TAP TAP TAP!
As she dashed past, her nanny, who was happening to walk down the corridor with the newly arrived maid, rebuked her sternly.
“Don’t run, Young Lady!”
“I get it!”
“You’ll trip!”
“Uh-huh!”
Turning a deaf ear to Vanessa’s yell, she rushed into the parlour where the sight of a box resting on the table put a twinkle in her eyes.
‘Mithril!’
She cracked open the lid of the box delivered by the messenger to reveal the bluish corners of mithril.
‘Hooo!’
When the mithril’s form came into full view, Kynemeia’s eyes creased into a squint.
‘Ahh, too…!’
She shielded her eyes with the back of her hand.
‘—not bright.’
Lowering her hand, she blinked.
‘…What is this?’
‘Other than the fact that it’s bluish, it looks just like any other ore.’
‘Did I get scammed?’
That was unthinkable. The dungeon was void of monsters, which was why she could dispatch some servants to retrieve the mithril in the first place. There was no way she could’ve been hoodwinked…
She glared daggers through bleary eyes at the mithril.
‘Yeah, if I study it carefully like this, a rather extraordinary force will…!’
Propping the bottom of the mithril with her hand, she thrust it towards the ceiling.
‘—not come out.’
She returned the mithril to the box. ‘What would a neophyte like me know even if I inspect it anyway.’
This should be left to a professional… What was there to worry about when Behemoth, the blacksmiths commonly acknowledged as the best, were around?
As soon as she put everything back in order and closed the box…
CLACK—
Vanessa opened the door wide and entered the room.
“Young Lady, how many times have I told you to not run in the hallways?”
Eek!
“What will you do if you hurt yourself?”
“Uhmm… I’m sorry.”
Adopting a humble attitude is the solution whenever one finds oneself in such a situation. She gazed up at Vanessa misty-eyed.
“It’s no good even if you look at me like that. What did I warn will happen if you do anything naughty?”
Kynemeia pulled a face.
“Eeehh, again? Nanny, I won’t run again. I was only in a hurry earlier.”
“What was my warning?”
Even then, Vanessa planted her hands on her waist as she repeated the question pointedly. Kynemeia then muttered in an ant-like voice.
“Snacks will be banned…”
“There will be no snack today.”
DONG! Kynemeia grabbed onto the trails of Vanessa’s skirt with a grievously stricken expression, only to be coldly admonished by the latter to reflect on her actions before she swept out of the parlour.
‘…Even though you’ve allowed me to eat snacks only once a day!’ She wailed inwardly in desperation, her eyes fixed on Vanessa’s retreating back.
‘Nanny doesn’t even know what third time’s the charm means!’
While Kynemeia was drowning in despair, the maid that had entered the room with Vanessa went over to the dejected girl and consoled her, coaxing her to not feel too disheartened, before passing something to her.
“Young Lady, please accept this.”
“Huh?”
It was a bracelet with a small pumpkin charm dangling off it.
“So pretty—”
“Today is ‘Relationship Day’ after all. Please feel free to give it to your friend.”
“Relationship day?”
“Do you not know of it? It’s a day where you gift your friend a relationship bracelet. Are nobles unaware of this…”
The maid smiled awkwardly.
‘Hooo! So there’s also a celebration day for that, huh?’
“Didn’t you make this for your friend?”
“I’ve already made a lot of them. Please give this bracelet to your friend, and enjoy yourselves.”
“Mhm, thank you.”
Kynemeia waved to the maid as she bid goodbye and departed, then put the bracelet into the pocket of her dress. royals: le gasp, the moppet’s got pockets in her dress ≧∇≦
Just then, she detected in her periphery someone with black hair moving furtively outside the window as they made their way towards someplace. Kynemeia’s head bobbed up like a meerkat. Only one person possessed such black hair in the entire castle.
‘Eian?’
She silently approached the window. Wherever Eian was heading now, he’d brought a basket along with him.
‘Now that I think about it, he seems to be moving sluggishly recently for some reason.’
To begin with, he was already a lad who concealed countless things behind that brilliant smile of his. But now, his behaviour piqued her curiosity.
