As he said this, his fingers were smoothly combing through Aristie’s hair. As if sweeping through a golden field.

“I-It’s not really…”

Only then did Aristie’s hand leave Ryuel and touch her own hair. She seemed to feel embarrassed belatedly.

Ryuel looked at her with loving eyes. But that was it. Not wanting to lose his manners on their first meeting, he suggested they wrap up.

“It seems to be getting quite late. Shall we get up now?”

“Oh, already?”

“If we stay any later, it’ll be difficult for me to escort you back. Surely you don’t want to spend the night with me?”

It was clearly a joking tone that anyone would recognize, but Aristie’s cheeks turned red. Why are you taking it so seriously!

She chided herself as she stood up.

“Let’s go. I’ll pay…”

“No, I’ll take care of the bill.”

“I should be the one to pay. I’m the one who begged for a meal.”

“That’s why I’m saying I’ll do it. Because I said I would treat you.”

What kind of conversation is this…

I must have lost my mind.

“Now that I hear it, you’re right.”

Aristie smiled sheepishly. She was acting like a fool for the first time in her life, but she felt nothing but joy.

After leaving, they walked down the night streets that had lost their vigor, to get some fresh air. When they reached a quiet place, Aristie turned to Ryuel and expressed her gratitude.

“Thank you for today. And it was fun. Thanks to you, I feel much better.”

Ryuel, who had been quietly observing Aristie, responded.

“It really seems so. Your face no longer looks like it’s asking for help.”

“Really? Then what kind of face do I have now?”

“Well…”

Ryuel pretended to ponder before saying.

“A face that says you’re glad you met this man?”

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

Aristie threw a jab but ended up bursting into laughter.

As the laughter subsided, a strange tension flowed between them along with the silence.

A moment that could be felt more by intuition than words,

A moment that even she, insensitive as she was, could perceive had arrived.

“Alice…”

Ryuel’s voice resonated seductively in her ear. Her whole body tensed while her heart raced uncontrollably.

Ryuel’s head slowly lowered as his lips approached Aristie’s. Aristie couldn’t understand anything.

Why her chin was lifting gently. Why she was anticipating a kiss from him… Her mind became hazy with the moist breath touching her lips. If she just let go like this…

‘No!’

But in the end, she pushed Ryuel away. At the moment his lips touched hers, or rather, she hoped it was just before they touched.

It was because she became certain amidst her confusion.

That if she gave him her lips, she would surely give him her heart as well.

“Let’s just stop here.”

At Aristie’s rejection, Ryuel asked.

“You mean for today?”

“No, for the future too.”

“……”

Silence fell. Ryuel’s eyes became desolate, as if he had suddenly been thrown from a blue sea into a desert.

When his voice continued, it was tinged with bewilderment, as if he had heard unfamiliar words.

“I… I was thinking of continuing to see you.”

“It was just for today. That’s what I had decided from the beginning, which is why I was able to approach you, Ryuel.”

“But we were so…”

Ryuel started to speak but soon stopped.

He realized that saying goodbye despite how well they got along was proof of how firm her resolve was.

“You said it yourself, Miss.”

Ryuel suddenly said, breaking through the silence wrapped around his throat.

“You said I seem skilled at conversing with women when you look at me.”

Aristie heard his voice while feeling Ryuel’s hand brushing through her hair.

“That’s not true. I have no idea. How to keep you, how to convey my feelings.”

As he gently swept her hair aside, her round shoulders were revealed. Ryuel firmly grasped both her shoulders and asked, as if suppressing something.

“Alice… Is there really no next time?”

Ryuel’s face, which she had been told was twenty-five, suddenly resembled a boy experiencing his first love.

His eyes, the warmth of his hands, his voice, and even his breath conveyed sincerity, making it difficult for Aristie to answer easily.

“I…”

Aristie’s delicate brows furrowed. Her lips trembled slightly.

She was conflicted until the very end.

She wanted to take Ryuel’s hand, just as Khalid had taken Estelle’s hand while treating her like a flower.

