• Josephine, the white horse, starred in the short story downloadable via the limited-edition bookmark from Volume 1. Although it was a white horse for riding, it could also be used as a carriage horse.

During a casual chat with God, I heard a story.

“Christmas Eve…”

“Yes, there’s a country with a tradition where an old man in a bright red suit, called Santa Claus, rides reindeer to deliver presents to children.”

What’s that?!

That sounds like a lot of fun!

As a lady, wasn’t it only natural that I’d want to try it?

Preparing the costume was easy.

I came from a duke family—there was nothing wrong with having one or two custom-made clothes as a hobby? The designer looked confused, but once I laid a sufficient amount of money on the table, he was delighted and promised to finish it as soon as possible.

Next up were the reindeer and sled.

Reindeer had to be imported from another country, so I’d use horses instead. This was just a trial, after all. The value in return was what mattered. I was sure that a white horse would stand out more at night, so I’d borrow the prince’s beloved horse, Josephine.

Hehe, when I told Josephine the reason, she neighed, “Leave it to me-neigh!”

“Lelouche, are you going to ride my horse?”

“Yes, I’ll leave the Elcage family’s horse with you in the meantime for anything urgent.”

“No, that’s fine, but… are you going to ride alone at night?!”

Of course, I had to obtain the owner’s permission.

I thought Prince Sazanjill would readily agree, but was there a problem?

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

“Isn’t that dangerous?!”

I was a duke’s daughter. My interest in horse riding was above average.

However, I had no experience as a coach driver… Nevertheless, Josephine and I were close. With the power of friendship, I’d easily overcome such a trivial issue.

Sazanjill didn’t pay me any heed.

“I’ll be Lelouche’s Santa!”

“I don’t need one. I want to be one.”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“If you are unwilling, then I won’t borrow Josephine.”

“That’s not the issue. The problem is that Lelouche is riding a horse alone late at night! Don’t tell me, you don’t intent to take an escort either?”

Isn’t that obvious?

What kind of Santa Claus had a whole group of guards?

Well, I’d never actually seen a Santa Claus, but that was far from the image I formed from the stories. I’d actually rather fly through the sky in a sleigh.

In the end, I agreed to Sazanjill accompanying me.

It was really unfortunate, but it couldn’t be helped.

After school, he accompanied me to choose the presents. As a duke’s daughter, money was not an issue either.

“By the way, who do you want to give presents to?”

I answered Sazanjill’s question with a smile.

“My cute children!”

And then, during the night of the operation…

Unfortunately, although it was freezing cold that day, it didn’t snow.

God wasn’t considerate. Wouldn’t it have been nice to have a miracle at such a time?

“I’m glad it didn’t snow. We wouldn’t want Josephine to slip.”

“Neigh. That’s no problem-neigh. Thank you for the consideration-neigh!”

Anyway, for some reason, Sazanjill was also wearing a red outfit. Moreover, he had a pure white beard. To be honest, it didn’t suit him in the slightest. Why would a crown prince dress up in costume in the first place?

By the way, the bell ribbon around Josephine’s neck was cute.

“Lelouche… looks good no matter what you wear.”

“Of course. I’m the future queen, after all.”

“Haha… I see. That’s good.”

Then, Sazanjill, who had mounted his horse, offered his hand to me.

At first, he told me to stay in the carriage, but I refused. How could I snuggle under a blanket and leave him alone out in the cold when I was the one who suggested it?

“It’s been a while since we’ve ridden together like this.”

“…Indeed.”

“Well, let’s start at Lumiere’s house!”

Under the law of the Kingdom of Lapiscenta, sneaking into a mansion without permission was a crime. The crown prince and his fiancée couldn’t openly commit illegal acts. We thus had explained the situation to her parents beforehand so we could secretly give the present.

Lumiere was sleeping soundly in comfortable sleepwear. She was breathing well, but she was facing straight up at the ceiling, not showing a single sign of movement. If she could make the most of this good posture, our after-school study sessions would be much easier.

“For Lumiere, this set of ten advanced textbooks will be enough, right?”

