“No matter how I looked at it, it felt like a waste. So I snuck off with a couple.”
“The Phoebe berries? What if there had been a magic plant mixed in…!”
“That’s why I only took a couple.”
Dante replied in a light tone.
Letier wanted to scold this reckless prince, but she couldn’t hide the corners of her mouth that kept trying to curl up.
“But shouldn’t we store this in the Magic Tower? All the magic plants we collected went there.”
“I already sent half to the Magic Tower. The other half, I saved for you.”
Hearing that made her feel much more at ease.
The magic plant samples they barely managed to collect during the early investigation of the Forest of Memories had all been handed over to the wizards of the Magic Tower for research.
She had hoped she could at least get a small part of what she’d collected, but maybe because they were dangerous samples, she had been firmly refused.
Letier couldn’t believe she was holding in her hands a plant from deep inside the Forest of Memories—an extremely rare Phoebe berry extract, at that.
“You like it that much?”
Dante, sitting across from her and watching her smiling face, asked.
Letier nodded enthusiastically.
“I was so curious. Honestly, it broke my heart to just leave the Phoebe berries behind and come back…”
“What do you plan to do with them?”
“First, I’m going to do a special analysis with a tiny amount to see what kind of oil it resembles, and I’ll also try to find any hidden effects.”
Letier replied with a bright smile, not even realizing how genuine it was.
Dante looked at her—so innocent in that moment—and burst into a soft laugh.
“To think I did something this foolish just to see that smile.”
“…What?”
“I’m saying… since you’re happy, I’m happy too.”
Letier clearly heard what Dante said, but it felt like she’d heard something she wasn’t supposed to.
She didn’t know how to respond, so she just fidgeted with the glass bottle in her hands.
Her chest felt all fluttery and warm.
Boom!
Just then, the room lit up a bit brighter, and a loud explosion rang out from outside the window.
Letier quickly turned her head.
“It’s the fireworks festival! It must’ve already started!”
She hurried to her feet and ran to the window.
Dante followed her, undid the window latch, and pushed both sides open.
A cool night breeze brushed past Letier’s hair.
Boom!
Another beautiful firework exploded.
In the distance, they could hear gasps and cheers from the direction of the banquet hall.
Letier couldn’t take her eyes off the stunning sight—something she hadn’t seen since she was very young.
It’s so pretty…
Pop!
“Wow! That one was really—”
Letier turned her head without thinking—and flinched when she found Dante’s face way too close.
He had been standing behind her, watching the fireworks too, and now his eyes met hers as she froze mid-sentence.
“…”
Letier stared blankly into Dante’s red eyes—intense, like the fireworks in the sky.
If you looked closely, you could see hidden flecks of gold—a beautiful color.
Like watching embers dance in a fire, or suddenly remembering the deep colors of dusk.
“…Ah.”
A bit late, the heat rushed to her face like a delayed flush.
Letier quickly turned her head, realizing she had been rudely staring straight at a prince.
She blinked quickly, trying to focus on the fireworks again—but she couldn’t help being way too aware of Dante standing behind her.
“Letier.”
At that moment, Dante reached out and gently touched just below her ear, guiding her to look at him.
Letier, unable to resist, let him turn her head.
The same eyes that had locked her in place a moment ago once again filled her vision.
He looked down at her in silence for a moment, then slowly began to speak.
“When the banquet ends, you’ll return to the Renneber estate, won’t you.”
“…”
Letier couldn’t answer.
Behind her, the fireworks kept going off with loud pops.
She could feel the faint warmth, too.
She’d wanted to see this festival so badly…
She felt like turning away right now—but also wanted to stay just like this a little longer.
“What do you want to do when you get back to the estate? You said you wanted to return.”
Dante asked with a gentle voice and warm eyes.
Letier gave strength to her trembling voice and managed to answer.
“…I’ll see my father—it’s been a while. And maybe visit the store. It runs fine without me, but still.”
“Invite me next time, too. I’d really like to visit the first store you built.”
“Okay.”
Dante slightly moved the thumb that was resting on her chin.
It felt like all her senses were focused on that one tiny spot where he touched her.
“I wanted to spend a little more time with you.”
He continued in a low voice.
“Considering how desperately I confessed that I needed you… this ending feels kind of empty. Funny, isn’t it.”
Letier, who had been quietly looking up at him, asked in a small voice.
“Why did you suddenly take off your mask?”
“…Because of a variable.”
Dante looked down at the small girl staring up at him.
That variable was her.
Getting oddly serious about skincare, entering the Forest of Memories he swore never to return to, even taking off his mask earlier than planned—
“Your Highness always says such confusing things.”
“Do I?”
