SADIC v1c25

Chapter 25

The weekend passed in the blink of an eye, and the days of attending the academy and the royal castle returned once more.

Normally, after arriving at the royal castle from the academy, princess consort training would begin immediately, but today she had asked to delay it a little.

Using that extra time, she was now heading to the room of William—the so-called “Ice Prince,” who was Lilianna’s fiancé.

Entering this room was only the second time since that day of “feeding.”

William was sitting on the sofa, and Lilianna sat down on the opposite side of the table.

A servant prepared tea and sweets and left the door slightly open.

Even if they were engaged, it was generally considered improper for an unmarried man and woman to be alone in a closed room together, so the servant intentionally left the door open.

Lilianna immediately took out a small, cute paper bag and handed it to William.

“Over the weekend, I went into town with my younger brother Aiden.

“I found something that seemed very suitable for William-sama, so I bought it as a souvenir.”

“You bought this for me, Lilianna? Thank you. May I open it?”

“Yes, please.”

William opened the bag at once and took out something shaped like a beautiful, deep blue cord.

“It’s a hair tie. Isn’t the color very lovely?”

Her confident, cheerful declaration looked almost like a small child proudly saying, “Look how amazing this is,” which was quite endearing.

“There was a shop filled with many cute little items. It seems it just opened recently.

“My older brother Ian, Aiden, and my maid Molly planned it as a surprise, saying it was a reward for working hard at my princess consort training and as a change of pace.

“I chose a pen stand for my brother, a book cover for Aiden, and a hair ornament for Molly as souvenirs.

“There were so many wonderful things that it was really hard to choose.

“Oh, but William’s hair tie was the same beautiful color as your eyes, so I decided on it right away.”

Listening to Lilianna talk happily while nodding along, William stood up while still holding the hair tie, moved to the sofa where Lilianna was sitting, and sat down beside her.

Since Daniel, the one who was always laughing loudly, was not here, Lilianna was confused, not understanding why he suddenly sat next to her.

William untied his hair, handed the souvenir hair tie to Lilianna, and smiled.

“Lilianna, tie it for me.”

If Daniel had been present here, he would surely have declared this to be a harbinger of a world-shaking catastrophe.

However, Lilianna, who had already seen William smile many times despite being told he never smiled, had no idea how extraordinary this was.

“Very well, then.”

Holding the hair tie, Lilianna stood up, and William looked puzzled.

“Where are you going?”

“William-sama is quite tall, so I thought it would be rude, but I planned to go behind you to tie it.”

“What? If height is the problem, then this should be fine, right?”

He lifted Lilianna up in one smooth motion and placed her on his lap, facing him.

Lilianna was now sitting astride William, their eye levels matching perfectly despite their height difference.

This was by no means the behavior of a proper lady.

Completely caught off guard by the sudden action, Lilianna froze, holding the blue hair tie in one hand.

Right in front of her was the prince’s beautifully smiling face.

And with his hands firmly locked behind her waist, there seemed to be no way to escape.

Checkmate?!