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“You look much happier.”
“Because I realized that my heart was pounding.”
The Duke did not ask why it was. Somehow, it felt like he had to.
“That’s a relief.”
“It’s okay to return now. The Duke seems to be busier because of the promise he made a while ago.”
“It was something I was going to accept anyway.”
“But there was a difference in the level of acceptance, right?”
“That . . . I can’t deny it. But I couldn’t help it. An emergency had occurred instead.”
Rieta’s sadness was an emergency!
Rieta felt Everett’s words again.
That she couldn’t help but know that she was loved.
Even so, she had interfered with the Duke’s work, so she shouldn’t like it too much.
It seemed like someone was tickling her heart, so she gently smiled.
“Sorry, I keep smiling.”
“That’s better.”
When Rieta first turned her body around and started walking, the Duke immediately stood by her side.
Rieta thought she wished she had made this special moment even more special now.
But . . .
If I asked him to hold my hand, would it be too childish?
Rieta just glanced at his hand as it swayed slightly in the air.
If she asked him to hold it, he would do it as much as she wanted in this atmosphere.
But she didn’t want him to see her as an immature child.
What to do?
“You’re restless again.”
Feeling his sudden gaze, Rieta looked up and saw that he was looking at her anxiously again.
“I’m sorry, my expression shows all my emotions, right?”
“Emotions are important for certain circumstances. However, you should be a little wary of doing that in front of foreign nobles.”
Rieta felt upset at the Duke’s words.
“But the Duke is more than a foreign noble, you are my guardian.”
He was startled. Perhaps he didn’t expect Rieta to point that out.
“. . . Yes. The Princess is right. Since you are my ward, you can show any expression. The Princess has that right.”
“That’s my favorite right. You know?”
“Correspondingly, I have an obligation that I hold dearly.”
It was probably referring to the duty of a guardian raising Rieta.
He held out his hand.
Just like he did many times in Rieta’s childhood.
“Uh . . .”
Rieta hesitated for a moment, feeling ashamed that she had revealed her feelings.
She would have answered, ‘I can walk by myself’ at a moment like this back in her childhood.
The Duke then replied, ‘But the Princess may not walk alone.’
What a comfort those words were.
It was probably unfathomable in this world.
Rieta grabbed the hand, which had been leading her for so long.
Each and every one of the calluses that brushed her fingertips was engraved in her memory.
The two hands were firmly connected.
And they started walking towards the mansion again.
After taking about two steps, Rieta muttered quietly.
“. . . It feels so good not to walk alone.”
But soon realizing her mistake, she quickly shook her head.
Because there was no reason to say such ambiguous things.
“It’s good. I like it very much.”
She said that in the Imperial language, not the Kingdom language, and smiled at the Duke.
Then she got a very nice reply from the Duke.
“Of course I like it very much.”
That would be an answer to the question of ‘not walking alone,’ but Rieta realized his feelings beyond that.
Even if I’m really messed up with paint, no matter what . . .
He would give her a very sweet and warm hug.
If only Rieta would open her arms and approach him.
As she thought so, her steps became lighter and she began to speed up on her own.
The arms of the two of them stretched out a bit, following the girl who was walking a little ahead.
Even so, the linked hands stayed connected.
* * *
Rieta’s good mood didn’t last as long as she thought.
It was because Count Hewitt had sent a letter to Rieta.
In the name of apologizing for what his son, Everett, did.
Everett, were you scolded a lot?
Rieta thought back to when Everett talked about his father.
“The courage to defy my father. He was surprisingly averse to my grandmother’s ways.”
He seemed quite uncomfortable with his father.
Even at the moment he said that, he had a somewhat troubled expression.
Anyway, for Everett’s sake, she thought, she should reply quickly.
“Can you confirm if I can go to the Duke?”
Of course, it would be better to write while consulting with her guardian, so she quickly asked the maid to find out about the Duke’s schedule.
Upon hearing the news, the Duke immediately came to Rieta’s room.
“You said you were looking for me.”
“I was going to visit you.”
“It is right for me to come. Did you call for a reply?”
“You knew right away.”
“Yes, a letter arrived for me too.”
He took out the letter in his arms and handed it to her.
There seemed to be no problem even if Rieta read it.
The letter contained the intention that Count Hewitt would visit again and apologize to Rieta and the Duke.