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Episode 64: Happy Birthday (III)
I leisurely picked up some finger food and put it in my mouth. It was crunchy and delicious.
“I expected you… to be very cold, but surprisingly, there’s a side of you that is easygoing and I think you are kind.”
“……”
“I heard that you made shaved ice for the Aktoum nobles… Ah, how dare I say presumptuous things to Your Majesty the Queen!”
I looked at her and smiled.
“No. It makes me feel good, too.”
Of course, I was bound to have some easy going sides.
Before the possession, I lived with a deposit of 1,000 and a monthly rent of 55.
We continued to talk. Meanwhile, the atmosphere gradually softened.
The attitude of the nobles towards me also felt more natural than before.
Soon, Viscount Minerva cautiously opened his mouth.
“…But Your Majesty, isn’t life difficult in the unfamiliar Aktoum? Perhaps the Crown Prince…”
For a brief moment, I could feel him choosing his words carefully.
“He’s a little cold, isn’t he.”
The eyes of the nobles turned to me.
‘It’s here.’
They seemed to be curious about the truth of the rumor.
He was making a statement, but he was questioning whether the prince and I had a quarrel because he was so cold.
Of course, I turned it around 100 times and replied very politely.
“No. It is not. His Highness the Crown Prince…”
My words trailed off as I thought of Rixus.
He woke up at dawn and picked the most beautiful flowers in the garden without even realizing he hurt his own hands.
Not forgetting my tears from a long time ago, he gave me tea in case I couldn’t sleep on a rainy night.
“I’m going crazy because I like you.”
Confessions with excited eyes, and kisses that make my heart flutter.
How hot and sweet he was… Just thinking about it like this made my heart race faster.
But strangely, my mouth could not easily open.
‘They won’t believe me if I just say he’s kind.’
‘So, I have to tell them a specific incident.’
To say even one of those things, I felt too ashamed, embarrassed and flustered.
‘Won’t they think it’s almost nonsense?’
Rixus was so kind to me that it was unrealistic.
Considering his usual image, it was even more ridiculous.
I licked my stiff lips.
“The Crown Prince.”
The nobles opened their eyes and waited for my next words.
“…He’s not a cold person.”
I thought I was an eloquent speaker, but now I felt like I was converging on ‘zero vocabulary skills.’
“Ah!” A low sigh escaped from me.
What’s wrong with me?
Then I realized. The pride of a man who treated me well was that, regardless of how well he spoke, he needed to have some ‘love cells’.
That’s when I realized it. Bragging about a man who treated me so well, regardless of how good one was at speaking, was possible only if one had some ‘love cells’.
“I see!”
“Okay, umm.”
“…He’s not a cold person.”
The reaction of the nobles was also vague.
‘It’s ruined. Just one more question.’
It was then that I anxiously waited for the next question.
A young lady, who seemed to have a strong desire to see the situation of Rixus and I in a positive way, asked carefully.
“The two of you are getting married soon… His Highness the Crown Prince will give you a lot of presents.”
“Of course.”
“Ah, I’m envious. I’m really curious what you got…!”
‘That’s it. The kind of question I’ve been waiting for.’
A question that could be answered like it’s a fact, without a cringey answer!
In fact, if I said that I received a lot of gifts from Rixus, it would be rumored that we were on good terms.
“This necklace…”
I bit my tongue while fiddling with the artifact of the imperial family that I wore today.
If people knew I had a lifesaving artifact, wouldn’t it increase the chances of Rixus meeting with assassins?
“……”
I couldn’t even tell them about the wedding ring. If it was known that it had a spirit stone with his heart, things could be dangerous for Rixus.
Then, the countless dressing rooms for each season…?
No, this was just perfect for me to be rumored of being extravagant, taking advantage of Rixus’ backing.
I was getting increasingly perplexed.
‘I can’t tell them even though he gave me so many gifts.’
Sweat dripped down my spine. It was one of the most embarrassing moments since I came to Aktoum.
‘If more rumors of discord spread like this.’
‘It’ll be a big problem…’
Just then, a large shadow fell on me from behind.
Then there was a strong, masculine body scent that was blown by the wind.
I knew without looking back. It was Rixus.
“Berylia.”
A low-pitched voice gently settled in my ear.
When I turned around, he was leaning back and staring at my feet.
With Ires, who wore an indifferent expression right next to him.
Rixus raised his sharp eyes and said, holding his hands behind his back.
“There’s mud on your shoes.”
“Ah… Then the maid–”
At that moment, he leaned over and stole my glass-colored shoes with his large hand.
When the noble prince’s hand reached my ‘lowest place’, the nobles became pensive.
“!”
They were bound to be surprised. The imperial family does not bow their heads involuntarily.
