“If there are more books you want to read, just let me know.”

“Alright.”

After borrowing books from the antique bookshop, the two of them headed to the café house. They managed to find seats, and a staff member came over to take their order. They ordered two simple coffees, then looked around to find the place full of people in academy uniforms.

They said it was popular as a date spot, and it really seemed to be. She could feel gazes landing on Ruhir, as though people had recognized him.

Then again, members of the imperial family had been in the papers since they were young, so there was no way not to know his face. Which naturally meant there was a chance Jeanne would end up in the papers alongside him.

But after a full month of being together constantly with not a single line written about them, she suspected he was keeping it suppressed. Or perhaps people thought that since she was a commoner, the relationship wouldn’t develop any further.

Being a commoner was convenient in that way. Even if she were of low standing, if she had a title, articles would probably have been coming out every single day by now.

“Here are your two coffees and your cake.”

On the tray the staff member set down were two steaming cups of coffee. Jeanne ate well no matter what was put in front of her, but Ruhir tilted his head slightly. He had a discerning palate being a prince, but since he never made a fuss about it, it didn’t matter.

“Apparently a pastry chef from the imperial palace made the cake, and that’s what it’s famous for.”

“From the imperial palace? Well. People come and go from there often enough, so I wonder who it could be.”

Ruhir cut the cake into easy bites with a fork and held it out to Jeanne. She could eat it herself, but it was embarrassing. She could hear people around them whispering at his gesture.

“It’s delicious. I can see why my friends told me to come.”

It was just sweet enough and paired well with the fruit, making her want to keep eating. Better to read the book after eating. Reading while eating might get it dirty. Jeanne speared a piece of cake with her fork and held it out, and he accepted it carefully.

Feeding Jeanne came naturally to him, yet when she fed him in return he got embarrassed. He seemed to think he wasn’t showing it, but he was.

After feeding each other once, they ate the rest with their coffee. Ruhir had thought the coffee alone was a little lacking, but eating it with the cake made it taste quite decent.

This café house would be worth coming back to. After finishing, the two of them settled into their own time.

“You brought your knitting again today.”

“Yes. Jeanne.”

One of his hobbies was knitting, something his older brother had taught him. When Jeanne read spellbooks, he would read whatever he needed to or do other things, but he had taken up knitting again. Whenever he knitted something piece by piece and gave her gloves or little items, Jeanne was always very pleased with them.

……Good thing I learned it from him. This time he wanted to make her a cup coaster, and that was what he was working on.

“You mentioned liking shades of blue last time, so I wanted to make the coaster in that color.”

“I feel bad being grateful every time. I have no skill with my hands, and yet Ruhir has everything, including that.”

The café house was filled with the sounds of conversation from every corner, but it wasn’t loud. The two of them sat like that and went about their own things until the windows darkened outside.

Then Ruhir said he was stepping out to the restroom and got up from his seat.

She had been so absorbed in her spellbook that it was nearly evening before she noticed. Outside the window it had grown dark, and the entire plaza was lit up brightly with mana lamps.

What should they eat for dinner tonight? After a month of going everywhere with Ruhir, it was hard to decide. She set her book down for a moment and was pressing on her eyes when someone approached her.

“Excuse me.”

She turned toward the cautious voice and found a man in a knight’s uniform standing there. Mid to early twenties, perhaps. Behind him she could see others in the same uniform cheering him on. Friends or colleagues, most likely.

“Can I help you?”

“Well, I happened to be watching while you were reading earlier. Do you happen to have a partner or a fiancé?”

“Yes. I do.”

The right move was to cut this short immediately. She gave a polite, businesslike smile to avoid any misunderstanding, and he hesitated. He thought for a moment, then held out a brooch and spoke.

“I’m a member of the imperial palace knight order. I thought you might be suspicious since this is so sudden.”

She had wondered what the brooch was for, and it turned out to be for identification.

“I wasn’t suspicious. I simply already have someone I’m seeing.”

“……Is it the person who was knitting in front of you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s just that there didn’t seem to be much conversation between you.”

“That’s how we spend our time together.”

She was getting hungry and starting to find the conversation tiresome. The problem was that a man had come up and spoken to her, drawing the attention of everyone in the café house toward Jeanne. Just then she spotted Ruhir walking over, wiping his hands on a handkerchief, so she caught his eye and gestured for him to come quickly.

Their eyes met, and he tilted his head for a moment before striding over.

He then sat down naturally across from Jeanne and spoke.

“Is something the matter?”

“-I apologize.”

Being a member of the imperial palace knight order, he recognized the second prince immediately and showed his respects.

He had been at some distance, so he likely hadn’t been able to make out the face clearly. And he probably hadn’t expected him to be here.

As the man apologized with his face drained of color, the knight order members watching from afar whispered among themselves.

“Do you believe me now?”

“Yes. Yes, I do. I sincerely apologize.”

He seemed genuinely sorry, so Jeanne told him he could go. Ruhir gave a nod as well, and the man bowed his head and took his leave.

He walked back to his group with the energy gone from his steps. Then, whatever he was told, he looked back at Ruhir quickly and went pale with shock.

It looked like they might come over to pay their respects, so Ruhir gave a light wave to signal it was fine.

At that, seeing that it was clearly a date, they made their way out of the shop without causing any further disruption.

The two of them finally had their peace restored.

It was time for dinner, so they tidied up their things and talked as they did.

“I’ve finished my book, so let’s go eat.”

“Yes. Let’s. Oh. Jeanne, today we’re going to a new restaurant.”

Ruhir’s taste was reliable, so she nodded and they got up together. The café house hadn’t been bad, but if they came again, it would probably be better to get things to go and head to the antique bookshop instead.

“He didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”

“No. He just asked for my contact.”

“……”

In truth, this wasn’t the first time. They were both good-looking, so people asking for their contact happened often. Most of the time, saying she was seeing someone was enough for them to back off, or they would recognize the prince and apologize and remove themselves.

His expression turned somewhat unreadable, and he took Jeanne’s hand firmly in his. Anyone watching would think they were a couple, which made it funny that he did this only occasionally.

Holding Ruhir’s hand and talking about this and that, they arrived at a lamb restaurant. It was said to be known for being good for you, with salads served alongside the meal.

When they stepped inside, many people were already having dinner. They were shown to their seats, chose from the menu, and then the two of them talked.

“This is my first time at a lamb restaurant. The only time I’ve had it was when it came up as a menu item at the academy dormitory. I’ve never bought it outside.”

“From now on, let’s go everywhere you haven’t been.”

At that, Jeanne nodded. Eating at the academy was good too, but every time they went out to eat somewhere new, she enjoyed it. Her mother ought to be eating well and getting on fine too.

Ever since becoming his partner, her mother came to mind whenever she had a new experience. She hoped that wherever her mother was, unknown to her, she was eating plenty of delicious things and her days were full of nothing but good.

She often had the absurd thought that maybe her mother had lost her memory and that was why she couldn’t come back.

“Going to the café house with Ruhir and eating good food, I’m really happy today.”

“……I was worried. I thought that person who harassed you might have left you with a lot of stress.”

“It did, but I didn’t pay much attention to it, so I was mostly fine. It would have been hard if I’d been alone, but Ruhir and everyone else looked after me a lot. The professors too.”

A week had passed, but the image of her crying kept coming back to him. She must have been truly hurt to cry like that.

If he were to tell her it was over someday, would she cry like that too. Or would she accept it calmly, the way she usually was.

He had no way of knowing, but he found himself hoping Jeanne wouldn’t cry.