“Sorry to keep you waiting, Tia, Miss June,” I said as I approached. “I brought some light snacks and a little gift, too.”
Bertia’s face lit up at once. “My, welcome back, Lord Cecil! And oh, welcome, Your Highness Prince Izlarich!”
Her eyes shone with pure delight when she noticed the prince following behind me.
June, by contrast, blinked in visible surprise. Her gaze shifted to Izlarich, who stood a few steps behind me awkwardly.
“Lord Izlarich,” she said softly. “You came?”
“I… Uh, well, y-you looked like you wanted me to,” he stammered. “So, I thought… I might as well make an appearance!”
His chin lifted, but the effect was ruined by the brilliant shade of red spreading across his cheeks and the way his eyes darted anywhere but her direction.
June, who had known him long enough to read him better than anyone, simply smiled fondly in a way that said she understood far more than his words conveyed. There was even a touch of relief in her expression.
“Apparently,” I said, tone light and conversational, “Prince Izlarich here was sulking because Miss June has been spending so much time with Tia lately. He was lurking out there watching the garden, but couldn’t quite bring himself to enter, so I decided to bring him in.”
“Y-Your Highness Cecil! That was supposed to be a secret!”
The prince’s face flared crimson, and he nearly dropped the plates he was holding.
“Oh, was it?” I replied, smiling pleasantly. “My apologies. My tongue must have slipped.”
“You don’t sound sorry at all,” he muttered darkly.
He wasn’t wrong, of course. But I merely returned his look with polite indifference.
“My, my, my!” Bertia exclaimed. “So, Prince Izlarich was jealous of me? Oh, how wonderful! That means you must really love Lady June!”
“T-That’s not—!”
“Eh? It’s not? Then does that mean you still think of her as just your childhood friend?”
“Wha— No! That’s not— Wait, it’s not that it’s wrong, but it’s not— No, I mean— Ah, I don’t know anymore!”
“W-What do you mean you don’t know?! How far along are you on your route then?! I’m completely lost now!”
“I’m the one who’s lost!”
And so it began: Bertia’s relentless, unintentional barrage and Izlarich’s hopelessly flustered defense.
The poor prince’s face had gone from red to scarlet, while Bertia, utterly oblivious to the chaos she was causing, had her head tilted in earnest curiosity.
Honestly, I thought, didn’t she say this world’s story was from a novel, not an otome game?
The term “route” definitely belonged to the latter.
“Um, Lord Izlarich?” June ventured hesitantly, cheeks faintly pink as she tried to make sense of the verbal train wreck before her. “A-Are you all right?”
She must have caught the gist of their exchange, but her gentle tone carried no reproach, only concern.
Izlarich, however, was too deep in his embarrassment to register anything but panic. He clutched his head with both hands and groaned.
“A-Anyway!” Izlarich blurted. “You just… You just need to stay by my side! Whether we’re childhood friends or… or something more, your place is next to me! No one else. No one! I’ll, um… I’ll try to be more considerate from now on.”
By the end, he’d turned his head away, arms crossed, muttering the last line like a sulky child who’d just been forced to confess. Still, however clumsy it sounded, it was clear that he’d finally managed to voice what he’d been bottling up.
I see.
He was the kind who didn’t need gentle coaxing or long-winded encouragement. He simply had to be thrown headfirst into emotional chaos until his honesty slipped out on its own.
Come to think of it, the time he burst into the lounge when I was drinking with Prince Ramtak, all fiery and uninvited, had the same energy. Although reckless and impulsive, it was strangely sincere.
Perhaps I wouldn’t need to interfere anymore. I was starting to understand how to handle him.
“Well,” I murmured, “that seems to have wrapped up rather nicely.”
June had a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with surprise, her cheeks faintly flushed. But beneath that shock was unmistakable warmth.
Her feelings, I thought, were probably still tentative, just like his. Not yet love, but certainly leaning toward it. Given a little more time, the rest would fall into place naturally.
“U-Um, Lord Izlarich,” she said shyly. “Would you… escort me for the remainder of the tea party?”
“O-Of course!” he sputtered, straightening like a soldier under orders. “You’re my fiancée, after all! Who else could possibly escort you but me?”
He sounded brusque, but the redness creeping to the tips of his ears betrayed his real emotions.
The air between them was practically glowing with sweetness. Too much sweetness, honestly.
I turned slightly to Bertia. “Tia?”
“Ah! Yes, of course!” She nodded enthusiastically, understanding my intent immediately.
“That’s what they call ‘leaving the young ones to it,’ right?”
“I’m… not sure about that. But yes, since we have the chance, we should mingle a bit and speak with the other guests. Let’s give these two some space.”
“Agreed!” she said at once, her smile blooming like sunlight through stained glass.
I returned a slight nod and turned to June and Prince Izlarich.
“We’ll take our leave for now,” I said. “I fear we’ve kept you both occupied for quite some time.”
“Oh, not at all,” June said quickly. “If anything, I should apologize for monopolizing you.”
“No, no. I was the one who asked you to keep Tia company, remember? The fault is mine.”
Bertia added with her characteristic warmth, “Lady June, thank you for spending such a lovely time with us! We’ll be joining the queen, the empress dowager, and Lady Lysonna later for a little gathering. Please, the two of you should come as well!”
It was a casual, friendly invitation, but I could see the sincerity in her eyes. We were expected at that private tea anyway, and there’d be no harm in including them if protocol allowed. Still, I made a mental note to have Zeno discreetly confirm it first—best to avoid offending the hosts by accident.
“Yes, we’d love to,” June replied. “I might have hesitated if I were alone, but with Lord Izlarich by my side, I feel confident.”
She slipped her hand lightly around his arm. The prince stiffened at first, then, catching himself, averted his gaze, though not before I noticed the faint satisfaction tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Well,” he muttered, “if you want to speak with Mother and the others, I’ll… I’ll go with you, of course.”
“Haha,” she laughed softly. “Thank you.”
And so, leaving the young couple behind in their quiet happiness, Bertia and I moved on to another part.