Chapter 24
(5)
Mahakenda Ppeldomun
Zeon’s innocent green eyes widened, then slowly narrowed.
He looked genuinely shaken.
“Sir Howard, I’m talking about a mutually beneficial arrangement between us. I’ll keep my mouth shut, and you’ll continue reporting my daily life—appropriately—just like you’ve been doing.”
“By ‘appropriately’… you mean?”
“I have no intention of doing anything like what my brother is worried about. I simply don’t want the people around me getting hurt because of pointless misunderstandings. That’s all I want.”
Zeon could sympathize with that.
Pierre’s obsession with—and suspicion toward—Princess Sienna clearly went too far.
“As you know, my brother Pierre has a nasty habit of suspecting everything first, doesn’t he?”
“Pfft!”
Anna and Arthur both sprayed out their tea.
Zeon nodded without thinking, then hastily bent at the waist.
“M-My apologies!”
“Oh, come on. It’s just us here.”
People even criticize the king when he’s not around—so what about the crown prince?
Sienna needed to make it clear to Zeon that this wasn’t betrayal toward Pierre.
At the same time, she lightly prodded at the fact that prying into a lady’s private life couldn’t have sat well with him as a knight.
“If you truly believe I’m doing something disloyal, then by all means, report it. But if you’re genuinely a loyal subject, there’s no need to report every trivial detail and stir up Pierre’s mind, is there?”
This was absolutely not betrayal.
“Oh! And instead of watching me from afar so painstakingly, you could just accompany Arthur directly. I don’t mind at all.”
Sienna even clapped her hands, smiling brightly.
Shame, confusion, and a faint sense of fear flushed Zeon’s cheeks.
His light green eyes wandered aimlessly.
Who am I? Where am I?
Why am I in the middle of a lake right now? What on earth is going on?
Still, true to his role as a knight, he made one last attempt at resistance.
“And what if I refuse? If I report everything to His Highness even now?”
She didn’t answer right away, instead gazing out over the vast lake.
They say it’s very deep.
Staring idly into the unseen depths, she asked in an offhand tone,
“Sir Howard, are you good at swimming?”
“…What?”
He echoed her reflexively, then let out a strange sound a few seconds later.
“Eek!”
Zeon shuffled backward while still seated.
But he was quickly blocked by Arthur.
Judging by his reaction, he clearly couldn’t swim.
“A-Are you threatening me right now?”
“Me? Of course not.”
“Then Princess, you swim w— guh!”
Zeon froze in shock.
Sienna had suddenly stepped closer.
Looking straight into his eyes, she whispered softly—so quietly only he could hear.
“Of course I do. I’m quite good. Even if you shoved me into the water right here, I could swim back to the dock on my own.”
“I would never do that!”
“I know. Of course you wouldn’t.”
“Princess!”
His reaction was cute enough to make teasing him worthwhile, but if she pushed any further, he really might cry—so she decided to stop there for today.
“Go back and think it over slowly.”
Sienna held out her hand to him.
“I’m sure we can become very good friends.”
“See you tomorrow, then!”
She waved cheerfully at Zeon.
Already half out of his mind, he waved back mechanically before disappearing.
On the way back, they disembarked at the opposite dock and walked through the forest path.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, breaking into fragments and creating a mystical atmosphere.
Yet even amid such an enchanting scene, Arthur wore a displeased expression.
“I truly don’t understand what you’re thinking, Princess.”
“As you know, Arthur, the moment I step outside my small palace, Pierre’s eyes and ears are everywhere.”
“……”
“At the very least, I want to be free with my people in my own space.”
To lighten the suddenly heavy mood, Sienna clapped her hands for no reason.
“Besides, I like Sir Howard.”
“That flimsy fellow?”
“That’s exactly why. No matter how you look at him, he’s harmless.”
Like some soft, gentle herbivore.
A deer, maybe. Or a giraffe.
Either way—kind of cute.
“And I was thinking—if the spy’s on our side, doesn’t that mean we’ve effectively gained another guard?”
Two birds with one stone.
Kill two birds, catch fish while digging a ditch, sweep the yard and find money—exactly that.
“Am I not enough for you?”
At the sulky voice that came back, Sienna stopped walking.
“Are you… jealous right now?”
“I’m concerned. He’s still the crown prince’s man, after all.”
“Hm. If he betrays us, I’ll just toss him into that lakeside.”
“…You were serious?”
“Of course.”
Her gentle smile looked oddly terrifying.
“But will things really go the way you want, Princess?”
“Well. If they do, great. If not, there’ll be another chance.”
“You’re remarkably carefree.”
“That’s because…”
Sienna smiled sweetly and patted Arthur on the shoulder.
“I have two lives, after all.”
“……”
Arthur subtly shifted into a defensive stance.
“Did I scare you?”
“Not at all.”
Beside them, Anna was barely holding back laughter.
With his face reddening up to his neck, Arthur slowly lowered his arms.
“Oh! Arthur, I’m curious about something too.”
“What is it?”
“What did you do in the bushes earlier? Sir Howard looked absolutely terrified.”
“Ah, that…”
“Yes, yes! That!”
Arthur trailed off, then pressed his lips tightly together as he looked at her sparkling eyes.
“…Ahem. Trade secret.”
He tended to hold grudges longer than most.
