Arthur pulled up a chair and sat down close in front of Reina.

Their knees almost overlapping, Reina looked at him awkwardly tense.

Arthur took her hands covering her face and pulled them down.

“…”

Reina’s face, with its ill-fitting makeup, was fully revealed before Arthur.

Arthur silently gazed at her face.

Reina’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“…”

Reina thought Arthur would soon tease her with a short joke or laugh.

But Arthur remained silent, cupping her cheeks with both hands, lightly tracing over her made-up eyelids with his right thumb.

“…Should I wipe it off?”

“Pardon?”

“All of it?”

Arthur’s gaze lowered slightly, then returned to meet her eyes.

“You don’t like it, do you?”

“…”

Reina blinked.

It must look ridiculous.

Arthur didn’t laugh at all.

Reina hesitated, unfamiliar with his serious expression that didn’t fit the situation.

“…Doesn’t it look strange? My face…”

Arthur smiled slightly as if her words, not her face, were amusing.

“Not really.”

Then he gently rubbed her eyelids with his thumb.

“It’s a bit more sparkly than usual.”

And lowering his hand, he lightly touched her lips.

“A bit more red than usual.”

Arthur smiled, looking at Reina and resting his hands on his knees.

“But still pretty.”

“…”

…What’s pretty about it.

Though knowing it was an obvious lie, her face still flushed.

Reina looked at him, feeling flustered and ticklish.

“…Sir Arthur, I didn’t know you could give such lip service.”

Arthur chuckled.

“I don’t really need lip service skills to compliment your looks.”

He said it so casually that for a moment she wondered if he really meant it.

Reina dazedly looked in the mirror again.

“…”

It was awful.

Feeling a bit wronged at the thought of being mocked, Reina looked at Arthur with reproachful eyes.

“…You’re a liar. Or you have no eye for beauty.”

Arthur laughed briefly and looked at her again with humor in his eyes.

“Maybe so.”

“…”

Arthur picked up a clean white cloth from the dressing table and dampened it with toner.

Then he came closer and started wiping Reina’s face.

“…”

It felt awkward and embarrassing to be tended to like this by a man.

“…I can do it myself.”

Reina tried to quietly pull away.

“No.”

Arthur leaned in closer, as if trying to be more careful.

“I’ll do it for you.”

“…”

His other hand cradled the nape of her neck supportively.

Arthur focused intently as he moved the damp cloth over her face.

His ash-gray eyes moved quietly over Reina’s face.

“…”

He’s too close…

This is… more embarrassing than I thought.

She wanted to close her eyes.

But that might look like… she was asking for a kiss.

She couldn’t close her eyes.

“…”

It was the first time showing her bare face in front of him.

Reina rarely removed her makeup even when sleeping.

For Reina, putting on a dress and makeup was like putting on another layer of her “Christina” mask.

Perhaps because of that, revealing a completely unmade-up face to him felt strange.

As he wiped her face, Arthur looked into her eyes and said,

“Close your eyes.”

“…”

Hand position. Distance.

It felt too much like the moment just before a kiss.

Reina hesitated, not knowing what to do, and finally gave a small refusal.

“…Can’t I do it myself? This is… embarrassing and awkward.”

“I like it though.”

Arthur smiled.

“Don’t you think we lack these kinds of moments?”

He spoke too much like a real husband.

Like a kind and good husband.

It felt strange.

Trying to shake off her increasingly odd feelings, Reina asked, pretending to look away,

“…What kind of moments are these?”

Moments of pretending to be in love?

Arthur answered.

“Moments spent just the two of us.”

“I want to be alone with you!”

“…”

One of the embarrassing memories she had with him came to mind.

Her face flushed hot.

Reina lowered her gaze reproachfully with a reddened face.

“…You’re teasing me now, aren’t you.”

Arthur laughed.

Reina hesitated before quietly changing the subject.

“What about His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“…Kyle? Why?”

Reina hesitated for a moment before mumbling softly.

“I was wondering if I should… do my makeup again… Do we have to see him again today?”

Though she tried not to show it, her reluctance to see him was evident.

Arthur smiled as he continued wiping off her makeup.

“You don’t have to.”

Reina’s face finally showed relief at his words.

Unconsciously letting out a shallow sigh.

Smiling with relief, she awkwardly pressed her nape.

Belatedly, she glanced at him and said in a small voice,

“Yesterday… His Highness the Crown Prince wasn’t upset, was he?”

Arthur folded the cloth to a clean side as he spoke.

“It’s fine. Just worry about me.”

Reina couldn’t help but smile a little.

Was he joking that she didn’t need to be tense because of the Crown Prince?

Arthur wiped her face again with the cloth as he said,

“If you can’t drink, you should have said so. Is that why you collapsed at dawn on the day of the victory parade?”

