RTTE 07

Chapter 7

The First Floor Hall of the Inn

The knights were whispering among themselves as though condemning Kaidan, who was crouched miserably in a corner.

“…You said she was crazy?”

“D-Didn’t you also say she was incredibly ugly?”

“And that her personality was terrible?”

But the Princess was completely different from the person Kaidan had been describing all along.

And above all—

“She seemed to have a favorable impression of His Highness, didn’t she?”

She had been kind to them.

In truth, Kaidan had simply been more outspoken than the rest.

They, too, had been deeply dissatisfied with this marriage.

But the Princess was nothing like the rumors.

And seeing that she acknowledged the Grand Duchy for what it was, they could not help but feel their hearts wavering.

“What do you think, Your Highness?”

Brian asked, his eyes filled with anticipation.

“…Enough with the pointless nonsense. Drink your beer.”

Aksid awkwardly changed the subject.

She seemed to have a favorable impression of him?

It was an embarrassing question—both to answer and even to think about.

Besides, Brian was the only person who knew that Aksid intended to let the Princess go when the time came.

Because he was the one person who had watched Aksid throughout his life, witnessing what happened to him when that day came and he became filthy and wretched like a beast in heat.

Brian had seen his suffering more closely than anyone else.

And now he was sitting there with expectations?

At that moment, Kaidan—who had been unusually quiet until then—spoke in an anxious voice.

“…Shouldn’t we station people around the building?”

“What for?”

At Brian’s question, Kaidan glanced toward the stairs leading upstairs.

“What if Her Highness the Princess secretly runs away in the middle of the night?”

“What kind of nonsense is that…?”

Everyone looked at him as though they were utterly fed up with his pathetic behavior, like someone suffering from terminal paranoia.

“No, just think about it. Setting aside how little luggage she brought, does it make any sense that she doesn’t have a single personal attendant?”

It was obvious.

She had gotten rid of anything cumbersome so she could remain mobile.

And what about that bright expression of hers despite facing a marriage that everyone else desperately tried to avoid?

“No. We should prepare for every possibility and place people around the area to keep watch—”

Brian gave Kaidan a satisfying smack on the back of the head.

Smack!

“Enough already. Drink your beer.”

“Damn it…”

Kaidan rubbed the back of his throbbing head and grumbled indignantly.

Then he suddenly felt someone watching him.

He turned his head.

The Princess was standing halfway down the stairs, covering her lips as she laughed.

“Y-Your Highness!”

The startled knights all jumped to their feet at once.

Aksid rose as well and looked at her with a flustered expression.

“My apologies. I only came downstairs to get something to drink. I had no intention of eavesdropping on your conversation.”

“W-Well…”

“It’s all right. Honestly, if I were in your position, I probably would have had the same suspicions.”

Kaidan stood awkwardly, cold sweat running down his face.

No matter how much he disliked the Princess, treating her like a criminal was an enormous discourtesy.

“Your Highness, please, have a seat…”

“It’s all right. I wasn’t planning to stay long anyway.”

She gently declined.

She had no desire to awkwardly intrude upon a gathering of men.

Still, she should clear up their misunderstanding before leaving.

“The reason my luggage is so simple is because there are no clothes here suitable for the North.”

After all, what use would clothes be if she could not even wear them in the cold?

Bringing piles of them would only make them burdens.

“…And although it’s embarrassing to admit this in front of you, I had no trustworthy attendants to bring with me.”

Her only attendants had been the maids of the Princess’s residence.

She was already sick and tired of them.

Why would she take them all the way to the North?

“I couldn’t live like a human being here—not even for a single day. So you may put aside any suspicion that I intend to run away.”

She gave a deliberately bitter smile.

Kaidan’s face reddened in embarrassment, and he avoided her gaze.

“Anyway, I apologize for interrupting everyone while you were enjoying yourselves.”

“N-No, Your Highness! You weren’t interrupting us at all!”

Brian nudged Kaidan sharply in the side.

Kaidan hesitated for a moment before bowing his head.

“…I apologize for being disrespectful to Your Highness.”

Lumiere nodded, telling him it was all right, then turned her gaze.

Aksid was watching her with unsteady eyes.

“Grand Duke, I’ll be going back upstairs now.”

If she stayed any longer, the atmosphere would only become awkward and heavy.

She headed upstairs toward her room.

Then, as she was about to enter, the sound of heavy footsteps behind her made her turn around.

Aksid stood there with a serious expression.

“I won’t make excuses.”

“……”

“But nothing like what happened today will happen again.”

Lumiere looked at the firm line of his lips after he finished speaking and smiled faintly.

“Don’t worry about it too much. I’m actually glad I was able to learn what everyone truly thought so early.”

They would have needed to speak openly about their feelings eventually.

