In her previous life, Judith didn't have much to do with Franz. What the two went through was so terrible that they met and fell in love without even knowing each other. The dry, dry little hearts felt pitiful toward each other, but they did not know how to comfort each other.
Unlike his brother Eland and the second Prince Krald, Franz was not violent. Nevertheless, when Judith stood in front of Franz, it was difficult for her to continue speaking and she felt suffocated.
Even if he happened to speak first, there was no way the conversation would continue because Judith could not respond properly. Franz waited patiently as Judith stammered her words, but when, frustrated with herself, she began to tear up, she sighed. Then, he apologized for the inconvenience, said his polite greeting, and disappeared somewhere.
Sometimes Franz called her by her name, “Judith.” Once Judith heard that voice, she could not sleep that night. Just thinking about his voice made her heart race like crazy, and the heat in her head spread throughout her body and made her hands tremble.
When she got close to him, she could smell a faint mint scent. If her fingertips happened to brush against him, Judith would be startled.
However, if she shrugged her shoulders, she would soon regret it. Every time she saw Franz turn away from her with a dark look on his face, every time she noticed the shadow on his profile, she felt so frustrated with herself that she wanted to beat her chest. Even then, whenever she looked at Franz again, her eyes widened in fear.
Franz couldn't bear it at that time. Every time he looked at Judith's frightened face, every time he saw her tearful eyes and trembling shoulders, he wanted to do something to comfort her, but he could not easily reach out. He felt sick to his stomach, but he couldn't even tell Judith honestly how he felt.
He wanted to tell her that he wanted to cherish her and that if she wanted, he could leave the palace without a word or go to a place where they could be alone together. If they secretly left to a place where no one could reach, he wasn't confident that he could protect at least one Judith.
But would Judith want that? Would she really be happy about building a hut and eating oat porridge? When he thought about that, the faintly rising courage tended to disappear.
If Franz had said that even once if he had grabbed Judith and asked her to leave with him, their lives would have been very different.
Now, nothing was of any use and was meaningless. Judith would never know that Franz had thought such a thing. It was the same for Franz now. Therefore, the direction they had to take was completely different from their last life.
Judith quietly pondered the sound of Franz's voice calling her name. In her last life, and even now, whenever he called her name, she felt as if unknown blue flowers were blooming at her feet. In the past, she was afraid of that unknown sensation, but it was different now.
While Franz was away from the empire, Judith thought a lot about him. Early in the morning, when Judith realized once again the identity of the many emotions she thought were fear, Judith hugged her pillow and sobbed for a long time, but she also laughed.
She thought she would be a little grumpy when he came back. She thought she was going to complain incomprehensibly, asking why he didn't notice her trembling and why he didn't give her a crushing hug and kiss.
But when she looked into his eyes alone in such a bright place, that resolution was gone, as if it had melted away in the sunlight. Judith, who was just touching her warm ears, smiled. Franz just looked at her quietly and then opened his mouth in a shy tone.
“For some reason...”
“...I was kicked out.”
Franz's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected words.
“What do you mean?”
“We all started playing dice together, and His Highness the Prince told me to bring you.”
Franz, who was blinking to see what was being said, finally burst into laughter. So, this was all Rogero's handiwork. Since Judith did not know what was going on, she pretended not to be able to resist and came to Astel Palace. She was curious because she hadn't seen Franz since the banquet ended last night.
By then, Franz was thinking the same thing as Judith. Rogero's mischievous intention to bring him to his senses was successful, and as soon as Judith's dance with Rogero was over, she danced with Franz one more time.
Everyone was looking forward to the Princess and her husband's dance, so when the two people stepped into the center of the hall, everyone around them stepped back. Judith looked around as if she felt a little burdened and smiled shyly.
- Everyone is gone.
Franz, who was looking down at the softly whispering lips, spoke with an expression that seemed to be smiling.
- It seems that both you and I are in a position of being ostracized.
Although it was a practical joke, Judith's expression brightened a little. It was nice to be able to joke around with him like that. She was glad that she didn't have to burden herself with the fact that four years had separated them.
Contrary to people's expectations, the two did not openly whisper kisses or exchange sweet glances while dancing. However, every time their palms touched and their hugged bodies got closer, they could feel each other's breathing and fingertips trembling at the same time.
