Act 5: The Royal Capital

Act 5:
The Royal Capital

 

IN THE SIXTH MONTH after my summoning, I knocked on Johan’s office door. “May I come in?”

I entered once I received permission, bringing with me a tea cart complete with tea, sandwiches, and sweets. Johan and Knight Commander Albert were seated across from each other on the facing sofas, waiting for me.

“That looks delicious,” Johan said as I cheerfully set the table.

Both men were fixated on the plates I had brought. I wasn’t scheduled to work that day, but when I heard that Albert was coming to the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora for some reason, I decided to make some things for them to snack on, like a sort of afternoon tea set. We didn’t have a three-tiered tray, so I just arranged the food on regular plates. Liz did tell me that they used plates with legs for tea parties at the palace.

I poured the tea into cups and placed them in front of Johan and Albert. Finally, I poured myself a cup of tea and sat next to Johan.

I felt like Albert looked a bit distraught, but I tried not to overthink it. I mean, the prospect of sitting next to him made me feel way too nervous.

“Thank you for putting this together even though it’s your day off,” Albert said apologetically.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I really do enjoy cooking, so I didn’t mind at all.”

It might have been my day off, but on those days I usually wound up doing the same sort of things I always did. Plus, since Albert brought the sweets, I was happy to turn his offering into a real tea party.

Albert’s sweets were all sorts of colors and so delicate. I think they must have been made out of fruit. Sugar was sprinkled on their tops, and they looked extremely sweet—and I’d hardly had anything that would count as dessert since I got to the kingdom, so I was kind of looking forward to this.

Johan and Albert were finished talking about whatever Albert had come to discuss, so the three of us got to chat while we dug into the food.

“Still, you do seem to work quite a bit,” Albert said.

“You think so?” I asked.

“It’s your free day, yet here you are at the institute when you could be anywhere else.”

“Well, I do live here. And I like to get a bunch of chores done when I have the time.”

I did exactly the same thing on my days off even back in Japan. I would get a lot of practical life stuff done, like the laundry and cleaning my apartment. However, here, I had finished all that in the morning, and luckily there was also a servant who took care of the laundry for me, which would have taken the most time.

As it turned out, the majority of the researchers who lived at the institute were from noble backgrounds and had never done their own laundry before, so they employed someone to do housework for them. However, I didn’t like the idea of someone going into my room, so I cleaned it myself. I was pretty sure my colleagues had servants doing that for them, though. If they didn’t, the research institute would have been a toxic jungle.

“Besides chores, don’t you usually do more research or go to the library? That’s nearly the same as work,” Albert continued.

“But I really am working less than I did back when I lived in Japan.”

Because of their positions at court, both Johan and Albert knew I had been brought here by the Saint Summoning Ritual. I didn’t know if it was because they didn’t want to make me miss it or anything, but they tended not to ask all that much about my life back in my old world. Occasionally I would bring it up myself, though, and because of that, they knew I used to live in a country called “Japan.”

“I used to work every day from the third bell of the morning until the midnight bell,” I told them.

“What?” Johan’s eyes opened wide with shock as he raised his voice. I don’t think I’d ever seen him look like that.

Albert didn’t say anything, but the teacup he brought to his lips remained undrunk, and his eyes were wide as well.

Of course they were shocked. The third bell of the morning referred to 9 a.m., while the midnight bell was midnight, just like the name implied. Calculating in the time it took to get dressed and commute, I had to wake up at 6 a.m. every day and got home at 2 a.m. every night. We were supposed to have weekends off, but I went in on Saturdays anyway. I stayed home on Sundays so I could get my apartment back in order. Not to mention, I’d probably start having some serious health problems if I didn’t.

In this world, on the other hand, people typically lived by the rising and the setting of the sun. It differed depending on your occupation, but our working hours at the research institute reflected that lifestyle as well. I’d been working from around 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. pretty much every day. That was it. Not to mention, during breaks I got to sit down and enjoy tea with my colleagues in the institute or with the Knights of the Third Order, and no one got mad.

