A delicate yet beautiful princess and a handsome young lord from a noble ducal family.

‘Truly a picturesque scene.’

They were such a beautiful pair that they could have been a masterpiece hanging in any museum.

I remained frozen in place until Dietrich removed his hand from Princess Ariana’s waist.

It felt as if time had stopped.

Though my hair fluttered in the warm breeze brushing my cheeks, I couldn’t even blink.

The sight of the two looking so intimate came as a shock.

Was it always this awkward and difficult to see another woman by Dietrich’s side?

I snapped out of my daze as I stared blankly at the two.

It would be a disaster if the butter melted completely in this hot weather.

Just then, as if their movie-like scene had come to an end, Dietrich began walking ahead once more.

I tightened my grip on the butter box that seemed about to slip at any moment.

This path must be clearly visible from the garden as well.

I didn’t want to catch their eye right now.

Neither the suddenly arrived Princess Ariana nor Dietrich who had held her waist were welcome sights.

‘Perhaps I’m just terribly wicked.’

To be displeased by two people who had done nothing wrong.

‘Don’t think unnecessary thoughts.’

I needed to focus on completing the task at hand first. No dawdling here!

I bit my lip hard and was about to take a step.

However, I soon felt a gaze boring into me and turned my head.

Even from a distance, clear emerald eyes were quietly staring at me.

The steady gaze was calm.

The moment I met those teal eyes devoid of any emotion, I was struck with the urge to flee.

But the hesitation was brief. There was nothing more unseemly than running away now.

Though I wore a shabby and dirty maid’s uniform that couldn’t compare to the pure white dress of the graceful and beautiful princess.

‘So what!’

I had nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not like I had secretly spied on the two’s tryst.

Seeing them embrace in the middle of the fully visible garden wasn’t my intention either.

In the end, I set down the butter box and cheerfully greeted Dietrich while bouncing on my feet.

The princess following behind Dietrich smiled brightly when she saw me.

She seemed to genuinely welcome me.

I hurriedly clasped my hands together and bowed politely.

‘This should be enough.’

I didn’t pretend not to see them, nor did I run away.

Now I truly intended to leave.

“What’s that?”

If only Dietrich hadn’t suddenly appeared before me.

I stood there stupidly staring at Dietrich who had asked out of the blue.

Then I shifted my gaze to Princess Ariana visible over his shoulder.

She stood in the garden with round eyes, seemingly surprised by Dietrich’s sudden action.

I could understand that expression.

My expression was probably not much different from Ariana’s.

“Don’t want to tell me what it is?”

He asked playfully, tilting his head to one side.

I looked up at him blankly and held up the butter box.

“Do you mean this?”

“Yes. It looks extremely heavy.”

“Ah, it’s butter. I was running an errand.”

A faint, cool fragrance emanated from Dietrich as he drew near.

‘I must smell of sweat.’

I was drenched in sweat from walking hard under the hot sun.

Unlike Dietrich, I might give off an unpleasant odor.

That thought made me feel I should distance myself from him a bit.

He might be shocked if he smelled me after only smelling his pleasant scent!

I slowly backed away while awkwardly lifting the corners of my mouth.

“Um, young lord. I’m truly sorry, but I need to hurry back to the kitchen. It would be quite troublesome if this butter melts completely.”

“…Are you hot?”

I glanced slightly at him as he ignored my words and said something irrelevant.

Of course, just a tiny bit so Princess Ariana wouldn’t notice.

Well, it was such a timid action that even Dietrich might not have noticed.

In any case, I must have looked rather hot to him as well.

I could feel my hair sticking to my face from the sweat.

The hair I had thought pretty for resembling the dark night suddenly felt bothersome today.

I could sense him looking at the hair stuck to my face. Somehow my ears felt like they were burning, and I wanted to hurriedly unstick my hair.

As I leaned the box against my thigh and tried to unstick my hair, I wobbled a bit.

When the butter box shook, he quickly tried to grab it.

But I was faster than Dietrich.

“Ha!”

I proudly lifted my head after snatching the box with surprising reflexes.

Was this the effect of imitating the agility exercises the knights do from afar?

“I never drop things like this!”

I bragged proudly, feeling pleased for no reason.

His expression went blank for a moment as he withdrew his hand that had tried to help, then he burst into laughter.

“Wow…”

I couldn’t stop the exclamation that automatically escaped.

