Chapter 111

“Isn’t it obvious just from the way Minuelle looks at His Highness? It says she’s happy. After seeing her smile through her tears, I can’t bring myself to oppose it.”

Ack! Sister Juela was watching?!

W–when did she even start watching?

While I froze in shock and embarrassment, she said firmly, “Minuelle isn’t a child anymore.”

Sister…

It seemed that during the time we’d been staying together at Roquate, she’d developed a certain trust in me.

Not just as the youngest who was simply cute, but as family she could entrust her side to.

She looked at me and gave a small nod. Only then did my tension ease, and without realizing it, I let out the shallow breath I’d been holding.

“…Alright.”

The first to respond was Mother.

“I’m glad to see your resolve is firm.”

“Affection alone isn’t enough to live on. You have to have the will to be together.”

From the way my parents quietly held hands, I could almost hear the unspoken words:

Like us.

They were, as always, inseparably close.

“Then let’s wrap this up here.”

Mother, who seemed oddly in a hurry, stood up, and Father—being led away by her—still found time to smile and speak to Esadien.

“The gate of Karnian has opened again, Your Highness.”

“I will not step outside of it again.”

Sister Juela immediately followed up on Esadien’s vow.

“We’ll see.”

Wait, wasn’t that acceptance?!

While I was glaring in protest, Esadien merely offered a calm smile and bowed slightly. Then Sister Elga came up to him.

“…Your Highness.”

Her eyes were sharper than usual, and her voice carried such weight that I almost imagined streaks of dark red aura spreading around her.

“I mean no disrespect to someone I’ve known since childhood, but—before the wedding, if anything disgraceful were to happen…”

Her hand went to her sword hilt.

“…I will stake everything I have to make you pay.”

She was dead serious.

Even if she was lowering her head, Esadien was still royalty. Could Karnian really call itself loyal to the crown with an attitude like that?

It showed just how earnest she was, but my own tension fizzled out instantly.

I’ve already seen him undressed so many times.

And we’ve kissed plenty… Ahem.

Anyway, I shook my head and tried to break her grim mood.

“Don’t worry. I’ve seen everything already—what could possibly…”

But before I could finish, both Esadien and Sister Elga cut me off in unison.

“I haven’t seen anything!”

“Even if that were true!”

But the moment Sister Elga heard what Esadien said, she turned a fearsome glare on him.

“What did you just say?”

“…”

Ahhh… I was sure he had just recalled that time when we bathed while in his ‘El’ form.

Such an idiot.

Suppressing a laugh, I tugged at Sister Elga’s sleeve.

“Okay, okay, sister. Of course we’ll only have our first night on the wedding day! Naturally!”

“…”

“Hmm? Sister, my arm hurts.”

Pretending to whine, I made her click her tongue and loop the safety strap over her sword hilt.

Wait—was she thinking of cutting something off?!

I can’t with her. Of course, Esadien probably wouldn’t have let himself be attacked that easily, but just imagining it was giving me a headache.

After Sister Elga, too, left the room—giving my head a couple of regretful pats on the way out—everything went quiet.

Ah.

We were alone now.

When I turned my head, my eyes met Esadien’s. Even after what had just happened, his face was lit up with a broad smile, and the thought hit me that I’d essentially just made a confession in front of everyone.

I realized my feelings for this person weren’t any smaller than his for me.

Waaah!

Screaming internally, I tried to hurry out, but the moment I let go of his arm, he scooped me right up.

“Kyaa! W–what are you doing?!”

“Hahaha.”

Holding me like a child, Esadien spun in place. His face shone like it had “HAP–PY!” written across it, and I had to fight to keep my lips from curving up too.

“W–what’s making you so happy?”

“Everything. Just… all of it.”

Good grief.

I smacked his shoulder lightly and gave him a glare.

“If you’re not going to say, put me down!”

Instead of putting me down, he actually lifted me higher and set me perched on his forearm.

I froze, clinging to his shoulder and opening and closing my mouth wordlessly.

How strong is this man…?

Sure, lifting me was one thing if he was just strong, but holding up an adult woman with one arm was another matter.

Even if I was on the slender side, there was still my bones and clothes to account for.

Well, he did fold himself up like a flip phone before…

Thinking about just how much muscle Esadien had, my gaze drifted down from his face.

Then he suddenly said,

“If you wish, I’ll take it off.”

“Cough, cough!”

I choked instantly on my own breath at the unexpected words.

What was with this “If you want me to strip, I’ll strip” nonsense?!