Maybe other people’s lives were different, but my life now was way more relaxed. I really got to take it easy.

From Johan and Albert’s perspective, I supposed it sounded like I used to work far too much.

“By work, do you mean as in…you were required to attend parties in the evening or something as such?” Albert asked.

“Nope. I was a commoner, you know.”

I knew attending parties was a requirement for nobles like them sometimes. Maybe some people back in Japan had that kind of responsibility, but I imagined it was the sort of thing only celebrities and the like had to worry about.

“A commoner who sounds nearly as busy as our prime minister,” Johan mused.

“Oh, everyone I knew lived the same way.”

“It really sounds like you worked yourself like one of our officials.”

“It does?”

The government officials were run pretty ragged in this world. However, the majority of them were nobility.

“Oh, now it all makes sense,” Johan said as if in understanding. He stretched a hand to my face.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“I was just thinking how much prettier you’ve gotten since you came to our world.”

“Huh? Why are you saying something like that?”

“The condition of your face when you first came to the research institute looked exactly like one of those officials when they’re especially preoccupied.” Johan touched his fingers to my cheek and then ran his thumb along the skin beneath my eye. “But now even those dark circles are long gone.”

It was the first time someone other than my family had touched my face like that. My heart began beating wildly in my chest. I was sure I was blushing, too.

Johan seemed quite amused by my reaction. His expression didn’t change, but I caught a delighted glint in his eye. He had noticed I was unaccustomed to being touched by others and lately had taken to teasing me like this.

Nngh. I wanted to get away, but due to the close quarters of the sofa we shared, I couldn’t move much and therefore was unable to put distance between us. As I was internally cursing the situation, I heard a cough.

I glanced across the way to find Albert glaring at Johan.

Please glare at him more! I pleaded. Turn him into an ice statue like some kind of Ice Medusa!

Johan noticed his friend’s ire as well and promptly removed his hand. Then he turned his teasing on Albert instead. “What, you want a turn touching her, too?”

“That’s not it!”

For now, though, I sipped my tea and breathed a sigh of relief.

 

***

 

It was hot. Sooooo hot. It was the middle of summer, though it wasn’t as humid as it could get on an island like Japan. But hot was hot, and there was no wind.

If I could’ve gotten away with it, I would’ve worn a camisole and shorts with no shoes, but that wasn’t possible. If I wore such attire in the research institute, I was bound to cause my poor colleagues to get nosebleeds and faint. Camisoles and shorts covered even less skin than the ladies’ underwear of this world. That was why, even though it was the peak of summer, I was bundled up in a long-sleeved shirt and a skirt that covered my ankles. I felt like I would faint from heatstroke, so I rolled up my sleeves, but it was still suffocatingly hot.

I was supposed to finish some documents for Johan, but again, hoooot! I soon gave up writing altogether, and then I gave up trying to endure it, period.

“Say, Jude?” I walked over to his seat.

“Yeah?” he said. The heat seemed to be getting to him as well since he had his shirt magnificently unbuttoned.

That’s not fair. I want to free my chest, too. Then I might actually be able to work!

“Would you mind coming with me for a moment? There’s something I’d like some help with,” I continued.

“Sure thing.”

Jude let me bring him to the kitchen. It was long past lunchtime, so the chef was nowhere to be seen. I glanced around and spotted my goal—a cleaning bucket on a shelf along the wall. I scooped it up, placed it on the ground, and spun around to face him.

Jude was a deft hand at Water Magic, and I was pretty sure he once told me he could use his magic to fill tubs.

“Can you make cold water appear in this bucket?” I asked him.

“I can, but what are you trying to do?”

“I want to cool my feet.”

“Uh, but…”

“It’s indecent? Don’t worry, there’s no one else here.”

In this world, it was considered highly improper for a woman to flaunt her bare feet at a man. Just the other day, Liz had lectured me about it as I was fanning myself with my skirt in the library. When I pointed out we were both girls, she gave me a tight, tight smile and said, “But what if someone sees you?”

