It was acceptable to sleep late the morning after a soiree.
Estelle had gone to sleep in the shared bedroom together with Arcrayne. It was the movement of his warmth that woke her up.
“Are you getting up already?” she asked, seeing the prince out of bed and starting to get dressed.
He planted a kiss on her cheek. “Might as well, since I’m awake. I was thinking of clearing out some office work. You can take your time, Estelle.”
“No, I shall get up too. That way we can have breakfast together.” Estelle sat up and smiled at the prince.
In response, his mana slightly clouded over.
There it is again... thought Estelle, confused by the incomprehensibility of Arcrayne’s emotions. His mana would darken slightly when Estelle smiled at him, but when had it started? Was it shortly before the hunting contest...?
She couldn’t be sure, but when she played with Snow—the cat—and practiced speaking foreign languages with the prince, every now and then she’d notice a slightly negative emotion in him, which would seize her with fear.
Have I done something to upset him...? Or does he hate me now? she wondered. Since their wedding was still ahead of them, she was too scared to ask the man himself.
Estelle sighed quietly.
✦ ✦ ✦
After they had eaten together, Arcrayne confined himself to his office, so Estelle decided to knit lace for her wedding dress in her usual spot—the adjacent room. She’d gotten started on the lace some time ago.
Shortly after she got tired of it and switched to reading a book, Arcrayne paid her a visit.
“Estelle, are you busy?”
“No, what can I do for you?”
“I want to take a break. Will you come with me?” His mana was still a little bit dark.
Though Estelle found it strange, she accepted the offer and got up.
Arcrayne brought her to the conservatory of the Libra Palace.
While the same could be seen in any residence of the nobility, this conservatory had roses—the national flower of Rosalia—blooming in full glory the whole year round.
Arcrayne led Estelle to a garden chair in the center of the conservatory, then took a small box out of his pocket and presented it to her.
“Lord Arc...?” said Estelle, confused.
The prince opened the box. There was a ring inside.
Between the flower-shaped prongs was a large diamond, and on its sides were rhodolite garnets of the same color as Estelle’s eyes.
The familiarity of the design made Estelle realize what it was, and a look of joy appeared on her face.
“A new engagement ring!” she exclaimed.
“That’s right. You should look at the inner part too.”
Arcrayne placed the box on the table, took out the ring, and put it on Estelle’s palm.
A small sapphire was embedded in the inside of the band as a secret stone, per Estelle’s request. It was the same deep blue as Arcrayne’s eyes.
“This makes me so happy!”
The workmanship was just as Estelle had pictured it in her mind. She had a huge smile on her face.
“Can I put it on?” she asked.
“I’d like to present it to you as a proper gift, so can you give it back to me for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Nodding, Estelle gave the ring back to the prince and held out her left hand. When the prince saw it, his mana clouded over.
I guess it’s because of the scar... thought Estelle. She concealed it with gloves or powder when going out, but normally, it was visible.
“It’s not as if I don’t like your hand,” Arcrayne explained, probably out of consideration for Estelle’s power.
“I know.” Estelle smiled. She wasn’t at all ashamed of this scar either.
The reason Arcrayne’s mana darkened every time he saw it must’ve been, in large part, self-reproach. He’d been deep in the forest and hadn’t made it back in time when Estelle had gotten this scar.
Kneeling, he took Estelle’s hand and put the ring on her ring finger. Then he pulled the hand toward himself and pressed his lips to the back of it, right where the scar was.