As he hadn’t brought any servants, he was most likely still inside paying the restaurant fee himself.

Normally, someone who was leaving their country for an extended period of time would bring a servant or two with them.

Is this a foreign custom, or did something happen between him and his family?

Nevertheless, we weren’t close enough for me to ask about it

Lumiere and I were waiting for him to finish paying.

“Lady Lelouche… have you known him for long?”

“I only had the opportunity to greet him at a party once.”

“…What a sinful woman you are.”

Lumiere pouted for some reason.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

At that moment, Zafield came out of the restaurant first. He must’ve heard our conversation. Quite naturally, he began to lecture me.

“Lelouche, aren’t you being a little too carefree today? We’ve come here to apologize. If Mother saw this, she’d be so furious, she’d cry.”

“But Lord Zeldo seems to have a favorable impression towards me? I think I’ve achieved my goal of deepening my friendship with my future friend, Lord Zeldo, before returning home.”

“You can see that far ahead?”

Well, since he was a noble of the same age as me, he was going to lead the next generation of the country. After all, despite being the second son, he had a high chance of taking up a position in the military. In short, there was no harm in getting along with him.

Although the next generation doesn’t have anything to do with me—at least not directly.

As I was smiling and ignoring Zafield’s nagging, Zeldo finally came out. He scratched his head, somewhat bashful as he made a suggestion.

“If you still have time, why don’t we go sightseeing for a bit?”

Asatida Coast was a very beautiful place with fine white beaches.

However, even though it was a holiday, it wasn’t very busy. Could it be because of the pirates that were on the rise until recently?

It seemed that there were a lot of pirate ships around there at one time, but of course the country dealt with it quickly. Even so, bad rumors didn’t die down easily. Although it was a neighboring territory, if the town remained deserted, I’d be slightly uneasy.

Still, I was glad that the weather was nice today.

The dazzling blue ocean sparkled under the sunlight. I wanted to go closer to the shore.

The rhythmic sound of the white waves ebbing and flowing were very pleasant to the ear. They bathed the sand; carried small, invisible things; and then departed without asking for anything in return. The sound of the waves was by no means quiet, but that didn’t mean it interfered with our conversation as we enjoyed the sparsely populated beach.

I too, just like the breeze—

—Well, it’d be rude to think about that now.

“It’s been a long time since I last walked on a beach!”

“Eh, Lady Lelouche… This isn’t your first time going to the beach?”

“No, not really. The last time I went to the beach, I was with His Highness Zafield. We almost got lost at the sea at that time—”

I was about to tell Lumiere about my fond memories, but Zafield interrupted me.

“That was by a lake, not the beach. Ah, that was a rough time…”

Please don’t stare off into the distance like that. We just had to spend the night on a deserted island in the lake, didn’t we?

I tried to turn around to complain, but then… I toppled over. Deliberately, mind you. Just as I was about to fall into the sand, a strong arm supported me from the side.

“Are you okay, Lady Elcage?”

“Thank you, Lord Zeldo.”

I looked up at Zeldo, who had gently helped me up, and he averted his round eyes again.

“If you want to walk any further, you should take your shoes off. It feels good to walk barefoot on the beach.”

“That’s a wonderful idea! Well then…”

Such a nice gesture.

I took off my shoes and was about to take off my tights—

“Lady Leouche!?”

Lumiere exclaimed in surprise, and at the same time, Zafield’s hand flew to stop me.

“Lord Isaac, forgive me. In Lapisenta, it’s considered virtuous for women to show as little of their legs as possible. Even Lelouche is—”

“Ah, I see. I’m sorry about that.”

Right, as soon as I apologized, Zeldo bent down and put his arms around the back of my knees. Then, he effortlessly picked me up. As I was reeling from my shock, I noticed that Zeldo was making a point to avoid looking at me.

---

***T/N: Zeldo obviously has hots for her

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