Ernest escorted me and kissed the back of my hand.
“I’m always by your side. So if you have any difficulties, just tell me. And...”
He handed me the paper bag he had been carrying around for some time.
I wondered what it was because he didn't tell me when I asked, but it seemed like he was keeping it a secret because he wanted to give it to me now.
"What is it?"
Inside the paper bag he received was a teddy bear with golden fur.
“What kind of doll is this?”
“Still, it’s good to have something to commemorate.”
A teddy bear at this age?
It couldn't have been a more odd gift.
But somehow, I feel like I resemble Ernest.
Funnily enough, that hair reminded me of Ernest's hair.
That's why. I originally didn't like dolls that much, but I didn't hate this teddy bear.
I said, hugging the teddy bear tightly to my chest.
“Thank you, I will keep it in mind.”
The Crown Prince, who had been looking at me with pleasure, lowered his head and kissed my cheek.
“Probably, I won’t be able to see you again until your birthday party. If you have any troubles while I’m away, think of that doll as me and tell me. It’ll be even better if we hug and sleep together every night.”
Pfft. I burst into laughter without realizing it at the Crown Prince's cute joke.
“Thank you so much for today.”
“Just in words?”
"Yes?"
He tapped the ball with his index finger.
“If you were grateful, I would appreciate it if you could return the favor.”
Oh, my.
It was a rather awkward request, but I, who had had a good day thanks to the Crown Prince, decided to grant it.
The moment I let out a short laugh and tried to kiss the Crown Prince's cheek.
Ernest's sudden action of turning his head caused our lips to touch each other.
I, surprised by this, tried to quickly move away, but was unable to do so because of the man's hand wrapped around the back of my neck.
He slowly opened his lips and captured my red, ripe lips.
It was a slow, very soft, and quite intimate kiss.
I heard a wet sound for a long time.
The Crown Prince turned away from me.
"Ha..."
As our lips parted, I let out the breath I had been holding.
Then Ernest, whose forehead was pressed against mine, whispered.
“The next one will be held after the wedding ceremony.”
My face turned red, as I could not have known what those words meant.
Could it be because of the teddy bear in my arms?
I felt excited as if the warm spring air had seeped into me.
***
The next day. I felt good for the first time in a long time.
It may be a bit of an escape, but going to the festival with Ernest yesterday was enough to blow away all the stress I had been feeling.
I licked my lips with my index finger.
It seemed like the soft and hot feeling of yesterday still lingered.
'I'm so glad.'
Because that person is the Crown Prince of this country.
And because he is the one who will become my husband.
Marrying such a loving person.
Maybe Ernest was a gift from God, who dropped me into this world without any buffs.
I kept petting the teddy bear Ernest had given me.
The wheat-colored teddy bear, which resembled Ernest's hair color, was as gentle as his smile.
May stopped what she was doing and looked at me, who had been hugging my teddy bear all day.
“Miss. Are you still feeling good even though you got scolded so much by the Duke yesterday?”
“Yeah. Yes.”
I was scolded by the Duke for secretly watching the festival with the Crown Prince without even a single knight escort.
Since I am going to be Crown Princess in the future, I shouldn't do such dangerous things.
May shook her head as she looked at me, who seemed to be in a good mood even after being scolded.
“If the Duchess sees you now, you’ll probably get in trouble again. The soon-to-be Crown Princess is walking around with a teddy bear like a child.”
“Whatever. I’ll just keep it in the bedroom. And since this is a gift from the Crown Prince, I don’t think my mother will say anything.”
I kept fiddling with my teddy bear, responding appropriately to May's words.
'It's a bit more bland than that.'
I was a little concerned about the teddy bear without any decorations.
It would be cuter if there was something like a ribbon around the neck.
Then, I suddenly remembered the ribbon in the dresser drawer, took it out, and tied it around the doll's neck.
The dark green ribbon went very well with the teddy bear.
“What do you think? May? Doesn’t he look cuter now?”
