"No. Do you want me to take you home?"
I asked out of politeness, even though I knew he would refuse anyway.
Lucian shook his head.
"No. I can find my way home on my own."
Then again, there probably isn't any need to worry.
For a while now, two burly men who really didn't fit in with a dessert shop had been glancing at us.
It was by no means a common sight to see two men with menacing appearances ordering ice cream and brownies just like us and scooping them up like bears.
'Even if His Haunted Royal Highness the Crown Prince were to flee, there is no way he could escape the gaze of the Imperial Family within the capital.'
They are Lucian's bodyguards.
If Linea and I had looked even the slightest bit strange, they probably would have drawn their swords and approached us long ago.
From the very beginning, Lucian lived with the threat of assassination like a chronic illness.
If the sole heir dies, the position of the imperial family, which is scarcely dependent on heirs, will be shaken.
When that time comes, the Emperor must either force a marriage to produce a successor again or search every nook and cranny of the collateral line to find a successor.
There are probably only one or two people looking for such a situation.
I picked up a napkin and moistened it with a little water.
"Lucian, may I come closer for a moment?"
"Yes."
Your Highness, please be careful.
Lucian accepted my touch innocently with a look of trust, enough to make me want to say that.
I sat up and wiped the corners of Lucian's mouth with a wet napkin.
I saw the two knights flinch and try to stand up as I leaned my upper body toward Lucian.
"It's all done. It's clean now."
As I scrubbed off the chocolate that was smeared around his mouth like a black beard, his pure white skin was revealed.
For some reason, Lucian seemed a little embarrassed.
“Thank you, thank you.”
"No, Lucian is going home now, right?"
If he doesn't go, those two knights look like they're about to cry.
Even now, those bear-like men have their eyebrows drooping, not knowing what to do.
Since he is the Crown Prince, they can't just drag him along, so it must be quite a predicament for them.
"I thought I would go in now, too."
It seemed the knights finally breathed a sigh of relief at Lucian's spirited answer.
However, Lucian's words did not end there.
"Are you both going home now, too?"
I shook my head, just in case he offered to take us home like in the original story.
"I had something to take care of in a moment, so I was planning to just take care of that and come back inside. Lucian, you too..."
I was about to naturally call his Mother, but in an instant, I hurriedly swallowed my words.
"...Your family at home will be worried, so go home now."
It was then.
Lucian suddenly asked me.
"By any chance, will you two not be coming to the market anymore?"
"Yes?"
"...I just asked out of curiosity."
As expected, Lucian's gaze was fixed on Linea.
Of course, it wasn't love at first sight; it was likely due to curiosity about a peer whose true identity they didn't know, whom they had just met.
"Hmm..."
Should we provide a means for Lucian and Linea to contact each other?
In fact, Linea didn't show a particularly friendly attitude toward Lucian.
Although spending a day hanging out with friends his age was an experience, she continued to talk quite well with Lucian as well.
So I asked Linea.
"Linea, do you want to meet Lucian again and play?"
"Yes!"
Lucian doesn't seem to dislike it all that much.
Then again, the two are similar in temperament.
They are just as gentle as they were, and they even resemble each other in that they lost their mother first and are curious little ones who are just beginning to learn about the world.
I finally opened my mouth to Lucian.
"We haven't had a chance to introduce ourselves either, but this is my adopted daughter, Linea Delmore. And I am Countess Asha Delmore."
"Ah... so you are the daughter of the Count Delmore family."
"If you happen to want to hang out with Linea, just send an invitation to the Delmore estate."
Lucian seemed to understand that I was her stepmother from the word 'adopted daughter.'
Then, despite being a child, he looked at Linea with a slightly subdued gaze.
He probably realized that Linea had also experienced the loss of a mother.
"Thank you for today. I will definitely contact you again. The Countess of Delmore and the Young Lady of Delmore."
I smiled inwardly at Lucian, who greeted Linea with quite a determined attitude.
"Then we'll get up first."
Before going home, I had to have a quick meal and call Carcel.
Strike while the iron is hot.
I suggested we start seeing each other, but I was drunk, so we couldn't even have a proper date yesterday.
'This time, I need to learn more about Carcel.'
I was curious about a character named Carcel who was not mentioned in the original work.
Before leaving, Linea waved to Lucian. Seeing this, Lucian also waved back awkwardly instead of bowing his head in greeting.
'You're finally acting your age.'
Thinking that, I said goodbye to Lucian.
"Take care on your way home, and see you next time."
"Yes! I hope you both return safely as well.'
Lucian saw us off.
And so, the first meeting between the Crown Prince and Linea came to an end.
***
At that moment, Carcel asked the butler with the most serious face in the world, instead of Matt, who was taking a day off.
"Can't we make the rose garden bigger and more spectacular?"
"Even now, it is already the largest and most dazzling rose garden in the vicinity. There is probably no one larger than this, not even in the imperial palace."
"It has to be enough to make Asha see it and be amazed."
Even though roses were in full bloom in half of the huge garden overlooked from the mansion, Carcel was dissatisfied.
"As for the remaining half, well, aren't there any other decent flowers worth planting? I guess going for quantity wouldn't be a bad idea."
Carcel, who grew up on a battlefield where monster extermination battles took place since childhood, actually did not have a particularly keen sense of aesthetics.
All he knows is that there is nothing money can't do.
The butler looked at his master, who kept trying to waste money, with a perplexed expression and tried to dissuade him.
"I am worried that if there are more flowers than this, the garden's theme will collapse and it will look messy."
"So you're saying it's a garden Asha would like enough even now?"
"As far as I know, no matter which lady visits, she won't be able to stand without showering this beautiful garden with praise."
Still, Carcel nodded at the butler's words, who knew the nobles' tastes better than he did.
Fortunately, he didn't tell us to plow it again, so while the butler breathed a sigh of relief, Carcel muttered.
"I don't know when Asha will contact me."
This was the biggest dilemma of Carcel's life.
Even when he went to the battlefield in place of his deceased father at the tender age of 14 and chopped off the heads of monsters.
Even when, in the bitterly cold winter, he survived alone through two nights after being separated from his companions and injured by a monster's scheme in the mountains.
He had never agonized as deeply as he does now.
Carcel muttered with conviction.
"So, you need to hurry and make this house perfect enough to feel fully satisfying as a newlywed home."
It's decorating the new home!
Normally, Matt, who at least knows about dating, would have given him advice, but of all days, today is his vacation day.
So Carcel had no choice but to rely on the butler, who was the next to get married and even had grandchildren.
'What on earth does a newlywed home a woman would want look like?
One thing is certain: the Marquis's residence is likely not to be of much of a woman's taste.
Although it was also used for daily life, the building had become primarily used for official duties, so the interior had a rigid atmosphere.
'I don't even invite guests often in the first place.'
So, Carcel had already been redoing the interior since early this morning.
Only the interior designer was thrilled at the suggestion to unconditionally replace it with a design preferred by women.
The interior of the mansion, which originally possessed an antique and noble charm, was now being filled with bright and elegant furniture and decorations.
The butler quietly asked Carcel a question.
"Did you like that lady that much? Isn't this practically the first time you've invited someone here?"
Unmarried men could not host social events because they did not have a wife.
That is why it means that Carcel had never once invited anyone to the Marquis's mansion privately.
Only the butler and aides knew his situation.
'Actually, this is an exceptional situation as well.'
The Marquis of Rivandel, who was given to him as a man leading a double life, was originally a mansion built for social activities and was not intended to be used as an official residence.
Carcel had a falling out with his mother at the Duke's mansion, so he was merely handling state affairs here.
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