As the chick, who seemed to have discovered something, ran away, the steward whispered words of comfort to Ludwig, who was looking at the retreating figure of the chick in disappointment.

“Raising a child is truly difficult, Your Highness.”

“Haaa……”

In the eyes they exchanged, there was only sympathy.

The faces reflected in each other’s eyes were quite pale.

The chick that brought down both the crown prince of this empire and the steward in just two hours was indeed formidable.

‘Wow! This building is very high!’

But Evelia had no way of knowing the look in the eyes of those left behind.

The palace, overflowing with all kinds of precious things, was extremely fascinating.

Evelia went into the observatory building, ran up, and stuck her head out.

The problem was, because she was short, she couldn’t stick her face over the railing, so she had to stick her head through the gaps in the railing.

The view of the garden from high up was magnificent, so after fully enjoying the view, she tried to pull her head out from the gap in the railing.

Squeak.

“……?”

Squeak.

Oh no.

“……I’m stuck!”

Her head is stuck! Stuck in the railing!

It went in fine when she stuck it in, but now it’s stuck and won’t come out.

Meanwhile, Ludwig and the steward, standing below the observatory, felt something was off as they looked up at Evelia, who was peeking her head through the railing.

Her face, which was wandering aimlessly, suddenly turned pale, and her head wouldn’t go back in.

Ludwig propped his forehead with his hand.

“Why is she doing that again?”

“It seems the princess has had another mishap.”

“…… It seems so. Just leave her.”

With a face like the grim reaper, Ludwig climbed up to the observatory, where Evelia was pleading with a teary face.

“I’m stuck……”

“I know.”

“The railing is very narrow.”

“Your face must be too big.”

In the end, it was only after Ludwig held the railing with both hands and pulled it apart that Evelia was able to pull her head out.

“Hehe. That was a surprise.”

“……”

The look on her childhood friend’s face was like he was looking at the most pathetic person in the world.

Feeling extremely embarrassed, Evelia tried to stride off towards her next destination, but was caught by the back of her neck.

“Let go!”

“We should probably feed you something to calm you down. Let’s eat, ground thief.”

Evelia, who was struggling, became as docile as a chick hit by a tranquilizer dart at the mention of the word ‘food’.

Her already bright seablue eyes were now gleaming with intense greed.

Food!!

‘Royal palace food!!’

Arranging lunch in a greenhouse rather than a garden, catering to the tastes of the little friend who liked flowers but not bugs, proved to be quite effective.

“I like this flower the best. It smells the same as Louis.”

“It’s a daffodil. I’ll get it for you when you go home.”

Evelia, fascinated by the scent of her favorite daffodil, sniffed around the greenhouse for a while.

“The meal will be served, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

As the meal slowly started from the appetizer, Evelia sat quietly in front of the dining table, her eyes twinkling as if she was enchanted.

“The food in the royal palace looks amazing.”

Ludwig thought that he should always have these dishes ready to use as bait whenever Evelia came to the palace to play.

“This is tuna! The tastiest fish among all!”

“You even know about tuna. Smart.”

“There’s nothing I don’t know!”

The tuna mariné that came out as an appetizer seemed a bit large for the little friend’s mouth, so Ludwig cut the mariné on his plate into smaller pieces and put them in front of Evelia.

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. Give me yours too. I’ll cut it for you.”

“Here.”

Everyone serving the meal couldn’t hide their surprised expressions.

It was strange to see the small master of the empire taking care of the princess so meticulously, but it was also unusual for the young princess to accept the crown prince’s favor so casually.

They exchanged surprised glances in secret, but when they caught the stern glance of the steward, they quickly hid their flustered looks.

“But why does Louis keep eating the food on my plate first?”

Evelia, who was quite sensitive about her share of the food, squinted her eyes and asked.

To make sure no one was living up to their name, the food thief had been picking at the food on her plate first. Evelia hadn’t even had a chance to touch it.

“Just in case… No, I’m a food thief. I’m just doing my job.”

The servants must have confirmed the presence or absence of poison, but who knew what could happen.

Having personally suffered the effects of poison, Ludvig did not want his little friend to have the same experience.

Evelia quickly caught on to her friend’s fumbled words.

“…Enough already. I don’t really like my food being stolen.”

She resented the palace that made her friend unable to enjoy a meal in peace.

She almost fell into a gloom, but knowing her friend would be more upset, Evelia forced a cheerful tone.