Chapter 96

“When you were young, you practiced every day, so you must have done well. But have you ever embroidered after that?”

“Unfortunately, today is the first time.”

“I can’t even . . .”

The Princess attached a new piece of cloth onto the frame.

After she threaded a blue thread through the needle, she skillfully began to engrave pretty letters.

The content was to make fun of Darrel.

“As expected, Princess.”

Nevertheless, Darrel admired her skills with a kind smile.

“It’s really hard work. Have you been practicing since then?”

“Yes, I asked Countess McLean to be my teacher. Madam is a great educator.”

“Amazing.”

“I don’t want to hear compliments from you. Why didn’t you go hunting? Doing so much better than me   . . . Oh, Princess?!”

Gabriella immediately called for Rieta with a startled expression on her face.

Surprisingly, even in the midst of this chaos, Rieta was diligently looking up her dictionary and researching words she didn’t know.

That was a very commendable attitude, but there was one problem.

It’s that the sentence she was searching in her dictionary read Darrel Mayer is an idiot.

There’s no way she doesn’t know Darrel Mayer is an so the word she was looking for was highly likely to be . . .

Idiot!

My God, Gabriella the Princess, teaching the neighboring Princess the word idiot!

What an idiot thing to do!

“Prin, Princess! You can’t find a word like that. That’s a very bad word. A good child should never use a word!”

When she cried out in haste, Rieta stopped her hand from looking up the dictionary.

“A very bad word?”

“You should never use it on anyone else.”

Of course, when she said this, Gabriella was somewhat embarrassed.

Because she said something so bad to her beloved cousin brother, and had even embroidered it.

“A bad word you should never say?”

“Yes. So that means . . .”

“Like the words ‘dimwit’ or ‘fool’?”

The Princess was at a loss for words for a moment at the ‘bad words’ that came out of Rieta’s mouth.

“Hey, cousin brother.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“What kind of education is the Duchy giving to the young Princess from a foreign country?”

“Don’t worry. I haven’t taught her to say ‘idiot’ yet.”

“Idiom?”

But when Rieta followed the pronunciation, Darrel smiled in embarrassment.

“Well, it looks like she’s learned it now. Haha.”

You just taught her!

The Princess had to press down her desire to stick the needle back into his finger.

* * *

After the atmosphere had calmed down a bit, Rieta was able to hear a small explanation about Darrel’s relationship with the Princess.

(It was a story not mentioned in the original novel, so it was the first time Rieta had heard of it.)

The two explained that, before they were ten years old, they had taken classes together at the Imperial Palace.

“At that time, the Princess called me ‘brother’. Even now, she does it when I’m embarrassed.”

“Darrel called me Farrell.”

“Farrell?”

“It’s my name. Gabriela Farrell Mechidia.”

“It’s funny because the pronunciation is somewhat similar. Darrel, Farrell.”

“That’s what the Duchess said.”

Perhaps it was due to his mother’s influence that Darrel called the Princess that way.

“I did not know. You two are close.”

Had she known this would happen, she would have received Darrel’s help when choosing a present for the Princess.

“Well, rather than being friendly…”

The Princess touched her lips for a moment, then she grinned.

“We’re just like siblings.”

“Princess, doesn’t that mean that you get angry when you see me?”

“It is a law that you are well aware of. Common sense. My savvy older brother.”

“Well, it’s better than the Princess.”

Darrel got out of the couch and picked up a practice bow that had been arranged on one side of the tent.

He had brought a few as spares.

“Take it.”

He dared to throw the bow to the Princess.

It was a reckless act, but the Princess seemed familiar with it and accepted the bow.

“A little small.”

However, she was a bit dissatisfied with the bow.

“It wouldn’t be bad for practice. Princess, you’re still short.”

Darrell also took the smallest bow and a few blunt-tipped arrows.

“Are you going to practice now?”

“Is there any reason not to?”

“I’m just here to spend time with Princess Rieta. I didn’t come to see older brother’s degenerated bow skills.”

Rieta was very surprised by the story.

Even so, not so long ago, she had given up on meeting the Princess herself.

But in addition to meeting like this, she can even spend time together.

“Spend . . . spend time with me . . .?”

Rieta asked, stuttering in disbelief.

“Yes.”

When she heard the answer, Rieta somehow felt as if the Princess had bought a part of her heart.

“I’m glad, really.”

Rieta barely calmed down and responded that way. She meant it.