostility from before had vanished completely.
The girl who had been trying to act like a little adult finally behaved like a cheerful adolescent.
‘Heh, she really is a cute one. Is this what it feels like to have a daughter in her rebellious phase?’
At this moment, Kane suddenly felt like he understood what it was like to be a parent.
Cold toward parents but eloquent in front of friends they got along with — wasn’t that the standard for a girl in her rebellious phase?
Though Kane was only in his early twenties and at most could only be her older brother based on age.