“Waaah!”
Out of nowhere, a bunch of children suddenly surrounded Letier and Dante.
The small children looked up at Letier with sparkling eyes.
“Princess!”
“She’s a princess!”
“Guys, I’m not a princess, I’m a noble lady. And if you’re talking about royalty, then actually he’s more…”
Letier pointed seriously at Dante, but he stepped in to block her.
“What are you saying to the kids?”
“Huh? But I should tell them the truth!”
“No! You’re wrong! That man is the servant, and she’s the princess!”
No, you guys are wrong…!
Worried Dante might get upset, Letier shook her head desperately.
“That’s not it…!”
“Why do you think that?”
Dante bent his knees and crouched down to meet the children at eye level and asked.
He didn’t seem upset at all.
The kids weren’t scared of him and answered clearly.
“Because! The princess is beautiful and looks really smart! And her hair is all shiny and golden and super pretty!”
“Then why do you think I’m the servant?”
“You’re scary!”
“You’re big!”
“You’re stiff!”
The kids blurted out honest answers.
Dante lowered his head and started chuckling, clearly amused.
“Hey kids, you shouldn’t say stuff like that right to someone’s face.”
“Letier, if you argue that seriously, it just makes what they said sound true.”
Looking at her in disbelief, Dante fished a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to the child standing in front.
“Here. Go get something tasty with your friends.”
“Wow!”
“Wow, the servant’s nice!”
“Thank you!”
The child who received the shiny coin beamed and turned to the others.
Some of them jumped up and down, cheering with joy.
After waving goodbye to Letier and Dante, the kids dashed off toward the stall across the way without a second glance.
“Noisy little things.”
Once they were gone, Dante stood up and stretched his legs.
“Do you like kids?”
“I like people who are honest and cute.”
He looked at Letier as he said it.
And though he didn’t say it aloud, it felt like he was including the person standing in front of him in that group.
Letier, meeting his heavy gaze for a moment, quickly changed the subject.
“…Let’s go eat something tasty too!”
“Sure.”
Without hesitation, Letier turned and walked toward the stall the kids had run to.
It was unclear whether she just wanted to get away from him quickly, or if she was genuinely curious about the snacks the kids had talked about.
****
“Waaah…! This is really delicious.”
Letier said with genuine amazement.
As expected, kids always pick the best stuff.
Dante raised his thumb and gently wiped the corner of her mouth.
“You’re not a kid. Is it really that good?”
“It’s the perfect mix of sweet and soft. Seriously, it’s the best.”
“There’s nothing like this in the Duchy of Lenever?”
“No! This is my first time seeing it!”
She looked down at the chick-shaped pastry in her hand.
As if they had recreated an actual chick, the flour-covered yellow breadcrumbs were fluffy.
It looked cute, and it tasted great. So good!
“Don’t ask me to send you some when you go back to the duchy. I won’t.”
“Why not…”
“So I’ll still have an excuse to make you come back to the capital.”
Oh…
Letier hesitated for a moment, quietly chewing on her pastry, then slowly opened her mouth.
“Even without that…”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll come up often anyway. I have to stop by Simon’s ingredient shop too.”
“You’re really dedicated.”
“I can’t be careless about checking ingredients. There’s no decent store in the Lenever territory.”
Dante mulled over her answer for a moment before speaking.
“Are raw materials not very abundant in the Trillante Empire?”
“No. We import most of them. Simon’s shop just happens to carry a wide variety of imports, so that’s where I go.”
“Then, by any chance…”
Dante glanced at Letier, carefully asking,
“Have you ever thought about going to the Kingdom of Eustian?”
“The Kingdom of Eustian?”
“No, never mind. That was nonsense. Forget it.”
Dante immediately covered his eyes with one hand as he spoke.
He regretted blurting something out in his impatience.
Even if he was in a hurry…
Letier looked at him, finished swallowing her chick pastry, and finally responded.
“If you mean the Kingdom of Eustian… it borders both desert and dense forests, so it’s rich in all kinds of resources, right? That’s where Simon does most of his trading too.”
So it wasn’t total nonsense after all.
Dante couldn’t hide his complicated feelings as he gave a vague nod.
“You’re right. But just pretend you didn’t hear that. It wasn’t something I should say to the Lady of Lenever.”
Letier fidgeted with the crinkly wrapper of the chick pastry.