Kaidan had merely provided the opportunity.

She was neither hurt nor angry.

If anything, she was grateful.

Besides, even within the Grand Duchy, Kaidan was treated like a mad dog because of his reckless words and behavior.

He was hot-tempered and prickly.

But in truth, he was surprisingly soft-hearted and emotionally sensitive.

I’ve made him feel indebted to me now. He may prove useful someday.

“Then I’ll go to bed now. Don’t drink too much, and get some rest early.”

She lightly ran her hand down his arm before entering her room.

Click.

“……”

Aksid stared at the firmly closed door.

Downstairs, he had remained silent and merely listened.

The Princess did not seem like someone who intended to run away.

But he could not deny that he, too, found her difficult to understand.

And yet—

The fact that she had simply smiled through a situation that could reasonably have offended her.

The way she had casually run her hand down his arm.

And above all—

“…If anything, I’ve been waiting for it.”

The fact that she claimed to have been waiting for a marriage everyone else tried desperately to avoid.

Not a single thing about her had turned out the way he had expected.

With a complicated expression, he continued touching the place on his arm where her hand had passed for a long time.

The Next Day

Before leaving the capital, Lumiere came out to the commercial district, where countless shops lined the streets, because there were a few things she wanted to buy.

“Please wait here for just a little while. I’ll be quick.”

Lumiere looked at Aksid with a clear, innocent expression as she asked for his understanding.

The boutique before them was filled with all kinds of cosmetics and dazzling items.

There was no reason a man could not enter.

But if she brought him along for no reason, she felt that his already stiff expression might become even more rigid.

“That’s fine. Take your time looking around. I’ll wait here.”

The moment he finished speaking, he swept his gaze across the surroundings.

The way he naturally remained alert made her feel strangely reassured.

Why had she been so afraid of this man in her previous life?

“…Is there something you wish to say?”

Had she been staring at him too openly?

Despite his firmly set lips, his black eyes shifted ever so slightly.

Seeing the faintly troubled expression on his face made her want to laugh.

Well, it made sense.

He was a man who had spent his entire life receiving nothing but looks filled with awe or fear.

She was probably the first person to stare at him so openly.

Naturally, he would feel awkward.

“It’s nothing. I’ll be back soon.”

She turned lightly and entered the boutique.

Jingle!

The clear sound of the doorbell rang.

Then, through the slowly closing door, the voices of the knights outside faintly reached her ears.

“…Vice Commander, aren’t you going after her?”

“Shut up!”

“Why? Yesterday you were saying Her Highness the Princess needed to be watched.”

“Should we go in her place?”

“Enough, you bastards…!”

Pfft.

A small laugh escaped her.

Only moments ago, they had been standing with perfect discipline, keeping watch over their surroundings.

But now they were teasing and bickering with one another.

It was strangely nice to see.

In her previous life, she had not only fainted from fear when she first saw them—she had spent the entire carriage ride trembling in terror.

But…

They were ordinary people too.

The thought that her behavior in her previous life might have hurt them in some way left a bitter feeling in her chest.

“Welcome. It is an honor to have such a distinguished guest visit our boutique. How may I assist you?”

Lumiere pushed aside her thoughts at the employee’s polite greeting and spoke.

“I would like to purchase moisturizing products suitable for use in a cold climate. I intend to buy your entire stock. How much do you have?”

Most moisturizers used in the North were made from animal fat, giving them a strong unpleasant smell.

The Empire’s products, on the other hand, were fragrant and smooth to apply.

Since they were difficult to obtain in the North, they would be useful in many ways.

She intended to take as much as possible.

“As it happens, we received a new shipment this morning, so I believe we can provide as much as you require. Please, take a look.”

Lumiere followed the employee toward a small storage room.

“That should be enough.”

The products she wanted were stacked across the floor in wooden crates.

Lumiere held out her pouch of money.

“I’ll purchase all of it. Will this be enough to cover the cost?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Where would you like us to deliver the goods?”

“I’ll have them loaded onto the carriage, so please bring them out immediately—”

That was when a woman who had been glancing at her uncertainly for some time approached.

“Oh my. I thought I might be mistaken, but it really is Your Highness the Princess.”

“…What is it?”

Lumiere immediately became wary.

There was no one here who would approach her with good intentions.

And more than anything—

that arrogant face looked familiar.

“I don’t know why Your Highness, who was said to have already departed for the Grand Duchy, is alone in a place like this. But surely you haven’t come here to follow Lady Edverd?”

The woman smiled as though she had discovered something entertaining.

Then she stepped aside.

The person standing behind her was naturally revealed.

“……”

Hair that glittered as though dusted with gold.

Blue eyes as clear as a lake.

Clora Edverd.

The woman who had been Lumiere’s romantic rival in her previous life.