“Ray, is it true that that child likes Lady Estarote?”
“Yes. Whenever she goes out to see Lady Estarote, she pays a lot of attention to her outfit.”
Since she had been worrying about what to wear since the day before, it was undeniable proof.
If they were close, she wouldn’t have cared much and just worn something casually.
She was a precious person, and since Ray also had feelings for her, the woman grew anxious.
If she left the treasure alone, everyone would recognize its value and steal it.
Currently, the number of ability users.’
Including the royal family, there had been a total of 10 ability users, but due to extinction, the number had reduced to 7.
The three families that disappeared were not wiped out due to rebellion or anything, but because they failed to produce heirs and naturally could not continue their bloodlines.
Among the seven remaining, except for Aries who was female, the other six were all men.
Four of them were older than Raymund.
There was only one male ability user of Raymund’s age.
‘That child… stayed in the family because they didn’t want to leave home…
That child was the most dangerous.
It wasn’t safe just because they were an ability user.
The ability users had a strong desire for normalcy, so even the older ones might have forgotten their dignity.
The treasure must be secured first.
It must be taken before anyone else covets it.
“Why didn’t that child tell me?”
If they liked me, if they hadn’t hidden it from me, they would have already sent a marriage proposal to the Estarote count’s family.
An engagement wasn’t even necessary.
Although they weren’t yet of marriageable age, the law allowed royal family members to have an early marriage in urgent situations.
Is there anything more important than a perfect match appearing for the ability user Raymund?
It was just a matter of marrying him immediately and making her a princess consort.
‘As expected… I should intervene.’
The woman thought quietly and made up her mind.
Whether it was what Raymund wanted or not, as a mother, she couldn’t just stand by.
She would somehow settle Seiana next to her son.
Her eyes shone with determination.
***
To Seiana.
I have already gotten permission for the trip.
I’m available anytime, so I think we can plan according to Seiana’s schedule.
Next time we meet, let’s talk in detail about where we will stop by.
Ah, and what do you think about nicknames, Seiana?
Do you like them?
I like my nickname, but I don’t know what others think.
Some people don’t like nicknames because they seem to create distinctions between people, but I’m not one of those people.
I’m just asking out of curiosity, so if it feels uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer.
If you don’t mind using nicknames, I’m also curious about when would be a good time to start using them.
I guess it would only be possible after knowing someone for a long time?
A very long time.
I don’t think I’d allow someone I’ve known less than a month to call me a nickname.
Because if you give that chance, some people might misunderstand.
Got it?
Then, let’s meet as planned this Wednesday.
From Raymund.
Hmm…
The letter was short about the trip but had several lines about the nickname, and I scratched my head.
‘Ray already calls me by a nickname… does that mean he wants to call me by my nickname too?’
He wrote it all around, but the desire was so clearly revealed that I couldn’t miss it.
The rule about only allowing people I’ve known a long time probably meant don’t allow Ari.
The funny thing was that Ray, who said “a long time,” had actually known me less than half a year.
I didn’t know what standard “a long time” meant, but it was just funny that he himself didn’t realize he didn’t meet that standard.
It was cute.
‘A nickname…
I didn’t really mind if someone called me by a nickname.
I’m not the type to say only really close people should call me that.
These days, only family calls me by my nickname…
That’s because I don’t have close friends.’
In my previous life, Pedro also called me by a nickname.
Of course, he usually kept a distance and called me Seiana, but when he wanted something from me, he called me “Lovey.”
So it wouldn’t really matter if I allowed Ray to do it too…
But imagining Ray smiling sweetly and calling me “Lovey” made my whole body twist.
It wasn’t a bad feeling. It was just so ticklish and embarrassing that I couldn’t control myself. My cheeks felt hot, so I covered both cheeks with my palms to hide it.
My hands quickly became warm.
‘If someone else did it, I wouldn’t be embarrassed. In Ari’s case, she would probably call me like a chatty skylark… but it would just be cute, with no other feelings. Only Ray made me feel like this. Is it because he’s my first boyfriend?’
Of course!
I meant a male friend.
I definitely didn’t have any impure thoughts with a kid! I’m not that shameless.