“Yes. With this, she’ll be on her way to becoming an upper-class lady!”

Fufu, Your Highness, please don’t look so gloomy.

In truth, I had tucked a bookmark made of pure gold inside. It was a lovely piece, modeled after flowers and fairies. I wasn’t sure if Lumiere would notice its value, but it was part of her education. I believed she’d be pleased.

Now, my next destination was my adorable little brother, Rufus.

His master was as strict as ever with him, but he allowed Rufus to stay in the dorm, which showed that he had high hopes for my brother.

Rufus was sleeping in a very cute pose, hugging a rolled blanket tightly. I wanted someone to draw a picture of him right now!

But this isn’t the time to be grinning.

My gift for Rufus was a new brush and paint set. Surely, it was okay for a family member to support him if only to this extent? I turned to his master, and he gave me a critical response: “Only once a year, got it?”

Oh my, I’d like him to be more lenient on his birthday too, but oh well. That could be postponed to the future.

“Isn’t this Lelouche?”

Sazanjill caught a glimpse of an open sketchbook. Rufus seemed to be practicing female expressions from various angles. Well, the woman in the picture did resemble me.

Having a little brother who couldn’t let go of his sister no matter how much time passed was troublesome.

We’d have to get our spirits up and bring father along when negotiating the birthday present!

Finally, we went to Sazanjill’s mansion—in other words, for Zafield.

“Sorry for making you go along with my selfishness.”

“We’re in this together tonight. Bring it on.”

Zafield was fast asleep in bed.

He was sleeping sideways in a safe pose, but something felt off. Was it just my imagination?

“Will Zafield be happy with a pair of gloves for swordsmanship?”

“I think it’ll be fine. They’re of good quality, and Your Highness and I chose them together. If it’s still not good enough, then there’s something wrong with the instructor.”

The instructor was of course the queen. Zafield seemed to have a lot of trust in her.

Sazanjill smiled wryly, saying, “Indeed…”

“—Lelouche… I love you…”

“Huh?!”

I flinched when Zafield suddenly spoke in his sleep. Sazanjill made an exaggerated cough.

“I wonder what kind of childhood dream he’s having. Let’s get out of here quickly, before we wake him up.”

Sazanjill took me by the hand, and I quickly left Zafield’s bedroom. Right before the door was closed, I heard a tongue click. Was it just my imagination?

It seemed that the sun would rise soon.

Such a profound night it was. As I warmed my hands with my breath, Sazanjill put something on them.

These are some cute pink gloves.

“J-just now, Santa Claus asked me to give them to Lelouche…”

“…Oh my, in that case, he should’ve just given it to me directly.”

“He said he was feeling a bit sick! I forced him to go home early!”

“I see… As expected of Your Highness, you’re very kind.”

Fufu, it seems that His Highness is still not good at making excuses.

Still, it wouldn’t be ladylike to accept this with hesitation.

“In that case, may I also deliver this to Santa Claus?”

“This is…?”

I took out a small gift bag.

Inside was a sweet called Berewecke that I made with my mother.

It was made by mixing pears, dried fruits, and nuts soaked in alcohol with bread dough. Moreover, it was spicy, so I believed it’d warm his body. The whole Elcage family guaranteed that it’d taste good.

“Please tell Santa Claus to slice it thinly and eat it with a hot drink.”

Sazanjill happily narrowed his eyes.

“…Of course, thank you.”

“Oh, no. I’m not giving it to you but Santa Claus, you know.”

“Ah, right!”

Josephine whined poutingly, saying, “I can’t watch this-neigh!”

So, I gave her the carrot I had tucked away and said, “Thank you for your hard work,” she ate it all in one bite with great vigor.

Thus, my holy night came to an end.

“—Wait, what about my gift?!”

“I’m going to take a nap and then we’ll have a party tomorrow.”

“Eh?”

God stared at me, wide-eyed.

I smiled. “You have to join the party! It’s going to be absolutely wild!”

I mean, from what I heard yesterday, people usually had a party on Christmas Eve, didn’t they? Of course, I had to experience it to the fullest.

Was there anyone else who could entertain me more than god?

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