That night.
I was about to knock on Miss Citoyen's bedroom door, my fist raised, when:
"You understand, young master, don't you? Just a greeting. Just a greeting."
"Commander, I'm warning you. If you stay longer than fifteen minutes, we'll storm the room without hesitation."
The head butler and Raoul pressured me from behind.
"Quiet. I get it. Why don't you trust me?"
I spun around and glared at them.
But both of them just looked utterly calm.
"Well, after seeing how the unveiling and dinner party went... Right, Raoul?"
"Indeed. Oh, he's a goner, absolutely smitten, aren't you, Head Butler?"
They both nodded in agreement.
"No, that's not it. We weren't flirting, were we?"
All I did was link arms with Miss Citoyen and go around bowing to every single relative. Even at the dinner party, we were both frantically dealing with the guests seated next to us. I even thought, "Is this what the Crown Prince does every day? It's tough."
"Every time you introduced Miss Citoyen to someone, you had that.'Isn't my wife super cute?' Look on your face, Commander," Raoul said coolly.
Really?
Was it that obvious?
"Anyway. I'm just going to say goodnight and tell her about Vandel."
I said, turning my back on them.
I thought they'd leave, but it seemed they truly intended to wait right there.
"Um... Miss Citoyen. It's me."
Knock, knock, knock, I announced my arrival with three knocks.
"Yes, come in."
A voice like ringing bells came from beyond the door.
I grasped the doorknob.
"Appropriate distance!" "Fifteen minutes!" The head butler and Raoul quickly interjected.
Shut up.
With the hand not on the knob, I shooed them away, opened the door, and stepped inside. Then I quickly shut it. But was it just my imagination, or did my back prickle? Their gazes were still fixed on me.
Feeling a bit unsettled, I quickly stepped into the room. Those two probably have X-ray vision.
I was thinking that, when I suddenly noticed the room's atmosphere had changed.
This was a room in my mansion.
It had been used as a guest room, but I had heard that the head butler and head maid were redecorating it to be suitable for a mistress.
The wallpaper and furnishings had all been completely changed, making it a very feminine room.
The curtains were also pale-colored, and perhaps because they softly absorbed the lamp light, the room appeared quite spacious.
The bed even had a canopy with lovely lace designs.
It suited Miss Citoyen very well.
"You must be tired from earlier, Prince."
She was sitting in a fauteuil in the center of the room, apparently drinking tea.
Miss Citoyen stood up and bowed politely, which made me feel abashed.
She seemed to have already bathed.
She was wearing a glossy, silk nightgown. The length covered her ankles, but her arms were bare, or rather... no, I suppose that's the design.
"Oh," I thought.
Dragon Crest.
I had heard that Crown Prince Arios disliked it, so I had imagined she might have tattoos all over her body or arms.
But the surface of her surprisingly slender and graceful arm had nothing on it. Only the orange light from the lamp shimmered there.
"Ah... I just came to say goodnight..."
Her glistening appearance made my heart skip a beat.
It was just her arm, but for some reason, I felt like I shouldn't be looking, so I quickly averted my eyes.
"Should I have come to you instead?" she asked, flustered.
I shook my head in surprise. No, actually, it's strange that I'm here. We already said goodnight to each other when we parted.
I really intended to go straight to sleep, but the Vandel situation came up, so I ended up disturbing her like this...
"Please tell me if you find anything inconvenient in the mansion. We'll address it immediately."
Ah, I should have bathed before coming here.
Don't I smell like sweat?
Thinking that, I hesitated to get closer to her.
"Everyone has been very kind to me. Eaton, my maid, is also very grateful."
She smiled, narrowing her eyes, but...
Somehow, it tugged at my heart.
This was because I had received a report from the head butler.
"It seems she had a very hard time at her previous residence."
This must be about the treatment she received at Crown Prince Arios's place.
According to Eaton, who had collapsed from crying too much, she hadn't even been given decent meals, and the clothes she sent for laundry were cut, and her personal items were destroyed. The head maid also frowned and told me, "It just goes to show their family's standing."
Miss Citoyen said nothing, but Eaton apparently sobbed and complained, "What did our princess ever do?"
Initially, she had apparently tried her best to salvage her relationship with Crown Prince Arios, but it was fruitless, and two years passed meaninglessly.
Then, the engagement was annulled.
"Young master. This is where a man shows his true mettle."
Both the head butler and head maid egged me on.
