【 Chapter 7 】
“……”
Without even realizing it, Esadien sat back down again.
“Your Highness!”
Soon, the door of the room opened hastily and a familiar voice was heard. The wrinkles that had been stiffly fixed on Esadien’s face gradually softened. It was a change that he himself did not even realize.
“Young lady.”
“Your Highness!”
Minuelle couldn’t wait for the door to open fully, so she pushed her body through the half-opened door with a bright smile. She had become even thinner during the few days that Esadien had not seen her, to the point that it was noticeable even to Esadien, who was usually unobservant.
She was not wearing the voluminous dress with puffed shoulders that she usually wore when she met Esadien, but rather indoor clothes, which made it even more noticeable.
‘You have to be careful…’
How could you block the assassin with such a body?
Even her appearance of running was so unsettling that Esadien almost stood up from his seat. However, he regained his composure just before doing so and sat back down. He thought that no one would notice, but Minuelle had already read Esadien’s discomfort and slowed down her steps.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence passed. Whether it was the day they went to the garden or whenever Minuelle checked on Esadien’s mood, she always ended up unsure of what to do.
‘Don’t do that. I’m not the kind of person who would do that.’
Despite wanting to soothe her, he couldn’t bring himself to do it, as that might give Minuelle false hope. As Esadien hesitated, Minuelle’s hand reached out.
‘Gloves?’
It was an item that everyone wore, but people wore them when going outside, not while staying indoors.
“Um…”
After hearing the cautious voice of Minuelle, Esadien belatedly regained his senses.
“Ah.”
Despite being a bit thinner, Minuelle’s face had a healthy glow to it. Seeing a different appearance from what he remembered, Esadien felt relieved and, at the same time, his thoughts turned to the item placed next to him. Hurriedly, Esadien pushed a bouquet of flowers and a box toward Minuelle.
“I am grateful even though it’s late.”
“What?”
As Minuelle blinked in confusion, Esadien felt a sense of discomfort watching her gaze at the flowers. It was ironic that the more she seemed unfamiliar with receiving gifts from a man she liked. In other words, they were both novices when it came to romance.
“I mean, for saving me.”
“Oh….”
Then finally, a smile returned to Minuelle’s face. She hugged the bouquet tightly and buried her face in it.
“Ah, I’m happy that the Prince didn’t get hurt…… why bother with all of this?”
“…..”
“Oh, of course, I’m happy with the gift! What’s in this box? Can I open it?”
Esadien nodded quietly in agreement. Even without him saying so, the expression on her face as she breathed in the fragrance was clearly written with the word ‘joy’.
“It’s macaron! How pretty…..”
Macaron? There seemed to be sweets in the box that the servant handed over together.
“Shall we have tea together?”
After a brief moment of silence during which Minuelle gave instructions to a servant, Esadien finally spoke, as if he had gathered his thoughts.
“You…”
“Yes?”
“Is your body usually that thin?”
I didn’t mean it, but the tone showed dissatisfaction.
The dissatisfied tone unintentionally came out, but both Esadien who spoke and Minuelle who heard it flinched. However, for Minuelle, such questions had been familiar since childhood, so she quickly brushed them off as nothing.
“I am relatively weak for a member of the Karinen household.”
Minulle gently caressed the soft flower petals for a moment and then looked straight into Esadien’s eyes with a bright smile.
“Thank you for your concern. I didn’t expect you to come and help me.”
At that moment, the emotions that Esadien felt were truly complex. Once again, his heart fluttered and he felt a bitter sadness as he remembered that his mother had never once thanked him. Finally, he felt a pang of conscience, as he had only come at the urging of someone else.
‘Ugh.’
Esadien’s neck twitched. This whirlwind of emotion was something he hated.
“Young Lady, then I….”
Just as he was about to say he was feeling better and would leave, someone knocked on the door of the parlor.
“Excuse me.”
With a friendly face, not a servant, but a man in a priest’s uniform came in.
‘No matter how powerful the Grand Duchess is…..’
Even in the Imperial Palace, the Priests didn’t serve tea.
Esadien looked at Minuelle with a puzzled look, but her eyes widened in surprise as well.
“Why are you…..? Ah, Your Highness. This is my childhood friend, the Priest of Flendena, Ramande Flendena.”
“It is an honor to meet the small light of the empire. I have heard much about you.”
Ramande, who knelt down and showed his respect to Esadien, placed a cup of water and a packet of medicine in front of Minuelle.
“Earlier, you ran away without being able to take the medicine, and the Duke was worried about it.”
“No, I can take it later… right in front of the guest, cough.”
While speaking quietly, noticing Esadien’s reaction, a small cough escaped from Minuelle’s mouth. Although there was a slight difference, the faces of the two men froze at the same time.
“Do you want me to be scolded by the Duke in front of guests? The princesses are concerned about your well-being as well.”
Following Ramande’s words, Esadien also added.
“It’s okay, so don’t worry about me and listen to him. Priest, will you give the young lady divine power?
“Now, Your Highness is also saying the same thing.”
