22: I Let My Guard Down!?
The 7th day of the loathsome operation. Outdoor battle.
“Wow, Lumiere in casual attire! It’s been a while! You look so beautiful!”
Prince Grimwald, who complimented me without a hint of sarcasm, took my hand.
The destination of our carriage was a nearby downtown area.
Other than being dressed in a casual attire, I also wore a wig to remain incognito.
After all, I was still the crown prince’s fiancée. Even if I was going out with my brother-in-law, it’d be better to not cause any rumors.
By the way, Silver laughed.
“—Isn’t it too late for him to butt in into your engagement?”
Even though Silver wasn’t working that day, I still asked him to help me get dressed. I was curious over whether he was putting in any effort into his appearance for his date.
As I suppressed the urge to sigh at the recollection, Prince Grimwald, who was sitting next to me, started combing my black hair with his fingers…
“But I like your violet hair more. Next time, let’s go out without any disguises.”
—I refuse.
Was what I’d like to say, but I had to uncover the reason behind his yandere transformation.
Despite his cute appearance, I didn’t think I could extract any information from Prince Grimwald with just a bunch of onomatopoeia…
Well, for the time being, “Nikkori…”
The downtown area, which was somewhat far away from the academy, was prospering in its own right.
Whenever the weekend was upon us, we nobles wouldn’t hesitate to splurge in the downtown, so it was to be expected. Rather, it was inevitable for there to be stores that looked better than those that catered to adults.
“What store would you like to visit?”
It’s like a real date.
After alighting from the carriage, Prince Grimwald beckoned to me with his hand. I couldn’t reject him, so I stiffly held his hand during the entire walk.
“Hey, do you like ice cream, Lumiere?”
Ahead of us was a brand-new ice cream shop. Come to think of it, didn’t the girls in my class talk about it before? As I recalled that, the prince grinned.
“Just a moment.”
—So, my wish was granted and my hand was released. Even though he could have just let his attendant do it, Prince Grimwald spoke to the ice cream shopkeeper in a familiar manner.
Ragri, who had blended in with the background, was still there. I let out a small sigh.
—W-what should I do?
I had especially prepared a small notebook and pen so that we could have a decent conversation.
I had planned to ask we rest at a café or the like in order to have a written conversation, but asking for something like that as soon as we’d arrived would have been too unnatural.
For now, I’ll just eat ice cream.
—After taking a leisurely stroll for a while.
In the blink of an eye, Prince Grimwald returned with only a single ice cream cone.
“Koten?”
“I don’t like sweets.”
—I didn’t know that.
Honestly, we weren’t that close, so I don’t know about his food preferences.
Even so, I was impressed by his ability to communicate with me despite my lack of words.
Then, Prince Grimwald presented the pink ice cream to me. It had the faint sour taste of berries and was very easy to eat. Combined with the richness of the milk, it was a delight.
“Kyururun.”
“It seems that you like it. More importantly—”
—During such a friendly conversation (?)
“Oh, look, what a coincidence.”
I saw a familiar duo.
They were Silver and Irene. Both were in casual attire. Irene wore a plain-colored dress, while Silver was wearing a brown vest with boots of the same color. Unlike me, who was in disguise, they walked in a very natural manner.
They didn’t have attendants. As Irene was the daughter of the Yattermen family, she should have one, but… I had never seen her with an attendant at school.
Is it because they are on bad terms?
Prince Grimwald spoke as if he had read my mind.
“It seems that Ms. Irene refused the Yattermen family’s offer to provide her with a servant. She said that she can take care of herself. What a strange girl.”
As he stared at her, his gaze was full of curiosity.
—then why don’t you just chase after her?
When I furrowed my eyebrows, Prince Grimwald turned to me and chuckled. Then, he licked my half-eaten ice cream.
“Unfortunately, even if I’m interested in her, it doesn’t mean that I’ll go after her.”
—Wait, didn’t you say that you dislike sweets!?
Prince Grimwald smiled when I uttered, “Hawawa!?” in shock.
“While it’s true that I don’t like sweets, I want to taste Lumiere’s food.”
He smiled and said, “Delicious~” while I almost dropped my ice cream.
***T/N: Man now I want ice cream.
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