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While Orion showed off the memorized words after doing his best, this man naturally threw those words out.
“Sir, you really
”
“Yeah?”
“You’re born with it.”
It was pure admiration.
I was fascinated by how he could say those kinds of words without thinking about it first.
He didn’t even try to remember the line like Orion.
At least, there was rarely that kind of person around me.
“
 sometimes, I want to know how you look at me, My Lady.”
He said with a sour face, so I looked softly at him and asked.
“Do you really want to know?”
“No. I don’t want to find out just to hurt my feelings.”
I also didn’t want to leave a deep wound in his heart, so I got up with a smile.
He, who was good mannered, pulled the chair slightly and smiled as if he couldn’t help it.
“Please take your time. I’ll be waiting.”
I was sure of one thing.
He was a man who wouldn’t cross the line of my standard for things I thought to be troublesome.
It meant he was quick-witted, and had inborn talent, but wit mostly grew according to the environment.
Although I didn’t know about it, I didn’t think his childhood was easy.
***
As I came out after finishing preparing, someone, who stood before that very black carriage made me doubt my eyes.
“Prince.”
“You’re finally here, Young Lady.”
I scanned him, who was standing before the carriage.
I saw Sir Rune who quietly covered his face next to him.
Looking at how his shoulder moved up and down, I was certain he was holding in his laughter.
He wore a relatively normal attire.
He wore an attendant’s uniform that didn’t show he was a knight and a hat enough to cover his exotic features.
And the prince next to him,
“Where are you going to go?”
“I will go to a bookstore.”
The attire of the prince who answered me energetically made me speechless.
He was trying to calm down his emotions, but he couldn’t hide his red cheeks, fidgeting fingers, and anticipating eyes.
“Is this perhaps your first time going out?”
“This is not my first time leaving the palace. His Majesty sometimes brings me along in the formal events, and I also have stood before this empire’s citizens along with the imperial families.”
Being surrounded by knights and staying solemn was far from going out.
The imperial families who were staring into the air with bored faces during the hunting competition came into mind.
If he moved under such strict surveillance and protection every time he went out, it would be the same as never going out properly.
I could understand why the young prince was excited.
However, understanding and accepting was different.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
“Go change your clothes.”
“Is this not enough?”
“That is too excessive.”
He rolled his eyes, fiddling with the sleeves of a silk blouse woven with gold thread.
The hat matched with a belt made of fur leather looked cool.
Even morons who knew nothing about clothes would believe he wasn’t an ordinary person.
“You’ll get into trouble if you go out like that.”
“Re-really?”
Sir Rune, who finally stopped his laugh, put his hand on the prince’s shoulder and spoke softly.
“I will lend you my clothes. Please follow me.”
Eventually, the prince, who borrowed other people’s clothes in his first outing, boarded the carriage while looking a bit down.
When the dull carriage departed, his eyes turned slightly bigger again.
“This carriage has a very good ride comfort.”
“Really?”
“Yes, this is just as excellent as the carriage prepared in the palace. When I look at this from outside
”
“When you look at this from the outside, it doesn’t look like that, right?”
“Yes.”
I nodded to the prince’s sincere answer, and added.
“The clothes you wore earlier were too stand out. There are times when you’ll hardly be able to accomplish your goal for an outing if you attract many people’s gaze. Our goal is to go to the bookstore and find what we need, right? Not to get someone’s attention.”
The boy who calmly paid attention to me looked around the carriage with a convinced look and nodded.
“In that sense, this carriage was also made to not stand out.”
Well, I never said to make it, but because it was made with a reason I prefer normal carriage, I nodded.
He mumbled.
“I see. When it comes to going out, try not to stand out
”
“Yes, that’s right.”
At my words, Sir Rune, who was next to me, slightly tapped my shoulder.
When our eyes met, he moved his lips as if he was about to say something, but soon closed it.
“What’s wrong?”
“No. It just
”
He looked at me and the prince in turn, then shook his head.
“No. It’s nothing, My Lady.”
“Why do you stop talking?”
“It’s nothing. I just feel like there’s an odd misinterpretation
”
“But I don’t say anything wrong.”
“It is not wrong, but.”
He shook his head.
“It’ll be okay. Well, I don’t think the prince has a lot of chances to go out.”
His comment somehow spread uneasiness to me.
The diligent prince was deep in his thoughts as if he was seriously reflecting the things he learned.
Even though I thought over the words I said, there was no part that was particularly wrong.
There’s a goal when doing something, and what’s wrong with refraining from a stand out attire for that goal?
The carriage stopped while I was pressing down on the rising anxiety.
I saw an old bookstore in front of my eyes.