APNSA 10

Chapter 10

Hide-and-Seek of Tears (2)

“Stop crying.”

I sighed as I looked at Edwin, who showed no sign of stopping his tears.

“I’m sorry I was late, but I still found Your Highness, didn’t I?”

“Hngh—!”

I hadn’t intended to allow even that, but the boy wiped his nose on my sleeve.

Watching the snot stretch and stick to my sleeve made me frown without realizing it.

I hid my sleeve behind my back and continued speaking.

“Please stop crying. The head maid stopped me in the middle, so I had no choice but to be late.”

On the way here, I had already been scolded by the head maid for “leaving the prince alone and going for a leisurely walk.”

I remembered her expression when she heard I had been playing hide-and-seek with him, completely dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Edwin looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.

“…Why did you look for me?”

Why? Wasn’t it obvious that the seeker had to find the one hiding for the game to end?

It was a truly strange question.

“Because I need to find Your Highness for it to end.”

When I answered as if it were obvious, he mumbled with his lips puckered.

What kind of answer was he even expecting?

I stood Edwin up, then got up and tapped Emilia lightly on the bottom.

Unlike her crying older brother, Emilia had stopped crying easily.

“Anyway, since I won, you must eat all your vegetables.”

At that moment, Edwin’s face, which had just been calming down, turned deathly pale.

“It’s cold now! How am I supposed to eat this! Vegetables taste even worse when they’re cold!”

Back in the dining hall, he glared at the pile of vegetables on his plate and complained.

“I’ll have it reheated.”

“Grr, forget it!”

After staring at the plate for a while, he scooped up a piece of vegetable with his spoon and shoved it into Emilia’s mouth.

Unlike her older brother, the princess had a good appetite and happily chewed it.

“This is a bet, Your Highness.”

As I pulled Emilia away from him, Edwin glared at me.

“Do you enjoy bullying me?”

“Bullying? Vegetables are good for you.”

“So what if they are! They taste bad!”

“Your Highness, the world of competition is always cruel. A loser must keep their promise and eat even unpleasant food.”

At the word “loser,” he frowned, but eventually put his vegetables into his mouth.

“Ughhh—!”

He trembled all over in misery as he chewed.

After much struggle, the prince finally finished his meal and ran straight to the garden without even looking back.

“Brother! Ria wants to go too!”

He ran across the green lawn with his sister, looking so lively it was hard to believe he had been crying earlier.

I stood under the shade of a tree with my arms crossed and thought back to the morning.

—He died.

Edwin had said that the former nanny had died.

‘Judging by how the servants avoid talking about the former nanny, it probably wasn’t an honorable death.’

I tilted my head while watching the prince run around in the garden.

‘From how he talks, it seems like he was close to that nanny.’

Yet he could act so bright after experiencing someone close to him dying.

‘Is it just his nature, or is he just thoughtless?’

Then something flickered on Edwin’s wrist as he lifted his arm.

It was the bracelet I had taken back from those rude servants.

Even under the sunlight, the pale pearl bracelet still felt strangely familiar.

Why did it keep catching my eye?

‘It’s just an accessory you can see anywhere.’

Yes, it was a cheap accessory you could find anywhere.

The problem was why the prince of a nation was wearing something like that as if it were a charm.

Unable to hold back my curiosity, I spoke first.

“Your Highness, I have a question.”

As I approached, Edwin turned around with a sulky face.

He was clearly still upset about the vegetables.

“What question?”

“Is that bracelet something precious to you?”

Edwin paused for a moment, then raised his brows.

“Why do you want to know?”

“You seem to carry it around very carefully.”

He stayed silent.

Then Emilia answered in place of her brother.

“My brother’s bracelet was Emma’s! Emma gave it to him!”

“Ria! You don’t need to say that!”

Edwin panicked and scolded his sister.

But the princess only looked innocent, as if she knew nothing.

Edwin sighed and turned back to me.

He stared at me for a moment, then spoke in a rough voice.