Because she had come to understand Khalid’s feelings a little.

“I can’t. I’m sorry.”

But Aristie ultimately shook her head.

Although she had committed a deviation, she was still the future Empress awaiting the imperial marriage. Her position was fundamentally different from that of the Emperor, who was the direct line of the imperial family.

Khalid meeting Estelle in secret was out of consideration for Aristie, not because Estelle’s existence was a flaw for him.

But a future Empress who wasn’t even married yet meeting another man? That fact alone would be enough fodder for gossip. Not only would her qualifications as Empress be questioned, but she could even be stripped of her position as Empress on the grounds that she was unfit to fulfill the duty of the Light Dragon.

Why else would they designate a Crown Princess early and demand chastity? From the beginning, the duty of the Light Dragon was a national law that applied more strictly to the Empress, the Emperor’s companion, than to the Emperor himself.

“…I see.”

Ryuel’s hands fell away from Aristie’s shoulders.

“There’s a carriage waiting at the end of the street.”

“Ryuel…”

“Let’s go together. I’ll escort you home.”

“No, it’s alright. I have a carriage to…”

“Please allow me to do at least this much, Lady Alice.”

Aristie noticed the return of the honorific ‘Lady’ that had disappeared for a while. But that wasn’t the issue now.

If Ryuel took her home, he would naturally learn her identity. If they were never going to see each other again anyway, it would be better to part ways here.

But Ryuel showed no signs of letting Aristie go alone. He seemed to know that her claim about having a carriage was a lie.

Really, she didn’t want to deceive him like this, but…

“I want to drink some water.”

“Lady Alice.”

“I’m thirsty. Could you bring me a glass of water?”

“……”

Ryuel closed his mouth. His purple eyes, tinged with the night, flickered darkly. He wasn’t naive enough to rush off breathlessly to fetch water without understanding.

Aristie’s request was as simple as it was clear in meaning. She was asking him to leave so she could depart alone.

“Is this really what you want?”

Ryuel asked for confirmation with a troubled expression.

“Yes. Please.”

Aristie answered while avoiding his gaze.

“…Alright.”

He could have ignored such an obvious excuse. He could have gotten angry and told her not to lie.

But Ryuel chose to maintain his manners until the end.

“I’ll bring it to you.”

He turned his back and walked away.

Not hurriedly, but slowly.

Aristie watched his retreating figure with sad eyes. But she couldn’t watch for long.

Feeling that if she kept looking, she might want to hold him back even with just her gaze, she quickly turned her body in the opposite direction.

* * *

Arriving at the Duke’s mansion after taking a carriage, Aristie headed to a guest room instead of her own room. Intending to spend the night in hiding, lest she be scolded by her father for her disheveled appearance if they were to meet.

Her footsteps, having lost their usual grace, felt unfamiliar. As did the irregular sound of her shoes hitting the floor.

Tomorrow, she would have to report to her father that she had spent a pleasant time with His Majesty the Emperor. And in doing so, she would once again ruminate on her misery.

Still, she had no regrets about today’s deviation. No, she was satisfied.

When would she ever again meet such a wonderful man and feel such excitement?

I’ve had enough fun meeting someone else too. So let’s put aside my resentment towards Khalid now. I won’t stray from the path again, and I won’t meet that man again either.

“Ryuel…”

Thinking it would be the last time, she called his name softly. Unlike the name that rolled off her tongue as smoothly as candy, one corner of her heart ached as if pricked by a needle.

But a wound of this degree would heal quickly. As long as it ended here.

It’s okay. So.

‘Let’s forget it.

Chapter 4

It’s been about ten days since the Harvest Festival. During that time, Aristie had been busy preparing to receive the delegation.

The visit of the overseas delegation was a regular event held every few years in the Ferzen Empire. At this time, various domestic and international figures would gather in one place and engage in various activities.

The visit of the delegation was an important event not only for the imperial family but also for the Yentrice Duchy.