After a few days of deliberation and consulting with her best friend, Sunny, the second daughter of George Countship and the only friend she could confide in with her secrets. Pepper finally voiced out her not-so-vague feelings, since she knew and understood her inner self better than anyone else. She wasn't an idiot who couldn't think for herself, she just wanted assurance and support from someone who would root for her objectionable desire.
"You're in love!"
"Do you think... so?"
Sunny flipped her hair to the side as if she was certain that her hunch was always right from the start. She knew as soon as she saw Pepper early in the morning—with a smile wider than the river in their backyard—that this girl was definitely like the season they were in, in her springtime. She was like an open book to her, she had known her since they were brats that she could read her even if her eyes were closed.
"Those feelings you mentioned, I felt all of that when I first saw the crown prince. He's so dreamy that I fell in love right away, to the point where I wanted to marry him on the spot."
Sunny's pupils dilated while thinking about the crown prince of the empire. Then, after a few seconds, she looked at Pepper with a smirk. She couldn't imagine her best friend turning to her with this kind of talk, yet the unexpected came. Even though Pepper always said that 'Love is only for dumb', this very same Pepper suddenly said that she wanted to marry a man she only saw once, a complete stranger.
'Who's the dumb one now?'
Well, she couldn't blame her since they were unexpectedly the same, comparably dumb for romance.
"So who's the gentleman you want to ask your parents for marriage?"
Pepper, who had been composed earlier, couldn't retain her composure and finally explode with denial.
"That... that's..."
She grew dizzy as his name was about to come out of her mouth.
"Who?!"
"That's...."
"Come on, tell me."
Irritated, Sunny drew closer to Pepper and squeezed her face with her sweaty hands.
"Who!?"
As if reacting to a hot pot that touched her skin, Pepper yelled the name she had been meaning to say since the day she saw him.
"His grace, Stven Rowald Hellisi."
"WHAT?!"