While we talked for a while, the staff unloaded our luggage.
There were only two luggage bags.
Most things will be prepared 'there', and if we need something, we can buy it at that time, so there is no need to go through the hassle of getting it.
“Then let me go out first and put the luggage on the wagon, Miss.”
Sir Aaron spoke bravely, holding a large luggage bag in both hands.
“Are you okay alone?”
"It's okay. I can lift this much.”
“Okay then.”
Lord Aaron left first, and as I was about to leave the platform after him, a young boy who looked to be about 5 years old twisted and fell right in front of me.
The cotton candy the kid was holding flew away in the wind.
The little boy, forgetting the pain, jumped up and stretched out his cute hand as if he were trying to grab the cotton candy, but the cotton candy rolled faster.
Moreover, the cotton candy was cruelly trampled by the feet of passers-by and became inedible.
“Uh, uh...”
The little boy's big eyes filled with tears when he saw that.
When I saw that, my conscience was pricked for no reason.
“Please look at that kid for a moment, Sir Aldor.”
I asked Sir Aldor for the little one, bought two large pieces of cotton candy from a nearby cotton candy store, and returned.
"Here."
One of them was placed in the child's hand.
The little boy stopped crying when he saw the cotton candy, which was bigger and prettier than the one he had before.
“Thank you!”
After greeting me with a child's characteristic short tongue sound, he quickly disappeared into the crowd of people.
You won't fall again like that.
I looked at the kid with anxious eyes, and when the kid was held in the arms of a woman who seemed to be his mother, I felt relieved and handed out another piece of cotton candy to Perdes.
"Here you go."
Perdes blinked his eyes wide as if he didn't understand what was happening.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“Because it’s Perdes’s.”
“So why is this mine?”
“They say eating sweets makes you feel better.”
When I implied that I was giving it to him because he seemed to be in a bad mood, Perdes clicked his tongue and took the cotton candy.
“Do you think I am a child? You’re doing something useless.”
Unlike his blunt tone, the corners of his lips softened as he ate the cotton candy.
After all, Perdes is still young.
As I was looking at Perdes with a happy smile, I felt an intense gaze.
“...”
It was Sir Aldor.
I thought he was looking at me, but his eyes were looking at the cotton candy Perdes was holding, not me.
“Do you want to eat cotton candy?”
The Sir Aldor I knew didn't like sweets.
He hated it so much that he could barely take a bite of the birthday cake because it was so sweet.
However, I thought it was strange that he was staring at a lump of sugar called cotton candy, so I asked him and he nodded.
“Yes, I want to eat it.”
...Didn’t it mean you didn’t like sweets?
I looked at Sir Aldor, slightly embarrassed by the completely different reaction from what I knew.
Perdes, who belatedly felt Sir Aldor's gaze, frowned and hid the cotton candy from his sight.
“I won’t give it to you.”
It made me laugh because it seemed like a child who didn't want to lose sweet candy to his friend.
What was even more interesting was that Sir Aldor did not lose and responded.
“It’s only one bite, so you can’t even give me that much?”
“Why should I give it to you?”
“That’s because I am Perdes’ teacher. Out of respect for your teacher, please give up at least one bite.”
“Why don’t you spread ridiculous logic?”
“Stop fighting.”
I intervened between the two and forcibly ended the tense fight without giving up an inch.
How could cotton candy fight so seriously? It was absurd.
“Okay, this is enough, right?”
To prevent the two from fighting needlessly, I also bought cotton candy for Sir Aldor.
Only then did Sir Aldor's eyes relax as if he was satisfied.
“...”
For a moment, Sir Aldor took a bite of cotton candy and frowned again.
No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem to suit his taste.
“If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t have to eat it.”
"No."
Sir Aldor looked at the cotton candy solemnly, as if he were about to have a sword fight, and then quickly defeated it.
Perdes, who saw this, also quickly finished off the cotton candy as if he couldn't lose.
***
As I left the train station, a familiar man approached me and bowed politely.
“It’s been a while since I saw you, Your Highness. And Lady Leopold.”
It was Colin Bradley, the Emperor's aide.
Perdes asked, a little wary, as I had seen him several times in my previous life, but seeing him for the first time today.
"Who?"
“My name is Colin Bradley, Your Royal Highness. It is an honor to meet you like this.”
Perdes' eyes darkened slightly as he flattered him by saying that it was an honor for someone who would not have even looked at him with any regard if he had not become engaged to me.
"Yes. Nice to meet you."
