Chapter 37
Spring Is Busy
Sienna followed Dandelion out without a word.
Arthur, ever diligent in his duties, tried to follow them, but she stopped him and went outside alone with Dandelion.
The air of the spring night was cool.
Perhaps it felt colder because they had just come out of a place thick with heat.
She regretted not bringing a coat—when Dandelion suddenly stopped.
Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he draped the jacket he was carrying over Sienna’s shoulders.
The way he carefully wrapped it around her, fastening it snugly, was just like how someone would bundle up a child running around on a cold winter day.
She burst out laughing before she could stop herself.
“Why are you laughing?”
He asked, looking genuinely confused.
“Well… somehow, you feel just like a mom.”
“Did you know who I was when you followed me out?”
he asked dryly.
“Then did you know who I was when you called me out here?”
At that, he had nothing to say.
“…You really have no fear,” he muttered.
“I followed you because I knew it was you.”
“……”
“I’m actually a huge coward. I overreact, and I’m scared of a lot of things. But…”
Sienna removed the suffocating mask.
“Today is the kind of day where that’s allowed, isn’t it?”
The cold air against her skin felt refreshing.
Even as Sienna soaked in the sense of freedom, Dandelion remained behind his mask.
She stepped closer, stood on her tiptoes, and moved right in front of him.
For a brief moment, their eyes met through the mask.
Even though he knew exactly what she was about to do, he didn’t stop her.
When she pulled on one end of the ribbon, the mask slid off with a smooth sound.
With nothing left between them, Sienna felt a sudden impulse.
The moment her heels touched the ground again, it felt as if her heart dropped with a heavy thud.
She wanted to greet him with an enthusiastic kiss right away, but she held herself back with not-at-all-ordinary willpower.
Instead, she stuck her lips out slightly and complained in a sulky tone.
“It felt like tomorrow took forever to come, Dan.”
Despite the playful greeting, her voice trembled a little.
It had only been a single day since she last saw him, yet the world had felt completely gray.
Food had no taste.
Even soaking in a bath filled with her favorite bath salts hadn’t lifted her mood.
What if he was angry?
What if he said they should keep their distance?
What if he didn’t come back at all…?
She had thought there was nothing left to fear or regret, but her heart had felt like it was shrinking.
That was why, when she finally spotted Dandelion, relief washed over her.
It felt like someone had poured water over her as she slowly dried up.
Her world began to regain its colors.
“I apologize.”
“It’s okay. You came.”
They walked side by side through the garden.
“So, why did you call me out?” she asked.
“…Could you give me a little time to organize my thoughts?”
“I will.”
Though night had already fallen, glowing magic-stone lamps softly lit the path.
They were passing a fence overflowing with roses when Sienna stopped and picked up a single fallen bloom.
After gazing at the rose cradled in her hand, she called out to Dandelion, who still looked deep in thought.
“Dan.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
With a deliberately serious expression, she asked,
“I’ve been curious for a while—are you mixed-blood, by any chance?”
“…Pardon?”
Seeing how flustered he looked, she widened her eyes and continued.
“Mixed between the Stern Kingdom and Heaven, I mean.”
“…Your Highness!”
“When did you come down from Heaven? Were you exiled? What about your wings?”
She was smiling, but she meant it.
She had always thought he seemed fairy-like, but seeing him in a white shirt made it impossible to believe he wasn’t an angel.
“Hm? Where did you leave your wings?”
Even in the dim light, she could see his ears turning red.
Cuteness incarnate.
“Haah… please stop teasing me.”
“I’m serious. Huh? An angel—”
“Your Highness, please…”
He finally covered his face with his hands, and she pointed ahead with a finger.
“Look, the baby angel fountain. Over there.”
“……”
The more embarrassed he got, the more she wanted to tease him.
That flushed face was unbearably adorable.
After walking a bit farther, they came upon a small pond.
Crossing a short wooden bridge, they stopped beneath a willow tree.
The long, drooping branches felt eerie and strangely romantic at the same time.
“Now tell me,” Sienna said.
“You called me out because you had something to say, right?”
“I don’t know how I should treat you, Your Highness. I can’t decide what’s appropriate.”
“Hmm. Because I’m a princess? Or because I’m your friend’s fiancée?”
“Both. I don’t know if it’s acceptable for me to become your friend, or if being close to you might… cause trouble.”
Sienna understood exactly what he was worried about.
Even what had happened in the ballroom had already made them a topic of gossip, if only briefly.
More eyes were watching her now, and if she continued meeting him frequently, Jad would inevitably be dragged into it—forming the perfect plot for a third-rate novel.
The genre would probably be a love scandal.
To those who didn’t know the circumstances, the three of them were nothing more than gossip to be chewed up and enjoyed.
Dandelion wore a worried expression.
He was likely more concerned about Sienna than about himself.
This is my problem, in the end.
As long as she was Jad’s fiancée, it was an issue that wouldn’t disappear.
She didn’t assume Dandelion felt the same way she did.
After all, she was the one who had started this, and the one who had fallen first.
Whooosh.
The wind rustled through the leaves with a loud whisper.
The scent of early-blooming lilacs spread through the air.
Carried by the breeze, petals gently landed in their hair.
Dandelion carefully began removing the petals caught in Sienna’s hair.
Ironically, more petals had landed on him, yet he only brushed his own hair off roughly.
Watching him, she smiled softly.
She loved this kindness of his—so natural, so unconscious.
Even if they didn’t feel the same way, she believed she was special to him.
“Dan. I haven’t changed. I still don’t want to call you Lord Mont.”
“Is that your answer, Your Highness?”
“You said it yourself—you hoped that not too many things would change.”
“……”
“Dan. Listen to me.”
He nodded, like a well-behaved puppy.
Ah!
She wanted to bite his ears from how cute he was, but she restrained herself and continued.
“This is a very simple problem.”
“Simple?”
“To you, am I a friend… or just your friend’s fiancée?”
“…Aren’t you both?”
“No. I’m your friend before I’m Jad’s fiancée. Isn’t that what matters?”
“But—”
“If you’re worried about me, you don’t have to be. I take responsibility for my own life. If I were truly your friend, then you could just call me by my name.”
“I cannot casually speak Your Highness’s name.”
“Jad does. So why can’t you?”
“……”
Jad even spoke casually to her, didn’t he?
“I’m closer to you than I am to Dan.”
Her childish reply finally made him laugh.
“You have a remarkable talent for leaving people with nothing to say.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is a compliment.”
“Oh, but you know you still haven’t answered, right?”
“Answered what?”
“Who are you closer to?”
The omitted words were obvious: Jad or me.
After pushing him this far, she expected him to give in—but he was tougher than she thought.
Smiling faintly at Sienna as she looked up at him with sparkling eyes, he gave an ambiguous answer.
“Who knows.”
She narrowed her eyes at him in betrayal.
But soon, her mood turned strange.
My love rival is my own fiancé…
Looking at his face—almost holy under the moonlight—Sienna steeled her resolve.
Her goal was to become closer to him than Jad was.
