THSMW 52

chapter 52

I looked at his chest with a puzzled expression for a moment before opening my mouth.

“The Emperor’s reply has arrived. I came straight to Your Highness after checking it.”

“Oh… really?”

Siegfried reached out his hand. I rummaged through the pocket of my skirt. Then it suddenly occurred to me—I had come looking for Siegfried empty-handed. My hand quietly slipped out of the pocket.

“I… left it in the drawing room of the annex. I completely forgot about it.”

I smiled sheepishly. Siegfried, seemingly unfazed, withdrew his hand and got up from his seat.

Was it because he was going off to war? For some reason, there seemed to be tension in his expression. I sat down roughly where he had been sitting. As I quietly looked up at him, he tilted his head.

“You said the reply arrived?”

“Yes. But sitting for a while doesn’t hurt anything, right?”

He was out here sighing alone in an open field. In the end, no matter how composed he tried to be, Siegfried was still only fifteen—a child.

He’d only experienced one monster subjugation so far. Of course he’d be scared thinking about war. I patted the seat next to me, offering it to him, hoping he could relax for a moment.

Siegfried, as usual, was good at listening to me. He looked at me silently for a moment and then sat down next to me without a word.

“So, what were you doing here?”

“Nothing. Is it that interesting that you have to ask twice?”

“Of course. And what was with that stationery? I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything important.”

“It wasn’t a bother. I was happy you came to find me for once. And this… it’s nothing, really. Don’t worry about it.”

You don’t look very happy for someone who says they are. I couldn’t help noticing how expressionless he was. Siegfried was definitely preoccupied.

“If it’s nothing, why hide it? Now I’m curious.”

“It’s just…”

“Ah, wait. I think I know what it is.”

“What do you think it is?”

Siegfried raised one eyebrow with a hint of amusement. His stiff expression had relaxed a bit, and I felt secretly pleased.

“A love letter for me.”

“…”

“Why the serious face all of a sudden? It was just a joke.”

His face hardened again. What, can’t you send one little love letter?

“It’s not a love letter. It’s for the ducal family.”

“Aha.”

“The Blanche Duchy. I was thinking of taking some of their private soldiers to the east.”

Siegfried added an explanation. It seemed he had been thinking about war all day. And I, talking about love letters, couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

“I stopped by the library and looked into a few things. From what I can tell, the reason the eastern front has dragged on for so long is a lack of troops. The barbarians have no proper structure. Rather than letting it drag on, it’s better to pick a day and wipe them out completely.”

“Oh…”

I didn’t really understand, but I decided to be impressed anyway. There was so much complicated talk—it seemed I hadn’t been reading this novel carefully. War stuff was hard. I didn’t know much about barbarians either. The southern region was peaceful, apart from monster subjugations.

“Just hearing all that, I feel like we’ve already won. The Empire is victorious! Ah, I can see it now! His Highness Siegfried defeats the barbarian chief!”

Well, I always played the role of encouraging Siegfried, didn’t I? I cheered him on dramatically.

Siegfried gave me a slightly bewildered look. Maybe I’d taken it too lightly—war wasn’t something to joke about. I glanced at him nervously.

He seemed amused by my darting eyes and gave a small smile. His smile gradually deepened.

I smiled brightly in return. My encouragement had clearly worked.

But… maybe it worked a little too well. Suddenly, Siegfried’s cheeks began to redden.

Once again, my deadly charm had shaken him. Imagine affecting the male lead like that with just a smile.

“Why…”

I was about to ask Siegfried something but stopped mid-sentence. Oh, right. He kissed me on the cheek a little while ago.

Since then, Siegfried had been busy going in and out of the library. We only passed each other in the halls a few times. This was our first proper conversation since.

I naturally looked away. Was he really that embarrassed over a cheek kiss? Considering his age, I guess it made sense.

I’d wait until he returned to his normal skin tone. If I brought it up, I’d probably just make him even more flustered.

I looked up at the clouds smudging across the sky like watercolor. At some point, Siegfried turned his head to look at the sky too.

