Vinka turned around in surprise at the sight of Winfred, who was half naked, and the chamberlain pressed his temples as if his head was aching and he was angry.
"Don't be angry, Joseph. It's just that I woke up late. It's normal for people to be out at that time, so that's understandable."
Winfred tried to appease the chamberlain with a charming smile, but this only made him angrier.
"...Your Highness!"
Since finding the handkerchief, Winfred has been incredibly generous to Vinka. Even though today's incident was clearly her fault, he didn't even bother to scold her.
“If this continues, she’ll end up spoiling herself like a maid,” said the chamberlain, shaking his head.
Meanwhile, Winfred, who had quickly gotten dressed, grabbed his arm and pulled him towards him.
“Let’s go quickly. I need you to get out of the way so Vinka can make my bed!”
It wasn't like, "I overslept and my schedule got delayed, so let's hurry and go." It was like, "Let's get out of the way so Vinka can do her thing." It was hard to tell who was the Crown Prince and who was the maid.
And that afternoon.
Joseph, who was still worried about what had happened that morning, could not help but ask the Crown Prince this question.
“...Your Highness. Do you by any chance like Vinka?”
"Yes?"
“Vinka, do you like it?”
Winfred, who was engrossed in the paperwork he had to deal with today, asked with a bewildered expression. It was such a sudden question.
“Yeah! I like Vinka.”
But the confusion was short-lived, and Winfred nodded brightly.
And that answer made the chief's head, which had been throbbing all day, hurt even more.
“...Your Highness, what is that!”
The Crown Prince of a nation had feelings for a maid. And Vinka was only twenty, five years older than Winfred.
Of course, it was a bit late for his age, but that wasn't the important thing right now.
“That is not right, Your Highness!”
“Yes? Why?”
Winfred tilted his head, his expression puzzled. Why on earth wouldn't he like Vinka?
And Joseph pounded his chest, feeling frustrated. He thought the Crown Prince was a smart man, but he couldn't believe he couldn't understand such an obvious thing.
"...Your Highness, you are the Crown Prince of the Great Peles Empire! You harbor feelings for a maid...! If this becomes known, only Vinka will be greatly harmed.”
"T-what are you talking about? I'm in love with Vinka! That's ridiculous!"
And at Joseph's words, Winfred gaped open, his jaw dropping in shock as he protested, his voice absurd. He couldn't understand what the chamberlain had been saying all along.
“...You said you liked her!?”
"Yeah! I like her! It's like having a big sister. Vinka is so affectionate and dependable!"
At Winfred's answer, Joseph finally realized that they were talking about different things and sank into his chair in despair.
“T-T-If that’s the case, then you should have said so from the beginning...! Didn’t I misunderstand you for nothing?”
“No, isn’t that obvious? There’s no way I’d see Vinka as a woman, I...!”
He means, he already has someone in mind.
But Winfred couldn't bring himself to tell this to the chamberlain, who didn't know of Aila's existence, so he swallowed his words. If he had known of hia deep affection for Aila from the beginning, this misunderstanding wouldn't have arisen.
Even the reason he became close with Vinka was because of a handkerchief that held precious memories of that child, so there was no way Winfred would be captivated by another woman.
“It seems like I have a sister...”
Joseph repeated with a blank expression, as if he had just finished a fight and was completely burned.
"Yeah, she's just like my older sister. Vinka is an only child, and her mother is sick. That's why we have a lot in common."
Winfred answered with a pure smile, saying that even his appearance was similar to hers.
Seeing how happy he looked, it seemed like Vinka had been a great comfort to him, who had grown up lonely as an only child without any siblings.
‘...Now that I think about it, she really does resemble His Highness.’
If you look closely at their facial features, you can see that they look quite similar, with long eyelashes and slightly droopy eyes.
'No, that's not important right now.'
It was fortunate that Winfred cared for and followed Vinka like an older sister, but the fact that Winfred's attitude was misleading remained.
It meant that they had to crack down on rumors like, 'The Crown Prince is said to have taken a lowly maid,' before they spread.
"Anyway, if Your Highness cherishes Vinka too much, people will misunderstand. And she could even be accused of favoritism by bewitching Your Highness."
“That... could be true. Yes, I’ll be more careful from now on.”
