The Lady is a Stalker

The next day, an invitation came from the imperial palace. The sender was none other than Prince Raven.

 

‘What? I saw him yesterday too.’

 

If he had anything to do with her, he could just come directly. Why was he asking her to come on a day like this when she was on vacation? Since she had a position, she couldn’t refuse outright and had no choice but to chew it out internally. Even though she was complaining, she had no choice but to come to the imperial palace. Even while on vacation, she had to see her boss’ face two days in a row. Spotting the prince sitting leisurely, Hannah frowned openly. Fortunately, he was looking at his papers and didn’t seem to see her expression.

 

“Oh, greeting the treasure of the great Seirakia Empire…”

 

When she tried to be polite, the crown prince waved his hand as if he was annoyed.

 

“Sit there and wait a moment.”

 

The crown prince pointed to the sofa in the corner and said so. When one calls a guest, one should treat them well. But since she was his subordinate, she did not complain and sat down calmly. She was scolding the crown prince in her mind, but before she knew it, he had finished his official duties and came up to her and said,

 

“Follow me.”

 

He didn’t even listen to her answer and just walked away with great strides. She was full of dissatisfaction. She was dissatisfied with being marked by her boss for two days in a row during her vacation, and she was also dissatisfied with the attitude of the crown prince who kept not saying what he wanted to say and instead acting like he was trying to figure it out. 

 

As she continued to chew on the prince in her mind, she eventually arrived at the place the prince wanted to go. For some reason, the crown prince looked nervous the entire time he was bringing her here. The place where the crown prince brought me looked like the garden of the imperial palace, but it was a space blocked from the outside by a transparent glass curtain. What on earth was he planning to do by bringing her here? When she looked at the crown prince with those eyes, he stood there with a nervous expression, cleared his throat ‘loudly’, and extended his hand towards her.

 

Blue flames began to flicker in his hand, which obviously had no device whatsoever. Then it immediately took on the shape of a human being, then the shape of a dragon, and soared high into the sky.

 

“Wow.”

 

This was actually her first time seeing magic. She guessed he had been dragging it out all this time just to show you this. It was a mysterious sight that could not be seen in reality. The prince’s well-refined magic power felt amazing. It felt like all the dissatisfaction she had until now was disappearing like snow melting. On the contrary, she felt a little grateful for being shown such a good sight. The crown prince, who was examining her expression, cleared his throat ‘loudly’ and asked her with a proud expression.

 

“…Isn’t it amazing?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The crown prince’s complexion brightened when she answered yes to his question about whether it was great. Perhaps encouraged by her answer, he became a little more proactive and asked a question.

 

“Do you want to learn?”

 

“I see. If I get the chance, I’d like to try it.”

 

Without much hesitation, she immediately gave a positive answer to the crown prince’s words. The prince’s complexion brightened at her answer. Normally, he would just giggle, but his already pretty face brightened up, giving the illusion that flowers were in full bloom around the crown prince.

 

He said, crossing his arms as if nothing had happened. He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from creeping up.

 

“Really? If you ask me for something, there’s nothing I can’t do for you.”

 

“What?”

 

She was starting to feel frustrated because the crown prince kept omitting the subject and talking around things. What on earth was he asking her to do? The crown prince was still looking at her with eyes full of expectation. He looked like he really needed to hear something from her today. There was also a bit of resentment mixed in, as if ‘I did this and you still don’t realize it.’

 

She used her brain as best as she could to come up with an answer that the Crown Prince would want to hear from her.

 

‘Oh, now that I think about it, I haven’t been able to say thank you yet.’

 

It felt bad to be forced to call her while she was on vacation, but she got to see things that ordinary people couldn’t see in their lifetime… Magic existed in this world, but it’s an environment where the number of people that could get close to magic was limited. Since learning was difficult, the number of wizards was naturally limited to a handful. Moreover, as the crown prince said, there were a small number of magicians who were locked in the magic tower and did not come out or were training in the forest, so it was impossible to encounter them under any circumstances. Perhaps it was a characteristic of geniuses, but their personalities were all eccentric.

 

Commoners could not even dream of it, and even nobles had little opportunity to see a wizard unless it was a holiday such as the Emperor’s coronation. Since he showed her such a precious thing just for her, it was only right for her to say thank you.

 

“Thank you for showing me something good.”

 

The prince’s expression got worse after hearing her answer. She guessed she made a mistake. If the crown prince even heard a thank you from her, it would be a big problem. Was she sick? Since yesterday, every time she said thank you, she felt bad. She decided that she would never say thank you to the crown prince again. 

