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Chapter 41
His confidence was absurd, but I didn’t bother pointing it out.
Fine, whether it’s Joachim or Friedrich, they’re the same. Neither would listen to me right now anyway.
“Still, I’m going to tell His Majesty.”
Joachim’s expression instantly crumpled.
“Your Highness.”
“What you said isn’t wrong, but even so—he’d probably look more kindly on his own daughter than some stranger.”
“…Princess Marie was also His Majesty’s daughter.”
Joachim hit the mark with a serious face.
“Even if the Emperor is benevolent toward Your Highness…”
“So because he’s the Emperor, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself and act like I don’t know my place?”
I crooked my lips into a lopsided smile.
“You know what I’m like, Joachim.”
“…”
He stared at me for a moment, then muttered,
“That’s why I fell for you.”
Seriously? He manages to flirt even at a time like this. I stared at him in disbelief, and he let out a helpless smile.
“You won’t listen even if I try to stop you, will you?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be René Stade, would I?”
I replied as if the answer were obvious.
“I don’t want you to fall out of favor with His Majesty either. No need to create more reasons for me to feel guilty.”
I said it lightly on purpose, but Joachim looked grave.
“You’re… worried about me?”
“Well, if you put it that way…”
“Yet you won’t give me any reward for that worry.”
He muttered that last part, his lips twitching upward uncontrollably.
He looked so genuinely pleased that it startled even me.
“That’s more than enough for me, really.”
“…I didn’t know you were such a modest man.”
“As if.”
He laughed again, this time louder, as if I’d said something especially funny.
“My greed is as great as a mountain, but even that is satisfied as long as I have Your Highness. A single bit of kindness from you is enough to sustain me completely.”
“That’s hardly kindness. I just don’t want to owe you any more.”
“And even that burden is a joy to me.”
Joachim slowly removed the handkerchief he’d been holding. I thought he was taking it back, but instead, he used it to gently take my hand—like he just wanted some excuse to hold it.
“Do you dislike it?”
“No. I’ve no reason to refuse your loyalty.”
I answered expressionlessly.
“But I expect you to be perfectly clear on what I want, Joachim Rommel. I’ve told you already.”
“…”
“I don’t want you twisting my intentions under the guise of protecting me.”
It was my declaration that I intended to give up my right to the throne. Joachim still looked unconvinced, but he nodded.
“Even so, if Your Highness ever changes your mind, I will follow.”
Clearly, he thought I’d change my mind eventually. Just as I had thought of him earlier.
In that regard, we were alike. Which of us would be right… that would only be known in the future.
After parting with Joachim, I went out for a walk.
He’d wanted to accompany me, but I refused. I had something I needed to test alone.
My magic is back.
According to the books I’d studied, someone with high innate magic like René could create a vacuum around them from sheer intense anger.
Earlier, Lady Neumann and the guard really had been unable to breathe.
Let’s test it.
I stopped in the middle of the René Palace rear garden and fixed my eyes on empty air.
Then I imagined snapping a distant branch clean off.
Hyap.
“…”
Hyap, hyap.
“…”
Nothing happened.
Not that, huh.
While I was pointlessly glaring at the tree with bulging eyes, someone suddenly appeared in front of it—a tall, strikingly handsome young man.
Friedrich.
I quickly relaxed my eyes out of surprise, and our gazes met. Wait—did he think I’d been glaring at him?
Flustered, I smiled right away. Friedrich looked between me and the tree, then suddenly plucked a peach from one of the branches.
Wow. So you could reach that without a ladder.
I marveled again at how tall he was as he approached with the pink peach in hand.
Still trying not to cause misunderstandings, I kept smiling.
“Hello. Out for a walk?”
“Yes.”
“It’s hot today.”
“I had some things to think about.”
I was about to ask what he meant when he rubbed the peach against his sleeve and held it out to me.
I stared at it blankly, unsure why he was offering it, and he tilted his head.
“Weren’t you looking at it because you wanted to eat it?”
Oh. It must have looked that way. Since I’d been staring so hard at the peach tree of all things.
Well, at least he didn’t misunderstand worse. I nodded with a smile.
“I just felt like having peach tarts. I’ll eat some when I go back later.”
“Ah.”
He looked a bit awkward then.
Only for a moment—he immediately opened his mouth and took a large bite out of the peach.
The soft flesh tore under his sharp fangs with a vivid, juicy sound. The peach’s nectar slid from the bite mark and trickled down his pale wrist.
The sunlight made the clear, sticky juice glisten like a jewel on his white skin.
My eyes followed the movement unconsciously—and that’s when his voice reached me.
“It’s delicious.”
When I looked up again, he was already staring straight at me.
I hadn’t even been sneaking a look, yet I somehow felt embarrassed. I let out an awkward smile.
“I can tell.”
“Are you curious about the taste?”
“Well… it looks sweet enough without me trying it.”
He smiled strangely at that.
“It’s sweeter than you think.”
“Good for you. Seems you picked a good one.”
The peach did look ripe. Thick, plump, the skin fully pink.
Then something even pinker entered my field of vision.
Before I could even identify it, that pinkness filled my sight and a sweet peach fragrance hit me.
Then something soft—like peeled peach flesh—pressed against my lips.
Chup— The wet sound was the same as when he bit into the peach.
Sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing—all five senses hit at once before I even realized he’d kissed me.
When Friedrich pulled back and met my eyes, his slightly upturned eyelids curved like a crescent moon.
“How is it?”
Sweet, right?
His voice sounded casual, but his cheeks were flushed red, and his ears were bright as a cherry—like the very peach flesh he’d just eaten.
The contrast squeezed my heart painfully. I took a breath, trying to keep my expression steady.
It’s fine. Nothing serious. For René, something like that was basically a baby peck.
“I’m not sure.”
I replied as casually as I could.
“The taste was a bit faint.”
“Oh…”
He looked genuinely contemplative at that.
As if he had kissed me purely to convey the flavor of the peach.
His innocence was so absurd it nearly made me laugh—until—
“But it’s sweet…”
He muttered sadly, then took another bite of the peach.
Right. If he really wanted me to taste it, he should’ve just put the peach itself in my mouth.
And the moment I thought that, something sweet, soft, and moist slipped into my mouth.
Several pieces of it.
They filled my mouth before sliding out slowly, though the sweetness lingered inside.
I pressed them with my tongue; the flesh burst and juice spread across my mouth. Just as he had said—very sweet.
…But did he really have to share it like this?
I narrowed my eyes at him—Friedrich, who was bolder than usual—only to lose my train of thought when I saw his face.
“Sweet, right?”
His cheeks were now fully apple-red, as if there had been no impure intention whatsoever behind his actions. His eyes were innocent and earnest.
“…It is sweet.”
In the end, I forgot whatever scolding I’d meant to give him and just laughed.