Really, the look on her face at that moment was frightening.

Anyway, it came as no surprise that my request had Jude all hesitant and blushy.

“Maybe you should get a bucket to soak your feet in, too. I’m sure it’ll feel nice,” I suggested, trying to coax him like some kind of foot-bucket seductress. “You don’t have to worry. No one’s going to come into the kitchen at this time of day, and it’s not like I’m going to soak my feet for hours on end. Please?”

“Ugh… Okay, fine. Just be careful that no one sees you.”

“Thank you!”

Despite his misgivings, Jude called on his magic to fill my bucket with water and then swiftly exited the kitchen. I didn’t miss that he shrewdly took another bucket with him on his way out. No doubt he meant to do the same thing elsewhere.

Say what you want about propriety, but everyone gets hot.

The kitchen floor was made of packed earth, so it didn’t matter if I spilled water on it. I moved the bucket over to a chair and sat right down. Then I raised my skirt over my knees so as to keep it dry, shucked my socks and shoes, and plunged my feet into the water. The sweet, cool water enveloped them.

Ahh, this feels so good.

No one was about to come into the kitchen, so I undid two of the buttons on my shirt and started fanning my chest. There was no wind to speak of, but the fanning gave me a very small bit of relief.

For a while I just sat in there, spacing out. But then, just as the water was becoming lukewarm, I heard the sound of the doorknob turning behind me.

“Sei, are you in—”

I whipped around at the sound of the voice to find Albert standing in the doorway. He was staring at me, frozen like a statue.

Eep. I get it. Seeing me in this state was a bit too much for a gentleman like him. How awkward. I hastily buttoned my shirt back up, yanked my feet out of the bucket, jammed them back into my shoes, and stood.

“Hello, Lord Hawke. Were you looking for me?” I said casually, desperately pretending nothing had happened.

At my words, the stock-still knight commander snapped back to his senses. He covered his mouth with his hand and looked away from me, a slight pink in his cheeks. “My apologies,” he said in a strained voice.

Please, I’m begging you, don’t act all embarrassed. Please just pretend nothing happened, I found myself wishing as I cleared my throat.

“I heard that you have a free day tomorrow,” he said hesitantly.

“Oh, I guess I do.” I had all but forgotten. I frowned at him, puzzled. What about it though?

At last, he let his gaze return to me. “I have a day off as well. I was wondering if you would like to join me on an excursion to the capital.”

“Did you just say go into the capital?!” I exclaimed. In all the time since I’d come to this world, I had yet to leave the palace grounds, let alone go into the adjacent city.

As Albert regained his composure, a smile crept over his face to mirror my own. “You spend even your days off cooped up in here, slaving away. Johan’s worried about you. You need to leave and enjoy a genuine break once in a while.”

“I see, so that’s why you asked,” I murmured. I supposed he wasn’t wrong. I had confessed as much earlier that month. I had nowhere to go, and since I lived upstairs, on my days off I could take it easy in the morning and still wind up working in the afternoon.

“Well, thank you for the offer. Please do take me with you,” I said.

“Excellent. I’ll come to fetch you tomorrow morning.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, it would be my honor.”

Yay! I couldn’t stop wondering what the world outside the palace grounds would look like. Would it be like one of those traditional European cities? I had always wanted to visit Europe, but I got summoned to the kingdom before I could make it happen.

The rest of that day and the following night, I was overflowing with excitement over the prospect of the trip. However, I had completely forgotten something: the person I was going with was the not-so-icy Ice Knight.

The heart of the capital was a bit far from the palace, so we took a horse-drawn coach from the front gate. It was a plain affair, not one of those fancy things Albert’s family owned. He must not want to stand out, I thought. His clothes were also on the plain, common-folk side of things. I thought he might be trying to match the relative non-elegance of my attire.

