Episode 82. Princess's Tailor Shop (1)
The shock given by Lorisha was making a mess of his insides. She said that it was her first time being courted by a man, but look at her skill.
Locard finally sighed and hit the back of her head on the back of Whined's old chair.
He had succeeded in hating Lorisha to some extent, but he had come to accept her even more.
Because no other woman had occupied his mind for so long.
And Locard blamed himself for his negligence. Now that Lorisha knew his goal, it would be harder to drag her into a scandal.
Also, she would not leave Princess Milliora's side in the future. However, the future he envisioned could not come true without moving the world, Lorisha.
Whined could not stand to see Locard sighing repeatedly, so he suddenly asked.
"Are the results of the third competition out?"
“No.”
“This time, it’s hard to know His Majesty’s intentions.”
“...”
“Did you have an argument with Miss Loire?”
Locard turned his sharp gaze like an eagle.
“Why did you think that?”
“Yes?”
“Why did you think I would be worried because of Miss Loire?”
“That’s... Hey, why am I asking that? Haha.”
Haha?
Prince Kydel frowned, unable to understand Whined’s strange attitude.
He mustered up his patience and asked as calmly as possible.
“I really want to know, Director.”
Whined, frowned, and answered.
“You risked your life to save her during the competition, offered her flowers, and sighed while being conscious of the place where she lay...”
Locard’s lips twitched, and a rotten smile formed.
This time, Grayon’s plan was quite sharp. Even without Whined making any special efforts, weren’t the surroundings moving on their own?
Locard clenched his teeth at that thought.
Whined, continued talking without even knowing it.
“Women tend to be sensitive when they’re sick. You have to treat them better at those times. Even if Miss Loire pretends not to know, she’ll be touched on the inside. That’s how everyone starts out.”
Whined had misunderstood Locard’s earlier comment that Lorisha was sharp. He even misunderstood that he had the right to talk about other people’s love lives.
Whiny Royman was the type of person who would try to secretly flirt with women if he wanted to date. But who was he giving advice to right now…?
However, Locard realized one thing from Whined’s absurd words and actions.
Love is not a conclusion. It was a term for all the procedures that start with seduction and end with a shared passion, the process by which a man and a woman approach each other.
“...I haven’t failed yet. It’s just the beginning.”
Locard muttered quietly and returned to the Second Prince’s Palace.
***
I dusted myself off and got ready. Now, I knew that hiding in my room to avoid Prince Kydel was useless. I had to move diligently to avoid attacks.
I went straight to Her Highness the Princess’s reception room. According to Eria, she had not been able to come to me and was waiting for me, so I had to reassure her.
However, Her Highness Milliora looked very displeased and said,
“I’ve never seen someone as lazy as you!”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
“I’m sorry? Is this something to be talked about? Who almost died on their own?”
She retorted with a cold face, but her lips kept twitching as if she were in a good mood.
Shouldn’t she be a little more honest?
“Ha... ha. That’s right.”
“Did you say hello to Prince Kydel? I heard he came to visit you in the hospital. He secretly paid a lot of money. He doesn’t come even when I call him.”
“Well...”
Only then did I realize that I hadn’t properly thanked him and mumbled.
However, saying something like that to him now was like walking into a trap with my own feet.
My situation, no, 'our situation' was really a mess.
The Princess said as if she were displeased with me.
"Well, he's not someone you can talk to carelessly."
"That's right."
I answered with force without realizing it.
How nice it would have been if we weren't close enough to talk to each other carelessly.
Then, Her Highness Milliora narrowed her eyes and examined me carefully from head to toe.
"Are you really okay?"
"I sometimes feel dizzy, but I'll recover with time."
“A useless kid with nothing but her head hurt her head.”
I knew I was nothing special, but it hurt my feelings a little because she said it so openly.
“If you’re not feeling well at all, just lie down. Don’t wander around and make your health worse.”
“Yes, Your Highness. By the way, did the Imperial Palace tell you about the results of the competition?”
“No. They still haven’t said anything. It seems that Brother Grayon has found out, but His Majesty still hasn’t said anything. Fortunately, you haven’t even recovered yet.”
“Since His Highness Grayon will be the winner of the last competition anyway, the important thing is the fourth competition.”
