unedited

Hugh McLean escorted Rieta out safely.

As Rieta passed the gates of the Academy, she swore an oath in her heart.

Never again, really never again.

She would not do such a bad thing and live a good life.

“Prrrr, Prrii, Prii!”

The coachman, who had spotted her Rieta from afar, called her with an almost fainting face.

Of course, he couldn’t call her Princess out loud, so it became a somewhat strange title.

“Where have you been?! Do you know how surprised I was?”

“Sorry.”

Rieta apologized for getting out of her carriage without saying anything to him.

Seeing that his whole body was drenched in sweat, he must have been running all over the place in search of Rieta.

“You don’t know how anxious I was when I thought that the Pri . . . had even gone inside.”

“Ahaha.”

Rieta laughed awkwardly. Because his prediction was actually correct.

“I apologize too, I was with her for a while.”

Hugh McLean interrupted their conversation.

“I see. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“You were safe, right?”

When he asked with a smile, Rieta awkwardly nodded her head.

“Yes.”

Except for the one time she had to hide in a cabinet.

“Then I will go back to the carriage. Please let me know whenever you want to leave.”

“Thank you.”

The coachman went back, and Rieta immediately let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank god. I didn’t get caught . . .”

“Yes, the fewer people you share a secret with, the better.”

“Hey, McLean.”

“Yes, Princess.”

Before he knew it, he called Rieta as usual.

“I am not asking as the Princess, but as Rieta.”

“Please speak.”

Rieta hesitated a little embarrassed before she finally brought up her story.

“Are you going to protect me?”

The sentence has many things omitted, but it was no big problem for McLean to understand.

It must have been to ask whether Rieta’s intrusion into the academy would be kept a secret forever.

The reason why she couldn’t ask as a Princess was probably because she was aware that such a request from a member of the royal family of a country would be . . .

Anyway, it wouldn’t be right.

“Yes.”

He clasped his hand near his heart and bent his back.

“I will protect you for the rest of my life. With my honor.”

His attitude was so serious that Rieta felt a little sorry. Because she did not expect to receive a proper oath this far.

“Thank you. And I am sorry.”

“I did it because I wanted to, so you don’t have to take it to heart. It was actually pretty fun.”

“I’m not one to say, but it’s not good to have fun with this kind of thing. Understand?”

“No, it wasn’t this ‘event’ that made me happy . . .”

“It’s not?”

He paused for a moment, and Rieta asked so he could hasten the rest of his words.

But he only shook his head slightly and smiled prettily.

“No. As ordered, I will try not to have fun.”

Rieta was a bit concerned about what he hadn’t said, but decided not to ask again.

She said goodbye to Hugh McLean and returned to the carriage.

* * *

After Rieta returned home, her free time went on.

As Rieta lay on the bed, she enjoyed a quiet respite.

But her body was the only thing resting, and her head was running complicatedly.

Because of Everett’s story.

“Yes, actually, she left at an unexpected moment. I was unprepared. Of course, I couldn’t prepare for that.”

When she heard his story in the cabinet, Rieta remembered her pain when she left the Kingdom of Liz.

Although, she forgot about it for a while as she went outside after that.

After such a leisurely time, this story occupied her head again.

Especially when he said he had to say goodbye in an ‘unprepared state’. . . It was a little . . .

Of course, there’s no way to prepare for a separation, but . . .

Still, there was a difference between knowing in advance that one would separate and not having a clue.

Even if it didn’t do a thing for relieving pain.

Rieta knew she would leave this lovely Duchy.

That’s probably why she’s been trying to dig into the Duke’s heart lately.

Before she left, she wanted to feel that kind heart a little deeper . . .

As a result, the relationship between Rieta and the Duke had definitely grown closer in recent years.

She couldn’t help but notice that there was affection behind every action.

And after two seasons, when I leave . . .

Rieta tried to guess how he would be feeling.

“Uhhh.”

Then she had to admit that she was doing something very bad.

To Darrel too, of course.

I have to . . . tell them. Honestly.

Come to think of it, even if there was no affection between the Duke and Rieta, she should have talked about it a long time ago.

He was Rieta’s guardian, so he should know when she’ll be completely independent.

I’ll tell him right away when the Duke returns from the academy today.

Even as she made that decision, for some reason, Rieta let out a huge sigh.