It was something Luiche could not understand.
Was this matter something worth being desperately curious about until night, making me, my son, and the remaining attendants run back and forth? Or had His Highness grown desperate for his subordinates’ obedience?
Since when had Prince Reiner ever cared about every small piece of news within the Imperial Family to be curious about such a thing?
Fortunately, Luiche’s complaints and doubts were resolved blandly. It happened in less than two days after delivering the news that the people of Winzerton had safely finished their journey and settled down in the detached palace without any harm. Prince Reiner came to see Luiche again and asked.
“Could you, well, guide me to the detached palace where those Winzerton people were staying?”
Of course, she could not.
The Second Prince’s Palace and the detached palace were too far apart. Naturally, the Imperial Palace was tremendously huge and consisted of several fortresses.
Moreover, the detached palace where the Winzerton household stayed was located on the exact opposite side of the Second Prince’s Palace. Going there was a hassle. To whom? It was a hassle for subordinates like Martin or Luiche. A special reason was required to venture all the way to that corner, and there was much to prepare.
Luiche thought that if she explained all this, the Prince would give up on his plan. But once again, Luiche’s expectations were beautifully off the mark. Prince Reiner commanded them to carry out all the necessary preparations and to come up with an appropriate reason.
Once again, Martin and the other attendants began to grumble as usual.
“His Highness really had something about making people troubled.”
Luiche agreed. However, just because one did not want to do it did not mean they could avoid it. As the oldest servant in the Second Prince’s Palace, she skillfully placated the attendants. She did not neglect the duties that the nursemaid was supposed to handle, either.
Whenever her workload doubled, she swallowed curses aimed at Reiner, but that habit also disappeared one day. It was because she came to understand why Reiner had been acting strangely.
That day, the sky was unusually clear. In Reutlingen, an overcast sky that could produce rain at any moment was the norm in autumn, but on that particular day, there was not a single cloud in sight.
Had the blue sky soothed even the uneasy mind of the mad Emperor? For whatever reason, the Emperor summoned the Princess of Winzerton—enemy of the Empire—to the audience chamber.
Coincidentally, in order to travel from the detached palace where Winzerton’s hostages resided to the Emperor’s audience chamber, one had to pass in front of the Second Prince’s Palace. And that morning, Reiner was also sunbathing in the wildflower garden in front of the Prince’s Palace, taking in the clear sky for the first time in a while.
Thus, the one and only princess of the Kingdom of Winzerton and the good-for-nothing second prince of the Reutlingen Empire ended up encountering each other before the “Second Prince’s hostage visit schedule” ever took place.
The Prince’s long hair reflected the warm sunlight like chilly moonlight, emitting a silvery glow. The Winzerton princess passing by him had a completely contrasting color. Her long, wavy red hair was so brilliant it looked as if it had absorbed the blazing sun as its own.
The contrast of the two colors was quite pleasing to the eye. Upon seeing the Prince, who had been lazily lying there, suddenly spring up as if struck by lightning and stare intently at the Princess, no one questioned it.
Surely the Prince, too, found that red hair—which was rarely seen in the Empire—fascinating.
That was all everyone thought.
However, the Prince did not avert his gaze for quite some time. He stared at the Princess for so long it seemed almost rude. Regardless, the Princess calmly proceeded to the Emperor’s audience chamber. Reiner rose from his seat like a sailor enchanted by a mermaid and followed her.
At the next scene, Luiche shut her eyes tight. Reiner, like some ruffian in a marketplace grabbing a woman passing by, had taken hold of the Princess’s shoulder to stop her. If the Emperor or the First Prince had witnessed this, they would have said, ‘He must not have been beaten enough when learning court etiquette,’ and beaten him once again.
Fortunately, the Princess of Winzerton seemed fairly clever. She did not ignore Prince Reiner or shake off his hand, even though he was wearing nothing more than a loose robe, with nothing to indicate his rank.
Did she recognize at first glance that Reiner possessed a special status?
Or perhaps she was a person of such refinement that she would never treat her subordinates rudely regardless of such matters?
