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nAfter Noel muttered for a long time without actually saying anything, Rieta came up with a possibility.

n“Hey . . . what happened with Count Mclean?”

n“W- what?”

n“Why else woujld you be running away like this?”

n“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Nothing happened with him!”

n“Did you not run away?”

n“Ugh.”

nRieta stared at Noel and decided to stop asking questions.

nSince Noel has a strong sense of pride, she thought there might be some things that he didn’t want to tell anyone.

n“Okay, then let’s go back to the carriage.The coachman grandfather would have been surprised.”

nRieta got up from and turned around.

nNaturally, the hand that had been holding her was released as well.

nBut this time, it was back again.

nNoel caught Rieta.

n“. . . Why?”

nAs she turned around and asked, Noel kept his head down and muttered a small mumble.

n“. . . I didn’t . . . give it.”

n“Huh? I can’t hear you, Noel.”

nHe finally raised his head.

nNot only was his face red, but his complexion was close to black.

n“I, I didn’t give it to you!”

nHis words were missing the object, but Rieta seemed to know what he was talking about.

n“Are you talking about this brooch?”

n“I , I was going to keep saying that . . . because you like it so much!”

nSomehow, his sentence seemed to blame Rieta.

nIt wasn’t what he meant to convey.

nHe tried to correct himself quickly, but Rieta’s response was a little quicker.

n“Of course I like it. Because I thought Noel gave it to me.”

n“. . . You liked it because I gave it to you?”

n“Of course, this brooch is also very pretty.”

n“Tch.”

n“Anyway, I get it. Have you been acting weird since yesterday because you wanted to say that?”

n“I didn’t act weird.”

n“But you were still restless.”

n“That’s, it’s your birthday and I . . .”

nNoel didn’t give her a thing.

nHowever, Hugh Mclean gave Rieta flowers and a gift for her, which made him sick to his stomach.

n. . . And somehow . . .

nLike everyone else in the capital . . .

nRieta seemed to think she wanted to be Hugh’s best friend.

nMaybe you think that way now.

nBecause Rieta knew all the facts.

nWasn’t she supposed to be angry?

n“So you ran away as soon as you saw Count Mclean.”

n“. . .”

n“I mean, I knew something was already going on between the two of you.”

nHowever, Rieta’s voice was not that different from usual.

nNo, she actually sounded relieved.

n“Well . . . you aren’t mad?”

nNoel lifted his head closely and looked into Rieta’s eyes.

n“Uh huh.”

nNoel was deeply moved by the way Rieta nodded her head with a calm face.

nAs expected, Rieta was her country’s first heir. She had such a big heart!

nBut he couldn’t be relieved, so Noel reorganized his sins and confessed them.

n“I lied to you.”

n“You apologized.”

n“Yes . . . I didn’t even have a birthday present.”

n“You can’t help it. Noel was originally planning to play with me. Wasn’t that the gift you planned?”

n“How did you know?”

n“How can I not know? How many times have you asked me, ‘Do you like playing cards or dice better?’”

n“. . . In the end, we couldn’t play.”

n“That’s why you gave me a present like this.”

nRieta slightly shook the flower she had received a while ago.

n“The name of this flower, Noel. You found it for me.”

nRieta laughed a little.

nLiving in the Kingdom was too overwhelming, so she didn’t enjoy things like flowers very much.

nBesides, the well-maintained garden in the Kingdom belonged to her father, and no children were allowed to enter.

nSo, it was special and nice to wander around the greenhouse in search of flowers she liked today.

n“Thanks for the gift.”

nThere was one good thing to use among good friends.

nAfter speaking frankly.

n“The bud broke open because of a sudden run.”

nIt’s to say funny things.

nThis way, you don’t have to be ashamed of your secret sincerity.

nBecause they could laugh together.

nOf course, this time around, it worked well.

nIn addition, Noel was brazen enough to say, “The buds are tattered, and the look is worn out so it really suits the Princess.”

nRieta slapped the cheeky Noel on the shoulder.

nWhat nonsense are you saying?

nNoel pretended to be hurt.

nThe Duke’s carriage arrived in front of the two.

nAfter running out of the flower shop, they slowly followed them all the way here, waiting for the serious conversation between the two of them to end.

nThe children got on the wagon.

nAnd when they passed the flower shop again, they had to crouch under the carriage window.

nIf they even made eye contact with Hugh Mclean, it would be very difficult.

n***

nAfter returning to the mansion . . .

nRieta and Noel fought again.

nThe cause was Noel.

nAt least, that was what Rieta thought.

n