Chapter 9

Although Rieta knew she was insignificant, she expressed her sentiments with the words she knew.

She couldn’t repay the favor right away, but she knew she had to convey her heart.

“Thank you… You’re really kind.”

She summoned her courage to convey her gratitude in the Imperial language, and he politely bowed and answered in the Imperial language as well.

“It would be an honor to be of help, honest princess.”

She didn’t know what he said, but she thought this time, she knew its meaning.

It truly was a wonderful shelter.

***

The next day, Rieta got paper, pens, and ink.

In addition, she now had a secret weapon.

She lifted the thick book high, looking up at it with sparkling eyes. It was a dictionary, a wonderful book that connected the two countries’ languages.

“… What are you doing, Princess?”

At the voice she heard right behind her, she quickly put the book down and turned around.

It was Noel Mayer.

He looked at her gestures towards the dictionary somewhat strangely.

How dare he look at her like that?

It was slightly insulting, but Rieta decided not to pay him any mind.

First of all, he was the son of her benefactor, and Rieta was in a jovial mood today.

“Hello, Noel Mayer.”

Noel smiled again at her greeting.

Her pronunciation of his name was slightly off because of her way of forming sounds.

Of course it was the way she said his name that was cute just then, not her.

Noel made that point clear.

“Yes, hello, Princess. May I ask what you were doing in front of the dining room?”

His words were rather fast and his pronunciation was unclear.

Thanks to that, Rieta couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.

If it was yesterday, she would have glossed it over with a smile, but Rieta was different today.

She now knew that it was okay to admit honestly that she didn’t know something.

“Noel, I, Imperial language….”

She drew an X on her lips to indicate, ‘Noel, I can’t speak the Imperial language.’

Noel opened his eyes and looked at the pitiful sight.

How she pressed her lips with her fingertips was strangely funny.

“Because your small actions like this make you look like a squirrel…”

Was it because she said she had no knowledge of the Imperial language?

Words that he normally would have kept inside somehow escaped his mouth.

However, there was something he overlooked.

“Squirrels?”

The fact that Rieta’s vocabulary was growing.

“…Y-you said you couldn’t speak the Imperial language?!”

He loudly asked in surprise.

But the only thing that came back was some kind of a suspicious attempt.

“That’s enough.”

He sighed quietly and took a step forward to open the door to the dining room.

Rieta passed in front of him and whispered in a small voice, ‘You’re sweet.’

Noel happened to recall yesterday, when she was practicing the pronunciation of ‘sweet.’

Her poor pronunciation was still the same.

“I’ll have to look for the teacher…”

“Teacher?”

Again, Rieta understood what he said and asked back.

It happened to be a word she learned from the dictionary last night.

“You said you can’t speak Imperial! You understand everything?!”

“Uhm?”

“Why are you pretending not to understand again?”

“Noel?”

“That’s enough.”

He suddenly remembered he was using foul language to a princess.

He couldn’t help it because he did not see any royal dignity in her.

This was why the people of a kingdom that only cared about pleasures couldn’t be helped.

‘Since you look poor, I will teach you of the Empire’s.’

He dismissed the butler and pulled out Rieta’s chair himself.

“Come here.”

He offered a seat with a triumphant face.

Perhaps by now, Rieta would feel suffocated by the dignity and formality he exuded.

“Ah.”

Contrary to his expectations, however, the blonde girl walked to the other side and stood across from him.

Soon the butler pulled out a chair for her, and Rieta whispered her terribly mispronounced words to the butler as she sat down.

“You’re a mountaineer.” (T/N : She’s trying to say ‘You’re sweet’ but with wrong pronunciation)

“It’s an honor, Princess.”

She now stared at Noel across her.

What was he doing, not sitting down?

Noel got angry for some reason, so he sat down, dragging his chair.

Soon after, the butler warned him, ‘Don’t make noise with the chair,’ which made him feel worse.