As I changed into the dress set sent by Klaus and waited, a carriage arrived from the castle.
Lena, who had assumed that, as usual, Klaus’s attendants had come as messengers, widened her eyes at the person stepping out of the carriage.
“Lord Klaus?”
The person who got out was Klaus, dressed in a light gray jacket and pants. His usual neatly tied silver hair was loosened and flowing down his back today.
Seeing him in this different appearance made Lena’s heart feel as if it had been tightly squeezed, and her chest grew tight.
Klaus looked at Lena’s attire as she came out to the entrance, and slightly lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Ah, it suits you very well.”
Seeing Klaus’s gaze fall on her neckline, Lena gently touched the pendant he had given her with her fingertips.
This pendant, set with earrings, featured a small bird motif. It was incredibly cute.
“Thank you very much for such a wonderful gift.”
“No, it was I who asked for it, so don’t worry about it. Shouldn’t you greet your father?”
“I-I’m sorry! …If I do that, I think I’ll probably faint…”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing. My father is fine ignoring it.”
“Is that so?”
Klaus looked a bit puzzled, but since Lena said so, he extended one hand.
“Well then, shall we go?”
For a moment, Lena didn’t understand the meaning of the offered hand and felt her face flush red when she realized he was helping her onto the carriage.
(Handkerchief, handkerchief!)
Though she wore gloves, Lena hurriedly looked for her dress pocket to wipe her hands, but unlike her usual dress, this one had no pockets. Flustered, Klaus tilted his head and took Lena’s hand.
(Oh!)
“Not sure what you’re doing, but if we don’t hurry, we’ll be late. Come on.”
Since they were already connected, it was too late. Lena gave up on wiping her hands and boarded the carriage, escorted by Klaus.
Even though she had ridden in a carriage with Klaus before, today’s nerves were unlike anything she had experienced before.
“Today, Lord Richard isn’t attending, is he?”
As she spoke in a trembling voice, feeling as if her heartbeat might be audible, Lena looked up at Klaus.
“Yes. For members of the royal family who are not of age, attendance is not mandatory. Richard isn’t very fond of his older brother, so he probably won’t show up.”
“Eh…?”
The person Klaus called “brother” was only George III himself.
“Well, no… I mean…”
Did she accidentally let something slip? Klaus frowned as if to say, “I screwed up,” then sighed as if giving up.
“Please keep what I just said a secret. If it leaks outside, it would be quite embarrassing.”
“Of course, but…”
Lena suddenly remembered when the Queen barged into Richard’s room. Although Richard had maintained a firm attitude toward her, once George III appeared, his demeanor changed.
(Thinking about it, he did seem tense…)
He clenched his fists tightly, seeming to endure something. She wondered if he was nervous because he was dealing with an older brother, but upon reflection, it was completely different from when he was dealing with Klaus, who was only a year older than George III.
(It’s because he’s not good with him… I want to ask about it, but… it’s not my place to interfere…)
While pondering this, Klaus, who had been staring intently at Lena’s profile, suddenly asked in a soft voice.
“Are you curious?”
“Huh?”
“If you are… I can tell you.”
Lena didn’t understand why Klaus thought it would be okay to tell her, but she nodded awkwardly. He slightly lowered his eyes and spoke.
“You might have noticed, but Richard is a very clever boy. He’s always been quick to learn and, despite being just a child, excels at controlling his emotions… How should I put it, among his siblings, he was the most outstanding. When our father— the former king—noticed this, he declared he wanted Richard to be the next king. His elder brother, already heir to the throne, was flustered upon hearing this and began to treat Richard harshly. Both my younger brother and I, still young ourselves, were confused and unsure what to do when our father insisted that Richard would be the next king, and we didn’t even realize the growing rift between the brothers. Our father was the type to never back down once he made a decision, so we thought nothing could change it, no matter what we said.”
Klaus’s gaze shifted to his own shadow reflected in the carriage window, as if recalling the past.
“When I realized it, it was too late. Richard felt that his existence was destroying the family, and he withdrew into his shell. At the same time, he, still young, convinced our father he would not become king. His words went unheard by his already suspicious elder brother. Later, after our father abdicated and passed the throne to him, the brother seemed to calm down. But by then, Richard’s heart was already distant from both his brother—and from us. I think he doesn’t see us as family anymore. He keeps a distance, watching us with a stranger’s eyes, believing that it’s better that way. We, my brother and I, noticed this and tried to bring Richard’s heart back, but perhaps he’s just being considerate of us and isn’t truly opening up. My brother, perhaps feeling guilty, rarely tries to see Richard. Richard also tries to avoid him as much as possible because he’s uncomfortable around him. You mentioned before that Richard doesn’t want to go into the garden, but that’s because he’s afraid of running into his brother. His brother often takes walks in the garden to clear his mind.”
(So that’s what’s going on…)
The slightly formal, distant atmosphere between Richard and Klaus. Realizing its true nature made Lena gasp.
“…That’s why I’m a little envious of you. My brother and I are desperately trying to make Richard smile, but you easily bring a smile to his face. Honestly, you seem more like a true sibling to Richard than I do.”
“That’s not…”
“It’s true. That’s why I hired you. I was convinced you could have a positive influence on Richard.”
So that’s why he suddenly wanted to hire Lena. She thought there was no point in her being there, given she was an art teacher with no such skill of teaching Richard, but if that’s the case, she understood.
“I always struggle. I want him to open his heart to me… Recently, I even wonder if it’s impossible forever.”
Klaus, who was not someone to show many expressions, looked as usual, but somehow, Lena felt like he was crying.
In a rush, she took his hand.
“It’s okay. Prince Richard definitely likes Lord Klaus.”
“That’s just comforting…”
“It’s not just words. Because, Prince Richard himself said so. He told me that Lord Klaus likes birds, flowers, and cute things. That’s why he wants to draw pictures of birds. If he didn’t like those things, he wouldn’t know what you like.”
Klaus’s eyes widened in surprise, his blue eyes wide with astonishment.
Lena smiled gently.
“See? So I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Klaus frowned as if he was holding back tears, then softly said.
“…Thank you, Lena.”
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released on December, 20.
See you then!!
