We talked, had lunch, and then returned to the room to spend time reading the books I liked.
As evening approached, Ray said.
“I’ll go back now.”
The reluctance to leave was clearly visible on Ray's face as he said that. I found his expression both amusing and poignant.
‘How much must he be mistreated at the imperial palace…’
…for him to be so unwilling to return home? Those wicked people. It was a presumptuous thought, but my feelings towards the Emperor and the imperial family couldn’t help but worsen.
I hugged Ray as if to comfort him. He was a child who had flinched even at holding hands, so when I hugged him, his body stiffened like a stone. He wasn’t even breathing, so I patted his back, and only then did he inhale and exhale as if he had come to his senses.
“Anytime, come again next time.”
At my words, Ray hesitated and then whispered.
“Then can I come tomorrow?”
His voice was so serious that I burst out laughing. I was just about to answer that playing two days in a row wasn’t so bad.
“No. If I come too often, Seiana might get tired of me… I’ll just come later.”
Even as he said that, he hesitated, seemingly unwilling to leave. I found that cute, so I hugged him tightly one more time before letting him go from my embrace.
“Take this.”
“This is…”
Ray was surprised when he saw the item I offered. What I gave him was the rabbit doll I had said I cherished the most.
The doll still had the brooch that Ray had pinned on it like a hairpin earlier. Perhaps he intended to leave it as it suited the doll, or perhaps he had simply forgotten it. Seeing how he held it and fidgeted with it after I had taken it out of the cabinet and handed it to him, it seemed he really liked it, so I decided to give it to him as a gift.
“Can you give this to me?”
You said you cherished it? He asked, his eyes sparkling. Although he was a prince and must have many items more valuable than this, he seemed incredibly happy.
I said coyly.
“It’s a memento of our friendship. I trust that you will treat it as carefully as I cherished it.”
Though meant as a joke, Ray's face turned serious as he vowed to honor the promise. The way he spoke, it seemed he'd even grant the doll a noble title if it wished.
My heart felt somehow ticklish, so I rubbed under my nose and told him goodbye. My father's muffled sobbing from behind was bothering me.
Ray said again that he would definitely see me next time, then got into the carriage waiting for him and left.
Something that happened after he left struck me as a little odd.
“Whew.”
It was someone’s sigh. At the same time, the atmosphere felt like a release of tension. When I looked back, it wasn’t just one or two people, but most of the servants who had been with me looked relieved.
“What’s wrong, everyone?”
I asked, but everyone hesitated and no one answered. My father spoke.
“They were probably nervous because they were attending to His Highness.”
Is that so? But considering that, it seemed like it was difficult to see the servants today.
‘Even the tea was brought by my eldest brother.’
He even came looking for excuses, asking if I needed anything in between…
I glared at my eldest brother standing next to my father. Sensing my gaze, my brother tilted his head with an expression that asked what was wrong. I turned my head away coyly and headed into the mansion.
No matter how much I loved my brother, it was hard to tolerate him using my friend’s difficult situation to pursue his ambitions.
Behind me, I could hear my brother’s voice, sounding puzzled and asking why I was acting like that, but I pretended not to hear.
After that, I had dinner and rested for a while. As I was getting ready for bed with Ena’s help, Ena, who was brushing my hair, cautiously asked a question.
“My Lady, do you like His Highness?”
“Well… I like him. He’s kind.”
I didn’t understand why people found him so difficult. His personality wasn’t even picky. Was their status really the biggest barrier?
‘Commoners are naturally intimidated by nobles.’
Since he was a member of the imperial family, which was even higher, perhaps this was natural.
I yawned and looked at Ena’s face in the mirror, and a question arose. She had something to say but looked like she was struggling.
"What's wrong, Ena? Did something happen?"
"...My Lady."
She hesitated briefly before asking seriously:
"Will you marry him?"
"Uh... uh? Wh-what?"
At first, I didn't understand what she was saying. Marriage? The act of becoming husband and wife with someone of the opposite sex? Him? Who was that...? Then I suddenly realized we had been talking about Ray until just now, and I was startled.
"Ah, no! Why would I marry him!"
My face turned red as I jumped up from my seat. No! Of course, legally we could marry, but I wasn't old enough... My mind raced with confused thoughts.
