“What?”

“Whether when I saw you at Count Reichenau’s mansion, or when you were following Charlotte around like a maid.”

“…”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you talk much.”

“I, well…”

Adel dropped her gaze to the floor with a troubled expression. What on earth should she answer? Just that she was uncomfortable in that situation? Or that her father didn’t really like her talking? Either way, it was too much of a family disgrace to speak honestly about.

But she lacked the eloquence to smoothly deflect the question.

Moreover, her tongue seemed to have turned to stone from nervousness, refusing to move as she wished.

Mikhail laughed out loud at Adel’s appearance, instantly on guard like an animal.

“No need to be so wary. I just naturally noticed since you were always by Charlotte’s side.”

“…”

“You look like you don’t believe me.”

Well, no woman would take such a gaze at face value. Adel slightly wrinkled her nose.

Just as she was thinking she wanted to escape this uncomfortable topic as soon as possible,

A rumbling sound breaking the silence in the carriage came from her thin stomach.

“Oh my. Sounds like you’re hungry.”

“That’s not…”

“It certainly is.”

There was a faint trace of laughter in the Crown Prince’s voice. Adel squeezed her eyes shut and bit the inside of her cheek.

It was a mistake, if anything, to skip lunch for fear of getting motion sickness.

As Adel’s cheeks turned almost the same color as the red dress she was wearing, the Crown Prince pulled out a small package from inside his clothes.

Inside the oiled paper package were several large plums stewed in honey.

Mikhail narrowed his eyes and held it out to her.

“The chamberlain was oddly insistent on preparing this. Seems it was a good thing I brought it. Have some.”

“I’m… fine. How could I dare to touch Your Highness’s food?”

“It bothers and discomforts me to have you going hungry the whole way. I’m not okay with it, so please take one.”

She couldn’t just ignore such insistence.

She carefully picked up a sticky plum and took a small bite of the end. He smiled as if finding her adorable.

“There’s probably no poison, so please eat with peace of mind.”

“…”

Hearing those words made her lose her appetite instead.

Adel ended up having to push the entire plum into her mouth under Mikhail’s stern gaze.

Except for the lingering unease, the chewy texture and sweet taste of the plum was quite delicious.

As Adel carefully wiped her honey-coated fingers on her handkerchief, the Crown Prince who had been quietly watching her twisted one corner of his mouth.

“There’s an issue I’d like to borrow your wisdom on.”

“…What kind of issue?”

“No need to be so tense. It’s a simple matter. Also quite an old story.”

“An old story?”

“Well. About a thousand years ago, perhaps?”

“Please tell me. If my opinion can be of help to Your Highness, I’ll assist.”

Adel nodded tensely, and Mikhail’s expression turned serious.

“A pearl has fallen onto a muddy ground. Bending down to pick it up seems too lowly, but leaving it there catches the eye with its sparkling. Looking closer, it even seems like it might be a gem rather than a pearl.”

It was a puzzling story. It sounded like a metaphor about people, but also like a straightforward tale about objects.

Or perhaps it was a question about the current imperial succession issue…

“So as I’m watching it, a beggar comes and picks it up. Even with poor eyes, he recognized its value. So who does that pearl belong to? The one who first discovered it? Or the lowly beggar who recognized its worth?”

She answered without much thought.

“In that case, wouldn’t it belong to the one who first dropped the pearl?”

“Let’s say that person is dead.”

“Then in my opinion, it seems to belong to the one who recognized its value and picked it up.”

A smile spread across Mikhail’s face as if painted on. Yet Adel got the impression that the smile was somehow slightly twisted.

The impression that Mikhail didn’t like her answer at all.

The Crown Prince’s voice, which had always been so proper, sank coldly.

“I see. That’s not the right answer. No, it’s wrong.”

“…”

“I think it belongs to the one who first recognized it. It was his possession from the moment of discovery, but someone stole it while he briefly looked away.”

“…”

“Someone who has a good eye for shiny things like a crow, without even knowing its true value.”

Well. It was an opinion difficult to readily agree with. However, the sense of deprivation the Crown Prince was feeling came across vividly.