“Yes. It’s very important to me. It’s Emma’s keepsake.”

He fiddled with the bracelet on his wrist.

“It was Emma’s last wish.”

“A wish?”

“Yes. Emma said she wanted me to be happy. That was probably her last wish.”

A wish for someone else’s child’s happiness at the end of her life.

“…Her way of thinking is just like that woman.”

At that moment, someone poked my hand.

It was Edwin.

“Here, a gift.”

He held out his clenched right fist.

He had just been angry, but now suddenly a gift?

Perhaps he did know manners after all.

“Thank you.”

As I reached out my hand after thanking him—

“Puhaha! Revenge!”

Edwin burst into laughter and placed something green and large onto my hand.

It was long, thin, and strangely shaped.

A grasshopper.

“……”

Edwin looked at me with excited eyes, clearly hoping I would freak out.

But I had no intention of reacting as he wished.

“I’m not very fond of insects. I’ll return it.”

I politely grabbed the grasshopper by its hind legs and placed it gently on top of Edwin’s head.

Both Edwin and the grasshopper stared at me in confusion.

“Ah! What are you doing!”

Only then did Edwin realize what happened and shook his head violently.

“This isn’t funny at all! I’m going inside!”

“Please do.”

“Emilia, come here! Let’s go inside and play!”

He took his sister and went back into the palace.

I was about to follow them when I felt a sharp gaze on the back of my head.

I slowly turned around.

Behind me were only trees, bushes, and a long wall.

‘Even a spoiled prince is still being watched.’

Royal families are always overly suspicious.

I looked toward a distant tree and smiled faintly.

‘Well, their skills don’t seem that impressive.’

I stood there for a moment when a sharp voice rang out.

“Hey, hurry up and follow us!”

Edwin and Emilia.

Their innocent eyes were looking at me.

“I’m coming.”

There was no reason to stay here any longer.

I straightened my clothes and casually turned to walk.

‘I have bad luck.’

While walking with the prince and princess, I ended up running into the head maid.

The head maid did not even acknowledge my existence.

She gave a light bow to the prince, then sharply scanned him with her eyes.

“Your Highness, did you perhaps leave the prince’s palace yesterday?”

Edwin flinched heavily at her question.

He looked like a frightened fawn.

‘He was bold enough to call her an old witch in front of me.’

After a long pause, Edwin finally muttered in a trembling voice.

“N-no. I didn’t go out…”

“Please tell the truth. You did not go out?”

The head maid’s cold voice made Edwin even more frightened.

“Lying is not good, Your Highness.”

“I, I…”

“The maid serving Your Highness clearly reported that you went to the stable yesterday. Is that not correct?”

Ah, that maid who fetched water.

Come to think of it, I remember mentioning the stable in front of her.

‘To think she reported it immediately. Very loyal.’

I clicked my tongue at the maid’s loyalty.

“Let me ask again, Your Highness. Did you really not go out yesterday?”

“I just…”

“Then I suppose I must discipline the maid who submitted a false report.”

At those words, Edwin hurriedly spoke.

“W-wait! I just went out for a bit! It was just a walk!”

Why was he so scared?

It was an incomprehensible reaction.

He had been fearless even against large stable workers, so why was he like this?

Meanwhile, the head maid’s expression grew even sharper.

“A walk? I clearly told you not to wander outside without my permission.”

“I went out with her.”

As I suddenly cut in, the head maid’s brows furrowed.

So did Edwin’s.

He looked shocked that I had taken his side.

“What do you mean by that, Lady Brown?”

“Your Highness said he was bored staying inside the prince’s palace, so I accompanied him for a walk outside.”

Good. That was a decent nanny-like answer.

I was quite satisfied with myself, but the head maid’s expression twisted further.

It was even worse than when she came to find me on the first day I woke up here.

“How ridiculous.”

The head maid narrowed her eyes and sneered.

“Lady Brown, on what authority do you dare take His Highness outside?”