Chapter 50

By now, no tears came, but her chest still felt suffocating. Ethea submerged herself deep into the water.

And so, after thinking all sorts of thoughts, she finished bathing. The attendant, who had been waiting for her to finish, handed her a towel and showed her a wardrobe, telling her to choose some clothes. Several outfits had been prepared inside. It was strange that clothes would be set out like this when it was not even a room where another woman lived.

The dresses all displayed wild colors and designs. Somehow, they strongly gave off the mood of southern clothing. Most of them had designs with the shoulders or chest exposed, or even the stomach showing, which made them awkward to choose from. At the same time, since they were styles she had never once worn, she could not deny that she felt somewhat drawn to them.

After much deliberation, what Ethea chose was a pale pink dress that exposed a bit of her shoulders and stomach. Then she brought back the flower Lyle had tucked into her hair earlier and pinned it in again. Strangely, the flower had not wilted at all; rather, it was shining on its own. It must have had some sort of luminescent quality.

After putting on the dress, she saw the cosmetics the attendant had prepared, and since she was dressing up anyway, she tried doing her makeup too. Since she was wearing southern traditional clothing, she even spread on darker powder so her skin would look slightly sun-kissed.

After finishing her makeup, Ethea looked at herself in the mirror. She looked unfamiliar. Somehow, she looked natural enough that one might believe she was a local.

When she stepped outside, Lyle, who had been waiting, widened his eyes at the sight of her.

“Ah, you.”

“Lyle……”

“What is this.”

“Hm?”

“You’re prettier than I expected.”

“If I’m pretty, then I’m pretty. What do you mean, than you expected?”

Lyle smiled mischievously.

“I’m joking. You’re pretty.”

“……”

“So pretty it’s dazzling.”

His voice was calm. Hearing those words sent ripples through Ethea’s chest as though pebbles had been cast into it. She looked blankly up into both of Lyle’s eyes.

Suddenly, one fragment of an old memory surfaced. In the crabapple grove, he had looked at her and said she was dazzling. Back then, it had been full of teasing, yet even then Ethea’s heart had trembled terribly at those words.

And now, the way he said dazzling……

“You’re pretty.”

There was not the slightest trace of teasing in it, and that made it embarrassing. Growing awkward, Ethea changed the subject.

“Ah. Um. Maybe because we played so much earlier, but I’m hungry. What shall we eat?”

Lyle nodded silently. Even now, his eyes still seemed to be whispering something toward her. Her chest grew ticklish, and Ethea drew in a deep breath.

‘What in the world is he doing to me, really.’

＊  ＊  ＊

Down in the first-floor courtyard, fairies came singing again and brought the menu.

Since she had seen so many fascinating things today, she wanted to fill her stomach at dinner with something intriguing as well. So Ethea chose a menu item with a fun name.

“‘All the sauces in the world and chicken’-this looks interesting. I’ll have this.”

“Then I will too.”

Lyle ordered the same thing as her.

The food came quickly. It was smoked chicken leg, served with twenty kinds of colorful sauces on the side. Ethea’s mouth fell open.

“Let’s eat.”

“I’ll eat well.”

The two of them were so hungry their stomachs were growling, and in the blink of an eye they ate through more than half the meat.

“Wow. Every sauce I dip it in tastes delicious.”

“It does. I’m glad I ordered after you.”

“Lyle, could you pass me that mustard-colored sauce over there? I’m curious because I don’t think I’ve ever tasted that one before.”

There was one untouched sauce a little too far from her. Since it was closer to Lyle, she asked him, and he looked over the sauces set before him.

“Ah…… all right.”

In front of him were white, peach-colored, yellow, and an even deeper mustard-colored sauce, among others. He could have simply handed her the mustard-colored one, but instead, after hesitating a bit, he pushed all of them toward her.

“Oh, I only need the mustard-colored one……”

“Why eat just one? You should try them all evenly.”

“A-all right. Thank you.”

