As I remained silent, Reus continued.

“The King of Levaen has invited us.”

“His Majesty the King?”

“Yes. Since we may need to stay longer than expected once we go, please pack the essentials in that bag.”

“Oh, alright…”

Although a bit surprised by the sudden news, my bewilderment quickly faded, replaced by a growing excitement.

‘Doesn’t going to the Levaen Kingdom require taking a ship?’

I looked at Reus with slightly expectant eyes.

“As long as we reach Filaren Port by afternoon, we won’t be too pressed for time.”

“…Are we taking a ship?”

It was an obvious question since the country was across the ocean. But I wanted clear confirmation. Reus soon nodded.

It would be my first time traveling to another country outside the Asilit Empire. Since we were officially invited and responding to the call, it was closer to work than a trip.

But regardless, I was thrilled.

“You can stay as long as you’d like.”

“Really?”

“I think it would be perfect if we stay for about two weeks.”

Huh…? But wouldn’t that leave the Grand Duchy unattended for too long?

Yet Reus looked quite… serious. Oh well, it must be my imagination. That man’s jokes are always so unrealistic.

Though worried, I tried to ignore the feeling.

* * *

In reality, the servants were the ones packing and moving the luggage, so all I had to put in the gifted bag were books and clothes that could handle being crumpled.

So I gave up on packing myself and decided to choose outfits for Levaen Kingdom and the upcoming cruise.

But as mentioned, only Millie could barely enter the dressing room on the bedroom floor where servants’ access was restricted.

Somehow, Millie seemed more excited than me.

“Shall I pack your usual outfits?”

“But Your Highness, there are so many pretty dresses here…”

“If it were a trip, I’d understand, but we’re going at the invitation of His Majesty.”

“Aren’t you going on a trip as well? His Highness said to pack as much as possible for about a month’s stay!”

“What…?”

I was already quite dumbfounded to learn that a week-long cruise was scheduled starting today.

‘If he said to pack for a month, does he really intend for us to stay in Levaen for two weeks?’

So that wasn’t a joke after all…? No wonder Reus looked so shameless.

“And the King won’t be on the cruise, right? You can freely wear pretty clothes for that week at least!”

At Millie’s repeated urging, I decided to properly choose the outfits again.

“How about this one? What do you think of this?”

“Hmm…”

I knew Levaen Kingdom was more open-minded and lively compared to the Asilit Empire.

But the clothes Millie recommended were all excessively flashy.

If the colors were modest, they were covered in jewels, and if I somewhat liked them, they had overly bold designs in hidden areas that I couldn’t dare attempt.

Then Millie held up a dress with a satisfied smile.

“What about this one? It’s in the subdued colors you like, Your Highness, and not too flashy! How is it?”

The dress was made of a light white fabric. As Millie said, it was a dress with blue flower patterns in low saturation acting as accents on a white background, so the design wasn’t too much.

No, it wasn’t just not too much. I liked it so much that I wondered why I hadn’t discovered this dress until now.

‘It’s pretty…’

But the problem was that I was hesitating because it was a design I had never worn before.

The dress had thin shoulder straps, fully exposing the chest, shoulders, and arms.

Moreover, from the chest to the hips, it was tailored to fit snugly, revealing the lines.

The skirt part did flare out slightly as it fell, ending below the knees, but overall, it was clearly the opposite style of what I usually wore.

It’s not like it revealed cleavage or was completely body-hugging, but still…

‘Even if it’s pretty, I don’t think it suits me.’

In fact, there was a time when I went to a clothing store with Roshan and Emily and fell in love with a dress of this design at first sight.

Although it was pocket change for a noble, it was a very burdensome amount for me, so I had made up my mind to buy it. But when I wore that dress, the reactions from those around me were very poor.

Even my father, who usually didn’t pay much attention to my clothes, showed an openly negative reaction.

[“That outfit… really doesn’t suit your image. It would be better to wear the docile dresses you usually do, Roel. Don’t you have that white dress you often wear?”

“…Yes, Father. I’ll do that from now on.”

