“Please take care of Estelle, Your Highness.”
Leaving Arcrayne with those words, Sirius returned to his earldom after spending only one night at the Libra Palace. Returning to the earldom of Flozeth would take him two days even by mana locomotive. The dragon-hunting would end once all the snow had thawed, but Sirius would then have to prepare to deal with dragons getting ferocious after waking up from hibernation, so things were busy in the earldom at this time of the year.
Arcrayne was swamped with work too, so he’d seen Sirius off at the entrance to the Libra Palace. Seeing him off to the station had been too difficult to fit into Arcrayne’s schedule, and also, Estelle still hadn’t fully recovered.
As Sirius’s coach departed, Arcrayne heaved a deep sigh. His face looked exhausted.
“Lord Arc, thank you for making time for my brother despite how busy and tired you are these days,” said Estelle.
The prince shook his head. “It’s only natural that Lord Sirius would worry about you... It’s just, I feel nervous when seeing him in person. After all, he’s like a father-in-law to me...”
Yesterday it had looked like the two had found kindred spirits in each other as they’d spent time in the recreation room together until late at night, but apparently that hadn’t been the case. Arcrayne cracked a smile as Estelle stared at him in round-eyed wonder.
“My future brother-in-law cherishes you. The pressure I feel from him is pretty amazing every time we get in touch.”
“What...?”
This was Sirius they were talking about, so Estelle was worried he might’ve said something rude to the prince. She went pale.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I understand your brother’s worries well,” said Arcrayne. A pleasant smile appeared on his face as he looked at Estelle. His mana was bright too, so he didn’t seem to be displeased with Sirius. “I’m looking forward to summer.”
“Me too.” Estelle smiled at the prince’s words.
Apparently Arcrayne and Sirius had agreed the night before that the prince would visit the earldom of Flozeth at some point in either July or August on the occasion of inspecting the sugar factory.
Estelle’s return to her earldom was likely to become grandiose and overblown if Arcrayne was with her, but she was genuinely happy about being able to come home.
“We still have time. How about a brief walk in the garden?” suggested Arcrayne after checking his pocket watch. When Estelle nodded, he held out his left hand. “I’ve been told you hurt your back and buttocks. Do let me know if it’s hard to walk.”
“They are much better now. They only hurt if I strongly press on them,” replied Estelle, putting her hand around Arcrayne’s left arm.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s been a while since you’ve last been outside, so I want you to let me know immediately if you get tired.”
“Careful, there’s a stone on the ground there. I should let a gardener know later...”
“The sun is bright today. Are you all right? Is it not blinding?”
Arcrayne had been quite overprotective ever since they’d stepped out into the garden. Estelle was bewildered at his consideration, which could even be described as oppressive.
“There is no need to be that cautious of me...” said Estelle.
“It’s not like you’ve fully recovered from your injuries yet, though, right?” replied the prince. His gaze was on Estelle’s left hand, still bandaged.
“Almost all of my injuries are healed. Apparently, I can begin training to move my left hand starting tomorrow at the earliest.”
As Estelle brought the hand in front of her eyes, Arcrayne’s mana darkened and he looked at her with concern. He blamed himself quite strongly for not being there when the dragon had attacked.
“If there’s anything I can help with, let me know,” he said.
“Very well. Then please help with my training.”
Estelle’s unreserved reply made Arcrayne’s mana just a little brighter. Estelle had chosen to behave this way, seeing as the prince was currently filled with guilt, and apparently her decision had been correct.
The days had been warm recently, so the garden of the Libra Palace looked very beautiful, the spring flowers blooming rapidly.
However, since it had been a week since Estelle’s last outing, her stamina had gone down. She was starting to run out of breath after simply walking for a short while.
“Why don’t we rest for a bit?” suggested Arcrayne.
The prince was observant of Estelle. Having immediately noticed her state, he led her to a bench located in the middle of a path.
“This will not do. I get easily tired now, likely because I was in bed all this time,” said Estelle.
“If walking is hard, I can carry—”
“No, that would be embarrassing. I shall walk on my own.”
Arcrayne looked at Estelle with discontent in his eyes.
“I shall be fine if I rest,” she said. “And I do need to walk at least a little bit to regain my stamina.”
“I suppose so.” The prince’s expression was still somewhat clouded over.
“About your engagement ring,” began Arcrayne, breaking the awkward silence. “Have you decided what kind you’d like? Is it a good time for me to arrange a meeting with a jeweler for you?”
“Um... Rather than an appointment with a jeweler, I would appreciate it if you arranged one with a designer for me.”
Arcrayne knitted his brows at Estelle’s words.
“If you would allow it, I would like the ring remade with some jewel currently in your possession together with the stone that had been in the original wedding ring,” said Estelle.
She’d put the cracked rhodolite garnet ring on a chain and now routinely wore it as a necklace. Estelle pulled the ring out from under her clothes.
“Ideally it would be a deep blue sapphire, but then I would not be able to wear the ring before our wedding...” she said. “If possible, a stone with a color that goes well with purplish red would make me happy.”
Arcrayne was deep in thought, a serious look on his face.
“Though it is cracked, this ring was the first piece of jewelry I ever received from you; I would rather not replace it with an entirely different ring,” said Estelle. “Even if the stone is smaller after it has been recut, I want to wear it in the new wedding ring. Would that be all right...?”
“You’re reluctant to have me buy a new jewel for it?”
“You already buy so many things for me, Lord Arc: dresses, shoes... And besides—truth be told, I have always admired such rings. My mother’s engagement ring was the same.”
Estelle’s mother’s engagement ring had been fitted with a remade jewel passed down through generations in House Flozeth. Arcrayne’s eyes widened as Estelle told him about this.
The prince was lost in thought for a while, but then he removed the lapel pin adorning the collar of his frock coat. Decorated with a large diamond, it was an item he liked and wore frequently.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’d like you to use this, if it pleases you,” said Arcrayne, handing the lapel pin to Estelle.
As she took it and held it in her palm, she found the diamond to be really large. It shone dazzlingly in the sun.
“It’s remade from the ring my mother inherited from her grandmother from House Rogell. But if it’s not to your liking, let us go look for a different stone later on.”
“Perish the thought! How could I not like it? Still, it is from a ring that belonged to Her Majesty Queen Miriallia... Is it really all right for me to accept something so precious?”
“I think my mother would be happy if you wore it.”
A smile finally returned to Arcrayne’s face.
“I like the design of the ring, so I would rather not change it much,” said Estelle. “I do not know how much smaller the stone will become when recut, so I think it will be necessary to consult a designer and a craftsman...”
“If you want to use a sapphire, you can fit it inside as a secret stone. I think father would allow that much if I talked to him about it.”
Estelle’s eyes widened at Arcrayne’s suggestion.
“It can’t be a big one, though, since it will be hidden inside...” said the prince.
“It can be small, I do not mind! As long as it is the same color as your eyes!”
The moment Estelle uttered those words, Arcrayne’s mana turned bright. As she stared at him in surprise, he swiftly averted his eyes.
“Lord Arc...?”
“I think anyone would be like this if you caught them by surprise with such a line.” Arcrayne sighed. His mana darkened.
“Your emotions are quite volatile today.”
A moment of silence later, the prince replied, “Your power is such a bother.”
“I apologize... I should have pretended not to see it.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I was well aware of your power when I chose you.”
The brightness of Arcrayne’s mana returned to normal. As Estelle looked at him, she found him calmly gazing back at her. It felt like there was passion in his eyes that she’d never seen there before, which made her heart skip a beat.