Chapter 44

“Princess, why do you look like that? Are you okay?”

Lark’s friendly voice resounded and reminded me of my long memories.

***

Rubetria Diollus, eight years old.

The day that young Rubette went out to see the festival and got lost.

“G-Grandma. Ricky, Lilli… Ack!”

It was too daunting for an eight-year-old child to navigate through the crowded crowds that it was difficult even to take a step.

‘I-I got lost like an idiot.’

Rubette was terrified.

It was scarier to lose Molga’s hand like a fool than to simply get lost.

“Why are you so stupid? Look at your brother and the twins. They’re so smart.”

“You know why your father hates you, don’t you?”

Because she heard that every day.

“Wh-wh-what…”

Standing with her back against the stone wall of the old building, Rubette looked around, trembling.

It was evening, but the street was lit with street vendors’ lights.

“I’m scared… Hicc!”

However, the scenery of people taller than her wearing bizarre masks to hide their faces and filling the streets came to her as an unfamiliar horror.

Rubette kept cringing as she grabbed the little butterfly mask that covered her eyes.

Even the sad gaze of some passing people felt scary.

“Ugh. Hicc…”

“Why are you crying here alone?”

At that moment, someone’s hand suddenly reached out in front of Rubette.

Where she looked up after that hand.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Oooh, calm down.”

There stood a dreadful lion with jagged manes stretching.

No, to be exact, a boy with a lion mask.

He was about an inch taller than Rubette, and his voice was young but quite soft.

“Why are you crying? Did you lose your mom?”

“Uugh. Hicc, hicc…”

“Oh dear.”

The boy was perplexed in front of the frightened and weeping Rubette, leading her into a narrow alley.

The boy sat quietly and watched her while she cried for over 30 minutes in the alley where the loud noises had subsided.

“Have you calmed down?”

“…”

“In case you got lost-”

“Hicc, I‘m not lost! I was crying because I had lost my grandmother’s hand like a fool! I know the way! I’m not a fool!”

“… Pfft. All right.”

She wants to go home.

But she’s afraid she’ll be treated like a fool and scolded if it was known that she had lost her way after returning with someone’s help.

The boy said very kindly as if he had read Rubette’s mind.

“I’ll take you home.”

“I’m not lost-”

“Yes, yes. I know. But it’s dark at night, so I must help a lady get home safely. I was taught that was gentlemanly manners.”

“…”

The boy, who was giggling and staring intently at Rubette’s face, stopped suddenly.

“Your eyes…”

“…”

“They’re gold. How pretty.”

Rubette squealed, “Ah, no,” and bowed her head.

Unlike the boy’s mask, where his face could not be recognized, let alone his pupils, Rubette’s butterfly mask exposed her eyes.

The boy might be able to guess her identity because he had seen her summoner’s golden eyes directly.

‘No, no. If Rubetria Diollus is rumored to be a fool who cries because she can’t find her way, Grandma will get mad again. And Dad, Dad…’

“You’re Princess Rubetria, right?”

“D-Don’t tell anyone!”

“Mm?”

“Please don’t tell anyone that I lost my grandmother’s hand like a fool and got lost…!”

“Mm? Are you lost? Well, you will go home safely today, and the reason you lost your grandmother’s hand was to play with me, and I didn’t see you cry.”

“…”

In front of Rubette, who opened her mouth blankly, the boy smiled and handed her a rose abruptly.

“I bought it over there because it looked pretty. I’ll give it to you. It suits you better.”

“Ah…”

The boy pointed to Rubette’s hair and said, “It’s the same color,” and laughed.

“Do you want me to take you home now? Your family will be worried, right?

“…”

Home…

The boy didn’t know, but there was no such thing as welcoming, worrying, or waiting for Rubette.

There probably wouldn’t be any in the future.

“No.”

“Mm?”

“No one is worried.”

“…”

The boy, silent for a while at Rubeette’s answer, smiled and held out his hand.

“Then, why don’t you enjoy the festival more?”

The friendly boy’s voice…

… and the night of the enchanting festival that unfolded behind him.

“…”

After thinking for a while, Rubette took his hand.

“… Surprise me.”

“All right.”

It was a deviation that could be said to be the first time for Rubette.

The strange and colorful lights excited the young hearts, the clowns’ ridiculous performances were fun, and the sugar-coated fruit skewers were the sweetest dessert she had ever eaten.

