Chapter 19

“Hoo-hoo, I knew it would look this good.”

Emily smiled at the Duke.

“So, which accessory would you like?”

The Duke gazed at Emily’s ribbon, mini hat, and tiara one by one, and then looked to Noel for a moment.

That meddling child was very quiet currently, and it bothered the Duke.

“Noel.”

His son seemed quite absent-minded, answering, startled at the sound of his father’s call.

“Huh, yes?!”

The Duke was a little concerned that his son acted as though he was an apprehended thief. Anyways, he decided not to point that out now.

“What do you think?”

“What, about what?”

The Duke kindly explained the situation when Noel asked, stuttering. Perhaps his son’s mind was on other matters.

Well, he wasn’t interested in this kind of dress-up anyways.

“I’m asking you which looks best among the ribbon, mini hat, and tiara.”

“You want me… to pick?!”

“I’m just asking for an opinion. I don’t know if the princess will be happy with what you choose.”

Noel hurriedly looked at the decorations on the table and identified the small tiara on Rieta’s head.

Meanwhile, he met her gaze. Noel hurriedly looked down

“….!”

He looked back at the table in surprise, somewhat dispirited.

“F-first, I don’t think the tiara is good.”

He answered to his father.

Yeah, the tiara wasn’t right, because then Rieta would look just like a real princess. Of course, she was a real princess, but he didn’t like her looking like that.

“Then it’s the ribbon or the hat.”

The Duke urged Noel to make a choice. He was a little distressed.

“Oh, uh… I think it’s time for my instructor to arrive, so I’ll have to hurry up and go. Yes, I need to prepare for that.”

Noel was flustered, pretending to look at his nonexistent watch. Of course, his teacher wasn’t coming for a while, but the Duke did not catch on.

He nodded, telling Noel to hurry up, and Noel scurried out of the drawing-room.

As Noel turned back on the way out, Rieta, who wore a ribbon, stared at him.

‘Pretty…’

….Noel thought to himself.

Of course, he shook his head immediately.

‘You’re crazy, Noel Mayer!’

He wished to scold himself for admiring this clumsy princess too much. Plus, he didn’t really like that shabby dress that made him think this way.

That dress must have had some strange magic cast on it. Otherwise, Rieta wouldn’t look that pretty.

As he left the room, he took it out on Rieta.

“It’s totally weird. It doesn’t look good on you at all. Those clothes from the kingdom are much better on you!”

“….?”

Rieta, who couldn’t understand, looked up and laughed, and Noel, struggling by himself, slammed the door shut and left.

“Why is Noel angry?”

When Rieta asked the Duke, he answered with a distinctly insensitive face.

“Probably, he didn’t like having to choose only one of the three.”

“Did he mean that? It seemed like he said something strange…”

“It means all three of them look weirdly good together.”

The Duke quickly nodded to Emily after exercising his transcendent interpretation.

In the end, he bought all of them.

******

Three days later was Rieta’s first official outing, a lunch hosted by the emperor, where King Liz, who arrived the day before, was scheduled to attend.

With the help of a maid, Rieta changed into a dress and listened to the Duke’s fussing through the veil.

“That’s all you have to keep in mind. I’ll be there anyway, so if you need an interpreter, please whisper to me.”

“Can I do that with the emperor in front of me? Don’t you think it’s rude?”

“You can do that, Princess.”

Does that mean ‘no one else but Rieta can?’

The special treatment was a little awkward, so Rieta held out her head slightly over the screen, smiling helplessly

“The Duke’s considerations make me feel like some great guest.”

“….?”

Was there something strange about her words? The Duke’s blunt face was filled with question marks. Did he not understand her kingdom language? Rieta wondered if she should repeat what she said in Imperial.

“I’m sorry for the late reply.”

Fortunately, it was not a matter of understanding, as he answered quickly.

“I was thinking.”

“Thinking?”

“In my opinion, there is no other way but ‘great’ to describe a princess at the age of nine who traveled, alone, to another country for her kingdom.”

Rieta thought it was clear that the Duke was teasing her, but his face was serious, no different from when he was working.