Chapter 33: A Meticulous Calculation Ends in Failure

After leaving the inn, Altina didn’t head to any blacksmith or shop to look at weapons.

She was indeed interested in weapons, but she hadn’t gone out today for something like that. Her goal was to ensnare Caine, both physically and emotionally, making him willing to become the new king who would replace Corellia. How could she possibly let such a golden opportunity slip away?

Once she finished wandering outside for about thirty minutes, she would return to the room and silently guard the resting Caine. When Caine woke up and saw her standing guard without a word, he would surely think she was an overly serious person who did so purely out of duty and responsibility. At that point, all she had to do was express that it wasn’t just because of responsibility, but also because she personally wanted to do so.

Caine would surely be startled and embarrassed, and his favorability toward her would increase. This was a contrast strategy utilizing her own stereotype. Just when Caine thought she, Altina, was a work machine without personal feelings, she would inadvertently show that she wasn’t devoid of emotion — it was just that her feelings were only shown to a special person.

Caine, understanding that he was that ‘special person,’ would certainly grow closer to her.

Although Altina hadn’t known how to make a man obsessed with her until recently, she had found time over the past few days to read many romance books. In fact, after her night raid failed and she returned to her room, Altina hadn’t slept at all. She had spent over four hours cramming romance knowledge and was now putting it into practice. Because she had rested during the first half of the night longer than Caine, she wasn’t sleepy at all.

“…”

After looking up one last time in the direction of Caine’s room, Altina felt relieved that the current situation was developing exactly as she had predicted. She withdrew her gaze and walked toward a nearby shop, intending to browse for about thirty minutes before returning.

Altina’s luck was good; she found products in a nearby shop capable of killing time — specifically, more romance-related books. If she only bought one, she feared the fact that she was deliberately buying romance books would eventually become known to the others, which would increase the possibility of her motives being exposed.

Therefore, Altina nonchalantly bought every book in the section, including those few romance novels. It wasn’t many — just about 100 or 200 books. After all, even if she didn’t read the others, she could donate them to a library or an orphanage. This bit of money was nothing compared to winning over Caine.

She was, after all, a Duke’s daughter and the chief instructor of the noble court’s swordsmanship. From the perspective of disposable income, even the two princesses, Edwina and Vanessa, could not compete with her.

She paid so readily that the surrounding customers were stunned, and even the young shop assistant was a bit at a loss. It was the first time she had seen a customer buy over 100 books at once, especially when they were of every possible genre.

Since there were too many to carry, Altina left them there for the time being. This wasn’t a problem; she could simply send someone to pick them up once she returned.

After calculating that the time was about right, Altina pulled a pocket watch from her pocket. Confirming that returning now would take almost exactly thirty minutes, she didn’t linger and immediately headed back to the inn.

Even without wearing noble attire, Altina’s presence was quite striking. Fortunately, no tedious harassment occurred. This was the Royal Capital, after all. If the public security were so poor that someone was forcibly hit on in broad daylight, was rejected, and then shamelessly harassed, the Guard Corps responsible for the city’s safety would be in deep trouble.

Of course, it wasn’t that no one wanted to approach Altina, but those people stopped at the thinking stage.

In short, Altina successfully returned to the door of the inn room thirty minutes after she had left. She had originally intended to push the door open and enter immediately, but a second before she could move, her hand suddenly stopped.

‘If Caine isn’t asleep yet, won’t it be awkward if I go back now? It doesn’t matter if I’m a little late; I’ll just wait another ten minutes.’

To be safe, Altina decided to stand silently at the door for ten minutes before entering.

To anyone else, it looked strange for someone to stand perfectly straight, blocking the doorway instead of entering the room. In fact, several people passing by were startled by Altina’s posture, looking as if she were a sentry on guard. Usually, the person standing at the door would be the one feeling embarrassed, but Altina’s expression was solemn and grave. Her beautiful face was cold, and she watched everyone who appeared in her vision with sharp eyes.

She didn’t feel embarrassed at all. On the contrary, the people she stared at felt uneasy even though they hadn’t planned on doing anything. After a brief moment of eye contact, they would hurriedly look away, not daring to face Altina’s blade-like gaze, and walk past with their heads bowed.

Altina didn’t actually think that everyone who approached was a thief. It was simply her natural gaze. As a martial artist, it wasn’t strange for her eyes to be sharp. Her primary style was the rapier, which pursued a single-point breakthrough even more than an ordinary longsword; if her gaze weren’t sharp, she wouldn’t have reached her current master level.

And now, she was applying her rapier techniques to courting men. Once she made up her mind, she would not hesitate, and no one would be allowed to interfere with her pursuit of Caine.

After confirming that exactly ten minutes had passed, Altina finally pushed the door open and stepped inside. As for what to do after entering, her plan was to sit in a corner of the room rather than on the other bed. This was to make Caine subconsciously believe she was there for guard duty rather than personal rest.

“…?!”

However, beyond Altina’s expectations, as she stepped inside, she found that there was already someone in the room — a woman.

The woman was sitting on a stool by Caine’s bedside, silently watching Caine’s face as if she were nursing a patient. It wasn’t until she heard the door being pushed open that the woman turned around and offered a friendly, bright smile to Altina, who was frozen at the door.

Even though the woman didn’t make a sound, the other’s voice still echoed in Altina’s mind.

‘Hey~ welcome back~ little Altina.’

It was a flippant voice, and it was a voice that left Altina completely dazed.

Indeed, the person who had returned ten minutes earlier than her and was currently watching Caine sleep was none other than the King’s sister, Vita.

Vita didn’t have as many reservations as Altina. Caine was already asleep when she pushed the door open, so she naturally made herself at home, sitting nearby and waiting to give Caine a ‘surprise.’

However, her appearance completely ruined Altina’s plan. It was enough to leave the usually calm Altina absolutely stunned.