The person who came to see me the next morning was not Marie, but the head lady-in-waiting, Countess Ante.
"You woke up early."
I lightly rubbed my tired eyes with my fingertips and nodded.
'Ah, I couldn't sleep well.'
I was forced to wake up early because I had a strange dream, but I didn't go out of my way to tell the head maid about that.
No. What on earth is going on with Thierry appearing in my dream? Even the content of the dream was completely nonsensical.
'This is the first time I've had such a crazy dream...'
Thierry kept chasing me around with a cucumber, tormenting me so much to eat it. He was really persistent.
It was to the point where he followed me around, offering me cucumbers like a ghost who had died from not eating them.
The suggestion was actually cute. Why you wouldn't eat cucumbers, why you were avoiding me, hurry up and give it to me.
He turned people's blood dry while demanding an answer.
My mind was completely hazy. I am the type who rarely dreams, and even when I do, I forget the content almost immediately. But today's dream was exceptionally vivid.
Even though it was clearly a dream, it felt as if I could smell cucumbers, to the point where my stomach churned the whole time.
Seeing the head maid visit early in the morning made me wonder if this was just a crazy dream about the situation, and the start of the day felt very unsettling.
"But what brings you here at this hour...?"
I trailed off belatedly as I glanced at the glass bowl the head maid had brought. I knew she had brought it for me to wash my face, but it was not her job as the head maid.
What exactly is going on right now?
"I have heard that a maid under my command has committed an unsavory act. I have come to apologize for causing you disrespect due to my inadequate supervision."
"Aha... this morning?"
It was an attitude that was clearly wicked to anyone. But I smiled sweetly, pretending to know nothing.
"As expected, you are diligent!"
"...I believe it is proper to personally attend to the distinguished guest until a suitable attendant is assigned, so I wish to serve the Princess for the time being. Is that alright?"
The head maid's eyelids twitched, perhaps offended by my words, but it was only for a fleeting moment. She asked for my opinion with the same businesslike attitude as when we first met.
"Madam is probably using it too, so you don't need to go that far for me. Just send the person who usually comes."
"...Are you referring to Marie Diana?"
"Yes. After all, I feel more at ease having someone I know, even just a little, by my side. Especially considering what happened. You understand, right? Besides, you are so busy, Madam."
"..."
"Oh, come to think of it, I heard that Serira is your niece. You must have been in a huge shock, too."
"...I see you were aware of even that part."
It probably meant that she was asking why I was mentioning such a useless thing, but I put on a worried expression to suit the role of a naive Princess who has absolutely no sense of awareness.
"Still, it was you who looked after me on my first day here. I was worried. Of all people, it had to be your family. His Majesty was very angry; won't there be any harm to the family?"
"She is a distant relative, too distant to be called family. You might think I gave her special treatment because we work at the same place, but I treated her exactly the same as the other ladies-in-waiting."
Cold. So cold. Her attitude of drawing a clear line, as if to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, was beyond cold.
"As expected, Madam, you are fair-minded and selfless."
“...It’s natural.”
I just smiled, pretending not to notice the head maid's reaction, who answered a beat late, perhaps feeling guilty herself.
Still, considering I am someone who once endured in that desolate villa, do you think I wouldn't know the sinister intentions hidden beneath that mask-like face?
It was a time when one had to sneak in food, cleverly evade people's spite, and naturally learn to read the room.
'Well, having nipped this much in the bud, they probably won't pull any stunts for a while to protect their positions. Or, they might get caught red-handed trying to pull off something out of anxiety.'
I naturally started dressing up, hoping that things would move exactly as expected.
The head maid served me with remarkable smoothness, as if to prove she wasn't a veteran for nothing. However, I couldn't help feeling strangely uncomfortable.
As I sat at the dressing table wearing a white puff-sleeved dress and an apricot-colored lace sash around my waist, the head maid combed my luscious platinum blonde hair. It seemed as though my hair was sparkling with every stroke.
And just as the head maid was about to tie my hair in a half-updo, having finally decided on my hairstyle, a knock was heard.
"May I come in?"
It was Thierry.
'Why so early in the morning?'
I opened my eyes wide in immediate bewilderment, met the gaze of the head maid in the mirror, and rolled my eyes to the side.
"May I open it for you?"
"Ugh..."
Do I really have a choice? I answered softly, swallowing my tears, and fiddled with the ends of my hair that had just been tied up.
'From the head maid to Thierry this morning... No wonder I had such bad dreams.'
Thierry appeared before me, opening the door and stepping inside, just as I was convinced that cucumbers were indeed a cursed crop.
