/
“But how did you get here? It’s not a place worth coming alone
”
His voice, which had not yet undergone a transformation, gave a soft and refreshing feeling.
Although he was still young even after his voice transformation, he was sexier than this

“I am recuperating in a nearby private palace.”
“Recuperating? So, shall we go inside?”
Ethan said as if worried about my ill health. This is this man’s weapon. Pretending to be friendly to his handsome appearance.
Who dares to hate Ethan Bronte like this?
“No. it was frustrating because I stayed inside too much.”
“You’re very thin.”
He looked at my slender wrist and said.
After the kidnapping, various things overlapped and I lost a lot of flesh and muscle, so I could see bones and blood vessels on the back of my hand.
Ethan seemed genuinely worried about me. As always.
“I’m fine now, and I’m gaining weight again these days. I like living here.”
“Okay, even though it’s a small garden, I hope you like this place too. So that the princess can get well sooner.”
Ethan smiled and cared for me affectionately.
Even though I had seen Ethan for a long time, I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely friendly or if he was hiding something else.
Don’t tell me he is already being so sneaky. With such an innocent face? Even with that thought, looking back on what Ethan had done so far, I could never let my guard down.
I looked into Ethan’s eyes. Then Ethan tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.
Oh, I see.
“Is there something in my face?”
“yes.”
I nodded involuntarily.
“Uh
 where?”
Ethan was startled and rubbed the back of his hand on the round cheek that had not yet shed.
Ethan’s unconscious habit of lying with pretense.
If you look at it quietly and push it up, he wiggles His eyebrows once.
Usually, few people could look straight into Ethan’s handsome eyes for long periods of time, and his twitches were so subtle that it was almost impossible to notice the habit.
I also found out about his true form after observing him, so I’m the only one who knows his habit.
“Later, He even changed that habit, so even if this man said nice things to me, I couldn’t tell if it was a pretense or not.’
Fortunately, the young Ethan now responds more clearly as to whether he is less adept at lying.
But I can’t say I know it.
“You’re handsome.”
I was a bit nauseous and frowned upon with clichéd jokes.
At that moment, Ethan’s face turned red.
“Huh? Yes? no. that is
”
Ethan’s gaze drifted away from me into the air and he stuttered.
‘what? Didn’t he already know that he was handsome?’
I didn’t expect this reaction to just say it.
Ethan I know blushed only in four situations.
When he stands under red lights, when he eats spicy food, when he has a fever, and when he has to blush to His advantage.
If he were like Ethan in the past, instead of blushing when I said he was handsome, He brazenly said,
‘You’re overrated. Could it be compared to Your Majesty’s beauty?’
he would have passed on.
I can’t believe he’s shy. I smirked at Ethan’s red face.
The more so, Ethan wandered, not knowing where to look.
‘This is how young Ethan felt.’
I wanted to tease Ethan a little more.
“Didn’t you hear a lot about being handsome or cute?”
“No, not at all
”
Ethan lowered his face red as if about to explode.
What does he mean by not? He looks like he’d say, “Handsome morning!” Every morning.
“The princess is the most beautiful person I have ever met.”
“Ah
”
As expected, it’s Ethan Bronte.
A snake that entices people by whispering sweet words.
‘Sincerity
Maybe?’
The word “beautiful” was heard by people before returning.
Theon didn’t come with me, so I often had Prime Minister Ethan standing next to me, and people gave us all kinds of praise for our looks.
The most beautiful man and woman in the world.
There was also a joke that I and Ethan had conquered the world with their faces and ascended to the positions of the emperor and prime minister.
Furthermore, some said that I and Ethan were a heaven-sent partners.
Of course, I cut off the head of the person who said that.
But now I’m not sure if the compliments were real or if they were just whispering to blind me.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Whether that was the truth or not, it was enough to say it.
There is no such thing as blushing as stupidly Ethan. Ethan looked at my smile and smiled after me.
The windy garden made his soft hair sway gently.
“You are prettier when you smile
 Oh, wait a minute.”
Ethan looked at me and reached for my face.
His fingers gently stroked my cheek.
I closed my eyes at the sudden touch and heard Ethan’s small laugh.
“The hair is attached.”
When I opened his eyes, I met his eyes as He was approaching me.
‘Oh, you are so pretty, Ethan.’
As I stared blankly at him, Ethan looked up at the sky for nothing, averting my eyes first.
“Actually, I’m glad that the princess has come. I have no friends.”
