IWBAACTWITOS Chapter 14

After leaving the theater, we ordered the most expensive course at the restaurant we'd reserved.

Though the ducal chef's food was good too, I practically licked my plate clean at these new flavors, devouring dinner deliciously.

Perhaps because the weather was hot, sorbet and ice cream came out for dessert, and I pulled Julian's sorbet toward me.

Alternating between eating both, I bounced my shoulders. Julian seemed worried I might get a stomachache from overeating, but getting sick from overeating once or twice didn't happen often.

"Dad, want a bite?"

When I scooped up a generous spoonful of ice cream and offered it to Julian, he opened his mouth as if asking to be fed.

The ice cream had melted a bit, which made me nervous, but it safely reached Julian's mouth without dropping onto the tablecloth.

'Goodness, he's handsome too.'

Usually he made such foolish expressions and I'd been seeing him for years so I was used to it, but the subtly colored silver hair and deep purple eyes were truly drool-worthy beauty.

"Slurp."

I wiped my mouth to hide my blank staring and drooling, and chocolate ice cream got on my sleeve.

Though I'd worked hard to fix the characteristically clumsy pronunciation of young children due to communication issues, my hand muscles hadn't fully developed yet, so I often got food on myself or spilled while eating.

Moreover, brown stains on the pale yellow dress I wore today were fatal.

When I furrowed my brow, Julian finished wiping my mouth with a napkin.

I licked my sticky lips with my tongue and went back to eating ice cream.

"Did you enjoy your date with Dad today?"

"Yeah, I liked it."

"Dad also really, really liked dating alone with Tilly."

"Mm, but..."

"But?"

"Royna couldn't date with Dad, so stay by Royna's side at night."

Moved by those words, Julian didn't notice that one corner of my mouth had slyly risen.

By pawning Julian off on Royna just now, the person in charge of putting me to bed changed from Julian to Nanny.

Usually the bedtime person was Roxana, who read one fairy tale book every night.

But with Roxana absent, either Julian or Nanny would fill that empty spot, and Julian's storytelling was too noisy. Objectively he read very well, but what I preferred wasn't overly reactive storytelling but reading in a low, calm tone.

'Nanny's lullaby is a hundred, a thousand times better.'

"Tilly, aren't you jealous anymore when Mom and Dad dote on your sibling?"

"...Huh?"

Just as I was happily celebrating successfully avoiding Julian, I could only question his sudden inquiry.

"What do you mean?"

"This morning too, you went to the nursery first. Until now, you absolutely wouldn't go unless we brought you. I wondered if you'd grown to like your sibling."

"..."

"...No?"

Apparently the adults thought my avoidance of Royna had been an extension of jealousy.

'Come to think of it, I cried loudly when I first saw Royna. They might think that.'

Having nothing to say, I nodded in agreement, and Julian smiled brightly and asked:

"Then is it okay now if Mom and Dad are with your sibling?"

"You've been together all along."

"That's not what I mean... Um, would it be okay if we stayed in the nursery a bit longer?"

Though I didn't understand why my permission was even necessary, I told him to go ahead. At my answer, Julian's expression brightened completely as he praised me for being a good older sister. I soothed the strange awkwardness with the ice cream's sweetness.

"Your birthday's coming up soon, right, our good Tilly?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Is there anything you want to eat or have? Dad will buy you anything."

At his words that Dad would buy me anything, I almost fell into pointless sentimentality again, but I shook my head firmly and answered that there was nothing I particularly wanted.

For everyone's sake, I was trying not to overlap our family with my current family anymore.

However, Julian seemed to have no intention of giving up easily and pestered me to say anything I wanted.

"On my birthday... I hope it snows."

"Sn-snow?"

"Yeah, snow."

In my previous life, I was a child amusingly born on Christmas.

'Thanks to that, my mom was happy she could handle both birthday and Christmas presents at once.'

Instead, she always gave better presents than my older brother's. Though our family was non-religious and I'd never believed in Santa, Christmas presents were important to kids.

Just once, when I was in elementary school, it snowed on Christmas day, and that day felt like receiving two presents. A Christmas present and a birthday present. But my current birthday was in October, so there was no way it would snow.

"Anything besides that?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yeah, nothing."

"Don't you want toys or dolls or anything?"

"...Not really. Just let it snow."

Forcibly swallowing the sticky sweetness in my mouth, I wished for the impossible autumn snow.

When something struck the carriage window, Rayan, who'd been gripping the curtain, hurriedly pulled back from the window.

But the problem wasn't the window. The horse, startled by the attack, lost control and began running wildly. Having let go of the curtain, his only support, Rayan fell from the seat and could only roll this way and that.

Rayan instinctively curled his body into a ball, trying to protect his head.

"Ugh..."

Though terribly frightened, Rayan made no sound other than a small groan. Something kept pounding on the running carriage door.

It seemed like a signal to open the door, but there was no room to open it, and he knew opening it would mean death. However, the persistent pursuer eventually broke the carriage door and forced it open.

"Your Highness!"

At the unfamiliar low, sharp voice, Rayan, who'd been lying face-down, raised his head slightly.

