n

n

n“Then I’ll go. Take care, little brat.”

nHe turned away without hesitation.

nIt was as though he didn’t want to be in the mansion for a second longer.

nRieta quickly jumped up from her place.

n“Tha, thank you.”

nHe didn’t really look back.

nInstead, he said, “Of course you should be thankful. Taking away an old man’s snacks? Not very polite of you,” he grumbled bluntly.

nRieta tried to answer ‘I’m sorry’, but stopped

nThat probably wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

nSo Rieta decided to say something very different.

n

n

n“You know?”

nSincere and close to the truth.

n“I thought it was very . . . beautiful.”

n“. . .”

n“Grandfather’s most precious treasure.”

nPerhaps he had wondered if she liked his story? His steps paused for a moment.

n“Maybe even now, it is the most precious, amazing, beautiful and wonderful treasure in the Empire. In all the world.”

n“I know already. You’re a smart girl.”

nHis tone was oddly slurred.

nHe still hadn’t looked back

nDid he feel a little relieved?

nShe thought it would be nice if that was the case, but she heard his voice again.

n“. . . Don’t get sick. You baby.”

nIt was a sad voice.

nWhile Rieta was looking for something to say, he quietly opened the door and disappeared.

n“Oh right.”

nRieta suddenly remembered the scarf, hanging from the nape of her neck.

nShe hurriedly tumbled out of bed and looked out the hallway, but he was already nowhere to be seen.

n“Prin . . . cess?”

nInstead, the dozing maid woke up from her sleep.

n“Are you awake? Some snacks . . . God, you have a fever again. I’ll bring you some food and medicine, so please wait in your room. Alright?”

nIn the end, Rieta had no choice but to quietly return to her bed again.

n* * *

nRieta cherished the meeting that had happened last dawn.

nThat meeting left Rieta with two souvenirs.

nOne was a warm scarf, and the other was . . .

n“Huuu . . .”

nIt was symptoms of a more serious cold.

nShe had to sleep for more than half the day, drunk on medicine.

nThe Duke had declared war on this bitter cold.

nAnd, for the victory of this war, he gave Noel an order.

n“Noel, meeting the ill Princess is now entirely forbidden.”

nIt was a means to prevent the spreading of the cold, but there was one psychological effect that the Duke had overlooked.

nThese were the terrible side effects of the words entirely forbidden.

n* * *

nNoel was a good child who respected his father’s will, initially trying to obey the Duke’s orders.

nHe read a book without Rieta for a long time and took a walk in the garden.

nWell . . . the quiet is nice.

nWhen he was with Rieta, something noisy always happened.

nI have returned to the life of an elegant Lord.

nOf course, those thoughts didn’t last for very long.

nHe soon became bored.

nBut that had nothing to do with Rieta.

nIt was just that not one of his books was interesting.

nStudying was boring, and his wooden sword seemed so heavy today that he didn’t want to bother wielding it.

nHow could he have such a bad day?

nNoel paced around his room as though he were anxious.

nHe had been playing so much. He thought that it should have been dinner time by then.

nHe was surprised that it wasn’t even lunch time yet.

nBy this point, he had determined that someone must have been holding back the clock and preventing it from going.

nThere was no way that the day would stop like this just because he couldn’t play with Rieta.

nWhat could he do to make his day enjoyable?

nThen, suddenly, he remembered a conversation he had with Rieta a while ago.

n“Noel, why don’t you listen to what the other person has to say, and occasionally do what that person wants you to do?”

n“Why would I have to do such a troublesome thing?”

n“Because the other person will be pleased.”

n“Everyone will be happy just talking to me. Because I am Lord Mayer.”

n“Ugh, we still have a really long way to go . . .”

nAt that time, Rieta had sighed heavily, shaking her head slowly.

nAt the time, he thought Rieta was saying something weird . . .

n“Ah.”

nNoel had a great realization and stood tall on the spot.

n“What, that’s what you asked me to do?”

n

n

nHe wanted to compliment his genius brain.

nRieta was really shy, but there was no need to beat around the bush like that.

nAnyway, it was cute to do the little things.

nNoel thought about what Rieta wanted.

nOf course, he could recall it this time without difficulty.

n“Even a small snowman can be very cute if you decorate it well!”

nHe immediately came up with a good plan.

nI’m going to make a little snowman and give it to Rieta!

nIf he puts it on the outside of the window sill, it won’t melt for quite a few days. A few days where Rieta would be able to be happy in the meantime.

nNoel quickly grabbed his coat and gloves and went outside.

n