At the end of the song, when they stood face to face and bowed, Judith impulsively held out one hand towards him. The hesitation was short-lived. Franz held Judith's fingertips and gently placed his lips on the back of her hand, and the people watching were excited and amazed at the sight.
“So now the three of you are playing a dice game.”
“Mary Ann is also there, so there are four of us.”
At Judith’s words, Franz opened his lips as if making the sound “ah.” Then he immediately started laughing. As he came closer, Judith unconsciously took a deep breath. Her shoulders trembled as she felt the subtle yet refreshing scent of mint filling his body.
“If there are already four people, isn’t there room for you and me?”
The dice game often played in the royal palace always had a constant number of people. The minimum was two, and the maximum was four. Judith also knew this, so she lowered her gaze and suppressed laughter.
Franz looked down at Judith, who had her head slightly lowered, and suddenly felt his heart pounding. His heart was beating irregularly.
The urge to touch the small ears that stood out slightly through her finely combed hair suddenly took over him. Without realizing it, Franz's hand went up. He hesitated, as if trying to straighten the jewelry on the side of her head, and then reached for the round tip of her ear. He felt her soft fur. The curved shape of the delicate bones was amazing and pretty.
“...Your Highness."
A whispering voice came from between Judith's lips. Then Franz's hand suddenly moved away.
When he came to his senses, he saw that their bodies were close to each other, as if they were about to embrace. If she came a little closer, Judith's body was likely to be wrapped in Franz's arms. Their flat, uneven stomachs touched each other. Judith and Franz's cheeks became red at the same time when they realized that fact. The two of them took half a step away from each other and turned their heads at an angle, like people who were surprised by something.
“Because it’s a nice day... Would you like to take a walk?”
Judith, who was biting the inside of her lip, nodded at Franz's words. Franz left the drawing room first, followed by Judith. They could have held hands, but neither of them had calmed down because of what had happened a moment ago. In the end, they walked down the garden, maintaining an awkward distance like people who had been fighting.
“...There will be a founding ceremony soon.”
Judith, who was walking hurriedly, spoke carefully. Franz, who was looking up indifferently at the sunny sky, nodded his head.
"Yes."
“Last year’s National Foundation Festival was quite fun. The Duke of Vergy prepared fireworks. He said it was imported.”
“I’ve seen it once or twice during the Imperial Festival. It was very spectacular.”
“Is that so? I was most amazed by the rose-shaped fireworks. Did you see something like that too?”
In Delacca, there were separate craftsmen who only handled fireworks used during festivals. They were people who made fireworks by combining various shapes and colors to explode. There were also acrobats who performed stunts similar to fireworks. When Franz told the story, Judith was very curious and said she would like to see it at least once.
“But wouldn’t it be dangerous for people to do it themselves?”
“It’s dangerous. They say ten years isn’t enough to learn that trick.”
“They are great people. It must not be easy to learn one thing for that long.”
Franz nodded. Silence came again.
Flowers were in full bloom in the palace garden. It was evident that the gardeners had carefully taken care of it. As Franz moved his hand towards the summer roses that were blooming on the bush, Judith stopped and tried to stop him.
“Your Highness, you must be pricked by thorns.”
“At this point, it’s okay if you get stabbed a little.”
Franz laughed. Then he cut off one of the tender flower stems, avoiding the place where the strong thorns had sprouted. There was light grass under his fingernails.
And Franz placed it diagonally on Judith’s ear. It wasn't with any intention, it was just something he did because he felt like it, but Judith's face turned bright red in an instant. When Franz saw Judith looking shy, he must have felt embarrassed and moved his lips awkwardly and did not smile.
Summer roses had small clusters, but had many layers of petals, making them attractive to look at. Her black-blue hair, exposed to sunlight, was shiny and went well with the light pink roses.
Franz thought that Judith was very beautiful. It was something that came to mind in a new and sudden way.
When they unexpectedly ran into each other at a snack shop in the square, he was so embarrassed that he had no time to feel that she had grown significantly. At the banquet, it was difficult to look at her face for a long time because he was worried about other people's gaze.
It was different now. Maybe it's because of the quiet atmosphere. Judith raised her head. Franz's hand moved slowly.
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