Chapter 39

“Raspol is quite big.”

Louis and Vivian, who had started walking amidst the crowd after getting off the carriage, attracted people’s attention due to their outstanding looks, but they seemed completely unaware of it.

Although it was a smaller city compared to the capital, the bustling streets were larger than expected. Louis observed the streets and people closely as he walked.

“The buildings are subtly different from those in the capital, and the atmosphere of the people is different too. It has that unique southern charm.”

Unlike the grand festivals of the capital, Raspol’s autumn festival was more lively and heartwarming.

Vivian, who seemed to be in a good mood, walked beside Louis, clutching her bag straps tightly with both hands and looking straight ahead.

Tia, who was following them closely to avoid losing them in the crowd, let out a small sigh.

Vivian had been subtly excited since the day she heard that the Crown Prince was coming to Raspol. She might deny it if asked, but Tia knew better.

However, once Luideos arrived, Vivian started avoiding him.

Tia didn’t know what had happened, but she hoped the two would grow closer, especially since they were soon to be married.

Tia had even gone through the trouble of informing the Crown Prince that Vivian was going to the bustling streets alone today, but the distance between the two still seemed quite far.

Watching their backs, Tia let out a small sigh as she saw Vivian suddenly start walking quickly somewhere.

“A sparrow can’t pass by a mill… Of course, of course.”

The place Vivian hurried to was none other than a bookstore.

Louis was just as surprised when Vivian suddenly changed direction. However, he laughed when he saw the sign of the place she entered.

He followed Vivian into the bookstore.

“Hello, sir.”

“Oh my! Our La-!”

“Shh! Just call me Vivian today.”

As the bookstore owner was about to call out “Lady!”, Vivian placed a finger on her lips to signal him to be quiet. The owner quickly covered his mouth and nodded.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people in the bookstore, and the owner let out a hearty laugh, feeling embarrassed. Vivian smiled brightly, showing her white teeth.

“Do you have any new books?”

“Of course. Haha. If you go to the new releases section over there, you’ll find new books as well as the ones you were looking for before.”

Even before the bookstore owner finished speaking, Vivian headed towards the new releases section he pointed to. Louis followed her inside.

The small bookstore had books piled up on every shelf and cabinet. Vivian, who navigated the space with ease, stopped in front of a bookshelf and began scanning the books with sparkling eyes.

Vivian first grabbed the book she had been looking for and then started selecting other books she wanted to read, pointing at each one with her finger. Louis’s voice came from above her head.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Sorry?”

Vivian turned her head to look up at Louis.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen that expression on your face since I came down to Raspol.”

Vivian covered her mouth with the back of her hand at his words.

“Young Lady, do you know what kind of expression you have when you look at books?”

“What kind?”

It was last year when they left the bookstore while visiting the bustling streets with Tia.

“Your mouth stretches like this, and sometimes your jaw drops like this.”

Tia had mimicked Vivian’s expression, making a grotesque face.

“Liar.”

“Well, I did exaggerate a bit, but it’s somewhat similar, Young Lady.”

Tia had said with a completely serious face. Then she had earnestly asked Vivian to only make that face in front of her, clasping Vivian’s hands.

Recalling Tia’s grotesque imitation, Vivian’s face started to turn red.

“Is it… strange?”

“Strange? What’s strange?”

“I mean, do I look ugly?”

At Vivian’s question, Louis furrowed his brows.

“No, you didn’t look ugly. You looked pretty.”

Vivian, hearing his words echoing in her ears, awkwardly moved her neck and picked up any book to hand to the bookstore owner.

“I’d like to pay for this.”

“Haha. What brings you to read such a book today? Anyway, you read all kinds of books without discrimination. Hahaha.”

Leaving the bookstore owner’s friendly smile behind and not even taking her change, Vivian quickly walked out of the bookstore.

“Vivian.”

Hearing Louis’s voice from behind, Vivian quickened her pace.

“Wait. Why are you walking so fast?”

Louis hurriedly stepped in front of Vivian to block her path.

“Where are you rushing off to?”

“I’m… I’m hungry.”

“Let’s go together. If you wander around alone, you might get lost and it could be dangerous.”

“This is Raspol, you know?”

“Even in Raspol, it’s dangerous for you to wander alone.”

Vivian’s stomach churned at Louis’s concern.

“Is there something you want to eat?”

Vivian shook her head.

“Then…”

Louis looked around and gently pulled Vivian by the arm.

“Let’s go there.”

As she looked at Louis’s back while he held her wrist and walked, she glanced at her wrist that he was holding.

The spot where he held her wrist tingled. The tingling sensation spread throughout her body. It was embarrassing and awkward, yet she liked it.

She never thought she would hear Louis call her ‘pretty’.

She recalled young Louis’s serious face when he had looked at 10-year-old Vivian and said she wasn’t ugly but not pretty either.

Vivian barely managed to suppress a silly smile from spreading across her lips.

Since it was well past lunchtime, the restaurant was fortunately not crowded. The two took a seat, and Tia sat a bit further away.

When asked what she wanted to eat, Vivian replied with “anything,” and Louis, after pondering over the menu, ordered a few dishes.

When the food he ordered arrived, Vivian started picking at her salad.

