I really couldn't come to my senses last night.
We barely managed to escape from the crowd and rode straight back to the mansion.
After I got back, I was so out of it that I washed myself with warm water, drank some tea, and calmed down. At some point, I fell into a deep sleep.
And when I woke up in the morning, I realized...
'I forgot to give the gift to Kishian.'
I was planning to give it to him after we had seen all the festival and the mood was ripe.
I missed my chance because something suddenly happened that was confusing.
It would have been nice if I had given it to him in the morning, but when I woke up, he was already gone.
He woke up early in the morning and headed to the office to take care of the piling up work.
'I should give it to him when he comes back to the bedroom in the evening.'
It didn't matter since I had plenty of time to spare anyway.
I smiled quietly, holding the adorable rabbit doll in my palm.
It's not much of a gift, but it's still cute, so I think he'll like it, right?
Thinking like that.
It was while I was wrapped in such warm anticipation that things got a little messy outside.
I could hear the servants moving around busily, and then Anne hurriedly informed me.
"Your Highness! The Imperial carriage has arrived at the mansion!"
"Yes? The royal family?"
I was taken aback by the sudden news.
That would be the case, since I never heard of anyone visiting.
'If she came in the imperial carriage, it would be Letie.'
There was no way my father could have come; it was definitely Letie.
Except for the father and the child, no one dared ride in a carriage with the imperial emblem on it.
'Why is that kid suddenly...?'
I was still confused, but I put on a coat and went outside.
Kishian also came out, looking a little flustered and surprised by the unexpected visit.
Just as they were finishing her identity checks with the guards, a carriage slowly came across the garden and stopped in front of us.
The person who finally got out of the carriage was, as expected, Letie.
Letie looked at me and smiled brightly, expressing her delight.
"Long time no see! How have you been? How have you been, Your Highness?"
I was exchanging greetings, but I didn't have the presence of mind to accept them.
I put Letie aside for a moment as she hugged me and then asked her straight away.
"What's going on all of a sudden? I didn't hear you were coming... Did something happen to my father?"
"Nothing happened. I just came to see you."
I couldn't welcome her warmly.
It was not even two weeks after I sent Albrecht away and wrote a letter.
The atmosphere in the palace must have become quite tense.
That must be the case, but why did she visit the Grand Duke's residence so calmly?
'Didn't my father say anything to Letie?'
Judging from her reaction, Letie seemed to have no idea what had happened.
If she had known that I had personally killed one of my father's limbs, she would not have come here and smiled so brightly.
As these thoughts continued, Kishian spoke to us.
"Let's go in first. There's no need to stand outside and talk."
"Thank you for your consideration. I was just feeling tired."
Letie greeted Kishian with a gentle smile.
Meanwhile, the two servants who had come with Letie unloaded the luggage from the cart.
Judging from the fact that they brought quite a lot of things, it seemed like she was planning to stay for a long time.
After ordering them to be moved to the guest room, I guided Letie to the reception room in the main building.
After apologizing for having a lot of work to do, Kishian went back to his office, leaving me to deal with Letie alone.
"I was surprised by your sudden visit. If you had notified me in advance by letter, I would have prepared."
"What preparations do you need? Just give me a room."
"No matter what..."
"There's no need to welcome me so grandly. I just came to see your face."
Well, there was no need to be so formal when my sister was coming.
Letie opened her mouth as she sipped her tea, unable to think of anything to say in response.
"By the way. I heard it's the festival season right now. I heard about it on my way here."
"Yeah. It's the spring festival period."
"Shall we go and take a look together? It would be good if the Grand Duke came with us. My father wouldn't allow it if we stayed at the palace."
"We went there yesterday. He and I are both a bit busy right now, so I don't think we can go to the festival together."
“Ah.”
Disappointment was clearly written across Letie's face.
"Then I'll go by myself. I brought my knights with me."
"Yes. Go ahead. I'll keep it a secret from Dad."
"Thank you!"
Letie replied with a bright face.
I stared at that face for a moment, then slowly opened my mouth.
"Speaking of my father... how is he doing these days?"
"He's the same as usual."
"Have you noticed that he's more alert than usual, or that he looks uncomfortable in any way, or anything like that?"
"Yeah. There wasn't anything like that. Why, is there something that concerns you?"
"...No. I just asked because it's been a while since I've seen him."
As expected, it seemed like he didn't mention Albrecht's death or my betrayal of Letie.
I felt fortunate. At least I could stay with Letie like before.
Sometimes she makes me uncomfortable, but she's my only sister, so I don't want to make things awkward for no reason.
"How busy is His Highness?"
"A lot. He's been working nonstop since early this morning."
"Can we have dinner together?"
"That's okay, of course. Since you're here, he'll want to say hello too."
Letie asked with a bright smile.
"Is that really true?"
"Yes?"
"Will he be very happy to see me?"
Somehow, I felt Letie's reaction was strange, so I couldn't answer for a moment.
I've felt this way for a while now, but Letie seems to care too much a bout Kishian.
Is it because of my mood? Am I overreacting to something she just said without thinking?
As my thoughts became more complicated, Letie put down the teacup she was holding.
"Then I'll have to rest a bit and then hurry up and go to the festival. I'll have to be tight if I have to get back before dinner time."
"... Yes, go rest. You must be tired."
She must be quite tired since she has come a long way.
I stopped worrying and called Anne over and ordered her to lead Letie to her room.
After sending Letie off like that, I sipped the tea I had not finished drinking yet in the reception room where I was left alone.
'But she'll be back soon. There's no way Father would let Letie stay here for long.'
My father, who was always worried about everything, could not leave his beloved daughter, Letie, by the Grand Duke's side and by me, who had killed Albrecht, for long.
Since she'll be back soon anyway, don't worry too much.
I put down my teacup, trying to calm my churning heart.
***
Letie returned just in time.
Since she got back just in time for dinner, eating together became inevitable.
As I sat down at the table set up in the banquet hall and waited with Kishian, Letie, dressed in a magnificent outfit, soon appeared and smiled at Kishian.
"I'm finally greeting you properly. Have you finished all your busy work?"
"It's not completely over yet."
Kishian, who had answered like that, added later, as if he realized that he had answered too roughly.
"Because the territory was left empty for a long time, there were many areas that were poorly managed."
"Oh, I'm worried that you came when you were too busy."
"It's okay. It's not that hard to take some time."
Kishian politely accepted the words, but did not hide the fact that he was busy.
It sounded like a piece of subtle advice not to stay too long, but Letie didn't seem to care.
As always, she sat at the dinner table with a bright face and said only what she wanted to say.
"I went to the festival today, and there was a lot to see. They sold a lot of unique items, and the theater performance was fun... Oh, and I also bought a gift for the Grand Duke."
You brought Kishian a gift? Letie looked at me curiously and gestured to her maid, who was standing behind her.
The maid soon brought the small box she was holding in her hand to Kishian.
It was a box wrapped in red.
Kishian accepted it and gave it a proper greeting.
"Thank you. I will use it well."
He looked at the gift box in his hand with a slightly indifferent look, then called the servant and entrusted it to him.
After that, it seemed like he was going to start eating, but before that, Letie offered him something first.
"You can open it and take a look now."
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment