—That night.
Yulian-sama and I were invited to the banquet where the royalty were all gathered.
There was the King, and was the one beside the King, the Queen?
There were also His Highness Sieghart, Princess Lily, and their Mother, the consort, sat side by side.
And the one who sat in front of His Highness Sieghart, whose hair was golden and eyes were purple, was probably the first prince.
I was nervous since I was suddenly called to this high-class place.
When I looked at Yulian-sama who had dressed up, he was as usual wearing his calm expression.
I put the food that was brought to the table into my mouth as I kept reminding myself to not be crude.
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… R osdelale obu R oyp nyzzle.
“R’x psaau qsa pweeldzu nyzzkdt usw.”
R rasnllele okvb xu xlyz yp R oyp pvkzz nsdqwple, yde yv vbl vkxl obld vbl vly yqvla vbl xlyz oyp plahle, qkdyzzu, vbl Ikdt prsjl.
Mbspl rwarzl lulp sq bkp zssjle pvayktbv yv Zwzkyd-pyxy yde xl.
“R blyae qasx vbl rlapsd bkxplzq yde Nkzu vbyv usw bye rasvlnvle Fkltbyav’p zkql. Mbl rlsrzl sq xu nswdvau byhl nywple talyv vaswczl. … Gb, kv’p sjyu, usw nyd pvyu pkvvkdt. Mbkp cydiwlv kp yd kdqsaxyz sdl, yqvla yzz.”
Mbl Ikdt pvsrrle wp obld vbl csvb sq wp iwknjzu pvsse wr, yde qszzsokdt vbl kdpvawnvksdp qasx bkp pxkzl, ol pyv cynj sd swa nbykap yde csole.
“Zwzkyd-esds, Gddp-fusw, vbydj usw hlau xwnb. Mbydjp vs csvb sq usw… R oyp yczl vs nsxl cynj pyqlzu. Jlpkelp… R oyp yczl vs prlyj okvb csvb xu casvbla yde qyvbla.”
Tkp Tktbdlpp Fkltbyav pvsse wr yde csole ellrzu.
“From me too! Thank you for protecting my brother along the way. The servants I brought had caused trouble to you.”
And following his lead, Princess Lily stood up as well.
As she lowered her head, her pink hair waved softly.
“Thank you for protecting my son. I’m very happy to be here.”
With tears, the mother of those two also stood up.
“From me as well. If both of you had not protected him, with all of the unsolved and silly misunderstandings, I would live with regret.”
When the first prince stood up, we quickly stood up as well.
I was stunned by the continuous gratitudes that were showered to us. After all, I was just a former maid and they were royalty. I couldn’t endure it any longer.
When the waiters of the castle brought us the dessert, all of them except the King and the Queen were standing up, and it must have bothered them a lot.
◇
“—Anna.”
After the chaotic dinner, I was guided back to my room when I was stopped by none other than His Highness Sieghart.
Maybe because he was just drinking alcohol, his cheeks were slightly pink.
If I was not mistaken, Yulian-sama was asked to drink wine, but since it would be a hindrance in work, he refused politely.
I wondered what work it was, but it might be the talk about the further statements towards those people.
“… Would you like to take a walk for a moment?”
I nodded towards the invitation.
His stiff expression at the time when we just arrived had gone, and I thought it was the sign that this place was no longer a painful place for him.
After we walked for a while, we reached the royal garden.
There were colorful roses bloomed, and the night wind tickled the red cheeks that were caused by the alcohol.
“I spoke to both Brother and Father. All of them were misunderstanding. They didn’t know anything. It was the plan by another party.”
“Oh…! Then.”
“Yes. The reconciliation is a success. After I gave a thought, it ended very quickly.”
Although he said so as he was laughing at himself, I didn’t agree with his words.
It was not easy to resolve the misunderstanding that had continued over the years.
After all, if I had misunderstood as it was, I was sure I would never have the opportunity to speak with him like this.
“… I, too, had misunderstood you for quite some time.”
“You had told me that before, right? It was my bad.”
I shook my head to his words.
