“I had a lot of fun today, Countess.”
It wasn’t until sunset that they returned to the imperial palace after finishing all the activities. As they got out of the carriage and made their way to Camer Palace, Christine spoke to Pristin with an excited voice.
“Thank you so much for coming to the festival with me. I won’t forget the time we spent today for a long time.”
“Thank you for saying that. I’m so full of joy and happiness.”
Pristin smiled brightly, as if expressing her sincerity.
“I’m also thankful that you joined me, Christine. And thanks for the gift.”
“It wasn’t that expensive.”
“The value of a gift is in the sentiment behind it. What you gave me today is priceless.”
“But now that I think about it, I think I was a little tactless.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“That’s…”
“Tell me, Christine.”
“I wonder if I was a bit intrusive, considering that you have to spend time with His Majesty. I shouldn’t have…”
“…Ah.”
Pristin made a meaningful sound.
“It’s all right, Christine. You don’t have to worry.”
“Sniff… What if His Majesty thinks poorly of you because of me?”
“No, it’s fine. That will never happen, so don’t worry.”
Pristin chuckled softly and tightly held Christine’s hand.
“After all the fun, your mind is wandering, huh? Let’s go inside. It’s getting chilly as evening approaches.”
“Yes, Countess.”
The two began to walk together again toward Camer Palace.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Your Majesty, there is news that Countess Rosewell has safely returned to Camer Palace with her younger sister.”
Jerald, who was sitting at his desk reading documents, lifted his head at the report. A sigh of relief crossed his face.
“Was there anything out of the ordinary?”
“There were no particular issues reported during the escort.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Jerald’s expression brightened at the news that she had returned safe and sound. He had put someone on Pristin without telling her in case a bad situation came about. If she knew that the escort followed her for no reason, she might feel uncomfortable or burdened.
‘… I wanted to go with you.’
Jerald’s expression subtly dimmed. While he pretended to be generous and open-minded, missing the first Founding Festival after their reunion was indeed regrettable. He didn’t express his disappointment too strongly, not wanting Pristin to feel guilty.
‘No, there’s next year.’
It was when Jerald tried to soothe his disappointment and concentrate on his work again.
“Your Majesty.”
From the outside came the voice of the servant again.
“What’s going on?”
“Countess Rosewell requests an audience with you.”
Pristin?
Before Jerald could fully process the information, Pristin appeared in front of him. Jerald greeted her with a surprised expression.
“Pristin?”
“Your Majesty.”
“What brings you here?”
“You look very surprised.”
Pristin said to Jerald with a slight smile.
“I returned to the palace a while ago. I wanted to greet you properly.”
“Ah, you must be tired from all the festivities.”
“Actually, there’s something I’d like to discuss.”
“What is it?”
“Do you have time right now?”
“Hmm?”
“About…”
Pristin checked her pocket watch and continued,
“From ten to eleven. Are you free?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“If you have time until then.”
Pristin said with a smile.
“Would you join me for a stroll outside?”
“What do you mean…”
“Well, the Founding Festival isn’t over yet.”
Pristin smiled shyly.
“I have something I want to show you, Your Majesty.”
“Ah…”
Caught off guard, Jerald momentarily forgot what to say. Pristin still wore a shy smile, waiting for Jerald’s response. Eventually, he spoke up.
“Absolutely. But will you be okay? You must be tired.”
“I’m not old enough to be tired from wandering around during the day. Thank you for worrying, but I’m fine.”
“All right. Wait for a moment… just a moment.”
Jerald fumbled out of his seat.
“I’ll prepare for our outing. It won’t take more than thirty minutes.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Understanding, Pristin nodded.
“I’ll be waiting in the reception room.”
With that, Pristin stepped back. Left alone, Jerald wore a dazed expression, as if he couldn’t decide whether this was a dream or a vision.
“Is anyone there?”
But soon after, he quickly called for the servant. It was currently six. If he wanted to make the most of the remaining time, he had to hurry.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Meanwhile, Pristin waited for Jerald alone in the reception room.
Although she had already enjoyed the Founding Festival during the day, Pristin felt an unusual excitement, as if she were about to experience something she had never encountered before.
‘He seemed to be really happy.’
Pristin smiled as she recalled Jerald’s expression when she first suggested going to the Founding Festival together.
If she had known he would like it so much, she might have mentioned it earlier. Regret crept in too late.
“Did you wait for a long time?”
The voice reached her ears not long after, and Pristin, expecting it to take a while due to the sudden request, was surprised as she stood up.
Wearing an outfit that concealed his identity, Jerald walked into the room. Startled, Pristin welcomed him with an astonished expression.
“No. You came quite quickly.”
