CH 181

It was a stone. A stone as small as a fingernail.

Why was this on the second floor?

Rieta thought so and looked down just below the mansion.

It was a bit dark, but thanks to the light from afar, it seemed that someone was there.

Who is it? She thought. Luckily, the answer came easily.

“Ah, were you hit by the stone?”

There was no need to check their face.

This voice and tone . . .

There was only one person in this world.

“Noel?”

“Yes, are you hurt?”

Rieta was a little stunned at his questioning voice, which sounded quite worried.

After sending a letter like that, he was worried about her being hit by a stone!

“It doesn’t hurt.”

So, naturally, a pouty tone came out of her mouth.

“It sounded like you were in a lot of pain when I heard your voice.”

“If that was the case, what would you do?”

“Of course I would apologize. Sorry.”

“. . .”

Rieta thought that it was a little strange for Noel to be meekly apologizing.

She thought Noel would be very happy, hearing that Rieta was hit by a stone.

“Well… I called the Princess several times, but there was no answer. So I tried something a little different.”

Maybe it was because Rieta didn’t say anything . . .

He carefully explained his situation and looked at her.

“Um, are you very angry over there?”

“I’m not angry.”

“Just saying that, I can feel the anger in the Princess’s voice.”

“I’m just . . .”

Rieta leaned completely against the window.

“Why is a busy person here? I was just wondering.”

“Today is the Princess’s birthday, right?”

“Are you still busy?”

“I’m always busy.”

“You wrote that in the letter. ‘Busy.’”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t come”

“. . .What?”

Rieta was so startled that she stared fiercely under the window.

Of course, Noel’s face still looked black in the dark.

“Uh, right.”

Fortunately, Rieta’s terrifying expression seemed to be visible to Noel.

He quickly started making excuses.

“Actually, I wrote a long letter.”

“Lies.”

“Really. I mean it. I wrote that I couldn’t go because I was busy for five pages. Along with my heartfelt congratulations.”

“While you were busy?”

“Yeah, in the middle of a busy day, I wrote five pages. Am I not nice? I remembered when the Princess asked me to write a letter like that.”

“Then what did you do, only sending a word in the end?”

“That is . . .”

Noel looked up at Rieta, who leaned against the window.

“It made me a little angry when I tried to send it like that.”

“Angry?”

“Uh, anyway, it was too bad that I can’t go to your birthday.”

“Therefore?”

“So, I threw the letter away. Since I was in a hurry, I wrote only the important words and sent it.”

“I mean, why did you just write ‘busy’?”

“So it meant ‘I’m busy, but I’ll go see you even if I’m late’.”

“. . .”

“. . . Sorry.”

“. . .”

“Are you still angry?”

Rieta tried to reply to his thoughtless mind, ‘Yes, I’m very angry!’

Since she received Noel’s letter, she had been uncomfortable all this time.

However, seeing him come so late, explain the situation, and even apologize, she couldn’t be angry anymore.

He came anyway, right?

While he was so busy.

“How . . . did you get here?”

“I rode a horse, worrying about what would happen if the Princess fell asleep. I must be saddlesore by now.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means I rode very hard to get here.”

“By the way, why are you standing there? Why don’t you come into the mansion, Sir Jenkins is here.”

“I know. That’s why I’m not going in.”

“. . .?”

Rieta tilted her head slightly.

Noel liked Sir Jenkins very much.

“I don’t have a lot of time. If I say hello to everyone, I won’t be able to even talk to the Princess.”

“So, no one knows you came here?”

“Well, the gatekeeper knows. And tomorrow morning, Father will know.”

“But it’s not okay if you stay outside like that.”

Rieta wondered if there was any way for Noel to come into the mansion without people knowing.

“Do you want me to open the back door?”

“Don’t mind it. I have to go right away.”

“However, to meet you like this . . .”

Rieta was a little sad that she couldn’t see any of his face.

“Ah, I’m so sorry. Did you miss me that much?”

Rieta couldn’t even say ‘no’ to the stupid question he asked with a grin.

“I didn’t want to see you, I was bored.”

Even so, she didn’t give him a friendly answer.

“Interesting.”

“What?”

“Princess, you were bored without me?”

“I can’t help it. I only know a few people in the entire Empire.”

Moreover, all the people of statuses that Rieta could interact with had gone to the academy.

A place where they were busy enough to die.

“Sorry.”

Noel apologized again.

She doesn’t know why he apologized so much these days.

“Why?”

“Because I suddenly went to the academy.”

Rieta blinked her eyes and looked down at Noel.

In fact, he left the mansion without consulting anyone, so she didn’t expect him to apologize.

The silence stayed a little longer.