“You’re not married yet, so wouldn’t it help to maintain your chaste image as much as possible? Regardless, all men want to marry a docile and obedient woman like you, but apart from that, they’re crazy about your pure image…”

“……”

“And as I always say, nothing is more important in your life than marriage. So if you want to catch men’s eyes and be chosen, you should wear clothes they like, not what you want to wear.”]

That’s what my father told me, but he didn’t make a fuss when Briella wore such clothes.

So I had thought about how unsuitable the dress must have been for me to prompt him to say that.

Of course, Casien had a similar reaction.

From the moment he first saw me in that outfit, his expression soured, and he eventually got a little angry, asking why I wore such clothes. Then he took me to the clothing store and told me to only wear the clothes he bought me from now on.

Briella mocked that cheap clothes suit me very well, and Feria also ridiculed my appearance.

I was so deeply hurt then that I never even tried a new style after that.

‘I guess this one isn’t for me after all.’

“The dress is pretty, but I don’t think it suits me.”

“What are you saying, Your Highness! No one could wear this dress better than you. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this dress was made for you. I’m sure His Highness will think you look like an angel when he sees you!”

“What? Millie, wait a second…”

“No, I guarantee that not only His Highness but everyone will think the same.”

Millie, completely out of her mind, babbled nonsense and subtly led me deeper into the dressing room.

“It won’t be too late to decide after trying it on. Come on, I’ll help you change!”

Then she quickly took off the dress I was wearing. By the time I came to my senses, I was already wearing the dress Millie was holding.

‘Hmm… The dress is really pretty.’

But as my father said, such clothes don’t really suit me.

My reflection in the mirror looked so awkward that I stiffened for no reason. Then I heard Millie mumbling something very quietly behind me.

“…An angel incarnate.”

“Huh? Millie, what did you just…”

“Look at this, Your Highness! How could you not have tried it on when it suits you this well?”

“Millie, didn’t you say something just now?”

“Yes! I said it suits you incredibly well!”

“So…? Isn’t it too awkward?”

“Not at all. It fits you unbelievably well. I’m telling you, this dress was definitely made just for you.”

Once again, lost in Millie’s barrage of compliments, I ended up leaving the dressing room without changing back into my original clothes.

* * *

Roel was a bit excited at the thought of taking a cruise for the first time in her life. But seeing the many people waiting for her, she was suddenly filled with regret.

‘I should have just changed back…’

She was especially terrified of how Reus would react. But they had to leave now to reach the port on time.

Having no choice, she resumed walking after a brief pause. But as Reus entered her sight, Roel’s heart began to race anxiously.

It had been quite a while since she felt this tense, and the excessive anxiety made her mouth go completely dry.

Perhaps because of that, Roel’s complexion was so dark that anyone would think she had been forced to wear the outfit.

At that moment, Reus casually turned his head and froze on the spot.

It was because he spotted Roel wearing a dress with a large white hat adorned with a blue ribbon.

Instantly, Reus felt as if he was trapped in a space where time flowed excessively slowly.

Until just a moment ago, the sounds of summer had been clearly audible. But now, all he could hear was the heavy pounding of his heart, loud enough to be noisy inside his body.

Reus was completely dazed, barely moving his eyes to follow Roel’s movements.

‘…Why is he reacting like that?’

Usually, Reus would reflexively reach out his hand if she got even a little closer. But today, he just stared at her intently without any movement.

Roel’s anxiety doubled at that, but everyone else there had the same thought.

‘His Highness has fallen for her.’

The servants loading the luggage a bit farther away.

‘He’s completely smitten.’

The knights waiting around the carriage.

‘It’s not like this is the first or second time His Highness has acted like this…’

Even Dewin, who was no longer surprised to see such a sight.

But Roel, still unnerved by Reus’s silence, began to ramble unnecessarily.

“The clothes are a bit strange, right? I feel quite awkward too. I just wore them out because I thought boarding time would be tight, but if my attire is really bad, I’ll quickly go change now.”

Unfortunately, Reus was still half out of his mind and didn’t hear a single word Roel said.