After returning to the Gremlyn’s mansion, Pristin told Christine about what happened downtown.
“Really?”
Christine, who heard Pristin’s story, asked with excitement.
“So you decided to meet again?”
“Yes, I said I would contact him.”
“Oh my, oh my, unbelievable. I never thought my sister would be the one to ask a guy to meet.”
“I didn’t think I would say that either.”
Pristin said with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“It feels strange to part ways and not know if we’ll be able to see each other again.”
“Yeah, you did well. Our sister is so brave and cool!”
“But I shouldn’t have lied about my social status… I only thought of that afterward.”
“No, I think it was the right thing to do. You never know. Of course, in my opinion, he seems like a good person, but if he knew you were a noble, he might treat you differently with impure intentions.”
“Hmm, maybe…”
“Putting that aside, you already told him. It’s not like you can suddenly say next time, ‘Actually, I’m not a commoner, I’m a noble! Surprise!’”
It was. Pristin nodded as if it couldn’t be helped.
“Maybe this way is better. If I revealed my status unnecessarily and he treated me differently, it would be really sad…”
“Yeah, you did well. And in my opinion, he seems like a good person. ‘Let me know when your foot heals.’ Ugh!”
For some reason, Christine seemed even more excited. Seeing her like that, Pristin couldn’t help but laugh along.
“I hope it heals quickly.”
The image of him gently holding her ankle and applying ointment, wrapping it with a bandage, was still vivid in her mind. Pristin unconsciously caressed her injured ankle, recalling that moment.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Her sprained ankle didn’t heal as quickly as she thought.
But thanks to Pristin’s continued application of her own ointment, her ankle was able to recover without much difficulty. And as soon as Pristin was able to walk around safely, she wrote to Jerald.
—Dear Jerald, this is Pristin, whom you met before. I’m contacting you to let you know that my ankle has fully recovered. As a token of gratitude for the previous events, I would like to treat you to a meal. I’ll be waiting for your response. Pristin.
After delivering the letter to the imperial palace, Pristin waited with a trembling heart for a reply. And not long after, she got a reply.
—Dear Pristin, this is Jerald. I’m glad to hear that your ankle has healed. If you’re all right, how about dinner this Saturday? I’ll await your response. Jerald.
Pristin replied without delay.
—Sounds good!
When Saturday of that week arrived, Pristin wandered nervously around the dressing room.
“How about this dress, Christine?”
Pristin chose a dress full of jewels. Christine shook her head.
“Jewels are too much. Have you forgotten that you’re posing as a maid?”
“Then how about this one?”
This time, it was a pink dress adorned with lots of frills. Christine shook her head again.
“Are you trying to look like a princess? The frills are too excessive. Choose something more modest.”
Upon hearing that, Pristin chose a black dress this time.
“This one?”
“…Someone might mistake it for a funeral outfit.”
“It’s too difficult.”
“Your taste is too extreme.”
Clicking her tongue, Christine stepped forward as if to say it couldn’t be helped.
“Step aside, I’ll choose for you.”
“Thank you, Chris.”
“What would you have done if I wasn’t here?”
Christine shrugged and walked through the dressing room for a long time. Pristin anxiously awaited the dress selected by Christine. After a while, Christine extended her finger with a look of certainty.
“That would be good.”
Christine chose a beige dress adorned with lots of pink flowers. Made of beige fabric, the dress wasn’t too flashy but gave off a fresh and lively vibe. As soon as Pristin saw the dress, she couldn’t help but think, “Isn’t this dress perfect for a date?” But either way, Pristin couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.
“Wow.”
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“You have great taste, Christine.”
“I’m good at choosing dresses for you even with just a glance.”
Christine said with a shrug.
“It would be really pretty if you only put accessories on it so that it’s not too much.”
“Thank you, Christine.”
“Compliment me with a good result when you come back.”
Christine smiled and pushed Pristin’s back.
“Now, let’s get ready, Sis.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
He swore it was an impulsive decision.