A short-haired blonde woman who'd stubbornly clung to the carriage reached out to Rayan.

"Hurry, this way!"

"..."

A hand wearing a hard gauntlet extended. Not knowing the carriage was about to crash, Rayan didn't understand the meaning of Roxana's outstretched hand and stared at her blankly.

"Captain!"

The knight following Roxana desperately called out that if she didn't get off now, they'd crash together.

Roxana couldn't possibly abandon Rayan, who was still spaced out.

Roxana let go of the reins and stretched both arms toward Rayan.

"...Child! Please come here!"

At those words, Rayan belatedly came to his senses and jumped into Roxana's arms. Having barely rescued Rayan, Roxana held the child with one hand and grabbed the reins again with the other to calm the horse.

Once the horse calmed somewhat, Roxana dismounted.

"Captain! How could you jump into such a dangerous place?"

"Then was I supposed to watch the prince be in danger?"

"I said I'd go! I said I would! Don't you know that if something happens to you, Captain, for this reason, it could crack the relationship between the three houses?

You must consider your position, Captain!"

"That's why I did it. Since I, the mistress of Remetio herself—no one else—risked my body to protect the prince, the Empire won't be able to find fault."

"..."

Unable to utter harsh words in front of the child, the knight thumped his own chest in frustration.

Neither was seriously hurt, so the attack on the prince's retinue in Imperial territory—near the capital, no less—could be let go.

However, if Roxana had been seriously injured in the process of rescuing Rayan, it would have been a real disaster.

Her husband Julian would have raised hell, and the Empire would have pursued this matter to the bitter end.

There was just no evidence, but everyone knew the attackers were the Second Prince's faction.

'Wait, did she calculate even that?'

If she'd considered even that in a split-second moment, it would be truly chilling.

As the knight looked at Roxana with a pale face, Roxana indicated the broken carriage with her chin.

The knight vowed to report this incident to Julian and went to the broken carriage to check the coachman's pulse.

"The carriage is done for."

Roxana took off her cloak to wrap around Rayan, keeping him from seeing the corpse.

Red eyes gazed at Roxana through the cloak's folds. For someone who'd just nearly died, it was an emotionless gaze.

"Are you hurt anywhere, Your Highness?"

"...I'm fine."

"...Even if something hurts later, please be sure to tell me."

"Yes."

After finishing his short, concise answer, Rayan hung his head low. Roxana felt different from the people he'd seen until now, but she was someone he'd have to part with soon anyway.

"Your Highness."

Matilda, wearing a dress covered in dust as if showing off having suffered an attack, approached Rayan.

Rayan sighed imperceptibly as if he'd expected this.

"You're safe. Thank goodness."

"...Yeah, this knight rescued me."

"An Imperial knight?"

"That's right."

"We were attacked by bandits and in the confusion, the horse bolted... Without this knight, I don't know what would have happened to our prince. Thank you so much for rescuing His Highness."

When Matilda bowed her head in thanks, Roxana smiled faintly.

Even then, she didn't let go of Rayan in her arms.

"Not at all. I only did what should be done."

"I will inform our country to repay the renowned Eos Knights' efforts and the Empire's grace."

Watching Matilda take a humble stance while mentioning the relationship between the Celis Kingdom and the Empire, Roxana swallowed a hollow laugh.

'She says she'll repay us, yet doesn't even ask who I am.'

Matilda hadn't even given her own name yet. According to etiquette, those of lower status should introduce themselves first.

Matilda apparently didn't think Roxana might be of higher status than herself. This made her polite attitude seem even more laughable.

'Right, the Eos Knights are still treated like this.'

The Eos Knights, called the Swords of Dawn—until Philius and Julian took power, they'd been a knight order collecting those who'd dropped off the promotion track among the palace knights.

After Roxana became captain, it changed to loyalty and meritocracy, but there was still a perception that they were relatively lower in status.

Certainly, most of the Eos Knights were commoners, or at most minor counts in terms of status.

"I'll take care of His Highness."

Matilda extended both arms as if asking her to hand over Rayan.

To pass things over smoothly, she should hand him to Matilda, but Roxana's mood was already twisted beyond repair.

"Before that..."

"Yes?"

"Who are you to be attending His Highness?"

"Ah, my introduction was late. I'm Matilda Erind, His Highness's nanny."

"Ah, were you Countess Erind?"

Nannies caring for children of the three houses were generally granted minor countess titles.

Though the investigation into who she was had already been completed, Roxana asked as if she didn't know.

Rather than entrusting Rayan to Matilda, Roxana set him down so he could stand on his own feet. Rayan, who'd come down to the ground, stood beside Matilda.

"I was too flustered to greet you properly."

"Not at all, that's understandable."

Roxana ignored Matilda's pleasantries and knelt on one knee to meet Rayan's eye level.

Rayan realized that Roxana's smiling face had softened differently from when she'd talked with Matilda.

Rayan realized the person she wanted to exchange greetings with wasn't Matilda, but himself.

"...A pleasure to meet you. I'm Rayan of Celis."

"I'm Roxana of Enfield."