“Impressive.”
“Hmm?”
“I think the lord won today’s match.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Akkad awkwardly smile and pat the herb basket beside him. Pristin, with a look of defeat, asked Akkad,
“Do you have any wish in mind?”
“No, not yet.”
Then he added meaningfully,
“Even if I did, it feels a bit hasty to use it right away.”
“You’re thoughtful. The wish can be redeemed anytime, so feel free to let me know when you’re ready.”
“Yes, I will.”
Akkad smiled and changed the subject.
“More importantly, I’ve harvested quite a lot of herbs. I regret not being able to come to Itidian last summer.”
“You can keep coming from next year. I had a substantial harvest today as well.”
“…Next year.”
Akkad asked cautiously,
“Will you accompany me again?”
“If you allow me to accompany you, it would be an honor.”
Pristin replied with a smile, and Akkad, observing Pristin’s smile, looked at her with a meaningful expression.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
By the time the two returned to the Summer Palace, it was already late lunch.
“You’re here, Your Excellency.”
“Madame Korsol, is everything all right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Aruvina asked Pristin with a smile,
“Do you want to take a bath first?”
“Yes. I’ve been moving a lot, and I’ve sweated a lot. I feel sticky, so I should wash right away…”
“Pristin.”
Then Jerald came into the room, calling Pristin’s name. At the sudden appearance, Pristin muttered with a bewildered look,
“Your Majesty, how could you come…”
But before she could finish, Jerald hugged Pristin. The sudden hug made Pristin as well as those around him look surprised.
Aruvina quickly went out with those around her, and Pristin muttered in a bewildered voice, without noticing it,
“Your Majesty, what’s going on…”
“We almost had a big problem.”
“Yes?”
Pristin asked in a voice of incomprehension.
“We almost had a big problem? What do you mean…”
“I heard you almost got bitten by a venomous snake.”
“How does His Majesty know that…”
Pristin still murmured in a dazed voice. It was too short a time to be briefed by Akkad, and, most importantly, Akkad probably wouldn’t have disclosed such a trivial fact to Jerald. Pristin quickly realized that Jerald had attached someone to her.
“Did you send someone?”
“Did you think I’d let you go alone to such a dangerous place?”
‘It’s just a forest, Your Majesty,’ Pristin wanted to retort but quickly closed her mouth. To Jerald, it wasn’t just a forest. Pristin raised her hand gently, comforting Jerald’s trembling back.
The hot breath felt by the side of the neck clearly showed signs of relaxation.
“I’m glad nothing happened. Really…”
“…Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”
Pristin spoke quietly.
“But there was nothing to worry about. Thanks to Lord Bachell’s prompt action…”
To reassure Jerald, Pristin wrapped it up as if it was nothing at all.
“Even if I were unfortunate enough to get bitten, there were plenty of herbs around. It wouldn’t have escalated into a significant threat to my life.”
“It’s not fair.”
Jerald murmured in a more stable voice than before.
“I can’t let you go anywhere because I’m nervous.”
“You treat me like a child.”
Pristin replied with a voice that couldn’t be stopped.
“It’s all right. Nothing happened…”
“…”
“But I appreciate your concern.”
Pristin confessed sincerely.
“Thank you for assigning a guard as well.”
However, not feeling any presence, Pristin belatedly found it strange. When did this person start following her?
“Don’t worry too much. It will never happen again.”
“Of course.”
“Your Majesty, but…”
Pristin spoke cautiously.
“Could you release me now? It’s suffocating.”
“Oh.”
Only then did Jerald awkwardly smile and let go of Pristin. As the two faced each other again, a strange atmosphere lingered between them—awkward yet peculiar.
Jerald cleared the air with a fake cough.
“But you returned earlier than expected. Is it because of that incident?”
“Well, that’s part of it, but I was also starting to get hungry…”
“Pristin.”
With a fleeting glance, Pristin addressed Jerald.
“If I didn’t return early, I thought Your Majesty might get angry.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Isn’t that so?”
Pristin asked, staring straight at Jerald, and he immediately agreed.
“Right. Actually, I’ve been keeping track of time since you left the palace.”
“…You’re relentless.”
Pristin added with a mischievous tone.
“Nothing happened. I know you’ve already been briefed since you’ve assigned a guard on me.”
Then, Pristin asked in a curious voice,
“Did you attach a person to Lord Bachell as well as me?”
“No, only to you.”
Pristin was a little embarrassed.
“If Lord Bachell knew, he might be upset.”
“Why would he? Didn’t he confidently assert that he could protect himself?”
Jerald replied naturally, and Pristin was bewildered once again. She laughed a little and told Jerald,
“Anyway, I’m safe, so please return.”
“Chasing me away so soon after I came all the way here?”
“I need to take a bath.”
