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nHowever, it seemed that Noel didn’t like Rieta’s question in and of itself.

n“Why on earth wouldn’t I be able to meet them?!”

n“Bu, but . . .”

nAs Rieta scrambled for an excuse, she came up with a good reason.

n“If we go to the Kingdom, we may not be able to freely meet the Duke or Darrel.”

n“Uh . . .?!”

n“The Kingdom and the empire are very far away from each other. We might have to write letters from time to time.”

nOf course, she didn’t believe that Noel would really follow her all the way to the Kingdom, but . . .

nStill, it was a good excuse for now.

n“That, that.”

nNoel pondered for a while, then immediately regained his confidence and exclaimed,

n“When you become an adult, you can use movement magic! I’ll meet them with magic.”

n“. . . Ah.”

nRieta looked at Noel with slight sadness in her eyes.

nSomething similar had occurred in the original story.

nNoel, who had missed the female lead very much, intended to meet with her using that magic.

nAnd accidentally saw a love scene between her and the male lead.

n“Why are you looking at me with those eyes all of a sudden?”

n“No . . . Noel . . .”

nRieta grabbed his hand tight.

nShe didn’t care at all that the leaves she had been picking up all morning were rustling around.

n“I will surely make Noel happy!”

n“What is this, all of a sudden?!”

nIt’s because she was so worried about the future.

n“I will make you happy for the rest of your life! Definitely!”

n“I don’t need it?!”

nNoel, terrified, dropped the leaves he was holding and bolted to the mansion.

n* * *

nReturning to the inside of the mansion, the two felt that the atmosphere had become heavy.

nPerhaps it was because of the late letter, but apparently it wasn’t.

nIn fact, this atmosphere has been slowly circulating in the mansion since summer came.

n“The Princess and the young master.”

nSeeing the two of them restless, the butler approached and guided them to the family room.

n“I will bring you snacks soon.”

nThe butler who spoke like that seemed to be paying attention to Noel for some reason.

n“I will prepare what the young master likes.”

n“Uh, yes.”

nWhat’s going on?

nCome to think of it, the maids or servants usually brought snacks to them, but today the butler took care of them.

n“Master Darrel will also arrive soon.”

n“Brother?”

nNoel looked at his watch in surprise.

nIt was a little early for him to come back.

n“Yes.”

n“Is something wrong with Brother? He said he wouldn’t go at these hours.”

nDue to the recent hot weather, Darrell used the relatively cool dawn and evening hours to go to and from the Academy.

n“The Duke also said he would be here soon.”

n“Father too?!”

nNoel asked, surprised.

nOf course, that meant, ‘Why is everyone gathering at this hour all of a sudden?’, but the butler just nodded.

nIs there something worrying?

nNoel bowed his head, and Rieta gently wiped his back.

nShe doesn’t know what happened, but she was sure it would be fine if the whole family talked together.

n“Don’t worry too much, Noel.”

n“Worry? Who’s worrying?”

nHowever, Noel raised his head and smiled haphazardly enough to make any audience feel bad.

nAs though something very happy had happened.

n“It can’t be. It has been proven that I am right.”

n“What do you mean?”

nRieta tilted her head. He said ‘stupid’ and pulled back on Rieta’s braid.

n“Don’t!”

nRieta annoyed, fiddled with her flowing hair, while Noel laughed as he twirled her hair ribbon.

n“Did I tell you earlier? If you have the time to write a letter, it would be better to meet in person.”

n“Yeah . . . you did say that.”

n“Father and brother are of the same opinion. Look, they miss me, so they’re coming back to the mansion, right?”

n“How do you know that?”

nRieta snatched the ribbon from his hand.

nThe maid, who was waiting behind, noticed it and tied Rieta’s hair back.

n“Maybe they just want to scold Noel a lot.”

n“Is that possible? When you see how the butler treats me so kindly, you will find the answer. Obviously, the most important person of today’s tea time will be me.”

nJust then, they heard the sound of a carriage arriving from the garden.

nIt was a bit more urgent than usual, so Rieta felt a little uneasy.

nBut Noel doesn’t seem to feel that way at all.

n* * *

nThe still young Noel wasn’t aware, but the Empire was already in a state of emergency.

nAn exceptionally hot summer.

nRain that never fell.

nThe parched land was cracked, and the crops withered.

nAnimals lost their vitality in the heat. Humans were animals too.

nThey could not escape death.

nThere was not enough water to drink, so even washing properly became a luxury.

nNaturally, large and small diseases soon became prevalent.

nThe Emperor worked hard to solve this problem.

nHowever, the rain, which was fundamental, did not fall.

nHe even held a prayer meeting to make it rain by borrowing the power of the temple.

nConsidering the Emperor’s lack of faith, it must mean that he was desperate.

nHis only hope was magic.

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