“…”

Reina fidgeted with her fingertips, unable to answer and feeling embarrassed.

The young lady can drink well…

I’m not sure if I should say I can’t drink.

Reina made an excuse quietly.

“I usually drink well…”

Their eyes met.

Ah, why is this so embarrassing.

Reina avoided his gaze again.

“I just… was in a good mood… I think I got drunk faster than usual.”

Arthur chuckled.

“Is that so?”

It was a smile that eased the atmosphere.

Arthur asked with a gentle smile, continuing what he was doing.

“Is there anything else I should know? About you.”

He asked again like a good husband.

[This is the timeline separator]

In front of the additional guest house assigned to Rembrandt.

The Crown Prince, ready to depart, stood before the knights of the royal guard.

Several carriages without family crests, prepared to conceal their identities, were waiting for the Crown Prince and the royal guard knights.

Rembrandt and Francis modestly saw him off, shaking hands with the Crown Prince.

Rembrandt asked with a smile.

“Are you mentally prepared now?”

The Crown Prince scratched his nose bridge sheepishly as he smiled.

“…I was planning to stay just one day from the start.”

Behind them, the head of the royal guard, Sir Fairman, stood silently at his post without commenting.

“What about Sir Arthur?”

“I’ve said goodbye to him. We’ll meet in the capital.”

The Crown Prince shrugged lightly, seeming to be in a better mood after a night’s rest.

He appeared more relaxed after a day of rest.

Following Rembrandt, Francis also shook hands with the Crown Prince and exchanged a brief hug.

“Take care on your journey.”

The Crown Prince patted Francis’s arm and smiled.

“Sure. See you again at the palace.”

The Crown Prince asked Rembrandt.

“When are you coming back?”

Rembrandt smiled.

“Well, when the portrait is finished?”

The Crown Prince frowned slightly, seeming a bit displeased.

“Do you really have to do that? I heard you haven’t even started the portrait schedule. From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem like the Marquis is in the right state of mind to paint right now.”

That was true.

Rembrandt answered with a smile.

“Still, it’s a request I received from His Majesty.”

“That’s a shame. If you came along, we could have talked more while traveling together.”

Rembrandt also didn’t hide his genuine regret as he smiled.

“Indeed.”

“Hmm.”

The Crown Prince looked at him and nodded to the side.

“Want to come with me at least to the outer city? I’ll have one carriage emptied for you to ride back. We didn’t get to have a proper conversation yesterday since our meeting was too short.”

“Um… Would that be alright?”

The head of the royal guard nodded at the glances from Rembrandt and Kyle.

As long as Crown Prince Kyle didn’t try to run away again, he had no intention of interfering with the prince talking to his brothers, be they cousins or half-brothers.

“I should say goodbye here.”

Francis said he would remain at the mansion, bidding farewell to the Crown Prince first.

He was tactfully making room for the two cousins to talk comfortably.

The Crown Prince, who liked people, was disappointed despite knowing his consideration.

“That’s too bad. We’ll see each other again soon, right?”

“Of course. I’ll see you again soon. Take care.”

“Alright. Francis, you take care too. Give my regards to Earl Ford as well.”

“Yes. I’ll visit him as soon as I get back.”

“Good. I’ll be waiting.”

The Crown Prince finished his greetings and got into the carriage.

Rembrandt also boarded the same carriage.

In the carriage in front, next to the coachman’s seat, the head of the royal guard took his place.

The remaining royal guard members also boarded other carriages in turn.

This was to avoid drawing attention by moving in a large group.

They planned to ride the carriages to the garrison where the Crown Prince’s army was waiting, and then send the carriages back separately through someone.

“It’s fortunate we have so many carriages. Did they give you five private carriages? It seems the Marquis’s household is quite generous with guest accommodations.”

As the Crown Prince sat down across from him, lightly marveling, Rembrandt smiled faintly.

It seems the Marquis had noticed the Crown Prince was here.

All the carriages were suddenly prepared by the Marquis, saying “Please use them comfortably.”

But Rembrandt didn’t say a single good word about the Marquis to the Crown Prince.

He just planned to use them comfortably, as the Marquis had said.

The Crown Prince clicked his tongue lightly and complained.

“They should do this for people out fighting in the war too.”

Rembrandt laughed.

Tuk tuk. He tapped the carriage ceiling twice.

The coachman pulled the reins and the carriages set off.

The carriages soon left the mansion.

[This is the timeline separator]

The carriages rolled along the well-maintained road.

The sound of hooves and carriage wheels blended with the bustling noise of the street.

Trees adorned in autumn colors passed by the window where the afternoon sunlight streamed in.

“How is Mother?”

The Crown Prince brought up Empress Maria first.