CATB Chapter 33

I rushed Jen to tie my hair up in a slightly high ponytail and changed into a silver dress with hints of blue before I could finally leave my room. During all this, Lily struggled greatly to make me look pretty while keeping my makeup similar to my bare face, worried that if the makeup was too heavy, it would look too different from my face earlier. I had a hard time explaining the concept of "natural makeup," but anyway, as a token of appreciation for their hard work, I handed the lollipops I had been holding to both girls and left the room.

"His Grace is on the terrace."

A maid whispered quietly to me as I entered the reception room. I deliberately slowed my quickening steps as I headed toward the terrace.

"Belkellion."

When I called his name, Belkellion, who had been sitting in a chair on the terrace looking outside, turned around. Brilliant sunlight poured down, flowing over his shoulders. When his black eyes met mine, they curved slightly. Though he seemed expressionless, I could recognize his faint smile that only I knew, and soon the corners of my mouth began to curl up as well.

"I'm too late, aren't I? Sorry for making you wait."

"It's fine."

"What were you doing? Did you have tea?"

Without waiting long for his answer, I could see that the tea was set on the terrace table but there were no signs of it having been drunk, so I knew the answer was no. When I gestured to the maid, she tottered off the terrace to bring tea.

"I stayed up a bit late last night reading a book, you see, so..."

Actually, I had stayed up late sword fighting with Sir Ezenhar who guards Iris Palace, but this level of coyness is normal for everyone, right? It's not just me, right?

When I carefully offered this excuse to hide my disgraceful state when Belkellion arrived, he nodded as if he understood. How wonderful—handsome and generous-hearted too. He has it all, absolutely everything.

Looking at the Grand Duke with a pleased heart, I suddenly noticed his military uniform.

"You didn't happen to have business at the royal palace today, did you? What should I do if your schedule was delayed because of me?"

When I looked at him with concern, Belkellion hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"No. I briefly stopped by His Majesty before coming here."

"His Majesty? Why would His Majesty call you..."

Someone who openly dislikes Belkellion wouldn't summon him to the royal palace for no reason. As I quietly mulled over my thoughts, a sudden idea flashed through my mind.

"Did His Majesty perhaps ask you to subjugate monsters?"

When I looked at him sharply, he looked back at me without saying anything.

So this snake approached Belkellion after I rejected him? Wow, I really hate this. I really, really despise it.

As I grumbled quietly, badmouthing the king, Belkellion spoke up.

"The subjugation..."

"...?"

"Prince Wilhelm will go."

"Wilhelm? But why Wilhelm all of a sudden?"

That vain coward would never volunteer for a subjugation, would he? As I looked at him in puzzlement, Belkellion expressionlessly picked up the teacup the maid had brought.

"The tea tastes good."

"No, Belkellion. Continue the story you were telling. Wilhelm is going? That's not like him... No, His Majesty wouldn't send that kid in the first place..."

"He will go."

"What?"

"Your tea will get cold."

Pushing a teacup toward me and quietly sipping his tea without saying anything more, I looked at Belkellion's handsome forehead and felt the urge to give this frustrating man a little pinch. Still, whether Wilhelm went or not, what mattered was that Belkellion and I wouldn't go on the subjugation, so I decided to let this matter slide.

As the warm apple mint tea went down my throat, warmth spread gently throughout my body.

Wait, does Belkellion saying Wilhelm will go mean he refused the king's request?

Why?

Belkellion was usually the type to quietly accept the king's requests without refusing them. That's why he performed well even when given the king's unreasonable demand to go to the borderlands and guard the frontier areas.

Ah, come to think of it, it's time for him to return to his territory. Is that why he refused? Since the Grand Duke was only staying to attend Raphael III's birthday party before leaving the capital, he had already stayed quite long by his standards.

"Are you leaving for your territory now?"

Thinking that I wouldn't be able to see my ideal type anymore made me feel quite regretful. It would be nice if he stayed by my side a little longer... No, there would be nothing good for him as a Grand Duke to stay in the capital, so leaving immediately would be right. Still, my heart couldn't rationally accept this right away, so I kept fidgeting with my innocent teacup.

"......"

"It's regrettable. I barely got to see you..."

When my words trailed off from genuine disappointment, Belkellion slowly put down his teacup. The movement was so concise and neat that I momentarily lost myself watching his fingertips before turning my gaze back to my teacup.

"No, I'm not going back."

Huh? Not going back? I looked up at him in surprise. As if he had been watching me the whole time, his beautiful black eyes met mine directly.

"I plan to stay in the capital a little longer."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Really really?"

"Yes."

As if he would answer me no matter how many times I asked again, Belkellion spoke slowly. Though it was just one syllable so there wasn't much to say slowly anyway, my heart became happy in an instant at his confirmation.

"Then what business do you have in the capital... Do you perhaps have many things left to take care of?"

If Belkellion isn't leaving, I was planning to stick around and do this and that, but if he has a lot of work, then I'd be interfering. I didn't want to be treated as a burden by my ideal type, so I became cautious.

"....."

Does he really have a lot of work? Then should I create work so I can see his face? While I was thinking of reasons to keep meeting Belkellion, his neat lips opened.

"...Pretty..."

"Yes?"

"There's a pretty flower, so I wanted to look at it more closely."

"A flower?"

"Yes."

