‘Huh? That color…?’
Letier narrowed her eyes.
It was long silver hair that reached the waist, so bright and clear it almost hurt to look at.
That hair was definitely…
Something about it felt familiar, and she couldn’t take her eyes off the woman’s hair. Just then, the woman, who had been glancing around while holding a small pouch, suddenly met Letier’s gaze directly.
“!”
The middle-aged woman who locked eyes with Letier flinched and quickly pulled her robe over her head.
She even dropped the pouch she was holding and pressed the robe down over her face, trying to avoid Letier’s gaze as much as possible.
Thanks to that, Letier was startled too and quickly looked away.
I didn’t mean to stare like that!
“Healer? Were you… looking for something…?”
Sion, who had been standing by her side the whole time, asked in a puzzled voice.
Letier quickly shook her head.
“No!”
She bowed her head deeply, fidgeting with her hair for no reason, just waiting for the material seller to return.
Then, without even realizing it.
A quick glance.
She looked again toward where that woman had been…
‘She’s gone…’
The woman was already gone.
****
“Miss Therapist, did you have fun?”
Sion asked as they came out of the ingredients shop.
“I did, a lot! There were so many ingredients I couldn’t find in the Trillante Empire. I couldn’t buy everything, but I think I got a lot of ideas.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Sion replied with a wide grin.
He looked around for a moment, then pointed to a quiet-looking café on the corner.
“Would you like to sit over there and have a drink before we go?”
“Sure. Since you gave me such a great tour, the drinks are on me.”
Letier nodded and walked ahead into the café.
Sion seated Letier at a sunny window spot, then returned with the café’s most popular drink— a cream café latte—just for her.
“But I said I’d treat…”
“Oh, how could I let someone visiting our kingdom pay? It’s the duty of a Eustian citizen to properly host our guests!”
Letier took the café latte he handed over, thinking that she’d have to give him a bunch of Lenever cosmetics in return.
I’ll give him some of the limited-edition ones coming out soon…
“Wow! This is really good!”
She said, eyes sparkling, as she brought her lips to the cup with fluffy cream piled on top.
It was a completely different kind of drink from what she was used to in the Trillante Empire.
A bit sweeter, but with a subtle bitterness at the end… an addicting flavor.
“Cream café latte is one of those things you absolutely have to try before leaving the Kingdom of Eustian!”
“Besides the café latte, are there other must-try things?”
“Of course! Don’t worry! I’ll guide you through them all!”
Sion proudly raised his chin and thumped his chest, as if telling her to trust him completely.
Letier looked up at him with eyes full of trust.
“Ah, just a moment.”
At that, he leaned forward quickly.
“…You had some cream on your lips.”
Sion reached out and carefully wiped the cream from her lips with his thick fingers.
He stared straight into her eyes with those uniquely dark pupils of his.
His fingers, lingering just a bit too long near her lips, felt strangely hot.
“Ah… thank you.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Letier grabbed a napkin and wiped the same spot he had touched.
Y-you could’ve just told me…
“Miss Therapist, do you have any favorite foods?”
Across from her, Sion asked while sipping his drink.
Despite the fame of the cream café latte, he had brought a regular coffee for himself.
“Favorite foods?”
“Yes, since we’ll probably be eating together a lot, it’d be good to know in advance.”
Sion was quite the smooth talker.
To bring up future plans so naturally like this…
“I don’t think there’s anything I really love or can’t eat. Since I’m in a new place, I think it’s nice to try unique dishes too.”
“Perfect! Since we’re on the topic, shall we have dinner together before heading back?”
“Um…”
Letier rolled her eyes nervously.
What should I do…
“Ah! If it’s uncomfortable or if you already have plans, please feel free to say so.”
“Um… it’s just…”
Letier couldn’t finish her sentence.
There had never really been anyone this forward with her before, and truthfully, aside from Ephron, she hadn’t had much experience being alone with men.
“Ah… it seems I made things awkward. I only brought it up because there’s a place nearby that’s famous for Eustian traditional food…”
“It’s not that it’s awkward…”
“To be honest, I even made a reservation in my excitement… But since you don’t seem to have the time, I guess I’ll be dining alone tonight.”
