“Are you planning to eat separately again?”
“…Yes.”
“Seriously? Just a few days ago, Milord insisted on dining with Her Highness even after staying up for three nights straight, crawling back to the third prince’s palace. Now Milord is actively avoiding her? Why?”
“…”
“I can no longer tolerate the blemish of having my peaceful and perfect meal interrupted by Milord. At the very least, Milord should provide a reason so we can find a solution…”
Knock, knock. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
“Your Highness, are you inside?”
“Speak of the devil.”
“Pat, wait…”
Patrasche let out a dry laugh and suddenly stood up. Kayden tried to stop him urgently, but he moved like the wind and flung open the office door.
“Welcome, Your Highness.”
“Ah, Sir Remit.”
Diana appeared beyond the door. She smiled warmly when she saw Patrasche standing there.
“Please, just call me Pat from now on. Are you here to dine with His Highness?”
“Yes. He isn’t feeling unwell again today, is he?”
“His Highness is perfectly fine.”
When Diana asked with a worried expression, Patrasche shook his head firmly. With that, Diana turned to Kayden with a brightened face.
“That’s a relief. Then let’s have a meal together…”
But as soon as Diana started to speak, Kayden, who had risen urgently, wrapped one arm around Patrasche’s shoulder and rolled his eyes. “Ah, that’s… sorry. I have lunch plans with Count Tudok today. Pat will be joining me too.”
“Cough, yes? Wait, Milord, you said dining with that man would tear your ears off…! Keugh…!”
“Lately, there have been so many engagements that Pat seems confused. Take care of your meal, and see you later.” Kayden, raising his voice in exasperation, practically dragged the struggling Patrasche out of the office.
Left alone in an instant, Diana blinked in momentary confusion before furrowing her brows slightly. Again.
Since the end of the celebration, Kayden had been oddly avoiding Diana. Of course, it was true that more nobles had been seeking out Kayden recently. He had become the most likely candidate for the throne after Rebecca, and there were plenty of people who wanted to build connections with the prince who might become the next emperor.
In response, Diana also became more determined. It would be troublesome if he had a seizure while meeting someone when I was not around.
It had already been confirmed that Kayden’s mana would calm down when she made contact with him during his unstable magical fluctuations. As proof, Kayden hadn’t had a single seizure since the first day of their wedding.
However, Diana couldn’t always be by Kayden’s side. Moreover, they had agreed to divorce in a year. So Diana decided to increase her contact with Kayden as much as possible. The more contact they had, the more likely it was that Kayden’s mana would stabilize quickly. She hoped to completely cure his mana seizures before the year was up. Therefore, Diana started looking for Kayden more actively than before. But…
“If you had something to say, I would definitely come to you later.”
Despite Kayden’s words, it became common for him to skip even the meals they used to have together before the celebration.
“Ah, the training might end late today.”
“I have an appointment.”
“I had promised to spar with Pat for today, so…”
Kayden would hurriedly disappear, making awkward excuses that anyone could see through. At first, Diana thought it might just be her imagination. After all, on days when they had to meet face-to-face, Kayden was as kind and cheerful as ever. But whenever there was no ‘necessary’ reason to meet, he would invariably avoid her. This had been going on for over a week, so Diana couldn’t help but notice.
Why is he acting like this?
Diana felt a bit anxious. She needed to stabilize Kayden’s condition as soon as possible, and she was extremely worried that he might have a seizure when she wasn’t around.
Diana stared silently at the basket in her hand and swallowed a sigh. Recently, Kayden had been feeling unwell and tried to avoid her, so Diana brought some soft snacks just in case, but it was in vain. She slumped her shoulders and turned to leave the office.
“Do I have to rely on the empress’s palace for meals again today? I feel sorry for visiting so often lately…” Her dejected muttering echoed in the air.
Diana sadly picked up the basket and left the third prince’s palace.
“…Sigh.”
Meanwhile, Kayden, who had been hiding around the corner and watching her, let out a heavy sigh belatedly.
Patrasche, who had struggled fiercely to escape Kayden’s grip, looked back at him with contempt. “If Milord is going to sigh so heavily, why did you do it?! Why are you avoiding Her Highness?! Don’t you feel sorry for me, who is suffering caught between you two?!”
Patrasche raged. But Kayden, familiar with this, ignored him and leaned against the wall. A rare troubled expression appeared on his usually handsome face.
Diana must have noticed by now that I’m deliberately avoiding her. There’s a limit to how much I can avoid her like this…
Kayden sighed deeply again, lowering his head. He was trying to avoid Diana as much as possible to suppress his feelings for her. But instead, he worried that Diana might be hurt and was tormented by guilt, unable to stop thinking about her all day. Though the idea of having regular meals with Diana and facing her was daunting, Kayden couldn’t bring himself to manage his feelings for her. Feeling pathetic, Kayden shook his head and stood up.
Patrasche flinched and took a step back. “I-I’ll go eat by myself. Milord can dine with Her Highness or alone, as you wish! I’m leaving!” After quickly blurting out the words, Patrasche hastily fled.
Seeing Patrasche use even the power of spirits to escape, Kayden tilted his head in disbelief. “That’s not what I taught him to use his skills for. He’s only getting better at running away, but oh well.”
…Well, Kayden wasn’t exactly in a position to criticize others.
Kayden pondered where to spend his time until Patrasche returned. Going to eat alone was worrisome since his recent complaints about his stomach weren’t entirely false.
The training grounds… He had already sweated for hours since dawn and had washed up, so he wasn’t keen on going back there.
As he was feeling troubled, a sudden thought crossed Kayden’s mind, making his eyes widen. Come to think of it, has Diana ever bought new clothes since she entered the imperial palace…?
It was May, the peak of spring. In the capital of the Valhanas Empire, social events became notably active for about two months, starting with the debutante, when young lords and ladies made their first appearance in society. This period was called the ‘social season.’
The social season was mainly led by the imperial family or nobles with significant reputations in the social circles. Diana was also one of the imperial family members who had recently gained attention as Kayden’s position among people solidified. This meant that Diana, too, had to step up and lead gatherings.
In high society, one’s standing is determined by their attire, behavior, and manner of speaking. Among these, attire is considered the most fundamental. However, before the marriage talks with Kayden, she was an illegitimate child who was looked down upon within her family, and even when she entered the imperial palace after marrying him, she brought nothing significant except for Viscount Sudsfield’s dowry. Recalling further, her clothes always seemed plain without a single jewel, which made Kayden feel uneasy.
Of course, back then, it was necessary not to show that Viscount Sudsfield was supporting me. But recently, we’ve had some leeway, so it would be possible to call a tailor to the imperial palace… though Diana might not like that.
Once Kayden’s thoughts turned to Diana’s clothes, it was hard to think of anything else. In the end, Kayden decided to go out to the streets to buy clothes as a gift for Diana, partly to convey his apologies to her.
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