Is there anyone around to listen? I might get arrested for insulting the Crown Prince.
"And I will tell you this time. What I have told you is only a fraction of my tastes. There are more."
"There are more?"
Tess' eyes widened for a long time.
"Right. His hands should be big, his fingers should be long, and his bones should not stick out. Even if he touches the sword, his hand should be soft."
If he learned swordsmanship, calluses would form on his hands, so this was absolutely impossible. In other words, there was no such thing as my ideal type in this world.
"He has to be subtle with his smile, but the other person should be attracted like possessed. He needs to be able to smile gently. You think that's all? It has to be so seductive and deadly that it melts people."
Tess stood still with his mouth open.
"And then he needs to have a good se, no, marital relationship. Do you understand?"
I think I said something too serious because I was angry? How do I get over this?
I glanced at Tess, and fortunately, he didn't seem to have any intention of asking what marital relationship was. It seems that he was shocked that there were more to my tastes.
If Tess keeps asking to marry me, then the Emperor might one day suddenly ask me to get engaged to Tess.
After all, the other person is me that is from a suitable family. Since I am the only one in my family right now, my father may be against the union, but there is nothing wrong with being careful.
"Time is up. Let's go, Tess."
"Yes...."
Looking at the drooping shoulders, I think I was too harsh, but I didn't mean that I didn't like him.
"Oh my, Crown Prince. Not only have you grown taller, but you have also grown in knowledge!"
The Archmage chuckled and clapped.
"Hehe."
Looking at him in disbelief, Tess looks back at me with a 'Did I do well?' expression. I calmed down and nodded my head slightly and he smiled happily.
It was none other than Tess who answered the question the Archmage had asked. Normally, it's something that only I could answer, but Tess answered the question without any mistake.
"It's wonderful, Crown Prince."
A warm atmosphere was created with the laughter and applause. Looking at Tess shaking his body in excitement, it looks like he's going to ask for a pat right away, but let's stop doing that.
Even if there were no handmaids, there was still a third party here!
Knock, knock.
"Archmage, Crown Prince. I have an urgent matter, so please excuse me for a moment."
A woman in a robe came in and whispered something in the Archmage's ear, and the Archmage's thick eyebrows twitched slightly and stood up.
"Today's class should end here. Hoho."
I stood up politely because I couldn't even ask why.
"Goodbye."
"See you next time."
As Tess and I greeted him, the two of them disappeared in an instant, and the class ended early. I didn't get to ask him anything today.
"I'll be leaving, Tess."
"Euseniel, you have time, so stay with me some more. Or would you like to attend the next class together?"
"No, I can't bother the Crown Prince."
Soon the handmaids came in, and I politely responded.
"Then, hold on a second."
After going to the next room for a while, he suddenly held out something.
"Is this an invitation?"
"Yes, it's my birthday soon. I wanted to give it to Euseniel myself."
I received the invitation with the Crown Prince's crest stamped on it.
"Thank you."
After bowing to say my thanks, Tess looked expressionless. It was the first time I had seen this expressionless face, so I felt like I had to say something.
"I'll see you off."
Tess grabbed my hand first.
We headed out the door opened by the handmaids, and the child, now taller than me, showed the Crown Prince's dignity and beckoned those who followed him to fall back.
This year, more than half of the year has already passed, and a cool wind has blown.
The Northern Empire is a barren region with half of the country covered with snow. Fortunately, the capital city of Alin has its own four seasons. Even so, it's either cool or cold.
Tess and I first met earlier this year, in winter, but summer is already over now.
"I don't like you bowing your head to me."
"That's right, but I can't help it because you're the Crown Prince."
"Then shall I stop being the Crown Prince? So Euseniel can always call me by my first name?"
What scary idea is that?
"Tess, where are you talking about? Do you understand that?"
There will be rumors that the imperial family's golden child didn't want to be the Crown Prince anymore, and that Hardland's daughter made it so. This is not something to laugh at.
"Be the Crown Prince. And later you will become Emperor. If you don't want to be Emperor, ask for a younger brother."
