Riding in the carriage, Blake sighed as he looked at Eriel.

“Hah…”

Even with Blake’s sigh, Eriel did not ask about its meaning. Instead, she looked out the carriage window with a bright smile.

As if she didn’t understand why Blake was sighing on such a lovely day.

“Nuna.”

Blake called out to Eriel, wasting his own breath. His voice was mixed with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nuna, your brother-in-law…”

It was just as he said those words.

Eriel, who had been acting completely uninterested in Blake’s story, turned her head away from the scenery outside the window.

Eriel’s brown hair fluttered in the wind, but her green eyes remained beautifully closed.

It was a smile that Eriel had trained and trained again.

Even when Eriel actually smiled like that, others couldn’t tell the difference, but Blake, who had watched his sister from a young age, could tell Eriel’s smile to some extent.

“I know.”

Eriel’s answer came back, even though he had only uttered the word brother-in-law.

Blake closed his eyes tightly to hear Eriel’s answer that would follow.

At times like this, it was better not to look at Eriel’s face. Only Eriel’s voice echoed in Blake’s ears.

“I answered him. I believe he will resolve everything. Because I fully empathize with his heart that doesn’t want me and Lucy to be in danger.”

“Is that also your choice, Nuna?”

“Of course. I believe Damian will handle this well.”

The end of Eriel’s voice trembled.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. It wasn’t a voice trying to pass it off to Blake with a lie. She was just anxious.

Since your brother-in-law injured his leg in the process, of course you must be worried…

“Hah…”

Blake sighed and took off the bowler hat on his head. And he ruffled his well-groomed hair.

When he opened his eyes, Eriel was already looking out the window and smiling again.

There was no trace of her trembling voice, no trace of the conversation just now.

Blake tore off his mustache that had been waxed and threw away his bowler hat, contemplating for a moment whether to just take his sister and disappear like this.

Blake, who slowly closed and opened his eyes, leaned his head against the carriage with a thud.

“…I will respect your choice, Nuna.”

But Blake’s answer was set.

Not doing it if Eriel doesn’t allow it. It was like a rule that he had promised with his sister since they were very young.

Slowly looking at the ceiling of the carriage, Blake rolled his eyes.

Contrary to his answer, Blake’s green eyes rolling on the ceiling turned murky.

Let’s say that’s the case for you, but what about him…

However, Blake soon frowned as if he didn’t like it.

The fact that Bruno died, and the fact that he used that death to make the situation favorable, was actually nothing to Blake.

It’s just that he knows Eriel’s shock later when she finds out is different from his own.

But if you don’t think about your sister’s shock, the work itself was well resolved.

There was no room for public criticism to point at Damian since he was injured while trying to save Bruno, and in the end, Bruno became the lion of the Eastern Continent, so there was no room for other rumors to circulate.

Looking at it differently, it was a move that was absolutely impossible to escape from.

“Blake?”

Eriel’s voice rang out.

Blake, who had put the bowler hat back on his head, nodded and got out of the carriage.

Outside the carriage, Blake extended his arm to escort Eriel.

Holding his sister’s hand and walking together on the red carpet of the palace, Blake decided to wait a little longer for now.

As for Damian who tried to stop it after receiving Eriel’s letter… well, actually, it was just a prank level.

I should think of it as a little affection from a brother-in-law who wants to get close to his brother-in-law.

*

Facing the entrance to the banquet hall, Eden nervously held Lucy’s hand.

It was an entrance they made every time, but perhaps because he was holding Lucy’s hand, the tension doubled today.

Eden was worried that his own hand would keep getting damp.

He thought about taking his hand out and wiping it, but he kept holding Lucy’s hand.

In fact, he didn’t want to let go of Lucy’s hand that he was holding even for a moment.

“Your Highness.”

It was then, as they were waiting for their turn to enter beyond the door. Lucy’s voice broke the silence.

“Yes. Miss Lucy.”

Lucy, who slowly raised her head towards Eden, blinked her eyes.

“I like Your Highness very much.”

At Lucy’s sudden confession, Eden’s heart sank with a thud.

His breathing, which had been resting well until just now, became rough.

Eden, who swallowed his saliva for no reason, nodded his head while meeting Lucy’s green eyes.

“I like Miss Lucy very much too. No, I like Miss Lucy even more.”

