Chapter 52
“That Wicked Woman”
“Kyle! Try this! It’s really delicious!”
In her hands, Himena held skewers alternating fried potatoes and sausages cooked in olive oil.
“Heh.”
Kylian, watching Himena smile so brightly as if she had discovered something amazing, took her hand and bit into a skewer.
“Mmm, it’s good.”
“Right? Ang! Mm…”
Himena also bit into the skewer in her other hand, making an extremely satisfied sound.
“Will this be enough for a meal? There’s a fine restaurant nearby, we could go there…”
“Mm! No.”
She shook her head vigorously, chewing her food.
“This is plenty. I haven’t had street food like this in ages. Mmm, it’s delicious.”
Heh, just like a little kid…
Kylian laughed and wiped the sauce from Himena’s mouth.
“Huh? It got on me? Here, a handkerchief…”
As he reached for the handkerchief dangling from his wrist pouch, he casually sucked the sauce off his thumb with his mouth.
“Ah, no… why would you—”
Himena’s eyes widened in shock, and Kylian smiled faintly, while her cheeks quickly turned bright red.
“Hey! They’re starting a puppet show over there! Let’s go!”
“Wow! Let’s go, let’s go!”
A group of children ran across the plaza shouting.
Puppet show? Wait! Eat, watch a movie, have tea… oh! We just ate, so watching a puppet show and then having tea would make the perfect date!
“Kyle, let’s go too. After the puppet show, we can go somewhere for tea, and that would perfectly end today’s date!”
“Is that… really necessary? Himena, that’s a bit…”
“Hurry up! Let’s go!”
Excited, Himena grabbed Kylian’s hand and pulled him in the direction the children had run.
“Oh! Kylian! Why do you reject my love?”
“Ha, Himena! Do not dare speak the word ‘love’ with that mouth! When you say ‘love,’ that beautiful and noble word suddenly becomes so vulgar!”
“Wahaha!”
“That’s right! Such eloquence!”
“Yes, yes!”
On a small, roughly decorated stage in front of a set of steps in the plaza, a puppet show adapted from Andrea’s novel “Please Restrain That Princess’s Obsession” was being performed.
Whenever the puppets spoke their lines, the audience—young and old alike—reacted emotionally, cheering or criticizing. Among them, a young performer walked around collecting money in a hat.
“Author, are you really going to let people make money off your work like this?”
Andrea, who had been checking her novel’s sales at a bookstore in the capital before returning to her mansion, heard this from her accompanying bodyguard in a low voice.
“Heh, it’s fine. Let them be. It’s all publicity anyway.”
“P-publicity?”
“Even if my novel is popular, there are still far more people who haven’t read it. Many of the spectators here probably haven’t. And if they see a short puppet show that omits much of the content and doesn’t even show the ending, what do you think will happen?”
“Ah! Then…”
“Exactly. They’ll want to know more. Sales of Volume 1, and the upcoming Volume 2, will probably increase. What better publicity could there be? Letting them perform the show is far more profitable than taking a small amount of money from them.”
Andrea, standing behind the crowd with her arms crossed, twisted her thin mustache and smiled with satisfaction.
“Kyle, looks like this is the place! Wow, there are so many people.”
“Yes. Seems like the content is quite entertaining.”
Hmm? Who has such a charming voice?
Andrea, drawn to the pleasant low tone, glanced over and was shocked to see Kylian and Himena approaching nearby.
Gasp! W-who are they! Aren’t those the Marquis of Thermos and Princess Sylvester?
From when he first conceived of the scandalous romance novel involving them, Andrea had secretly observed Kylian and Himena at gatherings using various connections.
That’s how he could write such vivid descriptions of their appearances.
“Hey, stay close to me!”
Andrea tugged at the bodyguard’s coat and quickly hid behind his large frame.
“Eh? Why?”
“Shh! Quiet!”
“Yes…”
Hiding closely by the large bodyguard, Andrea peeked at the two.
Oh, Marquis of Thermos! What luck! To see that perfect face up close! His face is glowing, glowing! Oh, my heart is racing! Hmm… but…
He also watched Himena and thought curiously.
Princess Himena… seems different somehow? Was she always this young and pretty? No… before she looked fierce and wild. Hmm… maybe it’s the heavy makeup at the ball?
“Himena, stand in front of me so we don’t bump into people.”
“Thank you, Kyle.”
Kylian placed Himena before him and held her shoulders protectively with both hands.