At Joseph's continued explanation, Winfred nodded in understanding.
In fact, he didn't really care about other people's misunderstandings, but he was worried that someday, when Aila returned to her parents' embrace, she would hear rumors that 'the Crown Prince was enjoying a promiscuous private life.'
He was already in a bad mood because his dream was a mess, so he thought it would be better not to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.
At Winfred's cool response, Joseph finally felt relieved and cleared his surprised chest. He felt as if his life had been shortened by ten years.
'It smells good.'
Aila took a deep breath of the scent of the unknown flower.
Since training had finished early for once, and she had been given permission to wander freely as long as she didn't leave the annex, she was enjoying a leisurely walk.
The flowers, which had a sweet scent like chocolate, had a curious appearance with small purple buds hanging in clusters shaped like grapes.
The scent seemed to soothe her troubled mind a little.
‘...I wonder if it tastes like chocolate?’
Aila pressed her nose against the chocolate-scented flower once again.
Of course, she studied toxicology, so she wouldn't do something stupid like put an unknown plant in her mouth.
But then, a noise was heard from behind.
“Hello, pretty girl. What are you doing there?”
There was no way she didn't know who he was. After all, there was only one person in the world who called her "Pretty" with that squeaky-clean nickname: Gerald Cenospon.
Aila remained silent, her face buried in the flowers. She already disliked him, but now he was accused of interfering with her free time.
She couldn't figure out why he kept coming every day, even though it was far apart.
“You’re not planning on eating that, are you? I heard the flower is poisonous.”
“...It’s poisonous?”
She thought she'd learned about most poisonous plants, but when she heard that this sweet-smelling flower was poisonous, Aila opened her mouth without realizing it.
"Yeah. They said it wasn't venomous, but they did say it had a small amount of poison. Its name is Duranta. You'll probably never see it again. It's said to be weak against the cold and only grows in our country."
Gerald, with a smug expression, blurted out a torrent of information she hadn't even asked for. It was only natural, since he'd seized the opportunity to flaunt his knowledge in front of her.
In reality, the person he wanted to show off his knowledge to was not someone he had any particular thoughts about.
"Oh, is it a native plant of the Inselkov Kingdom? Then I wouldn't know. Unless it's venomous, even less so."
She was just thinking about this much.
“...Let’s eat something really delicious, not just something that smells like chocolate. I brought this for you.”
And Gerald, growing impatient with Aila's lukewarm reaction, pulled out his secret weapon: a chocolate pound cake he'd managed to get from the chef.
The cake he offered to Aila, who was hungry after finishing her training, looked very delicious, but she bluntly cut it off and refused.
“Thanks, but I’m done. I eat a lot.”
There wasn't much time left for dinner, so she was sure that if she filled her stomach with something like cake, Byron would criticize her for gnawing on it.
Well, actually, even if that wasn't the only reason, Aila wasn't particularly attracted to it. It's not that she dislikes cake, but she just wasn't a fan of the idea of sharing it with someone.
Aren't they and Aila close enough to share a cake?
But Gerald didn't seem to think so, and seemed quite shocked by her rejection.
“Oh, no, why on earth?”
“...Does there have to be a reason? I don’t really want to eat it.”
Since she couldn't say "I don't want to eat with you!" to his face, Aila made a vague excuse and headed back to the annex. She felt as if she stayed out any longer, she'd have to deal with Gerald's constant nagging.
And Gerald had no intention of letting her go so easily.
“Don’t do that, come with me...”
He reached out and tried to grab Aila's wrist.
But she wouldn't readily allow anyone to touch her. The first time, she let her guard down and allowed him to stroke her hair, but this time, it was a no-brainer.
Aila quickly turned around and dodged his hand, and Gerald could only watch her quick movements with a dumbfounded expression.
“...Do you have eyes in the back of your head? And what did I do to make you avoid people so shamefully?”
He scratched his cheek with an awkward expression. His face seemed to say he couldn't figure out what kind of girl was so quick.
And Aila narrowed her eyes and looked at the sight.
If it had been her usual personality, she wouldn't have just avoided it, but counterattacked and twisted Gerald's arm behind his back. She didn't even realize she'd held back because she knew that would only escalate the situation and become a nuisance.