‘Hmm—’ After a moment’s brown study, she discreetly followed Eian’s trail.
* * *
Eian moved past the castle hallways and columns before opening the door of a certain place and slipping inside.
‘The Needlework Room?’
The Needlework Room was the department in charge of embroidery and sewing within the castle. Hidden behind a column, Kynemeia’s eyes spun in confusion on seeing him cross the threshold of the department.
Needlework Room? Unbelievable. The place felt as removed as 500 million years from Eian. ‘What is he here for? Was he requesting for his clothes to be embroidered?’
As much as such an adorable request didn’t suit Eian, he would never slink around for such a reason, not for love nor money…
“Hm, what on earth could he be doing inside?”
“Who?”
“I’m talking about Eian.”
“What are you curious about?”
“…?”
‘But who’s asking me…?’ She swivelled her head around woodenly to see Eian flashing her a radiant smile.
“D-D-Didn’t you go inside?!”
“I was wondering who could be tailing me.”
‘Use the door, you wicked mage.’ Kynemeia quieted her galloping heart.
“So what about me?”
“Huh? What about you?”
She tried to change the topic nonchalantly, so Eian pushed his face closer. As his pretty face inched closer and closer, her back met the column.
“Mia.”
He whispered her name in a sweet voice.
“Are you curious? About what I’m doing.”
“Nooope! Not at all!”
“I’ll tell you if you ask, though.”
“I’m toootally not curious. I only happened to be passing by when I saw you enter the Needlework Room, so I just wondered in passing about what you were gonna do.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
At her firm reply, Eian’s grinning visage seemingly hardened a little. His obsidian eyes reflected something unknown as he looked down at Kynemeia and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I’m burning with curiosity about you though. Are you not curious about me in the slightest?”
“Nope.”
He cast his gaze down, and his voice came out sounding like a sigh.
“You’re so mean… Even though I think of nothing else but you all day long.”
Kynemeia scuttled back when attacked by his expression like that of a forlorn puppy being pelted by rain.
‘This brat…! He’s getting stronger at attacking day by day.’
This wily rogue. Even if she didn’t know what he was planning, there would be huge trouble if she just left him to his own devices.
‘Pull yourself together, Kynemeia Lyonne!’
At that moment, Eian was picking up the bracelet that fell out of her pocket.
“What’s this?”
“Ah, that…”
“…?”
“Today’s Relationship Day.”
“Relationship Day?”
“Apparently, it’s a day where one presents a bracelet to their friends.”
Although, today was also her first time learning of such a day. Come to think of it, why was it her first time hearing about it? Because she was a noble? She canted her head.
Meanwhile, Eian’s features set into a cold expression, and his hand fisted around the bracelet.
“So, who did you receive it from? That less evolved primate?”
Eh?
“Less evolved primate, you say. You mean NyangPapa?”
“Yeah. Did you get it from him?”
‘Why does he look like that?! Is he venting his anger because he got none?!’
The shocked girl shook her hand.
“N-No. Someone gave it to me so I can gift it to my friend.”
“Is that so? Which friend are you planning to gift it to?”
Eian probed, smiling.
‘Hey, his eyes aren’t smiling. Does he want to receive a bracelet that much?’ She felt cold sweat seeping out of her palm and wiped it on her skirt.
“Y-You.”
Kynemeia snatched the bracelet from his hand, then grabbed his left hand, looped it around his wrist, and tied a knot. Eian simply stared as it all happened, his expression frozen fast and his eyes unblinking. She finished fashioning the knot in a bow and peeped at his face. ‘I wonder why? His appearance doesn’t look good…’
Did he not want one? Ah, could it be that he didn’t want it since it was cheap? This difficult jerk…!
“If you don’t want it, return it.”
When she scrambled to unlace the knot, Eian yanked back his hand.
“No.”
“…?!”
It was her first time ever hearing such a staunch refusal from Eian that it left her open-mouthed in shock. He then clasped his left wrist with his right hand and said in a low voice,
“I don’t have any plan on returning it to you even if you demand it back.”
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