“Yet you acted to save the monster, didn’t you?”
“Nothing nearly so noble. I just didn’t want to see it in pain, is all… It was for my own satisfaction. Again, please accept my sincerest apologies.”
Not only might she have injured herself through her recklessness, but she had also caused trouble for Linus. It had been a short-sighted decision on her part.
He moved to sit next to Fiona, who hung her head dispiritedly, and he gently rubbed her crown.
“You don’t have to apologize so much. You are an upright priestess and a saint, Fiona. All I ask is that moving forward, you choose the right time to make your move.”
When she peeked up at him, she saw herself reflected in his eyes. His unquestionably beautiful smile soothed her so much that she reflexively shook her head to dispel the enchantment.
“Your Highness…you always insist on spoiling me.”
“Well, you won’t spoil me, so I have no choice but to dote on you instead.”
She had no idea why he wanted her to pamper him so much, but she guessed the teasing way he responded was meant to put her at ease. Since the day they’d met, Linus had always been kind to Fiona. However, she couldn’t depend on his kindness forever.
“Your Highness, will you lend me your sword?”
“For what?”
“As thanks for your help thus far and as an apology for putting you in danger.”
“But what does my sword have to do with that?”
He fingered the sheath, his head tilted curiously.
“For this.”
She grabbed a fistful of her black hair and held it up to make it easier for him to see.
“I’d like to cut my hair and gift it to you because you love it so much.”
His eyes widened, and he froze, but a beautiful young man was beautiful no matter his expression, and she was awestruck again.
“If you have it on your person, you can look at it anytime you wish, meaning you don’t have to go to the trouble of visiting me. Like this, you’ll be able to use your time effectively.”
“Y-You’re joking, right? There’s no way I’ll let you do that.”
The unnatural stiffness in his face surprised her and made her wonder where exactly she’d gone wrong.
“Ummm, well, many priestesses have short hair and I don’t plan on marrying anyway, so I have no need to keep my hair long in a feminine fashion.”
“No. I said no, and I meant it.”
Linus barely let her finish before answering her curtly. Then, he gripped her hand tightly in his. The movement made her lose her grip on her hair, sliding softly across his hand as it fell on her shoulders again. She had no idea why he stared at her so intently. Regardless of the reason, he was much too close. Their breaths mingled, and his indigo eyes a sliver away made it impossible to look away.
“Um, Your Highness…”
She didn’t know what she should say. When he saw her confusion, he came back to his senses with a gasp, released her hand immediately, and put some distance between them on the bench.
“Right, sorry… If you’re so darn intent on thanking me, then why don’t you bake me something sweet? I haven’t eaten anything made by you in a few years now, Fiona.”
“Of course not. As the crown prince, you must not eat something that hasn’t passed your food taster’s inspection.”
As a child, she hadn’t known that, so she’d often made cookies and such for him. And seeing Linus eat them so happily made her happy, so she made a veritable mountain’s worth for him all the time. But as an adult, when she thought about the worst-case scenario, she shouldn’t rashly give him things to eat.
“I know. You don’t know how much self-control I’ve been exerting on myself to avoid others taking advantage of you or dragging you into issues. Now that I’m the crown prince, though, we won’t see many problems again on that front.”
“I’m glad for you, I suppose? In any case, you are the crown prince, so I can’t in good conscience give you anything I make…”
“But you said you wanted to thank me. Or are you going back on your word? Besides, I have some tolerance to poison, so I’ll be fine.”
Why in the world was this conversation unfolding on the premise that poisoning was a given?
“Except I won’t be using poison?”
“I know. Oh, by the way, what was the thing you threw at the monster?”
“To throw in case ‘a silver-tongued creature with fast hands who’s much more dangerous than a bear’ appeared.”
At the time, she’d thought the pontiff had worried overmuch, but such a dangerous monster had appeared, so he’d turned out to be right.
“Then what about the flames?”
“I’m almost positive magic created them, but since the monster’s fur wasn’t burned, the item is meant only to stop an opponent. His Holiness gave it to me when we went to inspect the lake.”
