Chapter 7 – Part 5

“Deal.”

We shook hands. It was a satisfying verbal agreement.

I moved the lace ornament I had on the back of my head to the top, adjusting it to make it more noticeable.

“But Charlotte, your family has a lot of money. Do you really need to do something like this?”

“You’ve got the order wrong. It’s not that we do this despite having money, but because we do this, we have money. It’s a family tradition.”

It was a wise saying. I nodded slowly, taking Charlotte’s words to heart.

Perhaps I looked distracted because Charlotte suddenly dropped a bombshell of a question.

“Erica, just tell me—are you going to marry His Highness? When do you think the wedding will be?”

I was so shocked that I started coughing. My dry cough echoed through the tea storage room.

When the coughing subsided, I picked up one of the teas I had been tasting earlier and took a sip. It was cold oolong tea.

Charlotte observed my strong reaction and asked again.

“Well, I guess the engagement will come first. When are you getting engaged? Will you announce it at the spring ball?”

I ended up spitting out the tea through my nose and had another coughing fit.

“No, no way! Why do you even think that?”

“They say there will be an engagement announcement before the year is out.”

“Who says that?”

“People.”

“…”

I recalled the conversation I had with His Highness on the day the trolley broke.

His feelings, his regrets, his resolve. And the vague agreement we had made that day.

Charlotte patted me on the shoulder.

“Erica, don’t worry too much. Even if things don’t work out with His Highness, it’s not the end of the world, right?”

“I’ve never worried about that.”

“It’s okay, Erica. Everything will be fine.”

“Oh, I really mean it; it’s not like that.”

Charlotte comforted me a little more before returning to the Rose Palace.

The rumors Charlotte had mentioned kept circling in my head.

‘Everyone thinks I’m going to get engaged and married to His Highness soon.’

Why is everyone moving so fast?

Maybe it was because this was the first time the Crown Prince had shown interest in someone, so people were making a big fuss about it.

Looking back, the moment I nodded, bewitched by His Highness’s face or whatever, the outcome had already been decided.

What I thought was just a sparkling ripple turned out to be a dizzying current below the surface.

At this rate, I might end up like a fallen leaf swept away by the strong waters.

* * *

The probationary period at the Imperial Palace passed by in a blur.

Receiving a huge amount of gifts every day made me faster at unwrapping them.

It also became routine to cross paths with the Crown Prince at the Imperial Palace and be the center of attention almost every other day.

Today, as we were unwrapping gifts together, Natalie murmured.

“This dagger… it’s from the Imperial Treasury…”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Haha.”

The gifts were becoming increasingly diverse as time went on.

Now, there was even a random dagger included.

The silver handle had intricate, delicate patterns etched in shallow relief to prevent the grip from slipping.

The cross-guard, wide for a dagger, was designed to prevent even a novice from accidentally cutting their hand.

When I unsheathed the dagger, its blade gleamed, polished to a mirror-like finish.

“The blade is sharp. This isn’t just for display—it’s a practical weapon.”

As I examined the shimmering dagger, turning it this way and that, Natalie spoke.

“It’s fashionable these days to carry a dagger like this under your dress.”

“Really? Since when?”

This was news to me.

Natalie pointed to the box the dagger came in.

“See? There’s a holster made to fit the dagger.”

Sure enough, there was a holster in the box that resembled a garter for stockings.

I put the dagger back into its scabbard.

“It would be convenient for cutting fruit on the go.”

“No, Erica. It’s double-edged—you’ll cut yourself.”

And so, the days passed by in a blur, and the two-week training period came to an end.

Although I didn’t exchange as many letters with my diary friend as before, having a roommate now, we still checked in on each other from time to time.

***

One day.

As usual, I was organizing the cabinets in the tea storage room, tasting and sorting the tea leaves until it was about time to leave.

When I opened the door to the tea storage room and stepped out, I noticed something sprouting from the wall of the hallway across from me.

It was a sign and a door from a shop that I had already become familiar with after seeing it a few times.

