'...Hah, you must be crazy. What are you talking about regarding his body lines? That's Thierry, whom I've looked after since he was little!'
I quickly sat down, startled, averting my gaze from drifting toward the gap in his shirt that was unintentionally open.
'I can't make a mistake today.'
The meal had just begun, but it already felt awkward and uncomfortable. As I deliberately looked straight ahead, I could feel a gaze staring so blatantly that it felt like it was going to stab my cheek.
"Anyone watching would think I'm eating the Princess. Why are you being so self-conscious?"
"Oh. No! I was just waiting for my meal."
As I shook my head in terror, even waving my hands, he raised one eyebrow.
"So you're saying you weren't paying attention to my mood?"
I feel like no matter what I say, he’ll find fault with it. You’re a kidnapped kid, yet you don’t even have the nerve to be tactful? That’s the kind of kid he is. I hesitated for a moment, then rolled my eyes nervously and replied.
"...I guess so?”
"Princess."
"Yes?"
As expected, he's got the nerve.
...I wonder if the real Princess isn't me, but Thierry. I would believe it even if you told me he was sweeping through the battlefield with that mouth of terror instead of a sword.
'Princess Thierry... please calm down.'
I ended up making a sad face at his unpredictable attitude.
"What on earth do you want me to do?" I pouted as I glanced at him, and he suddenly averted his eyes.
'Do you not even want to make eye contact now? You're avoiding my gaze like you've seen something terrible.'
Although I felt a deep sense of injustice, I muttered hurriedly out of anxiety that if I rebutted him, he might nitpick again.
"I, I am sorry..."
The last words faded away, almost as if crawling out. In a way, it was an attitude that could be seen as subservient.
'Survival comes first, not saving face.'
Even though I was called a Princess, this was the Podia Empire, not Ashtad, and strictly speaking, I was in a position where I had been dragged here as a Princess. Knowing that my future would be easier if I avoided offending him as much as possible, I tried my best to be faithful to the role of a harmless Princess.
"Ha."
However, instead, he scowled deeply as if he were displeased with something, glared into the void as if he would kill anyone who had been there, and squeezed his eyes shut. Then, he pressed his hands firmly around his eyes like someone suppressing something.
'I'm confused. I am confused. I know from the start that it's hard to perfectly cater to that temperament. I just wish they would let me eat quickly and get me back safely...'
At some point, I had cleanly accepted Thierry's morally bankrupt character.
Is it because when I was alone, I would occasionally think of young Thierry, but when I was with him, I couldn't think of his childhood days at all?
The more I met him now, the more I thought about him, the more I felt that the young Thierry and the adult Thierry were completely separated. As entirely distinct individuals.
"...Hold on."
In the meantime, the food arrived, and he straightened up from where he had been leaning and spoke.
I glanced at him once and slowly scooped up the warm potage placed in front of me. The atmosphere felt like I might get indigestion if I wasn't careful, so I ate very slowly, and before I knew it, a salad and smoked fish dish were served in front of me.
Since things have come to this, maybe I should put the potage aside and have some salad. As I thought this and looked at the salad plate, the maid noticed my gaze lingering on it and placed the plate in front of me. Just as I picked up a fork, I stopped my hand in mid-air.
'Wait, why is there cucumber in the salad?'
I’ve always hated cucumbers, just as I do now. With a very brief expression, I quietly pulled my fork back.
“Do you hate cucumbers?”
At those words, I snapped my head to look at Thierry. I didn't know how long he had been looking in my direction, but he was staring at me with his eyes narrowed.
'He's practically dying to find fault, so if I'm going to be picky about food here too... No, but I just absolutely cannot resist eating cucumbers...'
Since I absolutely detested the smell of cucumbers, it was said that I would gag just at the mere mention of a cucumber slice being held in front of my nose.
I curled my lips inward and lowered my eyes.
The option of eating it wasn't an option in the first place. My mind was racing, racking my brain over how to quietly get through the situation by mentioning that I couldn't eat cucumbers.
Since most excuses for picky eating are pretty much the same, I ended up inevitably spouting the excuse I use most often.
"Yes. I have a cucumber allergy, so I can't eat it..."
Emergency! It's an absolute emergency. That's definitely the look of an alarm going off.
'Hey, why are you making such a serious face!'
Eventually, my voice grew so soft that by the end, it was almost inaudible.
"...It's hot..."
I nervously glanced at him repeatedly. As the silence dragged on, I felt a strange chill run down my spine.
"Then I guess you can eat it without the cucumber."
It was a long time later that he finally spoke. His flat voice sounded strangely sharp.
"Actually, I can't eat food that smells like cucumbers. Ah, maybe because of an allergy, I felt a sense of aversion."