Moreover, the story of this arrogant black prince, who fainted standing even though he was stabbed in the battlefield, was very famous.
More than listening to a hundred accounts, more than a list of hundreds of millions of ferring of gifts.
The attitude of the crown prince shown right in front of them seemed to have resonated with them.
Of course, Rixus did it without even being aware of it.
So it was very natural, and as natural as it was, the nobles in front of us had shocked expressions.
“Hmm.”
“…That’s dirty, Rixus.”
“Well?”
Rixus wiped the mud off Ires’ body.
“…….”
Ires’ body shook.
“What were you talking about?”
Rixus asked lightly and hugged my waist. With his big hands, his fingers fidgeting.
It was something he normally did, but it was strange and embarrassing to do it in front of other people.
I struggled to endure the tingling sensation that rose from my toes.
“…Ahhh… Your Highness the Crown Prince, so what we were talking about…”
The young lady’s pupils shook violently as she answered.
It was surprising. It was going to be very different from the usual image of Rixus…
If I had the image of a crazy villain in Spinel, that was exactly what Rixus’ impression was like in Aktoum.
A bloodthirsty human butcher on the battlefield.
A merciless man who refused a request for a dance ‘because I don’t want to dance’.
He was not good at small talk in social circles.
Because he didn’t want to talk much.
“We were just talking a little bit about the two of you.”
At that time, Viscount Minerva, who had remained calm, answered politely.
“I see.”
The blue-violet eyes of Rixus looked at the faces of the nobles.
“I also heard a lot of rumors about her and I in the social world.”
There was a smile in his eyes, but it sounded cold for some reason. Thanks to this, the nobles were terrified.
“From trivial things… to ‘very personal circumstances’.”
They seemed to have understood all of the ‘personal circumstances’ as the story of our ‘sleep’.
Expressions of embarrassment were evident on the faces of the nobles.
Among them, the young lady spoke very hastily.
“Ah, I don’t know such rumors…!”
Rixus bent his long eyes and asked her kindly.
“Didn’t you hear?”
“!”
The young lady’s face grew red.
‘…Why do you make an innocent lady embarrassed again?’
At this rate, she was going to throw up from her fear of him.
When I was hesitating on whether or not to stop him, Rixus made an excellent choice.
He picked up the dessert and changed the subject lightly.
“Which part of the Decotier do you eat first?”
(TL/N: probably a made-up dessert, I went on a wild goose chase for it but nothing came up.)
‘Oh, is he trying to make small talk?’
About how to eat ‘Decotier’.
The dessert was a traditional Aktoum dessert, and there was controversy over how to eat it.
‘Do you eat fish-shaped bread from the head or tail?’, ‘Do you pour or dip the sweet and sour pork?’ It was a bit of a controversy with this sentiment.
It was an opportunity. A chance to bring the atmosphere back together. I quickly picked up the dessert and said,
“Isn’t it a rule to eat the cherries pickled in the special sauce first?”
“Ah, of course.”
Viscount Minerva noticed and quickly picked up a Decotier and ate the cherry.
“Of course, isn’t it natural to eat the cherries first?”
“I…….”
The young lady smiled shyly and revealed her preferences.
“It’s also the cherry part for me! There’s nothing better than cherries mixed in Decotier sauce.”
“That’s right. You should eat the most delicious part first, hahaha!”
Then, the young lady asked with her eyes shining.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, what about you…?”
“I exercise patience, as long as I can.”
“……”
“As you can see, I cherish and save the most delicious part as much as I can…”
The Decotier in Rixus’s large hand had only cherries remaining. The appearance of it smeared with whipped cream was somewhat static.
His eyes shone with an unknown glint.
“I like to savor it slowly.”
“!?”
In an instant, everyone in this place understood. That was the explanation for the ‘couple’s sleep’ circulating in rumors.
How could there be such a blatant, yet subtle, and shocking explanation!
“Was my answer okay?”
“……”
He made everyone in this place ‘very badly’ embarrassed, and proceeded to eat a cherry with a sly smile.
Among the nobles who had gathered after seeing Rixus, the young lady, whose face was as red as a roasted sweet potato, said, “Uh-huh. Ahem! Ah!” She was heard coughing in vain.
Still, it was a very effective explanation. Because everyone immediately understood.
In addition, it also very effectively made me flustered.
Blood seemed to circulate from head to toe, and the back of my neck seemed to burn.
If I wasn’t the monarch, I would say, ‘Ah! What are you talking about in front of other people!’ I would have covered my face.
I couldn’t lose my dignity, so I clenched my teeth and raised my voice.
“……Rixus…? Let’s go and talk for a second.”
Rixus answered calmly.
“Sure.”
With a dizzy mind, I dragged Rixus out of the room.