Chapter 28

Someone had clearly been in the drawing room, and unfamiliar attendants were tidying up the space.

‘Everything’s… changed too much.’

The long, deep green sofa where Esadien and I had spent so much time was gone—  

Replaced by dainty floral armchairs arranged around the room.  

On the table sat a plate piled high with uneaten chocolates, and next to it, a teacup marked with a vivid lipstick stain.

‘I mean… it could’ve been the Crown Princess who visited.’

I barely held back the bitter air rising up my throat and tried to reason with myself.  

Then, I turned to ask a question to one of the new servants—who was eyeing me with unmistakable caution.

“Where are the attendants who were originally assigned here?”

“I’m afraid I’m not permitted to speak on internal royal staff matters without approval from the Head Chamberlain.”

“…Ha.”

I laughed dryly in disbelief.

Technically, sure, that was the rule.  

But in practice, servant transfers were the sort of idle gossip nobles passed around at tea.  

So really, this attendant was just refusing to share what even common rumors might reveal.

‘Even if I don’t mingle at every party, still…”

I looked him square in the eye, my expression uncharacteristically serious.

“Tell me. Do you know who I am?”

“…Pardon?”

“Must I always say things twice?”

“Y-you’re Lady Karnian, fiancée to His Highness the Third Prince.”

“And do you think the Head Chamberlain would truly prohibit speaking to me—someone His Majesty regards as a daughter?”

“That is…”

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue before I could stop myself.  

I’d been about to press harder—but the moment snapped me awake.

‘What am I doing?’

Wasn’t this exactly the kind of person the original Minuelle had been—  

Pulling power from her family to get her way?

“…Never mind. I’ll be going.”

I turned on my heel and walked away.  

Behind me, I could sense the servant trailing after me, but I ignored it and kept my posture tall, my eyes fixed ahead.

‘Something’s bothering me.’

I wanted to believe the visitor had just been the Crown Princess.  

But something about that didn’t sit right.

Last time I’d come to the palace, Esadien had been “out.”  

The Crown Princess had also said that Lapheche had left early that day.

“Lapheche always leaves early when His Majesty summons her…”

What if the two of them went out together that day?

My eyes dropped to the gloves I’d been unconsciously clenching in my fist.

“I saw these at the market and thought they’d suit you…”

Back then, I’d been too happy to think much of it.  

But now that I considered it… Esadien didn’t need to shop in the city.  

As royalty, everything could be arranged from within the palace.

Thinking about Esadien riding around in a carriage with Lapheche, like during Juela’s wedding, left an unpleasant churn in my stomach.

I turned slowly and addressed the attendant still following me.

“By the way.”

“Y-yes, milady?”

“Has Lady Lapheche Celeste visited the Prince’s residence recently?”

“Yes.”

The servant seemed more docile than earlier.

“How many times?”

“…That, I’m not sure of.”

My lips curled upward—entirely against my will.

Judging by how reluctant he was to give a clear answer, it wasn’t just once or twice.  

Now I was even more certain that the guest earlier… had been Lapheche.

“I see. Pardon the trouble.”

I turned again and stepped out of the residence.

Something felt wrong.  

But I couldn’t tell what the feeling was. Emptiness? Betrayal? Or like… the crank handle of a millstone coming off?

Whatever it was, I hadn’t expected it to be this difficult to simply see Esadien’s face and hear one word from him.

“I can’t even ask His Majesty or the Crown Princess for help…”

I muttered a weary sigh as I opened the carriage door—

“…You’re back.”

A voice met me from inside.

“R-Ramande?! What are you doing here?”

“I got worried. You rushed out earlier.”

“R-really…?”

Even for him, following me all the way here and waiting—that wasn’t like him.  

I stood frozen at the door until Ramande gently pulled my hand and added, “And the potion stock in your room’s been dropping fast lately.”

Ugh. I thought the servants were just refilling it—  

Did Ramande actually keep track of them himself?

“…So the Prince wasn’t there after all?”

It must’ve been written all over my face. I simply sank into the cushion and gave a bitter laugh.

“What now? Want to head back home?”

“Yeah.”

I answered reflexively, then quickly changed my mind.

“No—wait. I’ve changed my mind. Let’s just walk around the city for a bit before we go back.”

Somewhere like the shopping district, maybe.

“That’s a surprise. You’re the one suggesting a walk?”

“You weren’t wrong. Staying cooped up at home all the time does get depressing.”

Even if the house was bigger than a luxury resort, I had to admit that.  

The real reason, of course, was because I was hoping to run into Esadien by chance while he was out and about beyond the palace—  

But that was too pathetic to admit even to myself, let alone to Ramande.

“All right, then.”

Oblivious to my thoughts, Ramande gave the coachman a few instructions, and soon we arrived somewhere in the city.

“Where are we?”

“End of the main street, I guess? If we go that way, we’ll hit the designer’s boutique where you had your dress fitted. The other direction leads into a residential area.”

“Really? You know a lot, Ramande.”

“Unlike our lazy Miss Minuelle, I’ve actually explored the place a bit.”

