Chapter 16
Once it was out of my mouth, it became clearer.
This road was not the way to the drawing room on the third floor where I usually met Prince Dante.
Carpet patterns I’ve never seen before, famous paintings hanging on the walls I’ve never seen before, and new sculptures.
Unfamiliar stairs that I have never climbed.
Letier stood dumbfounded and waited for Reuter’s mouth to open.
“Princess.”
“Yes, Mr. Roizen.”
Letier swallowed her saliva.
Where are you taking me?
“We are now going to the Prince’s private office.”
At the unexpected word, Letier stared at Reuter.
The prince’s private office…?
“The way to the drawing room on the 3rd floor is to the right after leaving Princess’s room, and we turned left as soon as we came out, so I thought you would know….”
Reuters closed his eyes and replied.
The corners of his mouth were constantly twitching.
“Ah?”
“I’m surprised it took you until now to notice, you’re a bit more blind than I thought… Oh, no, I apologize for not explaining that to you sooner.”
Upon hearing Reuter’s words, Letier was a little chilled.
Ah… Was it like that?
As soon as I left the room, I didn’t even care if we went right or left.
Letier’s face seemed to heat up at the sight of herself who had been wary of Reuters.
“I was thinking about something else for a while… Let’s keep going.”
“Yes, princess.”
Reuter turned and started walking down the hallway.
However, this time he wasn’t far ahead of Letier and slowed down to keep pace with her.
“Isn’t our prince a bit eccentric?”
A kind smile was placed on the face of Reuter, who asked in a friendly way.
“Um… The mask is the weirdest, but it must be because it has deep scars.”
“Scar? Did you see the prince’s face?”
Reuter was startled and stopped.
“Oh, no, I was referring to the wound in his heart. I was thinking how much it hurt him to have people’s eyes on him, so much so that he covered his face.”
In response to Letier’s calm answer, Reuter calmly straightened his face, which had been hardened so that it was not obvious.
The thought that the princess might have checked the face of the prince through the last meeting quickly disappeared.
“Ah, I see. Thank you for your understanding.”
Reuter, looking at her from the side, he had a puzzled thought.
To call the princess from yesterday to today, even to himself, it didn’t seem like she had any business other than delivering cream.
Besides, if you think back to what happened in the commercial district…
Reuter’s friendly face quickly filled with concern.
“This is it.”
Somewhere in the hallway, Reuter stopped.
Reuters stopped in front of the luxurious door, making it clear that it was an important place even at a glance, and knocked softly.
“Prince, Re…This is Roizen. I have brought Princess Letier.”
“Come in.”
A low voice came from the other side of the door.
Reuter pushed the door open, and pulled back slightly to allow Letier to enter.
Letier gave Reuter a slight nod and entered the office.
“Princess Letier.”
As soon as I entered, I saw Prince Dante sitting behind a desk like a painting.
The sunlight streaming in through the large window directly behind his desk seemed to be a halo around him.
Letier grabbed the hem of her skirt and bowed slightly to Dante as she bowed, then he rose from his seat and strode towards her.
“I have a place to go.”
“Yes? Where….”
Letier asked, clutching the cream she was about to give to Dante.
Standing right in front of Letier, Dante naturally reached out his hand to her.
When Letier accidentally grabbed his hand, he led her down the hallway to the side of the office and headed for the small side door there.
“Where are we going?”
“You will know when we get there.”
When Dante opened the door, bright sunlight came in.
Letier blinked for a moment at the bright light that suddenly came in.
Dante, without hesitation, led her through the door.
As if I had moved to another space in an instant, I heard the chirping of small birds, and a cool breeze brushed through my hair.
A wide expanse of green was spread out before my eyes.
“This place… garden?”
“That’s right.”
Dante looked back at Letier, who was muttering a little, and answered in a voice mixed with laughter.
“It’s an outdoor garden with direct access from my office. No one is allowed in except those with permission.”
Letier slowly looked around.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary outdoor garden, but it was also an enclosed place, with tall trees densely packed on all three sides except for the side where the building is located.
