Chapter 21

As soon as she stood absentmindedly, Noel grumbled.

“Are you not going? Are you going to stand here all day?”

“Noel, I will do it alone.”

His face crumpled when she said she could go alone.

“You’re going to do it alone with a dress like that? Enough.”

He held her hand and went a few steps ahead, so Rieta was forced to receive Noel’s escort.

To be honest, it was more like being dragged, rather than escorted.

Noel said nothing while walking down the stairs and down the hall.

Considering his mean personality, she thought he’d give her a warning along the lines of: ‘If you go to the banquet and tarnish the reputation of the Duke, I’ll kill you!’

“But.”

The first time he talked was when he left the mansion and arrived in front of the carriage.

“What were you talking about with your father? Uh, well, I mean. Father, you…”

“I understand. You’re asking about the conversation, right?”

Seeing how Rieta understood at once, Noel scratched his head and muttered, “You really have improved a lot.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“‘It’s not a big deal’? Where did you learn such an informal phrase?”

“Yeah, nothing.”

“What’s ‘nothing’?”

He asked with exceptional persistence.

But she couldn’t say, ‘It bothered me when you said it didn’t suit me.’

So Rieta decided to turn the subject around with the right words.

She wondered what would be a good topic, when Noel’s clothes came into her eyes.

It looked like a suit made by a skillful tailor.

He was still young, but he looked like quite the gentleman.

She heard Noel was not going to the Emperor’s luncheon. Was he going to a party or something?  (t/n: luncheon is a formal lunch)

“Noel, are you going to the party?”

“It’s the princess who is going to the party. Not me.”

“But you’re dressed nicely.”

At her compliment, he looked around and flustered for a moment.

Some of the people nearby looked at the two and smiled quietly.

Perhaps Noel thought that he had paid too much attention to the fact that he was escorting Rieta.

…of course that’s true.

It’s just the basic skill of a gentleman.

He must do it as one of the Duke’s lineage.

Anyway, he didn’t wear it to look nice for Rieta. Never

“You, t-that, don’t say anything like that.”

“You mean nice words?”

“Don’t say such a thing anywhere. Really.” .

Rieta tilted her head.

Why didn’t he let her use such words?

He’s the one who said it didn’t look good on her and spit out whatever he wanted to say.

“Okay.”

Rieta answered frankly and, without his help, got into the carriage.

“Uh… are you upset?”

“…?”

“W-well.”

Noel was struggling, because he didn’t know how to explain his sulky words.

“Oh, really.”

In the end, he had no choice but to give up explaining what had upset him.

They could borrow the power of a dictionary later.

“Okay, I’m sorry. And you too…. You look great.”

Rieta’s head slightly turned to him when she heard him say it was great.

“I look great?”

“T-that’s right! You look great and…”

Pretty.

She looked pretty, and Noel’s face darkened because he thought he wouldn’t be able to say that even at knifepoint.

He groaned to himself for nothing, but eventually dragged Rieta’s hand and grabbed her thumb.

“T-this one! It’s totally this finger! You know what I mean?

“….?”

As Rieta blinked, he pointed at her little finger and spoke again.

“It’s not like that one, but this one. You’re this way right now?! You!?”

“This…one?”

Rieta looked at his thumb and asked, and Noel nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes!”

He felt quite serious when answering, with such strong determination on his face.

Rieta burst into laughter.

“Your thumb is ‘nice.’ Your little finger is ‘not nice,’ right?”

“Oh, well.”

He slipped out of Rieta’s hand.

“Something like..that.”

What he had actually meant when he pointed at her thumb…

It’s something Noel felt he should keep to himself.

‘Well, you don’t have to say that.’

It’s such a simple sentiment, but it’s difficult if someone misunderstood.

In addition, Rieta did not seem to dislike the word ‘nice’.

The sulky atmosphere had completely disappeared.