However, I wished he had called for one of his family’s coaches. A normal one was quite cramped, you see, and I was stuck inside that cramped coach with the well-built Albert. We were so close we were practically touching! To think a beautiful man was sitting right next to me. It was too much for me to handle, traveling in such close quarters to someone so gorgeous…

My level’s not yet high enough for this kind of situation! Let me out! I’m all out of HP! I sobbed inside.

“Look, over there. That’s Johan’s estate.” Albert smiled while pointing out the window.

“Ooh.”

D-don’t come any closer! Too close! Very too close!

I couldn’t bear to face him, so I looked out the window where he was pointing to see an absolutely exquisite mansion. Since this was the royal capital, land prices had to be insane. And yet, Johan’s home was enormous. Was his family actually rolling in it? “It’s so huge…”

“Yes. His family is quite influential.”

Makes sense, I thought as I carelessly turned my head back around.

Ack! Albert’s face was so close to mine I thought I’d have a heart attack. Thankfully, he noticed my blushing and immediately put some space between us, but there really wasn’t much room in the coach. My poor heart raced the whole ride into town.

To my delight, the capital was captivatingly adorable. It looked just like a historical town in Europe. The orderly red roofs were straight out of a fairy tale.

“Wow! This is incredible!” I exclaimed.

The coach came to a stop, and the door swung open. Albert exited first and held out his hand to me. I took it and descended as well. I drank in every detail in sight, including the crowds of people. We had to be near the city center.

“The marketplace is that way. Let’s go,” Albert said and then started to gently pull me along by my hand.

Huh? You’re not going to let go of my hand?! Wait! Waaaait!

 

***

 

I couldn’t help crying out in excitement as I took in the sights.

The marketplace was stocked with a brightly colored assortment of vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish. I even spotted what looked like a shop that specialized solely in mushrooms. Bakeries and stalls hawked bread and pastries, a true variety of goods, including a small white bread. I suspected it was a luxury of sorts, since it was more expensive than the other types on sale.

Mouthwatering smells lingered in the air. The quality of the cooking in this land left much to be desired, but there was an abundance of ingredients to be found. I especially enjoyed the things that I’d never seen before. With the way the marketplace bustled and overflowed with energy, one could call it the kitchen of the capital.

Between the shops, there was enough space in the road for eight people to walk side by side, but there were so many people that it was hard to navigate through them. As we made our way within the crowd, yet another shop caught my eye. While I was distracted, I felt a sudden tug on my shoulder. I realized I had been about to walk straight into the person in front of me.

“Thank you,” I smiled stiffly at Albert for stopping me. He gave me the sweetest smile in return.

We had been holding hands since our arrival. No doubt it was because otherwise we would be separated, especially if I kept getting distracted by every other shop. Or maybe I was just trying to escape from reality and avoid the truth again.

I didn’t want to think I was being careless, but I had almost walked into someone. And as a result, Albert had casually let go of my hand to draw me toward himself by the shoulder instead…

Ha ha ha ha ha… Was this a form of torture? Was God testing the strength of my heart? Or was Albert just taking my hand again to stop me from bumping into more people? I was scared of getting used to this intimacy. Yet he touched me again and again.

Eventually I managed to reach a point where I could smile—though it was still a bit stiff—and thank him without blushing. I’d say that was pretty good for inexperienced me.

Would it be okay if I stopped letting myself get so distracted by the shops? I wondered. But if I didn’t let myself get distracted, then I might end up getting distracted by a certain someone else!

“Are you all right?” Albert asked.

“Um, yes, I’m fine,” I said.

“Would you like to eat?”

“Well…”

It was still a bit early for lunch, but in truth I was hungry, possibly because we had left so early. Also, my feet were getting sore from all the walking. Albert seemed like he could keep going, but as I basically lived the life of a shut-in, I wasn’t really conditioned for all this wandering.

Some stalls in the marketplace had caught my eye, but Albert was a noble. I doubted he was the type to buy street food. Maybe there was a café nearby?

“I, um, I could eat,” I confessed.