“Where should we go after we finish eating?”

Ethea answered while dipping her meat deeply into the mustard-colored sauce.

“Since until now we’ve only gone to places without people, shall we go somewhere crowded at night?”

“All right, then.”

Lyle nodded readily.

To Ethea, that was a bit unexpected. Since Lyle was the Emperor, she had thought he would avoid crowded places, but apparently not. Then again. There were probably not many among the people of the Empire who truly knew the Emperor’s face well.

After dinner, they headed comfortably toward the bustling district. Even if it was a bustling district, this was still an island, so she had wondered how many people there could really be, but it was busier than expected. There were many races Ethea was seeing for the first time as well-people with red skin, like those she had seen in the southeastern Kingdom, and people with black skin, who were said to be common in the southwestern part of the continent.

She did not want to stare at them like some rustic person, and she thought it was impolite, yet her gaze kept drifting of its own accord toward the unfamiliar people.

But she had forgotten. The ones truly drawing everyone’s eyes were not the foreigners, but she and he. No, more precisely, not both of them equally-it was more on Lyle’s side. The gazes people turned on Lyle were all sparkling.

“Handsome young man, would you like to try some fruit candy?”

Lyle was kind to everyone who spoke to him.

“It looks delicious. Please give me just two.”

“Since opening this shop here, this is the first time I’ve seen such a handsome young man. Have you perhaps ever thought of working at our shop?”

“A young man like this doesn’t suit a candy shop. How about our souvenir shop, young man?”

“The souvenirs are lovely.”

Not only passersby, but even the owners of the candy shop and souvenir shop spoke to Lyle and treated him well. They seemed to see him not as the Emperor, but as a handsome young man, and Lyle, perhaps wanting to appear as an ordinary young man to them too, responded with bright smiles.

In a resort like this, Lyle looked at ease. She had thought he was serving purely as a guide just for Ethea’s sake, but it seemed today’s events had not been unpleasant for him either. Had the Emperor been enjoying a kind of vacation as well? Seeing his smile made her heart feel lighter too.

It was then that lively music drifted from somewhere. In the central plaza, a group of musicians began playing an upbeat tune, and the couples paired together started moving their bodies merrily to the music.

And yet, as if by agreement, all their dance movements were similar. They swayed their hips lightly while moving their arms softly. The way they created elegant and interesting lines with their hands and wrists kept drawing the eye.

Ethea realized that it was a traditional dance of the south. She had never seen it in person, but in the past, when she had looked through a book about world cultures, she had seen drawings of that dance’s clothing and movements and had once wished that someday she could visit the south and learn it.

‘Ah. To think I would see it in person today.’

Her excited steps were already heading toward the central plaza. Come to think of it, the clothes she was wearing, and the countless dresses she had been able to choose from before, were all costumes worn for dancing this traditional dance.

“Lyle, let’s dance together.”

“Mmm, well.”

The answer from Lyle behind her was somehow unenthusiastic. Judging by his expression, he seemed unsure of himself. Seeing him slightly embarrassed and timid, so unlike his usual expressions, Ethea found it rather amusing.

“Why? You don’t want to dance?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then?”

“I like watching more than dancing myself.”

“Really?”

Could it be that Lyle was actually trying to say, in a roundabout way, ‘I’m a terrible dancer’?

“I’ll sit here and drink juice. You go dance.”

‘Hmm. Maybe it’s not quite right to conclude that he’s a terrible dancer. I suppose Imperial Family really is Imperial Family. He must be more used to watching dancers perform than dancing himself.’

And besides, this was not aristocratic social dancing, but an exotic dance like this. For Lyle, who had grown up as royalty, it might be something he felt subtly reluctant about. Leaving Lyle behind, Ethea went to the center of the plaza and began mixing in with the people, imitating the dance. At first it felt awkward and embarrassing, but there were many tourists who had jumped in recklessly just like her to learn the traditional dance, so she adjusted quickly.