CH 108

The prince, who knew it better about suffering from hardship because he had no power, quickly understood what I was saying.

Perhaps he was reminded of his dead brother, he looked at me with a complicated face.

As I put the remaining cookie in my mouth and swallowed it down with tea, a sweet and bitterish taste passed through my throat all together.

“And I have something I want from you, Prince.”

“From me?”

As if he was suspecting his ears, he opened his eyes wide and looked at me.

He looked like he was asking what I was wanting from him who had nothing.

“The story about your mother and brother you told me before. There’s something that I want to know more about.”

He rolled his eyes around after hearing my words.

It seemed like his head was complicated from continuous thoughts.

The prince, who broke the long silence, cleverly made the right conclusion in a short time.

“Is it perhaps, the thing that you want to know related to the village my brother stayed-”

Before he could finish his question, there was a hurried footsteps of someone heard from afar.

There were not a lot of people that could make such a loud noise in this mansion’s hallway.

I quietly put my finger on my mouth, stopping the prince from talking.

“Marianne!”

Orion, who just returned from outside, opened the door with a bright face and called my name.

I would say it again, in this room where the prince stayed.

It was not even my room, so I didn’t think he should shout out my name, as well as step in without the permission of the room owner.

I indicated to him with a calm voice.

“Orion, the prince is in this room.”

“I see. I’m sorry. Are you surprised because of me?”

Orion spoke gently as he looked at me.

“No. Not me, but the prince who is in this-”

I, who turned my head to the prince, stopped talking.

The prince already closed both his eyes tightly and let out peaceful breaths.

Is he pretending to sleep now?

I saw the hands of the boy, who opened his eyes and talked with me until a moment ago, were grabbing hard the thick blanket.

Looking at the prince who expressed with his whole body that he didn’t want to talk with Orion, I let out a short sigh.

Could a teacher and student ignore each other like this?

But, there were already many rumors spreading about the beautiful friendship between Orion and the prince that transcended their age, and how they were caring for each other.

“First, let’s talk outside.”

With an excited voice, Orion suddenly handed out an item.

“Look at this new shovel. I brought this directly from a blacksmith run by a three-generation craftsman.”

I never hid my tastes on purpose, but I was a bit embarrassed when I saw the prince’s hands that were holding the blanket flinched.

“Let’s talk outside.”

“Because I thought you’d like it, I engraved your initials in-”

The prince’s eyelids trembled greatly.

I quietly pushed Orion’s back outside.

It was already complicated enough that the prince thought of me as someone who didn’t hesitate to kill a young boy just to protect a secret, but still . . .

I didn’t want him to remember me as a manic collector who risked her life for a shovel and sickle.

“What do you think about my present?”

I, who was handed a shovel with pink ribbon on the handle, simply answered.

“Go do your work, Orion.”

After sending Orion to his office, I entered my room while holding the shovel.

Dana, who was cleaning the room, blinked her eyes when she saw the shovel with ribbon.

“I never see that item.”

“Yeah. It’s a present.”

“I see, you got that as a present.”

Is your heinous hobby already spread across this mansion, My Lady?

She didn’t open her mouth, but she already said much through her eyes.

I tried hard to ignore her gaze.

* * *

I heard a strange sound in my ear before I went to bed in the late evening.

It sounded like something being dragged and tapped.

I questioned the irregular sounds from the hallway.

“This is not time for patrol.”

I turned my head.

The rustling sound rang one after another.

At the end of agonizing over it, I took the small candle and opened the door, then I met the young prince who was loitering in the hallway.

“Prince.”

A pale face was revealed by the candlelight.

He hesitated then sighed.

“The duchy’s mansion is wider than I thought.”

He awkwardly lowered his gaze.

A dragging shawl caught my eye.

Half of it was on his shoulder, but the other half was sweeping on the floor.

So that’s why there was a dragging sound.

I couldn’t know the reason he left his room at this time, but it seemed like the one he was looking for was me.

He, who looked like he had a lot to say to me, suddenly took something out of his arms.

My eyes turned a bit bigger at the item I missed.

“This . . .”

“I think I have to return this.”

The item in the prince’s hand was the shovel he put on his arms preciously.

As if it was cleaned perfectly, it shined in the candlelight.

The well wiped bottom was smooth enough to show the face of the prince.

“I feel like I was handed a very precious item.”

“Ah, thank you.”

When I accepted it, the prince looked at the shovel that came to my arms with a complicated face.

Since I was handed back something that I gave to him and told him to use it to find solace, I felt like I had to give something in return too.

“Wait a minute.”

I took the present from Orion with the pink ribbon that was still not taken off from my room.

“The thing you returned to me is an item I’ve been using for a long time, but this is a new unused item.”

The prince dazedly held a shovel in his hand again.

He asked while looking at the exchanged shovel with a confused expression.

“What is the difference?”

“The things I’ve been using for a long time contain the time I spent together, the stains on my hand remain intact, and it’s a shame to give things familiar to my hand to others. Meanwhile, this one still has no owner.”

“. . .”

The prince stared intently at the shovel, then slowly took it to his arms.

He didn’t say thanks, but looking at his slightly glowing face, I thought he would clearly hold the present dearly.

Looking at how he carefully put it in his arms so the ribbon didn’t get broken, I felt proud because that shovel likely met a good owner.