By the time I stepped out of the Empress’ quarters, the sky was already painted with the colors of sunset. Worried about Armin, who must have been waiting for me all this time, I immediately started running toward the spot where he said he’d wait.
Despite how long he’d waited, it hadn’t actually taken much time to convince the Empress. The moment she heard I had a way to help her son, her icy demeanor melted like frost under sunlight. That bright, sunny smile returned, and before I knew it, the same silly, theatrical noblewoman from the previous day was sitting before me once again.
Even though she kept pressing me to tell her what the plan was, I simply took her agreement on the dress code and made my exit. Still, by the time I left, a significant amount of time had passed.
To make things worse, finding my way back wasn’t nearly as easy as finding the Empress’ grand quarters had been. It was my first time in this part of the palace, after all. The Empress’ residence had been easy to find thanks to its towering presence—but retracing my steps back to where Armin waited proved more difficult than I’d expected.
In the end, I got lost.
By the time I finally found the right path, twilight had fully settled in. The dimming sky hinted at nightfall.
After a brief internal debate, I took off my shoes. I figured I’d get there faster running barefoot. Besides, there was no one around, and the only person I’d meet was Armin. It was the way home—no one was going to scold me for having muddy feet.
With that in mind, I took off my shoes and held one in each hand. It was a shame about the lace socks, but thinking of Armin waiting endlessly with no word from me made me feel I had to get there as quickly as possible.
Just then, the clatter of hooves echoed from the opposite direction.
“Huh?”
When I turned around, I saw someone riding a white horse, steadily approaching me. Panicked, I hurried to shove my shoes back onto my feet. But judging by the chuckling coming from the rider, he had seen the whole embarrassing scene.
“Lady Roha.”
Fortunately, the voice was familiar. Prince Zeta was grinning uncontrollably, clearly amused. Embarrassed, I scratched the back of my neck.
“Ah, Your Highness… what brings you here…?”
“I should be asking you that. Have you decided to live in the palace now? Why are you wandering around here at this hour?”
Barefoot, no less. He didn’t say that part out loud, but somehow I could hear it anyway.
“I came to see Her Majesty the Empress, but it took longer than expected…”
“You didn’t take your family’s carriage?”
“Uh… well, about that…”
“Ah, I see. You came with Armin, didn’t you?”
Prince Zeta was quick to catch on. I nodded, feeling a little sheepish. He must’ve guessed that, since Armin is a man, he wouldn’t have been allowed into this part of the palace and had to wait somewhere nearby.
Zeta swung himself off his horse with ease. The white horse obediently stood by, waiting for its master’s next command.
“Get on.”
“…Pardon?”
His sudden offer left me blinking in confusion.
“If you run barefoot, you’ll still be a long way off from where Armin is waiting. This way’s faster.”
“Um…”
“It’s fine. I’ll walk and lead the horse while you ride.”
He knew exactly why I was hesitating. The calm, matter-of-fact way he spoke made me pause in consideration.
Riding a horse with a man who isn’t family might be a romantic scene straight out of a love story—but with one person holding the reins and walking beside the horse, it felt less like a fairytale and more like a lady and her servant.
‘Is this really okay?’
Worried about Armin waiting endlessly, I eventually decided to accept Prince Zeta’s offer. As he said, traveling on horseback was indeed much faster than walking.
It was only natural to start feeling a bit of warmth toward the prince, who offered help so easily. Besides, he was one of Armin’s closest friends. Even if we weren’t well acquainted, a cordial relationship made sense.
As we passed along the path, we chatted casually. Most of the conversation was about Armin—how we first met, how we grew close.
The walk had seemed long when I was alone, but with someone who knew the palace paths and engaging conversation, time passed quickly. Before I knew it, the ducal family’s carriage was in sight.
“Oh! There it is. Armin!”
Armin had been so worried he was waiting outside the carriage. As soon as he spotted me, he started walking quickly toward me. I waved with a smile, and he rushed over.
“Vivi.”
“Sorry, Armin. Things with Her Majesty ran longer than I thought.”
“It’s fine. But…why are you two together?”
Armin was clearly eyeing Zeta with suspicion. Zeta quickly took his hands off the reins as if to say he had no intentions.
“I tried to return quickly, but I got lost—it’s my first time here. Prince Zeta just happened to be passing by and helped me out.”
Armin’s displeasure was written all over his face.
When I struggled to dismount from the tall horse, Armin reached up to offer his hand. At the same time, so did Prince Zeta. Caught between the two, I gave an awkward smile.
I couldn’t take both hands. I needed one to hold the horse’s neck for balance.
I took Armin’s hand.
Only then did Prince Zeta seem to realize he might have overstepped a little.
“Thank you for escorting her back, Your Highness.”
“Haha, I just did what anyone would do. Lady Roha, safe travels.”
“Thank you for your help, Your Highness.”
The prince responded with a smile—but something about that smile felt off. As always, it was kind and gentle, but this time it looked more like a mask. Unnatural. Uncomfortable.
“Let’s go, Vivi.”
Armin wrapped his arm around my shoulder, acting more protective than necessary. I tried to calm him down, but he paid me no mind. Prince Zeta simply gave a shrug and watched us leave with an awkward expression.
The tension inside the carriage was thick. I didn’t want the whole ride home to pass in uncomfortable silence, so I broke the ice first.
“Armin, are you upset?”
“No.”
A blunt answer. But the speed of his response was answer enough. I sighed without meaning to. His raised eyebrow showed exactly how displeased he was.
“Armin, what’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Why were you being so cold to the prince when he was only trying to help?”
I wanted to soothe Armin’s mood, but I was upset too.
“Sigh. Are you seriously mad at me because of Prince Zeta?”
“I’m not mad, and you know it. You’re the one being overly sensitive right now for no reason.”
Our eyes met. But Armin didn’t look the least bit ashamed of how he acted. He stared straight at me, holding my gaze for a long time.
“Vivi.”
“Yes?”
“I’m not the kind of man who is generous. I’m not noble enough to feel happy watching my woman be escorted back by another man.”
I probably should’ve argued back, told him off for being petty. But I couldn’t stop that one phrase—“my woman”—from catching in my ears.
It was a serious moment, a tense argument, but the corners of my lips twitched all on their own. And Armin’s face grew even more serious when he noticed.
“What’s that look?”
“Say it again.”
“What?”
“Say it again. That part where you said ‘my woman’. It sounded really nice. Please?”
Silence fell for a moment.
That’s when Armin seemed to realize what he’d said. The unflappable Armin slowly turned bright red, starting from his neck. Then, without a word, he turned his head toward the carriage window.
But while he could hide his face, he couldn’t hide the deep flush spreading from his neck to the tips of his ears.
Since it was just the two of us, I got a little bolder. I’d been sitting across from Armin, but seeing him flustered like that, I couldn’t help sliding over to the seat beside him.
They say lovers’ quarrels are like cutting water with a knife—useless. Ancient wisdom that never felt more accurate.
“I’m sorry. How could I upset my man like this?”
“Don’t mess around.”
“I mean it. Okay? I was wrong. Now will you please look at me?”
I kept pestering him, trying to coax him into turning his head. Something about seeing Armin blush ignited a weird sense of victory in me. Maybe I really do have a bit of a twisted side.
“You worry too much, Armin. Before I met you, I was just an ordinary noble girl no one paid attention to.”
“That’s only because they didn’t know you.”
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say. And here he was, convinced the whole world would love me just because he did. Even that ridiculous logic was adorable to me.
I tried my hardest to stop my grin from growing, worried it might upset Armin all over again. But before we reached home, we were smiling at each other again.