Ramande sighed and gave a light nod to Esadien as he tried to calm Minuelle down.
“I’m sorry.”
Despite looking a bit uncomfortable for a moment, Minuelle calmly drank the medicine and accepted Ramande’s divine power.
Certainly, compared to a little while ago, Minuelle’s complexion improved, and her cheeks glowed with a rosy hue.
As the sight softened Esadien’s expression, Ramande asked casually.
“But why did you give her something sweet like macarons? She doesn’t even put sweets in her mouth.”
‘Was that why you said it was pretty, not delicious?’
Come to think of it, Minuelle was going in and out of the Imperial Palace and learning about him, but Esadien didn’t know anything about her taste.
‘I… made a mistake.’
“W-what are you saying? No, Your Highness. Don’t worry about it.”
To be honest, Minuelle had no talent for lying.
Next to her blushing face, the violet eyes of the priest named Ramandee rolled and met Esadien’s gaze. There was clearly a subtle light in those eyes. At the moment when Esadien raised his eyebrows, Ramande put on his “priestly” smile again and stood up.
“Then, have a good time.”
💧
I silently clicked my tongue inside as I watched the parlor door quietly close.
‘Ramande’s coming here for nothing and talking nonsense!’
I can’t live like this.
It was not like I drank poison and something would happen if I took medicine a little later. Sending Ramande away like this was just another way of expressing that they didn’t like Esadien.
‘Especially Sister Juella!’
I was upset. I was upset that I ran to Esadien without looking back.
“I apologize. I didn’t realize your preference.”
It seemed like Esadien’s voice had lowered. I quickly held out my hand.
“Oh, no! It’s a misunderstanding on Ramande’s part. Besides, it’s the imperial patissier’s skill, so there’s no way it wouldn’t taste good.”
Then, to prove it, I quickly swallowed the macaron. Even though I had cut it in half, the sweetness quickly overtook my mouth.
‘Ugh.’
Even the imperial patissier would have no knack for making sweets less sweet. there’s no way to make a sweet dessert without adding sugar. After all, it wouldn’t be a macaron if it wasn’t sweet. It’s made with sugar, egg whites, almond flour, and jam or ganache.
I tried to maintain a smiling face as I took a sip of tea, but Esadien sighed.
“You don’t have to force yourself to eat it.”
“It’s not like I’m forcing myself to eat it.”
“…..”
The piercing gaze of his blue eyes staring at her without saying a word was intimidating.
“It’s not like that…..”
“Lady Karinen, I believe there should be trust between us, even if we can’t expect love.”
“…..”
This time, my mouth stayed shut. Since the last time, Esadien has been clearly showing his reluctance to love.
‘This is the person who ended up falling in love with the heroine.’
As soon as the thought came reflexively to mind, my tongue turned bitter. I tried to wash the macaron away with tea, but it didn’t work. When I was about to put the macaron back in my mouth, a large hand suddenly snatched the plate away.
“I would like you to be honest with me about yourself.”
“Young lady, the Prince is very bad at expressing himself. He’s a warm-hearted person.”
Theodore’s words suddenly came to mind.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Anything?”
Esadien nodded silently. It was a confident attitude.
If that’s the case.
“I’ve been so, so, so sad that you still haven’t called me by my name even after several months.”
“That…”
“I asked you to call me Minuelle since the first time we met.”
“…..”
Esadien’s face, which usually didn’t show any emotions, clearly revealed his thoughts ‘I told you to tell me about yourself. Why did you ask me about that?’ was clearly expressed.
But now he must have felt grateful and sorry at the same time that he owes me his life. So I gave it a big shot against it.
“Esadien.”
His broad shoulders stiffened. Staring into his wide-open blue eyes, I begged once again.
“Please.”
“That…..”
Despite his hesitation, Esadien didn’t express any anger at mentioning the name of the imperial family. So I watched with a somewhat enjoyable feeling as his mouth opened and closed several times.
And finally.
“….Minuelle.”
The sound of my name coming out of his mouth was sweeter than a macaron, but it was the taste of happiness. Before I knew it, the bitter taste in my mouth had disappeared without a trace.
‘Now, shall we double it?’
As if smiling like the bouquet of flowers he gave me, I took one more step forward.
“Esadien, shall we go on a date?”
“Date, cough. Date?”
“Yes, I want to go on a date.”
Seems like Esadien was quite startled as the tea went down his throat and he coughed. However, my determination did not waver.
‘Just the two of us! Cozy! Boating!’
“They say there’s a lake that’s perfect for boating in just a couple hours. Would you like to go and have some fun there? I’m going to change clothes, okay?”
‘Finally this time! Forearm!’
Seeing my determined and fiery eyes, Esadien’s expression became uneasy rather than being discouraged.
“That, when your condition is stable, let’s talk again…”
“That’s too much. I don’t want to hear those kinds of words, even from someone I like.”
“Oh, I’m sorry about earlier. But do you really want to ride on a boat that badly?”
Of course! Of course!
However, instead of shouting like that, I lowered my gaze.
💧
Thank you for reading!