“Then why don’t we visit a food stall and find a place to rest our feet?”

Huh? And here I thought Albert was above this place. I was pleased by his suggestion, but was he sure about this? Sure enough to escort me to a wooden crate near a food stall. After taking my order, he left me behind to go buy it. Was it just me, or did this seem kind of routine for him?

After a few moments, Albert returned with a couple of skewers and two cups of water lightly flavored with fruit. I took one of each, and he sat next to me.

“It looked like that wasn’t your first time patronizing a street vendor,” I said.

“Johan and I used to come here all the time when we were younger.”

“Really?” I was unable to hide my surprise.

Nobles come to the marketplace, too? I thought. I couldn’t help pressing him for more details. He confessed that he and Johan would sneak into the city, passing themselves off as the sons of wealthy merchants. That made more sense to me.

“Oh, how much did these cost?” I asked him.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Oh? But… Okay, thanks.” I felt a bit bad about freeloading, and my voice grew quiet at the end of my sentence as I smiled self-consciously. Well, I guess I’ll have to pay him back later.

The skewer was only seasoned with salt, but it was beautifully grilled. The serving size was just right, and I pretty much inhaled it. I finished it off with a sip of fruit water and savored the gentle taste on my tongue. This was also delicious, especially since I was parched.

“What’s wrong?” Albert asked me with a concerned expression.

“Oh, nothing!” I must have been staring at the fruit water or something while I was thinking. I did have a thought, but…

“Really? If you don’t like it—”

“No, no, that’s not it. I was just thinking that this would taste even better if it were chilled. But I know ice is a luxury.”

“I see.”

Albert took the cup from me, and I tilted my head, curious. Soon, delicate waves of cold air began to waft from the cup.

Huh? What did he just do?

Albert returned the cup, and I discovered there was now ice floating in it. I looked at him in surprise, and he inclined his head, signaling that I should drink.

Don’t mind if I do!

The iced fruit water was just as lovely as I had imagined. I couldn’t help smiling, which brought another smile to Albert’s lips as well.

“Wonderful,” I said.

“Really? Good.”

“What did you do to it?”

“Just a little magic.”

That took me by surprise, though I supposed it shouldn’t have. In this world without refrigerators, the only way to get ice was to cut it in winter and keep it in ice houses—or to make it with magic. Not many people had Ice Magic strong enough to actually create ice, though, so it was incredibly valuable.

I had somehow forgotten that Albert could use just such magic. To be fair, I certainly never thought he’d actually use it in front of me.

“The ice really does wonders for the taste. Thank you so much!”

It must have been heavenly because before long, I had drained my cup.

“I’m glad you’re so pleased,” Albert chuckled.

It was hard to imagine that people called him the “expressionless Ice Knight.” He always seemed to be smiling when I saw him, and in a way he just seemed to sparkle, you know? Not that any sparkliness had anything to do with anything!

Even dressed in his plain attire, he could hardly be mistaken for a commoner with that radiant aura of his. That morning, I had thought he looked like one merely because he wore those clothes, but now that we were amongst actual commoners, the disparity was readily apparent. Was it just a difference in upbringing? He was terribly pretty even while drinking fruit water. Maybe he could pass himself off as the son of a wealthy merchant, but no way could he fool anyone into thinking he was ordinary.

I must have been staring because he gave me a quizzical look. I quickly shook my head, uttered a few words of denial, and glanced pointedly away from him.

Please don’t look at me in such a kind way, I begged silently. I’m already too full of emotions I can hardly bear.

After our snack, we left the marketplace and started down a street while browsing the storefronts. The goods on display looked to be of quality make with price tags to match, so I was hesitant to go inside any establishment.

I was steadfastly examining only the outside displays when Albert stopped in front of a certain store.

“Sorry, but would you mind if we stepped into this one?” he asked.

“Sure, I don’t mind at all.”

He had already followed me around all day, so I had no issue at all with letting him take the lead. I tailed him into the store. While the clientele seemed to be largely commoners, the merchandise was apparently high-end accessories for both men and women.

