Now that it was over, it was easy to get lost in the flood of memories and emotions, but Leone got up right away without wasting time. It was because he didn’t want to leave Trixie behind. He had always hated this structure standing behind her, but he hated it even more after they confirmed their feelings for each other and finally got her back. He has no idea what Trixie’s expression was or what she was thinking. To Leone, every minute of Trixie was curious, precious, and enjoyable.
“Your majesty. I’m not feeling well, so I’ll get up first.”
“You’re not feeling well. Where and how?”
“It’s not that serious. I was tired from preparing for the trial.”
Unless he was seriously ill, the prince should assist the Emperor and retreat together. So Leone’s words just now were not polite to the Emperor. It would have been appropriate to scold the prince for such an attitude, but the Emperor, with his kind nature and soft heart, did not do so. In fact, he had already done so much wrong with Leone that he couldn’t even be angry. Leone also did not feel any reason or need to show deep respect to the Emperor.
“Yes, Leone. You must have gone through a lot of hardships. Let’s talk about what we said earlier later.”
The Emperor smiled softly and sent his nephew on his way. Regardless of the content, it was quite nice to see the two people having a conversation, and in the eyes of onlookers in the courtroom, they were seen as a good family.
“Yes. I’ll come see you.”
As soon as the Emperor’s permission was given, Leone came out, leading his Adler and Trixie. Leone’s carriage was waiting in front of the entrance allowed only to the royal family.
After escorting Trixie out, Leone got into his carriage and closed the door. And before she could sit down properly, he hugged her.
“Oh, my. Leone.”
Trixie, embarrassed, hurriedly called Leone. Leone laughed, thinking that the way she spoke was Trixie-like and pleasant to hear.
“It’s just a moment. I hate having to park in the back like this.”
Leone whispered as he held Trixie in his arms.
“It’s always been like this.”
Trixie spoke softly and patted Leone’s back.
“I always hated it. You stand behind me.”
“Haha. I can’t help it, Leone. You are the prince.”
Trixie’s heart was so loving and grateful that she burst into bright laughter. Leone closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Trixie, it’s right for you to stand next to me.”
Trixie thought those words were Leone’s grumbles. Trixie’s status was a commoner. It was perfect to walk around with her like this next to her and listen to her strange noises. It might be different if they got married, but she had no idea how many difficulties there would be before she and Leone got married. Was it possible for two people to get married? She hadn’t even thought straight. That’s why it’s an impossible story to begin with. So Trixie happily accepted Leone’s affectionate complaints and responded in kind.
“That’s right. I like being next to you, too.”
Meanwhile, Leone had a completely different idea about the answer.
Really, really.
The thought that the time has come to place her next to her own and look ahead to her side by side. The carriage set off. The court and the imperial castle were not that far away. As soon as he landed at the imperial castle, Leone ordered his Adler to take the vacation he had promised.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay without me?”
“This is not a war situation, so it’s okay.”
Leone answered, looking at Adler with a calm face. By now, he seemed to have somewhat gotten used to Adler’s worries and outbursts, and he no longer looked as tired or astonished as before. Of course, no one could know what was inside.
“Go ahead, Adler. Have a great time with Melody and come dressed up nicely for the banquet. I hope you have a wonderful vacation.”
“Yes?”
“Haha. Miss Melody will be very pleased. Isn’t that right?”
It was a lively voice that was uncharacteristic of Leone. Moreover, wasn’t Leone holding his shoulder, patting him, smiling brightly like never before, and even nodding his head? He even seemed ready to give me a light hug. Adler was slightly taken aback by Leone’s attitude, which was much more lively and friendly than usual.
“Yes… too.”
Since it was something they had already agreed upon, he thought he would go on vacation, but suddenly he felt a little uneasy. Something about Leone was very different from usual. A look of suspicion appeared on Adler’s face. Leone then thought, ‘Oops’. He wanted to send Adler off quickly, so he chose actions that Adler would like, but it seems he took it too far.
“I look forward to seeing you at the banquet, Adler.”
Leone again greeted him with his usual expressionless expression. After thinking for a moment, Adler answered sincerely, even though he felt uncomfortable with his master’s attitude becoming the same as usual.
“Lord Leone. Then let’s go.”
However, a vacation was a vacation. Adler eventually had to put his foot down. Adler got on his horse, shouted loudly, and rode away, looking brave as if he was going to war.
“You two look so good.”
Trixie, who was watching from behind, felt that the two people were getting closer and felt sad for no reason. There were many times when she held her tongue or was embarrassed by his outspoken appearance, but she knew that his feelings for his master were sincere.
