Chapter 116

unedited

It was a small garden behind the palace, and the flower buds that had just finished preparing for summer were gorgeous.

“Wow……”

Alice, the only one of us who had never been to the Imperial Palace before, muttered an exclamation.

It was pretty. It was nice.

I was busy looking around without saying anything.

“This is it. If you go straight up these stairs, you can enter my room.”

“Wow! It’s a secret passage.”

Probably because it was an imperial palace, it seemed that these passages were hidden everywhere.

The spiral staircase was wide enough for only one adult to climb.

But since we were all small, we were able to climb comfortably without bumping into each other.

“Wow!”

And when they finally arrived at Ninaina’s bedroom, everyone burst into exclamation.

“Fufu.”

Ninaina was so proud of our reaction that she couldn’t even hide her expression.

“Isn’t it pretty? I’m going to invite you, so I told them to clean it up in the morning.”

I couldn’t believe it.

This is ‘only’ the bedroom.

It’s about the size of the lobby of any mansion.

“Amazing! Huh……?”

I clasped my hands together and nodded.

Then, suddenly, something caught my eye and I stopped right there.

‘That, that one. Isn’t that the portrait of Ninaina that I drew before?’

Come to think of it…….

Obviously, Ninaina said that at the time.

‘I’m going to have to hang it right in the middle of my bedroom.’

Uwaaack! She really hung it up!

‘Embarrassing!’

As if on fire for a moment, I could feel the heat rising on my face.

Not matching the quality of the picture, the hanging frame was made of gold and precious stones.

“Emir, this is the picture you drew.”

Ninaina, who was approaching me all of a sudden, explained proudly.

“Your, Your Highness. Has anyone else seen this painting?”

I suddenly got curious and asked.

Then Ninaina nodded her head.

“Sure. The maids who cleaned my room, the maids who took care of me, the escorts, and even Father and Mother have all seen this painting.”

“Ah……”

I covered my reddening face with both hands.

Ninaina patted my shoulder, presumably aware of my embarrassment.

“Don’t be shy. Because no one insulted your picture. Rather, everyone clamored that you drew it well. They were admiring that I had a close friend with outstanding artistic talent.”

“… well, that’s… thank you.”

It would be a mistake to be more embarrassed somehow.

That was then.

Suddenly, the sound of shoes, believed to belong to a woman, was heard from the hallway.

It was quite an odd gait.

“……!”

The first to hear that sound, Ninaina quickly shouted in a low voice.

“Hide everyone! The maid is coming. I didn’t tell the maid beforehand, so if she finds you, I’m sure she’ll go to Father.”

Hide?

Suddenly here?

…where should I hide?

We were taken aback by Ninaina’s words.

No matter how spacious the bedroom is, all there is is a bed, curtains, rugs, and a small tea table…

“Hurry up!”

“Yes, yes!”

Ninaina urged us one after another as if impatient with the sudden situation.

It was then that I came to my senses.

“I, I’ll hide under the bed!”

“Me too!”

“Me too!”

“Hey, wait! I was trying to hide there too!”

I quickly crawled under the bed first, and then the other children followed me and tried to hide under the bed.

However, the space was limited.

No matter how spacious this bedroom is and the bed is wide, the blind spot for our bodies to be covered was surprisingly narrow.

“I, I think Lord Cedric will be caught, yo……?”

Alice, who was at the end corner, curled up in a circle, breathed in a breath and asked.

Cedric, who had finally sneaked in, barely had the tip of his toes sticking out at the edge of the bed.

“Uh, uuuh! You just need to stick to the side a little bit more!”

“No! My clothes will be all wrinkled!”

Alice and Cedric were whispering and arguing.

Even at that moment, the sound of footsteps was getting closer.

Step. step.

“Hey, damn it…! Where should I hide?”

Eventually, Cedric quickly got out of bed and looked around again with a look of embarrassment.

At that time,

A knock was heard.

At that sound, we, who had just been arguing in small voices, stopped and were silent.

“Your Highness, may I come in? Have you finished all the preparations?”

Then, the voice of an older maid was heard.

Ninaina sent swaying glances towards the frozen Cedric, and she exclaimed quickly.

“…Wa, wait! Don’t come in yet!”

“……What? Yes. I will.”

The maid looked bewildered, but once she was commanded, she followed Ninaina’s words.

Meanwhile, it was Ninaina who quickly whispered to Cedric with the shape of her mouth.

‘Go, hide! Curtains, curtains!’

Cedric immediately went behind the curtains, figuring out what she was saying.

Fortunately, the curtains were not a single thin layer.

There was a thick blackout curtain on top of it.

It was wrinkled and full of jewels, so it seemed that if it didn’t move, it would be undetected.

Seeing that Cedric had completely taken his place behind her curtains, Ninaina sprinted away quickly.

And only then did she speak of permission.

“……Now you can come in!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The maid walked calmly as if she had not yet noticed the commotion in the room.

‘Phew… was it fortunate that we didn’t get caught?’

But then.

The maid looked around with a sudden, sensitive expression on her face.