ââŠâŠIf itâs not because of the ghost story, why are you holding hands?â
Although Rieta slightly pouted her lips and said that, he seemed a little relieved.
If they hold hands like this, they wonât be alone, so it would be good.
Because sheâs really cute.
To be brave all the time, and suddenly to be a coward for stories like this.
He doesnât want other people to know about this side of Rieta forever.
So that Noel alone can enjoy this feeling.
âYou said we are going on a date today? I donât really care if itâs not a date.â
Rieta smiled broadly at his answer.
It seems good that she has a legitimate excuse to hold Noelâs hand.
âNo, thatâs right. The butler said so. The Duke said that if you ignore the butlerâs feelings, you wonât be a good master.â
âI canât help it. I am a good son who listens to his father.â
The two of them arrived in front of the storage room, and naturally stopped walking while waiting for the door to open.
Noel erased the smile from her face and stared at Rieta.
âThen, would the princess like to entrust her time to me?â
Rieta hesitated for a moment.
It was a common phrase to ask someone out on a date.
It sounds like something only a male lead would say, but it was amazing that Noel naturally said it.
Rieta responded to his request with a quick nod.
She thought she was kind enough to answer, but it didnât seem to be so, judging by Noelâs furrowed brow.
âYou donât even read romance novels? You nag me to read that.â
âI donât read it. Even if you donât, Noel, youâre quite like the male lead now. Does the play have any influence?â
âHey. If I act like the male lead, canât you act like the female lead?â
âI look like the female lead in my own wayâŠâŠright?â
He turned again and looked straight ahead.
Just then, all the large doors to the storage room were opened.
âI will never read a romance novel with a female lead like you.â
âA novel like that wouldnât even come out in the first place.â
âWell, yes. Some crazy writer would make a female lead as such an ignorant princess.â
Noelâs disregard made Rieta feel sorry for no reason.
Noel, who said that, wouldnât be able to take the male lead role in a real novel.
âNoel, if you donât fix that nasty tone, youâll end up with unrequited love for the rest of your life.â
Noel snorted at her despite the important advice she told him with lots of strength in his eyes.
âReally, itâs real!â
Rieta screamed out of frustration.
But Noel still didnât seem to be taking it seriously.
âYou curse a lot, donât you? Youâre going to have a bad one-sided love all my life, and youâll be taken advantage of a lot.â
Perhaps the words âThat is your destiny!â would come out, Rieta quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
âAnyway, look over there properly for now. The female lead who is dating the male lead.â
Noel pointed straight ahead with the tip of his chin. Rieta turned her gaze to look beyond the door that had just opened.
Words of admiration flowed spontaneously at the scene unfolding before her.
Dozens or hundreds of beautiful artworks were neatly displayed.
In the studies that Rieta had been learning since her childhood, it was written that the emperor should be the most harsh person in the world.
However, looking at this space, it seemed that what the emperor knew best was âbeautyâ rather than harshness.
Rieta moved to the nearest statue she could see.
It was a sculpture of a woman holding a large jar.
She felt that all the notions she had of âstatuesâ were crumbling.
She thought that the sculpture was made three-dimensionally by mimicking the appearance of reality.
This statue was not such a clumsy imitation, but it seemed that a perfect life was born in itself.
She even thought that the hand would move and the clothes would flutter.
Rieta thought again of the stories she had heard before coming here.
This lady would be coming after her.
âThat wasnât a ghost story, but just the wind?
The greed of a person who wants to see this beautiful person in action.
If that happens, maybe everyone will fall in love with this lady.
Forgetting that the other person was made of white marble.
âI want to touch it. It feels warm for some reason.â
âHow can it be? It will be chillingly cold.â
Rieta looked at the sculpture for a long time and moved on with regret.
Of course, the incense burner she discovered next also bought her admiration.
It seemed even more surprising in that it had already been made several hundred years ago.
âSee Noel? How were these little decorations made?â
âIt must have been made by hand.â
âI donât think you could have seen it very well.â