Alisto looked at the saint who was raising the tea cup with artificial elegance in front of him.
It was shabby yesterday too, and today it is as well.
Her hair is tangled as if she hadn't combed it after waking up, and the shawl she wore was haphazardly asymmetrical on both sides.
No matter how humble she is, is a count's daughter usually like this?
It is said that ladies of noble families care about their appearance, but the saint seems completely unconcerned with that.
Or maybe she trusts her facial beauty too much.
...Sure, even in a tattered and tangled state, it looks beautiful, so you can trust it.
How should this appearance be described?
Happy little dog rolling around in the dust until his white fur turns grey?
But, really, a beautiful dog.
Whatever it is, he keeps thinking of the dog, but he shouldn't think of her as a dog.
Saint is not a dog, and she is also an adult like me.
“Do you want to have lunch together today?”
...No, maybe a little bit like a dog.
Saint Noble at least, doesn't she know how busy the Crown Prince is performing his duties?
However, she says something not unlike a dog circling its feet, saying, “I don’t know how busy you are, play with me now.”
But unexpectedly, he didn't get angry.
“Is there something you want to eat?”
She smiled innocently.
“I want to eat out.
With meat.”
Alisto nodded deeply, thinking that her diet should be corrected.
“Let's go”
***
The two went to the Veshel Natural Lake in the center of the capital.
Lake Fishel was characterized by a large depth difference between the deep and shallow parts, and the water colors changed depending on the depth, providing beautiful scenery.
Alisto and Atha sat in a quiet restaurant around the lake.
A balcony seat was high and open in front of him, perfect for enjoying the lake.
The employee poured water into a glass, and stood up politely.
“Do you want a formal dinner?”
last night—
In 〈The Lion's Table〉, Atha coughed after drinking wine, and her entire face turned red before finishing one glass.
Alisto thought Atha couldn't stand alcohol.
"For the lady, without a drink before food, a light drink.
Is apple juice good?"
Atha nodded without much thought.
“Yes, good”
What is the difference between wine and juice?
The important thing is to eat meat outside the palace.
In fact, Atha had another reason for ordering lunch out today.
Why, didn't she hear meaningful words when she was caught escaping yesterday?
She wanted to know if going out was possible, so after some thought, she suggested eating out as a secret test.
In addition, Alisto thought that Saint was pretending not to know about his preoccupation, but that was not true.
Atha didn't really know how busy the Crown Prince was.
All you know about the Crown Prince is the clichés of romantic fantasy novels.
[Cold on the outside but soft like tofu on the inside], or [Cold but warm with his woman], or [Alone in a decorated world], clichés like that.
This is because the novels I read were mostly romantic novels.
In romance novels, the crown prince is usually the hero or an important secondary character, so of course focus on the romance scenes.
Therefore, Atha did not know about the duties of a crown prince, and she liked going out today.
Lake Fishel was a really cool place.
Blue skies, mild warmth, the sound of tree leaves brushing against the light breeze.
Suddenly, Atha felt strange that she was in such a wonderful sight at this afternoon.
A life in which you no longer wear a dust suit and stand in front of the track like a machine.
Moreover, this place has wonderful landscapes and does not lag behind civilization completely.
Me, finally resting in peace?
In the moment of the peaceful and beautiful peace of daily life, her heart was filled with poignancy.
“Have you ever fallen in love?”
What?
“So, suddenly?”
Alisto smiled mysteriously.
“Suddenly?
Yesterday, Miss Atha clearly said that her dream was to be taken by a handsome man and loved, and she asked me to take her.”
Atha swallowed.
“Yes, I said that...”
“I also said I like Miss Atha.”
Knock—!
As she searched for words to respond, he added, "We admire each other.
Isn't that love?"
A direct speech from a handsome man was enough to warm the heart of Atha, who had been single since birth.
Honestly, what was the reason for rejection?
His appearance, his body, everything appeals to her, and he sees her as a love partner?
Not marriage, but love, what's to stop?
Moreover…
She doesn't know if it's love, but she loves her heartbeat too much to refuse.
“H, so… I, this is my first time in love.”
At that exact moment—
The opposite balcony suddenly entered her field of vision.
Wait?
She saw a blond man.
It was Cedric, the hero of the original novel whom she saw in the lavender garden yesterday.
Seeing his appearance behind Alisto's shoulder, she felt complicated emotions.
After realizing that this is a fairytale world, she decides to marry Cedric and live happily.
But an unexpected incident happened, the meeting was cancelled, and now she was discussing love with another man...
It's like betrayal in a way.
Of course, it's just a feeling, and Atha knows better than anyone that it's not a betrayal or anything.
She hasn't exchanged a word with Cedric, and he probably doesn't know who she is.
***
Cedric had been in a bad mood since yesterday.
Exactly since he saw the Crown Prince and the person he believed to be his lover in the lavender garden of the temple.
The reason was clear.
Because he keeps remembering.
Did he fall in love with her at one glance, seeing her spending intimate time with the Crown Prince and no one else?
“...really pathetic.”
He doesn't believe in falling in love at a glance, but since he dreamed about it, there seems to be credibility.
He was in a lavender garden in the dream, and he kissed an unnamed woman with a very intense kiss.
She didn't resist.
In fact, “heavy kiss” is a very polite expression.
His clumsy, reckless kiss was almost eating away at the other party.
“I'm going crazy”
Does puberty occur late?
He feels as if someone has bewitched or cursed him.
“Ha...”
The banks of Lake Fishel were a place suggested by his secretary Steward who followed him to the capital.
Since he was stuck just sighing, he suggested gently changing the mood, and this was the result.
He was drinking tea in a café with a good view of Lake Fishel to calm his mind.
Startled, the Crown Prince and Dream Woman appeared on the adjacent balcony.
For a moment he thought he was seeing hallucinations caused by intense love sickness.
He rubbed his eyes, made sure it wasn't a hallucination, and sharpened his ears.
He wasn't intentionally spying.
Just as the eye is automatically drawn to a decorative flower on the side of the road, it was a natural reaction.
The two were talking in whispers about future love.
Then he heard her name.
“Atha”
When he remembered the owner of the strange, familiar name, Cedric's fist suddenly clenched.
Atha was the name of the woman he was supposed to meet yesterday.
This morning.
When the eldest son of the Hermann family came with a formal letter of apology for his daughter not showing up at the promised place, Cedric graciously accepted.
He had no regrets about canceling the meeting.
“But, the dream woman is actually Miss Atha who I was supposed to meet?”
Suddenly, he felt like a lightning bolt had struck his chest, and his heart began to hurt.
Now that I thought, the conversation between the two wasn't something two old lovers would say.
It was an awkward conversation as if a man and a woman had met for the first time yesterday and had just started falling in love.
It is not known what went wrong and from where, but one thing is clear.
The person laughing and talking about love with her now could have been me.