Chapter 58

After finishing the sudden attack incident, we were on our way back to the forest entrance where the hunting competition had begun.

“……Put me down.”

“No.”

Even now, the princess and I were bickering and fighting.

“I said put me down.”

“My hearing is quite excellent, so there’s no need to emphasize your words.”

“……”

To put it simply, the reason was that I was currently carrying Rebecca on my back.

But even for me, there was a reason why I had no choice but to do this.

“……Why do you keep asking to be put down when you can’t even walk?”

Mana exhaustion.

A kind of aftereffect of using magic beyond one’s limits, rendering one unable to use magic and feeling drained all over.

It was because Rebecca was suffering from this aftereffect, which is almost exclusive to mages.

In fact, it was a situation that had already been anticipated.

It wasn’t as if the Crown Prince and I had only hunted in one place; we had moved quite a distance from the entrance.

And we had been running without any breaks, continuously casting haste magic.

If Rebecca truly had the innate talent of a mage, she might not have reached the point of mana exhaustion.

Unfortunately, the overpowered princess didn’t possess that level of talent.

It was only natural for a princess whose physical abilities surpassed her magical ones to suffer from mana exhaustion.

And, as I mentioned earlier, she couldn’t even walk on her own.

“……Anyway, put me down.”

“……”

Rebecca kept demanding to be put down while I carried her on my back.

Even if I put her down, she wouldn’t be able to stand on her own in her current state.

I couldn’t understand why she was being so stubborn.

“Does it bother you?”

“……What?”

“Does being carried on your fiancé’s back make your fiancé seem different today?”

So I decided to throw a stone into the lake.

I was curious about what the princess might be feeling while being carried by me.

“……”

Perhaps the stone I casually threw had hit a critical spot, as Rebecca remained silent.

I thought it was cowardly to respond with silence when one had nothing to say.

But ultimately, the goal of calming the princess’s complaints was achieved, so the stone-throwing was somewhat fruitful.

Step- step-

The sound of grass with each step was pleasant to hear.

The sun was gradually setting, casting a twilight glow, and shadows began to appear, showing the princess being carried and me carrying her.

By the way, our pitiful protagonist had already sulked off into the distance.

He said he couldn’t bear to watch the two of us flaunting our affection anymore. Rebecca blushed and got angry, asking what flaunting he was talking about.

– If you say so, then it must be so. Anyway, I lost, and I’ll go ahead. You two can come slowly.

The Crown Prince covered his ears and ran away as if he didn’t want to hear any more.

It was a conversation that made one doubt if this was really the level of dialogue between the Crown Prince of the Empire and the future Duke.

But now, thinking about it, perhaps Mikhail was considerate of me and the princess.

At least, based on my experience, the Crown Prince wasn’t someone who acted childishly without thought.

It was clear that he had created some alone time for me and my fiancée as we grew closer.

Later, when I become Count Zernias and participate in noble meetings.

If the Emperor, Mikhail, sided with me, he would essentially gain the power of both the Valencia Duchy and the Zernias Count.

This could very well be the foresight of the Crown Prince.

……Of course, considering the expression Mikhail had at the time, it’s possible he really ran away because he couldn’t stand watching Rebecca and me flaunt our affection.

But only Mikhail himself knows the truth.

“……Am I heavy?”

As I walked silently with these thoughts, Rebecca spoke up with a slightly worried tone.

Perhaps she thought I had gone silent because I was straining to carry her.

“Not heavy at all, so don’t worry.”

I could confidently say that her concern was a misconception.

Though, considering the weight of Rebecca’s dress, her worry might have some merit.

But as the foremost family in the Empire, the Valencia Duchy, there’s no way they would lack funds, so Rebecca’s dress was undoubtedly enchanted with lightweight magic.

“You should eat more.”

Instead, the worry shifted to me.

Despite the dress’s weight being negligible, the princess I was carrying felt too light.

I seriously wondered if I should monitor whether Rebecca was eating properly.

“……”

Rebecca didn’t continue the conversation.

Perhaps my comment about her being too light embarrassed her.