“Ahem… didn’t Sister Elga just tell you not to cause any trouble before the wedding?”

“That warning was directed at me.”

“Still, cough—come on.”

How was I supposed to just sit still with all those muscles flexing in 4D right in front of me?

Apparently Esadien had completely forgotten what a dangerous beast I could be. His light pats on my back as I coughed confirmed it 100%.

“I thought… I’d like you to look at me, Master.”

“Can you drop the ‘Master’ thing…”

I sighed and held his face between my hands, speaking clearly.

“I’m always looking at you. Always.”

“I know. But… you haven’t been showing it like before. It made me uneasy.”

“Ah…”

While Esadien came at me head-on, I had been keeping my distance instead of clinging to him like before. No wonder he was anxious.

I did feel a little bad, but there was no way I was going to waste this opportunity.

I narrowed my eyes and teased,

“Hmph. Now you know how I felt, don’t you?”

“Yes. Very much.”

He apologized with a sheepish look, but only for a moment—then his face lit up again.

“But now that you’ve declared yourself in front of your family, I won’t be uneasy anymore.”

His bright smile was definitely contagious. I felt my mouth curve up despite trying to hold it back, the corners of my lips lifting higher and higher until they parted—

“You’re cute.”

Stop smiling like that.

I realized something was wrong the moment I saw his eyes widen.

I clapped my hands over my mouth in shock.

Why does my mouth always say the opposite of what I’m thinking at times like this?!

But seeing the flush spread beneath his eyes, I thought, Ah, to hell with it.

I grabbed his face again and planted quick kisses all over.

Hoping that each kiss would take away ten points of his anxiety.

Hoping he’d realize that the Minuelle on the offensive was back.

But I think I miscalculated a little.

“…Minuelle.”

“Eep?!”

With his voice a little husky, Esadien’s big hand came to the back of my head—and any trace of “lightness” vanished.

My feet touched the floor, my back bent slowly backward…

Ahem.

Anyway, I was pretty sure his anxiety was now completely gone.

It was the kind of day when fat snowflakes piled up thick outside the window.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—the steady beat of hooves accompanied the carriage’s smooth ride.

Esadien held me close at his side, lost in deep thought.

Is it about what happened with the Crown Princess?

We were on our way home after an audience with the Emperor and Crown Princess.

Since Esadien had entered our household, that meant, of course, the request to break the engagement was withdrawn—but since my parents had approved, it was only right to formally inform His Majesty as well.

But…

After saying he wanted to speak privately with the Crown Princess, there was suddenly shouting, which scared me half to death.

The Emperor seemed unfazed, but I’d been on pins and needles ever since.

When our eyes met, drawn by his steady gaze, I took the chance to ask, “What are you thinking about?”

He still looked hesitant, but my question seemed to firm his resolve, and his face turned determined.

“Minuelle.”

“Yes.”

“There’s something I want to confess to you.”

A… confession?

My heart fluttered at the word, though I tried to stay calm.

“What is it?”

“When we first met…”

When we first met? So much had happened since that my mind took a moment to catch up.

“Yeeees?”

“That is… I think perhaps I didn’t dislike you even then.”

The words were hesitant, but the meaning struck home instantly.

Oh. So that’s what it is?

Relieved, I squinted and poked a finger into his chest.

“And yet you still played hard to get? Honestly, that’s too much!”

Esadien gave a faint smile, taking my hand in his and lifting it to his lips. Warm breath accompanied the words he had kept hidden until now—

The reason he couldn’t easily approach me, the reason he could never fully accept me even when it seemed like he had—

“It was partly because you were the first person who came toward me without caring about my temperament.”

He paused, as if swallowing down a heavy lump.

Like an animal stepping outside its cave for the first time.

It was frustrating, but I held my tongue, willing to wait.

I had no intention of telling him not to speak if it was hard—

You don’t help someone who’s just worked up the courage to take their first step by telling them to stop.

All I could do was wait until Esadien was ready to fully emerge. Luckily, he soon regained his composure and continued.

“Would you believe me if I said… I heard my mother’s voice?”

“Your late mother’s?”

Surprised, I asked, and he nodded quietly.

“She always told me she loved me. But she also said… never to believe someone who whispered that they loved me.”

“Ah, so that’s why…”

So that’s why he said even a loveless engagement still needed trust. Now I finally understood.

Esadien smiled sadly.

“Yes. She said such feelings are like bubbles—they vanish quickly.”

My heart ached.

He might have seemed composed, but he still hadn’t been able to free himself from what he’d gone through as a child.