We chatted, had lunch, and then returned to the room where I spent time reading the books I liked.
As evening approached, Ray said, “I’ll head back now.”
His face clearly showed he didn’t want to leave, which I found both amusing and a little pitiful.
‘How much must he be suffering in the palace? How could he hate going home this much? Those awful people. It was a rude thought, but I couldn’t help but feel worse about the emperor and the royal family.’
I comforted Ray by hugging him.
He had been startled when I even held his hand, so when I embraced him, his body stiffened like a stone.
When he didn’t even breathe, I patted his back, and only then did he take a deep breath.
“Come back anytime, next time.”
Ray hesitated, then whispered, “Can I come tomorrow?”
His serious tone made me burst out laughing.
It wouldn’t be too bad to hang out two days in a row, I thought, but just as I was about to answer, “No. If you come too often, Seiana might get tired of it… I’ll come later.”
Despite saying that, he still hesitated, clearly not wanting to leave.
I found it cute and hugged him one more time before letting go.
“Take this with you.”
“This…?”
Ray was startled when he saw the object I handed him.
What I was giving him was the rabbit doll that I had said I cherished most.
The doll had the brooch Ray had earlier pinned to it, so perhaps he had left it like that because it matched the doll, or maybe he had simply forgotten about it.
After taking it from the display and holding it, he seemed to enjoy playing with it, so I decided to gift it to him.
“Is it okay to give this to me?”
He asked with shining eyes.
Despite being a prince with many more precious things, he seemed genuinely happy.
I answered somewhat coldly, “It’s a memento of us becoming friends. I trust you’ll treat it as carefully as I did.”
It was meant as a joke, but Ray responded seriously, saying he would.
He seemed like he would even offer a title if the doll wanted it.
For some reason, my heart fluttered, so I quickly rubbed under my nose and waved him goodbye.
The sound of my father crying from behind was a bit annoying.
Ray said he’d definitely see me again and then left in the carriage waiting for him.
It was a little strange, though, something happened after he left.
“Hoo.”
It was a sigh.
At the same time, the tense atmosphere seemed to loosen.
Most of the servants who had been around, not just one or two, looked like they had finally let go of their worries.
“What’s going on, everyone?”
I asked, but no one answered right away.
My father spoke.
“They must have been nervous, serving the prince.”
Was that so?
But it seemed like I hardly saw any servants today.
‘Even the tea was served by my older brother.’
He had even come up with excuses like checking if I needed anything.
I glared at my older brother, who was by my father.
When he saw my gaze, he tilted his head, looking confused, so I turned away coldly and headed toward the mansion.
No matter how much I loved my brother, I couldn’t tolerate him using my friend’s difficult situation to pursue his ambitions.
From behind, I heard my brother’s voice, wondering why I was acting that way, but I ignored it.
After dinner, I rested for a bit, then prepared for bed with the help of Ena.
As she was combing my hair, she cautiously asked,
“Miss, do you like the prince?”
“Hmm. I do. He’s kind.”
I couldn’t understand why people found him so difficult to approach.
His personality wasn’t even that complicated.
Was it because of his status?
‘Commoners are always intimidated by the nobility.’
And since he was a royal, maybe that made sense.
I yawned and looked at Ena’s face through the mirror, noticing she seemed to have something on her mind.
She looked like she was struggling with something.
“What’s wrong, Ena? Is something bothering you?”
“Miss.”
She hesitated for a moment before seriously asking, “Are you going to marry him?”
“Uh… huh? What?”
At first, I didn’t understand what she was asking.
Marriage?
Becoming a married couple?
Who was she referring to…?
Then I realized we had just talked about Ray, and I was startled.
“Ah, no! Why would I marry him?”
My face turned red, and I jumped up from my seat.
No, no!
Of course, legally, we could marry, but I was too young… My thoughts were all over the place.
“How could I marry such a kid?”
“But isn’t the prince about the same age as you?”
Ena’s answer left me speechless.
