I left the archives, and Licht and I took a light walk through the Imperial Palace garden.

After being cooped up inside reading documents for so long, I’d started feeling dizzy for some reason.

If I look at one more word, I’m going to throw up.

Still, once the cold air hit my face, I felt refreshed almost immediately.

In the distance, young nobles who had come to the Imperial Palace with their parents were each occupying a greenhouse and enjoying tea time.

The moment I saw that, my eyes widened at once.

“Licht, Licht! Do you see that? That’s it, exactly that! You absolutely have to tell whoever made those macarons that the filling needs to have that exact texture and amount!”

“...So they really were awful.”

“They had potential. Really.”

I’d only said it because I wanted someone he knew to do well, but for some reason he pressed his lips shut and his cheeks turned red.

We walked through the quiet garden, chatting about this and that.

Licht was the sort of person who listened well and answered well, so he was genuinely easy to talk to.

I was in the middle of happily babbling about how we’d be putting on a play at the Academy graduation academic festival when I felt him staring at me from beside me.

“What is it?”

“Rubian, I was thinking this earlier.”

Licht turned to face me fully and looked straight at me.

“You look a little tired today. Are you okay?”

“Huh, is it obvious?”

I touched beneath my eyes.

“I was up all night talking with my mom yesterday, so I think that’s why.”

“Ah... Right. The Duchess of Zebbert has come back.”

A low laugh escaped Licht.

“What on earth did you have so much to talk about?”

“I mentioned the confession letters, and she got incredibly excited...”

“...Confession...?”

The smile vanished as if it had been a lie.

“You got more... again? Who was it this time?”

“They were anonymous, so I’m not sure.”

“...Out of everyone so far, d-did you...”

Why did he suddenly sound like he was choking?

“...Out of all the people who’ve confessed to you, has there been anyone you liked?”

“Hmm.”

That was an extremely difficult question.

I thought of the yellow letter paper that had been left in my locker a few days ago.

Some confession letters had names on them, while plenty, like this latest one, were anonymous.

Apparently they wanted to confess before I graduated from the Academy after my coming-of-age ceremony, or something along those lines.

In a lot of ways, I found them fascinating.

I’d asked Mom something similar yesterday too.

“How can you tell if you like someone? Is there some kind of definite indicator? I really don’t know... What certainty do they even have? What are they trusting when they say they like me?”

“Hm, feelings like that are hard to explain in words, but should I tell you what it was like for me?”

“Yes!”

Mom smiled as she stroked me under the blanket.

“Well, for me... I wanted to bite your father.”

“Bi... pardon?”

“Rawr! Like that. And before I knew it, I realized it was love.”

“...What?”

“Rawr!”

“Aah!”

And just like that, my question fell even deeper into the labyrinth...

Hmmm.

This was really difficult.

I didn’t feel like I could solve it at all.

It made my head spin.

*****

Licht was anxious.

Why... is she thinking about it for this long?

Had he asked a pointless question?

She hadn’t seemed to have any particular thoughts about it yet, but now that he’d given her so much time to think, what if she gained some kind of realization? What then?

Feeling as though he were burning alive, he lightly caught Rubian by the shoulder.

“Rubian. Wh-why are you thinking so hard about it?”

At that, focus swiftly returned to her blue eyes.

“Ah, sorry. But why are you sweating so much?”

Seriously.

Why am I sweating so much?

Rubian gave a small shrug.

“There wasn’t anyone I liked. I was grateful, but I politely turned all of them down.”

Then she met his eyes and smiled softly.

“I guess I still like my family better. Maybe I always will.”

Licht lightly curled his fingertips into his palm.

His heart was pounding, and it felt as though every blood vessel in his body had swelled all at once.

I’m in this state just because she smiled a little...

He laughed at himself inwardly.

So I’ve got it bad too.

Licht started walking again slowly, glancing at Rubian as she chattered on without pause.

A prince was supposed to carry himself properly at all times, supposed to keep his gaze steady.

But his body had lost control of itself long ago.

She smells nice...

Rubian always smelled clean and soft. Sometimes it seemed like a bright lemon scent, other times like a faint floral fragrance.

Her silver hair was tied high, and her face had soft, gentle lines. Her eyes sparkled as they caught the sunlight.

But she still doesn’t look well.

Her unusually pale complexion kept bothering him.

Was it really just one sleepless night?

That thought crossed his mind, and just as he was about to suggest that she head back and rest for today—

“Well, well. If it isn’t the little tagalong... Licht.”

At the familiar voice, Licht swallowed a small curse.

It was the First Prince.

He’d definitely heard that he was going hunting this morning.

So I’ve got a spy around me.

Licht reached that chilly conclusion and began planning how to root them out.

“I heard some disgraceful whispering, so I came to see what exactly you were doing—”

The First Prince, who had been approaching with a sneer, stopped short.

Because he had spotted Rubian, who had been hidden behind Licht.

“Ah.”

Rubian poked her head out from behind Licht, then promptly greeted him with proper courtesy.

“Good day, First Prince.”

“Ahem! Yes, yes. Princess.”

At that awkward response, Licht laughed inwardly.

Because the person the overbearing First Prince least wanted to run into anywhere in this palace was Rubian.

Of course, he wasn’t like that at first.

To be honest, the first time Rubian crossed paths with the First Prince after she began coming and going from the Imperial Palace, Licht had been deeply worried.

He had no idea how the First Prince, with that cunning snake’s tongue, might try to hurt her.

But it had all been needless worry.