I wanted to turn my head to check her expression and the color of her face, but unfortunately, if I turned my head, there would be no one to watch for obstacles in the forest for me.

So, it was wise to suppress that desire.

“Did you enjoy your conversation with the ladies?”

I asked in a low voice about the princess’s time without me.

“……It wasn’t fun.”

Then, Rebecca’s shy voice disappeared, replaced by her usual blunt tone.

How boring must that gathering have been for her voice to change so suddenly?

Imagining my fiancée with her usual expression sitting among cheerful noble ladies was quite amusing.

“……Hmph.”

I tried to hold it in, but a small laugh escaped.

“……What’s so funny?”

Naturally, Rebecca questioned the sudden laughter.

“……I laughed because the current situation is quite satisfying.”

Caught off guard, I blurted out whatever came to mind.

“……This is a satisfying situation?”

“How often do I get the chance to carry my fiancée and stroll through the forest like this?”

“That’s… true.”

Fortunately, Rebecca seemed to agree with my excuse that such an opportunity wouldn’t come again.

It was truly a relief.

I was worried I might have to confess that I laughed because imagining her in that situation was funny.

Thankfully, that dreadful scenario didn’t happen.

“There was talk about handkerchiefs.”

Rebecca continued, her curiosity about my sudden laughter resolved.

“Handkerchiefs, you say…”

“Who gave whom a handkerchief, who they gave it to. That’s the kind of conversation they were having.”

Well, since the gathering was due to the hunting competition, it was natural for the conversation to revolve around it.

“Did you talk about it?”

“……About what?”

“About how the princess gave her fiancé a handkerchief she made herself. Did you tell the ladies?”

“……After making such a scene when you received it, do you expect the other ladies not to know?”

“……”

I had no retort.

It was true that I hadn’t received it as calmly as other nobles or princes would have.

But what could I do?

“I wanted to try it once.”

“……”

It was something I wanted to do.

“Didn’t it feel like I was the male lead in a romance novel?”

How could I resist such a situation that could make me the protagonist of a real-life romance novel?

As I’ve said before, I don’t consider myself a normal person.

“……Really, to think my fiancé is such a shameless person.”

Rebecca sighed with a voice full of dark clouds after hearing my shameless words.

“So, how was it for you, Princess?”

“……”

“When I kissed your hand. You must have had some thoughts, right?”

I continued questioning without giving Rebecca a moment to breathe.

I was a bit annoyed by her comment about my lack of conscience, but more than that, I wanted to tease her.

I was asking about her feelings at that time.

“……It wasn’t bad.”

Contrary to my expectation that it would take a while to hear her response.

“……What?”

“It wasn’t bad. The hand kiss.”

Rebecca’s answer came without much delay.

“……”

This time, I was at a loss for words.

I had expected Rebecca to blush and say something like, “How could that be good?” in denial.

I never thought she would straightforwardly say it wasn’t bad.

I didn’t expect her to counterattack so suddenly…

“……The handkerchief.”

“Yes?”

“The handkerchief I made for you. How long are you going to carry it around?”

Moreover, Rebecca didn’t stop there.

As if she intended to finish me off this time, she brought up things she wouldn’t normally say so easily.

Intoxicated by this sweet and sticky atmosphere.

“Who gave it to me? How can you ask how long I’ll carry it around?”

“……”

“I’ll cherish it more than my life and carry it with me forever, so don’t worry.”

I blurted out the truth hidden deep in my heart as if enchanted.

Once again, a moment of silence fell.

Only the sound of grass under my feet and Rebecca’s soft breathing, trying to be as quiet as possible, could be heard.

In this awkward silence where we were both very conscious of each other.

Thud-

The arms Rebecca had wrapped around my neck to be carried tightened.

“……Princess?”

“……Don’t cherish it more than your life.”

“……”

After those final words, we returned to the forest entrance without any further conversation.

As if by some divine prank. Only after returning to the forest entrance did Rebecca’s mana exhaustion ease, allowing me to stop carrying her.

And, without saying anything.

It was now obvious that Rebecca’s face was bright red as she got off my back.

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