Luiche thought it was probably the latter, because the Princess omitted the formal greeting she would have given to an Imperial Prince and simply asked this:
“Did you have something to say?”
Though the other party had treated him so graciously, Prince Reiner did not come to his senses. Not only did he fail to come to his senses, but he also behaved more strangely than ever before.
He acted as if he had forgotten how he used to walk. He approached the Princess with an awkward step, like someone taking his first steps in life. Then, as if he had no strength to stand, he knelt down and asked in a pleading tone.
“Your hand… I… your hand….”
He meant to ask if he could hold her hand just once. Prince Reiner stammered, unable to finish speaking. Without even waiting for permission, he took his thin hand and touched the Princess’s fingertips.
The princess was not surprised. If one was a princess of a kingdom, there would have been countless people who would offer to kiss the back of her hand in homage. Perhaps none of them had ever been the Empire’s good-for-nothing prince.
Though she was a hostage and the nations were at war, having a prince kiss the back of a princess’s hand from a neighboring country was not a breach of etiquette. Hence, Luiche, the other attendants, and the Winzerton household simply watched the scene in silence.
Like all women of high rank, the Princess of Winzerton naturally extended her hand toward Reiner. However, what followed was in no way natural.
He did not kiss the back of her hand. Nor did he overstep his bounds with excessive passion. The young prince merely trembled as he carefully clasped those white, petite fingertips offered to him. As if that slight contact alone moved him to tears.
That was all. The princess, who had been waiting for a kiss, saw that Reiner remained frozen, not budging an inch, and promptly withdrew her hand. Generously, instead of showing displeasure, she offered him a gentle smile.
The courtly manners displayed by the Princess of Winzerton were flawless. She bent her knees, bowed her head slightly in courtesy, and left without a word. In contrast, the Second Prince of Reutlingen…
He only watched her with a stupefied look on his face.
Seeing this, Luiche could not help but let out a small laugh. She understood what that expression meant. Her discontent of the past few days melted away like snow.
So that was it?
The young prince had fallen in love for the first time, befitting his age.
He must have become smitten with that Princess of Winzerton, though I don’t know where he first saw her.
That was why he insisted on going there.
Well, I suppose I can understand, even if it was a bit of a hassle.
Seeing the prince, who was about the same age as my son, finally take an interest in a girl and not know what to do with his feelings, my heart softened. The boy I had always deemed so inscrutable suddenly seemed rather endearing.
Indeed.
Reiner von Reutlingen—complaining that I found it hard to feel sympathy for him because he behaved too maturely for a child—was really quite fortunate compared to what he had been through.
He was simply a frail and beautiful prince born under a harsh father and brother, making him a little different from other children. The occasional glimpses of childishness were truly adorable, were they not?
Recalling that day a few days ago, Luiche felt amused again and barely suppressed a grin. Beside her, Martin pursed his lips and asked,
“What’s so funny? Don’t laugh alone, let me in on it.”
“No, Martin. It’s just that suddenly, I understood everything.”
“What did you understand?”
“Prince Reiner… the reason he’s been cooped up in there like that.”
“And what is that reason?”
“Martin, my boy. If you intend to stay in the Imperial Palace any longer, you’d better learn to be more perceptive.”
After offering this needless scolding to her son, Luiche revealed everything she had seen a few days ago, and all she had deduced from it.
Martin, who had been listening with a grin, suddenly turned serious as soon as he realized, “Prince Reiner has fallen for the Princess of Winzerton,” and asked in a grave tone,
“Then what do we do, Mother…? I mean, Lady Luiche?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Luiche countered her flustered son’s question with another. Martin hesitated briefly, then lowered his voice and whispered,
“His Highness Prince Reiner’s first love… it became impossible for it ever to come true. Prince Niklas….”
“Are you talking about the rumor that Prince Niklas is to marry the Princess of Winzerton?”
“…so you heard.”
“If even you, Martin, have heard the rumor, then I suppose the royal marriage will be finalized soon. Poor Prince Reiner. To think his love ended after only that single moment of holding the princess’s fingertips.”
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