I’d made him smile and blush. Maybe he’d finally relaxed a little. I glanced at him.

“This will be the last time we’re together like this.”

Then his soft voice reached my ear, and I couldn’t hide my surprise. I’d tried so hard to encourage him, but was it all meaningless?

“Your Highness, you’re not going to die. Why do you keep saying such ominous things?”

“It’s not that. I’m just… a bit sad.”

“…About what?”

“I don’t know how far apart we’ll be from now on. Isn’t that something to be sad about?”

“Oh. That is sad. Very sad.”

I replied instantly. Of course, I already knew we’d meet again in five years, so I wasn’t as sad as him, but still.

“You don’t look sad at all.”

Siegfried frowned and spoke like he was sulking. Normally, my emotions showed clearly on my face. Why couldn’t I manage that now?

“I am sad. Should I prove it by crying?”

I widened my eyes. But I wasn’t the type to cry easily, so tears didn’t come. Should I poke my eyes a little? I raised my hand, but Siegfried caught it and gently pulled it down.

“You don’t have to try that hard. I don’t want to see you cry, so this is enough.”

“But you said I didn’t look sad.”

“That doesn’t mean I want you to cry. Just imagining you crying is…”

He trailed off. It seemed like a habit of his to leave sentences unfinished like that.

“Just imagining it is?”

“…Ariel, you’ve never cried in front of me, have you?”

“No, there hasn’t really been anything worth crying over.”

“Ah, but why…”

Siegfried furrowed his brow and rubbed the back of his neck. This guy, seriously.

“Why what? Why do you keep cutting yourself off like you’re teasing a cliffhanger?”

“No, it’s just… I suddenly had this image of you crying, even though I’ve never seen it.”

“You weren’t imagining weird things, were you?”

“Weird things?”

Siegfried scowled even more. Honestly, knowing him, I wouldn’t put it past him.

“I didn’t imagine it. I don’t know. Maybe it was a dream.”

“…You dreamed about me crying? Is that your thing, Your Highness?”

“What kind of image do I have in your mind?”

Siegfried asked, clearly having picked up on my disapproving expression. It wasn’t a hard question.

“Someone who likes how I look in pajamas.”

“You make it sound like I’m a pervert.”

“Well, considering you saw pajama-Ariel in that vision of yours…”

“…”

Siegfried couldn’t seem to find a response. He silently glared at me. Who told him to have that kind of vision? In mine, the grown-up Siegfried was very proper, very respectable…

…with his shirt unbuttoned.

That’s one thing I must never let Siegfried find out about. I quickly avoided his gaze.

“You said you saw me too. I told you what I looked like—now you tell me. What did the grown-up me look like?”

I knew he’d ask that. I lightly ignored his eager question. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

He leaned forward, bringing his face closer to mine. Naturally, I leaned backward to avoid him.

But then my back hit a tree, and I had nowhere else to go. I raised my hands to cover my face.

What kind of soap did he use to smell this good? With my eyes closed, my sense of smell heightened, and I could clearly catch the scent of his skin.

—Tap

“…Huh?”

Something dropped. I lowered my head. Siegfried flinched. He reached out urgently.

It was the stationery he’d tucked in his front pocket. Since it had fallen closer to me, I picked it up.

The folded letter had parted slightly, revealing neat handwriting. I hadn’t meant to read it, but my eyes naturally drifted toward it.

“Diamond… pink…”

“Give it back.”

“Definitely pink… lots and lots…”

“…”

“What is this? A code?”

“…Yeah.”

A code for what? By now, news of Siegfried going to the eastern front must’ve spread throughout the Empire.

Could it be that he was afraid Aisa would stop him from borrowing Blanche Duchy’s soldiers? No matter how much Aisa interferes, she wants to defeat the barbarians too, right?

“I see. Sorry for peeking without permission.”

“…It’s fine. Actually, it’s lucky you’re kind of oblivious.”

“Did you just insult me to my face for no reason?”

He said it so casually too—how could he?

Siegfried let out a long sigh, clearly relieved. Now that I look at him… he seems suspicious.

Something smells fishy. Really fishy.