And I stayed put until the wind ceased, although a petal that had fallen from a flower bed grazed my face, causing me to frown briefly.

“What is it? Are you hurt?”

“No, Princess!”

This kid acts like he has irregular heartbeats or something. It’s annoying. As I smoothed down my tangled hair, I felt something odd and turned to look at Carlyle.

Rushing over to him, I shook him vigorously.

“It’ll be problematic if the would-be knight is so frail.”

“I apologize for causing concern.”

It’s not that he’s insane, but I deeply regretted holding high hopes for him as a talented individual.

If Carlyle turned out to be unreliable, my past judgment would be worthless, damaging my self-esteem.

“I hope you’re not overexerting yourself to pass the knight test. There’s still a year left. Don’t push too hard.”

I subtly sounded him out, concerned he was damaging his health.

Carlyle took my advice seriously, and I figured he wasn’t dumb enough to ignore it, so I changed the subject.

“Could you prepare some tea and cookies when we get to the reception room?”

“Yes, I will.”

To avoid the headache of later questioning Beris about his tardiness, I decided to wait in the reception room.

After that, I busily moved around, meeting with the children, touring bedrooms, and returned safely to Bowellian Castle.

Although I thought my responsibilities would diminish after visiting Fleuraga, the position of the heir to the throne was as busy as that of the emperor.

A sudden invitation from the Ariel Temple was the reason.

“I won’t go.”

During a tea time with Geoff, who I hadn’t seen for a while, my mood worsened upon receiving the invitation.

“Darling, being invited by the temple is very significant. It’s a great opportunity to get their support. Won’t you reconsider?”

I wanted to ask if he was out of his mind, but right now, I’m Geoff’s daughter.
Unable to suppress his irritation at not being the Emperor who frequently called for war, he couldn’t hide his uncomfortable expression. The revulsion was too strong.

“Temples in Randel are the ones you, the Emperor, destroyed. Even if I’m not a direct descendant of the Emperor, you can’t have invited me with good intentions.”

What if there was poison in the drink? I responded nervously, my lips pouting like a fish.

“The new high priest is a good person. Don’t worry.”

“Even so.”

Seems like they’ve forgotten how much they cursed me when I destroyed the temple.

Moreover, how long does human malice last! I was incredulous at how Jeff was talking nonsense.

“Daughter, can’t you go just once for your father?”

If I insist on not going here, that guy will annoy me again by crying.

“Fine. I’ll go.”

“Thank you, Darling. To make our daughter’s journey less boring, I’ll have Fleur invite the children.”

So be it.

Though I was already feeling tired, I made no other comment.

It would be boring on the long journey to the temple anyway, so I needed companions.

And a few days later,

“It’s an honor to accompany the princess.”

“Hmm.”

Going to another country was a first, so more royal knights accompanied me than usual. Attention had been paid to everything from the carriage to the attire, as they also represented the dignity of the nation.

“I’m so excited about going to the temple for the first time!”

“There might be huge paintings on the walls!”

The Fleur children, who had come along for the journey to Randel as planned, were highly excited. It seemed thrilling for them since they had lived only within the estate and had rarely ventured outside.

But today wasn’t just a fun trip, so I hoped they wouldn’t make too much noise. I quietly watched the chatter while eating some snacks.

“I read in the newspaper that there’s a massive whale painting in the temple! And the building is also really big!”

Really, is it that great?

I was being forcibly dragged along, and the kids laughing constantly was torture.

I can’t let out my frustration on the kids on such an important day, so I decided to keep eating snacks.

So, I fervently reached my hand into the basket and…

Peck!

“Ow!”

While my attention was elsewhere, Poppy, who had rushed over, pecked my hand with its beak.

“You want to get punished?”

“Cheep, cheep!”

Although there was no blood, it was fairly painful, so I vented my pent-up frustration at Poppy.

Then, even if it wasn’t intentional, Poppy couldn’t argue since it attacked me, and it nervously flapped its short wings.

As if to say, I may have done something wrong, but I never meant to hurt you.

“Poppy, you want more snacks? Don’t steal from the princess; come here.”

Meanwhile, realizing the situation, Beris immediately gestured for Poppy to come to him, and I promptly handed Poppy over to Ronowe, who was right in front of me.

“Eat a lot.”

“Cheep!”

Now that you’re out of my hands, you should feel relieved.

Afterwards, I sighed in relief as I watched Poppy happily nibbling on snacks from Ronowe’s lap.

“Oh, right!”

“What is it?”

Having quenched my thirst with a small bottle of water from the chair’s basket, Beris suddenly seemed to remember something.

“Princess, we also have a lot of snacks. How about we play rock-paper-scissors and the winner gets them all?”

You’ve got to be kidding me. I folded my arms as I looked at the enthusiastic Beris.

“You better not cry if you lose.”

“Of course! I’m all grown up now!”
What the heck are you up to, you little rascal? I remember everything you did when I visited the Fleur territory! I grumbled to myself about whether having a big head meant anything, but I played along.

“Rock, paper…”

“Scissors!”

I was the only one who threw scissors in the swiftly concluded game of rock-paper-scissors, and the rest all threw paper, making me the winner.

“Please leave one.”

Moments later, Beris didn’t make a fuss or get angry, perhaps because of what he’d said earlier, but he pleaded for a few snacks back, perhaps saddened by losing them all. I gave back just enough to keep the peace, as I didn’t like the noise.

The once noisy atmosphere subsided as time passed, and Ronowe and Beris sat apart, leaving a basket of snacks in the middle.

It was not sustainable to keep my eyes open for the long journey to Randel, and this would normally be the time for a nap after morning lessons.

Bang!

“!”

Even though I wasn’t sleepy, I felt tense, thinking someone should stay awake to handle anything that might happen. Then I felt a slight weight on my right shoulder and turned my head.

‘You must be very tired.’

I wasn’t surprised, as the only person who would lean on this shoulder was the princess.

Ssh[Dash]!

I felt sorry as I saw the princess drooling in her light sleep, snoring softly.

The days we could meet had become fewer since she became the heir to the throne. She was learning difficult subjects, and I wondered if it was because she wasn’t sleeping well at night.

So now, even if it was for a mere few tens of minutes, I wished she could rest comfortably, leaning on my shoulder. I smiled subtly.

The princess looked adorable, beautiful, and cool in any form. The more I looked, the more a mix of respect and various feelings naturally made me smile.

“Squawk…”

“?”

Could it be a problem that I looked at the princess so intently?

“Squawk! Squawk Squawk Squawk!”

Poppy was staring at me with a dissatisfied expression, furrowing her brow.