“Yes. Much more. More importantly, you finally took out that ribbon. You said you would put it in your hair because you thought it would look good on you, but you kept it.”
“Did I do that?”
It doesn't look particularly expensive.
I fiddled with the ribbon that was now part of the teddy bear's decoration.
“Yes. You don’t even take off the earrings you’re wearing now when you sleep.”
At the word earrings, I touched my earlobe.
Black earrings that appear to be made of onyx stone.
Come to think of it, I've been wearing these earrings since I opened my eyes.
'Now that I think about it, Elizabeth doesn't seem to be a particularly extravagant person.'
There weren't many flashy accessories I had.
The earrings she wears every day and the ribbon she treasures don't look that expensive.
'Well, so what? It suits me quite well and it's not uncomfortable.'
I thought useless things like, "We have similar tastes," and ignored it.
'Oh, that's right. It's the ancient language I saw at the bookstore.'
Suddenly, I remembered a book I had seen in an old bookstore.
An old book with poetry written in the ancient language of the Pyran era.
'Why on earth did that maid give me a letter in an ancient language?'
Although it is said that a national wedding with the Crown Prince is a big deal.
It wasn't a matter so secret as to exchange letters in an ancient language.
There must have been some secret information that the maid had to convey to me under the pretext of a state wedding.
I glanced at May, who was tidying up the bedding.
“May. Do you know where Jenna is right now?”
“What about her?”
“A young maid with dark red hair.”
Then May's expression changed strangely and she asked back.
“Are you sure there’s a maid named Jenna? No, there’s no young maid with dark red hair in our mansion, my lady.”
“...What are you talking about? My mansion doesn’t have any maids. Aren’t you mistaken about something?”
“I’ve been working at this mansion for years now, and it’s even stranger that there are servants I don’t know.”
'Then who is that maid?'
I was confused by May's seemingly confident words.
An unidentified maid who brought a code.
I put down the teddy bear for a moment and took out the letter I had kept in the drawer next to my bed.
'The first priority is to interpret this.'
If I know the contents of this letter, I will get a clue.
Now was not the time to be lazing around in my room.
I, who was feeling anxious, picked up the letter and got up from my seat.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the library.”
“You’ve thought it through well. Today is the day to change the curtains and carpets in the mansion. So there will be a lot of people coming and going on the third floor. It would be much more comfortable for you, young lady, to stay in the library.”
I nodded, recalling the Duchess's words a few days ago when she had mentioned that she wanted to change the overall interior of the mansion.
“I’ll just have a sandwich for lunch there, so prepare that for me. I’ll go to the restaurant right on time for dinner.”
“Yes, Miss.”
So, I went to the library and not long after, Carsis came up to the third floor.
He was looking around as if he was looking for someone among the busy crowd of people.
“The young lady is in the library now.”
Then a maid came up to him and said as if she already knew who Carsis was looking for.
Then, the teddy bear the maid was holding caught KlCarsis's eye.
“What is that?”
“Ah. This is a young lady’s doll. I heard that the Crown Prince gave it to her as a gift.”
At the maid's words, Carsis looked at the doll for a long time.
To be exact, the green ribbon wrapped around the doll's neck.
***
“Found it.”
After searching the back of the library, I was able to find a dictionary of the language from the Pyran era.
'I guess they are indeed a family of founding fathers. There is even a book like this.'
I was wondering where I could get it if it wasn't in the library.
Even if you can't get an exact interpretation, you can get a rough idea of the meaning of a word with just this dictionary.
When I put the book down, dust flew everywhere as if no one had looked for it for a long time.
I, who had been fussing for a moment, opened the book and blew away the dust with my hand fan.
It had not even been ten minutes since I started looking at the book with such curiosity.
I closed the book with a thud and let out a heavy sigh.
“I don’t even know how to spell the ancient language, so when am I going to find all this...?”
If it's an English word, at least you know the alphabet.
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