EXTRA SIDE STORY 03……………………………………….
When his fingers touched the soft hair, Arsène flinched.
As if burned, he quickly pulled his hand away from her grasp.
Ivelina asked with a disappointed look,
“Why? Do you not like it?”
“No! I just thought your hair might get dirty, Your Highness…”
“I can just wash it when I get back! It’s fine, really.”
But even after she said that, Arsène shook his head.
Since he clearly didn’t want to, Ivelina didn’t force him and gave up.
Arsène kept glancing at her.
Even in the darkness, she seemed to shine brilliantly.
Since the day she was born, Ivelina had a portrait painted every year, and those portraits sold out instantly.
People kept them in their homes like lucky charms.
Arsène’s father was no exception.
He had only ever seen her face in paintings, so seeing her in real life felt unbelievably strange.
Noticing his gaze, Ivelina turned her head sharply from where she had been looking outside and faced him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you’re very beautiful.”
Arsène answered reflexively.
Ivelina blinked in surprise, then smiled brightly.
She reached out and grabbed his hand.
“Have you eaten?”
After hesitating, Arsène shook his head.
“Then let’s go eat something delicious. My brother will be waiting.”
Ivelina pulled her hood down again.
Once her hair and eyes were hidden, Arsène felt a little disappointed.
She led him out of the alley.
He didn’t dare resist and followed behind her like a quiet puppy.
Fortunately, because there were so many people, Jonas still hadn’t returned.
Ivelina sat down as if nothing had happened, while Arsène remained standing.
Tilting her head, she said,
“What are you doing? Sit down.”
“Yes.”
Arsène quickly sat beside her.
His heart pounded with nervousness.
Just then, Jonas finally approached with sherbet in both hands.
“Kid, did you wait long?”
As he got closer, Jonas suddenly noticed Arsène and paused.
Ivelina said cheerfully,
“My new friend I made today!”
“What?”
Jonas frowned and looked at Arsène.
His appearance was shabby, and his messy hair hadn’t even been properly combed.
The only thing that caught Jonas’s attention was how shiny the hair looked despite being so messy.
Jonas narrowed his eyes.
Ivelina spoke clearly,
“Brother, Arsène hasn’t eaten yet.”
“So?”
“Can I give him this bread?”
If he said no, she would probably look at him with tearful eyes.
Jonas nodded as he sat across from them.
Ivelina smiled brightly and pushed all the bread toward Arsène.
“Eat a lot! And drink this too!”
Worried he might choke, she even handed him her own juice.
But Arsène hesitated to reach out.
Jonas sighed softly and said,
“It’s fine, just eat. Looks like you need it.”
Honestly, Arsène was so skinny it was painful to look at.
Once Jonas gave permission, Arsène cautiously reached out and grabbed the bread.
After one bite, perhaps because it tasted good, he began eating it hurriedly.
Ivelina watched with a satisfied smile while happily eating the sherbet Jonas had bought.
“This sherbet is delicious!”
“Eat a lot, kid.”
Jonas smirked and took a bite of his own sherbet.
Arsène was devouring the bread like someone who hadn’t eaten for days.
Eventually he began coughing and pounding his chest.
“Are you okay? Drink this.”
Ivelina handed him the juice with a worried expression.
Arsène bowed his head slightly in thanks and gulped down the juice.
Before they knew it, the bread had disappeared.
“Are you full now?”
“Yes… Thank you very much.”
Arsène spoke in a small voice.
Ivelina giggled.
“Where do you live?”
“…I live in District Five.”
In the Aireta Empire, people lived in different districts depending on their status.
District One was the imperial palace, and from District Two onward lived the nobles.
The lowest-class citizens lived in District Five, which was where Arsène lived.
Ivelina thought about it for a moment.
“Oh! Father said he’ll be sending relief supplies to District Five soon! I’ll go too, so we can see each other again!”
At her words, Jonas’s eyes widened.
It was true that relief supplies would be sent to District Five, but this was the first he had heard of Ivelina going along.
Just as Jonas was about to ask what she meant, she glared at him through her hood.
He immediately shut his mouth like someone who had swallowed honey.
Arsène looked up at the sky and then said to her,
“I think I should go now. My father is waiting.”
“Oh, really? Okay. Next time, I hope I can see your eyes. Your eyes are really beautiful!”
Just like before, Arsène’s cheeks flushed faintly.
