IORAWM 27

Chapter : 27

“…Sister.”

Hearing Luark call me desperately and then clamp his mouth shut, I remembered yesterday.

“Tomorrow I’m going into town with Duke Rekesis’s party. So you go provoke Rekesis’s knights and make sure I’m alone with the duke.”

Of course, Luark had a seizure and rebelled, but…

He can’t refuse.

“If I need your help, I’ll let you know—so will you wait for me?”
“Yeah, I’ll definitely help you.”

He did say that.

“…Fine.”

Luark hesitated like his feet wouldn’t move, but as soon as I glared, he squeezed his eyes shut and headed toward the northern knights.
And swaggering, he picked a fight.

“You geezers really think you’ve got the skills to stroll to get fitted for clothes right now? Huh?”

“What do you mean skills? We may have lost, but Sir Luark, weren’t you using a magic tool?”

“…What? A magic tool?”

Of course, sparks burst in Luark’s eyes.

Just as expected.

I nodded, remembering yesterday again.

“If you want to fight Luark seriously, mention magic tools.”

“So you’re saying I only beat you because I used a magic tool?”

“Isn’t that true? You pulled out all sorts of bizarre stuff.”

“Isn’t that ‘sword prodigy’ title all a scam?”

At the knights’ provocation, Luark’s eyes widened.
Then he looked between me and the knights before shouting:

“Fine then! I’ve got nothing on me now—let’s fight again!”

“Gladly. Let’s strip ranks and fight fair!”

“I’ll make sure you never spout that crap again.”

And just like that, Luark and the knights sprinted toward the plaza—completely abandoning the idea of guarding me and the duke.

“Those brats—! Your Highness the Crown Princess, I will guard you personally!”

The duke panicked and immediately stuck close to me—and I couldn’t have been happier with how well things were going.

“I’ll be fine. More importantly, you must be hungry. How about we stop at a dessert shop I frequent before heading to our destination?”

“Dessert shop?”

The duke’s face hardened.

As expected.

It wasn’t that he sensed my ulterior motives and wanted to draw a line.

It was simply that…

He’s hiding the fact that he loves sweets.

I know.

Every dessert delivered to Duke Rekesis’s guest room in the Crown Princess’s palace annex disappears instantly.

“I do not like desserts. And I especially do not like dessert shops.”

He insisted again, and I made up my mind.

Time to be forceful.

I couldn’t miss a chance to dine alone with him—and win his favor.

I clasped my hands together and pleaded earnestly.

“I really want to eat strawberry whipped-cream cake. Won’t you go with me? Of course, I’d be thrilled if you ate with me.”

“W-well, if that’s the case, I suppose I have no choice…”

And some minutes later—

“What IS this flavor?!”

The duke was shoveling cake into his mouth non-stop.

Fufufu. All according to plan.

I elegantly sipped my tea and enjoyed the view through the window.

I brought him to a dessert café with VIP seating.

So now he was eating like he’d forgotten his dignity.

If he ever wants this again, he’ll have to go through me!

After our café date—

“Shall we head to our original destination now, my lord duke?”

“Yes…”

The duke followed, completely melted and pliant.

Watching him wobble along, I smiled with satisfaction.

He has a perfect frame—just needs clothes tailored to his size and he’ll look like a proper capital gentleman.

The next stop of our date was the Empire’s top men’s department store—Kazat.

He’ll love it when he receives gifts, right?

Just imagining the duke grinning with arms full of shopping bags made me smile too.

Once inside Kazat—

“We greet Your Highness, the blessed Moon of the Empire, Crown Princess Letiae!”

The employees poured out to welcome us.

And the duke froze stiff.

I held out my hand.

“Will you escort me?”

“Ah, yes!”

The building had five floors—bigger than most mansions.

I headed straight to the top floor.

“Wow!”

The duke exclaimed in awe as he gazed around.

Time to show off my wealth and power.

With a haughty expression, I trailed a finger along the racks of suits arranged like museum artifacts.

“From there to there—bring every outfit that fits the duke’s size. All of them.”

As expected, the duke panicked.

“A-am I supposed to try all those on?”

“Of course. First, let’s start with that formal suit the same color as your hair. Dressing well starts with basics.”

“Ah! Y-yes!”

A clerk rushed in.

“Duke Rekesis! We’ll assist you with fittings!”

“Ah, yes!”

Once he disappeared into the fitting room, I turned to the rows of suits presented before me.

Time to pick the next one.

As I leisurely ran my hands over the fabrics, I couldn’t help laughing.

If some run-of-the-mill noble acted like I just did, the staff would’ve stopped him.

But since I was the Crown Princess, no one interfered—no matter how casually I handled high-end suits.

Power really is the best.

How hard I’d worked to get it.

For a moment, I drifted into old thoughts.

Abel helped so much back then…

Seven years ago.

Right after regaining memories of my past life and the novel <Ma.Pae.Gong>, I started struggling to restore my family.

I used information from the book to eliminate corrupt lords, earn fame and money, invest in magical scholars…

And from somewhere in those memories—Abel started helping.

“You can’t accuse the Cheim lands yet. The late princess is involved. It’s dangerous. I’ll persuade the emperor.”

He knew the imperial family well enough to step in at the right moment.

“I heard a new metal is mixed with this ore. Want to check?”

He even took tributes meant for the emperor and brought them to me first.

Because of all that, I believed marrying him wouldn’t lead to misery.

At least when he stayed beside me—at the Haim Duchy…

Since I’ve been away from the palace a while, maybe he’s wandering the imperial grounds with his lover.

My stomach twisted—but I steadied myself quickly.

I’m out on a date with Duke Rekesis, aren’t I?

Comforting myself, I raised my head—

Huh?

Light spilled from the entrance.

The shop door opened.

And the silhouette walking in was so familiar that I muttered before thinking—

“…Abel?”

Impossible.

There was no reason for the Crown Prince to come here.

Yet the closer he got, the clearer it was.

It really IS Abel?!

While I panicked, his unreadable expression dropped downward—looking at the suits—and his eyes suddenly chilled.

Huh?

I looked down too—and realized the state I was in.

Oh no. WHY am I like this?!

Around me were suits at least 150% the size of a normal adult man—strewn everywhere.
And I, startled, had been gripping the breast pocket of a jacket tight enough to wrinkle it.

“Ah.”

With that realization, I jerked my hands away.

Abel’s mouth twitched as he stared at them.

After a moment of heavy silence, I spoke first.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. What brings you here?”

He lifted his gaze.

Royal blue eyes locked onto mine.

“I came to pick out clothes. Everyday wear.”

At that, my face crumpled.

“…What?”

“Why that expression? Is there a problem?”

Well—yes—

You don’t care about clothes!

The prince leaned lazily against a sofa by the window and picked up a fashion magazine.

I had to say something.

“Everyday clothes… wouldn’t you normally summon a tailor to the palace? I’m certain you have attendants for that. So rather than picking out clothes here by yourself, wouldn’t it be better to return to the palace—”

“Why should I? It’s not as though there’s a law that says the Crown Prince must summon tailors and never buy clothes himself.”

“…Of course there isn’t.”

“Then there’s no problem. So, Letiae, continue your business.”

With that, the Crown Prince casually flipped a page.

The whisper of turning paper filled the silence, along with soft music from a phonograph.

“….”

That’s when I realized.

Something was wrong.

No—seriously.

…Why is he HERE?!