Side Story: Angelina’s Happy Evening
ANGELINA struggled to choose from a line of dresses in her wardrobe room in the North Star Sanctuary. Marfa stood by her side.
“What should I do?” Angelina asked. “I have no idea what to wear.”
She would be visiting the outer enclosure of the Purple Forbidden Palace with Ryuho today. Feilong had recently abdicated the throne, allowing Kyril to become emperor. Strangely, it was the same year as Feilong’s downfall in Angelina’s first life. This time, however, he’d abdicated peacefully, not been assassinated. Thus, Jinlong’s peaceful days continued without death.
While Angelina was seventeen, Ryuho was twenty. After passing the palace knight’s exam at sixteen, Ryuho was allowed to carry a sword. As a result, he’d been promoted from her playmate to her personal knight.
Festivals were still taking place in the palace and the outer enclosure, even though the ascension ceremony had ended a few days ago. After participating in the ceremony, Angelina had some free time.
“I’ll stand out too much in this,” Angelina said. “It’s too extravagant for the outer enclosure.”
“Yes, I agree,” Marfa replied.
“Should I wear something that’s easy to move around in?”
“In that case, why don’t we start with the shoes?”
In a flash, the palace ladies lined up a row of shoes that were easy to walk in. Angelina owned so many clothes and jewels that she would never be able to wear them all. These gifts primarily came from Feilong and Kyril. That said, she’d also received gifts from nearby royalty and nobility, Heavenly Sovereign daoshi, and even Rachiel.
As Angelina struggled to choose, Marfa pointed to a pair of shoes. “What do you think of these, Princess?”
The elegant shoes had short heels. Black embroidery was on the black silk. Furthermore, black pearls decorated the insteps. Though the shoes were delicate and extravagant upon close inspection, they wouldn’t appear too expensive while walking, thanks to their uniform color.
Angelina nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go with these!” Even so, she still needed to decide what clothes to wear next. “Hmm, what should I do? This is too flashy, right? But this is too plain, don’t you think? Maybe I should go with something cute. Or maybe mature is better?”
Angelina seldom took this long to decide on an outfit. She usually left this task to the palace ladies, after all.
“You’re having a difficult time deciding today,” Marfa said gently. “Is something wrong, Princess?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Angelina responded to Marfa in a whisper. “Well, you see, Ryuho said my dress for the ceremony was cute.”
The eavesdropping palace ladies couldn’t help but smile.
“How wonderful,” Marfa said, her heart filling with warmth.
“But don’t you think he’ll be disappointed by my regular, going-out clothes?”
“Not at all,” Marfa answered while suppressing a smile.
Ryuho had complimented Angelina because she was cute, not her dress. However, it would be uncouth for anyone other than Ryuho to tell her that.
“I just want Ryuho to like me,” Angelina mumbled, clearly uneasy.
Ryuho had grown into a tall and dashing man. He now had broad shoulders and a solid chest. Angelina sometimes caught glimpses of his sun-kissed skin through the gaps in his vest. His Nanranese clothes exuded a certain sensuality, accentuating his masculinity. Moreover, he was powerful enough to contend with Yuen—a man often hailed as Jinlong’s god of war. His strength even commanded the respect of Emperor Kyril.
On top of being a Nanranese prince, he also shared a close bond with Prince Hisame of Anda. In short, he had an animalistic physique and a guileless personality. His crimson and gold eyes teemed with passion. At the same time, his expressive smile made him popular with everyone, regardless of age or gender. People always gathered around Ryuho during small dinner parties. Much to Angelina’s dismay, countless women would cast flirtatious glances his way, even when they were walking together.
Ryuho still says he loves me, but it feels like a habit at this point, Angelina thought. His proposal in Yule Castle was so long ago. He’s probably forgotten all about it.
At some point, Ryuho had grown distant from Angelina. As children, they’d curled up next to each other like kittens and slept. Now, they would hold hands at the most, and Angelina was always the one to initiate.
Whenever Angelina saw Ryuho’s back, she wanted to throw her arms around him and run her fingers through his hair. Yet each time she drew too close to him, he laughed and pulled away. She didn’t know why he did that or what she should do.
Seeing Angelina’s shoulders slump, Marfa wrapped her in a gentle embrace. “Well then, let’s pick an outfit that will make Prince Ryuho happy.”
“…Thank you, Marfa.”
The palace ladies rallied to attend to Angelina. They massaged her muscles, performed a skin care routine, and arranged her hair in a lovely style. Despite choosing an outfit suitable for a casual stroll through town, they imbued it with a slightly more mature ambiance than usual. Her one-piece dress was a chic black, matching her shoes. It was less voluminous than usual in accordance with the growing trends of the outer enclosure. Finally, the decorative buttons and hemming were a demure aqua hue.
Angelina’s eyes widened as she examined herself in the mirror. The contours of her body were far more pronounced than she’d anticipated, causing a blush to creep up her cheeks. She looked more sensual than usual, thanks to the thorough efforts of the palace ladies.
“Um, this is a wonderful outfit, but does it look good on me…?” Angelina asked.