“Are you sure you’re going, Your Highness?”
One of Jerald’s servants stopped his lord with a grim look.
“I’m a little worried.”
In fact, Jerald was not a servant of the Perk palace. He was the crown prince of the Limburg Empire, the next in line to the imperial throne of the Limburg Empire. Currently, he was staying at the Perk palace due to diplomatic matters.
‘Why did I lie about my status at that moment?’
He couldn’t understand himself, but in reality, he knew the reason. If the fact that he was the crown prince of the Limburg Empire was revealed, it would lead to two unfavorable outcomes.
First, someone might try to take advantage of his position as the crown prince and cause trouble for him. Or second, people might become intimidated by his status and treat him uncomfortably.
Either way, it was an unwanted result. And Jerald didn’t want her to be the second case.
Unfortunately, he has had to go through both cases in his life. Such things have been repeated since he was very young, making him realize early on that he should never reveal his high status if he wanted to see the genuine side of others.
‘Strangely, we run into each other a lot.’
It was already the third time. It may not be a matter of fate, but they had encountered each other too many times in such a short period of time. As if they were the only ones in the vast Perk.
‘It’s strange how this keeps coming to mind…’
She was beautiful, but that wasn’t the main factor that made him dwell on her after they parted ways. There were plenty of beautiful women in the world, and even around him.
Even though he didn’t think much of her when they met, she was a woman who continued to occupy his mind after they parted. It was strange.
“Your Highness, are you listening to me?”
His servant, who had been giving sincere advice to his lord, belatedly realized that Jerald was not listening and asked. Jerald, as he had guessed, hadn’t heard a bit of what he had said, but he tried to answer back as if nothing was wrong.
“Of course. I’m listening.”
“Then, please do as I advised, Your Highness. It would be preferable not to go out. After all, you have to return in a few months…”
Rambling on, the attendant hesitated before asking Jerald in a hesitant voice.
“Surely, Your Highness, you don’t intend to take that woman with you to Limburg?”
“Why not?”
“Your Highness, at this point, when you are not even married to her…!”
“You say strange things. If I were married, would I go after other women?”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“I’ll be late for my appointment. I should go now.”
“No, Your Highness. Haven’t you heard a word I said?”
“I heard you perfectly fine. So, I’ll be leaving.”
“But, Your Highness…!”
The surroundings became a little quiet only after Jerald smiled and pushed the servant out. It was only then that he was ready, humming.
When he stepped outside at an appropriate time, he saw the servant he had chased away earlier with a very disgruntled expression, standing in front of the door.
“Still here?”
“You must come in time.”
“You care more about me than my mother.”
“Your Highness, such words…”
“There’s no need to worry, I won’t be late.”
After leaving a short word, Jerald trudged away, leaving the servant behind. The servant looked at Jerald’s back with a frustrated expression, and sighed as if he had given up.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The place where the two agreed to meet was a restaurant known as a popular rendezvous spot for lovers in the city. Pristin, dressed beautifully, had arrived early and was waiting for Jerald.
“When will he come?” she wondered.
Not long after, the bell rang and someone entered. Pristin’s gaze quickly turned toward the entrance.
Ah, it was Jerald. She waved her hand toward him. Jerald looked around for a moment before easily finding her. Sitting down, Jerald asked in a slightly downcast voice.
“Did I come too late?”
“No. I left early in case I was late.”
“Is your ankle all better?”
“Yes. After my ankle was healed, you told me to contact you.”
Pristin smiled lightly and asked Jerald.
“Shall we order our meal? I’ll treat today, so order something expensive. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Jerald chuckled softly and nodded. As he opened the menu and flipped through it, he finally spoke, “I’ll have the mushroom steak.”
“Oh, I’ll have the same. So, shall we place our order…”
And at that moment, it happened.
“Hey, you punk!”
Someone, with an angry voice, walked toward Jerald from behind and without warning, poured a glass of water over Jerald’s head from the adjacent table.