Albert went all the way to the back of the shop by himself, so I took my time investigating the variety of accessories on offer. Closest to me were hairclips and hairbands. The latter were in a box and layered in a pleasing seven-colored gradation.

At first I had let my hair grow after my summoning because I was too busy with work to get it cut, but it was now long enough to fall midway down my back. The hairbands were a bit expensive, but with my hair at its present length, I definitely wanted to be able to tie it up—especially given the summer heat. Maybe I’d buy myself a hairclip.

Looking over them, I found one I just adored. It was wrought from silver and looked quite elegant, with blue stones that fit into the latticework of the design. It was dainty and pretty, but its price was, let’s say, impressive, and made me balk.

Maybe one without stones would be less expensive, I thought to myself as I began searching for alternatives.

Just then, Albert came back. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Did you find anything you liked?”

“Oh no, not really.” I loved that hairclip, but it was still out of my price range. I would have felt bad making him wait while I tried to settle on a different one, so I decided to let it go for today and try again another time.

“Shall we go then?” he asked.

“Yes, let’s.”

I once more followed him out of the shop. When we were outside, he took my hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

After our leisurely wander through town, it was starting to get late, so we hailed a carriage and headed back to the palace. I must have been exhausted both physically and mentally because the gentle rumble of the carriage soon put me to sleep.

My eyes fluttered open to the sound of someone’s voice. The carriage had come to a stop. I gazed absentmindedly up at Albert, who smiled softly back at me.

“Are we there yet?” I asked.

“Yes. You must’ve been tired; you slept the whole way.”

Uh-oh. Did I sleep on him?

I stared, wide-eyed, which only made his smile broaden.

Oh noooo. I definitely slept on him. And he definitely, definitely got to see what I look like when I sleep! My cheeks grew hot, and I turned away, wishing I could actually flee.

To make matters worse, Albert started laughing.

Argh, I think this is the most damage I’ve ever taken in my life!

I groaned as he studied me from the corner of his eye, amused.

Just like this morning, he stepped out of the carriage first. I supposed we couldn’t stay in there forever, but he seemed a little glum as he offered me his hand to help me down.

Together, we walked from the gate to the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora, chatting about what we had seen at the marketplace and in the shops. It had been a full and exhausting day, but overall I enjoyed it immensely.

It wasn’t long before we reached the institute. I turned back to Albert and bowed my head. “Thank you for coming with me today.”

“It was a pleasure. I had fun.”

People called him the Ice Knight, but if you asked me, he’d been in high spirits the whole time we were together. He always had that shining smile on his face, and even now he was still grinning. I felt like I had dragged him around all day, but he accompanied me every step without a single complaint. What a sweet guy.

“I had fun, too,” I said. “I’ll see you later then.” I turned to go inside, but he stopped me.

“Wait, I wanted to give you this.” He held out a box that fit into the palm of his hand.

I wonder what it could be? I took it in both hands for now, simply surprised. “What’s this?”

“Please open it in your room. Feel free to use it if you like it. Good night.”

“Huh? Wait, Lord Hawke!” I tried to stop him, but he had already left, making for a rather dashing exit.

I considered running after him but realized I was still totally beat and didn’t have the energy for it.

Guess I’ll have to head up to my room and open it. If it’s problematic, then I can just go and give it back to him tomorrow, right? I pulled myself together, went up to my room, and steeled myself to open the box.

Inside was a lacework hairclip—the one I had loved in that accessory shop.

 

***

 

“How did yesterday go?” Johan asked as soon as I stepped into his office, a teasing grin spread across his handsome face.

“It was fun,” I answered casually.

“How wonderful.”

From the way Johan was peering at me, I could tell he wanted more details, but I simply placed the documents I had collected from all of the researchers on his desk.

“These are everyone’s reports.”

“My thanks.”

I nodded and quickly turned my back to him. As if on cue, the questions were unleashed.

“So where did you go?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about yesterday, obviously.”

