Lieselotte, who would be returning to her marquisate the next day for summer break, had come to the castle to see me. However, my meeting with the visitor preceding her had drawn on longer than expected, so I had kept her waiting.
I hurried along the path. I was told Lieselotte was passing the time by taking a stroll through the gardens in the royal family’s quarters.
“It’s awfully hot today,” she muttered with a light sigh.
Oh, she’s over there.
I looked in the direction of her voice, and my heart skipped a beat. Lieselotte was lifting her lush blonde hair up in a ponytail, perhaps because it had been sticking to her skin from sweat. Her pale neck, usually hidden by her neatly arranged hair, was now fully exposed.
“Beautiful,” I said softly.
Lieselotte’s eyes widened in shock. She turned to me and frantically fixed her hair. “Y-Your Highness?! W-Were you looking just now?!”
“S-Sorry. Um, you have a beautiful neck, so I think you would also look lovely with your hair up,” I said. It was a slip of the tongue. Looks like I’m flustered as well. I feel as though I saw something I shouldn’t have.
“Your Highness!” Lieselotte shrieked, her face bright red. She stomped up to me. “I am fully aware that I am at fault for letting my guard down in the castle, thinking no one was watching. However, peeping is unacceptable, especially for someone of your status! Lastly, I take issue with your brazen wording!”
“Yes, I apologize. It was my fault in the first place for making you wait in the heat. I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s improper to intentionally point out a lady’s mistake!” she continued, tears in her eyes. “There were other options, such as, for example, subtly alerting me to your presence or courteously pretending you saw nothing!”
As I was struggling to think of a way to calm her down, the Voices of the Gods came to my aid.
“Lieselotte just can’t stop scolding Sieg!” Lord Endoh said. “But judging from her expression, she isn’t angry—her eloquent outburst comes from tremendous shame!”
“She’s probably also embarrassed because Sieg praised her in a weird way,” Lady Kobayashee said. “Combined with the shame of being caught making a mess of her hair, she doesn’t know how to feel anymore.”
“Oh, so it’s less about the neck comment and more that she’s ashamed she let down her guard?”
“Probably. Liese-tan’s half-crying because the maiden in her wants to look perfect at all times in front of the person she loves.”
“Wait, but I’m glad Lieselotte let down her guard here,” I let out.
My fiancée froze.
“Er... What I meant was, you’ll be living here one day, so I hope you can feel at home.” I candidly expressed my thoughts. “Besides, it’s fine for you to let down your guard in front of me. We’re going to be a family one day, spending our daily lives together. That’s what being engaged means, doesn’t it?”
“An implicit proposal combined with a princely smile!” Lord Endoh shouted. “Now that’s a killer combo!”
“That’s our Sieg,” Lady Kobayashee said. “Liese-tan’s close to a KO!”
I couldn’t quite understand the gods’ vocabulary, but at any rate, Lieselotte didn’t seem angry with me anymore. She was looking at the ground, her face bright red.
I gently took her hand in mine. “The sun is too strong here. Shall we relax inside?”
She nodded awkwardly and I brought her indoors.
I hope it won’t be long before this sweet girl can feel at ease spending her everyday life here.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was a few days into summer break. Lieselotte sat in the Riefenstahl manor’s sunny lounge, focusing intently on her work.
One of her younger sisters, Adelina, happened to pass by. “What?! Lieselotte, are you making another ribbon?!”
Her twin sister Katrina, who was accompanying her, looked at Lieselotte’s hands and gave a stiff smile. The twins had witnessed their older sister embroider similar-looking ribbons countless times in the past few days.
“Just how many have you made?” Katrina asked, aghast. “It’s scary at this point. What if they contain a grudge?”
Lieselotte shook her head firmly. “You don’t understand. Not only is His Highness royalty, he will become king one day. Thus, he interacts with only the country’s finest items on a daily basis. I can’t possibly give something substandard to someone with such exquisite taste. House Riefenstahl’s honor is at stake, and even if it weren’t, for someone as graceful as His Highness—”
“Yeah, yeah, we know all about how great Prince Siegwald is,” Katrina said.
“Don’t you try to ignore me. The point is, this is a battle for House Riefenstahl’s pride!”
The twins slowly shook their heads and rebutted with cold looks in their eyes.
“No, I don’t think anyone would expect that much from their fiancée’s handiwork,” Adelina said.
“If anything, I think it’d be more endearing if it were a little amateurish.”
“W-Well, His Highness is very generous, so I’m sure he would not mind if it were a little rough around the edges,” Lieselotte said. “However, this is going to adorn the handle of his primary magic wand! If there is a mediocre trinket mixed in with all of the first-rate items surrounding him, someone is sure to question the discrepancy!”
“Really? Who would be so rude to the prince?”
“Even if they did, I’m pretty sure he’d just brag about how his fiancée made it. That’d shut the person up.”
“It would cause His Highness unnecessary embarrassment!” Lieselotte said, raising her voice.
As they were arguing, a maid came to the lounge. “Lady Lieselotte, the merchant has arrived.”
“Oh, he’s early. Please take him to the drawing room. I’ll be right there!”
The maid lowered her head and left.
“Anyway, we must all treat this task with the utmost importance,” Lieselotte said as she put away the needle and thread. “Do you understand, Adelina, Katrina?” She glared at the twins.
“You just want to show off to the guy you like, right?” Adelina said. “Don’t make it sound bigger than it really is.”
“Wait, don’t tell me the merchant is here because of the ribbon...” Katrina said.
Lieselotte nodded. “Yes, that’s right. I’m purchasing a few fabrics dyed Tyrian purple.”
The moment she mentioned the rare and expensive cloth, the twins balked.
“How much are you spending on a little ribbon?! Are you stupid?!”
“That’s so overbearing, Lieselotte! Your love is way too intense!”
“What problem is there with being intense?” Lieselotte asked. “Besides, I’m paying for them with the bounty I earned by subduing those bandits a while back. You have nothing to complain about.”
“That’s why you went to the neighboring territory?!”
“You defeated bandits for His Highness’s sake?! You really are too intense!”
“O-Oh, be quiet! It’s because I couldn’t make anything I was satisfied with. Ugh, the merchant is waiting, so I’m going!”
Lieselotte departed the room, leaving the twins to mumble amongst themselves.
“Seriously, if she loves him so much, why doesn’t she just tell him so?”
“Yeah. Some things should be higher priority than obsessively raising the quality of a ribbon.”
They sighed and glanced at each other.
“Well, hopefully His Highness understands that clumsy cuteness of hers!”
“It’s her fault for not being honest, but if a guy can’t even see through that, we won’t let him have our sister!”
The twins laughed. Despite everything they said, they loved their big sister to bits. Soon enough, they would learn that her relationship with her fiancé was taking a dramatic turn for the better...