'I should go say hi.'
Siervian strode towards the place where the status window was.
Surprised, Ellie followed behind the child when she saw her suddenly walking over towards the grass.
"Princess?"
The status window continued to express its owner's predicament.
The one she's been looking at all this time through the grass was Adante's status window. She didn't know that it was him before, however, she was now aware that her escort knight was following her. So, she easily found him.
"Hello!"
"…It is an honor to greet you, Your Highness the Imperial Princess."
He immediately bent on one knee and bowed down to her to show his courtesy.
Siervian saw his status window often, but it was still amazing to see him like this because it's the first time she found him like this.
Maybe she could even notice a potential intruder in advance later on?
[ Adante Roid ]
Thoughts: What great perception the Princess has. Erm, His Majesty will definitely scold me once I report that I've been caught.
Siervian didn't mean to get him in trouble though. This was a big deal.
So, she quickly looked around, then she took out a caramel candy out of her pocket.
As she went out and explored more and more, she fell into the habit of carrying one or two sweet snacks with her.
"Here!"
"…Is Your Highness giving this to me?"
"Yeah!"
What she was doing now was nothing short of pretending to be close to the escort knight who was following her around.
Since her father would be monitoring, she at least wanted this to be recognized.
She knew well enough how difficult it would be to evade her father's eyes anyway.
'Of course, it's not like I mean to do anything bad.'
So it was better to soothe his worries by doing this.
She didn't want to be misunderstood, so she did something more straightforward.
And there was one other thing she had to do.
"Thank you for saving Sebi last time."
"Ah."
Hearing this, Adante reached out carefully and accepted the caramel candy.
When the little princess' small hand hovered over the knight's huge hand which was used to holding a sword, her hand looked even tinier.
'I think you like sweet things.'
That's why she chose to give him a caramel candy as a gift.
After reading his status window a few times, she recalled how he sometimes thought that Siervian's snacks looked divine.
[ Adante Roid ]
Favorability: +50
Thoughts: It's a gift from Her Highness, so I shall eat this to my heart's content. If those other punks try to tease me, this is what I'll firmly say.
After seeing Adante's thoughts, Siervian realized that she was right on the mark.
But also thanks to this, Siervian couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
It seemed like he was being teased a lot about liking sweets.
'You like it, so you can just eat as much as you want…!'
So, she rummaged in her pocket again. It was the other caramel candy she saved for later, but she figured she could give him one more.
"Here!"
"Are you giving me one more, Princess?"
"Yeah!"
"…Thank you very much."
[ Favorability: +50 ]
Siervian nodded cheerfully as she watched him hold the caramel preciously.
She was so overwhelmed with joy because of this. It was just like the day when she taught Karmen the greatness of macarons.
"Then it's a secret that Sebi found you, shhh… Okay?"
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Momentarily distracted by the candies in his hands, Adante quickly returned to his aloof expression.
It seemed like everything that was bothering him also disappeared from his thoughts, so that's a good thing.
Looking at him nodding his head calmly, Siervian made a mental note that she should give him more snacks in the future.
The day of the long-awaited spring picnic had come.
"As expected, bright clothes to match spring would be nice, yes?"
"That's right, that's right. How about a bonnet like this since the sun might be too strong?"
"Yes, it'll look great on Her Highness."
The ladies-in-waiting had just turned Siervian's closet upside down and busily went around to dress her up.
Soon enough, she looked as though she'd been transformed into a spring fairy who would flutter about in a meadow in no time.
'I don't have to dress up like this though.'
Even when she had a thought like this, she just decided to keep her mouth shut.
Because she could see Ellie and Jane's pleasantly excited thoughts.
Anyway, Siervian could see why her father was more willing to agree to the picnic today, compared to what she expected before.
"Now then, shall we go? His Majesty's carriage has come to fetch you."
"Okay!"
It's because she was going to the spring picnic with her father himself.
It was unbelievable enough that he allowed her to go on a picnic, but he was even going with her too.
What's more surprising was that only Siervian was the one who was wondering why her father had decided to do so. The ladies-in-waiting all took it in stride as if it was something he'd naturally do, and this made Siervian even more flustered.
'Is it because I'm still young, that's why?'
With great excitement, but with a bit of melancholy, Siervian arrived at the millenary garden.
"Wooow…!"
She suddenly recalled the memories of her previous life a little.
This was because, from a distance away, she clearly saw the sephinel flowers that were in full bloom.
Their purple petals fluttered like waves in the spring breeze, and the white leaves gave off the impression that they were blooming amidst a bed of snow.
"It was prepared well. You've done a good job, Grand Chamberlain."
"Thank you for the kind praise, Your Majesty."