“Because you’re waiting.”
Jerald said with a proud look.
“I urged the attendants, so they prepared quickly. Shall we go then?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Pristin added a faint smile to her face.
“I might be mistaken, but you seem quite excited.”
“Of course. You probably wouldn’t know how thrilled I was earlier.”
“When I mentioned that I would attend the Founding Festival with Christine, you must have felt quite disappointed.”
“It would be a lie to say no.”
“If that’s the case, what I did today seems to be the best thing.”
If she hadn’t come, it could have been a big problem.
Pristin laughed as if she had narrowly avoided trouble.
“Still, if we stay until late at night, we can spend quite a long time together. Will that satisfy you a bit?”
“Just spending time outside together is satisfying enough. It feels great.”
Jerald held Pristin’s hand, and she looked at him with a slightly surprised expression. He also gazed at her, locking eyes with Pristin.
“Is it the same for you?”
“… Yes.”
Pristin nodded with a slightly shy smile.
“If I didn’t go with Your Majesty to the Founding Festival, I would have regretted it.”
That statement sounded so pleasant that Jerald’s lips naturally formed a smile.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The atmosphere of the city late at night had a different atmosphere than that of the day. it was definitely a place Pristin had been to before, but her heart was pounding as if it were new.
The darkened streets were illuminated by colorful lanterns, creating a lively yet romantic atmosphere distinct from the daytime. As Pristin looked around the streets in wonder, Jerald, smiling as if finding her cute, opened his mouth.
“If someone saw you, they might think you didn’t come here earlier.”
“It’s a different area from before, and the atmosphere is different from the daytime as well.”
Even as Pristin said it, she was looking around.
“I’m glad I came again. I was worried about what if it was a little boring, but I was worried for nothing.”
“Founding Festivals are usually more enjoyable at night. You’ll probably like it.”
“Then what should we do first?”
With an excited expression, Pristin turned to Jerald and asked. Jerald stared at her, seemingly amused, and chuckled. When Pristin blinked her big eyes as if she was asking what was wrong with him, Jerald laughed low again.
“Nothing, it’s because you’re cute.”
“What?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you so excited.”
After saying so, Jerald crossed his arms with Pristin without warning. She was surprised, but did not shake off Jerald’s arm. He smiled softly and pointed to one of the variously split paths with his fingers.
“Shall we go over there?”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The time spent together now wasn’t distinctly different from when she was here with Christine earlier. The two wandered the streets, bought some street food, shared it, and strolled along, admiring various crafts and goods displayed by street vendors. As they walked, time quickly passed.
“This reminds me of two years ago. Don’t you think so?”
At Jerald’s words, Pristin realized the sense of déjà vu she had felt earlier.
“Come to think of it, we used to wander around like this often in the Perk Empire.”
“Yeah, we used to do that quite often back then.”
“At that time, you roamed the streets so casually that I wouldn’t have imagined you would be a crown prince.”
“That’s just prejudice.”
“Sometimes…”
Pristin spoke in a quiet voice.
“I thought about that too. If we had honestly revealed everything to each other early on, would the situation be better than it is now?”
“Better than now?”
Jerald, with a slightly narrowed brow, seemed not to fully understand Pristin’s words.
“I’m satisfied with the way things are now. Is there a better view of satisfaction here?”
Pristin, realizing that her words were meaningless, suddenly was grateful. Jerald didn’t know what happened to her after they parted ways, so all those assumptions were pointless. Quickly attempting to amend her words, Pristin opened her mouth.
“Well, so…”
However, no appropriate words came to mind, leaving her in a dilemma. At that moment, something fascinating caught Pristin’s eye.
“Ah, Your Majesty, look over there.”
“What?”
“Shall we go over there?”
“What is it?”
The place where Pristin took Jerald was a stall selling pocket watches. Jerald asked with a tone of surprise,
“Why watches?”
“Now that I’ve come this far, I’ll buy you one as a gift.”
“Is there a reason why it’s a watch?”
“Oh, just so that you’ll think of me every time you check the time.”
“What?”
Jerald burst into laughter at Pristin’s words. He didn’t expect her to bring up such a thing first, so it felt especially fresh to Jerald. Pristin asked with an awkward smile,
“Do you dislike it?”
“No, it’s a very meaningful gift. I really like it.”
Jerald looked at the watches briefly on display and pointed to one soon after.
“I’ll go with this.”
His pick was a wooden pocket watch with an owl carved on the outside. As Pristin prepared to pay without hesitation and turned to Jerald, he unexpectedly handed her something.
“Here, a gift for you too.”
“…What is this?”
Because it was such an unexpected gift, Pristin stared at Jerald with a bewildered look.
