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“Ugh… Hmmm…”

Whether she was laughing, crying, or surprised. Ransel carefully wiped his hand while looking at Marigold’s face, which changed by the moment, her mouth covered.

Moonlight, seeping through the wide-open window, illuminated Marigold, passing through the duvet draped over the two of them.

“Ransel… is that you?”

“Yes, it’s Ransel.”

“Really, Ransel?”

“I’m not fake, so don’t worry.”

“Heueueue…!”

Marigold, her face contorted, was trying to hold back tears, but it was too late. Her emerald eyes were shedding tears like a half-open faucet.

“Your Highness. Even so, shouldn’t you wash? You’re a princess, after all.”

“I washed two days ago… heueue…”

“Hmm, really? You don’t smell, at least.”

“Heui… Hic!”

“Shh.”

Ransel, sensing her breakdown, quickly covered Marigold’s mouth again.

“They’ll hear you. Quiet.”

He felt a hand slowly reaching out to embrace him.

Ransel, feigning helplessness, pulled her to his chest.

“Ranseeeeel…”

“You crybaby liege lord.”

Memories of the Dante Territory flooded back. Marigold at eight, or Marigold at eleven, she was still Marigold.

He soothed Marigold, who was hiccuping and sniffling, for a long time.

“…Sorry, Ransel.”

Her voice was full of moisture. There were countless meanings in that one word, ‘sorry.’ Things that happened in the Dante Territory, things that had happened in the capital, or perhaps other things Ransel didn’t know about. Ransel knew it was an apology for all of them.

It didn’t matter.

“Should a liege lord apologize to a knight first?”

“……”

Ransel gently tidied Marigold’s hair as she nestled in his arms.

“You skipped your Imperial Family lessons, right?”

“…Mm…”

“You didn’t even take walks in the garden. Or exercise.”

“……”

“You’re just becoming more withdrawn because you don’t get sunlight.”

“…I’ll get sunlight starting tomorrow.”

“Of course, you should. And attend your lessons diligently. What if you don’t pass the exam and can never go out again?”

“…I don’t want that…”

“If rumors spread that my liege lord is a crybaby, a shut-in, and a princess who failed her exam…”

“Ughhh…”

Honestly, Ransel didn’t care about any rumors.

But it was a bit inconvenient if she remained shut in and failed the exam.

Wasn’t this the status of a princess that he had worked so hard to obtain?

It would be a waste of time if she didn’t enjoy it more.

There was no guarantee she would be a princess again if he regressed.

“…How did you get hurt, Ransel?”

Ransel was momentarily flustered by her dejected voice.

‘How does she know that?’

Did someone blab? Was it the 1st Princess? No, that couldn’t be right.

Ransel, choosing his words, decided not to lie. After all, no matter what he said, she wouldn’t find out.

“When a person wants to be happy, there’s always something that stops them. Like a wolf during harvest season, for example. The one that bit me.”

Ransel continued, tidying Marigold’s hair again.

“When summer passes and harvest time comes, wolves always hide in the wheat fields, preying on people or livestock. It would be nice if happiness could be obtained for free, but it’s not always easy. That’s all.”

“……”

He wasn’t lying.

“In short, it was a bit of trouble, but the harvest was successful. Princess Marigold.”

Ransel emphasized the word ‘princess.’ This was the biggest fruit he had borne. It was a bumper crop, beyond his expectations.

“You weren’t worried about that, were you?”

“…I was…”

“……”

“I was worried… all day. All winter.”

Marigold’s arms tightened around his waist, pulling him closer as if she never wanted to let go.

“In my dreams, Ransel got hurt, died…”

“How terrible.”

“And we couldn’t make up, and then we couldn’t meet again…”

“We met again, so it’s resolved.”

“Heueueueong…!”

“Shh.”

He covered her mouth again.

He felt Marigold’s lips squirming against his palm, so he moved his hand.

“…Are we… reconciled?”

Was she still worried about that?

Of course, he had expected as much.

“Your Highness.”

He gently lifted Marigold’s bowed face.

“Ta-da.”

He showed her what he was holding. Her eyes widened. In her trembling pupils, a pair of small rings could be seen.

They were the rings from the honey candy. They were adult-sized, so they didn’t quite fit her fingers yet. So, he had made them into a necklace.

“How did you get that…! You lost it, didn’t you?”

“Shh. Of course, I found it. Unfortunately, the candy broke, and it went down my throat.”

He decided not to mention that he had just forgotten about it, having put it in his back pocket.

Marigold’s previously tearful eyes instantly regained their sparkle.

“Ransel!”

“Shh, quiet.”

“Mmph!”

Ransel quickly stopped Marigold, who was starting to raise her voice as she sat up.

“I’ll put it on for you. Stay still.”

Inside the small space of the tent-like duvet, with Marigold’s head propped against it.

He carefully brought the necklace to Marigold.

“Please bow your head.”

“Mm!”

One for Marigold’s neck, and one for Ransel’s.

The sight of something she thought she had lost returning before her eyes made Marigold’s eyes shine as if they would emit light.

“So, we’re reconciled now?”

“Ransel, I…”

“A promise.”

“Huh?”

Ransel extended his pinky finger to Marigold.

“A promise.”

“Marriage?!”

“……?”

“Ah, no, a promise.”

Marigold belatedly looped her ring finger around Ransel’s pinky finger.

“I hope Your Highness passes your Imperial Family classes quickly so you can go out. It’s a promise.”

“……”

Marigold’s gaze wavered drastically.

He could see her trying to deflate, fiddling with her fingers.

Ransel chuckled.

“Otherwise, we won’t be able to go out together, will we? Like in the Dante Territory.”