As if it wasn’t a story passed down from a thousand years ago, but something that happened yesterday, his indignation too.

Adel muttered, somewhat perplexed.

“If that’s how Your Highness thinks, then I suppose that’s how it is.”

“Yes. That’s what I’ve decided to think.”

“…”

“So, everything must be returned to its rightful place.”

Adel couldn’t say anything more and just fidgeted with her fingers on her lap.

She knew it wasn’t a good habit, but it was one that popped up whenever she was in trouble.

Each of the Crown Prince’s words was like a riddle, and the meaning contained in them didn’t seem very positive no matter how she thought about it.

In this situation, adding any words would only increase the chance of saying something wrong.

“…”

Fortunately, the awkward silence didn’t last long.

“Ah. We’ve arrived at the main square of Pragma.”

When Mikhail said that, Adel almost let out a sigh of relief.

As he said, the carriage was entering the city streets of Pragma.

The carriage finally came to a complete stop in the center of the round plaza at the end of the long avenue.

Adel got out of the carriage with the support of Lord Donovan and Margaret.

As soon as she set foot on solid ground, Adel turned around and gave the proper courtesy to the Crown Prince.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s generosity.”

Still seated in the carriage, the Crown Prince looked down at her with unfathomable eyes, his chin slightly raised haughtily.

Every time she met those eyes, Adel felt like a mouse in front of a snake.

Eventually, he slowly opened his mouth.

“And on the way back? How do you plan to return without a carriage?”

“I intend to hire a cab in time to not be late.”

A faint smile crept onto the expressionless face that had been staring at Adel.

“As always. You never just let things slide.”

Mikhail burst into chuckling laughter as if amused, but his eyes still shone coldly.

Finally stopping his laughter, he nodded leisurely.

“Alright then.”

With a brief order to depart, the Crown Prince and the knights left, raising a cloud of dust.

A small festival was being held in the main square of Pragma to commemorate the victory.

The streets were lined with stalls draped in colorful tents and flags fluttering, and the sound of lutes and flutes could be heard everywhere.

There were food stalls with steam rising, and makeshift taverns using old oak barrels as tables, selling low-quality beer.

“Where on earth are you trying to go, coming out so recklessly like this?”

Donovan grumbled, sticking close to Adel’s side as if wary of the crowds surging around them.

He kept looking around, seemingly on guard against pickpockets.

No matter how much the Emperor was staying in Pragma, when this many people gathered, pickpockets were bound to be swarming.

Adel looked at Donovan’s face dejectedly.

“Do you think I was reckless?”

“Well… There have been all sorts of rumors about Your Grace lately, about fraud and whatnot.”

“…”

“You should know that there are people just waiting for Your Grace to make a misstep, their eyes red trying to find any excuse. If rumors start circulating that you rode alone in the Crown Prince’s carriage at a time like this…”

Donovan shuddered as if the mere thought was insufferable.

“Whether you like it or not, it’ll be hard to avoid becoming the subject of gossip. Especially with how malicious the rumors about Your Grace have been.”

Donovan’s voice sounded cold at first glance, but there was no hostility or displeasure towards her on his face.

If anything, it seemed rather friendly. Adel hesitated a bit before asking.

“Are you not bothered by those rumors?”

“Which ones? The ones saying our Duke was tricked into marriage?”

At this response, which could have been either joking or rude, Margaret poked Donovan in the side and gave him a look. But Donovan continued nonchalantly, pretending not to notice.

“What’s the use anyway? The Duke cares for Your Grace so much. These days, even if it cost three or four times as much, he would gladly, quite voluntarily, fall for the scam.”

Adel looked at Donovan with a bewildered expression. She had thought the change in attitude of the knights and servants was all thanks to Valentin, but she didn’t know they were thinking specifically like this.

“Then it’s not a scam to begin with.”

Margaret beside her was also nodding seriously, which was… Somehow it was hard to hold back laughter.

“Anyway, please don’t go anywhere alone, no matter where you go. And always be aware that you could be in danger at any time.”

“I understand. Thank you for your concern.”

As Adel nodded readily, Donovan scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed look.

“So what exactly do you plan to do today?”