“Actually, not just you. Everyone here in the palace talks like that.”
Letier muttered quietly.
Boom boom boom!
Another thunderous boom echoed as if shaking the ground.
It seemed to be nearing the finale, with massive fireworks exploding like they were setting off everything left.
Letier and Dante turned their heads at the same time, silently watching the sight.
She had to pause and think—was her whole body thumping from the loud noise of the fireworks exploding right before her eyes, or from the small, steady pounding of her heart at the center of her chest?
After some time, the fireworks festival ended, and a quiet darkness settled in.
Dante stepped slightly away from Letier and walked over to a display cabinet set against one wall of the office.
He opened the glass door and took out a bottle of wine, returning with two glasses that had been placed alongside it.
“From how you acted at the banquet and your earlier reaction, it seems you quite like wine.”
“It’s not really like that…”
Letier trailed off but couldn’t take her eyes off the wine bottle he was holding.
She normally wasn’t much of a drinker.
The wine she’d tasted once or twice from the Duke of Lenever had only seemed bitter and dry, but the wine she had at the banquet had surprised her with its sweetness and flavor.
Maybe it was because the wine supplied to the royal palace was especially high quality?
“Since I dragged you here, I’ll give you one more gift.”
Dante placed the two wine glasses on the desk and gently filled them with wine.
He handed one of the glasses to Letier.
The fragrant, sweet scent wafted up to her nose right away.
“Is this a wine you especially like, Your Highness? You even keep it here in your office.”
“Not particularly. It was a gift, but the taste isn’t bad.”
Letier lightly clinked her glass against Dante’s.
The clear sound of glass meeting glass rang out pleasantly.
Moved by that cheerful sound, Letier smiled with her eyes and took a sip.
“Don’t drink it too fast. It’s stronger than you’d think.”
At Dante’s words, Letier naturally thought of Aiden at the banquet.
They really are brothers… even the way they talk is the same.
Even though they look completely different.
“Your Highness.”
Letier called out to Dante.
Her voice sounded strange to her own ears.
It kept slurring slightly, and the floaty, fuzzy feeling in her head told her this wine was definitely stronger than the one at the banquet.
Feeling bolder than usual, Letier asked a question she would never have dared to ask under normal circumstances.
“Is it true you went into the Forest of Memories for the Crown Prince?”
“Who told you that?”
Dante, who looked completely unaffected compared to her, asked calmly.
It could have been a rude question, but he didn’t seem upset.
His reaction gave Letier a bit more courage, and she raised her voice.
“Please don’t ask that!”
“The Empress, I bet.”
“…”
Letier clamped her mouth shut like a clam.
Should I not have said that…
Dante tilted his head slightly and looked toward the display shelf across the room before slowly beginning to speak.
“It’s true I went into the Forest of Memories a few years ago. It was to treat Aiden’s condition, so I guess you could say it was for him.”
“His condition? Was it serious?”
“Not exactly.”
Dante shook his head.
Before she realized it, Letier’s face had become noticeably flushed, and he stared at her quietly.
Maybe I shouldn’t have let her drink.
“It was a side effect of a medicine.”
“A side effect?”
“There was a tonic the Empress had made for Aiden. But it didn’t seem to suit his body. One day, he lost consciousness and collapsed, and his body began to dry out—he was suffering from dehydration-like symptoms.”
Ah…
The symptoms sounded worse than she’d imagined, and Letier couldn’t say anything in response.
Trying to ease the fear on her face, Dante replied as lightly as he could.
“But as you know, he’s fully recovered now. There’s barely a trace or scar left.”
“Was that thanks to a cure Your Highness found in the Forest of Memories?”
“No. There was never anything like that in the forest to begin with. Someone probably sent me there on purpose.”
Dante said it casually as he poured more wine into his glass.
Back then, what he encountered in the Forest of Memories wasn’t some terrifying magic plant.
What he faced was betrayal—and helplessness.
He had been betrayed by someone he trusted. Yet even then, he had been powerless to do anything.
To wash away that bitter feeling suddenly rising inside him, Dante took a deep drink of his wine.
“You’ve taken off your mask now… but does that mean Your Highness might be in danger going forward?”
Letier asked, looking at him.
Dante didn’t answer right away.
He stared into his empty glass for a moment, then smiled and turned to her.
“No. Nothing changes just because I took off the mask. I only realized that too late.”
“I see.”
Letier nodded, her heart filled with genuine support.
Looking into her eyes, Dante suddenly said,
“Let’s stop with the boring talk. I didn’t bring you here to say all this. You don’t have much time left before you return to Lenever.”
The moonlight streaming in through the window made his red gaze seem even deeper.
