Chapter 35: Wait, You Guys Actually Nodded?

When Caine woke up, it was already shortly after 4:00 PM. He had slept for nearly nine hours, and it was an incredibly comfortable rest. 

At this moment, Caine felt that even if he didn’t sleep at all tonight, it wouldn’t be a problem. 

Upon waking, he looked around the empty, spacious room. He assumed Altina had already left to attend to her own business. Therefore, he wasn’t in a hurry. While unhurriedly getting dressed, he considered where to go to kill some time. 

It was still a bit too early to return to the Royal Palace and wait, so he figured he might as well stroll through the Royal Capital again. The Royal Capital at night would surely present a completely different scene than during the day. 

However, this idea vanished the moment Caine finished dressing and headed downstairs to check out. 

In a corner of the first-floor lobby, he spotted two familiar figures. 

One was Altina, whom he thought had long since returned home, and the other was the King’s younger sister, Vita. 

It was surprising enough that Altina hadn’t left, but Caine never expected Vita to be there as well. 

Furthermore, the two of them were quietly reading. Aside from the book each held in her hands, several stacks of books were piled on their table. It gave off the impression that if Caine hadn’t appeared, the two of them could have continued reading until it was time to sleep for the night. 

The first to notice Caine was Altina, who was facing the stairs. After noticing Caine walking down with a subtle expression, she closed her book and stood up. 

“?” 

Sitting beside her, Vita noticed her movement and quickly set her book aside, standing up to look in Caine’s direction as well. 

“…The fact that Lady Altina hasn’t returned yet is already beyond my expectations. Vita, why are you here too?” 

Caine obviously couldn’t ignore the two of them, so he greeted them with a helpless, subtle smile. 

“That is naturally because I intended to come find you to play, my dear Elder Sister. However, seeing that you were resting, I thought I would wait until you woke up. I found a few books to read while waiting, but you certainly slept for a long time. You couldn’t have stayed up all night without rest, could you?” 

Vita’s answer seemed casual, but she concisely explained the situation while deliberately using a joking tone to probe Caine. 

It made Caine marvel once again. As expected of the gender-swapped version of the second prince from the original work, this perfectly matched her character setting. 

“…Your Highness.” 

Before Caine could respond, Altina spoke up first. She seemed to be reminding Vita that she was being somewhat rude, lowly cautioning her not to ask questions that would put Caine in a difficult position. 

Given their current attitudes, it was as if Caine truly were Corellia. 

Caine could already imagine a plot where Queen Corellia and the Duchess’s daughter, Altina, were carrying out some secret operation, only to be discovered and probed by the sharp-witted Royal Sister, Vita. 

However, if it truly were Corellia, even if Vita had discovered something, she would surely have given a dominant and cold reply like, “There is no need to tell you, Vita.” 

But Caine wasn’t Corellia, and there was no need to be deliberately cold to Vita. 

So, Caine simply wore a gentle smile that was completely different from Corellia’s and explained with a laugh, “I indeed didn’t sleep all night. As for the reason, please allow me to keep it a secret. Of course, if you insist on me telling you no matter what, Vita, that would be a different story. What do you think, Princess Vita?” 

“Ahaha, the answer is naturally no. I wouldn’t want to make you unhappy over such a trivial matter, Elder Sister. Although being excluded makes me a bit sad, I am waiting for your request for help at any time, you know? I guarantee I will be much more useful than little Altina.” 

Vita likely guessed that Caine wouldn’t tell her, but she hadn’t expected his attitude to be so firm—even to the point of distancing himself by suggesting he would only speak if she used her status as the King’s sister to coerce him. 

Vita, whose original intention was to win Caine over, naturally wouldn’t choose to do that. Thus, she waved her hands in front of her chest and gave a conciliatory smile, indicating she no longer wished to know. 

However, responding like that made her look a bit pathetic, and her performance was clearly inferior to the calm and composed Altina standing beside her. 

So, she immediately puffed out her chest with a confident look, a bright and friendly smile on her face, showing “loyalty” to Caine. Her performance was natural, looking as if she were half-joking. 

Anyone who wasn’t paying attention would truly be fooled by her. 

“…” 

But the equally sharp Altina wouldn’t let this detail slip. Although she made no outward movement, she was internally pondering the reason behind Vita’s display of favor. 

If it were just playfulness or familial affection, she could turn a blind eye, but if it were born of some forbidden attraction… 

“That is certainly reliable then. If it becomes necessary, I will do so. However, having both of you wait here for me truly makes me feel a bit guilty. Although I would like to treat you to a meal as a reward, I’m afraid I can’t provide any delicacies that would impress you right now. How about this: if the opportunity arises, let me act as your guard? I have some confidence in my skills.” 

Vita’s display of favor was naturally noticed by Caine as well. 

In response, Caine first gave an equally friendly smile, then jokingly suggested he could act as a personal guard for the two beauties. 

Both Vita and Altina knew that Caine was just being polite. Theoretically, neither of them should have said, “Yes, please do.” 

Making Caine feel like he owed them a favor was far better than having him act as a guard so soon. 

“Really!? Then it’s a promise, Elder Sister! If I have a need, you must come act as my guard! Your cute little sister is in great need of your protection!” 

But when Vita showed no hesitation, clapping her hands in front of her chest with a look of joy and expressing her great need, Altina was left with no other choice. 

“…Having you act as my guard would surely make the ‘us’ from the other world feel anxious and uneasy. Even I feel my heart racing and feel quite constrained. But since you have said so, I truly wish to see your heroic side. If there is an opportunity, please be sure to travel with me.” 

To prevent Vita from stealing the spotlight and monopolizing Caine’s attention, Altina immediately placed her hand over her heart and bowed to Caine, expressing both trepidation and acceptance. 

She looked extremely calm, yet she claimed she was nervous while accepting the offer. This caused Vita, who was standing beside her, to subconsciously furrow her brows. 

“Ah… Ahaha, I really can’t do anything with you two. Fine, then let me be your guard. But don’t go looking for any evil gods or demon kings for me, okay? Even I can’t defeat things like that all by myself.” 

Caine hadn’t expected that his polite gesture would actually be accepted by both of them. 

But now that things had come to this, he could only smile and agree to be their guard. 

After all, no matter what, he couldn’t exactly say he was just joking, could he?