“Episode 14”
For a moment, I thought he was addressing me.
Then, if it weren’t for the sound of the door opening with a click…
“I’ve prepared a lot for you.”
It was supposed to be a voice directed at the visitor.
I tried to calm my pounding heart by pressing my hand against my chest.
“Yeah, sometimes unexpected things like this happen when you’re gathering information.”
There had been a few times in the past when the timing seemed so strange, like someone was addressing me, but it turned out differently.
It felt uncomfortable that this coincidence once again involved Prince Joshua.
“If you were as suspicious as you claim, I thought you would have come to interrogate me sooner. I was quite disappointed.”
His words made it even more unsettling.
“No, no way. It’s just a normal conversation between lovers, right?”
There’s no way he could have noticed.
But when I tried to retract my hand, he suddenly said,
“Just a moment, just a moment! Don’t rush like that. I was so happy, it’s been so long.”
What crazy timing.
“I really wanted to talk to you somehow.”
As I hesitated for a moment, Prince Joshua’s voice sounded unexpectedly warm.
And then, in the next moment, I truly…
“So, Blanche, will you come out with me and Rozina tomorrow?”
He addressed me, and my thoughts came to a sudden stop.
“Did he… did he know that I used the spirits…?”
How?
No one had noticed until now.
Even my father, a spirit master, hadn’t realized…
“I’ll tell you everything you’re curious about.”
As I struggled with confusion to dismiss the spirits, Prince Joshua’s gentle farewell reached me.
“Goodnight, I’ll eagerly await tomorrow.”
*
I don’t know how time passed, but when I woke up in the morning, Gerald informed me of the visitor.
“Miss, Viscount Delorus’s daughter is here to visit.”
Delorus’s daughter?
Though her name was unfamiliar, I nodded as if I were under a spell.
As soon as I saw the person escorted into the parlor, I forced a bitter smile.
A few months ago, when I first arrived in the capital.
It was the same person who hadn’t been identified due to my inability to use the spirits.
It was Rozina.
“It’s been a while, Miss.”
She looked at me with a coy expression.
I sensed embarrassment, apology, and a hint of joy from her.
“…So she’s not a maid after all.”
She was a lady from the Viscount’s family…?
That’s why there were no maids when the servants came to look for them!
“Perhaps she’s a lady-in-waiting to Prince Joshua or Princess Anita?”
What on earth was Prince Joshua thinking?
Dressing up a noble lady from a noble family as a maid and sending her to me as a handmaid.
Rozina became more fidgety in the quiet silence.
“Are you still angry?”
“Huh?”
No, I didn’t even think about Rozina.
Anyway, she probably moved like that because she had orders from Prince Joshua.
Since I had been a company employee before, I didn’t want to criticize her for that reason.
But Rozina lowered her head in front of me as if she felt it was her fault.
“I deceived you, I’m truly sorry!”
“No, Rozina-”
“But, but I had no choice. Prince Joshua originally intended to send a real maid, but I met you at the reception and ended up succumbing to temptation…!”
Succumbed to temptation?
As Rozina honestly poured out her heart, she said, “I really, really wanted to touch it. Your hair…!”
“…My hair?”
“Yes!”
Her face was so serious that I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Hair? Was a noble lady posing as a maid just for that?
It wasn’t something a noblewoman from a prestigious family would normally do.
“It must have been a blow to her pride.”
Even with my laughter, Rozina’s eyes still showed signs of unease.
Then, in a hesitant voice, she continued, fiddling with her fingers.
“I’m really sorry. I’d be so grateful if you could forgive me… So I begged Prince Joshua to let me come today as well. And… and…”
“And?”
“I was wondering if you could… let me touch your hair again? Your hair is so soft, it’s worth touching…”
The desire behind her words felt so earnest.
It might seem odd, but it wasn’t an incomprehensible feeling.
After all, I’ve been infatuated with Lucas Medelike for over a decade.
I knew how being infatuated with something could make a person act foolishly.
So, I readily replied, “It’s okay, I’m not upset.”
Just a little surprised.
But for some reason, Rozina seemed saddened by my easy forgiveness.
I was curious about the meaning behind that expression, but I didn’t ask.
Well… people who have a crush usually want to talk about what they like, so maybe Rozina was disappointed that she couldn’t tell me everything she prepared?
*
At the end of Rozina’s apology, a gift box suddenly appeared, as if it were prepared for that day.
She didn’t bring it herself like that day.
Or rather, she couldn’t bring it herself…
“It seems like too much… And you don’t have to go to such lengths.”
I have a dress at least…
But Rozina gathered her hands with a determined expression and said,
“His Highness asked me to include it as a gesture of apology, so please accept it.”
“Apology…?”
“He said you’ve suffered a lot because of him. And with this…”
“With this?”
When I looked at her in confusion, Rozina pressed her lips together and lowered her head with a coy smile.
“It’s okay if you don’t want me to call you ‘Miss’.”
Even though we were both nobles, she was from a different family.
But Rozina shook her head firmly.
“Please feel free to speak comfortably! My coming here won’t change your status.”
…So, she wants to be friends.
I swallowed the words I was about to say.
It seemed like something only a friendless person would say. Well, that was true, but I felt a little pathetic, so I decided to let it go for now.
‘I’ll have another chance.’
Probably…
Now that I knew Rozina was Lady Delerus, maybe I could invite her for tea sometime.
Rozina had already prepared a few things and showed me dresses, jewelry, and hair accessories she matched from the gift box.
Two dresses, five pieces of jewelry, and four hair accessories.
Each one of them was in line with the current trends in the capital.
“I thought Joshua Prince was impressive before, but now I’m even more convinced.”
He might not have personally chosen them, but having someone with such taste by his side…
As Lucas said, cultivating such taste wasn’t easy.
After I chose what to wear, Rozina held a brush and looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“So, what hairstyle shall we try today?”
Her enthusiasm was much greater than when I first met her.
*
After getting ready, I got into the carriage with Rozina’s smile.
The carriage rode for about 30 minutes to a street famous for artists’ residences.
Colorful murals, unique outfits worn by passersby, people selling their own creations, and the sound of music and singing filled the air.
It was the perfect scenery and atmosphere for this street, making me burst into laughter.
Rozina smiled along with me, her voice full of joy.
When the carriage stopped, it was in front of a cozy two-story building made of red bricks, with a spacious terrace and ivy vines climbing the walls.
“It’s beautiful…”
Even in my past life, I’d seen cafes like this beyond friends’ social media.
Caught up in work and fandom, I felt like I’d missed out on life.
Just as I thought that, the carriage door opened with a gentle knock.
And once again, Joshua Prince greeted me with a gentle smile.
“Thank you for coming, Miss Blante.”
He cautiously extended his hand to me, as if expecting rejection.
Both Rozina and Joshua Prince… They had such expressions that were so unfamiliar to me.
I wondered if I ever had people who felt so sorry after making a mistake.
“…Especially Lucas, he was always so dismissive.”
It seemed like I had allowed my heart to be affected somehow.
Recalling all the grievances related to that person wasn’t pleasant.
I laughed awkwardly as I held Joshua’s hand.
When I met him at the botanical garden, I was determined to find something to dig up from him, but now all of that determination seemed to have evaporated.
I just wanted to accept this situation comfortably.
Was it because it was an unexpected situation?
No, I had to admit it was. My heart and motivation had lost their vigor since the day I saw that person’s tears.
Chapter 3. Cooling Hearts