Rubette held the boy’s hand and enjoyed the festivities until the night was ripe.

“By the way, big brother.”

“Mm.”

Rubette was curious about the name of the boy she had become quite familiar with.

“What’s your name?”

“Me? Well, I-”

But for some reason, the boy hesitated.

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret? How can it work that way? You know my name.”

“I’m sorry. I actually came out without my father’s permission, so no one should notice m. I’ll let you know when I see you again.”

“Sigh…”

Rubette was disappointed, but she did not question the boy further.

In fact, without asking, she had a vague idea that the boy was a high-ranking nobleman.

The fact that he could easily infer her identity just by looking at her golden eyes, the attitude that he did not hesitate to treat herself comfortably even though he knew her identity, and the aristocratic gesture he had on his body.

“Wow…”

“Do you like it?”

A small stall in front of a general store with cute ornaments.

The boy looked at the pendant necklaces made of cheap brass and asked Rubette, whose eyes twinkled, to pick the cutest one.

“Mm… I…”

While contemplating among the necklaces engraved with flowers, butterflies, and clouds that little girls would like, Rubette picked up one.

“Are you sure you want that?”

“Mm!”

“Hahaha…”

It was a pendant necklace carved with a majestic lion’s head, just like the boy’s mask.

“To remember our meeting today!”

“Khuhu. All right, all right.”

So the two walked through the streets of the festival again.

The day’s memory was so delightful that, for the first time, Rubette wished that time would not pass.

“I have to go home now.”

“…”

It was sad to part.

Rubette couldn’t let go of the boy’s hand and wished him to sleep at Diollus Duchy.

“Hey, big brother.”

“Mm.”

“Would you like to sleep at my house today?”

“What?”

“My house is huge!”

“No, it’s not a matter of size.”

“I don’t want to say goodbye…”

No one in the house was as kind to Rubette as the boy.

Molga would scold her for being stupid, and the twins would tease her and bother her.

Dad was always holed up in his room, and the eldest brother was always busy. The second brother was focused only on swinging a wooden sword from morning to evening…

“Huwaaa…!”

“Oooh, don’t cry. Stop.”

“D-d-don’t go! Let’s live together in my house, all right?!”

The boy was perplexed by the Rubette, who was holding his arm.

“I have to go home, too.”

“You can tell your parents and live in my house.”

“Um, that’s not possible.”

“Why not?!”

How can you not know why it’s impossible?

Rubette even acted like a rascal. That’s how much she didn’t want to separate from him.

Despite Rubette’s absurd complaint, the boy tenderly stroked her hair to comfort her.

“You live in one house only with your family. We’re not a family.”

“We can be family. Be my brother.”

“But our parents are different…”

“Huwaaaa…!”

“Shh, shh. It can’t be done.”

At the boy’s relatively firm voice, Rubette was frightened and swallowed her tears.

The boy, hesitant because Rubette looked so sad, spoke again in a friendly yet stern voice.

“Listen. Only married couples, parents, children, and siblings live together in the same house, okay? You should be glad I’m not a suspicious person. You can’t just let anyone sleep at home or live with you.”

“Then you can never, ever live with me?”

“That’s right. We are not siblings, parents, husband and wife-”

“We can be a couple!”

“What?”

“You’re not my father nor my brother. But you can be my couple!”

“…”

“That’s enough, right? Let’s go to sleep!”

In front of Rubette, the boy was just laughing out of absurdity.

“Just because a couple is doing this doesn’t mean they’ll be seduced overnight…”

“Huwaaa…! You’re a liar! You said a couple lives together! You said that!”

“Rubette.”

When the boy called her name for the first time with a chuckle.

Rubette stopped crying because she was embarrassed by the pleasant sound.

The boy, who must have been smiling under his mask, carefully removed the butterfly mask Rubette was wearing and met her eyes.

“Ah.”

“…”

The boy said, smoothing the area around Rubette’s left eye.

“There’s tearstain. It seems that you’ve cried a lot.”

“…”

“It’s a pity, but it’s time to say goodbye. I have to go home. We’ll see each other again.”

“Ouh… but didn’t you say we can live together…”

“Wow, do you like me that much?”

“Mm!”

Looking at Rubette, who answered without hesitation, the boy paused and then laughed loudly.

“Okay, then let’s do this.”

“…?”

“Later when you grow up, I’ll go propose.”