“Shall we bathe together?”
“Yes?”
Pristin asked in a stunned voice as if she had heard him wrong. Jerald laughed lowly at Pristin’s reaction.
“I’m just kidding.”
Pristin pushed Jerald’s, who had a a joyful expression, back with a look of bewilderment.
“Go now, please.”
“Just because I made a joke, are you going to be this mad?”
“I’m not mad…”
“I got it. I won’t joke anymore.”
Jerald turned his head and looked at Pristin.
“What time will we meet tomorrow?”
“…After lunch like yesterday.”
Pristin added quietly,
“I’m worried because I haven’t ridden a horse before.”
“Don’t worry. I’m a good rider.”
“Still…”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you get hurt.”
Jerald whispered, stroking Pristin’s head affectionately. Pristin’s face heated up quickly. She pushed Jerald away after clearing her throat.
“…Go quickly, you’re a busy man.”
“Sure.”
Jerald smiled leisurely, and retreated, making eye contact with Pristin to the end. A flush quickly spread across her face. When Jerald finally left her room, Pristin subconsciously covered her cheeks with both hands.
‘…It’s hot.’
She knew without looking in the mirror how flushed she must be. After thinking about it, she felt extremely embarrassed.
‘You must have seen it all.’
She was very embarrassed when she thought about it. At that time, the ladies who were outside carefully returned to the room one by one. When they saw Jerald leaving the room, they came in slowly.
Only then did Pristin realize that the maids had given way for her and Jerald, and she became even more ashamed. Pristin became restless, unable to even make eye contact with them.
Aruvina asked, looking at Pristin as if she was cute,
“Would you like to take a bath, Countess?”
“…Yes.”
Pristin’s voice creeped. Aruvina, smiling slyly, spoke affectionately to Pristin,
“It seems His Majesty was quite concerned. Beyond the incident with the venomous snake.”
“…It was nothing.”
Pristin spoke with a fiery expression, as if to stop teasing her, and Aruvina spoke to Pristin, still with a smile on her face,
“Sit for a moment. I’ll finish preparing the bath soon.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
And by the next day, the weather was very sunny. Aruvina admired, opening the curtains of the Pristin’s bedroom window wide.
“Wow, the weather is… amazing. It’s such a waste to be inside.”
“I know. There is not a cloud in the sky.”
“You said you were going to ride with His Majesty in the afternoon, didn’t you? It seems like a perfect day for a ride.”
Then, Aruvina dropped a bombshell, a remark that would hit Pristin right on target.
“You seem to spend a lot of time with His Majesty these days.”
“…Me?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
Pristin tried to play it off nonchalantly.
“Yesterday, I spent time with Lord Bachell…”
“Your Excellency, you don’t have to hide it from us.”
At the same time, Aruvina smiled very kindly. Pristin’s face quickly flushed at the sight. Eventually, she couldn’t stand the situation and jumped up from her seat.
“…I’ll go for a walk for a while.”
And as soon as she went outside, she found herself in an awkward situation.
“Pristin!”
Jerald, who spotted Pristin, smiled brightly as if yesterday had never happened. Feeling a bit perplexed, Pristin approached him as she sensed her heart racing.
“…Your Majesty.”
“Are we destined, after all? I can’t believe we just ran into each other like this.”
“You were in a place where we had no choice but to meet.”
Pristin asked in a bewildered voice,
“What brings you here?”
“Oh.”
Jerald replied, meeting Pristin’s eyes,
“Because I missed you.”
“…”
“So I came. Is that not allowed?”
“Your Majesty.”
Pristin looked around with a bewildered expression, but there was no one else.
It was only then that Pristin realized Jerald had come alone.
“The servants…”
“I came alone. I thought you might act like this.”
“It’s dangerous. Don’t do that next time.”
“Dangerous?”
Jerald’s eyes glinted at that remark.
“You must be worried about me.”
Pristin muttered, trying to avoid Jerald’s gaze, hearing his strangely happy voice,
“This is not the imperial palace; you must be more careful than usual.”
“I appreciate your concern very much.”
Jerald smiled and bent his upper body toward Pristin. Startled by the sudden closeness, Pristin unintentionally retreated. Watching the scene slowly, Jerald slowly moved his lips to Pristin’s ear. As a result, the closer the distance got, the harder Pristin’s body became with tension.
“I can protect myself.”
“…”
“Of course, you too.”
“…Isn’t it too conceited?”
“Huh, really.”
Jerald chuckled and slowly pulled away from Pristin, who was left feeling her heart beating rapidly.
“It’s a shame I didn’t get a chance to show you. Well, it’s probably better that such a situation didn’t arise.”
“…”
“More importantly, where were you going?”
It was impossible to say that Aruvina had brought up their story and she ran away out of embarrassment.
