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Chapter 22
My room, with the window open.
A gentle breeze blew in, making the lace curtains flutter by the window.
There, I—or rather, the “box”—was placed.
In front of me was a table, and on the chair across from it, Prince Syphon sat.
“Um… well, greetings, Your Highness Syphon…”
“Sorry for the sudden visit. I just really wanted to see Mocha.”
“I-I’m… I’m scared… and in this form… sorry for the… intrusion.”
“Don’t worry. I understand the situation.”
While waiting for the prince to arrive, I had been observing him, and I could tell he seemed unusually excited.
Perhaps he was thrilled by this strange situation: having tea with a “box.”
The tea time itself was peaceful. Prince Syphon laughed as he watched the “box” absorb the tea and sweets.
“Hahaha. This really is amusing. The liquid ripples, yet the other part doesn’t move at all.”
“If it moves… it might spill or break… so…”
“That’s true.”
He seemed satisfied with that explanation.
…Still, seeing the prince laugh in such a natural, relaxed way was refreshing. It was quite different from his usual dignified and cynical demeanor.
After that, the conversation continued in a polite, neutral manner.
Since we didn’t know much about each other, we began with basic, surface-level topics.
The prince asked questions that seemed like simple self-introductions.
Even while understanding the deeper intention behind the questions, I deliberately answered them plainly.
Regardless of the content, I was genuinely happy that the prince patiently listened to my hesitant words all the way through before responding.
On the surface, it was a calm, gentle exchange.
The soft wind from the open window made the lace curtains sway.
Through the curtains, sunlight sparkled, illuminating the prince’s hair.
From an objective viewpoint, it looked like a picture-perfect, beautiful tea scene—exactly the kind of royal tea time ordinary people imagine.
…Well… except for the one detail that I wasn’t a beautiful young lady across from the prince, but a box.
“As I’ve said openly, I enjoy interesting things.
Honestly, sometimes I can’t control my impulses. I may cause trouble for you, Mocha.”
“In that case… I am… a box… so… I’ll probably always… end up causing trouble…”
“That’s fine. I understand that going in.”
The prince nodded seriously, then gave a refreshing smile—one I’d seen before while peeking at him: cheerful, yet somehow a little suspicious.
…Perhaps I should be a little cautious here.
“That’s why I wanted to ask what kind of things you like.”
He had asked this during our earlier neutral conversation too. At that time, I deliberately answered with my favorite, Ruby fruits.
“You’ve openly said you like interesting things, so it’s not strange that I’d want to know what you like.”
This time, it seemed he wanted me to answer the question truthfully.
So I answered honestly:
“I’m not sure if I can say I like anything in particular…
But I do like… increasing my knowledge.”
“Do you mean gaining knowledge from books? Or more like gathering information?”
I wasn’t sure why Prince Syphon asked in such detail, but I answered confidently:
“Both.”
For a moment—I felt the corners of the prince’s mouth lift slightly.
At the same time, a tension seemed to ripple through the room.
Only Kachina appeared calm.
Perhaps everyone else was thinking:
*(This young lady… could she be… the same type as Prince Syphon…!?)
In a sense, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong
