The green-eyed princess and I stared at each other. I had caught glimpses of her up in her skybox before the fight, but this was the first I had seen of her face to face since our tense conversation the night before.

“…”

She shut the door behind her and entered the room. She sat in the chair beside my bed and stared down at her folded hands that rested in her lap.

I kept my mouth shut, waiting for her to clarify the purpose of her visit. Her demeanor was oddly sullen considering the positive circumstances in relation to her situation.

What is she pouting about now?

She took a deep breath, seemingly milking her exhale as long as humanly possible.

“I’m sorry, Shinsuke.”

Now I was really confused.

“Huh? That’s the first thing you have to say to me after that fight? Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I’m supposed to be supporting you, but all I did was question you yesterday. You asked me to trust that you had it under control, but I confess that I didn’t trust you at all. I resigned myself to my fate and wrote you off, just like everyone else.”

“I know,” I said, unsurprised and unbothered. “While I can’t say I appreciate your lack of faith in me, I get it. Your whole life is riding on this and there was no logical reason to believe I could beat Emil. You were stressed and anxious. I understood that yesterday and I understand it now.”

Cynthia seemed taken aback. Her eyes scanned my face, and I guessed she was trying to verify my sincerity.

“Still, that doesn’t justify my behavior,” she insisted. “I keep saying we’re in this together, but from here on out I will make that more apparent. I’ll be more supportive.”

Her words had been laced with guilt, but that guilt had now been replaced with a sense of renewed conviction.

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“Don’t take this the wrong way,” she continued. “But I’m under no illusions that your victory over Emil was anything but a fluke. However, when we met up at that café, Evangeline told me that she believes your greatest strength is your quick wit and resourcefulness in a fight. I didn’t believe it then, but I do now. While your victory might have been a lucky break with that last minute spell, you only got that far by outsmarting Emil. And that wasn’t by chance.”

I felt my heart skip a beat when she said Eva’s name. Whatever had happened before between us was still in the back of my mind. I was also kicking myself for not telling her that I wanted to taste her baking if she’d let me. But I had to put her out of my mind for the moment.

“Anyway, I bring that up to say that it’s up to me to make sure that you aren’t left to only rely on luck and improvisation, Shinsuke. You can count on me.”

I acknowledged her declaration with a nod.

“Speaking of improvisation, I had no clue that Emil even had a problem with his mother, and I’ve known him since we were children. Even my parents were astonished by the things you were saying to Emil, especially how ruthless you were with the taunting.”

I had been wondering what Cynthia and her parents thought of my methods. I figured there was a chance they may have known about his situation given their positions, but it seemed Eli truly was the only other person to know about LeClair’s trauma.

Now, the whole world knew.

Thanks to me.

“How did you know any of that about him anyway, Shinsuke?”

I shook my head. “No offense, but I already went over this before you showed up and I don’t really feel like discussing it again.”

Cynthia shrugged, seeming a bit disappointed. I got the sense she was more let down that her curiosity wouldn’t be satiated as opposed to her being genuinely dejected.

“Either way, the fact that you obtained that information somehow and utilized it to perfection is proof of your dedication. At one point, he had you dead to rights. Yet, you kept on fighting, just like you said you would. I want you to know that I’m grateful for that.”

“That’s great, so long as you remember I’m not only doing this because of your cheesecake conundrum. I intend to keep my vow for my family, Eva, and Mizuki first and foremost.”

The princess nodded. I thought she might be offended by what I said, but she didn’t seem bothered at all. “I know. Even on their behalf, I’m grateful. You’re way out of your depth in this situation, yet you still managed to achieve the impossible in this first round of the gauntlet. You stepped up, and, like I said, I intend to do the same. I promise.”

She unclasped her hands and held one out to me. I took it in mine and shook it once, firmly.

“Thank you.”

We shared an awkward smile and unlinked our hands.

“There’s one more thing, Shinsuke.”

I groaned. “Let me guess, another press conference?”

“Well, yes,” she sighed. “But that’s a worry for tomorrow. I had something else in mind.”

“In that case, what is it?”

She rose from the chair and smirked. “I have something I want to give you. Get up and follow me.”