No…!
Sion lost his smile…
“Then… shall we go together?”
In the end, Letier agreed, and Sion’s bright smile returned once more.
****
“Miss Therapist! I had a great time today.”
“Me too, Sion. Thank you for taking me to such nice places.”
“Shall we go out again sometime soon?”
“Hahaha…”
Letier smiled and gave a vague answer.
In truth, she felt completely drained after having dinner with him.
But she couldn’t let that show. Letier saw him off with her signature perfect public smile.
“Well then, I’ll be off!”
In front of the palace building where her room was located, Sion raised his arm high above his head and waved.
Letier also raised her right hand and gave a very small wave in front of her chest.
“Phew…”
As soon as Sion disappeared from sight, Letier relaxed her face completely and let out a deep sigh.
That guy… talks so much…
She just wanted to get inside, wash up, and get some sleep.
“You seem to have had fun.”
Just as she was about to enter the building, a low voice came from the shadows.
At the familiar voice, she turned her head to find Dante leaning against the rounded stair rail, just out of the reach of the light.
“Your Highness?”
He was glaring at the spot where Sion had stood moments ago and ran a hand through his hair in clear irritation.
“What are you doing here? Your quarters aren’t in this direction, are they?”
“I was out for a walk and kept hearing some sweet whispering voices.”
“Sweet?”
Letier blinked.
Who would’ve been having such a sweet conversation at this hour?
“What’s that in your hands?”
“Oh.”
Letier looked down at the paper bags she was holding in both arms.
She quickly offered one to him.
“Would you like some? It’s a cream bun that’s really famous in Eustian city. I tried one just a little while ago, and it was honestly delicious.”
“I don’t want it.”
D-did he have to say it like that…
Feeling a bit awkward, Letier pulled her hand back.
Still looking displeased as he stared at the bag of bread, Dante slowly pushed off the railing and walked toward her.
Letier naturally tilted her head up to look at him.
“I’ve been looking for you since morning. I didn’t expect your outing to last this long.”
“Was there something you needed?”
Dante looked into her eyes, which held no clue of what was going on.
So kind and innocent—she hadn’t even noticed that he was being a little short-tempered.
“…There’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”
He finally tore his gaze away from her with effort.
He didn’t even know what he was doing anymore. What a complete fool.
“I’m sorry. If you had let me know in advance, I would’ve cleared my schedule.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s late today, so I’ll come see you tomorrow morning.”
“Do as you like.”
Dante took the bags full of bread from her arms.
Now that her hands were free, he gave a slight nod toward the building’s interior.
Was that a sign for her to go in first?
Letier gave a little bow to express her thanks and walked ahead inside.
“Where exactly were you coming from?”
As they walked down the hallway, he asked.
Letier thought back on her entire day with Sion.
“In the morning, I visited a materials shop and browsed for a bit. After that, we went into a street café and had café lattes. Oh! Sion kept saying how different the café lattes in the Eustian Kingdom are, and it’s true—they’re really tasty.”
Dante stayed quiet and listened as she chatted away.
“After that, we went to this really nice traditional restaurant Sion knows, and had dinner together.”
“…..”
“And finally, we stopped by his favorite bakery and bought these cream buns. He said they’re amazing, so I thought I’d go back and share some with Lucy…”
“A perfect date, huh.”
He muttered bluntly.
“Pardon?”
“Did you enjoy it?”
Dante asked.
It sounded like a casual, meaningless question—but inside, he was burning up.
Did she enjoy it?
Letier thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“I think so.”
“You think so?”
“Well, the materials shop was fun, and the food was really good. I had a good conversation with Sion too.”
“Please. It’s not like you’ve known him for that long.”
Dante didn’t bother hiding his annoyed tone.
What’s gotten into him today…?
Sensing that the prince was in an unusually bad mood, Letier wondered what she could say to cheer him up, then opened her mouth.
“Your Highness, you should try it next time too!”
At her suggestion, Dante’s expression eased just a little.
“Will you come with me?”
“Nope!”
Letier answered firmly.
“You can go with Princess Rubia, Your Highness!”