“My lady, it seems you’re rather close with Licht.”

“Of course. We’re friends.”

“My, my... You’re no longer a child. When choosing what to keep beside you, you really ought to be more thoughtful.”

His tone had been a sly jab at Rubian for associating with Licht.

“If you keep something by your side that is bound to rot soon, won’t the stench seep into you as well, my lady?”

“Huh? I never use things until they rot.”

Naturally, it hadn’t worked.

“Wait, does Your Highness do that? Wow, I didn’t expect you to be the frugal type. Should I go spread that rumor outside?”

“...”

The First Prince had looked like a man who had punched a soft lump of jelly with all his strength.

His opponent felt none of the impact, while he alone had given it everything he had...

“Ahem, ahem! My lady is still astonishingly innocent! It seems the Duke of Zebbert was rather lax, # Nоvеlight # at least where educating his children was concerned. No matter that you’re the youngest, it seems you were simply raised too preciously!”

Basically: your upbringing was a complete mess.

He had attacked again.

“Ah... Does it show?”

“Hm? Why are you blushing here?”

“So it does show... that I was cherished and raised well.”

“I didn’t say ‘well’—”

“Thank you. As you know, I’m adopted, so praise like that means so much to me. I’ll be sure to pass it along to Father.”

The First Prince had stared at Rubian, who shyly tapped the tips of her shoes together, with a deeply exhausted expression.

It seemed he had realized for the first time that you could only pick a fight if the other party recognized it as one.

After several more incidents like that, the First Prince had started avoiding Rubian of his own accord.

Today, however, they had run into each other anyway.

“With the attendants dismissed, and the two of you alone...”

The First Prince looked back and forth between Licht and Rubian.

“It’s all very well to be free-spirited, but I think it would be better if you conducted yourself with a little more propriety, my lady.”

“Huh? But the clothes I’m wearing right now are brand new. They’re perfectly proper.”

“No, I mean what are a grown man and woman doing in a secluded place like this—”

“Whatt? This is a garden open to the east, west, south, and north. If not walking and talking, then what else would we be doing?”

“No, I mean—”

“First Prince, are you saying that in secluded gardens, you do a lot of things other than walking and talking?”

At the deliberate emphasis in her voice, people walking in the distance turned to look their way.

They say the First Prince does something else in secluded places? What? I don’t know.

Whisper whisper. Murmur murmur.

“What do you do? Play hide-and-seek?”

“...”

The First Prince’s face twitched violently. As always, Licht stabbed at his own thigh to keep from laughing.

In the end, the First Prince had come over to pick a fight with Licht, only to get scorched by Rubian and turn away like a man in retreat.

In the past, he would have picked at Licht for a long while before leaving.

Ah.

Licht swallowed a short breath.

Because when he lowered his gaze, he saw a neat hand lightly clutching the edge of his clothes.

As though telling him not to step in.

Or perhaps not to get hurt.

Until now, in this Imperial Palace, no one had ever taken his side for no reason. He had thought no one ever would.

And yet...

Licht forced down the surge in his chest.

With this... how could I not like her?

The confession letters Rubian had said she’d received.

Naturally, Licht found himself remembering the letters he used to send when Rubian was staying in the North.

He had carefully chosen the finest stationery, practiced countless times, and pressed down each word in the prettiest handwriting he could manage.

Now that he thought about it again, perhaps those had been his first love letters after all.

*****

Watching the First Prince stagger away, I dusted off my hands.

I’d gone a little overboard, which wasn’t like me, but seeing Licht smiling so freely made me weirdly proud.

His Highness, our future Crown Prince, doesn’t need to bother stepping in himself.

Besides, I truly couldn’t stand the First Prince.

Because the first time I met him, it had been painfully obvious that he was trying to win me over so he could pull Dad onto his side.

I really hated being seen as some kind of “handle” that could be used to drag the Duke of Zebbert’s house over.

What am I, some kind of weakness in our family?!

Honestly, it was insulting!

Anyway, Licht had been collecting the First Prince’s weaknesses with meticulous care all this time. He’d probably expose them soon enough.

But I feel like, in the original story, there was some even more decisive trigger for the First Prince’s downfall...

“...bian.”

Hmm... what was it again?

The original story had already changed so dramatically.

Maybe there was no point in trying to remember, but if there was any meaningful information there, I still wanted to drag it back to mind.

“Rubian?”

I have to do my best too.

I wasn’t a child anymore. I was an adult now.

I was so lost in thought that—

“Ruby!”

“Huh?”

At the low voice calling my name, I jolted back to myself.

As my vision slowly focused, I saw Licht’s aquamarine eyes and felt his grip holding me tightly.

What?

Did things go blurry for a second just now?

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, I guess I was thinking too hard.”

Or maybe the First Prince drained my energy without me realizing it.

“This won’t do. You should head back for today. I’ll take you.”

I was just shaking my head to clear it when—

Drip.

“Huh.”

I felt something hot run down over my nose.

Oh, my God.

“Rubian!” 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

I hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and clamped it to my nose. The moment I saw the red stain spreading across it, I panicked a little.

“Your Highness, what’s happened?”

Hearing the commotion, the maids came rushing over.

“My lady?!”

“No, I’m fine, I—”

Just then, a familiar touch wrapped around my shoulders from behind. At the same time, a large book came up to shield my face.

“It’s okay. Keep your head down.”

That familiar scent of ink and paper.

“Brother?”

When I looked up, Liam was staring down at me, his face drained white.