Saying she was hungry had been an excuse. The compliment had made her lose her mind, and the words had just slipped out.

Having eaten a hearty breakfast in anticipation of spending the whole day at the festival, Vivian felt awkward seeing the food piled in front of her.

She regretted not coming up with a better excuse.

But it was too late for regrets.

“Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like the food?”

“I’m eating. What about you, Louis?”

“I’m not really hungry.”

Louis’s eyes slowly moved from Vivian to the books she had bought. Following his gaze, Vivian also looked at the books she had purchased. And she couldn’t believe her eyes.

What did I just buy?

Underneath the short stories of Kreutz was a book by an author she had never heard of titled “How to Capture a Man’s Heart – You Can Seduce Any Man with These Tips, Volume 2.”

Even after closing and opening her eyes, rubbing them, and looking again, the book was still there under the other book she had bought.

“I didn’t know you read those kinds of books too.”

“This, this is!”

Vivian was surprised not only that such a book existed but that there was even a second volume. This meant there was also a first volume. She reached out to hide the book, but Louis was quicker.

“Did you want to read it so badly that you ordered it in advance?”

Louis flipped through the pages, his lips curling up in a teasing smile. His golden eyes seemed to sparkle more than usual.

“That’s not mine!”

“If it’s not yours, why did you grab it so quickly at the bookstore?”

“That’s not what happened!”

Vivian abruptly stood up and snatched the book from his hands, hiding it in her arms.

“I was so flustered earlier that I just grabbed whatever was in my reach.”

“Hmm. Really?”

He propped his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes. Seeing his skeptical expression, Vivian got indignant.

“Why would I read something like this?”

Fuming, Vivian walked over to Tia’s table, placed the book there, and returned to her seat.

Watching her with interest, Louis picked up a piece of meat and slowly chewed it. After swallowing, he wiped his mouth with a napkin, hiding his amusement.

“I really wasn’t planning to read it. “

“Got it. “

“So stop laughing. “

“How else should I laugh?”

After their little quarrel, the two finished their meal.

Even as they left the restaurant and walked through the festival streets, their bickering continued. Despite the squabbling, Louis managed to enjoy the festival.

Having taken a break from his duties as the Crown Prince, Louis spent a leisurely time mingling with the crowd. It was the first time he had enjoyed a festival since the fall when he was twelve, meeting Vivian and Aitor.

Watching Vivian passionately insist that she would never read such a book, Louis felt an inexplicable sense of peace.

Before they knew it, the sun had set, and the day was coming to an end. As dusk fell and night approached, the streets began to fill with people.

Tia got swept away by the crowd and disappeared. As a flustered Vivian was jostled by the people, Louis held onto her and looked around. He led her to the entrance of a quiet alley and surveyed the surroundings.

“Why did the crowd suddenly increase?”

Vivian, who was standing on tiptoe to search for Tia, spoke with a worried expression.

“The Blessing Night event will start soon. If we go that way, we’ll reach the main square where they light fires and dance.”

Giving up on finding Tia, Vivian put the book into her bag and tightened the straps.

“There’s a small clock tower on the west side of the main square. Whenever Tia and I got separated, we always met there, so should we head that way?”

Louis looked down at her quietly.

“Has this happened often?”

Vivian turned her head sharply at his question.

“Ahem. Ahem.”

Seeing her ears turn red, Louis chuckled softly.

“You’ve strayed far from being a proper lady since I last saw you.”

Ignoring Louis’s comment, Vivian was about to head into the crowd when he called her.

“Vivian.”

She stopped and turned around.

“Hold on.”

He extended his hand.

“If I lose you here, I won’t know where the clock tower is.”

Vivian stared at his hand. She had held his hand when getting off the carriage, but now it felt different, and she didn’t know why.

“Come on.”

Louis extended his hand to her again. Convincing herself that she couldn’t let a royal get lost, she took his hand.

Holding hands, they stepped into the crowd.

“We need to go that way.”

“Alright.”

Louis headed in the direction Vivian pointed, moving confidently. As he passed, people naturally parted to make way.

“Oh? The fire is already lit.”

When they arrived at the main square, a fire was already burning in the pile of wood in the center. People were gathering in pairs around the fire.

“They wear flower crowns here too.”

All the women wore colorful autumn flower crowns on their heads.

“This is still the Tapeullon Empire. The festival might look a bit different, but such traditions are the same.”

Nodding, Louis looked around and then let go of Vivian’s hand.

“Wait here.”

Louis suddenly disappeared into the crowd. Vivian tried to follow but soon lost sight of him in the throng of people.

“Louis!”

She called out loudly, but he was nowhere to be seen. Even standing on tiptoe, her small stature made it impossible to spot him.

“What am I supposed to do if you disappear suddenly?”

She considered going to the clock tower but remembered that Louis didn’t know where it was, so she couldn’t leave.

As she anxiously fidgeted in place, she noticed a wooden crate in front of a fruit stand. Pushing her way through the crowd, she climbed onto the crate.

From a higher vantage point, she hoped to spot him more easily.

Holding her skirt as she climbed, Vivian turned around to look for him. She quickly found Louis.

He was standing where she had been moments ago, waving a flower crown and smiling.