“Wasn’t that just so you could be my guide?”

I gave him a wink. Ramande chuckled in disbelief, but nodded all the same.

“Maybe. Well then, where shall we go, Milady?”

With a theatrical flourish, he held out his hand, and I laid my fingertips on it with exaggerated elegance.

“Since we’re out already—shall we do a little shopping?”

“At your service.”

But the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.  

Excited, we entered a jeweler’s—but nothing there caught my eye.

“I always wanted to say ‘From here to there, send it all to the Karnian estate.’ Just once.”

As I glanced around and turned to leave, Ramande asked, “Why aren’t you buying anything?”

“Meh… nothing’s better than what I already have at home.”

“Well, of course.”

“Right? My sisters had most of it custom-made anyway… Oh, wait. If I want to shop, I could’ve just ordered through our trading company.”

“Since we’re on the topic—want to stop by the Roquate branch?”

“That’s actually a good idea.”

The walk had started with another goal in mind, but chatting and bantering with Ramande unexpectedly helped lift my spirits.  

It reminded me of the days back in Sermender.

We were slowly making our way toward the city center when we noticed a little girl eagerly trying to sell something to passersby.

“What’s she selling?”

“Shall we find out?”

I wasn’t all that curious, but—

Just as I was about to shake my head, the girl was jostled by someone walking by and fell over.

“Oh no…”

A handful of colorful threads spilled from her basket.  

Tearing up, she started picking them up one by one, dusting them off.

I couldn’t bring myself to walk away.

When I nodded, the knight behind me approached the girl, spoke to her briefly, then brought her over.

“Hello.”

“H-hello… ma’am.”

She was clearly unused to dealing with nobles—  

Her back was bent almost 90 degrees, and she was trembling.

“You can raise your head. This priest is with me too. Are you hurt?”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

“That’s good. Then can you show me what you’re selling?”

“…Pardon?”

She must not have expected me to take an interest in her basket.  

Startled, she looked up at Ramande and me, cheeks going bright red.

“Ahem.”

The knight cleared his throat, and only then did the girl hand her basket to him.  

He opened the cloth cover and checked the contents to make sure they were safe before presenting them to us.

“Wow… bracelets?”

They were wish bracelets, woven from colorful threads.

“Ramande, remember? I used to make these and give them to you when we were kids.”

That was back when I’d just started learning weaving at the temple.

We had an abundance of colored thread, and bracelets were far easier to complete than tapestries—  

So for a while, I’d been completely obsessed with making them.

“Of course I remember. You told me if I made a wish and wore it until it broke on its own, the wish would come true. So I wore mine until it finally did.”

“Haha, that’s right! You really did.”

Even though we were the same age, Ramande had always been the stubborn one.  

I, on the other hand, got itchy just wearing something on my wrist and took it off in no time.

“Come to think of it—what was your wish back then?”

“……”

His lips, which had been chatting so freely just moments ago, suddenly sealed shut.

‘Why is he so quiet all of a sudden?’

Worried he might’ve bitten his tongue or something, I turned to look—  

Only to see the back of his neck slightly flushed as he rolled the thread bracelet in his palm.

“Ramande?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah?”

When our eyes met, he looked completely flustered.

“W-well, you know, if you say it out loud, it won’t come true.”

What a suspiciously weak excuse.

“Ramande… don’t tell me…”

“Don’t tell you what?”

“You forgot, didn’t you? That’s it, right?”

He was always scolding me for forgetting everything—  

Now I had the upper hand. Triumphant, I pressed in on him.

Ramande opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but only let out something between a sigh and a laugh.

“…All that perception, and still—”

“If you ever call me a pink goldfish again, I swear you’re done for.”

I gave him a few playful jabs in the side and laughed, then turned back to the little girl.

“Hey, I want to buy all of these. How much would that be?”

“…Huh?”

The girl’s eyes and mouth both popped open in shock.  

Again, the knight cleared his throat with impeccable timing.

“U-uh… I-I don’t know how many I have, so…”

She looked completely overwhelmed. Seeing that, the coachman who’d been quietly watching finally stepped in.

“Uh, Milady. I reckon they’d go for about one copper coin each.”

One hundred copper coins made one silver, and ten silvers made one gold.  

Roughly, that meant a silver or two would be plenty.

But that amount of money would be dangerous for a child to carry around alone—  

I hadn’t forgotten the stories Ramande once told me about the city’s backstreets.

“Hmm. Do you live with your parents?”

“N-no, Milady. My parents passed, and I live in an orphanage.”

Milady. She was clever—she’d picked it up after hearing the coachman say it just once.

“I see. Then let’s go there, shall we?”

Everyone around me—knight, coachman, even the girl herself—looked startled and began to protest.  

Everyone except Ramande.

“If the lady says so, then it shall be done. It won’t take long, so don’t worry.”

As I stepped up into the carriage, I heard Ramande’s voice behind me.

It moved me a little.  

Having someone who understood what I wanted, and why, was something truly rare and precious.

‘I’m so glad I have you.’

When my eyes met Ramande’s, I gave him a smile filled with that very thought.