The hunting festival schedule always starts with hunting competitions for the nobles and royal family, then continues with festivals held in almost all corners of the Sigmund Kingdom. Then, after everything is finished, a dance party will be held at the palace. But as for the dance party, we'll tell you about that another time.
Right now, all that was on Melisa's mind was her meeting with Alister, where they planned to enjoy their day having fun at the capital's festival that day. Since early morning, Teresa had come to her room to help her get ready. Teresa said Alister had prepared everything perfectly by giving Melisa everything she needed in her disguise. At first, Melisa wasn't so sure. But when she looked at herself in the mirror after being dressed, she knew what Teresa meant by what she said.
"Your Highness, Lord Alister has been waiting for you outside the palace."
Since almost all of Melisa's new servants consisted of people who sided with Alister, no one prevented Melisa from leaving and even helped her in some ways. Teresa accompanied Melisa when she came out. Because Melisa couldn't just leave Melisa unsupervised, the woman finally chose to act as Melisa's shadow while she was outside.
Of course, being a shadow meant she wouldn't show herself in front of Melisa or Alister. Teresa didn't want to ruin her master's happiness, especially when she could see the look full of expectation since Melisa woke up this morning.
"... Wow."
When Melisa finally met Alister, all the man could say first was the word 'wow', and that made Melisa a little embarrassed with herself. Melisa fiddled with her fingers nervously when she was asking Alister while feeling a little embarrassed.
"Do I look ugly?"
Because Alister looked so shocked when he saw her, Melisa could only think that her disguise made her look bad. However, Alister quickly shook his head. The man coughed. And after that, Melisa was able to catch the red blush on Alister's cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I just didn't think that you could even look handsome when dressed up as a man."
Yes. With Melisa's strong characteristics, the only way to trick people is to be a man. Teresa spent quite a bit of time tying up her hair and covering it with a cap. Melisa also wore underwear that could disguise her curves. So when Melisa looked in the mirror, she almost couldn't believe that the handsome man in the mirror was herself.
"That's no problem, right? If you have trouble recognizing me in this disguise, we'll be fine when we get out, right?"
Since Melisa arrived in the Sigmund Kingdom, she never went anywhere other than on royal business. Going to enjoy the festival as an ordinary person was a first for Melisa. Although she was still uncomfortable at first because of her fear that someone might recognize her, the reactions from people made Melisa calm about her departure this time.
"Of course, Your Highness. I will make sure that no one will recognize you out there."
After Alister managed to calm himself down, he smiled broadly, then bent slightly and stretched out his hand to Melisa so that the girl would come with him to get on the carriage. Melisa smiled when she saw Alister's habit every time she helped her get on a carriage. The girl shook her head, then immediately told Alister the reason why she refused the helping hand.
"A Lord wouldn't extend his hand to a man like me, or strange rumors might spread out there."
"Unfortunately, I don't really care about rumors, Your Highness. For me, your safety and comfort is my priority."
Alister replied to Melisa without the slightest hesitation, and that made Melisa embarrassed when she heard it. Melisa finally no longer rejected Alister's good intentions after that. Melisa managed to get into the horse carriage with Alister's help and ended up in the same carriage as the man.
"Then, I'll go first, Teresa."
Teresa nodded. Because Melisa didn't know that she would follow the two in the shadows, she could only pretend to say goodbye so that the two could leave first.
"I hope you enjoy the festival, Your Highness."
Melissa nodded. Then, with orders from Alister, their carriage finally advanced and left the palace area where Melisa lived.
***
"Wow...."
When their carriage finally arrived at the capital square, and Melisa finally got off the carriage, the girl couldn't help but feel amazed at everything. No wonder, Melisa thought, she could see the bright lights of the capital from her palace window. Be it day or night, the prosperous capital of Sigmund's kingdom is filled with various ornaments that make the place look colorful and radiant.
In the royal capital, which was the center of the hunting festival, the streets were very crowded and festively decorated with a sea of people. Melisa could see people coming and going like waves. Because the Cyrille Kingdom was a kingdom with a small population, this was the first time for Melisa to see an area this busy.
The presence of people made Melisa unable to contain her curiosity. Her eyes looked at various places. Melisa was completely unaware that Alister's gaze grew warmer when the man saw Melisa's innocent reaction.
"Emilio, do you want to try the food from that stall?"
Alister asked Melisa. Because it had been agreed by them that Melisa's pseudonym as a man would be 'Emilio'. Melisa looked in the direction Alister was pointing. A skewer is being grilled in one of the stalls. When the smell reached Melisa's nose, the girl unconsciously swallowed her saliva roughly.
"... I want to."
After hearing Melisa's answer, Alister smiled and then invited Melisa to approach the stall. Alister bought one skewer each for them. When they finally found a place to sit and enjoy their meal, Melisa immediately took her first bite.
"... It's delicious."
Melisa said in disbelief when the rich taste of the food melted on her tongue. Soon, Melisa took another bite. The taste of the food was so good that Melisa didn't realize that she had finished it all.
Only after the food was finished did Melisa finally glance at Alister again. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she saw Alister hadn't even finished half of his food. Because the food was too delicious, Melisa unconsciously ate enthusiastically and forgot her manners.
"That...."
When Melisa could no longer control her embarrassment, the girl could feel a warm finger touching the corner of her lips. Alister carefully wiped the remaining food stains on Melisa's face. When Alister saw that Melisa was surprised by his actions, the man immediately withdrew his hand.
"There's nothing wrong with eating happily. I'm actually happy that you like the dish, Your Highness."
The heat of Alister's fingers seemed to remain on Melisa's face. And that made the heat spread all over her face. Melisa quickly lowered her face. In her heart, Melisa cursed how she always overreacted every time she was with Alister.
"Ah, what happened there?"
When Melisa was busy averting her gaze from Alister, her attention was suddenly attracted to a shop where a group of male nobles were surrounding a woman standing in front of the shop. The beautiful woman seemed to be having difficulty because the person she was talking to was a nobleman. Meanwhile, the people around him seemed to want to help but were too afraid to offend the feelings of this group of nobles.
"She...."
Because Melisa's attention was suddenly focused in another direction, Alister couldn't help but notice what Melisa was paying attention to. But suddenly, his expression changed to surprise. Alister was even more surprised when Melisa suddenly got up from her sitting position and then rushed to approach the source of the commotion.