Chapter 6: Inside the Handkerchief

I had spent three whole days relaxing at the Riefenstahl estate. Today, I was to return to the capital. Art and my retainers were already waiting inside the carriage, ready to depart.

No matter how many times they beckoned me to come, I couldn’t pry myself away from Lieselotte. The Riefenstahls had retreated into the manor to give us some time together, and yet the thought of leaving her behind was still too much for me to bear.

“Oh, I really don’t want to go.” I attempted to hug Lieselotte. However, she deftly avoided my grasp. My gaze was tinged with resentment as she stepped aside, and she turned away with her nose held high, bidding me to leave.

“Your Highness, both Artur Richter and your retainers have been waiting in the carriage for quite some time, and your personal guard has been standing about with little to do. How much trouble do you intend to cause them? Please, pull yourself together.”

“Maybe doting on Liese-tan for so long that her family went back inside wasn’t the best play...”

“But I spot a bit of red on Lieselotte’s ears! I’m sure she’s not as stoic as she’s pretending to be!”

Lady Kobayashee sounded exasperated and Lord Endoh made an attempt to cheer me up. Both of their reactions made me feel like it was probably time to call it quits. However, I couldn’t turn on my heels so easily.

“Won’t you feel lonely, Lieselotte?” I asked.

“Well, um...” Her furrowed brow betrayed her fluster. With a faint blush, she said, “The summer break will last but one more week. Once it’s over, we shall be able to meet as we always do.”

Lieselotte was completely correct. And yet, if I had been able to accept that, I wouldn’t have dragged things out for as long as I had.

“I know. I know that, but...once I return to the palace, I’ll have to resume my work. I don’t want to go.”

“Pft—”

My childish whining was met with a short bit of laughter. Surprised, I looked at Lieselotte to see that she’d turned away with her hand over her lips.

“A-Apologies,” she said while stifling a laugh. “Yet it truly is rare for Your Highness to say such things.”

I felt as if I’d completely blown it. “Are you disappointed?”

“...Huh?” Lieselotte tilted her head. She seemed to be taken aback by my question, but her eyes looked straight up at mine without any hint of disdain.

In which case, I decided to open my heart for her. I let my deepest feelings loose.

“At times, I, too, grow weak and wish to indulge myself. I know I’m a prince—the crown prince—and the future king. I take pride in my position and am ready to fulfill my responsibility to the people as best I can. Yet sometimes, with my family and friends, I’d like to be a little vulnerable.”

Furthermore, I had a mysterious feeling that I shouldn’t leave Lieselotte here all alone. While this unease refused to abandon me, I couldn’t bring myself to say this, as it was in the realm of pure guesswork.

Lieselotte was blinking curiously at my forthright declaration.

“Are you disappointed in me?” I asked again, with a weakened smile.

“N-No, no, uh, um!” For whatever reason, Lieselotte instantaneously turned bright red and clutched her chest. She vigorously shook her head and fell silent after stammering something that could hardly be described as a sentence. With her eyes closed, she continued pressing her trembling hands into her heart.

Seeing her this way left me worried, until the entertained voices of the gods filled the air.

“Lieselotte’s down! Her heart’s pounding so hard it hurts!”

“The gap between Perfect Prince Charming and Sieg’s current demeanor is killer. And Liese-tan’s memoir has lines about how unfair it is that ‘His Highness only leans on Artur Richter,’ and how she wishes he’d ‘act more naturally’ with her too. Right now, the happiness that comes from Sieg’s sincerity is mixing with her overflowing love—to cause an explosion of emotion!”

I didn’t mean to do that.

I was contracting secondhand embarrassment when Lieselotte began slowly breathing in and out. After a few deep breaths, she eventually spoke.

“Here.” Her voice was tiny as she thrust out her hand. In it was a single handkerchief. “I shall offer this up to you. I, well, how should I put this? This is to show that I wish you the best, er, that I hope you won’t find yourself too exhausted, or maybe, um...”

“She finally hands it over! Open it!” Lord Endoh said. “Open it up right now, Sieg!”

“That handkerchief has something spectacular inside!” Lady Kobayashee said.

Lieselotte’s mumbling was overwritten by the enthusiastic cries of the gods. Unaware of their intent, I obediently unfolded the cloth.

“Ah!” Lieselotte had evidently not planned for me to open it here, as she reached out to stop me. I evaded her and completely unraveled the package.

The large cut of cloth contained a single folded ribbon: it was the same light purple as Lieselotte’s eyes. Embellished with shimmering golden embroidery, this was no doubt the ribbon I had ordered from her many days ago. I stared intently at the strip of fabric; Lieselotte must have done the delicate needlework herself.