Just then, someone appeared who could help Aila get out of this situation.
"Don't be angry, Joseph. It's just that I woke up late. It's normal for people to be out at that time, so that's understandable."
Winfred tried to appease the chamberlain with a charming smile, but this only made him angrier.
"...Your Highness!"
Since finding the handkerchief, Winfred has been incredibly generous to Vinka. Even though today's incident was clearly her fault, he didn't even bother to scold her.
“If this continues, she’ll end up spoiling herself like a maid,” said the chamberlain, shaking his head.
Meanwhile, Winfred, who had quickly gotten dressed, grabbed his arm and pulled him towards him.
“Let’s go quickly. I need you to get out of the way so Vinka can make my bed!”
It wasn't like, "I overslept and my schedule got delayed, so let's hurry and go." It was like, "Let's get out of the way so Vinka can do her thing." It was hard to tell who was the Crown Prince and who was the maid.
And that afternoon.
Joseph, who was still worried about what had happened that morning, could not help but ask the Crown Prince this question.
“...Your Highness. Do you by any chance like Vinka?”
"Yes?"
“Vinka, do you like it?”
Winfred, who was engrossed in the paperwork he had to deal with today, asked with a bewildered expression. It was such a sudden question.
“Yeah! I like Vinka.”
But the confusion was short-lived, and Winfred nodded brightly.
And that answer made the chief's head, which had been throbbing all day, hurt even more.
“...Your Highness, what is that!”
The Crown Prince of a nation had feelings for a maid. And Vinka was only twenty, five years older than Winfred.
Of course, it was a bit late for his age, but that wasn't the important thing right now.
“That is not right, Your Highness!”
“Yes? Why?”
Winfred tilted his head, his expression puzzled. Why on earth wouldn't he like Vinka?
And Joseph pounded his chest, feeling frustrated. He thought the Crown Prince was a smart man, but he couldn't believe he couldn't understand such an obvious thing.
"...Your Highness, you are the Crown Prince of the Great Peles Empire! You harbor feelings for a maid...! If this becomes known, only Vinka will be greatly harmed.”
"T-what are you talking about? I'm in love with Vinka! That's ridiculous!"
And at Joseph's words, Winfred gaped open, his jaw dropping in shock as he protested, his voice absurd. He couldn't understand what the chamberlain had been saying all along.
“...You said you liked her!?”
"Yeah! I like her! It's like having a big sister. Vinka is so affectionate and dependable!"
At Winfred's answer, Joseph finally realized that they were talking about different things and sank into his chair in despair.
“T-T-If that’s the case, then you should have said so from the beginning...! Didn’t I misunderstand you for nothing?”
“No, isn’t that obvious? There’s no way I’d see Vinka as a woman, I...!”
He means, he already has someone in mind.
But Winfred couldn't bring himself to tell this to the chamberlain, who didn't know of Aila's existence, so he swallowed his words. If he had known of hia deep affection for Aila from the beginning, this misunderstanding wouldn't have arisen.
Even the reason he became close with Vinka was because of a handkerchief that held precious memories of that child, so there was no way Winfred would be captivated by another woman.
“It seems like I have a sister...”
Joseph repeated with a blank expression, as if he had just finished a fight and was completely burned.
"Yeah, she's just like my older sister. Vinka is an only child, and her mother is sick. That's why we have a lot in common."
Winfred answered with a pure smile, saying that even his appearance was similar to hers.
Seeing how happy he looked, it seemed like Vinka had been a great comfort to him, who had grown up lonely as an only child without any siblings.
‘...Now that I think about it, she really does resemble His Highness.’
If you look closely at their facial features, you can see that they look quite similar, with long eyelashes and slightly droopy eyes.
'No, that's not important right now.'
It was fortunate that Winfred cared for and followed Vinka like an older sister, but the fact that Winfred's attitude was misleading remained.
It meant that they had to crack down on rumors like, 'The Crown Prince is said to have taken a lowly maid,' before they spread.
"Anyway, if Your Highness cherishes Vinka too much, people will misunderstand. And she could even be accused of favoritism by bewitching Your Highness."
“That... could be true. Yes, I’ll be more careful from now on.”
At Joseph's continued explanation, Winfred nodded in understanding.