 

Anyway, if he didn’t want to be thanked, why would he want praise? No matter how high his position was, he was still a child in the end. Maybe he wanted to show that he was this great. Besides, why did men tend to want to show off their strength in front of women? She thought the crown prince was far from bragging like that. But maybe the crown prince also showed her magic in that context. Even though he had abilities that were far beyond those of a human, inside he was just an ordinary boy.

 

She said in the most excited voice she could muster.

 

“You are truly amazing.”

 

“…”

 

He couldn’t hide his disappointment with her answer this time. Was her praise not enough? Well, the word ‘amazing’ was probably something the crown prince always heard. Although the crown prince was a magic genius, he was not the type to use magic too much. He must have decided to show her magic after much deliberation. He may have felt that her sincerity was not enough to just say it was great.

 

She rolled her head and came up with the words that came out of her mouth.

 

“Uh, Raven’s magic power is blue, so the color is pretty and flashy…”

 

“Ha. That’s enough now.”

 

The crown prince sighed and spoke in a dull voice. He spoke with a resigned expression, nervously brushing his bangs. What did he expect from me? 

 

“I went out of my mind for a moment.”

 

Even saying that, the crown prince looked so disappointed. It seemed like the crown prince’s business was over. She said goodbye to the crown prince, who was still looking depressed, and told him she would return to the Duchy. Of course, she thought he would let her go, but the crown prince asked me back in an astonished voice.

 

“You’re going?”

 

He reacted as if he had heard something nonsense. Was saying that she would return to the Duke’s house something that was so unheard of?

 

She tilted her head and said.

 

“Do you still have business left for me?”

 

“…It’s not like that, but…”

 

The crown prince hesitated at her words and spoke in a crawling voice. After hesitating for a while, he spoke with a red face. The voice was so quiet that it was difficult to understand.

 

“By any chance, if the esophagus is still there, then… I’m still in Saga….”

 

‘Ah. I could understand this much.’

 

He wanted to suggest a meal, but she felt like he was too embarrassed to say it. How good would it be if he just said it this way on a daily basis? She finally realized his intention, but she had no intention of accepting his request for a meal. Just thinking about eating alone with the crown prince took her breath away. Moreover, why all of a sudden? Who was willing to fast because they didn’t want to eat the food she cooked?

 

She decided to decline his offer as politely as possible.

 

“Thank you for the offer, but I already finished eating before coming to the imperial palace, so it’s okay.”

 

The crown prince was dumbfounded by her words, opened his mouth and looked shocked. Was it a shock that came from not expecting that she had finished eating, or was it a shock that his stalker immediately rejected his offer?

 

While he was shocked, she turned her back on him and tried to walk away. At that time, he finally came to his senses and urgently tried to catch her.

 

“…Well, then, how about we get some refreshments and then head back? Well, a tribute came in from the southern country, but haven’t you been able to use the kitchen for sweets for a long time? I’ll treat you like an apology for what happened before.”

 

She didn’t know about the princess’s tastes, but she didn’t think Prince Raven was the type who likes sweets either. She didn’t know what the crown prince’s intentions were, but she had no intention of accepting such a suspicious invitation. She looked back to decline the prince’s offer again. As she faced the prince again, she saw him looking up at her with an earnest expression that was uncharacteristic of him. When she met those eyes, she was inwardly surprised.

 

‘Isn’t it a trap…?’

 

Was he really saying that he wanted to eat sweets alone with her without any ulterior motives? There’s no way an old guy like this would make such a cute suggestion… He hated her, right? However, his golden eyes were blemish-free and had an earnest look. Anyway, she could sense that he had no ulterior motives, but they weren’t close enough to chat over refreshments. She had to refuse with the excuse that she was busy. It would be enough to lie about having to provide food for your cat at home. With that in mind, she was about to open her mouth, but suddenly she encountered the crown prince’s golden eyes.

 

“…”

 

She froze with her mouth open for a moment. His anxious, shaking eyes seemed to subconsciously sense that she would not accept his invitation. He has probably never been rejected in his life. With the title of Crown Prince, who could refuse to come forward like this? He looked like he would die of shame if the words of rejection came out of her mouth. He probably didn’t know what face he was making right now. His earnest eyes and mana contorted his expression as if he were in trouble.

 

No matter how much it was her, she refused… It’s hard to do so.

 

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