Chapter 5
“Uh, Your Highness, I really didn’t mean it that way…”
“Well. If you disappear from my sight, perhaps I’ll forget your slip of the tongue.”
“Th-then, excuse me!”
The third prince, despite his mild appearance, wasn’t as easy to deal with as he looked.
The young boy—clearly a future con artist in training—was so frightened by just a few words from the prince that he bolted in a panic. His face looked utterly crestfallen, perhaps because his scam attempt had failed. He scurried over to an old priest who seemed to have accompanied him and burrowed pitifully into the man’s arms.
Hm. Adorable to the end.
“Y-you’re making a f-face like you just saw something… c-cute.”
“Yes. He was cute. And pretty, too.”
“Th-that boy… is he to your t-taste?”
As if!
Anyone who found kids that young “their type” ought to be locked away for life in some dark and remote place.
But I couldn’t exactly say that out loud.
Instead of answering, I smoothly changed the subject.
“By the way, why are you speaking so formally to me, Your Highness?”
He’d been perfectly composed earlier, but now he was stammering.
It was strange—this child who had spoken with uncanny maturity for an eight-year-old was suddenly fumbling over every word.
I simply stared at him out of pure curiosity. My eyes started to feel a bit dry, so I blinked twice.
I swear to the heavens, I did nothing threatening.
And yet…
“U-uh… are you all right?”
Why is he falling over again?
Even a newborn fawn could stand more steadily than this prince.
I quickly extended my hand, hoping not to hurt his delicate pride.
But the prince’s chubby cheeks flushed red-hot, and he froze, unable to either take my hand or refuse it.
Then I felt the sting of countless stares on the back of my head.
When I turned, I saw the nobles watching us from a distance, whispering and sneaking glances.
At this rate, I was going to be labeled “the audacious girl who made the prince fall over.”
With a sigh, I took the initiative and grasped the prince’s hand myself.
Then I led him straight out of the ballroom.
I knew the Rudbeckia Palace like the back of my hand, so I didn’t hesitate for a moment.
My destination: the lakeside garden near the hall.
Once we reached the lake’s edge, I finally released his hand.
The prince stood stiff as a board, probably thinking he’d been dragged into some dark place by a dangerous person.
“Uh, L-Lady Lurupel, w-why did you bring me here…?”
“You said you had something to tell me. And that it had to be in private. Ah! Don’t tell me that was a lie to get out of that situation?”
“N-no! B-but this place is a bit t-too secluded…”
He looked like he honestly thought I was about to assassinate him.
Of course, I wasn’t the least bit interested in the prince’s life.
…Well, maybe a little. If he died, it might be what caused my regressions!
“Then where were you planning to go, Your Highness? Surely not back inside?”
“N-no. I was just going to the t-terrace…”
“Ah, then I did well to bring you here. If you trip on that stone floor, it’ll hurt. At least here it’s just dirt.”
“T-that’s not fair! I—I don’t fall that often!”
“Sure, sure.”
As if.
But I kept that part to myself; saying it aloud might count as treason.
The prince looked deeply wronged.
“So, can Your Highness finally tell me what this is about?”
“O-of course.”
“But first, let’s sit down somewhere.”
I seated him on the nearest bench—mostly to keep him from toppling over again.
He looked utterly miserable, on the verge of tears.
“I’m so… ashamed. I should’ve been the one to escort you…”
The little prince buried his face in his tiny hands and mumbled weakly.
“It’s all right.”
I answered with complete sincerity. It really was fine.
I had never expected this little kid to be capable of escorting anyone, anyway.
Still, he seemed devastated by his own clumsiness.
Soon I heard a faint sniffle.
He was trying hard not to cry—but to an adult like me, his struggle was painfully obvious.
“…Are you crying?”
“No!”
“Ah, must’ve been the wind then.”
I decided to wait quietly until he was done drying his tears.
The prince pressed his palms against his eyes, dabbing furiously.