I had always thought of myself as an adult, so I kept forgetting I was younger than I realized.
“Well, that’s true, but for some reason, he feels like a younger brother to me. Haha.”
“Hmm. It’s a good thing you don’t see him as a man.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t want you to go down a difficult path.”
Ena’s face twisted slightly as she spoke.
In the past, when I had mentioned not wanting to marry, she had said, “If that happens, I won’t be able to see your cute baby later. What a shame.”
So, I was a bit surprised that she was against it now.
I asked cautiously, “Ena, do you not like Ray?”
“How could I dislike him? I just…”
“I just don’t want you to go down a difficult road.”
Just like there are duties for the nobility, the royal family has even heavier and more difficult responsibilities.
Perhaps Ena was worried about that.
Now, I understood her feelings, but I thought it was too early to worry about it.
“Ena, I’m not even sure if Ray wants to marry me yet…”
“I’m sure the prince would want to.”
“What? How do you know that?”
“You can tell by looking. They wouldn’t let go of each other’s hands, as if they had glue on their palms.”
“See, did you see?”
When did you see that?
I felt a little awkward. But that’s just because Rei likes holding hands so much.
He’s such a naive kid; he wouldn’t be thinking anything else… Besides, just holding hands doesn’t mean they need to get married, right?”
“That’s true. But His Highness might have already imagined the wedding rings, who to invite to the ceremony, how many children they would have, right?”
“Eh-na!”
Why does she keep jumping to conclusions like that!
I shouted with my face turning red, but Eh-na remained firm.
“Well… If you’re really not thinking about marriage, it might be good to draw a clear line. You two are too close.”
“Eh-na…”
At Eh-na’s advice, I pouted my lips.
But honestly, we hadn’t been together long enough to talk like this.
Right now, I liked Rei because of the favor he did for me, and I felt special because of how much he valued me.
But as we got closer and the excitement faded, it was likely that we’d just end up as simple friends.
Also, “I’m not particularly popular with men.”
Ugh, here I go again, thinking about Pedro…
But thinking back to how no one showed any interest in me after I broke off my engagement with him, it seemed like I was destined to live alone forever.
This was something only I knew, so it was hard to explain to Eh-na.
I could only show my displeasure through my expression.
Seeing my gaze, Eh-na lowered her head.
“I’m really sorry for overstepping. But I just want you to be truly happy because you’re so important to me.”
I hope you don’t choose a difficult path.
With a face full of concern, Eh-na hugged me tightly from behind.
I didn’t say anything and just gently tapped her arm around my shoulder as if to comfort her.
***
To Ray.
Before I knew it, the weather had gotten much warmer.
These days, if I go out without an umbrella, I can’t walk more than five minutes.
The sunlight is just too hot.
Our estate has a mountain nearby, so there’s a breeze from the mountain, and it gets cooler at night, but the capital is much hotter, right?
Maybe it’s more comfortable because of all the magical tools around?
This year, we’re even talking about buying cooling magic tools.
I’m wondering what we should buy.
How about the ones Ray is using?
If they’re good, we might get those too.
Oh, and when would be a good time for our next meeting?
The chef is making a special treat, so I think it would be nice if Ray could join us and eat it together.
Once we set a date, I’ll make sure everything is ready.
The chef is so confident that it will be delicious, so you can look forward to it.
Seyana.
P.S. Thank you for the hairpin you sent with your last letter.
I was amazed at the flat pearl, but I was especially surprised that you made a flower and turned it into a hairpin.
It’s really beautiful, and I love it.
Raymund smiled as he read Seyana’s letter.
It had been two months since he met Seyana.
During that time, Raymund visited her house once a week.
As much as he wanted to see her every day, he held back, afraid that she might get tired of seeing him too often.
Instead, he sent her letters every two or three days.
He wanted to receive letters every day too, but his daily life was so monotonous that he didn’t have much to write about for a reply.
In the end, he could only send a letter every couple of days, barely managing to write about his routine.
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