You're asking if I want to send you back? …No. How could I ever send you away?
The moment he formed that answer in his mind, Tristan realized he was already pulling Dory into his arms.
His mouth was suddenly free.
He could shout if he wanted to—order the coachman to stop at once and return the unexpected guest to the capital.
But right now…
There was something far more important he needed to say.
Her name.
"Dory."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Dory… Dorys Redfield. How did you end up here?"
"Shouldn't we first discuss how Your Highness ended up leaving in the first place?"
Even that sharp tone of hers was sweet to him.
Tristan answered, letting the feeling that was blooming inside him spill into his words.
"You're right. I could discuss that for hundreds of hours, Dory."
"Eh? That's not what I meant!"
"Then, Dory, would you explain it to me instead? Even if it takes hundreds of hours, I don't mind."
"Your Highness!"
Dory answered him—sometimes laughing, sometimes annoyed—and every second of it slowly filled Tristan's mind.
He realized, all over again, how reckless it had been to think he could go a whole week without seeing her.
How could he possibly endure an entire week when just hearing her two-syllable name gave him this much joy?
"Dory."
"P-please stop calling me that! You're saying my name on purpose, aren't you?"
"Exactly. As always, your judgment is impeccable… But before that, you need to answer my question."
Tristan braced himself again.
He couldn't stay dazed forever.
He didn't want to look foolish in front of Dory—and besides, with every moment, they were moving farther from the capital walls.
He had to sort this out before things became truly irreversible.
"Dory. How… exactly did you end up here?"
Tristan regained his composure faster than I expected and asked me.
Yeah. Even if he sometimes acts cold or arrogant, it's this side of him that draws me to Tristan.
'If I answer wrong, will he turn the carriage around and drag me back to the capital?'
I wasn't planning to give up so easily, but… I answered his second question first.
"Though I'm usually good at gathering information quickly, I didn't know about your trip until I read your letter. That led me to infer that your departure was arranged hastily and you likely didn't get permission for road control."
"So you expected there would be delays."
"Exactly. And I figured if I just tried to chase after the carriage from the Redfield estate, you wouldn't stop for me. So I borrowed some help to block the road and create a distraction."
It was a trick I learned from O. Henry's short story The Gift of the Magi and Cupid's Intervention.
A wealthy father had bribed police and coachmen to block the road so his son could spend enough time with the girl he loved to confess his feelings. I quickly hired local errand runners and mercenaries to fake an accident outside the city and asked the Crown Princess for a little more time, too.
Of course, there was a chance Tristan had already left. He could have missed the Princess entirely or taken a back route to avoid the trouble. Even so, I had to do everything I could.
Tristan let out a sigh.
"No wonder the Crown Princess kept me with meaningless conversations… Wait a second. Were the people blocking the road also your doing?"
"I won't deny it."
"Haaah… Dory. Why did you go to such dangerous lengths?"
"Dangerous?"
"This carriage is still moving farther from the capital. If we don't stop soon, you'll lose your chance to return—and it'll just be you and me, traveling far away together."
"…"
"You know what that would imply, don't you?"
Of course I do.
In this era, if a man and woman traveled alone together—even under the pretense of official business—it would be seen as irreversible proof that something had happened between them.
I answered.
"That's exactly why I got on."
"…What?"
"To make sure Your Highness couldn't run away anymore. Anyway, Tristan and Dorys are going to get married—"
I could feel my face flushing, but I stubbornly pushed on.
"Their relationship may have started with a political marriage, but even when left alone, even when no outside force pushed them… they still wanted to be together."
"…"
Tristan's hands, which had seemed ready to push me away at any moment, finally stilled.
Slowly, his face turned red.
Even when he ducked his head, his flustered expression only stood out more through his tousled silver hair.
Without lifting his head, he spoke.
"Dory… Are you saying… you want to stay by my side?"
My face burned. I wanted to clamp my mouth shut. But no—this was my chance to say everything, while he was still hiding his face.