Despite such terrible experiences.
She showed absolutely no sign of it.
If she cried, complained, or whined like Eaton, I could comfort or cheer her up, but when she says nothing, it feels strange to just do something.
She wasn't hurt.
I don't like to say, "You're really suffering, aren't you?" to someone who acts like that.
"Um, Prince," she softly opened her mouth. "Yes," I replied by reflex.
"Thank you so much for everything this time."
She bowed deeply, and I widened my eyes in surprise.
"Not only did you offer a helping hand at the engagement ceremony with Crown Prince Arios, but you also proposed to take me as your own fiancée..."
"No, no, no, no! Wait!"
I hastily interrupted her.
"If you start saying things like that, then I need to apologize to Miss Citoyen instead. Uh..."
I scratched my head vigorously.
"I'm sorry for being such a bear-like man. My title as Prince is merely nominal."
When I shrugged and made a self-deprecating gesture, Miss Citoyen, like me moments before, widened her eyes.
Then, she chuckled.
Guh! So cute.
"You were exactly the Prince I imagined. You really haven't changed at all."
Haven't changed...?
"Wait, somewhere...?"
I was about to ask if we had met before, but Miss Citoyen spoke first.
"Prince, are you sure about me?"
"Truly, I'm more than satisfied. Yes. Yes."
I nodded eagerly. No, no. Too eager.
"That's good to hear."
She smiled, her cheeks pink. I could just watch her forever. Pure bliss.
But then, it hit me.
That's right.
I need to tell her about him.
"Ah... um, actually..."
"Yes?"
Miss Citoyen looked up at me, bewildered.
"My friend is coming tomorrow. A man named Vandel... I apologize for disturbing you when you're tired, but would you be able to meet him?"
"It would be an honor."
No, "honor," isn't it.
Honestly, I don't want to introduce them, but he's already in the capital. He moves too fast.
"Um..." she called out hesitantly again.
"Yes?" I replied, thinking that fifteen minutes must be almost up.
"Are you... bothered by the Dragon Crest?" she asked, and I stammered for a moment. I had just been thinking about that.
"To say I'm not bothered would be a lie... but it doesn't bother me that much. Um. Do I need to see it? Should I look?"
I asked, unsure of the correct response, and Miss Citoyen's face turned beet red to her ears as she shrank, pulling her chin in.
"No. Um, you don't have to see it... It's just. Don't you find it... unpleasant?"
"What is?"
"The Dragon Crest."
"No, not particularly..."
I was curious what it looked like. After all, I'd never had a chance to actually see one.
But "unpleasant"... What's that about?
"It seems... some gentlemen find even looking at it distasteful..."
She tried to find the softest way to phrase it.
Miss Citoyen spoke with the utmost consideration.
Probably, it's him.
That guy.
Crown Prince Arios.
He must have said something disgusting and nonsensical about it.
"When speaking of the Kingdom of Tania, dragons are indispensable. Those who bear the scale tattoo, which signifies the dragon, are to be revered... I think nothing more of it than that."
So, I chose my words with the utmost care as well.
Honestly, I wanted to tell her, "Just ignore idiots. Forget what a man like that said," But if she could forget or laugh it off, she wouldn't be bringing it up now.
"If it pleases you, Miss Citoyen, would you show it to me?"
When I said that with the gentlest smile I'd ever made, her entire body flushed crimson, as if about to burst into flames.
Eh? What? This reaction.
Did I say something strange?
"Um... I'd like to show you, but I'm not mentally prepared yet..."
"Mentally prepared?"
I instinctively asked back, and Miss Citoyen made her small body even smaller, pointing to the center of her chest. She spoke in a faint, almost vanishing voice, still looking down.
"It's... here..."
Exactly.
In her cleavage.
"My apologies!! Ah!! If I saw it now!! Yes, that would be bad!!"
I held up both hands to stop her.
No, it's not like Miss Citoyen in front of me was actually trying to show me, but...
My imaginary Miss Citoyen was saying, "Would you like to see?" and started taking off her clothes, which was bad.
This is a full retreat.
I can't take this anymore.
"Well then, Miss Citoyen! See you tomorrow!"
I said, bursting out of the room.
As expected, or rather, as predicted.
Raoul and the head butler were right outside the door.
"Why is your face so red?" "What were you fantasizing about?"
I ran down the corridor of my mansion, shouting, "Uwaaaaaaah!" Meaninglessly.