n

n

nHe had never felt or used the word anywhere other than a novel.

nHe was a precocious child, but he was only nine years old.

nSuch words were rarely related.

nStill, he felt vain about Rieta. That was pretty embarrassing, too.

nWhat is the reason?

nOn that day, Noel could hardly read his book.

n*****

nRieta picked up some fairy tales and returned to her assigned room.

nIt was also for a while that she was enthusiastically reading a book on an oversized chair.

nSoon, she began to nod off.

n

n

nTo be honest, she hardly slept the day before.

nRecently, her life had been a series of changes.

nPerhaps this was how a balloon released in the air felt, just floating along with others who pushed and pulled.

nShe fell asleep quickly.

nIn her hazy dream, she was in the Kingdom of Liz.

nShe never thought she wanted to go back, but she was glad for some reason.

nThe maid dipped the sugar into the girl’s lips.

nShe said ‘It’s a secret, Princess.’

nThe licked sugar was very sweet.

nAs if pure happiness was refined into taste.

nShe rolled a little powder in her mouth until the end, slowly savoring it.

nKnock, knock.

nShe opened her eyes at the sudden knocking.

nThe first thing she saw was luxurious furniture.

n‘Oh, there you go.’

nIt wasn’t until she completely fell asleep that Rieta remembered where she was.

nKnock, knock.

nThe careful knocking came again.

nShe seemed to have kept someone waiting.

nShe came down from her chair and answered in a hurry, “Yes!”

nAlthough she spoke the Kingdom language, she couldn’t recognize her own words.

nSoon, the door began to open.

n“….!”

nRieta, nervous, gulped before her visiting opponent could be revealed in his entirety.

nIt was because of his enormous height in her eyes.

nThe only person so generous in this mansion was the Duke of Mayer, who protected her.

n“Princess.”

nReceiving his polite greeting, Rieta quickly bent her knees.

nIt was difficult to distinguish the status of a princess and a duke.

nThe Duke governed the Mayer territory and was completely independent from the imperial family, so technically, he was not one of the reigning royals.

nHowever, people still revered him like a prince, and the emperor cared for him.

nThus, Rieta was willing to be polite to him.

n“Are you reading a book?”

nWhen asked, Rieta looked down at her hands.

nShe held a fairy tale book.

nIt seemed that she didn’t put it down somewhere else because she was in a hurry.

n“It seems like I interrupted your rest. I’m sorry.”

n“No, it’s oka–”

nRieta, who answered naturally, stopped talking in surprise.

nCome to think of it, the Duke was speaking to her in the language of the kingdom.

nHis pronunciation was relatively natural.

n“The language of the kingdom… Are you speaking it?”

n“As a guardian, I only learned what I needed to. Does my pronunciation sound strange?”

nRieta shook her head quickly.

nIt was not perfect, but it flowed smoothly.

n“Fortunately, then, I’d like to ask you a few questions, Princess.”

n“Yes.”

nWas it such a welcome thing to hear familiar words?

nRieta took a step closer to the Duke and nodded.

nShe felt somewhat familiar with the stiff face that only looked scary yesterday.

n“Can you tell me what you have learned and how far you have learned in the kingdom?”

n“…Pardon?”

n“Oh, my pronunciation must have been terrible.”

nNo, it wasn’t.

nShe was just surprised to see him come and ask about her studies.

nUnaware of Rieta’s thoughts, he rummaged through a large book he was holding in his hand.

nThe sound of the thin paper fluttering was heard, and he stopped at a point.

nThen he slightly held out the part and showed it to Rieta.

nOn it was written ‘Teacher’ in the Kingdom’s language.

n

n

nShe stared at the letter and looked up at the Duke once again.

n“… For me?”

n“Yes.”

n“Why?”

nShe felt like she was asking a stupid question.

nBut there was nothing else to say.

n“There’s no other reason. I thought you might need it.”

nHe answered calmly and looked at her face quietly.

nShe responded by… waiting.

nShe hesitated for quite a long time, and he didn’t say a word of her silence.

n