Jonas looked at him with half-lidded eyes.
“Bye!”
Ivelina waved her hand energetically.
Arsène bowed so deeply it seemed his head might touch the ground, then hurriedly ran back toward the alley where she had first seen him.
“You brat! Where have you been until now?!”
The moment Arsène opened the old wooden door and stepped inside, a plate flew toward him, barely missing him before smashing against the wall.
His father, Lionel, was heavily drunk.
Arsène looked calmly at the many empty bottles scattered across the floor before lowering his head.
When his father was drunk, the best thing to do was say nothing and stay still.
Lionel yelled that Arsène didn’t treat him like a father, then collapsed and fell asleep.
Arsène glanced at him.
Today had been lucky.
His drunken rampage had been unusually mild.
Normally, he would have been hit just for the way he looked at him.
Even though he hadn’t been hit, the back of his head still seemed to ache.
Maybe it’s thanks to the princess.
Because he had met the princess blessed by the goddess, today had passed without incident.
Arsène silently cleaned up the broken plate and brought out a thin blanket to cover Lionel.
There was no bed in the house.
Arsène slept on a thin blanket laid over the hard wooden floor.
Thanks to the princess, he had eaten well tonight, so he could sleep without suffering from hunger.
“…I want to see her one more time.”
Would the princess really come to District Five when the relief supplies were delivered?
If what she said was true, a notice would soon appear on the bulletin board.
He had only ever seen her in paintings, but in reality she was tens of thousands of times more beautiful.
If she was already this beautiful now, he couldn’t imagine how much more beautiful she would become when she came of age.
In truth, Arsène knew the princess probably hadn’t meant it seriously when she said they would meet again.
Once she returned to the palace, she would surely forget someone like him.
But it was still nice.
Whenever his father saw his eyes, he would shout that they reminded him of Arsène’s mother, who had run away in the middle of the night.
That was why Arsène always hid his eyes behind his bangs.
So hearing that his eyes were beautiful was something he had experienced for the first time today.
That night, Arsène met Ivelina again in his dream.
Just like in reality, she was kind and beautiful.
Even after he woke up, he thought about her all day.
“Kid, what do you mean you’re going with me to deliver relief supplies?”
“It’s exactly what I said. When you go to District Five to deliver the supplies, I want to go with you.”
Jonas frowned.
“No. It’s dangerous.”
“Why?! There will be knights protecting us anyway.”
“It’s still dangerous.”
Ivelina puffed out her cheeks.
“Then I’ll tell them about today.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell Mother and Father that you took me outside.”
She placed her hands on her hips and threatened him confidently.
Jonas looked at her in disbelief.
“Are you threatening the Crown Prince right now?”
“No, I’m persuading you.”
“Seriously…”
Jonas let out a hollow laugh.
Then he sighed deeply.
“Fine. I’ll talk to Father.”
“You made the right decision. Make sure you come back with a positive result.”
In other words, he had to convince their father no matter what.
Who on earth had she taken after to become this cunning?
He had thought that since she only read books, she knew nothing about the world—but clearly that wasn’t the case.
“You’re so tiny but already learning strange tricks.”
Jonas flicked her forehead with his finger.
Ivelina puffed out her cheeks in protest, but since she had achieved her goal, she smiled in satisfaction.
For some reason, Arsène kept lingering in her mind.
More precisely, she wanted to see his beautiful blue eyes again.
“I want to see them again…”
“What did you say?”
“I said I want to go back now.”
Ivelina jumped down from the chair.
She hadn’t walked around much, yet she felt tired.
When she yawned softly, Jonas was startled.
“Yeah, let’s go back quickly. The kid is sleepy.”
“I’m not a kid…”
Ivelina grumbled.
Once she thought about being sleepy, the drowsiness hit her all at once.
Jonas smirked.
“I’ll carry you. Sleep until we arrive.”
“…Okay.”
Ivelina didn’t refuse and climbed onto his back.
Jonas’s back was broad, and it made her sleepy.
Thanks to him carrying her, they returned to the palace much faster than when she had walked there herself.
When they arrived, she woke up groggily and climbed down from his back.
“Good night, Brother.”
“Yeah, good work.”
He smirked and ruffled her hair.
Normally she would have pouted, but perhaps because she was so sleepy, Ivelina didn’t react and simply slipped into her room.
Left alone, Jonas felt awkward for no reason, cleared his throat, and returned to his own room.