"...Ah... I see."

I didn't know he had such girlish sensibilities liking flowers. I did slightly misunderstand during the monster incident with the scent last time, but Belkellion seems to have quite unique tastes in various ways. What kind of pretty flower would make him postpone returning to his territory? Is it expensive?

Ah, I need to quickly fix this materialistic habit of equating price with value. Having placed higher value on a meal than a single flower, I honestly didn't quite understand Belkellion. But I should still react properly. It's natural for a pretty person to like pretty flowers.

"The royal garden has many pretty flowers too. Have you been there by any chance?"

Belkellion shook his head slightly.

"By now, the irises should be blooming magnificently. The weather has been warm, so the flowers started blooming a bit early."

He met my eyes and nodded slightly as if listening well to my story.

So sweet...

"Would you like to take a look?"

"Right now?"

"Ah, if you're busy, then later..."

"No. It's fine."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"If you're hiding and postponing important work because of me, that won't do."

Given his previous behavior, I spoke to Belkellion in quite a stern voice as a warning. Then he smiled slightly. Wow! Now he smiled a bit more openly!

"It's really fine. Fine enough that Alexa doesn't need to worry."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Then let's finish this tea and go."

He gently pushed the cookie plate toward me.

I smiled so widely my eyes crinkled.

The garden that usually served as my efficient refuge when avoiding the king's persistent summons had beautifully redecorated itself for spring. Magnificent trees curved around the garden's edges creating cool shade, and with all kinds of flowers in full bloom throughout the garden, a fragrant floral scent wafted over as soon as we entered.

I grabbed Belkellion's sleeve and pulled him deeper into the garden. Seeing this large man standing quietly in the middle of the flower path following behind me made me want to laugh.

"What kind of flowers do you like, Belkellion?"

"...I don't particularly like any specific flowers."

For someone who postponed returning to his territory because of flowers, he seemed quite indifferent, making me widen my eyes slightly. Noticing this, the Grand Duke added:

"I just look at them and appreciate them lightly, so I don't really know about flower types."

"Is that so? Well, it would be stranger if you knew flowers inside and out."

Imagining him knowing detailed flower meanings and types would be creepy in its own way, so I nodded.

"I don't know flower types well either. I just think if they're pretty, then they must be pretty."

"I see."

"The royal family spends quite a budget on the garden, so they maintain it this luxuriously. It's not my money going out, so I can't really complain, but honestly it does feel a bit extravagant."

Since Belkellion was the type to listen well to whatever I said, careless inner thoughts sometimes slipped out. Still, as a princess in name, nothing good would come from criticizing the royal family, so I quickly added:

"Most of the flowers here are varieties bought at high prices from the Aepylle Empire and the eastern continent. Pellipe surely has many beautiful flowers of its own, but insisting on bringing flowers from other countries to raise them creates many difficulties. Neither growing them nor breeding them is easy work."

These were things I had picked up from royal gardeners and caretakers while spending time in the garden. Not just the garden, but most of the royal family's work in Pellipe was handled quite inefficiently, so this wasn't particularly surprising.

Belkellion said:

"Anywhere, it's not easy for foreign existences to adapt."

He was talking about flowers, but I was inexplicably startled by the simple flower metaphor and nodded while hiding my reaction.

Foreign existence.

Could there be a word that describes me better than that?

I am an existence that doesn't belong to this place.

Such a me, going against the natural order, entered a place that isn't my world, into the body of someone who isn't me.

"Alexa?"

Looking down at me who had fallen silent, Belkellion asked carefully.

Belkellion called me Alexa, but could I confidently answer him?

A faint sense of guilt crept up from within.

Is it alright for a foreign existence like me to confidently assert myself here?

I keep telling myself that I am Alexa,

But I know the complete truth.

"Alexa?"

He called me once more.

What kind of expression would that person make if he learned that I was a being from a completely different world?

Would disgust settle on that face that hides gentleness behind expressionlessness?

Would he despise me for driving out Alexa and imitating her?

"Are you alright? You look pale."

Belkellion stepped closer to me, shielding me from the sunlight. He must have thought my frowning face was due to the sunlight.

"I'm fine. I just felt a bit stuffy..."

I stepped back from him. The same distance as before formed between him and me again. I felt both sorry about this fact and somewhat relieved.

"Stuffy?"

It was an unconscious remark, but Belkellion asked again. Not having prepared sufficient excuses, I panicked and my words flowed out unorganized.

"Ah, just a little... No, that's not it, I'm not stuffy. I just misspoke."

"....."

When Belkellion looked at me sharply, I inhaled with a start. He finally opened his mouth slowly.

"Next week..."

"Yes?"

"There will be a harvest festival honoring the moon goddess Artemis."

"A harvest festival?"

"Have you been to one before?"

I'm not sure, but Alexa, who had been living in Conetti, probably never went. I shook my head.

"Would you like to go together?"

"Where, to the festival?"

"Yes."

Of course I'd want to go, but is it a big festival? Then there would be a celebration banquet or something at the royal palace too... would it be possible?

"There are small events among merchants and residents the day before the grand festival."

"The day before... that should be possible."

Since it's not even the actual day, nothing major should happen if I go out to have fun the day before. If something comes up, I'll just have Lily make up an excuse. I was starting to get a little excited at the thought of going outside the royal palace for the first time.