“Ugh, my head hurts…”
Letier sat up, clutching her head from the stabbing pain of a headache.
She must have overdrunk last night without realizing it—she couldn’t remember anything after she had downed that traditional liquor.
“How did I even get back here…?”
Letier looked down at herself—clean, dressed in comfortable sleepwear.
It had to be Lucy.
“Lady Letier, you’re awake?”
Right on cue, the door opened, and Lucy entered carrying a wooden tray with a simple breakfast on it.
Letier nodded, lifted the blanket, and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
“Did you bring me back to my room last night, Lucy?”
“Nope! His Highness the Prince did.”
“The Prince?”
Why?
She didn’t remember even having a proper conversation with him last night.
Meanwhile, Lucy brought the side table closer to the bed and set the tray down on it.
“By the way, why did you drink so much? I’ve never seen you that drunk before.”
“Uh… I don’t know? I guess it tasted good and I just kept sipping without realizing.”
Letier looked at the tray Luci had set down.
A piece of golden toast with strawberry jam caught her eye.
“Do you have a hangover?”
“My head hurts a bit, but my stomach’s fine.”
Just as Letier picked up the toast and was about to take a bite, there was another sound at the door.
“Who could that be? I’ll go check!”
Lucy, who had just been pouring her a glass of milk, quickly stood up and rushed over to the door.
She opened it slightly and exchanged a few words with someone outside—then turned back with an awkward expression.
“Lady Letier, did you have an appointment with someone today?”
“Hmm?”
Letier, chewing her toast, tilted her head.
Did I?
She thought to herself that she really needed to drink less and scrambled to recall last night.
Who did I…
“It’s a really big guy,” Lucy added, stretching her arms wide and drawing a round shape above her body for emphasis. “His shoulders are like this wide!”
Only then did Letier remember who she had made a promise with.
“Oh! Sion!”
****
“Are you feeling okay, Miss Therapist?”
“Yes, I’m totally fine!”
Letier answered with the kindest voice she could manage.
No wonder—Sion had been glancing nervously at her for a while now, like he was walking on eggshells.
“I-I see… That’s a relief.”
“Um… Did I hit you or something last night, Sion?”
“Sorry? Where did that come from?”
“It’s just… you look so nervous. Like I smacked you on the back of the head or something.”
Unable to hold it in any longer, Letier asked cautiously.
At her words, Sion looked genuinely stunned for a moment, as if he really had been hit in the head—then suddenly burst out laughing.
“A smack on the head? I don’t think you could even lay a finger on me, Miss Therapist.”
…I could hit you while you’re sitting, you know!
Letier felt a bit unfairly judged but was secretly relieved that he seemed back to his usual self.
She glanced at Sion, who had regained his bright and breezy smile, and spoke again.
“Kidding. That smile suits you, Sion.”
“Th-thank you.”
Sion’s face turned bright red—like a plum—at her compliment.
Letier thought he was an incredibly easy-to-read man and turned her gaze from him as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
“So are you taking me to the commercial district today?”
“Ah! Yes, of course. We made a promise to go together.”
“I promised?”
Letier asked, confused at the part she didn’t remember. Sion’s expression turned a bit awkward.
“Do you… not remember?”
“Oh! I’m so sorry… The truth is, I drank too much yesterday… I barely remember anything from halfway through our conversation.”
At times like this, it was always better to be honest than to pretend.
Letier decided to lay everything out before she said something wrong.
“To be honest, I completely forgot about our plan today until you came to pick me up…”
“Ah, I see… You weren’t feeling well during the second half of the night, that’s true.”
Sion said with a concerned expression.
He kept glancing at Letier and licking his lower lip nervously before finally gathering the courage to ask:
“Do you… not remember us going out to the garden together?”
“I went to the garden?”
She really had no memory of it.
Letier was once again impressed by the potency of Eustian traditional liquor—she even wondered if it could be used as an ingredient in skincare products.
“I thought some fresh air might help, so I brought you outside.”