“But, if we didn’t try to know each other like this, if we hadn’t compromised on each other, our misunderstandings would not be solved. So, I believed that this is a great opportunity for you who had decided to walk together with your elder brother and your father.”
I hoped he didn’t mount on the past.
I wanted him to always be proud of himself.
I might not know what kind of circumstances pain he had gone through, but I wanted to lighten his heart.
I was overflowing with various emotions, but I couldn’t convey them.
As we stopped walking, we looked straight at the rose garden.
“Kya…!”
Suddenly I was pulled up, and the next moment, my body was enveloped by his. After a while, I just realized that I was hugged.
He put strength on his hand and hugged me tightly.
It felt comfortable, but it was a bit hard to breathe.
“Yo-Your Highness Sieghart…?”
“Anna, thank you. Without you, I might not be standing here right now.”
“That’s an exaggeration.”
“I was able to face myself because you had made me realize it…. So, let me give my gratitude to you.”
“Your Highness…”
I wondered whose heart it was that I heard pounding fast.
When His Highness had loosened his hands and made a space between us, I was surprised that I felt a little bit lonely by it.
Before I knew it, I had an inappropriate feeling towards this person.
As I thought so, he who was in front of my eyes, held my right hand and kneeled.
“—Anna.”
As he looked up, his serious eyes pierced mine.
“I only have you. I had only shown you my disappointing attitude, but I… I love you. I want to live with you from now on in the future. Let me protect you for the rest of my life.”
Unexpectedly, it was the words of love that came out of his mouth.
I, too, only had shown him unadorable behavior until now, but he still wanted me.
“I… I have little experience as a noble lady, and I might cause inconvenience to you. Besides, I still want to study more as a pharmacist.”
“It’s okay. I will still consider it so that you can still be a pharmacist. Socializing only sometimes is okay. Above all, I still have no foundation to become a subject of a state. … So, can you wait for me? I will prepare so that you can live comfortably. When it is finished, I will pick you up. So…”
The eyes looked straight and it looked a little bit sad.
I… Can I really take this hand? Am I qualified to do so? Even now, I still thought about it.
I put strength on the hand that was gripping mine.
“Please, Anna… I love you.”
The words of love that were similar to begging were enough to blow up all of the unnecessary things inside my head. I too… Could I… tell him?
“Your Highness Sieghart! I want to protect you forever. Is it okay for me to stay by your side?”
“Anna! For me to be protected by Anna, I will be very happy.”
I was hugged once more after he stood up.
I also gently put my hand on his back and leaned on his chest.
—-After that, my days in the neighboring country had been hectic.
Several days after, together with His Highness Sieghart, I went back to the castle and was introduced once more to them, and told them that he wanted me as his fiance.
“The heroine and Brother… It’s wonderful!” And for some reasons, Princess Lily was the one who was pleased the most.
At the cafeteria in the downtown where His Highness guided me to, I sat at udon for the first time.
The owner of the shop, Rita, seems to know His Highness since he was little. She cried as she said, “You’ve grown up into a splendid man.”
I had been researching the herbs and poison in this country, participated in the cross-examination, and was invited into the tea party by the princess and the others. The days there had been short, but fulfilling. And later, Yulian-sama and I left the country.
—-We were not informed at that time, but it seems that a large-scale purge took place in that country.
After the Marquis Family which was headed by the former Prime Minister had fallen, the former was imprisoned and those who were involved in his plan had their status stripped off. Since it was treason against the royal family that he had tried to do, he would face something even more terrible than death.
Furthermore, it is said that several aristocratic families also followed the same end.
The Prime Minister sent collaborators to both the first prince faction and the second prince faction. He sent false information two both groups, or in other words, by regulating it, he led the two groups into misunderstandings and led it to radical behavior.
For him, it didn’t matter which faction would win in the end. He was just watching by the side. After one of them collapsed, he could just blame it all on that person after all.
… And then.
Along with this purge, a messenger was sent to a small town.
To restore the position and status of the former escort of the second prince, who was unwillingly involved in the conspiracy and disappeared.
sweet