Dinner time.

  At Ferdel’s request, I accompanied the envoy members of Shertogenbosch, but strangely, Ahin was alone in the dining room.

  I was so shocked at it that I halted for a second before I could move……

  Still, the seats beside Ahin were all empty.

  What? How could he not come here with the others?

  Didn’t people in Shertogenbosch have dinner?!

  “Good Evening.”


  “Yes, it is a good evening.”


  As always, I greeted him first.

  I tried to smile as elegantly as I could, but his smile won over mine.

  Right, one of the impressive things about him was his smile! Of course, it was sad that I couldn’t say anything to him when he chose to smile.

  Ha, life.

  After our greeting, something felt off.

  Huh?

  Ahin’s smile continued to stay on his face as he spoke.

  “I think my evening would improve if the princess calls me by my name.”


  “.……”


  I had no idea that dinner would be a tough time for me.

  “Haha…… Hahahaha.”


  I chuckled awkwardly, but I was getting worried.

  What should I do?

  Slowly, I began to think and turned anxious about Ahin and the empty seats beside him. Why the hell weren’t the other ones there yet? If people start filling in, then I wouldn’t have to feel so out of breath! Where were they then? Why weren’t they coming!

  I didn’t want to do it, but I ended up gulping down and spoke carefully to ask him where the other ones were.

  “Where are the paladins and cardinals who guard you?”


  “I came alone. I was the only one who wanted to eat, and they wanted to sightsee. It would be rude to keep the person who invited me waiting.”


  Right. That would be wrong, but coming alone was also rude!

  One-on-one interview. I felt irritated. I didn’t know why, but my position felt very burdensome. I didn’t like what I was feeling.

  “Sightsee?”


  “The others wanted to see Agrigent’s brilliant Winter Tree before coming here, but after visiting the temple, they couldn’t come for it.”


  “Ah, is that so.”


  It wasn’t something unusual. I knew what it was like.

  It wasn’t easy to escape the clutches of beauty that that place held. The Winter Tree itself had beauty and mystery around it; above all, there were stories about it that grabbed people’s attention.

  It was the tree where the Winter Spirit stayed asleep.

  Wasn’t that enough to catch people by their ear?

  People living in Agrigent were fascinated, too; one couldn’t help it. No matter how different the believers were, the sacredness of the tree couldn’t be denied.

  I understood.

  “Then, shall we eat?”


  “Yes.”


  Ahin smiled at my affirmation, but my heart didn’t like it.

  What was he trying to do? What on earth would he talk about? Should I use my favorite conversation line, ‘Nice day, right?’.

  However, the downside of the conversation was that this person had a way to get out of such monotony.

  Ten, what must I have to say?

  While I was still contemplating, fortunately, Ahin opened his mouth.

  Wow, such manners. The best!

  “I heard about it on our way here.”


  What?

  I tried to be cautious without speaking; it seemed like a serious thing. What did he hear?

  As I seemed confused, Ahin smiled.

  “That there was an unfortunate incident.”


  “Ah…… it’s okay.”


  He was talking about the sixth prince, that rotten bastard.

  It wasn’t strange that Ahin knew about it as it had been long since the incident happened. Rumors must have spread all over the continent.

  Embarrassing.

  I said it was okay, but Ahin’s gaze softened. No, it was fine, really fine, stop that!

  “It’s a thing of the past.”


  “I should have been responsible and sent you back safely……”


  I was trying to assure him I was fine, but I couldn’t help by letting my complexion darken.

  Uh, uh……? Excuse me. What was he doing?

  Ahin was sorry for nothing. Did he have to feel so guilty? Was he responsible? Couldn’t he act normal? Why!?

  “Even if you did, you couldn’t have stopped it. Rather, I was grateful that the knights of Shertogenbosch weren’t sacrificed for me.”


  I went silent, and Ahin didn’t respond.

  Yes, I said it a hundred times before to many people; talking about it made me feel bad. I hoped no one would talk about it. I knew that it was fine, but I didn’t want to hear about it.

  Ah, he should really stop.

  “Instead, help me through these talks.”


  “Yes, I will.”
……

  ? Really?

  Would he really be fine with it?

  I was shocked for a moment and blinked while Ahin looked the same.

  “Because it isn’t Agrigent and Pretzia anymore.”


  Well, true……

  Not convincing, but there was nothing I could do.

  Besides, I wasn’t leading the talks. I was patient, so I knew what the exchanges would be like, but I knew nothing about specific topics.

  What did I have to say?

  It was difficult, but the conclusion was easy to guess.

  I must turn the direction of this meeting.

  “It has been a while since your last visit in Agrigent, right?”


  “Yes.”


  It was like a hometown for him.

  Looking at it, I heard that he used to visit the place often when he was young. That was when I met him. It was after he was called as the successor that Ahin couldn’t come.

  “A lot has changed, but it looks the same as it was in my memory.”


  “Because it is all the same except for my palace.”


  “You are his beloved daughter.”


  A definite compliment, but why did it seem like a curse?

  I knew it, but it was embarrassing to hear it from someone else. Should I say that it was like an item being confirmed? It was awkward, but I didn’t feel bad.

  Right, I was his beloved daughter!

  Caitel’s daughter!

  “Is your health all good?”


  “Yeah. A bit odd sometimes, but it is okay.”


  “I heard that you wouldn’t wake up for a long time.”


  “I wasn’t seriously injured.”


  Actually, it was because I was searching for my dad.

  Fortunately, it seemed like not everyone knew about the details of the incident.

  Right, how fortunate of me. Most of all, there were very few people who knew Dranste.

  Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen Dranste since I woke up. That villain, I knew he was a bad one, but I didn’t realize it would be to this extent.

  He could just look at me.

  “The court maids were troubled, but the recovery was swift. Fortunately, I’m well now. I couldn’t walk earlier; my body was pretty grim after my awakening.”


  “Would you like to take a walk after our meal?”


  Uh? Really?!

  “You would?’


  “Yes.”


  Ahin smiled and nodded……

  I knew that I might have acted like a kid; still, it felt like he was looking after me.

  I couldn’t help but feel happy.

  I hadn’t been so excited in a while.

  Even getting out of bed pissed my maids off; I felt like I was getting fat by staying in bed for so long.

  They were all too overprotective of me.

  The walks that were allowed for me were short ones. I was embarrassed to call those walks.

  They wouldn’t even let me move after breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I didn’t want my body to make a habit out of it.

  Anyway, it was good news that he wanted to walk with me. That was the full-extent of Ahin’s kindness. Ahin had a massive title. My maids would never try to oppose him.

  “Our temple is beautiful. Let’s go there.”


  Such a long walk!

  When I said that with glee, Ahin smiled.

  I wanted to show him the essence of Agrigent garden. Right, once he saw it, he wouldn’t be able to forget it.

  As I looked, Ahin smiled and nodded.

  “Let’s do that.”


  “Yep!”