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Chapter 11
“Wow, sis, why are your hands so soft?”
“Because I’ve never done housework in my life.”
“Why not?”
“There was no need to.”
A small hand, caked with mud, dirtied Leriel’s hand. She didn’t mind at all and simply held it out to the child.
The child squirmed and poked at her hand as if fascinated. It was unbearably cute.
“Was the bread good?”
“Yes! I didn’t know bread could be that soft, warm, and fluffy!”
“That’s a relief. From now on, you’ll be able to eat it every day.”
“E-every day?!”
The child’s eyes widened in disbelief. Leriel only smiled gently at the sight.
There was no point explaining things like how a bakery had caved in to the wealth of the Tenebris family. The child wouldn’t understand anyway.
“You need to eat every day so you’ll have the energy to play. Just like today!”
“Yeah! You’re right! Playing with you is so much fun, sis!”
The child burst into giggles again and clung to Leriel.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Leriel hugged the child and patted their back. In the end, even her blouse was smeared with dirt.
She didn’t care in the slightest.
“Leriel!”
“…Your Highness?”
But Ferik couldn’t stand seeing Leriel like that.
As he approached, Leriel asked the child’s permission and stood up. Rattle—sand that had been resting in the folds of her dress fell to the ground.
Ferik stared at it as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“You must have been busy. I’ve never seen you looking this disheveled.”
Whether she realized how she looked or not—
Leriel simply laughed as she took in the changed Ferik.
His uniform coat was nowhere to be seen, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his arms. Sweat beaded not only on his exposed skin but even on his forehead. It looked like he, too, was throwing himself wholeheartedly into volunteer work.
For someone who had scolded her so harshly, he was being quite diligent.
Leriel really couldn’t help laughing.
Ferik found himself smiling blankly along with her, then snapped back to his senses in a hurry. For a moment, he even thought he’d gone mad.
“I ran over thinking you were about to hit the child when you reached out. I never imagined you’d hug them.”
Tilting his head, he spoke in a low voice. Without thinking, a remark slipped out.
“I was wrong about you.”
It was the same thing he had said a few hours ago—but this time, he meant it.
Leriel could tell.
A faint flush briefly crossed her cheeks. Reflected in her dull green eyes, Ferik’s face looked utterly sincere.
Ferik looked at Leriel. Leriel looked back at Ferik.
For a moment, it felt as if the entire world had stopped.
It was the first time they had simply stood quietly facing each other since the day of their engagement, waiting for the officiant to finish.
Then Ferik, as if making up his mind, opened his mouth first. There was something he absolutely had to ask at this moment.
“Wow! The Crown Prince and the noble lady are dating!”
“I saw it! The handsome guy was just about to kiss the big sister!”
If not for the children who suddenly swarmed around them, he might have been able to.
“Hm…?”
Small children barely reaching his waist crowded in, their eyes sparkling.
Ferik shut his mouth in flustered silence and raised his hands. If he swung an arm carelessly, someone might get hurt.
“So are you two dating?”
“…Well.”
“You’re not?”
“That’s not it, but…”
“If you’re dating, why aren’t you kissing?”
The clueless children bombarded them with questions, unaware that the woman before them was the infamous villainess of the age.
Even the title of Crown Prince was utterly useless here.
Faced with the barrage of questions, Ferik closed his mouth awkwardly and shot Leriel a glance—one that clearly said, Do something.
“Alright, alright. I know you’re curious, but it’s time for us to go now! Could you make some room?”
“Boo, you’re running away!”
“Don’t go, sis! Big brother!”
At Ferik’s signal, Leriel tried to calm the situation, but the children’s excitement showed no sign of dying down—perhaps because the two looked like a princess and prince straight out of a fairy tale.
Sigh… can’t be helped.
In the end, Leriel decided to use her last resort.
When she lowered her head and lifted it again, not a trace of a smile remained on her face.
“If you keep this up, sis will get angry.”
Her cold eyes looked down at the children. The corners of her mouth drooped without the slightest hint of rising.