I turned to find that teasing grin still plastered on Johan’s face. It wasn’t like Albert and I had done anything scandalous that I wanted to hide, but the way Johan seemed so amused by the whole affair irritated me to no end. So I fought back by plastering a mirrored grin on my own face. “Are you my dad or something?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Asking me for the details of my day off makes you sound like an overprotective father fretting about his teenage daughter.”

“Hey now, you know I don’t have a daughter.” When he realized I was teasing him back, his smile became wry.

“We went into the capital. That’s it.”

“Oh?”

“Which reminds me,” I said, contemplative, “he told me all about how you were such a wild kid.”

“Eh? What exactly did he say?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

In truth, I’d only heard that he and Albert used to sneak out to buy food from the marketplace, but I purposely made it seem like something more dire. From the way Johan’s smile now looked forced, I wager he got into plenty of trouble in his time. Now I felt much better!

I grinned. “We went to the marketplace, ate some street food, window-shopped, and then returned to the palace before it got dark.”

“Is that all? How wholesome.”

Wholesome? All we did was go into the capital. I supposed that was “wholesome”—but as opposed to what?

“So long as you had fun on your date,” he added.

Date…? That bombshell of a word left me stunned.

Johan’s brow creased faintly. “What’s wrong?”

“That was a…date?”

“Hmm?”

“All we did was go into town.”

“You and Al went into town, had lunch, and looked in some shops together, yes?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Isn’t that a date?”

I just kept gaping.

Johan, of course, saw a window of opportunity for another attack. “When a man and a woman go out somewhere together, they call it a date, don’t they?”

Stop. That was a date? Wait! Was that the definition of a date? My head reeled as I thought back. I had never gone out alone with a guy other than my dad—at least not outside school or work. The most I’d done was join a group of classmates to buy materials for our cultural festival.

Huh? So, wait. Was yesterday actually my first date? My face immediately grew hot at the thought.

“But all Lord Hawke did was accompany me into town,” I protested.

“I thought he invited you.”

“He did, but! But I’m sure he invited me just because he didn’t have to work either.”

“Whatever the reason, he wouldn’t have invited you if he wasn’t interested in you.”

“What?!”

“Why are you so shocked?”

“But…interested… Interested…?” I was at a loss for words.

That can’t be right. There’s no way someone like Albert would be interested in someone like me. Though I certainly don’t think he hates me or anything… My thoughts whirled around and around as I stared down at my feet.

“Sei,” Johan suddenly interrupted my ruminating, his voice quiet and soft. “Was Al cold toward you?”

“Not at all! He was a perfect gentleman, even when I was getting off the carriage. But I thought that was a normal thing for noblemen to do here?”

“It is, now that you mention it.”

“See? And he held my hand while we walked around and even paid for my food.”

“Oh, yes?”

“And he even bought me a souvenir on our way home.”

“Did he now?”

“Yes.”

I withdrew a box from my skirt pocket and handed it to Johan. Inside was the hairclip Albert had given me. When I examined it in the morning light, I noticed the stones in this hairclip were slightly different from those in the one I saw in the store. They were paler than true blue—more a blue-gray color, like Albert’s eyes. For some reason, I was reluctant to return it to him.

The hairclip I saw in the store was the kind of expensive I could afford if I saved up for a bit, but as a result, I was reticent to accept it as a gift—it felt too costly. I couldn’t make up my mind about whether to keep it or not, so for now it lived in my pocket.

Johan took the box and opened it. For a moment, he looked stunned. But the look was gone so quickly I thought I had imagined it, and he returned to inspecting the hairclip. At last he closed the lid and handed it back to me.

“Sei,” he said, “as you know, it’s common for nobles to escort women while walking.”

“Yeah?”

“But know this, Al has never given an accessory like that as a simple ‘souvenir.’” Johan’s teasing expression was gone; I had rarely seen him so serious. From his tone alone, I knew then that Albert hadn’t given me this hairclip on a whim. I gazed at the box in my hands, and my face started to warm again.

