“Samuel, we are meeting with Lady Alexandra in the courtyard today.”

“Yes, Lady Avril.”

“Myaa.”

Avril couldn’t help but smile at the adorable replies of Samuel and Blue.

She had come to the royal palace again today. Dylan apparently also had an appointment at the palace, and they rode in the same carriage, but they had parted ways at the gate not too long ago.

The trip she, Dylan, Samuel, and Blue had in the carriage was both lively and enjoyable. That cheerful and friendly atmosphere gave her a sense of relief, but that wasn’t the only reason.

When I’m alone together in a small space with Lord Dylan, what happened the other day inevitably crosses my mind. Having Samuel and Blue with me is reassuring, or rather… Yes, it is reassuring.

Strictly speaking, the expression “reassuring” wasn’t quite the right word. She couldn’t help but feel as though something akin to a strong front was mixed in, but that wasn’t something she felt like she would discover unless “I want you to be prepared” came again.

At any rate, Avril passed through the castle corridors while clutching the romance novels she had borrowed from Alexandra the other day. She walked along the rose hedges and made for the courtyard.

The season would soon turn into winter, but the day was relatively warm.

She had become quite accustomed to coming to the castle as well. Amid that, Alexandra’s invitation, “Let’s speak while having tea outside,” was without question exhilarating.

“Samuel, have you gotten used to speaking with Lady Alexandra?”

“Yes. I was nervous at first, but she’s been a very kind onee-sama.”

“Yeah, seeing an apple crushed barehanded when we first met made my heart race as well, but we quickly became close.”

“Crushed barehanded… I’m extremely curious how you became close starting from there.”

What nostalgic days.  As they walked while distracted by their conversation, Blue hopped down from Samuel’s arms and dashed off.

Avril, having left her sense of tension behind in the carriage, snapped awake from her carefree absentmindedness.

“Ah, Blue?!”

He had been a frail kitten that toddled along on unsteady legs when they first met.  Now, he could run around nimbly. Depending on the situation, there were times Samuel couldn’t even catch him.

The royal palace is vast!  It would be terrible if Blue got lost!

Avril ran off in pursuit of Blue.

However, her distraction from a few seconds earlier became a painful lesson. The moment she started running, she failed to notice someone emerging from the shadow of a tree in the garden and collided into them.

“Hyah… No, I mean, my apologies.”

She hastily apologized for her carelessness. The person responded after a slight pause.  Their voice sounded surprised.

“Samuel… Miss Avril?”

Hearing a familiar voice, Avril recalled the music festival in her territory.

“Lord Fernand Brandner…!”

Before her was Fernand, Samuel’s older brother, who apparently had some trouble with Dylan and some others in the past.

“Why are you in a place like this? And Samuel as well?”

His amethyst eyes, deeper than even Samuel’s, gazed at her in a way that seemed probing. Aside from that, he was refined. He had a slender bearing and wore sophisticated clothing.  He fit into the royal palace extremely well.

Lord Fernand does work at the royal palace, after all.

Avril accepted the situation.

“I come to the castle as Lady Alexandra’s conversation partner.”

“…You are?”

His voice sounded full of doubt, or perhaps confusion.

Regardless, that didn’t matter. While he was the older brother of adorable Samuel, he was also someone she wanted to keep her distance from as much as possible.

Just as she was thinking of exchanging greetings and withdrawing as quickly as possible, a lady-in-waiting with slightly disheveled hair appeared behind Fernand.

“Lord Fernand, I’ll be going now.”

“Alright, I’ll call you again.”

“Yes, anytime.”

The two exchanged a brief conversation, yet it was one where intimacy could be felt.

The lady-in-waiting gave Avril a meaningful glance, then smiled softly. She disappeared beyond the hedge while adjusting the neckline of her dress.

Somehow… am I the only one feeling as though I’ve seen something that shouldn’t have been seen?”

E/N: The story has never specified whether Blue is a boy or a girl.  Whenever referring to the kitten with a pronoun becomes unavoidable, I am going to defer to the term “he” instead of just saying “it.”

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