Eden tightly grasped Lucy’s small hand he was holding.

Lucy nodded her head and smiled brightly at Eden.

Seeing Lucy’s unhesitating nod, Eden looked at her. Even though he had received a confession, his heart somehow ached at the smile that followed.

It wasn’t a pleasant ache. It was a smile that made Eden anxious.

“But I have something more important than Your Highness. Your Highness… you see.”

Moisture welled up on Lucy’s green eyes as she slowly closed and opened them.

“I really love my mother. I can’t exchange her for anything in this world. Even if it’s Your Highness, you’re not more precious than my mother.”

It meant that if Lucy were to rank her heart, that’s how it would be.

Although it was a sudden story, Eden tried to accept it calmly.

“Is it the same for Your Highness?”

Lucy tilted her head towards Eden as if she was curious.

“I…”

Eden took a deep breath as he stared intently into Lucy’s green eyes.

“I don’t know. Even when Miss Lucy is in front of me, even when she’s not, she’s in my mind, but my mother isn’t like that. But my mother is also a very precious person to me.”

At Eden’s answer, Lucy burst into a bright laugh.

“Am I always on Your Highness’s mind?”

Following Lucy’s soft voice, Eden’s heart pounded.

It was more embarrassing to say that Lucy had never left his mind than to directly say that he liked her.

But Eden nodded.

“Yes. Always. Miss Lucy is always on my mind.”

“It’s an honor.”

Lucy answered with a beaming smile.

“…But Your Highness. My mother is more important to me.”

Eden slowly blinked his eyes.

He was puzzled as to why Lucy suddenly said this. But Eden nodded for now.

He wasn’t sure, but it seemed like there must be a reason why Lucy was saying this.

In fact, more than that, Lucy’s eyes as she mentioned her mother looked very sad.

The fact that to Lucy, her mother was so important that she couldn’t exchange her for anything in the world. Why did she have such a hard and painful look in her eyes while saying that?

“Yes, I understand. I won’t forget.”

Eden nodded again at Lucy’s words. Lucy stared at Eden for a moment with a sad smile, then quickly erased that sadness.

Eden was startled by the emotion disappearing from her face in an instant.

It seemed that Miss Lucy had no difficulty erasing her own expression from her face.

“Miss Lucy…”

When Eden called Lucy, she smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.

“I hope Your Highness will be the happiest in the world today.”

Erasing her expression… it means that she doesn’t want to reveal her feelings about it to the other person that much.

Eden, who had often done the same, smiled in agreement with Lucy’s changed expression.

“…Just entering like this with Miss Lucy will make me the happiest person among those attending the banquet today.”

That’s when it happened. The attendant’s voice rang out.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, it is your turn to enter.”

The huge door slowly opened.

From the middle entrance where they could see the entire hall at a glance, Lucy and Eden took a step together.

Strength was put into Eden’s grip.

*

Eriel smiled brightly as she watched Lucy coming down with Eden in the center of the hall.

The clothes were a bit of a concern, but what did it matter.

…But.

“What’s with the state of Lucy’s clothes.”

Blake clicked his tongue as he saw her appearance.

“It, it looks strong and nice.”

“She does look like a single black bird. She looks the strongest among the people here in the banquet hall. It’s an outfit that looks like it could strike everyone down with the beak of a black bird.”

Eriel bit her lip and turned her gaze back to Lucy.

Eden was wearing a white uniform and looked so warm, so it contrasted with Lucy’s outfit today.

“There must be a court painter residing in the palace. It’s an outfit to bring along. It will be an unforgettable dress.”

Eriel looked up at Blake, who was leaking laughter, and then quickly turned her head to look at Lucy.

“Well. Our Lucy is just pretty.”

“She is pretty. Very.”

It was definitely sarcasm.

“…Forget it. You wouldn’t know Lucy’s sense of style anyway. These days, women who look strong are in vogue.”

“Really? It’s the first time I’m hearing that.”

Blake giggled and turned his steps slightly.

“Nuna, stay in the banquet hall. I’ll go bring the painter.”

“Bring the painter?”

Eriel grabbed Blake’s wrist as he was about to leave, then let go.

“…Okay, go and come back. We should capture it in a painting today.”

This will be a memory too.