I Picked Up the Second Male Lead After the Ending

Ways to Get Closer to Your Favorite Character

Clang.

Richt lifted the bell on the table and shook it.

The maid who was waiting outside quickly knocked and came inside.

“You called, Your Highness.”

“What is the Princess of Garten doing at the moment?”

“She went back to her room. Perhaps she’s with the Prince of Garten right now. That’s all I know.”

“Prince? Ah, the second child of King Garten who came with her?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How long is he going to stay?”

“I heard he will depart tomorrow. He even asked to arrange the carriage that they rode to get here this morning.”

“Alright.”

Richt pondered for a moment.

Garten’s princess wouldn’t last long if she was left alone. But if he gives her a little push, she will give up faster.

“Who did you decide to take care of the princess?”

“Marie, the one who used to work in the bedchamber. She’s the one who will attend to the princess.”

“Starting tomorrow, let her go back to the bedchamber.”

“Then, who will serve Princess Peony······?”

“No one.”

“Pardon?”

“It means don’t assign anyone to serve the princess.”

“But······.”

“Who’s the owner of this castle?”

“I-It’s Your Highness, the Grand Duke.”

“Then don’t ask too many questions and just follow my words!”

Richt immediately made the maid’s mouth shut who’s about to contradict him.

Then the maid agitatedly nodded her head to show her compliance.

“And since there’s no maid to light up the fireplace for her, do not put firewood in her room as well.”

“Y-Yes?”

The maid’s eyes opened wide as she listened to Richt’s commands.

Stern was currently in the middle of Autumn. However, the weather still feels like it’s winter if you compare it to other provinces.

It will warm up for a few days only in the beginning of summer but it was very brief, spring and autumn were as cold as winter, and winter was where the cold weather continued to make the bones sore.

However, refusing to give firewood for a fireplace at night in such weather was like asking Garten’s princess to freeze to death.

“Looking in your eyes, you must have understood everything. Get out!”

There was no room for protest.

The maid had no choice but to go outside with her head bowed when the master told her to go out.

“Phew······.”

It wasn’t until she closed the door that she gave a long sigh.

After the death of the baron who previously ruled this place, no lord was appointed to the Stern estate.

Then, everyone was glad when the news came that the emperor’s younger brother will come as the lord of this place.

“I didn’t expect he would be such a freak.”

The maid shook her head.

She’s heard from a friend who had gone to the royal court before that the Grand Duke was a warm-hearted man but has a bit of a temper.

Furthermore, that friend even said that it’s easier to serve him because his attitude shows the real him inside out and that he’s much better from the other sneaky imperial people.

However, the lord she was serving right now was not that kind of person at all.

She’s already served him for nearly a year, but she’s never seen him smile.
He will certainly have a good-looking face if he just smiles······. But she probably wouldn’t see that Grand Duke smile until the day she died.

Raheln sobbed as he boarded the boat. He said he didn’t cry, but he couldn’t hide the tears that were still hanging in his eyes, so it was clear to me that he did.

After I sent him off from the harbor and went back to the castle, I felt something strange.

The cold still lingered in Stern as always, and somehow there was gloom mixed in it. But there was something different.

I was in front of my room when I thought about it and for a while, I was able to figure out what it was.

I stood still in front of the door.

But the door did not open.

“Ah!”

Only then did I realize that there was no one around me.

Since someone always opened the door for me, I have never opened the door myself in this world.

“Not a big deal. I have my own hands and feet.”

I pulled the door open.

And again, I felt something strange.

The room was the same as before I sent Raheln off from the harbor. My changed pajamas were thrown into the bed, and the blanket was still crumpled, keeping the same look when I had left out.

The breakfast plate was still on the table, and the remaining fruit was already slightly brown.

The same goes for the dressing table where Marie, who said she would take care of my hair while staying at Stern Castle, was still a mess after getting my hair done and putting on makeup.

Everything was the same as before I went out. Nothing changed, nothing at all.

That was the problem.

“Why is······ nothing been cleaned up?”

I gazed out at the room as it was.

I haven’t cleaned since I became a princess. Is it just cleaning? I’ve never done laundry, cooked, or anything. I was used to living like a princess.

