Turning back to the book I was reading, Dranste snuck up to my side. It was fortunate that Assisi went to the knightage now. If he was here, they’d be in a big war of nerves.

  Sigh, oh, my life…


  “Have you been to Caitel yet?”


  “No.”


  “Then you came to me first?”


  “Oh, that’s a little touching, isn’t it?”


  Yeah, I would have been a little touched without that last question. Dranste laughed loudly, whether my expression was replacing the answer.

  Did he like my face? He liked strange things.

  Dranste, who was not ashamed of staring, touched my book.

  “You can read letters now, huh? You’ve grown a lot.”


  “Do you want to get punched that badly?”


  I was willing to hit him twice if he wanted. He shook his head and backed away from me and my stubborn face.

  “You are just so cold to me. You’re so mean.”


  “Sure, I’ll do the cold part. You do the mean part.”


  “…”


  I was just saying whatever was in my mind, but that was enough to make Dranste silent. I quietly turned my back on him. There was something I felt ashamed of.

  “Sorry.”


  I felt like I was guilty of death somehow. Haha, I felt like I killed someone when I hadn’t even touched a weapon yet.

  Dranste smiled at my apology. It was quite a friendly smile, but in my eyes, it was scarier than cursing.

  “As long as you know that that wasn’t funny.”


  I knew nothing.

  I felt sorry for him for a moment, but when I stared at him again, he touched my cheek. Oh, come on! I knew I was chubby because of my baby fat, but why did he and the rest of his palace friends like my cheek so much? Was there irresistible magic hidden in my cheeks?

  “But why are you so angry today?”


  It was because I was looking at him.

  I didn’t know if he heard me, but Dranste laughed again. Oh, I hated looking at his smile. Still, Dranste was sometimes cute when he smiled, ha…


  “I heard that our princess is in a bad mood these days.”


  “Who said that?”


  “Your maids.”


  Yes. Actually, it’s not wrong, so I had nothing to say.

  I just sighed.

  “The atmosphere in the palace is a little weird these days. Maids gossip quietly about me when they see me.”


  Of course, it wasn’t the Solay palace maids. If they were the ones doing it, my father would have cut their throat right away. The problem was the other palace maids. Every time I passed, they talked about me. Even when I tried to get off my nerves, they stood out so much that it was quite stressful.

  Dranste smiled after hearing my words as if he knew what it meant.