At the same time, in one corner of my mind, I reminded myself that we were the same age.
No idea.
Maybe when I’m older, but right now, having those feelings for Ray is really strange.
It feels like being a criminal.
‘First of all, I don’t even know if he sees me that way.’
I didn’t know whether Ray saw me as a romantic interest or just as a close friend candidate.
It was clear he liked me… but whether it was love was unclear.
I’ve lived a long time, but I didn’t really understand love.
Surely, in my previous life, I loved Pedro… or so I thought.
‘Looking back now, I don’t know if that was love or just stubbornness.’
There was no excitement between us.
I always felt indebted to him and was obsessed with repaying that debt.
So I desperately tried to be good to him.
When you love someone, it’s natural to want to give them anything… I read a shallow quote in a book and firmly believed that was love.
On the other hand, with Ray…
‘I don’t feel like giving anything.’
Actually, Ray was richer than me.
Even if I wanted to give a gift, I first wondered if it was really necessary.
‘The only thing I gave was an old beloved doll…
It wasn’t expensive.
Not even custom made, just a mass-produced product.
The thing I received in return was an expensive item, which was shameless of me…’
I fiddled with the pearl pin I wore on my ear.
Pearls aren’t carved from stone; they are expensive because they come from shells by chance.
Round and smooth shapes are the most precious and expensive, but flat pearls like these were rare.
Since they were made from hard-to-find things, I wasn’t sure about the exact price, but I could easily guess they were expensive.
‘I want to repay the favor, but I can’t think of anything suitable.’
Maybe it’s because I’ve always lived so abundantly.
Ray didn’t have likes or dislikes about things.
Before, just like that person quietly asked me, it was hard to figure out a proper preference because I said I liked anything.
“You want to call me by a nickname, so should I at least let you do that?”
But that was something I could just allow without expecting anything in return, so I felt guilty.
Since he wasn’t a clueless little kid, I couldn’t help but calculate everything I thought about.
It felt a little uncomfortable to receive something precious and keep quiet about it.
Hmm.
What should I do?
I was worrying about that when…
“Miss.”
Ena called me from outside the room.
When I told her to come in, Ena entered with a stern face.
She looked so serious that I wondered if something had happened, and then she handed me a letter.
“A letter came.”
No, why does she act so serious just handing over a letter?
Thinking it was nothing special, I took it.
It made sense since Ray’s letter had come before, so naturally, I assumed this would be a letter from Ari.
‘He did say he’d send me a letter.’
Still, the moment I checked the sender’s signature on the envelope just to be sure, my face stiffened.
“Huh?”
Is this real?
I was so surprised I looked at Ena, and she met my gaze with a worried expression.
“It’s an invitation. Someone is waiting downstairs.”
“What…?”
What does this mean?
Sending an invitation and inviting me on the same day?
Flustered, I opened the letter, and it said they wanted to have lunch together today.
What kind of case is this?
It was 10:20 AM now, so lunchtime was tight.
If another noble sent such a rude invitation, I would have felt offended and declined, but this was someone I couldn’t dislike.
“Her Majesty the Empress…”
She was the mother of the empire and the mother of a friend.
Not someone I could complain about.
I closed my eyes tightly from dizziness and then opened them to ask Ena,
“When did they say to come by?”
“The person waiting downstairs just asked to prepare as quickly as possible…”
Since it seemed like an unreasonable invitation, they were probably willing to be understanding about the time.
As soon as I heard that, I stood up without hesitation.
“Ena! Get ready quickly!”
“Yes!”
Ena hurried toward the dressing room to get the dress and accessories.
‘At least it’s a relief since I’m still a child.’
If I were older, it would have taken a lot of time for makeup and hair decorations, but since I’m young, I could skip that, which was a relief.
I chose a roomy dress with a deep blue hue from the dresses Ena suggested.
For shoes, I picked pale yellow flats.
‘I don’t know what kind of occasion it will be, so I’ll dress properly but as comfortably as possible.’
In my mind, I kept imagining Her Majesty the Empress asking, “Do you think someone like you suits my son?” and splashing water on me, repeating that about thirty times.
I hadn’t even sat at the table yet, but I already felt like I might get sick.