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nRieta read the entire letter quickly and smiled.

n“It was nothing.”

nRieta spoke in the kingdom language, which he thought was probably the influence of her reading the letter in said language.

nTo this, the Duke naturally answered in the same language.

n“It’s nothing?”

n“It seems that my father has at least a bit of conscience.”

nA letter worthy of such a good evaluation had come?

nThe Duke looked at the cash and letter that Rieta had put down, and attempted to guess the contents.

nDid he send pocket money?

nIt would be Rieta’s birthday in a little while . . .

nNo, it can’t be. Not the man who didn’t arrange for the little Princess to learn a single word before she crossed the border.

nThere was no way he could have such a normal thought.

nMaybe he was sending the money to tell her, I’m sending you a budget for your birthday, so do whatever you want.

nThat was the ‘bit of conscience’ that the Duke came up with.

nHowever, Rieta’s answer was not what he had assumed.

n“Since I was taken care of by the Empire, I have to buy a present for the Princess on her birthday. He entrusted it to me.”

n“. . . ?”

nThe Duke looked at Rieta with his eyes narrowed.

nHe didn’t think that was all.

n“Really. Would you like to see?”

nRieta handed the Duke her father’s letter.

nThe Duke read the full text of the letter, which had been written by the King of Liz on the spot in about thirty seconds.

nAfter all, it was only one sentence.

nBuy the Princess’ birthday present.

nSo the King of Liz sent the money to Rieta to celebrate the Princess’s birthday.

nThat was because Liz was greatly indebted to the Empire.

nOf course, his orders were not wrong.

nBut if he knew the Princess’s birth date . . .

nWasn’t it also natural to notice that the date was the same date as Rieta’s birthday?

nEven the Emperor, who has no relationship to Rieta whatsoever, knew and cared about it!

n“What a relief.”

nStill, Rieta hugged the letter that the Duke returned and smiled quite pleasantly.

nIt wasn’t as though it were a good letter.

n. . .What a relief?

nWhat was so relieving about it?

nThe Duke was very curious, but Rieta did not tell him.

n* * *

nThat afternoon, it was snack time.

nRieta told Noel that she would represent the Kingdom of Liz and attend the Princess’s birthday party.

n“What?”

nNoel was startled and spilled apple juice on his clothes.

n“By what qualification do you represent the kingdom?!”

nHe became angry, rubbing his clothes with a napkin.

nOf course, that was a very stupid question.

n“Noel, I am a Princess. The Princess who has the first right of succession.”

n“Yeah, that’s right, but!”

n“The Kingdom of Liz is indebted to the Empire. Of course, I will celebrate the birthday of the Princess whom the Empire loves with ‘simplicity’.”

n“Huh.”

nNoel shook his head with a pout.

n“She won’t like to celebrate with your flat kingdom pronunciation at all!”

nHe said, “What is simplicity? It’s sincerity.”

nHe pointed out the problem with Rieta’s pronunciation.

n“Don’t make fun of me. The teacher said that I’ve improved a lot.”

n“What improvements? Wouldn’t it be better not to go there? In the first place . . .”

n. . . It’s your birthday.

nNoel had the words on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t say it.

n“Besides, you don’t know any Imperial etiquette in the first place. If you go, you’ll only be embarrassed.”

n“It’s okay. The Duke will come with me.”

n“Uh . . .”

nBy then, Noel had no reason to stop Rieta from going to the party.

nWhat to do?

nHe had two concerns.

nOne, he had already decided what to do on Rieta’s birthday.

nIf she went to the Princess’s party, she would only return to the house at night, and all his plans to entertain Rieta would be thwarted.

nAnd the second problem was a little more serious.

n“Lord, is Princess Liz going to the Princess’s party too? If so, I also want to say hello to Princess Liz on that day. Is that okay?”

nThe point was that the County’s little Lord, who always wanted to see Rieta in such an annoying manner, had sent that said letter.

nOf course, Noel had sent a letter of refusal.

n“I’m sorry, but that day is also the birthday of Princess Liz. We’ll have a good time in the mansion, we won’t see you. See you later at the New Year’s party.”

nA letter with a lot of condescending words, too.

nBut when Rieta attended the party, it’s clear that the condescending words would be thrown back in his face.

n“Noel?”

nMaybe it was because his expression wasn’t good.

nRieta was looking at him worriedly.

nUgh, what to do with this gentle Princess? The Empire was also infested with fearsome people.

n“You, you shouldn’t go to the party and just become friends with anyone.”

n“Uh . . . why not?”

n“Because!”

nNoel screamed the word as though it were obvious.

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