In fact, it probably wasn’t just because Leone was a prince. As a knight with the right beliefs, the man would have wanted to somehow help the boy who was hurting him while he was raging the world, so he would have stayed at the foot of the mountain for five years and helped by his side. Whenever he got tired, he must have endured it out of loyalty to the royal family…
The affection created by loyalty and Adler’s honest and warm heart was enormous and strong.
“Adler, I hope you’ll be glad to have your first vacation in five years.”
“I hope you think so.”
Leone muttered as he looked in the direction Adler had gone far. Trixie looked at Leone like that and thought, ‘As expected, now he understands his affection and has become more affectionate to him.’ Leone also hoped that Adler would rest well and receive his reward happily. Because he has suffered so much in the meantime. And meanwhile, inside
‘I hope you never return to the castle for three days…’
He prayed like that.
“Let’s go.”
Leone led, Trixie followed. He entered her Adler’s temporary office and sat her down on her comfortable sofa, sitting next to her.
“I need an office too. Until now, it was unnecessary because I was busy wandering around and studying in the right places for each class, but now…”
Leone muttered as he thought back to what the emperor had said that he would soon hand over the throne.
“Now?”
Trixie asked as if curious about his slow words. Somehow, Leone thought, he didn’t want to tell Trixie yet. This was a new feeling again. After preparing all the gifts he had in mind, he wanted to surprise her by announcing the succession to the throne. The news of the succession to the throne was not that important, but the story to be shared with the emperor was important.
“…no.”
So Leone closed his mouth without realizing it. The inside of his chest tickled. He felt a little excited.
“What. Why are you talking-”
Knock, knock.
As Trixie answered in a rough voice, there was a knock on the door.
“Majesty. The Marquis of the North asks to see you.”
It was good timing. Normally, it wouldn’t have been very pleasant to have a strange man in the space where Trixie and I were alone, but now he just felt fortunate. Leone answered in a solemn voice so as not to let his swollen heart be heard.
“Let him in.”
Trixie quickly got up from the sofa and stood behind Leone. That action tightened Leone’s heart.
“I greet you, His Highness the Prince.”
“Sit down. What’s going on, Marquis?”
The way he bowed with moderation was truly befitting of the leader of the northern army. Today again, a black-haired man dressed in pitch black from head to toe approached and sat across from Leone.
“I came here because I have something to suggest about the banquet.”
“Surprising. Isn’t this a suggestion about trade between the north and the center?”
“Hmm. Your Majesty knew everything.”
“I know very well that food is scarce in the North. I have something in mind, will you listen to it?”
“Yes? Yes, yes.”
“Transportation is definitely a problem. It’s hard to make up your mind to go all the way to the frontier if you don’t have any troops. So, to enable easy procurement from the center to the border, I formed a merchant association and provided military support-”
The conversation between Leone and his marquis continued. Leone promised generous treatment, ignoring the determination of the Marquis, who came to demand an improvement in the treatment of the North under the pretext of a banquet.
“So far, the central government has not paid much attention to changes.”
In the meantime, he frowned and even reflected on his past events. Rather, the Marquis was a bit embarrassed. When they first met, the marquis thought that the prince was a decent person when he first bowed his head without pointing out his rudeness. However, this negotiation was a bit different. He came here with no expectations, considering that the central government had only provided minimal support for the change and had said they didn’t know, so he didn’t know it would be resolved so easily. But how could he relax like this? It was to the point where he began to wonder if Leone was throwing an empty check right now.
“What is your opinion?”
“Oh, yeah… that…”
The Marquis was lost in thought for a moment about how to respond. It’s so good. Could he answer that it’s too good? Did it look too hairless? Such thoughts. Leone leaned back, looking at the Marquis. These weren’t just words out of affection or a desire to help. Leone proceeded in a way he thought was reasonable. Such rationality as sharing food with a hungry family member or going hunting on behalf of a sick family member.
‘And… It’s the same as in the book… All he really has is black from head to toe…’
Meanwhile, Trixie couldn’t take her eyes off the Marquis. The existence of Marquis Levi was so amazing. It was exactly the same as what she saw in the illustration in the novel. How could he like black so much? When she actually saw it, it almost felt like a shadow. Well, Trixie thought, even though it was so dark, his face was very bright. It was dark last time so she couldn’t see him clearly, but when she saw him in bright light, he was a really beautiful and handsome man. The Marquis, dressed in pitch black, the opposite of Leone’s, was a cold-faced handsome man himself.
‘Of course, Leone is much more handsome.’
It wasn’t long before Leone felt ‘my lover’s stinging gaze looking at another man.’
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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