However······. As if the magic of becoming a princess dispersed, the room wasn’t cleaned up, and I couldn’t even find a single shadow of any maid who was always around me.  I blinked in disbelief because I was wondering what this was all about.

It was somehow strange.

I went outside and looked for a certain someone who would definitely know this situation better than anyone, and could solve this matter better than anybody else.

“Your Highness!”

And just like yesterday, Richt is sitting with his legs crossed and reading a book.

“What is it?”

His cold eyes stared at me.

Hmmm······. This seems to be something different from yesterday too.

“My brother Raheln safely boarded the ship and left for Garten. It is all thanks to the consideration of the Grand Duke.”

“Not really.”

He gently glanced my way, then turned to the book again.

As if I’ve disappeared before his eyes.

“Your Highness? I have something to ask.”

“Say it.”

I realized shortly, that he was speaking informally to me.

I am sure he’s speaking respectfully to me just until yesterday.

“I would like to ask why I didn’t see the maid named Marie, whom I know was assigned to serve me here in Stern Estate······.”

“Marie is a maid assigned at the bedchamber. So she must be in the bedchamber right now.”

“But they definitely said that she’s the one to serve me.”

“Who told you that?”

“······Yes?”

“Who said Marie was assigned as your maid?”

“Marie said it herself······.”

“Then I’ll just have to say it again. Marie is a bedchamber maid, and not the princess’s maid.”

It was a very edgy voice.

“Then my maid······.”

“It’s the princess’ maid, so the princess should tend to it. Why are you asking me to take care of your matters?”

“That······.”

‘The owner of this castle is you, Grand Duke Stern, that’s why I’m asking you.’

I tried to say that but I stopped.

Richt was giving me a sharp glare. Only then did I know. He was trying to push me away.

Why shouldn’t he give me a maid, he was certainly drawing the line that he and I are definitely not in any relationship.

He also said it clearly just now.

‘The princess’s maid.’

To him, I was neither his fiancée nor his future marriage partner.

I was just Garten’s princess.

He could attach a maid to me as a courtesy to a guest who came to the castle.

Not as his fiancé, not as his future wife, but as a guest.

If I were really the hostess of this castle, there was no need to assign a maid for me. All the servants and maids of this castle will be my servants and maids.

“Nothing.”

So I had no choice but to say so.

“Your Highness······.”

I opened the door with my own hands, but turned my head and looked at Richt just before I left the room.

Then he raised his head without hiding his irritation.

Before, I thought he was thinking and treating me even as a princess of a country, but now I don’t think so.

“Do you even know······ my name?”

“······.”

Richt silently gazed at me.

I calmly stare at his black obsidian eyes, but he’s the first to avoid his gaze.

No, he wasn’t avoiding it. He just turned his gaze and looked at the book again.

It’s as if he’s saying that he’s not obligated to answer my question.

Feeling that there’s nothing more that I can do regarding the matter, I took a step to get out of the room.

When suddenly.

“······Peony.”

I heard a blunt voice spit out my name behind me.

I turned my head and looked back, but all I saw was Richt looking at the book nonchalantly inside the room.

As if I didn’t exist in front of his eyes.

“Thank you.”

I quietly closed the door so as not to disturb him with his reading.

Pfff! A giggle automatically gushed out of my mouth.

At least he knew my name.

That is enough for now.

The dishes on the table were put out the door. I folded up my pajamas and put them on one side. Because I have to wear it at night.

The bed was roughly fixed, and the vanity was neatly organized.

On the contrary, I felt that it was a good thing. I had nothing to do here because I didn’t have a father, a brother, or anyone I knew.

Actually, after tidying up the room, I had nothing more to do.

“He still remembered my name.”

I recalled the memories of the day we first met, so I laughed again.

He was so blunt and treated me like a petty merchant.
Something seemed to have changed with the second male lead character, but he was still Richt.

“Now······.”

What shall I do?

Of course, one of the things I want to do first is to eat food with my love, drink tea, walk, and if possible, hold hands.

Gosh! What am I saying? Hold hands!

I’m sure our favorite character’s hands are warm.

Because our favorite character is a ‘Cold man from the city, but warm for my girl!’ type of man.

And because he grew up as a precious prince, he must have a soft hand since he hasn’t experienced any hard work, right?