It was the villainess everyone knew—Leriel Tenebris.
“…!”
“You all listen so well when it’s like this.”
The effect was immediate.
Confronted with an unfamiliar, chilling malice, the children screamed and scattered away from Leriel.
Watching their retreating backs, Leriel smoothly relaxed her expression again.
Falling for that—how adorable.
Her gaze, fixed on the innocent children, overflowed with affection, making it hard to believe she was the same villainess from moments ago.
Seeing that change, Ferik swallowed the question he had been about to ask.
For an instant, he saw the Leriel of old in her. He couldn’t tell which version of her was real.
“Since it came up, shall we head back soon? You probably have work to attend to as well, Your Highness.”
“…Yes. Let’s.”
Then he would have to proceed carefully.
The situation itself—being shaken by her just because she’d acted kind for a single day—made no sense to begin with.
Biting his lip, Ferik quietly followed Leriel. He had joined the volunteer work to uncover her true intentions, but in the end, all he gained was more confusion and no answers.
As he felt the sweat from carrying supplies cool in the breeze, Ferik silently revisited the question he hadn’t been able to ask.
If you can make that expression, then why were you so cruel to me at our engagement ceremony?
He didn’t know why he wanted to ask it. Nor did he know what kind of answer he was hoping for.
The feelings he thought were hatred toward her were dulling, yet he felt no sense of crisis about it. Why was that, Ferik Trian?
Forcing himself to ignore the growing pile of questions, he boarded the carriage bound for the royal palace.
Even then, his gaze followed his fiancée, Leriel, who climbed into a different carriage, all the way to the end.
Watching the rear of the carriage heading first toward the ducal estate, Ferik muttered under his breath, unable to hold it back.
“Just who are you, Leriel…?”
It was a quiet remark she couldn’t possibly hear.
Today went pretty well, didn’t it?
Inside the carriage returning to the ducal estate, Leriel couldn’t stop herself from smiling broadly.
At last, things were starting to go according to plan.
The volunteer work had gone smoothly, her fiancé who once hated her had softened, and the children were adorable. If things continued like this, being disowned by the duke would only be a matter of time…
“…Huh?”
Leriel, who had been stretching back against the carriage seat, froze mid-motion.
What was this? This uneasy feeling.
It was the same sensation she’d felt earlier that morning when she finished talking with Ferik and set off for the orphanage.
She straightened up abruptly and began analyzing the cause.
Something was bothering her.
Everything went well, didn’t it? Volunteering—no problem. Fiancé—seems fine. Children—adorable.
Blink. Blink.
Wait. Did I just think my relationship with my fiancé had no problems…?
“Eeeek!”
A shrill scream burst out of the carriage. Startled, the coachman reined in the horses and turned around.
Regardless, Leriel clutched her head, her face stricken with shock.
This was a disaster of epic proportions.
Wasn’t the engagement never supposed to continue like this and lead to marriage in the first place?!
That was the fundamental premise she had overlooked because she was too pleased about being suspected by Ferik. If she ended up staying with him, would the saintess who had her eyes on him just sit back and do nothing?
That would be nothing less than actively pushing the story back onto the original track.
This was bad. Very bad.
Her face pale, Leriel muttered to herself.
Being disowned is one thing, but first I had to break off the engagement!
To think she’d been flailing about while ignoring the safest route.
Even she was amazed at her own stupidity, but Leriel quickly regained her composure. There was still a way.
Calm down, Leriel Tenebris. Just go home and declare that you won’t get engaged.
Her parents would surely oppose it, since the engagement had been so hard-won.
But she had already decided to be an unfilial daughter, so that part didn’t matter much.
It’s fine. It’s fine.
Steadying her breathing, Leriel patted her racing chest.
Right—she had to avoid panicking over a small mistake and ruining what she needed to do next.
Lightly slapping her cheeks with both hands, Leriel lifted her head, her eyes once more sharp with resolve.
For some reason, she was already looking forward to the shocked expressions her parents would wear when she got home.
