“MORNING, Fiona.”
Linus was in a good mood when he came to pick her up early the next morning. She remembered something Ada had once said about his beautiful smile. “Its destructive power can evaporate a mass of ice instantly.” Now, she understood what the woman had meant. If confronted by something this beautiful, ice might burn up in a flash from shyness.
Fiona knew it was just an allegory, but a part of her wanted to conduct an actual experiment. Did the ice generate the heat because of its shyness? Or did the heat come from the beautiful smile itself and thereby cause the ice to melt?
Now, she really wanted to have Linus stand in front of a block of ice and test her theory. However, it would be difficult to acquire one in this season. She made a mental note to ask the priests next time if they knew anyone capable of using magic to produce an enormous ice floe.
“Heed me well, Your Highness. Keep it in moderation. Understood? Mod-er-a-tion. I’m begging you.”
“Quit nagging me, will you, Charles? You know damn well I always control myself.”
“While you seem to be hanging on by a thread in the present, I simply can’t afford to drop my guard considering what I’ve seen of your recent behavior.”
The next thing she knew, the two were having some kind of heated conversation. What did her father even mean by Linus “hanging on by a thread”?
“Your lack of faith in me hurts, Charles,” Linus said. “Sad. Anyway, you know I’ll do my damndest to protect her. After all, Fiona is special to me, hm?”
Did he mean because of her black hair? They were simply going on a work trip to the lake, yet, for whatever reason, he needed to talk about protecting her hair or what have you. Gracious, how important was black hair to him?
She had heard salt wind wasn’t good for hair, so perhaps a similar natural phenomenon occurred at lakes, too. Then, was that the reason for Linus’ stubborn insistence on accompanying her? Yes, that had to be why. Her reasoning satisfied her. Then Ada gently thumped her on the shoulder.
“Ignore those two nitwits and just come home safely, hm? I’m sure you’ll be fine with His Highness by your side… Well, never mind that in another way, you’re the least safe with him, Fiona.”
“What?” Fiona tilted her head to the side.
“In any case, I’m confident everything will work out just fine.”
“If you say so…? I guess I’ll be going now.”
After waving goodbye to Charles with his thunderous expression and Ada with her wry smile, Fiona boarded the waiting coach. She still found it strange that Crown Prince Linus was accompanying her on a simple inspection, and, what’s more, they were ensconced together in the vehicle. The carriage wasn’t up to the standards he was used to, but from the perspective of a commoner like Fiona, she found it quite well-made. She hardly ever had the opportunity to ride in one anyway, so there was a certain novelty to the experience, and she gazed intently out the window.
“The road is more paved with flagstones than I imagined,” she commented.
“That’s because this highway sees a lot of traffic since it connects the capital to the lake,” Linus explained.
“Oh, yes, I see. Viewed in that light then, perhaps there’s room to widen it more.”
Despite being properly set with flagstones, the road was only wide enough for a single carriage to traverse it. The highway was wider near the capital, but it likely wouldn’t hurt to expand it more the further one traveled away from the city.
Fiona shifted her eyes from the view out the window to the documents in her hands. She wondered precisely how much the lake’s sluice gate had deteriorated. Replacing the whole thing would cost a fair amount of money and require re-examining their budgetary priorities.
“Fiona.”
Her head jerked up at his voice so close to her ears. When she did, he stuffed something into her mouth. Round and sweet, it tasted like candy. He could have simply given it to her like a normal person instead of catching her off guard like this.
“It’s a waste of your adorable face if you scowl like that,” he said.
“I’m not adorable.”
She wasn’t being humble. She was simply stating the truth. It wasn’t that she was particularly ugly or anything, but next to Linus, she might as well be a pebble lying on the roadside.
“All right, then, how about this? Scowls are wasted on your lovely face.”
“I believe the word ‘lovely’ more aptly describes a countenance like yours, Your Highness.”
That was also the truth. For whatever reason, though, Linus looked at her in surprise.
“Fiona, do you really think my face is lovely?”
“I do. Without a doubt.”
“Huh. Then perhaps I’ll have you study it carefully and thoroughly.”
As soon as he spoke, he moved to sit beside her and leaned in so close she felt his breath on her face.
“What do you think?”
“That you’re so beautiful you may no longer be human.” While Fiona only expressed her honest opinion, it made Linus tilt his head thoughtfully.
“That…isn’t what I expected. Huh.”
“Really? What did you expect then?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about it. Now tell me what you like about my face, Fiona.”
Even if he asked her that, everything about his features was perfect. Still, she knew in a situation like this, it would be best to emphasize one thing.
“I suppose…your eyes? They glitter like jewels.”
Just those words heightened the brilliant sparkle of his indigo eyes, and she almost wondered if they really were gems.
“I see. I must say, your compliments make me happy. Incidentally, the thing I like most about you, Fiona, is—”
“My hair, yes?”
She didn’t even need to ask. Her black hair was the only option. So she answered based on that assumption, but for some reason, Linus responded with a strained laugh.
“Well, you’re not wrong. It’s beautiful and has the luster of silk. But I love your caramel-colored eyes too and your velvety cheeks.”
“My eyes are brown, plain brown… Stop! That tickles!”
As he spoke, he ran his fingers through her hair and brushed them against her cheek. Fiona unconsciously drew back when it became too much. Linus smiled cheerfully, pulling his hand back when she pushed him away.