“Mother, you’ll grant my request, won’t you?”
“…Lylaina, if it’s what you’ve been asking me about lately, there’s only one thing it could be. Is that what you mean?”
Queen Sophia turned toward her daughter and spoke quietly. Lylaina quickly nodded.
“I’ve been waiting for you to grant my request! So, please, Mother—you have to say yes. Promise you will!”
“I wasn’t aware it was supposed to be today. Have the plans changed again?”
“Yes. It absolutely has to be today.”
“I thought I told you it wouldn’t be possible until two months later, during the training period. If His Majesty hears of this, you’ll be in serious trouble, Lylaina.”
“Couldn’t you speak to Father for me? And besides, I have Kian with me! Don’t worry so much.”
“You’re trying to drag your brother into this again, aren’t you?”
Queen Sophia sighed, her expression darkening at the mention of Prince Kian’s name.
Meanwhile, Dianther, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, recalled Lylaina’s confident words from the previous night….
‘Dian, you can look forward to tomorrow! It’ll be so much fun that you’ll forget everything about today!’
Whatever this was about, it surely had something to do with that.
The Queen continued in a mildly scolding tone.
“And how do you even know where your brother is right now?”
“Kian’s at Rubedere Palace today! I checked early this morning!”
“…I see. Even so, I doubt he’ll go along with your plans just because you ask. He’s weak to you, yes, but still…”
“These days, he hardly leaves his chambers.”
The Queen muttered this softly, almost to herself. But Lylaina was not one to give up easily.
“If he won’t come, then I’ll ask Sir Luke instead!”
“Lylaina, Sir Luke Benedict is the Knight Commander. You can’t just call him away when he’s that busy.”
“But isn’t protecting the princess one of the Knight Commander’s main duties? Who could possibly be better suited to guard me than him?”
“Lylaina. That’s enough.”
All eyes turned toward the voice that had just entered the hall. The steady sound of footsteps echoed across the white marble floor. For a moment, it felt as if the whole room brightened with his presence—a mere illusion, perhaps, but understandable. His clear golden hair gleamed beneath the morning light, and his smile was so flawlessly composed that he looked like someone who had just stepped out of a portrait.
“…Kian.”
“Your Majesty. I hope you’ve been well.”
Prince Kian bowed politely before his mother. Queen Sophia looked at her son with mild exasperation.
“How did you end up here…? You must have overheard us talking about you.”
“Haha, yes. It seems Lylaina’s been calling for me again. Word of her unreasonable insistence somehow reached all the way to Rubedere Palace.”
“Wow! So you came because of me, didn’t you?”
Kian didn’t answer his sister and instead turned toward Dianther with a pleasant smile.
“Good morning, Lady Dianther.”
“Your Highness, Prince Kian de Idris.”
Dianther curtsied respectfully in greeting. Kian gave a small sigh and said,
“You must have had quite a morning, dealing with Lylaina’s fuss.”
“Fuss? What fuss? Oh, come on, Kian!”
“Then, Your Highness,” he said gently,
“why don’t we stop troubling Lady Dianther and Sir Luke and start getting ready to leave?”
“W–wait, really? You mean it?”
At her brother’s words, Lylaina’s voice instantly softened. She turned to Queen Sophia with hopeful eyes, her expression wordlessly pleading,
‘Mother, that means you’ll let us go now, right?’
Queen Sophia could only sigh again.
They say no parent can win against their child—but when even Kian sides with her, what can I do?
“Very well, then. I’ll speak with His Majesty myself.”
“Yay! Thank you, Mother! Thank you, Kian! And Dian!”
Princess Lylaina turned to Dianther with a radiant smile.
“Today’s going to be the best day ever—I promise!”
________✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𓉞___________
The gifts Arthur helped me choose for Mrs. and Mr. Alex turned out to be a complete success. That evening, Mrs. Alex was overjoyed with the small, dainty hat I had picked out for her.
The moment she opened the box, she put it on right in front of me and spun around, looking so girlish and delighted that her age seemed to melt away. Just watching her made me smile.
Good—Aunt Alex approves.