“Why, of course!” Marfa exclaimed.
The palace ladies nodded along with her.
“Are you finished getting ready, Lina?” a voice called from the other side of the door.
Angelina’s heart raced when she heard Ryuho’s voice. She couldn’t answer. Her chest felt like it might explode.
“You still in there, Lina?” Ryuho called out again.
“That’s your cue, Princess,” Marfa said.
The idea of Ryuho seeing her in such a different outfit than usual caused Angelina’s cheeks to burn even redder. “Give me a minute, Marfa. My heart is about to burst…”
“She’s coming now,” Marfa answered on Angelina’s behalf.
“Marfaaa…” Angelina whined, seeking the woman’s help.
Marfa merely grinned in response, giving Angelina’s back a light shove. “Here we go, Princess.”
“I-I just need a minute, okay?”
Marfa and the palace ladies joined forces to push the squirming Angelina out the door.
“P-Please, Marfa!” Angelina exclaimed.
Marfa closed the wardrobe door behind them, ignoring Angelina’s pleas for help.
“Seriously?” Angelina groaned, pressing her forehead against the closed door. “Let me back in.”
“Lina…”
Angelina turned around timidly upon hearing Ryuho’s husky voice. His fiery eyes sparkled as he gazed at her. Furthermore, his tiger ears—which Angelina hadn’t seen for quite some time—popped straight out of his hair.
“Ryuho…”
When she said his name bashfully, he spread out his arms with a wide grin, ears twitching giddily.
He’s going to hug me!
Realizing that, an overjoyed Angelina tried to dive into his chest. At that moment, Ryuho jolted and looked away, his arms falling to either side of him.
I should’ve expected that, Angelina thought, hanging her head from shock. Ryuho doesn’t love me anymore.
As Angelina slumped her shoulders, Ryuho cleared his throat. “Um…” he mumbled in a barely audible voice. “You look incredibly cute, Lina.”
When Angelina had worn formal attire during the ascension ceremony, Ryuho had kept shouting about how cute she looked. In fact, Angelina had needed to shush him. Today, however, he’d reacted completely differently, causing her heart to sink.
He probably doesn’t like these sorts of clothes, she thought, still hanging her head.
“This outfit is pretty weird, isn’t it?” she asked in a feeble voice. “If you don’t like it, I can change into my regular clothes…”
“No!” Ryuho shouted, shaking his head and hands at the same time. “That’s not what I meant!”
Angelina eyed him timidly. His face was bright red, and his breathing was heavy. When their eyes locked, Ryuho averted his gaze, causing her heart to sink again.
“But…” Angelina trailed off.
“That’s not what I meant,” Ryuho insisted, blood pounding in his ears. He gripped his chest in an attempt to calm his racing heart. “What I meant to say is… Um, you look beautiful. Incredibly beautiful and, um, cute…”
Angelina peered upwards.
“You usually dress up for ceremonies,” Ryuho continued, hiding his face in his hands. “Those clothes are for everyone to see, but you chose that outfit just for me, right? Because we’re going on a date?”
When he stated it outright, Angelina hung her head in embarrassment. She felt like running away.
“…Am I wrong?” Ryuho pressed, sounding none-too-confident.
Angelina shook her head fervently.
“Like I said, you look really beautiful,” Ryuho went on. “And different from usual. Seeing you look so mature made my heart race, and I had no idea what to do with myself.”
Angelina lifted her head. Ryuho was still looking at her with flushed cheeks.
“…You don’t hate this outfit?” she asked.
“No way! You’re super cute, and I’m super happy! I don’t even want other guys to see you!”
Angelina cocked her head, causing Ryuho’s heart to flutter. “I’m going to lose my self-control if you go around looking that cute,” he grumbled, hiding his mouth to obfuscate the words.
“What was that?” Angelina asked. “I couldn’t hear you.”
Ryuho pursed his lips. “Any guy who sees you in that outfit will fall even harder for you. If Hisame caught so much as a glimpse of you, he’d kidnap you back to Anda. Just thinking about it makes me want to hide you.”
Angelina burst out laughing. Hisame had graduated from the Advancing Wisdom Academy years ago. Afterward, he’d distinguished himself as a Prince of Anda. He was the king’s right-hand man, and people referred to him as Anda’s wise sage. He’d even become famous throughout Jinlong. During the recent ascension ceremony, he’d participated as the King of Anda’s representative.
“I don’t think you need to worry about any men kidnapping me,” Angelina said.
Ryuho continued pursing his lips. “Let me be the judge of that!”
No matter how mature Ryuho had become, he was still himself. Angelina found solace in his childish manner of speaking.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Angelina said with a laugh. “After all, you’ll always be by my side, right?”
Ryuho shrank back. He couldn’t muster a counterattack in response to Angelina’s dazzling smile and reassuring words.
“All right!” Angelina exclaimed, holding out her hand. “Ready to head out?”
Gah, she doesn’t play fair, Ryuho grumbled inwardly, taking her hand politely. She always managed to get the best of him.