Chapter 6 – Part 6

“And Erica already has plans with me. I’m sorry, Roel, but dinner won’t be possible.”

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, he wasn’t wrong. If you counted the evening tea schedule as an appointment, that is.

I had thought that since the Crown Prince was out and about, I wouldn’t need to worry about him tonight, but I was wrong.

Which meant it was time to get back to work.

The Crown Prince placed his empty teacup down and rose from his seat, the chair scraping against the wooden floor.

I lightly patted Roel’s elbow and said,

“Thanks for taking such good care of us today, Roel. I’ll send someone early tomorrow to settle the payment and pick up the goods.”

“I’m sorry for showing you such a bad side of me, Lady Erica…”

“No, Roel, you have nothing to apologize for. Anyone could see that it was Dame Ramona who was in the wrong. Cheer up.”

With that, I said my goodbyes and left the shop.

The Crown Prince, now looking rather serious, gave Dame Ramona an order.

“You are to walk back to the palace, Dame Ramona. Your punishment for abandoning your post will be determined later.”

Dame Ramona bowed repeatedly.

“Yes, Your Highness. I am deeply grateful for your leniency.”

I quickly whispered to her,

“Hurry back and make it up to Roel! His feelings were hurt because of you, so you need to apologize properly.”

Dame Ramona blinks at me. She seemed hesitant, probably because the Crown Prince was still there.

The Crown Prince shook his head and turned away, heading towards the carriage. I hurried to follow him, but he slowed his pace until we were walking side by side.

‘This almost feels like a stroll with the Crown Prince.’

I scratched the back of my neck, feeling awkward. Just as I was about to say something to break the silence, he spoke first.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone near the carriage. Did you not bring a coachman?”

“No, Your Highness. Dame Ramona drove the carriage on the way here.”

A faint look of confusion crossed his face. He was probably wondering why the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard was playing coachman.

“Did she leave her post to meet this Roel?”

“It seems so. She also doubled as my escort.”

“That was well done, then.”

When I looked back, I saw Dame Ramona hesitantly returning to the shop.

“Do you think they’ll be okay?”

“I cannot say. I’m afraid I have no experience with such matters and cannot judge.”

Was he saying that he’d never been in a romantic situation before? It seemed likely.

Before I started working at the Crown Prince’s Palace, I’d only seen him from a distance a few times a year, so I hadn’t known.

With looks like his, I’d assumed he had plenty of experience.

‘I was completely mistaken. Now that I’m seeing it firsthand, I understand.’

Reflecting on the confession he made to me yesterday, it seemed more like an idealized view of romance rather than something grounded in reality.

‘He talked about seeking my consent in a proper way, as if it were the most natural thing in the world…’

The Crown Prince’s views on love were as clear as water, too pure for fish to live in and as untouched as fresh, white snow.

The pristine, shiny surface was likely because he had never encountered any obstacles in love.

It felt like finding the protective film still on a washing machine in a newly moved-in apartment.

We soon reached the carriage. It was parked close enough to be visible from the second-floor terrace of the shop.

The two well-trained horses stood quietly, still hitched to the carriage, waiting.

That’s when it hit me—I’d left Dame Ramona, our self-appointed coachman, back at the shop.

‘So who’s going to drive the carriage?’

Was I supposed to drive it? Probably, right?

If it’s between a maid and a Crown Prince, the maid should drive the carriage, obviously.

‘I’ve never driven a carriage before, but I’ve ridden horses a few times, so maybe I can manage?’

I figured I could at least get the horses to walk.

Determined to fulfill my duties, I moved to climb onto the driver’s seat… but it was too high for me, and I was too short.

‘Dame Ramona was able to hop on and off so easily. How did she do it?’

It looked simple enough when I watched her, but now that I was trying, it was quite difficult.

As I struggled, the Crown Prince’s voice came from behind me.

“Do you need help?”

“Uh, yes…”

I answered, scratching my head, feeling embarrassed for stepping up only to fail to even get in the driver’s seat.

“With your permission.”

With those words, the Crown Prince effortlessly lifted me up by the knees and placed me onto the high coachman’s seat.

Sitting up there, the ground seemed dauntingly far below. It felt much higher than being on horseback.

I clutched the side handle of the seat, trying to get used to the height.

The Crown Prince, after seating me, walked around the horses, checking the harnesses and adjusting the leather straps here and there before gathering the longest reins and placing them in my hands.

It was the reins, something I should have prepared while climbing up. I had completely forgotten.

“Oh, uh… Thank you, Your Highness…”

My face warmed with embarrassment.

I had stepped up to fulfill my duties as a servant, but here I was, flustered and awkward. It was as if the Crown Prince was the one serving me.

It was incredibly awkward.

After finishing his preparations, the Crown Prince climbed up to sit beside me and offered me the jacket he had been wearing under his robe.

“The weather may be warm today, but the wind on the coachman’s seat might be unhealthy.”

The air was getting a bit chilly, so this was perfect timing.

I accepted the jacket without hesitation. The Crown Prince, as a royal, might not catch a cold, but I certainly could.

The jacket was large, with sleeves that extended far beyond my hands.

On me, it was more like a coat than a jacket, warming me all the way down to my hips.

I rolled up the sleeves to my wrists and gripped the whip, which I had found by rummaging through the seat’s cushion.

I was ready to go.

“I’ll do my best to… ensure a smooth ride home, Your Highness!”

“Very well, I leave it to you.”

But how exactly do I start a carriage?

If I were on horseback, I would signal the horse with a nudge or a squeeze of my thighs.

Neither option seemed feasible from the coachman’s seat.

I loosened my grip on the reins with my left hand and, as a test, called out, “Giddy up!”

The two horses began to trot forward in unison, and the carriage started to move.

Pulling back on the reins made the horses stop instantly, then start again at my signal.

‘Impressive!’

They truly were well-trained royal horses.

Using my horseback riding experience, I manipulated the reins, and the carriage picked up speed. It wasn’t so much my skill as the intelligent horses responding perfectly.

My hair was tossed in the cool breeze.

‘The sensation of speed from up here is completely different from inside the carriage!’

Pulling on the reins slowed the horses down.

‘This is the brake.’

Loosening the reins and calling out “Giddy up” made the horses pick up speed again.

‘And that’s the accelerator.’

The Crown Prince, observing my actions, asked,

“Your commands are unusual. Is this how the Marnel family trains their drivers?”

“No, this is actually my first time driving a carriage!”

“…”

The Crown Prince was silent for a moment before asking again,

“Do you know the way to the palace?”

“Wouldn’t the horses know?”

I kept my eyes ahead and nodded towards the horses.

There were stories about horses in my past life that were so good at finding their way that they got their owners beheaded.

I thought I heard the Crown Prince sigh, but it was hard to tell over the wind and the sound of the carriage.

After a while, he spoke up again.

“We should have taken the left at that fork in the road.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry…”

So, these horses weren’t ‘that’ smart.

I corrected our course according to the Crown Prince’s directions.

Left turn, left turn, right turn. It was starting to remind me of driving practice in my past life.

But with two horses, changing direction wasn’t as easy as I thought.

After missing another couple of turns, I finally handed the reins over to the Crown Prince. Thankfully, he was sitting right next to me, so it was a simple matter of passing them over.

“I apologize for asking this of you, Your Highness… But if I keep driving, we might not reach the palace until morning.”

The Crown Prince accepted the reins without hesitation.

“I wouldn’t mind spending the night with you, but…”