n

n

nAfter they waited a little while, the Duke and Noel’s brother came in.

nThe four of them had breakfast together in a quiet atmosphere.

nRieta ate all the smooth soup, but this time she didn’t eat half of what was on her plate.

nNo way, did it not suit her taste?

nOr is it possible to live by only eating that much?

n‘I don’t think that’s it.’

nThe Duke, her guardian, went to work and thought he should ask the emperor, whose nickname is the daughter’s fool. (t

/n: daughter’s fool means about a father who loves his daughter too much)

n****

n“You’re looking for a book on the Kingdom of Liz?”

nWhen he was asked by a librarian of the royal library, Noel looked around for a moment and said yes.

n

n

nFortunately, there was no one around.

n“There might be some books on the small bookcase, but you’d better not expect much.”

nFew scholars wanted to study the culture or language of the small country.

nOf course, even in a small country, topography, military features, and royal family ancestry were sufficiently researched.

nNoel couldn’t see those records, however, because they were not open to the public.

nThe librarian took him to the “weak little country’s” bookshelf.

nThere were astonishingly few books about the Kingdom of Liz.

nThere were one old travel journal and three analyses of its linguistic characteristics, and there were about five books written in the kingdom’s language, which he could not read.

n“Why is there so little information….”

nHe picked a travel book whose cover was titled ‘All About the Kingdom of Liz! Curious Things About the Territory.’

n“I’ve found it.”

nWhile checking out the book for Noel, the librarian kindly chatted with him.

n“I heard that the princess of the Kingdom of Liz is with the Duke? I caught word that she is quite the beauty.”

nHis question sounded like, ‘Are you borrowing this book because you’re interested in the Princess?’

nNoel’s face turned red since it was, somehow, embarrassing to be thought of that way.

n“Now that I think of it, t-this isn’t the book I want to borrow.”

nHe uttered a strange squeak, taking a step back, and left the Royal Library as though he was running from something.

n*****

nNoel learned a monumental lesson from today’s ‘Library Incident.’

n‘Let’s not be uselessly curious.’

nHe was the son of a Duke, the nephew of the Emperor, and a cousin of the future Emperor, so it was natural for other nobles to pay attention to his every move.

nIt was quite dangerous.

nAt any rate, there could have surfaced an unfortunate rumor that “Noel of the Ducal House was interested in the beautiful woman from the Kingdom.”

n“Noel.”

nHe looked up at the call from the other side.

nHe saw Rieta holding a teacup.

nIt was a little inconvenient to have tea alone, but it couldn’t be helped.

nThis was his father’s order.

n‘Converse an hour a day in the Imperial language.’

nAlthough that didn’t mean that her flat pronunciation would improve.

nAs Rieta was unaware of Noel’s mental machinations, her blue eyes shone bright with smiles.

n“Tea, do you like…tea?”

nAh. It was a good idea for her to use the new words she learned.

nHer stuttering out sentences with poor pronunciation was a little cute.

n“Well, not much.”

nHe replied with a slight glance.

nPerhaps because his answer was beyond her knowledge, Rieta tilted her small head.

nShe probably didn’t know responses other than ‘yes’ and ‘no.’

nSo, he corrected his answer.

nAnyway, he had to talk to her for an hour according to his father’s orders.

n“No, I don’t like it.”

nHis sentences were shortened, but he couldn’t help it.

nHe thought she wouldn’t understand if he added more words.

n“Noel, tea, doesn’t like.”

n“Noel doesn’t like tea.”

nAs he corrected the sentence beautifully, her smile returned.

n‘Why would a princess smile like this?’

nNoel thought that Rieta was extremely annoying at that point.

nThe smiles of royals were supposed to be rare.

n

n

nAt least, he believed so.

n“Noel doesn’t like tea.”

nAfter following his words, she stared at Noel.

nShe always asked ‘Did I do well?’ with that face.

n“…Well, perfect.”

n“Perfect?”

n“You’re good.”

n“Ah.”

nWhile she practiced ‘perfect’ several times, he glanced at the clock.

nHe prayed that time would go by quickly, and fortunately, heaven must have granted his wish.

n