As usual, Thierry had his shirt unbuttoned freely, showing off his smooth neckline. My gaze was helplessly drawn to his undeniably visible collarbone and chest muscles, so I squeezed my eyes shut to pretend nothing was wrong, then opened them again.
"The Sun of the Empire..."
"I told you to skip the formalities."
“Ah, yes.”
"You haven't had breakfast yet, right?"
The matter came right away. It was nice that it wasn't dragging on, but to think that on top of having dinner together, he was now trying to take care of breakfast too. The start of the day suddenly felt exhausting.
I just nodded slightly, looking a bit hesitant. In the past, I would have been scolded for speaking up, but true to Thierry—whose thoughts are impossible to read these days—he readily made the suggestion with a look that showed not the slightest concern.
"Let's go. I told them to get it ready in the greenhouse."
A calloused, masculine hand was extended in front of me, accompanied by a friendly tone that I found completely unfamiliar.
'...Why not just notify me as usual?'
I looked at that hand once, then at Thierry's heartless, handsome face once.
Until recently, he seemed nothing but fierce, but perhaps because of his changed tone, today I saw a resemblance to the young Thierry from long ago who used to look at me with an unusually bright gaze.
'I really don't like this. Just how long are you planning to keep doing this? Coming to pick me up—the change is so sudden that it just makes me feel even more uneasy.'
It would have been better if he had just asked directly. The way he tried to act like he had ulterior motives, which was obvious to anyone, was really off-putting.
I wondered why he was asking when he was already planning to eat with me; he could have just informed me like before, but his strange consideration suddenly made me feel stifled. Up until now, I had at least felt a sense of disconnect from how much he had changed, so I was actually able to separate the young Thierry from the current Thierry when I treated him...
'If you keep doing this, I feel like I'm going to get the wrong idea.'
That you were missing me, that you were looking for me because you wanted to see me.
"Princess?"
I flinched and blinked once at the whispering, low-pitched voice.
"...Yes."
"Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?"
His hand, which he had been holding cautiously in the air, moved toward my cheek. I naturally took his hand and pulled it down, shaking my head slightly.
"Ah. No. It's fine."
I was captivated by him, who had a blank expression but felt strangely intriguing.
Thierry's gaze flowed down, following the movement of our overlapping hands. Then, unlike the clear sky outside the window, I discovered his sunken eyes, tinged like the light of the sunset.
'Surely he's not upset because I grabbed him without his permission?'
It was a deep gaze that was impossible to read.
I trembled with anxiety and stealthily reached behind my back. But I held my breath for just a moment at his unmistakable touch, which immediately snatched my hand away.
“Why do you avoid it?”
"... Yes?"
Eventually, his gaze, which had been resting on my hand, met mine.
“Don’t avoid it.”
His low, murmuring tone, as if something was bothering him, sounded strangely sullen.
'...What did I just think? Did I really think he was being sulky after hearing that?'
I was shocked by my own thoughts belatedly.
To think I associated a word that is far too cute to be attached to that warning and threat. I guess I've been under too much mental shock lately.
'Even so, isn't being sulky a bit much?'
I kept looking back and forth between Thierry and the hand I was holding with a bewildered look. Finally, my gaze rested on a man who exuded a strong, wolf-like aura even more intense than Rood's.
'Yeah, even I think that was a bit off just now. It sounds too cute. Thierry was only cute when he was under 13!'
I burst into anger for no reason. It was obvious his face would turn red and then pale, even without seeing it.
I rubbed my forehead with my fingertips and blocked his view.
"Ah. I told you not to do this."
I could feel my temperature rising. Just as my thoughts were spiraling out of control, he muttered softly at the top of my head as I floundered alone in my intense thoughts.
"You mean no? What?" I unconsciously let go of his hand and looked at him again. But he was smiling. And just like usual, with one corner of his mouth turned up.
'Heck... No, I'm scared...'
Thierry only smiled when he was mocking. And especially when he was in a bad mood.
Does he mean I should know to grovel when he's trying to please me?
Whatever the case, it was clear that I shouldn't upset him anymore. Making my earlier worries seem pointless, I instantly became a rabbit standing before a wolf, trembling uncontrollably.
Then, thinking that his capricious attitude was typical of him, I smiled back without question or argument, with a clumsy smile, as if trying to convey that I was moved by a beast acting exceptionally docile.
'You mean you won't hurt me? Thank you!'
Did my sincerity finally reach him? Before long, his smile slowly faded away. Of course, he followed up by frowning as if to say, "That's not right," but I must have seen it wrong.
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