“Th-This is merely an amateur attempt of poor make,” she said in a panic. “I questioned whether it could be considered fit to offer a prince so accustomed to the best material in the nation. However, the request came from you, Your Highness, and I did assent to its creation, so I was left with no choice—no choice, I say—but to deliver you a ribbon!”

“For something she had ‘no choice’ over, Lieselotte sure made a ton of prototypes!”

“To make that single ribbon, Liese-tan created a little under twenty other versions. She swapped out the base fabric and the embroidery thread countless times, tweaking this and that over and over. Finally, she picked the best of the batch to hand to you, Sieg.”

The gods shed some light on Lieselotte’s actions. Yet I’m sure I would have understood even without them. This ribbon was impeccably made.

Emotion swelled within me as I gazed at it. Lieselotte’s expression remained uncertain, but she took it upon herself to continue her excuses.

“I know well that your request was for a golden ribbon with purple embroidery, but I simply couldn’t achieve any semblance of balance with that color scheme. Not to say that this product is any good, of course. I merely meant to suggest that this is—at the very least, this one is—marginally better than—”

“Thank you.”

Lieselotte’s voice was ramping down to a whisper again, but I cut her off before she could reach a mumble. This time, I hugged her without fail, in an attempt to convey the flood of emotions in my heart.

“The design is beautiful and the stitching is perfectly done, just as I knew it would be. Above all else, I can tell how much love went into creating this wonderful ribbon. I couldn’t be happier. Thank you.”

“S-Skill with a needle is to be expected from any self-respecting lady,” she said. “Besides, the design mimics a handful of traditional charms—hardly anything worthy of note.”

I kept squeezing her tight, despite her pessimistic outlook and uncomfortable squirming. As I did, Lady Kobayashee’s voice rained down from the heavens.

“If I remember correctly, Liese-tan explained to Fiene that the pattern symbolizes a prayer for safety and good health. Oh, and by the way, Fiene got one of the prototypes. It’s a sky blue ribbon with pink embroidery to match her own colors, though.”

The goddess’s report that Fiene had received a ribbon before I had was remarkably unamusing. But, well, I was the only one to receive Lieselotte’s colors, so I supposed it was fine. I decided to let it slide and leave it at that.

Meanwhile, Lieselotte was approaching temperatures that bordered on heat stroke in my arms, so I finally loosened my hold. Still close, I showed her the fullest smile I could muster.

“Thank you, Lieselotte. I’ll think of this ribbon as a part of you and treat it with care. When I feel tired or lonely, I’ll look at it and push on,” I said. After waiting for my blushing fiancée to respond with an awkward nod, I said, “I’ll send you something to remember me by shortly, as a token of my gratitude.”

“It isn’t as if I created this hoping for some kind of repayment,” she said shyly. Her head was pointed straight down and I couldn’t see her expression.

I felt it wouldn’t have hurt for her to be a bit excited. I loosened my arms further. When I tried to peer into her face, Lieselotte turned up with a vicious glare, causing me to recoil.

“N-Now,” she said, “go on and resign yourself to your departure! The new semester is right around the corner, and everyone is waiting for you!”

Although I still was reluctant to leave, how could I refuse her after receiving such a wonderful parting gift?

“I suppose so,” I said. “I’ll see you again soon.”

I slowly let go of her. As I did, Lieselotte looked down sadly for a brief moment, and then looked up at me. Her gaze tightly stuck to me as she bid me farewell.

“...Let us meet again soon,” she said, her amethyst eyes wet with tears.

Lieselotte will miss me too. Finally sure of this, I took a deep breath and left her side. Despite the summer weather, I felt slightly cold as I turned away. I felt her gaze on my back all the way into the carriage.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Art said as soon as I stepped inside. “How many hours were you planning to make us wait?”

“Sorry,” I said with an apologetic nod. Quietly, I ran my fingers over the freshly received ribbon in my hand.

“Well, you don’t make personal requests often, so I don’t really mind.” Art laughed, sounding somewhat reassured.

Up until now, I had never opened up to anyone but him or my family. He must have been worried about me. This vacation was a prime example of his concern, and even in everyday life, he was always telling me to loosen up.

I took a seat next to my priceless friend and the vehicle immediately took off. They must have been waiting for quite some time. I’ll need to formally apologize to everyone, I mused. Looking out the window, I could see Lieselotte bowing to bid us farewell.

And then...

“These two will be fine...won’t they?”

Lady Kobayashee’s hesitant voice dripped into my ear. It was neither color commentary nor an address to me—she was simply talking to herself. The faint whisper of her voice would have been all too easy to miss yet it planted a tiny seed of uneasiness and the slightest bit of ill omen deep within my soul.