No! It was in the book! If you practiced swordsmanship hard, then you must have strong hands with calluses.

Big, warm, strong hands! I love it!!

“Hah, let’s calm down first.”

I was alone in my room but I had to fan myself using my hand as my imagination was running rampant thinking of Richt.

There’s no possible way she would be able to hold his hand unless her favorite character held her hand first.

That’s impossible······. Unless I get closer to him.

So what?

I’ll just have to get close to him!

“Excuse me~”

I entered the kitchen, smiling. As I opened the door, the busy kitchen became quiet for a moment.

Only the sound of a bubbling pot greeted me.

“Are you preparing for dinner?”

I smiled and spoke to everyone but still, I received a silent response.

‘Ah······. It’s embarrassing’

Do the personalities of the residents change depending on where they live? In Garten, when a person smiles at them, the other person smiles too······. Why is it like this here?

“Excuse me, what brings the princess here?”

A man, who seems to be a kitchen assistant, asked carefully.

“Oh, it’s just that I want to make a drink for the Grand Duke to accompany his dinner.”

“A drink?”

“Yes. It’s a very simple drink. It would be good to have it while having dinner.”

“Ah, that······. Um······. “

The man was somehow embarrassed.

As I looked closely, it was the man I saw yesterday.

The man standing next to me with an impatient expression while I was making a hotcake.

“We met yesterday too, right?”

“Yes? Oh, yes.”

“Yesterday’s hotcake was a complete failure, but today I would like to make up for it.”

“What? Failure? It was a perfect hotcake and it looked so delicious.”

“······Do you really think so?”

The man nodded vigorously.

It was quite comforting to hear someone else praise my food. Yesterday, Raheln also ate it sumptuously.

The man’s compliment made me more energized, so I thought I should work harder today.

“It’s simpler today, so I just need to borrow the kitchen for a moment. 10 minutes? 15 minutes? How about that?”

I looked at the man, then he looked at his side.

Probably the person who seems to be a high-ranking person in the kitchen.

Well, this guy seemed to be my age, so he must probably be the kitchen assistant.

The middle-aged man shrugged, and I smiled due to it.

“What can I do for you, Princess.”

“Hmm······. I need mint and rum. And I wish to have a pretty cup. Oh, ice too!”

As always, Richt dined alone during dinner.

He was sitting alone at the table as per usual when suddenly he noticed something he had never seen before.

In a transparent glass, red and green things with ice were submerged in colorful water.

When he looked up with his eyes narrowed, he noticed that what was inside were green leaves and red, slightly crushed strawberries.

“What is this?”

Richt’s face slightly frowned upon seeing the thing for the first time in his life.

As he sniffed, there was a fresh strawberry scent and a subtle rum scent coming from the drink.

As he passed a sip, the liquid was as refreshing as the scent passed to his throat. And Richt’s favorite strawberry flavor softens his throat.  It burned over, and the fresh strawberry scent gently hovered in his nose.

“······It’s good.”

Slightly, Richt’s head nodded.

The chef from Stern Castle, who thought could barely make something edible to eat compared to the royal cook in the empire, has come up with something better than he expected.

Dinner was quite enjoyable thanks to the drink that suits his taste.

It was the first time since he came here and ate in a pleasant mood.

Normally, he would have wiped his mouth after the meal and got up from his seat, but Richt called the maid with a light gesture.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“What’s the name of this drink?”

His fingertips were empty, clearly pointing to the glass that was only left with green leaves and ice.

“Um······.”

The maid, who didn’t think that Richt would ask such a question, blinked and couldn’t answer.

It was definitely the food she brought to her master, but she didn’t know what it was. It was her first time seeing this drink also.

Besides, she didn’t know that the Grand Duke, who was indifferent to everything, would ask for its name.

“I’ll go to the kitchen now and ask.”

“No, you don’t have to······.”

Richt cut off the maid, who seemed she would run out right away immediately, and said.

“Make sure to prepare this same drink tomorrow evening.”

“Yes.”

“And tomorrow I should know the name of this.”

“Y-Yes!”

Standing straight from her place and bowing her head toward Richt, the maid thought.

‘Strangely, the Grand Duke seems to be in a good mood tonight.’

Translator’s Note: “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”

Peony fighting!!