Chapter 09
After that, Reina, as if she’d never hesitated, began eagerly scooping up Mont Blanc with her fork.
Watching her closely, Kaiden sipped his coffee and chuckled.
“It must be delicious.”
“Yes! It’s really good. Have some, Duke.”
“I don’t like sweet things.”
When Kaiden refused with a grimace, Reina asked with a puzzled expression,
“Then why did you prepare so much?”
“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I told Ben to prepare a variety of things.”
“You mean all this was prepared for me?”
“Yes. So, Princess, you can eat it all.”
Kaiden smirked, as if wondering why she was surprised by such a thing.
Reina’s eyes wavered as she scanned the tray stacked high with desserts.
“But it’s too much for one person to eat.”
Even a single layer seemed like enough to fill her up.
When she looked at him as if he was trying to make her burst, Kayden seemed puzzled.
“Well, to my eyes, it looks like the Princess needs to eat a lot more.”
He then gestured with his hand, as if measuring her height, making her bristle.
“I’m fully grown.”
“Is that so? You still look like you have some growing to do.”
Kaiden muttered with a serious expression.
His sincere reaction made Reina sulky.
‘Do I really look that thin?’
Now that she thought about it, in her past life, he’d often said she looked like a cucumber withered by drought.
As Reina stared at her wrist, she grew even gloomier.
Though she’d put on a bit more weight compared to her past life, her wrist looked like a twig compared to his large one.
On top of that, his great height made her feel even smaller standing next to him, an optical illusion of sorts.
With a hint of defiance, Reina mumbled softly,
“…You’re really rude, like it’s second nature.”
“I hear that a lot.”
But when even that was countered, Reina was at a loss for words.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat?”
Faced with Kaiden, who wouldn’t let her win a single argument, Reina decided to focus on the dessert again.
When she felt too full to eat anymore, Kaiden got to the point.
“Now, I think we should talk specifics about our married life. I’ll warn you in advance, the North is a harsher place than you might imagine.”
He probably meant she shouldn’t expect to be treated like a princess.
But Reina had spent ten years in her past life barely surviving in a dungeon, just enough to not die.
All she wanted was freedom.
“That’s fine.”
“It’s not something to decide so lightly…”
“If food is scarce in the North, I’m fine with one meal a day. I can even go a few days without eating.”
Her casual reply made the atmosphere grow cold.
Sensing something off, Reina looked up to see Kaiden and Ben with hardened expressions.
Kayden asked icily,
“Did they starve you in the palace?”
“What?”
“No, from what I know, they didn’t.”
Ben answered curtly, and Kaiden looked at Reina with an even more menacing expression.
“Did you think I’d starve you or something?”
“Oh, no! I was just trying to show my resolve…”
Realizing too late what kind of misunderstanding he had, Reina tried to explain, but it wasn’t enough.
“That kind of resolve isn’t necessary. What kind of lunatic would tell his future wife to eat only one meal a day?”
Reina almost said she’d even fasted before but held her tongue.
It seemed like saying that would only make him angrier.
“…I’m sorry.”
As Reina apologized dejectedly, Kayden softened his expression.
“Anyway, before we head to the North, discuss with Ben about any supplies you’ll need. Fortunately, His Majesty has approved your departure with me, so if there’s anything specific you need, let Ben know in advance.”
“Then when will we perform the oath?”
“That can only be done in the North anyway, so if you change your mind later, just let me know.”
“Change my mind?”
“Even if you do, what can you do? By then, even if you wanted to return, you wouldn’t be able to make it back to the capital on your own, so I wouldn’t lose anything.”
It was the moment Kaiden replied nonchalantly.
Reina, her mouth agape, muttered,
“Does that mean you’re trusting me even without the oath?”
Her touched expression made Kaiden frown and glance at Ben.
Her reaction was completely different from what he’d expected.
With a dubious look, Kayden asked Ben,
“Didn’t I just threaten her?”
“You did. Very menacingly.”
Ben answered bluntly, as if it were obvious.
He’d threatened her, yet she was happy about it.
Was she crazy?
Unable to comprehend Reina’s reaction, Kaiden tilted his head.
“Then what’s with her reaction?”
At his genuinely curious question, Ben gave a good-natured smile.
“Well, it seems the Princess likes being threatened… Just kidding.”
Of course, his words were cut off by Kaiden’s glare.
As Ben quickly changed the subject and feigned innocence, Kayden sighed.
Her reaction was definitely strange.
‘Does she not respond to threats? Or is the oath just a means to show her determination? To make me trust her?’
Whatever it was, her attitude was recklessly desperate.
It was too heavy a resolve to simply be someone trying to escape the torment of the imperial family.
Kaiden looked at Reina with a mix of unease.
Reina was definitely different from the usual noble ladies.
Most of them either tried to curry favor with him or were afraid of him.
From the moment she boldly showed up without an appointment and proposed, she was already outside the norm.
Reina was different. She seemed to feel a strange familiarity with him, which was almost disconcerting.
“Anyway, until the farewell party, I was thinking we could occasionally stage some dates.”
“Sounds good.”
“And I tend to speak informally with people I’m comfortable with. Since we’re to be married, it’s only natural. Is that okay with you?”
“Sounds good… Wait, you speak informally with people you’re comfortable with?”
Reina, who had been agreeing like a parrot, suddenly widened her eyes.
In her past life, he’d spoken informally to her from the start.
Her surprised expression was oddly cute, like a rabbit locking eyes with a predator.
Covering his upturned lips with his hand,
Kaiden said, “Yes, to fool the emperor, we’ll need to fool everyone’s eyes.”
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
“Then you start speaking informally first.”
“No, I’ll do it once I’m more comfortable.”
“…So only I’ll be speaking informally?”
When Kaiden asked with a wry expression, Reina made another suggestion.
“Instead, can I call you by your name? And it’d be nice if you called me by my name too.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“Yes, Kaiden.”
As Reina quickly switched to his name, Kaiden’s eyes widened.
She’d called his name because she’d wanted to in her past life, but he had no way of knowing that.
“…You’re good at this.”
Kaiden let out a chuckle, as if he found it absurd.
He found it amusing that she couldn’t speak informally but called his name so easily.
Reina continued, “And about the beasts…”
When the topic of beasts came up, Kayden’s expression turned noticeably serious.
☆☆☆☆
After that, Kaiden frequently visited the palace to see Reina.
They went on walks together or staged scenes of enjoying tea, and soon everyone openly assumed they were getting married.
Moreover, when even the emperor began openly showing favor to Reina, she went from an unnoticed princess to the most famous one overnight.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
By Anna 💓