His red eyes flickered for a moment. As he gradually narrowed his brows, the atmosphere around him became ominously somber.
"...Have I completely lost my mind?"
Eventually, his voice cracked as he muttered self-deprecatingly.
He nervously rubbed his furrowed brow, squeezed his eyes shut, and then slowly opened them.
'Are you sick?'
His face looked strangely pale and stiff. Perhaps due to the shadow of his disheveled black hair on his forehead, his eyes appeared sunken, like a dark red.
"While we're at it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to let the kitchen know what food suits the Princess's taste."
Do you really need to go that far?
I don't really have any picky eating habits other than cucumbers... And since when have you been this considerate of me?
"Bring in the sous chef."
No, what's wrong with you! Is this some kind of new form of harassment?
I looked with a heavy heart at the back of the chief attendant as he hurriedly headed out the door.
I really didn't understand what kind of plot development this was; he nitpicked, then went overboard with the consideration. I felt like it would be easier to just give up on trying to understand it.
Haha, if I stay here for a long time, I might end up producing relics.
I just quietly waited for the sous chef, lost in thoughtless thoughts.
"I greet His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire."
But the person who was called...
'Maud?!'
Why are you out there?
I looked at my old friend with a surprised face.
'Was Maud a sous chef?'
Maud, wearing a white chef's uniform, had grown a lot since the last time I saw him, but he hadn't changed much, so I could recognize him right away.
I was actually worried about whether you were doing well, but to think you stayed at the main palace. And to think you're even a sous chef! It was so cool and such a relief.
I fumbled to cover the corners of my mouth with my hand, struggling to hide the giggling expression on my face. My heart, which had been trembling with anxiety just moments ago, felt at ease as if by magic.
"Haha..."
At that moment, a low laugh, sounding like it was scratching the inside of the throat, was heard out of the blue. I snapped back to reality.
I followed Maud's gaze as he looked at Thierry with a bewildered expression.
"Is my brain really at its limit?"
Thierry was smiling, his eyes contorted red as if the color had spread from his pupils.
My heart pounded anxiously at his face, which looked strangely distressed even as he was smiling.
Soon, his eyes, which had been drifting in the air, met mine. For a moment, his intense gaze, like that of a wild beast, took on a striking quality, as if it were about to swallow me whole.
"Does the Princess believe in coincidence?"
I gradually lowered the hand covering my mouth and stopped in front of my chest. My loose fingers tightened, and I clenched my fist.
"... Yes."
"Why?"
His eyes, which had felt nothing but cold and fierce, looked like those of a vulnerable child the moment he asked me the question. Nothing had really changed; his sharp gaze remained exactly the same, yet strangely, I saw a reflection of him from his childhood.
Just a moment ago, I thought I wouldn't be able to feel this way from him anymore.
"Actually, I think saying 'believe' is a bit of a contradiction. After all, even if it wasn't intended, the fact that something happened is an undeniable reality."
So, my voice, flowing out softly without me realizing it, felt somewhat unfamiliar.
"To me, coincidence is just the result of someone's intention."
His gaze landed on my tightly clenched fist before turning to Maud. Maintaining a subtle silence, he muttered coldly.
"But it occurs to me that there might be some coincidence rather than intention."
As the light in the red pupils darkened as if flickering, I was reflected within them.
"The hunting festival will be held in a week. The Princess should participate, too."
***
"Princess, the room is scheduled to be finished today, so we are told you can move to your new quarters tomorrow."
I nodded to Marie once, sighed, and looked out the window.
Yesterday's formal dinner ended on an unpleasant note.
He called the sous chef out of the blue and asked me to share my tastes and preferences, then abruptly discussed the meaning of coincidence, before sending Maud away as if he had no business with him in the first place.
Right, actually, I could have just let that slide. The problem was what came next.
"Unless I have other plans, let's have dinner together every day from now on."
"Every evening? Oh, no, you must be busy, so why would you do that..."
"In that case, it would be better to move the residence here entirely. Butler, prepare the Princess's room on the same floor as my room."
"...Even on the same floor.”
Ah. Life.
The result was one where not even a tiny bit of my opinion was reflected from the start. Since it was a unilateral notification, I barely managed to hold back the tears welling up.
'Why on earth is he acting like this? Judging by the reactions around me, it seems like he is indeed behaving particularly strangely, but...'
Could it be that they intend to find fault to threaten our kingdom and get rid of us quickly?
I pressed my hand to my forehead with a pained expression.
"Princess... are you alright?"
Ah. Hadn't she left yet? I caught sight of Marie cautiously checking my complexion.
I was about to tell her it was okay and to go take care of her business, but I blinked at her face, which looked like she had a lot to say.
"Um, I apologize... but I have something to tell you, Princess."
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