Honestly, I had no idea why he was crying. It wasn’t like anything had happened worth crying about.
But children are creatures that cry at the slightest poke.
And this prince seemed particularly sensitive and fragile.
I’d have to be careful. One wrong word and I might actually be accused of lèse-majesté.
“…Do you need a handkerchief?”
“I’m not crying!”
“Riiight…”
I had meant to sound kind and considerate, but he only sobbed harder.
Kids really were impossible to understand.
…Or maybe—I had a knack for unintentional villainy?
Sigh. Even I was starting to fear the boundless extent of my talents.
So I sat there quietly, idly swinging my feet.
For a long time, neither of us spoke. Only the cool spring breeze passed between us.
Finally, after the wind had turned my hair into a mess, the prince steadied himself.
His voice was calm again when he finally spoke.
“…Lady Lurupel, you know about the marriage proposal I sent, don’t you?”
He wasn’t stammering anymore.
Good job, Prince!
“Of course.”
I nodded with a proud little smile.
His delicate face was tinged with a faint blush, his golden lashes still damp.
That one’s going to make a lot of girls cry when he grows up.
“…Are you going to refuse me?”
“…Why do you think that?”
I had been thinking of him fondly—like a grandmother watching her five-year-old grandson—but his question caught me off guard.
He seemed to take my brief silence as something ominous, and hesitated, his expression darkening.
“B-because Lady Lurupel… l-likes another young lord…”
Just when I’d praised him, he was stammering again.
But his clumsy words barely registered—I was too distracted by the content.
“Me? I like someone?”
“Th-the young viscount of Caledonia…”
“Cal—what now? Cal… my money?”
Who the heck is that?
The prince faltered at my utterly blank expression.
“Caledo—no, never mind. I must’ve spoken out of turn again.”
He had dropped a verbal bomb, only to suddenly clam up and nod to himself like it all made sense.
Hey! You can’t just stop there! Explain yourself!
There’s nothing more frustrating than someone cutting off a story halfway through.
But since he was royalty and had even apologized, I couldn’t exactly press him further.
Cal… my money something. Right.
I decided to memorize the name and ask Count and Countess Lurupel—or maybe Anna—about this mysterious viscount later.
Actually, I had a feeling I did know who he was.
Using my brilliant deductive skills, I concluded that the name he mentioned probably belonged to the male lead—the Northern Duke—from the original novel.
He was a duke in the story, so around this time he’d likely still be a viscount.
But to think Hariela might have liked him before she was even eight! That was… unexpected.
“Cal… my money-paying viscount…”
“…Caledonia.”
Still such a strange name.
Then again, considering the novel’s title, the author clearly had questionable naming sense.
The Northern Duke and the Baron’s Daughter Do Not Love Each Other.
You could probably use that title as a jump rope.
“Anyway, I don’t know where you heard that, but I don’t have anyone I like.”
“…Truly?”
“Of course. What reason would I have to lie about that?”
The prince narrowed his eyes, as if trying to see through me.
I met his gaze squarely, standing tall and confident.
Whatever he saw, it seemed to put him at ease. His voice brightened.
“…Then, does that mean you’ll accept my proposal?”
“Hmm…”
That was a hard question to answer right away.
From what I’d seen so far, it was clear the third prince wasn’t dangerous.
If anything, he was gentler and more timid than most children his age.
But that alone wasn’t enough reason to agree to a betrothal.
I needed more certainty.
“If you answer one question for me, then I’ll consider it.”
“…All right! Ask whatever you want.”
“Of all the noble ladies in the empire, why did you choose me, Your Highness?”
Why was he so intent on being engaged to Hariela?
It was the same question I’d wondered since the moment the proposal arrived—no, since the first time I ever read The Northern Duke and the Baron’s Daughter Do Not Love Each Other.
He hesitated for a long while before finally answering, his voice quiet.
“…B-because Lady Lurupel’s reputation has spread even to the capital…”