Though it’s a bit unfair and frustrating to say this about Dietrich.

His laughter was brilliant enough to make me forget all the gloomy memories from just moments ago.

It was a refreshing and cool laugh like the clear sea rippling under a cloudless blue sky.

As I stood dazed by a smile I had never seen before, he picked up the butter box.

“You said it needs to go to the kitchen, right?”

“Yes. No, wait. What?”

I was aghast to see the butter box suddenly in his hands.

Why is he holding that?

It made no sense for the eldest young lord of House Delgado to carry a maid’s load.

Moreover, I had clearly told Princess Ariana at the hunting competition that there was nothing between us.

‘This looks very suspicious!’

Sure enough, Princess Ariana was staring intently at us.

As if observing the relationship between us two.

“Give it to me!”

I tried to snatch the box back, but he lifted it high above his head using his long arms.

“It’s fine, so let’s hurry and move. It’s hot.”

“I know! It’s hot so quickly give it back to me. I’m already sweaty so it’s fine.”

“It’s hot for you so let’s go quickly.”

This is maddening.

Why is he suddenly saying things he never used to?

Dietrich was especially strange today.

Princess Ariana was slowly approaching us. In my urgency, I whispered quietly to him.

“Dietrich. Princess Ariana is coming. Stop this and give it back.”

“That’s why I’m doing this, so wait a bit.”

“What?”

“I’ll explain later, so I’d appreciate if you play along for now.”

He spoke softly in response to my words, then smiled warmly with gentle eyes.

I froze stiff at the warm smile I had never seen from Dietrich before.

But he went even further and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Lord Dietrich.”

And so the dreaded three-way encounter finally occurred.

My feelings on facing this unprecedented situation could be summed up as ‘It’s all over, so I wish everyone would just go away.’

Ariana’s clear face showed a mix of slight bewilderment and confusion.

I understood completely.

She had every right to be upset by Dietrich suddenly approaching a maid and pretending to be affectionate.

A young lord abandoning his escort of the Imperial Princess out of the blue?

‘I’ve overlooked until now that Dietrich isn’t a normal person, but obsessed only with swords.’

That means I never dreamed he would act this way even towards the princess.

Dietrich calmly nodded and replied.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I focused on what would be said next.

Princess Ariana didn’t seem to have a quick-tempered personality usually.

Like her pure appearance, she likely had never uttered a curse word in her life.

But even I could see that Dietrich’s actions just now were rude.

‘I wonder what she’ll say.’

I listened closely, expecting to hear words like ‘Lord, how rude of you! Abandoning me for a mere maid!’

However, what I heard was a kind exclamation full of laughter.

“You must be very close with Miss Heidi!”

Even Dietrich didn’t seem to have expected this reaction, as he slightly furrowed his brow.

“You know Heidi?”

As Dietrich showed interest in her words, Ariana brightened and clapped her hands lightly.

“Of course! We met and greeted each other at the hunting competition held at the Imperial Palace.”

Dietrich turned his head and raised one eyebrow as if asking if it was true.

I awkwardly nodded my head vigorously.

I just wanted to quickly return to the kitchen.

Whether aware of my feelings or not, Ariana turned towards me and continued speaking.

“Thanks to cheerful and bright Miss Heidi, I wasn’t bored and had a good time. I’m glad to see you again here.”

Her blue eyes looked straight at me. Feeling somehow guilty, I lowered my gaze to the floor.

It felt strange. There was no reason to feel guilty in front of Princess Ariana.

I still didn’t have any special relationship with Dietrich, and I hadn’t done anything bad to her.

So why did standing next to Dietrich make me feel so uncomfortable and self-conscious?

‘I really need to go back.’

There was no more time to stay here.

I snatched the butter box from Dietrich as he listened to Ariana’s words.

He looked down at his empty hands, suddenly robbed of the box.

“Um, Your Highness. Young lord. I’m very sorry to interrupt, but if I delay any longer the butter will melt completely and I’ll be scolded. I think I need to go now.”

“Just a moment, Hei-”

“Yes, of course.”

Dietrich seemed to want to say something, but Ariana was faster.

She looked back and forth between the heavy-looking box and me, then waved her hand as if telling me to hurry.

“Hurry and go! Don’t be late!”

Princess Ariana was kind until the end.

And on the way back to the kitchen.

As I pondered her kindness, I became endlessly depressed.