A few days later, I arrived safely back in Najir.
I looked at myself in the mirror to check that I looked okay.
My slightly messy hair was pinned up with a hairpin. The gold pin was in the shape of a bird with a red berry in its mouth. It was one of my favorite accessories lately.
My dress was devoid of ribbons or fussy embellishments, but the bodice had some delicate embroidery, and the sleeves were finished with lace.
Maybe it’s a bit too much for everyday wear? Is it okay?
I quickly checked the time. Then I applied another layer of lipstick. It was the same shade of red as the berry on my hairpin. It definitely made my lips pop.
“Princess Annabel, Master La Boulacherie is here.”
Ellie’s voice made me jump, and I quickly stashed away my lip brush. Then I hurried over and sat delicately down at the table. “Bring him in,” I announced.
Ed walked into the room to see me sitting near the window. A gentle smile was playing at his lips.
“Princess. It’s been a while.”
I wanted to throw myself into his arms, but I restrained myself. “Yes, it has. Have you been well?” I smiled back at him.
Ed walked over to the table, putting the magical reference book he was holding down on it. It was the text we’d been studying together. Ed was still teaching me magic. Today’s lesson was to be classroom-based rather than a practical one.
“How was the Sunruta Kingdom?”
“It was really fun.”
I thought about it for a moment before answering.
When I first arrived in Sunruta, I was terrified of coming face-to-face with Daniel and Karina. But they were both so different from their old timeline counterparts. Once I realized that, I’d managed to relax, although doubt still nagged at me.
After that, I’d ended up having a really fun trip.
“That’s good to hear. What did you get up to?”
“Oh, it was mostly the ceremony and the banquet. I got to go into town a little before we left. Oh! And I toured their Magic Research Lab.”
“I see.”
“I brought you a souvenir.”
I stood up and went over to the side table to pick up the little box, which I then offered to Ed.
Ed was gazing at it with confusion. He tried to open it but couldn’t. Frowning, he began turning it over and over in his hands, examining it.
“It’s actually a puzzle box.”
“It is?”
“Yes. You need to follow a specific set of steps to open it. There’s thirty steps in all!”
“Neat…”
Ed’s eyes were sparkling with fascination. It seemed he’d never seen a puzzle box before. Soon he was immersed in fiddling around with it to see how it worked. He was like a little boy with a brand-new toy.
As he turned it over and over in his hands, he spoke again. “I’ll have this open by the time you’re done with your homework.”
“I doubt it. It’s really, really difficult to solve.”
“…What’s inside?”
I wasn’t sure what to say.
It was custom to keep jewelry inside when buying one for personal use. But I’d heard that many people put letters inside before gifting the boxes to friends. I liked that idea, so I put a letter inside as soon as we got back to Najir.
But it would be so embarrassing to have Ed read that letter in front of me. I was pretty confident he wouldn’t be able to solve the box’s puzzle in such a short period of time, though. So I was probably safe. Or so I thought.
“It’s a secret.”
“Now I want to open it up even more.”
Ed grinned with excitement.