***
Xavier was right—the weather was lovely. If it were Korea, the air on a spring day like this would have been full of dust. Fortunately, there was no such thing here.
As I strolled around the back garden with Xavier, I threw a glance at his handsome face. We somehow held a conversation inside the palace, but neither of us exchanged a word since we stepped outside. I wrung out my brain for a topic of conversation, and opened my mouth to make some small talk about his favorite food. However, Xavier spoke a moment quicker than me.
"Lady Maristella."
"Oh—yes!" As soon as I heard his voice, I completely forgot what I was just about to say and eagerly nodded my head.
Xavier opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking. "What do you like, My Lady?"
"Me…?"
His question was more general than what I was about to ask—his favorite food—and I was somewhat taken aback, but I managed to answer normally.
"As I mentioned earlier, I like red roses. I also like macarons."
"Do you like sweet food?"
"Fairly, yes," I replied. "Do you also like sweet food, Your Highness?"
"I don't particularly like or dislike them," he said noncommittally.
"Oh, I see…"
"B-But I plan to try some later. Sweet things can cheer people up."
"Cheer people up? Did something happen?"
"No, but…being in a good mood never hurts," Xavier said.
I nodded. "That's true. I also like to eat sweets whenever I want to feel better, even if nothing bad has happened to me."
I smiled shyly and turned towards Xavier. As he stared back at me, I saw that his eyes were wavering for some reason. My smile quickly dropped from my lips.
Ah, did I sound too gluttonous?
"Th-That doesn't mean I eat it every day. I only eat them every three days," I quickly added.
Wait… isn't that also pretty frequent? I seriously began to reconsider my words.
Just then, Xavier spoke in a gentle voice. "Could I offer you some macarons to take back to the Bellafleur Mansion?"
"Pardon me?"
"Since you said that you liked the macarons… the Thurman Palace head chef makes excellent pastries."
"Wow, really?" Just thinking about being able to eat those wonderful macarons from earlier made my mouth open wide.
Xavier, who was still staring at me, smiled lightly. Then, he blinked as if he just remembered something. "Right, what is your actual relationship with that lady back then?"
"That lady back then?" I inquired.
"The one who was rude to you during the last party. Back then, it felt like you weren't able to answer properly because there were many prying eyes… including those of that lady."
"Ah." Only then did I realize that he was talking about Dorothea. I nodded. "It's…a little complicated. Well, I suppose we are friends in appearance."
"I do not intend to overstep into your personal relations, My Lady, but she didn't seem like a very good person," Xavier said gravely.
"Do you think so, too?"
How people see others are all similar in the end. But why then, did he end up falling in love with someone like Dorothea in the original novel?!
I guess none of that really matters when you're blinded by love…
"I am also aware of that," I said.
"Yet you still choose to stay with her?" Xavier asked.
"There are some loose ends that I must still tie up, and some things that I must pay her back for. But I'm trying my best not to get too involved with her." An awkward smile twitched on my lips. "Do I seem foolish?"
"Some might think that, yes." Xavier didn't deny it, but it didn't seem like he completely didn't understand me, either. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before adding, "It's not that I don't understand you, My Lady. Cleanly building and breaking off relationships is much easier said than done. There's a lot to worry about."
"You must have experienced something similar," I noted.
"A little different from what you're going through, but certainly so."
"It's quite surprising to know that you go through similar things, Your Highness."
Xavier was the Crown Prince, after all. He would become the next emperor. Did he also have to worry about what others might say? His words and his decisions were practically the law.
"Sort of a love-hate relationship for me, you see," he replied.
I was internally shocked to hear that.
Love-hate relationship… it couldn't be about a girl, could it?
"Could it be… someone that you used to date?" I ventured carefully.
"Pardon me?"
Xavier tilted his head, as if he didn't understand what I had just said. A moment later, though, he seemed to have comprehended my question, and he gave a soft chuckle.
I spaced out for a moment as I stared at Xavier and listened to his pleasant laugh.
"No, Lady Maristella. He's a male friend, you see," he explained.
"Oh, I see." I felt embarrassment wash over me and paint my face red. Ugh, how embarrassing!
"Since it's a relationship in which many different feelings entwine, it's difficult to just end it. Then again, it's also hard to keep him completely close… Well, it's something complicated like that. This time, I wonder if you would understand me."
I shook my head. "Well, I am a third party in this matter. It would be rude for me to say anything about it, especially since I don't know about your situation very well."
"Thank you for saying that. However, I believe that things will become more straightforward in the future. Well, I certainly hope so."
"Things will work out as you wish. Don't worry about it too much."
"Thank you for your blessing, Lady Maristella." Xavier smiled and also wished me well. "I too, hope that you happily bid farewell to that lady."
"Of course. That's how it should be."
I smiled brightly, and Xavier gazed at me with a strange expression on his face. Suddenly, he offered an unexpected proposal. "Would you like to come by Thurman Palace from time to time?"
"Pardon?"
"Just once in a while. It gets a little dull sometimes since there's nobody around me with whom I can openly converse with… Oh, but if this makes you uncomfortable, please don't hesitate to tell me so."
"Oh…"
Considering his status as a Crown Prince, it was indeed no surprise that there weren't many people whom he could casually talk to. Even in the novel, there was barely anyone described as "close to Xavier". I felt somewhat sorry for him.
While I at least had Martina by my side, Xavier was an only child. He wouldn't have anyone like that.
I nodded eagerly and replied. "Of course. As long as I'm not bothering Your Highness, I would love to come visit Thurman Palace whenever you ask me to."
"Thank you for saying so, Lady Maristella." He curled his lips to a composed smile and asked, "Shall we head back inside?"
* * *
Even after we went back inside Thurman Palace, Xavier and I continued to talk for a long time about numerous topics. It was incredibly awkward at first, but I soon began to open up more, since talking to him didn't seem all that difficult once the conversation took off.
Occasionally Xavier would stare at me blankly, and I would take notice and resist from babbling as it felt like I was the one talking too much.
In any case, I continued to talk to him without running into any big issues. I left Thurman Palace around dinnertime. Xavier offered to talk more over dinner, but I had to refuse as it felt like I was imposing on him too much.
In the end, I returned home with a large box of macarons that he gave me.
"Welcome back, My Lady."
As soon as I stepped foot in the Bellafleur Mansion, Florinda greeted me as always. She glanced at the large brown box in my hands with a puzzled expression. "My, what is this?"
"His Royal Highness gave it to me as a gift. They're macarons, and made by a royal chef no less! Would you like some as well?"
"Oh my, My Lady! How could I take something so precious?" A moment later, however, Florinda smiled shyly and raised her index finger. "Could I take just one, then?"
"Why not? There's so many," I said.
I eagerly took out a macaron from the box and handed it to Florinda. Her face lit up and she took the pastry. She stared at the macaron with evident excitement on her face, then began chattering about this and that. Then, as if she had just remembered something, she quickly turned to me.
"Right, Lady Dorothea stopped by earlier today."
"…"
Christ, did she really have to mention Dorothea in this joyous moment?
My expression almost stiffened, but I managed to calm myself down by holding the box of macarons tightly against me.
"What was she here for?"
"She didn't tell me. She kept asking me where you were, so I let her know that you were at the Royal Palace where you were invited by His Royal Highness."