However, the size of the garden was not small, so it did not feel stuffy at all.
“Wow… Isn’t it beautiful?”
Whether it was managed by a gardener, the landscape trees and ornamental trees growing everywhere were quite beautiful.
Birds flying between them and making beautiful songs also created a peaceful atmosphere.
Letier walked under a small tree and slowly swept the tree nest.
Dante slowly moved behind her and opened his mouth.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I think it would be better to do treatment here in the future.”
“Here?”
Letier turned her head to look at Dante and asked.
The round eyes felt cute.
“Isn’t it much better than a confined space? It is perfect for reducing the psychological distance between you and me in a short period of time.”
“Ah! Then, did you always get skin treatment here?”
“That’s not right.”
Huh?
It was something that didn’t make sense, but the prince tended to say things she couldn’t understand.
Letier decided to just nod.
“I like it. In a place like this, the prince’s skin disease will be cured quickly. It is important to allow air to pass through the painful skin.”
Dante stared blankly at Letier’s face as she uttered a serious expression.
Letier looked up at Dante, who looked down at her without saying anything.
“Why?”
“You don’t smile like you did yesterday.”
“Yes?”
Should I smile…?
Letier thought for a moment.
Did I think the prince would be such a jerk to force me to laugh?
“Hahaha…”
When Letier forcibly raised the corners of her mouth, Dante, who looked at her, smiled lightly as if he was dumbfounded.
“I didn’t mean to force a laugh. We’ll go over there and sit down.”
Letier turned her head in the direction Dante pointed.
Beneath a zelkova tree with a very thick trunk, a neat picnic blanket was laid.
Dante took the lead and took a seat on the picnic blanket first.
Letier quickly followed him and sat down at a spot slightly away, and the shade created by the zelkova tree covered her.
The dazzling sunlight wasn’t too hot, and the cool breeze blowing felt very good.
Letier muttered as she comfortably stretched out her legs.
“It feels good because it’s cool.”
“It’s my favorite place in the imperial palace.”
In a place like this, even the prince could take off his mask and be free.
With a sudden thought, Letier turned her head and looked at Dante.
I felt sorry for him because he couldn’t show his face properly in front of others.
“When you come here, does the prince take off his mask to rest?”
“Sometimes.”
“Then you can’t relax now because I’m here.”
“That’s not right. Maybe it’s because I’m used to it, but now I don’t feel so stuffy even when I’m wearing a mask.”
The calm voice sounded even more bitter.
Letier lowered her head and looked at the cream container she was holding.
“Prince.”
“Yes.”
“This is a sample of the cream I made. Apply it on your face morning and night.”
Letier held out a clear glass bottle containing the white formula.
Dante took it and looked around.
“Is there any other way to use it?”
“No. Just scoop it out, spread it thinly on your face, and tap it lightly to let it absorb. Is it easy?”
Dante unscrewed the cap of the glass bottle and, as Letier had said, put his finger in and scooped out the formula.
I had never applied a cream with such a high hardness because I did not like the stuffy and sticky feeling.
I don’t know if it’s a low-viscosity formula like water.
“Can I do it like this?”
Dante asked, holding out his cream-soaked hand.
Moist liquid seeped through the cotton glove.
Put this on your face…?
Just thinking about it made me feel damp and stuffy.
“No, you scooped up too much!”
Letier quickly stretched out her hand.
Spill it all, you wasted my formulation…!
Letier slowly removed the cream from Dante’s hand.
She looked awkwardly at Dante up and down, still smeared with cream.
Let’s see, a place where I can tell you while applying it yourself…
You’re wrapped up from head to toe, so I don’t know where to apply it…!
Noticing Letier’s puzzled expression, Dante took off his right glove without hesitation.
“Do it on the back of my hand.”
He abruptly held out the back of his gloved bare hand to Letier.
Letier was startled and looked down at the back of his hand.
The back of his hand, clean and spotless, was facing her.
The only difference from the back of his hand is his large and thick veins.