“……”

Light returned to Marigold’s eyes.

“I will! Ransel, I’ll live diligently starting tomorrow!”

“Good. That’s the spirit.”

“If I work hard, take the lessons, pass the exam, and get to go out…”

“Sure. A picnic.”

“But… even if it’s just once a week, if you come to see me like today…”

Is that okay?

The words rose to the tip of her tongue.

He had gone to quite an effort just today.

Sneaking over the princess’s window wouldn’t be tolerated more than once.

‘Coming here in person is too much.’

Ransel shook his head after some thought.

“It’ll be a big problem if we get caught, so that’s no good.”

“R-right. Hmm…”

If she got caught even once, it would be a disaster, so he passed.

Naturally, it was difficult to grant Marigold’s request.

“In that case… letters… are not okay, then.”

Marigold’s voice trailed off again.

‘Letters.’

It was a method that could be tried once or twice, but difficult to do often.

Basically, the Imperial Family didn’t allow any letters in.

Even more so if the recipient was a royal who was still under house arrest.

What if random people sent letters and said strange things?

The reason young royals were confined was all for that very reason.

Nobles who would entice immature royals and lead them astray? Such people abounded in the capital, so much so that it was too numerous to list.

The same applied to letters with Ransel Dante.

It was a very exceptional case, permitted out of consideration for a past connection. It wouldn’t be easy to exchange them frequently.

If this happened three, four, or even more than ten times, they would definitely be marked. Not Merry, but the Dante Family would be marked by the Imperial Family.

‘Hmm.’

However.

There was a way.

A legal way to access the Imperial Family.

“Then…”

.

.

.

“What? Ransel, that’s expensive. Not just anyone can do it. No matter how much money I have…”

“Please do it for me. I’ll repay you when I grow up. Look at my eyes. I’m sincere.”

“I know you’re sincere… Hah, this is really…”

The next day, Ransel clung to Baron Evil Shen’s pant legs.

“Please do it willingly.”

“Oh, for goodness sake.”

Baron Evil Shen was taken aback for a day or two by the demands of the young Ransel.

“I told you to do it.”

On the third day, he finally surrendered.

“Just step on me and walk away, Baron Evil.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll do it. So get up, Ransel. Everyone is watching.”

Ransel, blocking the main road, stood up, dusting off his clothes.

“If you were going to do it, why did you refuse for two days?”

“I didn’t expect you to be so persistent. For someone who will be a knight, staging a sit-in on the street, if someone sees, rumors will spread, Ransel.”

“So, in the future, please just accept my requests. I’ll take good care of you when I grow up.”

“…I’m only indulging you because you’re genuinely on your way to becoming a Knight of the Imperial Family, Ransel.”

Ransel led Baron Evil Shen to one of the capital’s salons.

In the salons, where nobles gathered to drink and eat snacks while chatting, a ‘newspaper’ was delivered once a week.

Well, even calling it a newspaper was a stretch; it was merely a high-society publication filled with boasts about the aristocratic society and the wealthy. To Ransel, it was incredibly boring.

Perhaps out of fear of falling behind in conversations if they missed even a day, the nobles of Rodnis in the capital considered this newspaper an indispensable medium.

Ransel’s gaze was fixed on the submission section on the very last page.

“Ransel, you know that posting something here costs one gold coin, right?”

“I’ll pay you back when I’m older.”

“But what are you going to write?”

“A form of… literature, I guess.”

“Literature?”

Ransel opened the paper and picked up the quill pen.

Naturally, he had no literary talent.

“Yes, literature.”

7.

“Your Highness…”

“Think of it as an extension of your etiquette lessons, Chief Maid. I’ll live diligently from now on. Okay? Yes, yes, yes, yes? I wash every day now, and I attend lessons every day, right?”

“Sigh…”

The Chief Maid put her hand to her forehead.

“Alright. But you may not use the name of the Imperial Family, Your Highness.”

“Chief Maid!”

Marigold spread her arms and rushed towards the Chief Maid.

“I love you, Chief Maid!”

“D-don’t cling to me. Ahem.”

The Chief Maid, completely swayed by the revitalized Marigold’s energy, had finally given in.

And a week later.

On the back page of the capital’s newspaper, content that hadn’t been seen before began to appear.

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-The third week of April.

-This is the season when irises bloom, a time when glass artisans walk the streets of the capital. The river, as cold as ice water, is now warm enough to dip your feet in. Hello. I am still holding the hilt today. It rained yesterday. I ask for your well-being in the half-dried grass.

-Lan.

—————————

“What is this?”

“Seeing as it’s labeled as literature, it’s prose.”

“Ho ho, this has a rather unique flavor.”

To Ransel, it was just an obvious ‘letter’ with no particular metaphors or hidden meanings, but it seemed to be perceived differently by the nobles of the capital. Perhaps because it was on the last page of an expensive newspaper, they acted as if they felt something.

In reality, it was merely a disguise for minimal communication.

Ransel waited for the next week.

—————————

-The fourth week of April.

-Late spring, with petals rising along the melted winter ground. Even with the scent of campanulas filling the garden, the ice within me doesn’t seem to have fully melted. Every night, I think of you. When will spring come again? I am doing well.

-Mari.

—————————

“…So it is literature!”

The nobles of the capital clapped their hands.

“Newspapers are developing too, aren’t they? To have someone publishing a series of prose like this!”

“There must be some profound metaphor here.”

“When inferring the speaker’s psychology, this…”

Ransel let out a hollow laugh, observing the enthusiastic reactions in the salon.

‘Merry. This is…’

He reread Marigold’s published words.

Naturally, it was still lacking to be called literature.

This was.

‘Just a love letter?’

 

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