Now for Mr. Alex. I’d thought fishing gear was too limited, so I bought him a wallet as well. After all, I’d worked five years in one of the finest estates in Lintz, the capital of Martina—my eye for quality wasn’t to be underestimated.
When he opened the gift box, his eyes widened in surprise. Judging by his expression alone, it was an absolute success.
“Uncle, do you like it?”
“You rascal. Why’d you buy something this expensive? You should spend your hard-earned money on yourself, Amel.”
“It’s not that expensive! I even put in a new coin and a bill for luck—so your wallet always stays full. You can use it to take Aunt Alex on a date later, okay?”
When I teased him, his cheeks turned red in an instant. Arthur and Mrs. Alex burst out laughing, and eventually, Mr. Alex chuckled too, muttering that he loved the new wallet and would take good care of it. He also mumbled something about never taking it fishing, in case it smelled like fish, which made us all laugh again.
With the fresh ingredients I had bought and Mrs. Alex’s skilled cooking, our little bakery filled not with the smell of bread but with the mouthwatering aroma of dinner. By the time we sat down, the table was so full we couldn’t possibly finish everything. We ate and laughed until our stomachs hurt.
After clearing the table and chatting with Mrs. Alex for a while, I lay down beside Arthur in his room. The day had been so full of warmth that I couldn’t even remember what had been bothering me earlier.
If only this moment could last forever.
Arthur and I talked about all sorts of silly things as if they were the most fascinating stories in the world. Before long, sleep began to tug at his eyelids. The boy who had proudly declared he would stay up all night because his sister was here soon drifted off, breathing softly beside me.
Ten years old now.
He had grown so much since the Arthur in my memories, and yet to me, he would always be a child. Still a child, yes—but now the kind who pouted if I treated him like one.
It had been such an extraordinary day, but as I watched Arthur sleeping peacefully, sleep came over me too.
Well… how could anyone live just by worrying all the time?
I’d always been the type to overthink things, and yet, all that worrying had never really led me closer to the answers I sought.
So maybe, just for today… it’s okay to have a day where I don’t think about anything at all. A day for sleeping in late, for once.
I closed my eyes.
And that was how my first holiday quietly came to an end.
________✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𓉞___________
The next morning, the smell of breakfast wafting up the stairs woke me pleasantly. I got up before it was too late and went down to the first-floor kitchen with Arthur.
Mrs. Alex was humming a tune as she cooked, while Mr. Alex sat with his newspaper. When I greeted them and took my seat, I noticed that the breakfast spread was almost as lavish as last night’s dinner.
“Mrs. Alex, you made all this in the morning?”
“Of course, Amel. Morning meals are actually my specialty.”
“I thought you said dinner was your specialty yesterday…?”
“Oh my, did I say that?”
Technically, as the owner of a bakery, her specialty should’ve been baking bread—but no one pointed that out. And really, who cared? She’d cooked all this for me, and that was enough reason to eat happily.
As I was enjoying the meal, Mrs. Alex spoke up.
“Amel, you’re heading back today?”
“Yes, this evening.”
“Then stay for dinner before you go.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll have time. Don’t worry—I can grab something on the way.”
“If you can, eat here before you leave.”
“Haha, it’s barely morning and you’re already worrying about dinner. Honestly.”
“My dear, once you’re married, you’ll understand. You start thinking ahead for the person you love.”
“Oh, Uncle, you’re so lucky~”
Mr. Alex silently nodded, and I smiled. The two of them were always so good together—it was comforting to see. I had just speared a bit of bacon with my fork when Mrs. Alex said,
“Which reminds me, Amel, it’s time you met a nice man.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m not saying you should get married right away, but you should at least try dating. Get to know someone, and if he’s right, you’ll marry eventually.”
Why is the conversation going this way all of a sudden?
I took a bite of bacon and tried to act casual.
“Oh, come on. You know how it is—I’m too busy working to date anyone.”
“People manage just fine while working. The carpenter’s second daughter from two doors down—oh, never mind. I don’t need to say more, do I?”
Haha. Actually, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
