Noel rolled his eyes for a moment, contemplating something, then cautiously asked a question.

“So, what did Hugh Maclean do to you?”

“Huh?”

“That guy must have done something strange. That’s why the two of you went out of the tent that day, and even became partners.”

Noel began to look at Rieta with suspicious eyes.

“Did he do something wrong or say something strange to you?”

“Not at all.”

“Really?”

Even though she kept denying it, Noel didn’t seem to be relieved.

“No, why do you keep asking?”

“Well, I don’t like the Princess being with him.”

Uh…

Rieta opened her mouth slightly as she re-thought Noel’s words to her.

Did she just mishear that he was jealous for some reason?

It must be an illusion.

He used to say that Rieta only belonged to the Duchy.

Maybe he just wasn’t comfortable with her being close to other people.

Noel gently tugged on Rieta’s both wrists, perhaps feeling uneasy about the lengthy time Rieta spent thinking alone. Like wishing she could look at him now.

“Princess sometimes has a blindspot, so I’ll take this opportunity to tell you clearly.”

He took a deep breath for a moment, then spoke the rest in one go.

“It means I am jealous.”

“…?!”

Surprised, Rieta just stared at him with wide open eyes.

“Very jealous.”

After Noel had said that, he was silent for a while.

He seemed to be waiting for an answer, but Rieta couldn’t fathom what to say.

“Why, why…?

What she managed to say was a rather clumsy question.

Still, Noel didn’t laugh. Maybe that was the reaction he expected.

“That.”

He calmly took haste and began to stare at Rieta’s face for a moment. With a gaze mixed with longing, Rieta thought that he seemed to be a very different person all over again.

When emotions dwelled in those calm purple eyes, they seemed to change.

“… That.”

His repeated words carried a tension that hadn’t existed before.

Even the listener’s heart trembled. Noel’s grip on her hand tightened slightly.

“Of course, I…”

The story that started with difficulty stopped for a while.

And for some reason, Noel bit his lip. Like trying to force his words down

“…?”

Rieta couldn’t even urge him and just stared at his face.

After a while, he opened his mouth again.

“You see, Princess.”

It was a lighter tone now.

“Huh?”

“Tomorrow, no, it’s already today. Go out with me.”

Rieta slightly tilted her head at those unexpected words.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Because I have to go to the temple.”

“To the temple?”

“Yes.”

Rieta tried her best to understand what Noel was trying to say. It was to no avail.

“Why there?”

Noel must have been disappointed with Rieta’s answer. His brow narrowed slightly.

Rieta, who confirmed that, was about to apologize, but he grinned and nodded.

“Well, it feels like the Princess.”

“Like me?”

“Yes.”

He took one of Rieta’s hands and brushed his lips over her white hand for a moment.

Surprised by the tickling sensation, Rieta involuntarily took her hand back.

He simply let her go.

Rieta turned her gaze to the side, hiding her hands behind her back.

Her face was all flushed with embarrassment because his breath and lips had touched her just before.

“Don’t, don’t play with me.”

She said that for no reason, but in fact, she knew more than anyone else that Noel hadn’t done it with a mean heart.

It was just that she was so embarrassed…

“I wasn’t playing, but alright. I won’t.”

“…..”

“Are you going to keep looking away like that?”

“I’m… embarrassed.”

“You, what are you going to do later?”

He tucked Rieta’s flowing hair behind her ears and squeezed her cheek.

Following that touch, Rieta’s face naturally turned back to him.

“… Later?”

“Yes, after going to the temple.”

When he mentioned the temple again, Rieta just blinked her eyes.

She didn’t know why he would care.

“It’s okay if you don’t think too hard, Rieta.”

He still held Rieta’s face warmly.

“Because all I want is… for you to listen to me.”

“…”

“All you have to do is listen. Can you do that?”

Nodding her head slowly, he mouthed thank you with his lips.

Just at that moment, a light that was never there before began to come between them little by little.

Was it already morning? Thanks to the slightly brighter sky, Noel’s face could be seen more clearly than before. Even the image of Rieta in his eyes.

Because Rieta liked the fact that she alone took up his gaze, she smiled softly.

She was not sure, but somehow . . . She had a hunch that today was going to be a wonderful day.