"It's not that I didn't think about it, but if people were to fall for Euseniel, it'll be difficult. As expected, I should continue to be the Crown Prince."
I didn't ask what he meant with the words that were close to a mumble.
By the way, the Emperor and his wife are doing well, so why hasn't there been any news of a child after Tess? If there is only one heir as it is now, it won't be a problem, but it would be better to have a moderate number of descendants.
… As expected, it's the same with our house. It must be because my father kept accompanying me to sleep at night.
"Then there is only one way left."
"Yes?"
"The way Euseniel doesn't have to bow to me and doesn't have to speak respectfully."
The child with twinkling eyes twinkling as if he had discovered something huge was unusual, so I slowly backed away.
"I'm going to keep it a secret for now."
It sounded like a song.
"Because Euseniel will say no."
"I don't know what it is, but if you know I don't like it, stop."
"I don't want to stop."
His stubbornness has been activated again. In this case, even if I say I don't like it, he won't listen to it, so it's best to pretend I don't know.
"Euseniel doesn't like me even though I'm the Crown Prince. Others say that I'm the Crown Prince so they don't know what to do. Everyone is busy looking good to me."
"Should I do that too?"
"No. I like Euseniel the way she is now."
I felt a little sad that he learned bitterness at a young age.
"There must be people who don't. People who like you for who you are."
For example, me.
"No, no. Oh, I like Duke and Duchess Hardland. Especially the Duchess. They don't care that I'm the Crown Prince."
"… Will you not fall for my mother?"
"Yeah, I won't. Because the only thing I fell in love with was Euseniel."
Will he ever get tired?
"But Euseniel doesn't like me, right?"
"Why all of a sudden?"
"You don't deny it even though I said you don't like that I'm the Crown Prince."
In an instant, I stopped walking. Then, with a puzzled look towards Tess's face, I began to move again.
When I got to the carriage, I was finally relieved.
"Then I will go."
Even if people were behind me, they were watching me, so I had to be polite. His blue eyes seemed to get closer in an instant, and a familiar feeling appeared on my lips.
Kiss.
"I told you not to… !"
"Don't forget to come to class next week, okay?"
The haphazard smile was of the usual Tess, so the steam came out of my head as he smiled. Then, with the help of a knight approaching, I got on the carriage.
Tess suddenly got smarter.
Not only intellectually, but his thinking itself has changed. He learned how the people around him see him, and he even thinks about people.
– "You don't deny it even though I said you don't like that I'm the Crown Prince."
If you ask me if I like Tess or not, it's the former.
But what Tess likes and what I like must be a little different. I was still not confident enough to make that child understand this, so I stayed still.
Anyway, Tess has changed a lot. If you ask me if it's a good one, the answer is no.
It's ominous that my heart is beating. My intuition was telling me that something was going wrong.
As if to prove this, monsters started appearing randomly in the border area, and my father continued to work overtime. In proportion to this, magic classes were canceled one after another.
To my surprise, Tess never came to see me for quite some time.
"Euel, are you ready?"
"Yes."
It was on the day of his birthday party that I got to see my friend again.
The 6th birthday party of the Crown Prince, the only descendant of the imperial family, was to be held with a grandeur.
Until now, the Crown Prince had failed to hold a party because he cried as if he would die just looking at people, and this is because the Crown Prince can only appear in public this time of the year.
The Crown Prince said that it was all thanks to Hardland's daughter, and I was given clothes and accessories directly from the Emperor. It was too flashy, not to my liking.
But if I don't wear it, it's not polite, so I had to wear everything. It's heavy because of the stuffiness, so I got into a very bad mood thanks to it.
"Euel, you look happy."
"Am I?"
I shrugged my shoulders in denial, but my mother kept smiling. When I touched my lips, it was in the same shape as usual.
I glanced at the invitation that my friend had given me. It was not the seal of the imperial family, but the seal of the Crown Prince.
… It's been a while since I've seen Tess, so I might feel a little better.