“Right?”
She waved her hand lightly as if to stop talking about the headache. She said that was something you had to take care of anyway.
“Anyway, there’s going to be a party soon.”
“The party?”
“I heard that the messenger Agael is bringing the refiners. It’s a welcoming party. His Majesty is really generous now that I think about it.”
“It’s going really fast.”
But instead of answering, Her Highness the Princess stared at me so awkwardly that it made me feel embarrassed.
“Do you blame me?”
“Yes? Why are you suddenly saying that...?”
“But if I hadn’t spoken openly to His Majesty, would the iron ore problem have been resolved so quickly? So as a Tagar, I ended up serving the Empire’s interests. Isn’t that right?”
“On the one hand, that’s true.”
“On the other hand?”
I pointed to my injured head and answered.
“That’s right.”
Then Her Highness the Princess got angry.
“As expected, you blame me! Huh! That’s bad.”
“That’s not it...”
I thought this was a good opportunity to make Her Highness reprimand her.
I spoke with a half-adventure mentality.
“Next time, it could be Lord Rond’s life.”
“Huh! You...!”
Her Highness the Princess was shocked and just moved her lips. I was embarrassed by her intense reaction.
Oh no, I shouldn’t have touched Lord Rond.
However, since it was too late to back off, I pretended to be serious and spoke.
“So from now on, you must be careful, Your Highness. For our sake.”
“From now on...?”
“Yes. You didn’t say when the competition would end.”
“I understand.”
Her Highness Milliora hid her expression as she glared at the wall. Only then did I realize that she was afraid of losing Lord Rond.
It was the first time I had seen her porcelain doll-like profile look so lonely.
“Your Highness, shall we catch a carriage to go out?”
“Huh?”
“It’s a party. You should get a new dress to dress Your Highness up.”
She had looked back at me with a daunted face, but then she smiled brightly.
***
The tailor shop that Her Highness favored was located on a street slightly outside the bustling city center.
The small wooden sign on the shabby building looked at least a hundred years old, so if you didn’t know the place, you would have passed it by without even looking at the exterior.
However, this was a tailor shop that had been run by a skilled tailor for generations and had been serving the royal family and high-ranking nobles for decades.
“Reservations are required here.”
Said Her Majesty Milliora as she entered the door. When I was embarrassed because I didn’t make a reservation, she snorted softly.
“There’s no way I could be included in that.”
As expected, the servants there all bowed their heads at the sight of her, and the handsome manager greeted her with a smile.
“Today, I meet the beautiful Princess Milliora, the little sun of Tagar. What kind of dress are you looking for today?”
“A dress that is formal and dignified, and that will make me stand out the most.”
I opened my mouth inwardly. Could you really find the dress you wanted with just that kind of explanation?
And it was also amazing how Her Highness answered directly without finding fault with what people said.
The manager, who guided us to the showroom, opened the thick curtains hanging on the wall closet. Dozens of dresses followed her footsteps and revealed themselves.
“If you’re talking about formality and dignity, please take a look here, Your Highness. For dresses that go well with Tagar’s noble silver hair, I recommend this, this, and this.”
I completely understood why Her Highness had previously ignored my taste in choosing dresses.
The dresses in this closet were surprisingly beautiful, and the three dresses the manager had pointed out looked great on Her Highness, as if they had been made for Her Highness from the beginning.
The reason it was difficult to choose just one was not because it was hard to find the prettiest dress, but because they were all pretty.
Her Highness went into the changing room with the first dress, looking satisfied. When I tried to sit down on the sofa in front of her, she got angry.
“You go to the waiting room and rest. Why would a sick person come up with all this?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I answered awkwardly and went to the waiting room. Her Highness seemed scared that I would push myself too hard since I had barely made it to the city.
When I went into the waiting room for guests’ companions and sat down on the single sofa, someone held a cookie in front of my lips.
“Oh, thank you.”
I unconsciously took the cookie in my mouth and chewed it, feeling the powder dripping down, but unable to move. I turned to the side with a creaking neck as if it were broken.
Then he smiled brightly.
“What a coincidence.”
“...”
Ah, Prince Kydel. What could I say to you, if not to curse?
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