"Yes."
"Th-then, um, your feelings—"
You know without me saying, right? I wanted to leave it unsaid, wanted to just let our eyes meet and convey everything.
But…
This was my turn to shout it out loud.
Just like Tristan had once confessed to me, even at the lowest, most embarrassing point of his pride.
No matter how much I cringed later, better that than a lifetime of regret.
I opened my mouth slowly.
"Tristan Winter Albion."
Let me speak words worthy of your name.
"I, Dorys Redfield…
am beautiful, diligent, wise, strong—"
"…"
"—and at the same time arrogant, reckless, and foolish. But even so, I want to stay by Your Highness's side, forever, forever, forever!"
The last sentence burst out almost like a strangled scream. Tristan wore an endlessly complicated expression.
"…Did you say foolish?"
So he admits the first two parts.
But he has to admit the last one, too!
"I-I mean, it's true, isn't it? Isn't it foolish? What else do you call someone who keeps pushing someone away all through summer and only confesses in autumn that he's been in love the whole time?"
"…"
Tristan clenched his teeth and let out a long sigh. It seemed he had no rebuttal at the moment. I was about to vent even more of my pent-up grievances, but I stopped—
Not because I thought I'd gone too far, but because I was curious about how he would respond.
He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, then spoke with a wry smile.
"Just as you said… maybe I really am a fool. Even now, all I can think about is wanting to kiss you."
"…Huh?"
"And what's truly hopeless about me is…"
With those unexpected words, Tristan's upper body leaned closer to mine. But somehow, I knew—he wouldn't touch me unless I allowed it. Only a small voice brushed against my ear.
"Greedy as it is, I want to kiss you and keep hearing your voice at the same time."
"…Even if what I'm saying is calling you a fool?"
"Exactly. No matter what you say, could you keep talking for me?"
"No."
My inner mischief moved my body.
I clamped my mouth shut.
When I saw Tristan's eyes fill with a look of injustice, like he was thinking, 'Really? You're going to do this to me?', I moved my head just a finger's width closer to him.
Even though now neither of us could speak aloud, with our breaths caught between us—
I felt like I could still understand exactly what he was trying to say.
Love filled me.
When we arrived at the Blue Atrium, I was worried that the territory's people and the employees of the Count's estate would be cold toward us.
'They were probably enjoying the peace with their boss gone, and now a new boss suddenly shows up without even sending notice? And a parachute appointment, no less!'
It had felt so thrilling when I jumped into Tristan's carriage without a second thought…
But unexpectedly, the staff guarding the estate welcomed Tristan more warmly than I expected.
Well—"more warmly than expected," anyway—
"Y-Your Highness Tristan? How did you come without any notice?"
"You've been informed about Count Braum's dismissal, I assume."
"Yes, we have."
"I arrived early to handle the administrative paperwork. Sorry for the suddenness, but I'd appreciate it if you could make time slowly, at your convenience."
"There's no need to apologize! It's actually much better for us to get things in order ahead of time."
To welcome a boss who barges in bringing paperwork—
Wasn't that basically the treatment of laying down a red carpet?
'Tristan must have built up a ton of trust on his last visit…'
I followed along, greeting the staff one by one, handing out food gifts from the Crown Princess.
Fortunately, the employees gladly accepted the boxes of treats.
An experienced-looking maid came to guide us.
"Welcome. We've prepared the reception room and study for you. The guest rooms may take a little longer to get ready… If you need to rest, we'll try to prepare them as quickly as possible."
"No rush on the bedroom. First, please take us to the office."
"Understood."
"…Ah, wait. My fiancée must be exhausted from the journey. Has the dining room been—"
The dining room!?
How would the staff see me if he started demanding food right away?!
"I'll go to the office too!"
The maid bowed to me.
"Understood, milady. The easternmost guest room will be prepared, so feel free to use it whenever you need to rest."
As we followed her toward the office, a simple but obvious fact hit me—
The guest room…
Are we going to be sharing just one room?