Chapter 13.1
“Good night, Ester.”
Today, Theodore was caught up with the princess since morning, and I had been with Diark all day to create an alibi, so we didn’t have much conversation. As Theodore crawled into bed and said those words, his face seemed a little refreshed.
. . .Did he give up on me? The thought made me want to cry a little, but I created this situation myself, so it’s my own fault.
I despise myself for not being able to come up with a better solution, for being so foolish.
Finally, the morning of the day we were supposed to stroll around the castle town arrived. When I woke up, Theodore was already gone.
I tried to dress modestly so as not to attract too much attention, even though it was impossible to hide the fact that I was wearing a face veil. I wore a White Lily midi dress with Verde’s traditional patterns around the collar and cuffs, and lace-up boots. Normally, the dress has black fabric with gold embroidery, but I chose a baby blue face veil to avoid intimidating the common people, and kept my accessories simple.
Feeling depressed, I finished getting ready and left the room, only to find Diark waiting for me instead of Theodore. It wasn’t unexpected, though.
“Hey. Those two already headed to the carriage.”
“Yeah. . .why are you matching your colors with me?”
“I knew you were going to wear that veil.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He tied his glossy, long black hair with a baby blue hair tie, just like my face veil, and wore a gray shirt with a white vest and slacks. Depending on how you look at it, we were dressed like a pair.
As I gaze at Diark’s steadfast eyes, he leans closer to me as if to have a secret conversation.
“This has always been the case. Whenever you and I get along well, Sir Theodore always glares at us with jealous eyes.”
I had also noticed that Theodore would stare at me when I was with Diark. . .but I never thought it was because of jealousy, as I always heard his Kol’s voice saying, “It’s a good atmosphere. If you end up marrying the Crown Prince, I’ll be free.”
“If Dorothea sees Sir Theodore like that for a long time, she’ll definitely get irritated and might do something reckless. Even if she doesn’t, I don’t plan on making him the only one having fun with this troublesome situation.”
“Well. . .you’re tough on your little sister.”
“I’m sorry for our parents, but you’re the one I care about the most like a little sister.”
It was exactly what his Kol had said, and I was genuinely happy. He was like a little brother I couldn’t leave alone. We were similar in that we both thought we were superior to each other.
“That’s why let’s get along even more today.”
“Okay.”
I smiled and agreed with Diark, taking a step back as if to show that I wouldn’t mind being asked anything. I had no intention of leaving his side even for a moment, so as not to be accused of having contact with Grose Baehr while he wasn’t looking. However, I just hoped that by teasing the princess, it wouldn’t cause any trouble with Theodore. . .
While thinking about such things, I arrived at the place where the carriage was waiting. Although it was called a carriage, it was just a remnant of the past when horses were used. Nowadays, there were no horses, and it was powered by the driver’s magic, which could be of any attribute, converted into rotational motion.
The carriage prepared for this occasion was relatively simple in decoration, as its purpose was to stroll around the castle town. However, it was exclusively for the imperial family, and even though it was not flashy, one could feel its luxury from the materials and intricate designs.
“. . .Oh, even Onii-sama came?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Well, I thought you might be busy.”
“I didn’t hear that Onii-sama was coming! I hope he doesn’t get in the way. . .”
I thought the imperial princess and Theodore might be wearing matching outfits, but surprisingly, they weren’t.
The imperial princess was wearing a luxurious wine-red dress adorned with frills and jewels, which made one wonder if she was going to walk around the town like that. Well, that was within my expectations, but Theodore was dressed in the same military uniform as the other Acardi guards.
I had thought that she would come to show off Theodore, even in matching outfits, but I was a little curious, so I listened to her talk about her plans.
“I’ve always wanted to make Theodore my own knight. He’s so beautiful and wonderful. I wanted him to wear the Verde knight’s uniform, but that’s something to look forward to after we’re engaged.”
In response to her kol’s excited talk, I should refrain from taking any action. Nevertheless, the phrase “my exclusive knight” infuriated me more than anything before, causing me to tightly grip the dress I’m wearing, wrinkling it in the process.
It seemed to show on my face, and Diark poked me from the side.
“You look so angry.”
“. . .I’m sorry.”
The princess had always been bossy towards Theodore, but I had never strongly reprimanded her because Theodore’s loyalty to her was still greater than to me. In the end, he always managed to avoid her while trying not to be disrespectful.
