Rosie, the only daughter of the Marquis of Seiren and the heroine who would share a life with the crown prince.
She was described as elegant, even goddess-like, in the novel, but she was a little different in reality.
Rosie, with her long pink hair and long but delicate eyelashes, seemed to be a little younger.
‘Is it because she’s never been out of the house before…?’
Rosie was sickly, having been cursed when she was young.
The curse was inflicted on her by a wizard from a war-torn country. Ever since, the Marquis of Seiren has taken great care of Rosie, his only daughter.
But even after breaking the curse, the Marquis was careful.
He never let Rosie out of the manor, afraid of her meeting danger that he couldn’t thwart when apart from her.
Because of this fear, there were constantly new expansions being added to the Seiren Manor so that Rosie would not be bored. But no matter how much there was to do at home, Rosie’s desire to live freely in the outside world could not be contained.
Rosie had even fallen in love with the crown prince because of his free spirit.
‘Was she supposed to meet the crown prince at the Flori Festival?’
I only read the novel once, so I didn’t quite remember everything that happened perfectly.
I thought as hard as I could about when the two of them had first met.
‘She said she wanted to go to the bakery… did she meet the crown prince there?’
If it wasn’t for me, he would be floundering around in the bakery, starting today.
“Th-those people on the horses over there… are they still there?”
The men were getting a little closer to us.
I took her hand, and she looked back at me with a bewildered gaze.
“Wh-why are you…”
I smiled at her.
“We have to run. I know the shortcut. One that horses could never be ridden through.”
Holding her hand tightly in mine, we headed towards a narrow alley.
It was a back road frequented by merchants. An unofficial path that the knights didn’t know of.
We ran into the small passage and paused for a moment.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded her head, taking in a series of short breaths. Her face was flushed, yet she said with a bright smile:
“Thank you so much! I got away, all thanks to you!”
“Got away? From who?”
She looked perplexed at my question. But she soon started to explain.
“Those knights… They’re the ones who are meant to protect me, but… I’ve just become so frustrated by them…and I just wanted to come outside on my own.”
“You’re the Lady of Seiren, aren’t you?”
Surprised, she reached to cover her mouth with her hands. At this point, it almost seemed as though it were just a habit of hers to be surprised.
I gave an awkward smile in hopes of calming her down.
“Don’t be too surprised. Anyone from the village knows that the Marquis of Seiren has a beautiful daughter.”
“But… I was caught so easily!”
“It’s all right. Let’s go to the bakery first, though, before getting you back home.”
“…yes, ma’am.”
We walked quickly toward the bakery again.
The back road we were taking eventually led out to the main road. After all, it was only a detour.
It would have been faster to just follow the main road, but we had to get away from the knights.
So after half an hour, we eventually found our way back to the main road.
Perhaps bored by the long walk, Rosie asked:
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“My name is Irene.”
“Wow. That’s such a pretty name! You’re beautiful, too!”
Taking off her stuffy cape, she really did look like a fairy. Her pale, delicate face, and a gentle smile…
A face that the crown prince could now perhaps never fall in love with.
“Earlier… I was really touched.”
“Touched?”
Rosie continued, blushing a little.
“To the people who have ever been worried about finding the will to go on… You told me to keep going.”
“Ah..haha…yes. I sure did.”
My acceptance speech had been impassioned, but so embarrassing. I pulled my hair awkwardly away from my face.
“I thought it was… wonderful. So, how did you find yours? What is your will to live, Irene?”
Meeting her serious, yet dreamy gaze, I coughed.
“I… just want to open my own bakery. So I can make a lot of money, build my own house, and just live comfortably.”
Rosie nodded slowly, as if she had known all along.
“That’s… awesome.”
“…what?”
“Out of anything I’ve heard in my whole entire life…that’s the most awesome thing I’ve ever heard.”
‘Did she hear me clearly?’
Rosie seemed really moved by what I said.
But I couldn’t figure out why.
She followed up, asking questions about why I wanted to be a baker, and about what my favorite kind of pastries are.
They were silly questions, but I answered them all.
“…Our bakery offers a delivery service as well. We can deliver hot, freshly baked goods quite quickly.”
I also threw in a little bit of advertising.
“I’d love that! Please come by my house, too! I’ll give you any amount of money for that!”
‘Oh my God.’
I was jumping for joy in my head. Sure, I’d have to pay extra attention to the service for the goods delivered to the Manor, but…
If the Marquis likes my bread…
‘The investment offers will just keep coming in…’
I could barely keep my jaw from hanging. It can’t be long before I’m sleeping on beds of money.
“Today… won’t you be in trouble if you don’t go home?”
“My father is not here right now, but… if he comes home and finds out…then I’ll be in trouble.”
I was confident in her answer. We hurried, hoping to quickly return Rosie home.
* * *
“This is it! Our bakery. We don’t have a lot left at the moment, but the meringue cookies–”
“Irene…”
“Yes?”
“…I don’t think there’s anything to be eaten.”
Rosie pointed to the window, revealing the inside of the bakery. Hearing this, I turned to peer inside the bakery.
“Wh-what?”
My hands flew to my cover my mouth in shock.
The bakery was a mess–no, it was a disaster.
The shelves holding massive bags of flour had fallen to the ground, leaving the floor and the walls covered in white, powdery splotches. Shards of fallen lamps and splinters from broken tables littered the floor.
“What…”
“Oh, Irene… you’re back?”
David smiled awkwardly. But he was not the only one in the store.
“’The crown prince…’
“You back?”
He smirked at me.
I had no idea why he would be in the bakery now, when I thought he would never return. I just couldn’t understand why.
“What…happened here? And who are those people lying on the ground?”
“Haha… I guess this place does look like a tornado passed through, huh?”
Unlike David, who was at least trying to make decent excuses, the crown prince looked so calm.
‘At the end of the day… he still made this place such a mess…’
I sighed deeply.
I looked at the two men passed out and thrown to the floor.
‘Are they those kids from back at the tent…?’
“Did you… do this?”
I stared at the prince with a sharp look.
He nodded lightly, and David looked embarrassed.
“Well, that’s… Irene… they came here to try to kidnap you!”
“Irene,”
The crown prince slowly approached me after cutting David off.
Before I even knew it, he grabbed me by the chin.
My eyes shot open, surprised by his strong grip.
“Hey! What are you doing to Irene?”
“Hmm… you aren’t hurt. I guess they were bluffing.”
“Let go.”
“I’ll let go. But not because you asked.”
He loosened his grip on my chin.
I took a step back, pushing his hand away.
“…why are you here?”
“I had something to say.”
“Something to say? What could you possibly have to say after making such a mess in the bakery? What is it? That we can’t do anything if it’s not what you want?”
Harsh words began to flood out, though, they weren’t exactly what I meant.
Because if the crown prince disappeared from my sight forever, that would be more of a problem.
He moved to stand right in front of my face.
“Irene, I’m going to work. Here.”
“What did you say?”
“I’m working. With you.”
The crown prince smirked.
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
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