Eliza, who was completely fooled, grabbed my other hand and caught it between hers.

“Ah, look at this icecold thing. My lady, you should have told me right away instead of leaving it so cold!”

Eliza only made a fuss, even though my hand was the same normal body temperature as hers.

“That’s right, sister.”

Kirian, smiling slyly, quietly followed the line of the bandage wrapped around my hand and placed it on his knee.

“It must not hurt.”

(This is a time separator.)

As soon as we arrived at the Duke’s residence, the people who greeted us were not only the Duke and Duchess and their servants, but also two familiar faces.

“Hiss? Esmeralda?”

I looked back and forth between the two, unable to believe my eyes.

“Has your hand not healed yet?”

Hiss, who was concerned about my health first.

“I’m really looking forward to the holiday, Princess!”

Esmeralda, with excited eyes, looking past me at Kirian, greeted us warmly.

On the other hand, Kirian’s face, which had been holding a calm smile all the way on the carriage ride, stiffened at once.

“What are these…….?”

“We’ve arranged to spend the holidays together.”

The Duchess pointed to the two with a proud face.

“You must have been frolicking with your friends at the academy, but it might be boring to come back to a house filled only with old people, so I invited them.”

Kirian was seen tilting his head and touching his forehead.

Worried that the Duchess might be hurt by her only son’s reluctant reaction, I quickly nodded.

“Wow, that’s really nice! Thank you for the invitation.”

The Duchess, with tearful eyes, even hugged me.

“Let’s hug our daughter for the first time in a while.”

She hugged me with all her might and whispered in a tiny voice.

“It’s a secret from Kirian, but I carefully selected only your friends for the invitation. It would be no fun for our daughter to play with Kirian all vacation…….”

After releasing me, the Duchess muttered in a softer voice,

“I heard rumors that he trampled on a stranger’s handkerchief, and Kirian seems to be getting worse in character, so our Reina must not be tainted.”

I didn’t hear it very well, but Kirian seemed to have heard it, as the lines between his brows deepened.

Ignoring Kirian, the Duchess clapped her hands and smiled broadly.

“Shall we enjoy the welcome party and tea party that we’ve prepared?”

(This is a time separator.)

A variety of fine snacks were placed on the tea table set up in the garden, but the atmosphere flowing over the tea table was nothing but cold.

“Prince Hiss, isn’t this a busy time for you?”

Kirian asked nonchalantly, stirring his tea with a weary gesture.

“I have already finished my assignments.”

Hiss interrupted Kirian’s words stiffly but politely.

“Ah…….”

Kirian let out a small sigh, raising one eyebrow.

“The Crown Prince is about to be announced, so I thought you should be buttering up the King at the last minute.”

Hiss put down the tea cup he was drinking with a thin smile.

“Wouldn’t that be necessary?”
“Our father never gives in to flattery. By the way, you don’t know Prince Kirian well, do you?”

Sharp glances were exchanged between the two, and I swallowed my saliva nervously.

Clearly, the young His used to dismissively laugh off the quarrelsome Kirian with a hearty chuckle, but now they were both jumping into a mud fight together.

“What do you mean?”

Kirian spoke in an utterly calm manner, but the muscles near his eyes tightened slightly.

“Ah, it’s nothing important. Just that you were born holding everything in your hands.”

His picked up a scone nonchalantly and started to butter it.

“It meant that you have never struggled for anything.”

His smiled faintly, and I saw Kirian’s hand twitch.

“I’m truly envious.”

It was a mess. A mess. As I was inwardly horrified, a nicely toasted scone suddenly appeared under my nose. It was the scone His had just lovingly buttered.

“Reina, you like bread, don’t you?”

As I tried to catch it off guard, another scone slipped under my nose. This time, it was loaded with strawberry jam.

It looked tantalizing enough to spoil my appetite.

I must have sparkled my eyes unknowingly, as Kirian chuckled and leaned on his fist.

“Sister only spreads strawberry jam on her scones.”

Again, the sharp glance was directed at me. Before a bigger commotion arose, I quickly accepted both on my plate.

“Ahaha, thank you. I will eat well.”

I picked up a fork and stabbed it into the scone laden with strawberry jam. I cut off a piece with a knife, and the jam on top oozed down and soaked into the cut surface.

I popped it into my mouth, and the slightly dry but warm scone combined with the chilled jam to create a perfect combination.

For a moment, I was lost in ecstasy, almost missing Kirian and His’s reactions. A triumphant Kirian and a slightly bitter His.

I almost slapped my forehead, watching the childish duo.

“Wow. The butter must be really delicious too.”

I quickly dipped the buttered scone into my mouth as well, but it wasn’t as perfect a combination as the strawberry jam. Still, I gave a thumbs up.

“It’s delicious! Both are very delicious.”

At my tearful efforts, Kirian laughed and stopped stirring his tea.

Then Esmeralda quickly lifted the sugar pot and scooped a few cubes of sugar with a teaspoon.

“Would you like some sugar, Prince Kirian?”

“Ah, ah—.”

I tried to quickly stop Esmeralda, but it was already too late. Esmeralda’s teaspoon was already heading towards Kirian’s teacup.

Cling.