“Princess Rubia.”
Dante, who neither blocked her as she approached nor greeted her warmly, spoke with an ambiguous attitude.
“Your Highness! It’s been so long! You must’ve had a tough journey, right? Oh my gosh… It’s true your skin disease is completely healed!”
The woman called Rubia exclaimed in a fascinated voice as she looked at Dante’s face.
She turned her head this way and that, scanning his face.
“It’s been ages since I’ve seen your face looking normal.”
“I didn’t expect you to come out to greet me.”
“If I didn’t come out, who else would? Of course I had to! It’s been years since we last met!”
“Rubia, that’s enough.”
King Peres, who had been standing behind, stepped forward to stop her.
The princess shrugged once and stepped slightly away from Dante.
The king, having stopped his daughter, bowed his head again to Dante.
“Your Highness, have you been well? Please, come inside first.”
“Yes! Let’s go in!”
Rubia once again walked up to Dante and naturally linked arms with him.
Letier quickly averted her eyes from the sight without realizing it.
It felt like she’d just seen something she wasn’t supposed to.
“Letier.”
At that moment, Dante, who had turned his back to her, turned his head.
Letier flinched like she’d heard something she wasn’t supposed to and looked toward the sound.
All eyes—Dante’s, Princess Rubia’s, and King Peres’s—were on her.
Letier could feel Rubia, standing beside Dante, tilting her head and scanning her from head to toe.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As she quickly bowed and answered with perfect etiquette, Dante frowned deeply.
Looking at her acting distant all of a sudden, Dante sighed quietly and turned toward Peres.
“Please also prepare a good room for my companion.”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
When Peres signaled with his eyes, an elderly attendant came up to Letier.
He extended his arm, gesturing to guide her to her room.
“Right this way…”
“And who is she?”
At that moment, Rubia, who still hadn’t taken her eyes off Letier, asked in a high-pitched voice.
At her question, Dante silently turned to look at Letier.
He had the look of someone trying to figure out how to introduce her.
Seeing him clearly at a loss, Letier quickly spoke up instead.
“Hello, I apologize for the late greeting. I’m Letier of the Lenever family from the Trillante Empire, and I was in charge of the prince’s skin treatment.”
“A skin therapist?”
“There was concern… that the condition might worsen during important events, so I came along just in case.”
A lie slipped from the bowing Letier’s mouth.
Because of the clumsy lie, her voice trembled a bit and she stuttered slightly, but it didn’t seem especially suspicious.
However, Rubia didn’t seem satisfied with the answer and opened her mouth again.
“But why would a skin therapist ride in the same carriage? The palace could’ve easily prepared an extra one.”
Rubia was persistent.
She kept glancing back and forth between Dante and Letier, who couldn’t respond immediately, with a strange expression.
Uh…
While Letier was still thinking of the next lie to tell, Dante’s low voice came first.
“I asked her to ride with me. It’s not something the princess needs to worry about.”
“Ah, I see.”
Rubia replied lightly.
“Letier is someone I personally brought. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t show unnecessary interest.”
Even with his stern tone, Rubia couldn’t easily take her eyes off Letier.
Then, Dante gently removed her hand from his arm—just firmly enough not to embarrass her—and turned to Peres.
“How long do we have to stand outside?”
“Oh, my apologies! P-please come in!”
Peres, unable to hide his flustered expression, quickly took the lead.
Dante followed him, and Rubia followed Dante up the marble steps of the royal palace.
Just before everyone entered the grand gate, Rubia turned once more and looked back at Letier.
Do you have something else to say?
Letier stood straight and looked at her.
Rubia stared at her for a moment, then gave a mysterious smile before turning and disappearing.
‘Huh?’
Puzzled by the smile’s meaning, Letier paused mid-step.
Why is she smiling…?
“Greetings. I’m John, head chamberlain of the Eustian royal palace.”
At that moment, a dignified older attendant who had approached without her noticing spoke gently.
Letier quickly came to her senses and turned to him.
“Oh! Hello, John. I’m Letier Lenever.”
“Would it be alright if I gave you a brief tour of the palace?”
“Of course! Please do.”
Chamberlain John had downturned eyes that gave him a very gentle appearance.
He smiled at Letier and asked,
“Is this your first time in the Kingdom of Eustian?”
“Yes, it’s my first.”
“Your first time? Oh my… Then there’s quite a lot I’ll need to explain!”
Hearing her answer, John’s narrow eyes widened, revealing the gray irises within.
Those eyes sparkled a bit too brightly.
“The room you’ll be staying in is this way. Please follow me. I’ll show you around the palace briefly, then take you to your room.”
****
Chamberlain John was kind.
And a man who talked a lot.
Letier spent two whole hours listening to detailed explanations about the history and culture of the Eustian royal palace before finally finishing the tour.
Half out of it, Letier entered her room, where Lucy, who had arrived earlier, quickly welcomed her.
“Milady, why did it take you so long?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
“The palace isn’t that big objectively… Was there really that much to see?”
“No… That’s what I’d like to know too…”
Letier recalled John nearly tearing up in front of a statue of a knight on horseback in the palace garden, telling an endless story tied to it.
“Well, at least he seems patriotic…”
After saying that, she flopped down onto the large bed.
Only then did she have the leisure to look around the room she’d been given—and it definitely felt quite different from the Trillante imperial palace.
“Milady! Look at these curtains and bed linens. Aren’t the patterns just beautiful? You can tell they’re from somewhere with real history.”
Unlike the Trillante palace, which had a clean, modern feel, the Eustian royal palace had a deep, traditional atmosphere.
Its unique, free-spirited and somewhat artistic vibe could be felt throughout the room.
“I really like it!”
“If you like it, Lucy, then I like it too.”
Letier nodded with a satisfied look.
“I think it’s because the prince specially requested it that we got such a big and nice room!”
Looking around the spacious room, Lucy exclaimed in an excited voice.
“Really? I should thank him later, then.”
Lucy, who had been happily bouncing in place, stopped and walked over to Letier.
“Hmm… But you know, milady!”
“Yeah?”
“I think the prince…”
Lucy lowered her voice to a whisper.
Even though it was just the two of them in the room, she quickly glanced around as if worried someone might overhear.
Letier instinctively held her breath.
“I think the prince sees you as someone special.”
“What?”
Letier whispered back.
Special…?
She swallowed hard and held her breath.
To be honest, it wasn’t like she hadn’t felt it at all herself.
Yes, just as the prince had said—she wasn’t oblivious or careless at all!
Lucy glanced around again before speaking cautiously.
“I’m almost sure of it. The way the prince treated you at the Trillante palace, and how he acted after returning from the Forest of Memories… And above all, how he called you back from your estate and brought you all the way here to the Eustian royal palace!”
Lucy continued seriously.
Letier listened carefully and nodded.
“Go on, Lucy.”
“I think the prince…”
Lucy leaned in close to Letier’s face.
Letier stared right back into her dark brown eyes, now very close.
Her lips opened slowly, as if to declare something very important.
Yeah. The prince has been acting strange, right?
Letier thought Lucy must be thinking the same thing she was, and they both opened their mouths at once.
“Maybe he sees me as a woman—”
“I think he really sees you as a trusted and deeply valued skin therapist!”
“…Ah.”
“Huh?”
Lucy tilted her head, looking at Letier like she’d heard something really odd.
“What did you say, milady? A woman?”
“Eh? Oh, no… never mind…”
“A woman? You mean, the prince likes you as a woman?”
Ack, no he doesn’t!
Lucy repeated Letier’s words clearly, sealing the misunderstanding.