The object had saved her life, so she made a mental note to thank her father later.
“Interesting. To stop a silver-tongued creature with fast hands and more dangerous than a bear, eh… Looks like I’ll need to have a little chat with Charles.”
Despite his flawless, dazzling smile, Fiona felt disquieted for some reason. Must be her imagination.
“More importantly, Fiona, aren’t you tired?”
“Huh? Oh, well, I suppose.”
The words hardly left her mouth before he reached out with his arms and pulled her onto his lap. In other words, he embraced her.
“Wh-Why?!”
One second, they were having a normal conversation, and the next, she was sitting on Linus’ lap. How? What? Why? Instinctively, she tried to slide back onto her side of the bench, but he had his arms wrapped so securely around her she couldn’t move easily.
Troubled, she glanced up at him only to find him staring down at her cheerfully. He was clearly enjoying himself.
“You must have aches and pains all over since today was your first horseback ride. Then you did all that purification on top of that. So, of course, you’re tired. You can sleep on the journey back.”
“Be that as it may, I can’t bother you any more than I already have, Your Highness.”
First of all, he hadn’t needed to come to the lake at all, but he’d still accompanied her. He’d also supported her while riding the horse and fought a monster to protect her, so Linus must be exhausted, too.
“If you really want to give me thanks and an apology, then…let me hold you like this.”
He murmured the words gently before softly kissing her crown.
“Oh, I see. Instead of cut hair, you like hair that’s still growing on a person’s head, crackling with youth and energy.”
Despite the opportunity to get his hands on the black hair he loved so much, his lack of enthusiasm for her earlier suggestion had puzzled her. Now, she had her answer. To use an analogy, he preferred flowers blooming in nature versus those plucked and arranged in vases for decoration inside.
She had always thought his fascination with black hair incredible, but to think he was so particular about the state it should be in as well. Alive, not dead. Frankly, his obsession was starting to become a nuisance.
“Hm…right, we’ll just leave it at that.”
“Still, I’m too heavy like this. Can’t I just sit by your side and sleep that way?”
If all he wanted to do was play with her lively hair, he didn’t need to hold her. In fact, she felt it would be easier for him to stroke it sitting normally next to him.
“No. That’s not nearly as comforting.”
“Comfort, you say?”
Any way she viewed this situation, weight was the biggest problem, so what in the world was he going on about? When Fiona cocked her head in confusion, Linus let out a strained laugh.
“Then how about this? If you fall asleep in my arms, we’ll stay like this until we get back to the capital. And if you don’t feel sleepy, you can sit next to me.”
She nodded in agreement, and he stroked her head over and over again. Within the confines of the silent, swaying carriage, her fatigue steadily made her drowsier. When she started nodding off, Linus gently cupped the back of her head and rested it against his chest with a rueful smile. The solid, stable pillow only worsened her sleepiness, then a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
What would happen if she didn’t fall asleep? How were they even supposed to decide that? If she wasn’t careful, they might arrive at the royal capital while waiting for confirmation of her sleep or not sleep state, and in that case, she’d be in his arms forever.
Then did this mean…no matter what happened, the only option was for him to cuddle her? Despite her epiphany, she had almost lost the fight against sleepiness, so there wasn’t much she could do anyway.
“Good night, Fiona.”
Her eyelids closed after running out of strength, and as her consciousness slipped away, she only heard Linus’ voice.
“You really aren’t doing anything, right?! No magic or trickery?!”
“How many times do I have to tell you? No, I’m not doing anything.”
“Then explain this to me!”
“Simple, Fiona. You’re exhausted from a combination of your first horseback ride and all the purification you performed.”
“In that case, why can’t I just lie down on the bench?!”
“We don’t want you falling off it from a sudden jolt of the coach, do we now? Let’s put that aside and talk about what’s really on my mind. What exactly is a ‘silver-tongued creature with fast hands who’s more dangerous than bear’?”
“Good question. I’m not sure. Do you have any guesses?”