“Besides, how could I marry such a young child!”
“…Isn’t His Highness around the same age as My Lady?”
Ena’s reply left me speechless. It was because I always thought of myself as an adult in my mind and kept forgetting that I had become younger.
“Th-that’s true, but somehow he feels like a younger sibling. Haha.”
“…Well. I’m glad you don’t see him as a man.”
“Why?”
“I just wish that My Lady wouldn’t marry him.”
Ena spoke with a slightly distorted, tearful face.
When I had talked about not marrying after returning to the past, Ena had said, ‘If that happens, I won’t be able to see My Lady’s cute babies later. That’s a shame.’
So, I was a little surprised that she would say something against marriage like this, rather than encouraging it.
I asked cautiously.
“Ena, do you dislike Ray?”
“How dare I have feelings of like or dislike towards him? I just…”
“….”
“I hope that My Lady won’t have to go through a difficult path.”
Just as nobles have duties, the imperial family also has duties. These would undoubtedly be heavier and more difficult than the duties of nobles. Perhaps Ena was worried about something like that.
Only then did I understand her feelings, but I thought it was a bit too early to worry.
“Ena. First of all, whether Ray even intends to marry me…”
“His Highness would want to, you know?”
“What? How do you know that?”
“You can tell by looking. He didn’t let go of your hand as if he had put glue on his.”
“You… you saw?”
When had she witnessed such a thing? And why was she bringing it up again? I felt flustered. But this was simply Ray's habit of holding hands - a pure-hearted gesture devoid of ulterior motives...
"...Holding hands doesn't mean marriage is inevitable."
"Right. But what if the Prince has already mentally chosen the ring for his wedding, imagined who he'd invite as guests, and even thought about how many children he might have?"
"Ena!"
Why was she persistently steering the conversation in that direction?! My face flushed crimson as I protested, but Ena remained undeterred.
"So... if you truly aren't considering marriage, it might be wise to establish some boundaries. You two are getting too close."
"Enaa..."
I pursed my lips at her advice. We hadn't even known each other long enough for such discussions in the first place.
Right now, he feels favorably towards me because I saved him and thinks of me as special. As we get closer and the excitement fades, there’s a high possibility that we’ll just end up as simple friends.
Also…
‘I’m not exactly popular with guys.’
Ugh, it all came back to Pedro again… Thinking about how no one showed any interest in me after the engagement with him was broken, it seemed like I was destined to live alone my whole life…
This was something only I knew, so it was difficult to explain to Ena. So, I could only show my displeasure.
Receiving my gaze, Ena bowed her head.
“I am truly sorry for speaking out of turn. But because you are precious to me, I truly wish for your happiness.”
Hoping that I wouldn’t take a difficult path. With a face full of such worries, Ena hugged me tightly from behind, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
I could only pat Ena’s arms carefully, which were wrapped around my shoulders as if to comfort me, without saying anything.
***
To Ray,
The days have grown much hotter recently.
These days, I can't walk more than five minutes without a parasol. The sun is just too scorching.
Our territory has mountains nearby, so we get cool mountain breezes at night. But how is it in the capital? It must be even hotter there, right?
In fact, maybe it's better to live in the capital with all those magic tools? We're even talking about buying a cold wind magic tool this year.
I'm not sure what to get. What do you think of the one you're using? If it's good, we might want to get that too.
Oh, and when would you like to meet next?
The chef is making a special snack this time, and I thought it would be nice if you could join us for it.
Once you decide the date, I'll make sure it's ready for you.
The chef is confident it'll be delicious, so I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Seiana.
P.S.: Thank you for the hairpin you sent with your last letter.
I was amazed to find a flat pearl, but even more so that you made a flower with it for a hairpin. It's truly beautiful and I love it.
Raymund smiled as he read Seiana's letter.
It had been two months since he'd first met Seiana. During that time, he visited her house once a week.
He wanted to see her every day, but he held back, worried he might tire her out with too many visits.
Instead, he sent her letters every two or three days. He wished he could receive one from her daily, but his own life was so monotonous he couldn't find anything interesting to write about.
In the end, all he could manage was to scrape together some mundane details of his day every few days to send in a letter.
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