Chapter 29

– ······Correct, Estelle.

The voice of the fiancé, who spoke the name of the saint, was more resolute than ever.

As if he had known her for a long time, as if he had held her in his heart for a long time.

There was not a trace of hesitation.

Perhaps it was her overinterpretation, or maybe even paranoia.

What reason would Albert have to meet the saint?

Her fiancé had no connection to the church, and neither did she.

It was clear she was reading too much into her fiancé’s words.

Yet, she couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.

Because today, Albert seemed like a stranger to her.

Because he had been more focused on the lesson than on her since earlier.

These reasons overlapped, forcing her to think unpleasant thoughts despite not wanting to.

And then, the conversation between her fiancé and the tutor reached her ears.

– ······You saw the saint’s name in the newspaper.

– Yeah. I was skimming through and saw a pretty face, and it turned out to be the saint.

Pretty face.

Her fiancé was calling the saint, whom he had never met, a pretty face.

Not only did he remember the name of a woman he had never met, but he also said her face was pretty.

That really bothered her.

She didn’t know why.

It wasn’t jealousy, and there was no reason for her to be upset that her fiancé called someone else pretty.

They weren’t in love, nor did they even like each other.

There was no reason for her to feel bad.

Yet, her mood was at its worst today.

By her logic, it shouldn’t matter at all. But for some reason, her mood kept sinking deeper into the mud.

– Princess.

– ······Why are you calling me?

Albert’s voice echoed vividly in her ears again.

This time, her fiancé’s voice was calling for her. Not some other woman like the saint.

That fact made her a little happy, but her mood was still bad, so she responded curtly.

– It seems like I won the bet this time.

– ···.

Her fiancé, who seemed to have no sense at all, didn’t seem to notice her mood.

Judging by how confidently he spoke to her.

– ······You must be happy.

– ······Huh?

She spat out in a colder voice than before, directed at her fiancé.

She didn’t like Albert, who couldn’t even notice his fiancée’s mood.

– You seem happy memorizing the name of a pretty woman from the newspaper.

– ···.

Albert looked flustered, as if he hadn’t expected her to react like this.

And for some reason she still couldn’t understand, her fiancé’s flustered expression made her feel even worse.

– ······Don’t follow me.

With that, she left the study.

She didn’t really need to go this far. Her mood was bad, but it was because of Albert’s clueless behavior.

She could have just told her fiancé and gotten an apology.

But she couldn’t.

Because Albert’s words about calling the saint pretty kept swirling in her mind. The fact that he called someone else pretty, someone he had never even met, while he never said such things to her.

She started walking aimlessly.

After walking for a while.

“······Terraces?”

She had reached the terrace where she could view the Count Zernias’ garden.

She hadn’t thought about wanting to see the Count Zernias’ garden.

But now that the terrace was in front of her, she suddenly wanted to see it.

Creak-

As if entranced, she opened the terrace door.

What greeted her were well-maintained plants.

From roses and tulips to various famous ornamental trees.

Even crops that were still too young to identify.

Various plants welcomed her as she visited the garden.

After walking around the garden, her impression was, “Simple but pretty.”

Compared to the garden at her own mansion, Count Zernias’ garden was quite small.

There were various flowers, trees, and plants, but the variety and number were quite different.

In terms of size, it was almost embarrassing to compare it to the Valencia Duchy’s garden.

But the condition of the plants was even better than those in the Valencia Duchy’s garden.

It seemed the gardener had put a lot of effort into it, as the plants were neatly arranged by type.

And it looked like they had been watered this morning, as the plants were full of life.

As she admired the plants, thinking they were pretty.

“······The gardener put a lot of effort into it.”

A familiar voice came from behind her, ruining her good mood.

“I told you not to follow me. ······No, I’ll go somewhere else.”

Her mood soured again, and she turned to leave the garden without even looking at the voice’s owner.

“······I’ll make a wish.”

“···.”

At her fiancé’s words about using the wish he had won from their earlier bet, she had no choice but to stop.

“······What did you say?”

“I said I’ll use the wish I won earlier.”

Thump- thump-

A heartbeat, whose owner was unknown, began to echo again.

She felt like this situation was somehow familiar.

***

Rebecca, who was about to turn away and leave the garden.

“······What’s your wish?”

Fortunately, she didn’t ignore my wish.

“I just want you to listen to me.”

“······Is that really it?”

Rebecca’s voice seemed to ask if there wasn’t something else I should wish for.

She probably expected me to wish for her to accept my apology.

In this situation, anyone would think of that reason.

“Yes, that’s it.”

“···.”

But that wasn’t the wish I truly wanted.

What I really wanted was.

“Just, I want you to listen to me.”

Not to improve our relationship through a forced wish, but to genuinely improve it.

Avoiding this situation wasn’t the goal.

“······Go ahead, then.”

Hearing my wish, Rebecca nodded as if to say go ahead.

“Thank you, Princess.”

I thanked the princess.

“First, I want to apologize for earlier.”

“···.”

“I’m sorry for not considering your feelings and speaking carelessly.”

“······And?”

The princess seemed to half-agree, asking for the next reason.

“I called another woman pretty in front of the most beautiful fiancée in the world.”

“···.”

Rebecca was clearly covering her mouth with her hand.

But for some reason, it felt like the corner of her mouth was slightly raised.

I couldn’t be sure, but if my words made Rebecca feel better, then it was fine.

So I decided to let it slide.

“Is that it?”

Now Rebecca’s tone had softened, returning to her usual voice.

This much was enough. The goal of calming Rebecca’s anger seemed to have been achieved.

Even someone as clueless as me could tell Rebecca wasn’t in a bad mood anymore.

There was no need to say more.

“There’s still more.”

But I didn’t stop talking.

“…?”

Even Rebecca, the person involved, tilted her head at my words, but.

I couldn’t stop here.

If I stopped now, it would be like admitting defeat to the princess.

Using the wish just to get Rebecca’s forgiveness was something my pride couldn’t accept.

At the very least, seeing the princess’s flustered expression would turn this defeat into a draw.

“I hurt the feelings of the fiancée I love.”

“Wha… what did you say?”

The power of the word “love” was immense.

Hearing my words, Rebecca’s face turned red immediately, and she started reacting like a broken machine.

But.

“In front of the most beautiful and loveliest princess, I called another woman pretty.”

“···.”

“It’s only natural that my beloved fiancée would feel bad.”

As I said, I wasn’t going to stop until I at least turned this into a draw.

“Not understanding the feelings of the princess I love most in the world is a crime worthy of death.”

“···.”

“My beloved fiancée, please punish me.”

“······Stop…”

Rebecca’s face was already as red as it could get.

She was covering her face with both hands, as if she didn’t want me to see.

Seeing that, I.

Step- step-

“······Don’t come closer.”

Ignoring the princess’s plea.

“Don’t come closer…”

I slowly took one step closer to the princess.

“If you cover your face like that, I can’t see your pretty face.”

I removed the hands covering her reddened face.

“···.”

“······Isn’t that right? The most beautiful Rebecca Valencia, Princess.”

I looked straight into her clear red eyes, now filled with embarrassment.

Perhaps even sweeter than a kiss, the moment our eyes met.

It felt like time had stopped for everyone except me and Rebecca.

“······I lost.”

“Huh?”

“I… lost… so please stop…”

Rebecca was the first to declare defeat.

Her face was already as red as her hair, and she couldn’t even look me in the eye anymore.

And since I wasn’t so heartless as to not accept my beloved fiancée’s surrender.

“Understood, my beloved fiancée.”

“······Ugh.”

I gladly accepted her surrender.

The Grand Princess once again failed to win today.

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