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nThe Princess tried to rein in her laughter as much as possible.

nRieta seemed to be speaking quite seriously.

nBut when she remembered Noel, who vowed to present a roe deer the size of a carriage, she bursted out into such a large laugh that she couldn’t help but roll over.

n“Oh my God, Duchy Mayer’s ‘best groom’ was Noel, not the Duke!”

n“That’s right! The Duke is wonderful, but Noel is also a wonderful gentleman.”

n“Probably.”

nThe Princess smiled so much that she had to gently wipe the corners of her eyes, where tears had come out.

n“I have to meet the Princess more often. I think I can get to know a new side of Noel.”

nThat was the answer Rieta had been waiting for the most.

nSo, Rieta answered bravely with a happy voice.

n“Yes, please call me. Let me tell you a lot about Noel. You will definitely be satisfied!”

nSatisfied!

nThe words that Rieta chose were so interesting that the Princess ended up laughing once more.

n“I am very happy that the Princess likes my cousin brother so much. Thank you.”

n“No. Noel is a really good friend.”

nThe Princess was surprised for a moment at the answer she immediately heard.

n“Friends?”

n“Yes, my friend.”

nWell, it’s perfectly natural for ten-year-olds to think of each other as ‘friends’.

nFor some reason, when Rieta turned 18, the Princess thought she would say proudly, ‘Noel is a really good friend,’.

nUh, that would be a bit difficult.

nOf course, it meant that Noel would be in trouble.

nBecause she doesn’t think the child would be kind to Rieta without reason.

n“How about this?”

nMoreover, a bad foreboding is not wrong.

n“Princess?”

nAs Rieta started, Gabriella grinned at the little child.

n“It seems that Noel has changed a lot since the Princess came. Please take good care of that child.”

nAt her request, Rieta clapped her hands with a delighted face.

n“Are you saying that you want me to keep an eye?”

nWhat was she going to keep an eye on? Noel?

nThe Princess didn’t know what to say, so she was a little confused, but she nodded her head anyway.

n“I’ll be happy to. I will try not to disappoint.”

nRieta said she would be satisfied before, but this time she won’t be disappointed.

nThe Princess remembered that a lot of merchants used to say that.

n“Pfft.”

nReally she doesn’t know how many times she’s laughed since she met this little girl.

n“The Princess is such a fun person, you look like you came to sell me Noel.”

n“. . . !”

nRieta was a little pricked.

nBut when she had a chance, she decided to open her mind a bit.

n“Are you going to give him to me?”

n“Well. In the first place, Noel’s ownership belongs to Noel, so it’s useless for us to say this.”

n“Yes, that’s right.”

n“But the good news is that Noel is starting to act like a gentleman little by little. I hope the Princess likes Noel a lot too.”

n“Yes! I will!”

nThe Princess seemed to have omitted the words ‘As a friend!’ for some reason after Rieta’s words.

nNoel, stay strong. This sister did her best.

nA wind blew between the two of them, facing each other with a smile.

nRieta’s hair was clinging to the back of her small nose, so the Princess pulled it off.

nThe little girl wrinkled her eyes as if tickled.

n“Hmm . . .”

nThe Princess stared at Rieta and sighed for a moment.

nAnd soon she spoke her words that she had kept in her heart.

n“I’m sorry, Princess.”

n“. . . Yes?”

n“Actually, I should have come to look after the Princess a little sooner.”

n“. . . ?”

nRieta still had a face that didn’t understand the situation.

nIt was out of the blue.

nRieta was without the Princess, but she was with Darrel.

n“Well, if I had come a little earlier . . .”

nIf she had come earlier, would something have changed?

n“. . . At least, the bizarre sight of needles being pierced in brother’s finger could have been prevented.”

nThe two both looked at Darrel, reading a book from a distance of ten steps away.

nDid he feel the gaze?

nHe waved his hand slightly.

nWith tightly bandaged fingers.

nRieta thought about what would have happened to that finger if the Princess had come a little later.

n. . . A few of them would have been pierced a lot and disappeared.

n“The Princess is not late. At least Darrel still has five fingers.”

n“Thank you. For being kind to me.”

n“I am grateful. Oh right.”

nRieta decided to pass on the words she had been putting off until now.

n“I’m glad you wore those shoes.”

nThe Princess shook her head.

nIt was she who was really happy with this gift.

n“It was a wonderful gift for me. If it wasn’t for such a place . . . I wanted to try them on right away.”

n“. . . What?”

nRita was a little surprised by the sincere story.

nWell, the Princess of that day didn’t seem to appreciate the gift.

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