For a moment, Perdes smiled and greeted Viscount Bradley as if nothing had happened.
“Did you experience any inconvenience while coming here? How was your stay at the Duke’s residence?”
Viscount Bradley asked Perdes various questions and looked at his expression closely.
He heard a rumor that Perdes was not actually an idiot, and wanted to check if the rumor was true.
Perdes also noticed this and responded appropriately with a feeling somewhere between an idiot and an ordinary person.
Then Viscount Bradley's expression became confused. The face looks like it's not clear whether the rumor is true or not.
“How long are you going to leave us here?”
I asked somewhat coldly, thinking this would be enough to give Viscount Bradley a chance to find out the truth about the rumor.
Then Viscount Bradley was startled and bowed his head in apology.
"Ah. I'm sorry. I was so happy to see His Highness the Prince that I ended up being rude.”
He doesn't even put saliva in his mouth and he's really good at lying.
“His Majesty the Emperor has given orders to bring you two to the imperial palace.”
“The imperial palace?”
"Yes. Your Highness is still a member of the royal family, so His Majesty’s opinion is that if you come to the capital, you should stay at the imperial palace.”
At first glance, Perdes' expression did not look very good.
Of course, I was the only one who noticed the change in his expression.
“Furthermore, His Majesty said that Lady Leopold would like to stay at the imperial palace as well.”
"Yes."
As expected, it comes out like this.
Anticipating this, I told Haness not to contact the Duke's residence in the capital.
“We also have a carriage available.”
A large, luxurious carriage was waiting behind Viscount Bradley.
“Would you like to go to the imperial palace, my Lady?”
You didn't even ask Perdes' opinion but only asked my opinion.
It meant that he did not truly think of Perdes as a Prince.
Moreover, his question had a definite answer.
"Is it so."
Even if I tried to fight that I didn't want to go, it was obvious that we would be taken to the imperial palace somehow, so I accepted without any effort.
***
“...”
Perdes' expression wasn't very good as he made his way to the imperial palace without any reward after cheering up his mood with cotton candy.
Now that I knew the reason, I sat quietly across from him without asking anything.
After running for a while, Perdes muttered as he saw the high walls surrounding the imperial palace outside the window.
“I never thought I’d come here again.”
Then he turned to me and asked.
“Can’t we refuse to stay at the imperial palace even now and go to the Duke’s residence?”
“You know it won’t work.”
Yes. Perdes, who was muttering to himself, asked again.
“We will meet the Emperor there, right?”
"Yes. It’s late today, so he’ll probably call us tomorrow.”
“What are you going to say when he calls us?”
“He'll only call Perdes, not us. And then he’ll call me.”
If we are together, I can answer all the questions Perdes needs to give, so the Emperor will most likely call us separately.
Perdes' expression became serious after hearing my answer.
“I’m sure he’ll be urging me to have a baby as soon as possible.”
“Then just tell him you’re doing your best.”
“Wearing an idiot mask like before?”
"No. You just need to adjust it appropriately, like you did with Viscount Bradley.”
While we were talking, the carriage passed the high walls of the imperial palace.
When Perdes realized that fact, his face turned pale. He clenched the back of his hand so tightly that the tendons stood up, and then straightened it again.
"It's okay."
I gently held his hand and comforted him.
“Nothing will happen.”
Trembling golden eyes stared at me.
“You will be able to return safely to the Duchy of Leopold, so don’t worry, Mr. Perdes.”
“...”
Perhaps my consolation helped, and Perdes' expression looked much better than before.
Only the imperial family could ride a carriage within the imperial palace.
No matter how much the Duke was, he had to walk inside the imperial palace, but since Perdes was the Prince, he was able to ride a carriage to his destination.
The place where the carriage stopped after running for a while was the Palace of Spring.
“Welcome, Your Royal Highness. Lady Leopold.”
Sophia, the head maid at the Spring Palace, welcomed us warmly.
I responded by nodding my head slightly, then muttered as I looked at the Spring Palace.
“It’s not my palace.”
But in a tone that Sophia could clearly hear.
Usually, the royal family stayed in the inner palace.
Of course, royal family members who married and became a monks stayed in the outer palace, but Perdes had not yet become a monk.
But the Spring Palace is in the outer palace, not the inner palace?
You said that since you are the Prince, you must stay at the imperial palace when you come to the capital?
When I said the whole meaning in a short sentence, Sophia was embarrassed and made an excuse.
“Your Highness the Prince, you should stay in the inner palace, but unfortunately, there is no palace ready right now.”
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