In fact, he didn't really care about other people's misunderstandings, but he was worried that someday, when Aila returned to her parents' embrace, she would hear rumors that 'the Crown Prince was enjoying a promiscuous private life.'
He was already in a bad mood because his dream was a mess, so he thought it would be better not to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.
At Winfred's cool response, Joseph finally felt relieved and cleared his surprised chest. He felt as if his life had been shortened by ten years.
***
'It smells good.'
Aila took a deep breath of the scent of the unknown flower.
Since training had finished early for once, and she had been given permission to wander freely as long as she didn't leave the annex, she was enjoying a leisurely walk.
The flowers, which had a sweet scent like chocolate, had a curious appearance with small purple buds hanging in clusters shaped like grapes.
The scent seemed to soothe her troubled mind a little.
‘...I wonder if it tastes like chocolate?’
Aila pressed her nose against the chocolate-scented flower once again.
Of course, she studied toxicology, so she wouldn't do something stupid like put an unknown plant in her mouth.
But then, a noise was heard from behind.
“Hello, pretty girl. What are you doing there?”
There was no way she didn't know who he was. After all, there was only one person in the world who called her "Pretty" with that squeaky-clean nickname: Gerald Cenospon.
Aila remained silent, her face buried in the flowers. She already disliked him, but now he was accused of interfering with her free time.
She couldn't figure out why he kept coming every day, even though it was far apart.
“You’re not planning on eating that, are you? I heard the flower is poisonous.”
“...It’s poisonous?”
She thought she'd learned about most poisonous plants, but when she heard that this sweet-smelling flower was poisonous, Aila opened her mouth without realizing it.
"Yeah. They said it wasn't venomous, but they did say it had a small amount of poison. Its name is Duranta. You'll probably never see it again. It's said to be weak against the cold and only grows in our country."
Gerald, with a smug expression, blurted out a torrent of information she hadn't even asked for. It was only natural, since he'd seized the opportunity to flaunt his knowledge in front of her.
In reality, the person he wanted to show off his knowledge to was not someone he had any particular thoughts about.
"Oh, is it a native plant of the Inselkov Kingdom? Then I wouldn't know. Unless it's venomous, even less so."
She was just thinking about this much.
“...Let’s eat something really delicious, not just something that smells like chocolate. I brought this for you.”
And Gerald, growing impatient with Aila's lukewarm reaction, pulled out his secret weapon: a chocolate pound cake he'd managed to get from the chef.
The cake he offered to Aila, who was hungry after finishing her training, looked very delicious, but she bluntly cut it off and refused.
“Thanks, but I’m done. I eat a lot.”
There wasn't much time left for dinner, so she was sure that if she filled her stomach with something like cake, Byron would criticize her for gnawing on it.
Well, actually, even if that wasn't the only reason, Aila wasn't particularly attracted to it. It's not that she dislikes cake, but she just wasn't a fan of the idea of sharing it with someone.
Aren't they and Aila close enough to share a cake?
But Gerald didn't seem to think so, and seemed quite shocked by her rejection.
“Oh, no, why on earth?”
“...Does there have to be a reason? I don’t really want to eat it.”
Since she couldn't say "I don't want to eat with you!" to his face, Aila made a vague excuse and headed back to the annex. She felt as if she stayed out any longer, she'd have to deal with Gerald's constant nagging.
And Gerald had no intention of letting her go so easily.
“Don’t do that, come with me...”
He reached out and tried to grab Aila's wrist.
But she wouldn't readily allow anyone to touch her. The first time, she let her guard down and allowed him to stroke her hair, but this time, it was a no-brainer.
Aila quickly turned around and dodged his hand, and Gerald could only watch her quick movements with a dumbfounded expression.
“...Do you have eyes in the back of your head? And what did I do to make you avoid people so shamefully?”
He scratched his cheek with an awkward expression. His face seemed to say he couldn't figure out what kind of girl was so quick.
And Aila narrowed her eyes and looked at the sight.
If it had been her usual personality, she wouldn't have just avoided it, but counterattacked and twisted Gerald's arm behind his back. She didn't even realize she'd held back because she knew that would only escalate the situation and become a nuisance.
Just then, someone appeared who could help Aila get out of this situation.
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