“The lineup hasn’t been fully decided yet. Of course, I’ll be handling several items in the future, but I don’t think it’s good to be too greedy at first.”

While preparing for the cosmetics business, I was thinking about which products to introduce first.
First of all, creams and lotions according to skin type were essential. The problem was what else to choose besides that.
Except for the basic cosmetics that had already been verified by my mother and Princess Vivian’s case, I didn’t have a good sense of which other types of cosmetics would get the most reactions.

“Has Your Highness ever considered needing cosmetics?”
“I’m not sure. I was most concerned about Vivian’s skin, but since that is solved…”
“Hmm. It’s difficult.”
“It’s not an easy thing to think about. Don’t be so stressed.”

I looked up at the clear sky and fell into thought.
Although there was still time, it wasn’t too early to decide now either.

“Lady, the weather is fine, but summer will come again in a few months. It will be hard to sit in the park like this then, so enjoy it now.”
“Right. When the sun is burning…”

What…?

I stopped as I was nodding at the crown prince’s words.

“Summer is just around the corner… That’s right.”
“What?”
“What if there was a cosmetic product you could use to prevent your skin from getting sunburned?”

I began to explain the sunscreen to Crown Prince Enoch.

“It protects our skin from the sun. Certainly, something like that would be necessary.”

Crown Prince Enoch told me about the arduous training with the knights in the summer.

“When you’re training in the sun for a long time, your skin is not just tan, it’s often severely hurt.”
“It must be something that both the nobles and the knights want, right?”

If the schedule went smoothly, I thought I would be able to open the cosmetics business in the summer.

“I think if we launch the sunscreen along with some existing basic cosmetics in line with the timing, we’ll be able to get a little more attention. But if we add sunscreen to the basic cosmetics, won’t there be a problem with the supply of ingredients?”
“Don’t worry about that. I have a plan in mind. I’ll explain later, not now.”
“Yes, then I will trust you.”
“Apart from that, there are no problems when we launch the sunscreen, right?”

Then, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Didn’t the Primrose Knights go to the South for training this time?’

I remembered that on the way to the social gathering, the escort knights guarding Lilika had red bruises on their faces.
It wasn’t just a tan, their skin was red.

‘Such skin needs something with a strong moisturizing effect… and something to calm it down.’

If that was the case, then there was just the right cosmetic.

‘After-sun cream.’

A cream that hydrates and soothes the skin at the same time.
Sunscreen would be sold in earnest when the cosmetics shop opened…
But for now, for the already damaged knights’ skin… something like applying after-sun cream should be done.

‘But Brother Jiksen, who led the knights to the South, had smooth skin, didn’t he?’

Like in my previous life, I couldn’t see my brother boasting and living righteously on his own, as the successor of the duke.
Brother Jiksen was a man born with the blessing of the sword.
Because of this, the knights were my brother’s most powerful force.
And they were formally trained to intercept me, who had run away, and to bring me before my father and brother in my previous life.

‘I thought of a way to make the relationship between my brother and the knights worse.’

I remembered him sarcastically saying that I spent a lot of money on improving my mother’s skin the last time.
For someone who said that, it seemed that he had given a lot of money to the priest this time, and that he had healed his sunburned skin by using the fact that he was the son of the duke and cutting in line until it was his turn.
Shall I use that?

I moved my fingers up and down in a good mood.

***

I looked around until late and found that the building was more satisfactory than I thought.
As the sky gradually darkened, the densely placed mana lamps illuminated the street and added to the atmosphere. I was afraid that drunk people would show up, but I was relieved to confirm with my own eyes that it was too far to get here from the street where the pubs were gathered.
And so, Crown Prince Enoch and I signed a commercial contract.

As we were walking in the street, Crown Prince Enoch smiled brightly and said,

“I felt comfortable today, thanks to the Lady. You pointed out something unexpected.”
“Well, I relied more on Your Highness.”
“I know this is your first time in business, but have you ever done something with your identity hidden before?”

What should I say when someone compliments me?

‘I’d rather he cursed me so I could beat him. This is too difficult.’

Even if it was a reasonably polite thing to say, I couldn’t respond well.
I grumbled and finally squeezed out an answer.

“I also liked being with Your Highness today.”
“Really? You’re not lying?”

And as expected, Crown Prince Enoch seemed to be more skilled in human relations.

“Then let me take you.”
“It’s really fine…”
“It’s not like we’re going to the Duke’s castle together.”

Neither my mother nor I knew which of the several candidates would be chosen.
The place where I was supposed to meet my mother, who was my alibi today, was quite far from here.
We did what we had to do, so there was no obligation for the crown prince to take me there… Wasn’t it too late and troublesome?

“It’s alright. The mana lamps are also on, so I can walk there.”
“You don’t even have an escort knight, do you?”
“I have one magic artifact for self-defense.”
“As long as it’s not an heirloom item, isn’t there a certain number of times you can cast the magic?”
“That…”
“If so, I suggest you save it just in case.”

Yes, it’s a magic artifact, so it’s precious… And even if I was the daughter of the duke, I wasn’t Lilika, so I didn’t easily get high-quality artifacts.
In addition, its power was infinitely weaker than that of a real wizard.
So I usually took an escort knight with me…

In fact, there was one thing I did not tell the crown prince.
The fact that I was hiding my identity, it wasn’t just because I was afraid of damaging the cosmetics business because I was a villainess.

‘If I get caught by the Primrose duchy, it will be annoying.’

Lilika would try to disrupt me by pretending to be worried, and the man who is my brother would defame me and complain to my father.
It was almost obvious that my father would be forced to stop me without really hearing what business I was doing and what was going on.
Even though he sided with me last time, that was because a Primrose lady was insulted and the prestige of the family was shaken, not because he was thinking of me.
In this case, I was afraid he would stop me from doing business and ridicule me, not caring about my feelings.

‘I can’t tell him everything about my family history…’

However, Crown Prince Enoch brought up something I couldn’t refuse.

“Even if it isn’t that dark yet, something dangerous can happen at any time, right?”

I recalled the time I encountered Sir Vieira in the boutique.
Though the staff was there, and I had an escort knight outside, it didn’t help.

“You came to meet me, so I would be heartbroken if something happened to you. I couldn’t protect Lady Primrose.”
“…”

Wasn’t he the person who saved me from Sir Vieira and not anyone else?
In the end, I accepted the crown prince’s help.

“Then, I will be in your care.”

Crown Prince Enoch, who was standing there waiting for my answer, smiled and nodded.
At that moment, his hair, exposed through the hood that had slipped down a little, was glowing scarlet under the sunset.
Feeling that my gaze kept turning to him, I started walking slowly.

‘I can’t just keep getting help from His Highness. I’ll have to do something about my personal problems sooner or later.’

How long did we walk along the street like that?

As if not all the mana lamps worked at once, they began to light up sequentially as we passed through the buildings or between the trees.
Then, the mana lamps that hadn’t lit up yet lit up at once.
I glanced up at the crown prince’s face. The light of the mana lamp cast a shadow over his elegant features. His atmosphere, which felt familiar all day, was suddenly strange.

“Go back safely.”
“Thank you for today.”

Crown Prince Enoch nodded lightly.
I turned away from him and got onto the carriage where my mother was waiting.

I glanced back at the window as the carriage departed, and saw that Crown Prince Enoch was still standing there. It seemed like he wanted to watch me leave safely.
And my mother was also watching him.

“Did His Highness accompany you here?”

——