When the bare face of the man, which was hidden behind the mask, was finally revealed, Pristin had no choice but to be surprised.
“…Your Majesty?”
“Hello, Pristin.”
“No, Your Majesty, why are you here…”
“I wanted to go on a date.”
Jerald smiled and made eye contact with Pristin.
“I deliberately came to find you.”
“Having a date without the other person knowing?”
“That’s why I’m telling you now. That man, just now, it was me.”
“Oh… No wonder.”
“What’s that?”
“I wondered who was so enthusiastic about the auction of glass shoes.”
It’s not something people usually do.
“And they’re not even worth 5,000 gold.”
“True. But you wanted them.”
With an affectionate gaze, Jerald looked at Pristin.
“The fact that you raised your hand for the auction for the first time means you really wanted it, right?”
“…”
“Besides, I can’t see you lose to anyone, much less Princess Gennant.”
At that remark, Pristin couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Your Majesty, too.”
“Why, were you deeply moved?”
In truth, while it did feel a bit wasteful, Pristin would never say such a thing. Nevertheless, it was true that she was moved. Pristin expressed her sincerity with a shy smile.
“Thank you.”
“If you’re thankful,”
Jerald showed her a box containing the shoes,
“I’d like to see you wear them.”
“Oh…”
“Sit here.”
Hesitant, Pristin eventually took a seat on the stool placed next to the stairs.
Jerald, who was sitting on one knee in front of Pristin, carefully took off the shoes on Pristin’s feet. Pristin felt strange for some reason, so she unknowingly licked her lower lip slightly. The shoes she was wearing quickly slipped off her toes with a soft touch.
Before long, the beautiful glass shoes she so longed to have settled on Pristin’s toes. Pristin, glistening like a child, gazed at the glass shoes on her feet.
“Wow…”
Jerald’s mouth also had a proud smile as he looked at the expression because he was pleased that she liked it. It was well worth 5,000 gold.
“You must like it.”
“Yes…”
Pristin looked at Jerald with a smile on her mouth.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. They are very pretty.”
“…If you smile like that.”
“Yes?”
“It’s a bit dangerous here.”
With those words, Jerald looked at Pristin with a meaningful gaze, and Pristin finally understood the meaning behind his words.
“Not here, Your Majesty. There are too many eyes watching…”
At that moment, soft lips touched Pristin’s forehead lightly. Pristin looked at Jerald, meeting his gaze with a stunned expression. A mischievous smile spread across his lips.
“What were you thinking?”
“…Something like this.”
“Something like this?”
This time, Jerald’s lips touched the tip of Pristin’s nose. Startled, Pristin looked at Jerald.
Still, a mischievous smile.
“Your Majesty, this is…”
“Or is it this?”
This time, Jerald’s lips completely enveloped Pristin’s. Though she trembled again, her body had already adapted to the sensations from the two previous kisses, so she wasn’t as surprised and slowly closed her eyes.
Although a faint voice in her head warned her that they might get caught, even that was gradually fading away in the ecstasy of kissing Jerald. Pristin had to struggle to keep her posture from becoming too disheveled, gripping the hem of her dress tightly.
“Ah…”
After a while, the lips of the two parted in the air. Pristin looked at Jerald with a much more dazed expression than before. While Jerald seemed relatively composed, his gaze was still clouded with desire, making him appear somewhat intoxicated. Despite that, he smiled faintly, looking even more peculiar than usual.
Pristin unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.
“Fortunately, no one came.”
“…”
“I wouldn’t mind if they came.”
“Then it would have been quite embarrassing.”
“Well. It’s not like there’s no one who doesn’t know what’s between us.”
Pristin laughed as if she could not stop Jerald’s nonchalant reply. Jerald’s eyes then turned to the shoes Pristin wore. Pristin asked carefully,
“How is it? Are they pretty?”
“They’re pretty.”
Jerald smiled genuinely, as if there was no ounce of falsehood in his answer.
“Although the owner of the shoes is prettier than the shoes.”
“…Your Majesty.”
“I’m being honest.”
Pristin finally laughed as if she couldn’t stop Jerald from saying embarrassing things.
Being surrounded by a lot of people made her feel a little tired, but spending a few moments of time quietly with Jerald in a peaceful space made her feel comfortable and at ease.
Pristin spoke softly.
“I’m glad you came. Thank you for the gift. I was a bit tired, but seeing Your Majesty made me feel better.”
“What happened?”
“Oh, nothing much. I just felt a bit tired from being around so many people.”
After finishing her words, Pristin slowly stood up. Jerald looked at her with a puzzled expression. Pristin said in a regretful voice,
“I think I’ll have to go back now.”