“Noah’s Square Ark”

“Hey, you said you were being chased by royalty. How dare you show up in the Imperial Palace hallway?”

I hurriedly looked around. Fortunately, there wasn’t a soul in sight in the corridor.

Does Noah have any sense or not?

I had no idea when this door had appeared here. Given the quietness of the hallway, it seemed no one had discovered it yet.

The door creaked open on its own, as if urging me to come in and not ignore it.

“Good grief.”

I sighed deeply and quickly slipped into the shop, closing the door behind me.

As always, Noah was surrounded by an assortment of knickknacks from various sources and eras.

“Noah! Of all places, why the Imperial Palace…?”

“Erica, it’s been a while.”

Seeing Noah casually waving his hand made my earlier shock feel utterly pointless.

He must have something to fall back on to be so relaxed.

I dropped my scolding and sank into the chair Noah conjured out of thin air. It was a plush armchair, identical to the one Noah was sitting in.

Reclining in the soft armchair, rocking slightly, I felt a different kind of comfort.

“Indeed, it has been a while. How have you been, Noah?”

“I’m always doing well. Is that ribbon on your head made of Bovin lace from the Eastern Kingdom?”

“I don’t know. I just received it.”

Noah chuckled.

“How have you been, Erica? The entire capital is abuzz with rumors that the Crown Prince is head over heels for you.”

“…You’ve heard that too?”

“It came to me naturally.”

For someone who’s supposed to be hiding, Noah sure is diligent.

He seems to know all the gossip in the capital, and he’s even a regular at a coconut crab specialty restaurant in a foreign resort.

I let out a small sigh.

“There’s even a ridiculous rumor going around that I’ll announce my engagement to His Highness at the spring ball. Honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming.”

“It would be overwhelming.”

Hearing Noah’s calm voice put me at ease.

Maybe it was the relief of momentarily escaping from the palace that made me feel lighter, spreading a pleasant drowsiness.

Noah asked,

“What do you want to do from here on out, Erica?”

I closed my eyes and collected my thoughts. Then, I began to speak slowly.

“His Highness assured me that even if I reject him, there will be no consequences for me.”

“Did he now?”

“He also said he’s already enlisted the help of Duke Oscar, a powerful figure in society, to protect me from any potential scandals.”

Noah nodded, as if listening intently.

I continued to speak.

“But, will things really go that smoothly?”

“No one knows what the future holds.”

I let out a long sigh.

When I was face-to-face with the Crown Prince, I was so captivated by his beautiful appearance and earnest demeanor that I forgot these worries, but the further I got from him, the more tormented I became.

Perhaps it’s because of the memories from my past life, but the disparity in our social statuses troubled me.

Come to think of it, part of the reason I grew fond of my anonymous diary friend was that there were no such barriers between us.

My diary friend is the heir to a merchant family of considerable size, and I’m the daughter of an Count with connections to the palace.

We seemed like a good match, so I allowed myself to indulge in a little daydreaming.

Whether as friends or lovers, it would be convenient to be with someone in that position.

By chance, we were connected through a magical exchange diary, and as we candidly shared our thoughts, I found his kind and charming personality quickly winning me over.

More than anything, talking with my diary friend puts me at ease. If I were to date someone, it would be someone like him.

But I could never be that close and unguarded with the Crown Prince.

His Highness has a stiff personality, and his status is far too lofty.

When the Crown Prince knelt at my feet and confessed his feelings in his office, I was momentarily deceived into thinking that the gap between us was insignificant.

But that was only in that moment.

Now, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to go back and have the Crown Prince reaffirm his affection and respect for me or to leave the palace immediately and distance myself from all of this.

I was merely going through the motions.

I shared these thoughts with Noah, leaving out some of the details.

In the quiet and cozy atmosphere of Noah’s shop, nestled in a soft armchair, I found myself saying things I wouldn’t normally say.

Noah, thankfully, listened to me earnestly.

“It’s complicated.”

“This situation itself doesn’t seem so complicated. It’s just that my heart is…”

“I understand.”