“Oh, I see. Thank you for taking care of me.”
Letier smiled softly as she replied.
Seeing her smile, Sion hesitated—debating whether or not to bring up Prince Dante.
It was clear that bringing up the prince wouldn’t do anything good for the mood.
But for the sake of clarity—both for his relationship with Letier and the diplomatic balance between the two nations—he thought it was better to bring things out into the open.
After some serious internal debate, he closed his eyes and blurted out:
“So, um… about His Highness…”
“Hm?”
“May I ask… what kind of relationship you have with him?”
It was a more direct question than expected, but for someone who had never been particularly delicate, it was the best he could manage.
“Why are you asking about the prince all of a sudden?”
Letier tilted her head in confusion.
They’d been talking about liquor and visiting the market—why the sudden shift?
“Actually, when we were talking in the garden… the prince came to find you.”
“Ah…!”
So that’s why he ended up taking her back to her room?
“But… you two seemed… a lot closer than I expected…”
Sion scratched the back of his neck, clearly unsure how to phrase it without being rude.
Finally understanding what he was trying to ask, Letier opened her mouth.
“Oh! We have a bit of a special relationship.”
“Y-you do?”
Sion stammered, surprised.
He at least expected her to deny it—but she admitted it so easily?
“What do you mean by… special?”
His heart pounded at the heavy truth he thought he was about to face.
A truth that could shake the alliance between their two nations.
Letier hesitated for a moment, then spoke again in a small voice:
“Prince Dante relies on me a lot.”
“H-how…”
“I’m one of the few people who’ve earned his trust and faith.”
As she said it, Letier realized how proud and honored she felt to be someone the prince trusted.
Maybe that’s why words just kept spilling out, even the ones Sion hadn’t asked for.
“Prince Dante is… well, kind of like a loner in the palace.”
“A loner?”
“Well, anyway! He really depends on me. So… we share a deep friendship.”
“Friendship…?”
No way that was just friendship.
The prince who knelt in front of Letier last night, clearly nervous just to meet her gaze—that look of affection went far beyond mere friendship.
But…
Sion looked at Letier, who seemed to truly believe that was all it was.
Maybe she really doesn’t see it yet…
It would probably take a long time for this miss skin therapist to realize the prince’s feelings.
Which meant… Sion still had time. And chances.
With that thought, a sly smile crept across his lips.
“I see. So that’s the kind of relationship you have! A deep friendship that transcends social status—how admirable!”
“Yes! So which way are we going now?”
“Ah, this way. I have a carriage ready over here.”
He naturally moved closer to Letier as he led the way.
As long as he got close enough, winning her heart wouldn’t be all that hard for him.
****
“Wow, you can process dragon bones like this?”
Letier marveled as she let the shimmering powder fall between her fingers under the light.
Dragon bones were usually dull and grayish in color, but the glittering powder in front of her looked like a clean beach shimmering under bright sunlight.
“Pretty, right? Add it to your bathwater, and whoa, it’s a sight to see!”
“This would look so pretty in a product, too…”
“In a product?”
“In cosmetics. It makes things all sparkly.”
“Aha! That’s true!”
The ingredient merchant, excited by a passionate customer he hadn’t seen in a while, eagerly began pulling out various rare materials from his collection.
“Take a look at this too! This is oil from the Gonsmos fruit—it smells amazing.”
“Wow, it really does…”
“But! It contains trace amounts of poison, so unfortunately, it can’t be used in cosmetics.”
“That’s a shame…”
“Over here! Could you show me that one too?”
“Ah, yes—just a moment!”
Just then, another customer searching for ingredients pulled the enthusiastic merchant away from Letier mid-pitch.
Ingredient shops in Eustian really were booming with business.
Letier turned her head and looked around the crowded shop.
What is everyone using these ingredients for…?
“Not everyone’s making cosmetics, I guess…”
Right then, as Letier mumbled to herself, someone with vaguely familiar hair brushed quickly past her.
Hair of a color that, once seen, could never be forgotten.
