**Stalker Duchess Episode 5**
Among those, everyone praised Crown Prince Raven's character in unison.
He was strong but had never once used or abused that power for his own sake.
He was strong, righteous, and kind to everyone.
But to the Duchess alone...
I gave a wry smile without a word.
The Vice Commander looked at me with a puzzled gaze.
"Ah, right. I have a favor to ask."
When I asked the Vice Commander for spare military uniforms, he eyed me curiously.
He didn't fully trust me yet and seemed suspicious of my sudden change.
"Why?"
"His Highness pointed out my attire, so I need to fix it. Since he ordered it directly, he probably won't complain."
Hearing that it was the Crown Prince's direct order, the Vice Commander nodded as if convinced.
* * *
Knock knock. As I knocked on the door, Crown Prince Raven's voice came from inside: "Come in."
As Vice Commander Damian moved to bow properly to Raven, he waved him off dismissively.
The Crown Prince skipped greetings and bluntly explained why he'd summoned him.
"The northern bastards are getting cheeky, crawling up without knowing their place. Causing trouble in my territory. I need opponents to test the new weapon on, and this is perfect timing. Deployment in 7 days. Have it ready for immediate use by then. We'll need about 20% of the forces."
"Understood, Your Highness."
No matter how many times I saw it, it was an awe-inspiring sight.
The Crown Prince, whose appearance didn't match his 14 years, explained tactics fluently before suddenly hesitating uncharacteristically.
Damian, seeing the Crown Prince hesitate for the first time, grew curious about what he'd say.
"...Was the food alright?"
"Yes, well. It felt like eating actual food for the first time in ages."
"...I see."
The Crown Prince's eyebrows rose higher. It was clearly the face he made when in a foul mood.
"Yes, the others pretended otherwise but seemed satisfied, and even after I pushed them extra hard in afternoon training, they were all fine. See, people need good food."
"......"
The more Damian spoke, the deeper the furrow in the Crown Prince's brow.
Damian flashed a fake smile and stepped right up to him.
"Don't be so grumpy and at least try these. You haven't eaten since breakfast, right? People get irritable when they skip meals."
Damian forced one of the cookies from the Duchess into Raven's mouth.
It could seem like insubordination, but Damian was unfazed.
He knew Raven wouldn't get mad at a valued subordinate over such a prank.
Raven sighed softly and chewed the cookie shoved into his mouth, as if resigned.
As expected, he was a kind and gentle soul.
Except to one person.
Watching the Crown Prince eat the food he'd given him, Damian grinned and asked,
"Tasty, right?"
"...Yes. Not too sweet, just right. Where'd you buy it?"
Not a bad bakery at all. Raven thought he'd share some with his men later and asked casually.
A faint smile had crept onto his lips before he knew it.
"Ah, it wasn't bought. It was made by, uh, what was it, the Duchess. Wonder if I should say..."
But the answer from his direct subordinate immediately soured his mood.
"What?"
Suddenly, the nutty aroma of the cookie lingered heavily in his mouth.
It made his skin crawl like he wanted to spit it out, but he'd already swallowed.
"Annoying."
"Why do you hate her so much?"
Damian was originally the only commoner knight in the Imperial Palace, but recently recognized for his abilities by the Crown Prince, he'd become Distian's Vice Commander.
In other words, he'd joined this army not long ago.
He'd heard rumors about Duchess Serabi until his ears were calloused, but to him, she was still a stranger whose name he barely remembered.
Today, he'd finally met her in person, but she felt different from the rumors.
Rumors were always exaggerated, so he'd believed half and dismissed half—yet the real her was so different from the tales that it was shocking.
Damian once again realized how meaningless rumors were.
To his question, Raven replied irritably, as if asking why he'd state the obvious.
"She keeps clinging to me."
Damian thought,
Ah, is the Crown Prince overly self-conscious?
I didn't realize he was that type.
The kind with such high self-esteem that he thinks all women around him like him.
That was the only explanation Damian could come up with.
Because the Duchess he'd met today showed no interest in the Crown Prince at all—
"She doesn't seem particularly interested in Your Highness."
"What?"
Oh no. I didn't mean to say that.
The self-conscious Crown Prince was so obnoxious that it slipped out.
At those words, Crown Prince Raven's eyes widened as if he'd heard the most absurd thing. Unconsciously, he covered his own mouth that had let out a loud reaction.
Lowering his hand, he wore a slightly dissatisfied expression and spoke in a mildly angry tone.
"You've seen it with your own eyes. How obsessed that woman is with me. That sticky gaze of hers, and these cookies are suspicious too. She must be plotting something again."
"......"
If they were nitpicking like that, the Duchess had held his hand today and even smiled brightly at him.
It'd be more believable if she actually liked him.
Unlike some people, Damian wasn't self-conscious, so he didn't delude himself.
The Crown Prince's claim that "the Duchess is obsessed with me" just sounded like nonsense.
"Damn stalker. She's really creepy."
Well, men sometimes want to boast, don't they?
The Duchess wasn't his type, but her face was pretty enough.
Better not bruise the Crown Prince's ego anymore. Too much hassle.
So Damian thought.
"Yes, seems that way."
* * *
Five days had passed since the Crown Prince started fasting.
The reason? Obviously me.
He hadn't left the commander's office at all, so he wasn't eating elsewhere either.
But since that day, kitchen duties had naturally fallen to me.
No one wanted the tough, annoying kitchen work.
Since I'd volunteered for the hard tasks, they snickered at my comeuppance but had no complaints.
The soldiers had poked at their food anxiously the first few days, worried about poison, but they knew I had no reason to kill them.
Still, their trust in me was rock bottom—far from fondness, they even felt murderous intent, so a formal check was needed.
Only after I tasted the food in front of them before mealtime did they pick up their spoons.
But today, as I went to taste first like always, the soldiers waved me off irritably and ate my food without hesitation.
Hmm, good sign. Could I say a tiny bit of trust had formed?
Still, it was just basic trust that I wouldn't poison the food—our relationship was thinner than fragile glass that'd shatter at a touch.
Anyway, since that day, I hadn't run into the Crown Prince at all.
He was always holed up in the supreme commander's office.
He occasionally went to the Imperial Palace, but didn't bother unless necessary.
To the Crown Prince, his blood relatives weren't close enough to call family.
The Imperial Palace was a blood-soaked den of court intrigue 24/7, impossible to relax in.
Especially for him, always under assassination threats, staying here was safer for body and mind.
Distian military base was one of the safest places in the world.
As long as I, the one eyeing his chastity, wasn't around.
Because I'd cornered him in front of his men last time, my image to him now was the worst.
Rumors spread among the soldiers: "The Supreme Commander's been acting weird lately," "Every day, voices cursing Duchess Serabi leak from the commander's office."
At this rate, he'd snap and kill me before he even came of age.
No matter how generous he was to the world, he was strict with me.
Compared to what Duchess Serabi had done, he was still lenient, but...
Anyway, priority was luring him outside.
Handling a sulky kid refusing to eat was a piece of cake.