Oh my! Are they really the Marquis and Princess? Himena? Kyle? Since when have they been so close? Is this even possible?
“Ahhh! Marquis Kylian pushed me down the palace stairs! Is it right to hurt a delicate lady like this? You have to take responsibility, Kylian!”
“Uuuuuu!!!”
“Liar!”
“Fall flat on your face already!”
As the female noble puppet fell and shouted loudly on stage, the audience booed and scolded.
“K-Kyle… that’s—”
Himena and Kylian finally realized the puppet show’s story and were taken aback.
“This wicked woman, Himena! Deceiving people again! When did I ever push you? You chased me even though you didn’t want to, then fell on your own and broke your nose!”
“Puhahaha!”
“Her nose broke!”
“Heheh…”
“Th-this!”
Himena turned sharply to look at Kylian. Concerned by her expression, Kylian whispered into her ear.
“Let’s go. It’s not worth watching.”
“Yes…”
“Marquis Kylian! Since my nose is broken, you have to take care of me! Kylian!”
“Go away, Himena! I don’t want to see you! Your already unattractive face has become even worse!”
“Puhahaha!”
Kylian held Himena’s hand and quickly left through the crowd of laughing onlookers.
Himena walked with a dark expression, glancing back at the crowd, while Andrea turned her head quickly to avoid being noticed.
Then—
Shine!
Huh? Just now, through the hood… blond hair?
As she turned her head, a small woman in a black cloak passed by, her long blond hair flowing through the hood.
Could it be… Ines?
“Hey! Wait!”
Himena let go of Kylian’s hand and chased after her.
“Himena! Where are you going?”
Kylian called, but she ran after the blond woman, clutching her skirt and heading into a side alley.
“Huff… huff… where did she go? I clearly saw her enter this way.”
Despite running quickly, the cloaked woman vanished without a trace. Himena wandered through unfamiliar alleys, lost.
“Hah… did I imagine it? Damn.”
Eventually, she reached a slightly wider area and collapsed onto some stone steps.
“My feet…”
She removed her shoes and even the lacy socks. The pretty high-heeled shoes that Sofia had chosen for her first date had rubbed her heels raw, leaving them bloody from all the running.
“Huh… what a mess. Lost Kylian too…”
Barefoot, with her hat off and hair disheveled, Himena stared blankly at the sky.
The white clouds drifting lazily across the bright blue sky were mockingly beautiful, as if only they were enjoying the day.
“Hah…”
As she closed her eyes and caught her breath, a shadow suddenly fell over her.
“Such a wicked woman. Leaving your lover behind on your first date to go off alone.”
“Huh? Kyle!”
Kylian, standing against the sun, looked down at her.
“Sorry… I thought it was someone I knew…”
“So you found her?”
“No… I must have been mistaken. But once I went into the alley, I got confused by the paths…”
“Stand up. Let’s get out of here.”
He reached out and helped her to her feet.
“But… Kyle, my feet from the shoes… I really can’t walk anymore. I’m sorry.”
Himena held up her bloody heels and pouted.
“Oh dear.”
He frowned as he looked at her feet.
“We’ll go barefoot to the plaza, then put them back on there.”
“Hm. Good idea.”
“Huh? K-Kyle!”
Without asking, Kylian suddenly lifted her into his arms.
“P-put me down! It’s embarrassing!”
“So what? Walking like this, the rumors will spread faster.”
“No, this is too much! I’m not a child! Put me down!”
Heh.
Ignoring her struggles, Kylian carried her a little away from the stone steps.
There, a coachman stood with a horse.
“Huh? A… horse?”
Kylian placed Himena on the horse first, then mounted behind her and took the reins.
“Hold these shoes for me. I’ll get them when we return the horse.”
“Yes, my lord. Here you go, and have a safe ride.”
“Giddy-up!”
As the coachman took the shoes from Himena, Kylian spurred the horse forward.
“Kyle, where are we going?”
“We’ve seen enough of crowded places. This time, let’s go somewhere quieter. Giddy-up!”
They left the city center, riding toward the outskirts.
After a while, a hill appeared, and Kylian slowly rode up it.
At the top, they reached the ruins of an old temple, offering a panoramic view of the capital.
“Wow… this is beautiful.”
Kylian dismounted first, lifting Himena down carefully, then sat her barefoot on a shaded stone wall. He tied the horse a little ways off and returned to her side.
As late afternoon approached, the harsh sun softened, and a gentle breeze lightly tickled her neck.