“Is it really all right for me to accept such a precious gift…?” I asked.

“I’d say, if you like it, keep it.” A gentle smile teased across Johan’s lips.

I nodded wordlessly.

 

***

 

“Good day to you, Sei.”

The very next day, I ran into Liz in front of the doors to the library on my way to return a book. It was unusual for us to find each other in the hallway. We never had an agreed time to meet, and I was always coming at different times for my work. As a result, I often didn’t see her in the library at all.

“You changed the way you wear your hair,” she commented.

“Yeah. I decided to wear it up since it’s so hot.”

“I see. And that hairclip is simply lovely.”

“Th-thanks.”

The door creaked as I opened it. Liz went first and immediately swept off in search of the book she came for. Meanwhile, I went to return my books to the librarian before looking for my next borrow.

Of course Liz had immediately pointed out my hairstyle. Her fashion radar had even honed in on the hairclip. I couldn’t help feeling self-conscious about it though, since it was a gift from Albert.

As I was thinking that and staring up in a haze at the front of the herbology bookshelf, Liz came up behind me. “Say, Sei? That hairclip really is elegant. Would you mind if I got a closer look?”

“Sure, I don’t mind…” I trailed off and turned to find Liz wearing a trademark lovely smile.

I really didn’t mind letting her examine it, but it would be a pain to properly restyle my hair after, so I asked if she was okay taking a look while I still had it in. She happily agreed.

To let her get a full eyeful, I moved over to one of the desks and sat in the chair. She followed behind me so she could get a look at it while standing. She didn’t touch it, but I could tell she was studying it closely.

“Such remarkable craftsmanship,” she said.

“Thank you.”

“And those gemstones are exquisite.”

“They are?”

“Indeed… Who gave this to you?”

“Huh? How can you tell?”

“Well, it looks quite a bit more expensive than the sort someone would wear every day, so I thought it must have been a gift. Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re right.”

“Was it, perhaps, from Lord Hawke?”

“H-how did you know?!” I gaped at her.

She gave me an exasperated look in return. “What do you mean how? It couldn’t be more obvious.”

Huh? Why? How was she able to guess so quickly?

When I demanded an explanation, Liz took a deep breath. Then she held her slender pointer finger in front of my face. “First, there have been rumors that that Lord Hawke has a sweetheart now.”

“Oh my!”

“Of course, I believe that this woman is you.”

Was she for real? I hadn’t heard such a rumor. And what was with the emphasis on “that”?

Liz raised another finger as she continued. “Two, the stones in this hairclip are the exact same color as Lord Hawke’s eyes.”

“You notice everything…”

“How could I not? The stones are a perfect accent to the hairclip.”

“I didn’t mean the stones—I-I meant the color of his eyes.”

“The Hawke family is famous for those very eyes.”

“Ah, really?”

“Anyway, that was how I figured it out.”

“The color of the stones being the same color as his eyes made it that obvious?”

“Yes. Everyone knows that Lord Hawke’s taken a fancy to you.”

“Everyone does?!”

“Also, it is custom in our kingdom for men to give women they are attracted to something of a color that will remind the woman of themselves.”

“How do you mean?”

“Like something the same color as the man’s hair or eyes. Though I hear eye color is the more frequent choice.”

“Is…is that so…” I had no idea.

Which must mean that Albert actually does have feelings for… No way. That can’t be. I can’t even consider the possibility! Ohhh, what should I do? Was it really okay that I accepted such a thing from him? Johan must have known! Why didn’t he tell me?! I thought as I cradled my head.

Liz giggled. “It’s so cute how much you’re blushing right now.”

“I-I’m just not used to this sort of thing, okay?!”

“You’re not? Really?”

To think I would end up getting relationship advice from a girl ten years younger than me! Wracked with unbearable feelings, I looked up to find Liz gazing at me warmly.

Argh, I just can’t stand how these emotions are making me feel right now! Can I just run away?!