“why?”
“My brother doesn’t like me going out.”
If it’s His older brother, I’m probably referring to Jonathan, who went to Episteme earlier.
From Jonathan’s point of view, the stone that rolled from the outside would probably look unappealing.
In addition, people will like the child that the father gave birth to outside because of his face.
I vaguely remembered Jonathan’s outright dislike for Ethan.
“And even if I go out, I can’t hear good things
Oops!”
He covered his lips with his hand as if he had said something wrong.
If it’s a bad thing, it’s probably about his origins.
I looked away, pretending not to hear. It was best to pretend not to know about his bad situation.
There were times when he cried in the sea
If it’s just a mistake, there’s a good chance it’s Ethan’s intentional mistake. He would occasionally display his unhappy plight and win the sympathetic favor of the people.
I’m sorry for Ethan who cried last time, but there was Ethan I knew until now to fully trust him.
“Ah, anyway, that’s why I’m so glad that the princess came to visit me.”
Ethan smiled shyly when he finished speaking.
It made me feel better because the smile was sincere.
foxy guy. That’s why it’s dangerous. I used to be obsessed with this kind of candy spread before.
“If you have time later, come to Anastas Palace to play.”
I say that word.
I had been refusing to visit children my age, but Ethan seemed to be okay.
Wouldn’t Ethan live his life in a slightly different way if I were to be his friend?
“Is that really okay?”
“Yes.”
As I nodded, Ethan smiled broadly, genuinely happy, and lightly kissed my cheek.
I opened my eyes in surprise.
what? kiss?
It was the first time Ethan had kissed me.
In my last life, when I met Ethan, I was already engaged to Theon, and I was not old enough to do this when I was big enough.
Moreover, Ethan was not a person who was loose enough to make fun of his lips like this.
He was a man who knew the nobility and worth of his lips.
As I blinked my blank eyes and looked at Ethan, Ethan smirked, revealing his white teeth.
“Thank you, Princess.”
Ethan’s words reminded me of the ‘hearing thanks three times a week’ list on my bucket list.
‘Today, I think I’ve only heard Ethan say thank you, but should I type this too
?’
Ethan’s words of thanks are likely, not sincere, so I didn’t put Ethan’s words on my bucket list.
* * *
“Knight Stefan!”
One day, after living in a separate palace, Clara mustered up the courage to call Stefan.
Then the big man looked back. He was tall enough to reach the ceiling, and his wide shoulders and back, as well as the muscles that reflected under his clothes, were always overwhelming.
Moreover, Stefan doesn’t speak much, so she gets nervous whenever she talks to him.
Clara swallowed one gulp and opened her mouth.
“Uh, it’s the princess’s birthday soon, so shouldn’t we prepare something?”
“
.”
When there was no answer, as usual, Clara thought she shouldn’t have brought it up.
But Stefan nodded.
“Are you going to prepare?”
Clara smiled broadly and reconfirmed, and Stefan nodded again.
“What a relief! Actually, I had a lot of trouble figuring out what to prepare as a present for the princess. No matter what the princess got, there was no response.”
“
.”
“You’ve been living with the princess as well as the knight. Do you have any gifts that the princess will like?”
“
.”
Clara waited for Stefan’s answer for a long time, but his lips were glued together.
“She hasn’t liked gifts so far, and it seems like she likes to read books
”
At Clara’s words, Stefan nodded again.
“ah! Come to think of it, there is a book that the princess likes the most. It’s storybook about a lion warrior
!”
Clara remembered the book Dorothea often read.
It is a storybook about a lion warrior who is ignored by all animals and overcomes hardship and adversity to become the most courageous and respected lion king.
In fact, it was Dorothea’s fake cover trying to play at a childish level whenever she read difficult books like astronomy or ancient rhetoric, but Clara didn’t know that.
“Then why not do a surprise event instead of a gift?”
“
.?”
“So
”
Clara gestured to Stephan, flapping her hand.
As Stefan stood blinking, Clara pulled his clothes and made his bow.
And whispered in his ear the plan she had in mind.
“how about it?”
After sharing the plan, Clara looked at Stephan with excitement.
“
.”
Stefan shook his head quietly. As if that’s not right.
“Princess is nine years old
”
“Prince Raymond said he liked it very much when he was 10 years old! I’m sure the princess will like it too.”
He doesn’t think so

But the person with the loudest voice always wins, and Stefan’s voice was as if nothing.
* * *