“Already?”
“If I’m away for too long, it might seem suspicious. Besides, if I don’t return within an hour, they might think something happened to me.”
“Goodness.”
“Actually, you called me a little suspicious, didn’t you? I even worried that Princess Gennant might have called me to harm me.”
“That’s right. That’s smart.”
Jerald, laughing low, whispered as he hugged Pristin tightly,
“Because it can’t be bad to be careful.”
Of course, knights will always escort her, but accidents tended to happen in unexpected places.
Without a moment’s notice, in the blink of an eye.
“Well then, I’ll see you later at the palace, Your Majesty.”
“Aren’t we going back together?”
“Oh… Then I’ll take your carriage, Your Majesty.”
“No, I’ll go with you.”
“Is that better after all?”
“I think everyone will know everything if you walk around in those shoes anyway.”
“Oh…”
Pristin’s eyes turned below her waist.
“Maybe it’s better to change shoes?”
“Hmm. Surely you’re not worrying about what’s beneath the dress.”
Jerald added after a moment of contemplation.
“If there’s a young man that is very interested in you, please tell me.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to scold him.”
“My goodness.”
He said it jokingly, but somehow Pristin didn’t feel like it was just a joke. She awkwardly chuckled and fidgeted with her dress hem.
“Then I must really get going; I’ll see you later, Your Majesty.”
“I’ll miss you.”
“If someone hears, they might think we’ll be apart for days.”
Unable to resist, Pristin stepped closer to Jerald and lightly kissed his cheek. Jerald looked at her with a slightly surprised expression after the sudden kiss, and Pristin smiled shyly and immediately turned away.
As Pristin walked away, Jerald couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh.
“Playing hard to get, I see.”
He had felt it from the moment they first met, she was truly special and lovely. Even after Pristin disappeared from his sight, he couldn’t take his eyes off the spot where she had been.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“His Majesty is the one who won the bid for those shoes!”
Meanwhile, Christine, who heard both of them talking, looked delighted.
“His Majesty is too romantic.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have brought you along, Christine.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I feel really embarrassed right now.”
Pristin said with a blush on her face. Pristin hid her gestures skillfully and kept them under wraps without realizing, but Christine happened to be there with her.
When Pristin expressed her embarrassment, Christine chuckled and reassured her it was okay.
“I was just happy the whole time. Seeing Countess Rosewell being loved made me happy.”
“Thank you for saying that, but…”
Still, it was embarrassing. At that moment, Christine glanced below Pristin’s dress.
“By the way, those shoes are really pretty. I don’t know if they’re worth 5,000 gold, but they’re definitely desirable.”
“Do you want them?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. How could I be so greedy when His Majesty won them for Countess Rosewell?”
Christine shook her head as if it were ridiculous.
“Well, I’m just thrilled you got the shoes that Princess Gennant wanted. Oh my, what a twist.”
“I know. If Princess Gennant finds out about this, she will be very angry…”
“Are you talking about me?”
Then another voice interjected between the two. Pristin looked forward, flinching. Tanya stood with Brelin with an arrogant expression on her face. Oh, dear.
“Hello, Princess Gennant.”
“Yes, hello, Countess Rosewell.”
Tanya responded to Pristin’s greeting with a voice that didn’t seem very friendly.
“I think you were talking about me, may I hear what you’re talking about?”
“…I don’t know. I think you heard it wrong.”
“You told her I’d be mad if I found out something.”
“Do you want to eavesdrop on our conversation and confidently tell me about it?”
“If it’s something related to me, the situation is different. What are you talking about…!”
Then, Tanya’s gaze inadvertently turned to Pristin’s toes. Realizing what she was wearing now, Tanya’s face quickly turned white.
Pristin didn’t want to create an unnecessary fuss, even though it seemed like a tired situation, so she didn’t even boast. But unfortunately, it wasn’t a problem she could choose to hide.
“Why, why…”
Trembling, Tanya pointed at Pristin’s glass slipper with her finger.
“Why are you wearing those shoes, Countess Rosewell?”
“…I received them as a gift.”
“From whom?”
“From the person who won the bid earlier.”
“Ha!”
Tanya let out a bewildered laugh.
“His Majesty will be pleased to hear this.”
“Thanks for your concern about the relationship between me and His Majesty,”
Pristin replied calmly, speaking only the truth.
“Unfortunately, the gentleman who won the bid earlier was His Majesty.”
“…What did you say?”
Tanya seemed even angrier when she heard Pristin’s words. The shaking motion was much bigger than before. Furthermore, her complexion had gone beyond pale and turned ashen.