She understood what the prince meant.
“Well, I guess it makes sense. The process to get permission to enter Eustian is really strict.”
The Kingdom of Eustian, simply put, was a treasure trove of resources.
With its diverse natural environment, it provided materials, ingredients, and foods that were nearly impossible to obtain in other nations.
Because of that, many empires had coveted it for generations, and the kingdom had always lived under threat.
“…It’s not entirely impossible, though.”
These days, only a very select few from the Trillante Empire—their near-only ally—were granted entry. All other nations were strictly prohibited from entering.
“It was greedy of me.”
“Greedy for what?”
Letier asked.
Bringing up the Kingdom of Eustian out of nowhere, and then talking about greed? It didn’t make much sense.
But Dante didn’t seem willing to answer the question.
“Let’s go. Your escort knight just spotted me.”
Dante pointed across the way.
The cosmetics sale must have ended, because Efron had appeared from somewhere and was watching Letier and Dante from a distance.
Seriously, either hide or come over properly…
“I hope we’ll still have time together before you leave.”
Dante stood up and held out his hand to her.
Letier stared silently at his outstretched hand.
A large, rough, but warm hand with no glove.
“……”
Now, the end was truly drawing near.
With her skin treatment finished, she would have to return to the Duchy of Renebur as soon as the founding festival ended.
And once she returned this time, she and the prince would…
“…Why did you bring up the Kingdom of Eustian?”
Letier asked, still not standing up.
It was the first time she’d ever clung to someone’s words so stubbornly, and he looked slightly flustered.
“What?”
“The Kingdom of Eustian. Why did you suddenly mention it?”
“I told you—it was nonsense. Forget it.”
“No. I want to know.”
“That’s strange. Why are you being so stubborn, all of a sudden?”
Letier didn’t know why she was acting this way either.
Usually, if something didn’t make sense, she’d just let it be. If someone avoided a topic, she wouldn’t push.
But today, she didn’t want to do that.
“Come on, get up. Your escort knight is starting to glare at me.”
Dante lightly shook his outstretched hand up and down.
“The Kingdom of Eustian.”
“Hah.”
He gave a dry chuckle.
This was the first time she’d ever been this insistent.
“Letier.”
“Are you planning to visit the Kingdom of Eustian?”
Letier asked.
Dante looked down at her for a moment, then nodded with a resigned expression.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve been assigned to a diplomatic security mission. Once the paperwork is in order, I’ll be visiting the Kingdom of Eustian. There’s a need to revise the terms of our alliance.”
“I see.”
Letier quietly lowered her head.
Ever since he’d taken off his mask, he had slowly been returning to his duties as a prince.
And he would only get busier from now on.
Even if Letier visited the capital from time to time, he would become someone she couldn’t easily meet.
“Come on, let’s go. Your escort knight is getting closer and closer.”
She could see Efron gradually approaching, staring at her with a confused look, wondering why she wasn’t moving.
Letier had no choice but to finally get up.
****
“I want to go to the Kingdom of Eustian.”
“Wow, I see.”
“They’ve got tons of new ingredients there.”
“Oh, I see.”
Lucy replied absentmindedly as she packed.
She didn’t even glance at Letier, just opened the wardrobe and started tossing in the clothes hanging inside one by one.
“I’m not just saying that—I really mean it.”
“Yes, I’m sure you do. You never say things you don’t mean, my lady. But as you know, the Kingdom of Eustian isn’t a place just anyone can go.”
At Lucy’s reply, Letier pouted and flopped back onto the bed.
“Even if I ask Father, it wouldn’t work?”
“Well… our Duke of Lenever has a lot of money, that’s true. But that place isn’t somewhere you can get into just by being rich.”
“You mean you need a good reason?”
“Exactly, a reason! Now, time to sleep, my lady!”
Lucy, having finished packing, walked over and pulled the blanket over Letier.
Before Letier could say anything more, Lucy even reached over and clicked off the small lamp on the side table.
In the dark, Lucy spoke with clear and crisp pronunciation.
“Instead of thinking about the Kingdom of Eustian, maybe think a little more about your beloved Lenever territory! The one where the Duke is probably waiting with his neck stretched out!”
“Ah…”
Letier let out a small sigh.
The fact that she would be leaving the imperial palace tomorrow and heading back to the duchy suddenly hit her all over again.
