Chapter 16.
“Well then, I should be considerate of my partner. It’s not something you do alone.”
“Of course.”
“But it doesn’t seem like it’s your first time?”
Friedrich momentarily wore a flustered expression. I shrugged and elaborated.
“You said you were locked up for five years. So I naturally thought you’d have no experience.”
“I d-don’t, I don’t…”
Friedrich, who had been stammering, soon bit his lip slightly and lowered his gaze.
“…Would that be a problem?”
“Huh? No? Elsa said you did well even on your own.”
“…Lady Elsa?”
He reacted with outright shock at those words.
What, is it that embarrassing? Now his tongue was completely tied as he asked me.
“L-Lady Elsa, she saw me doing it alone…”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard all about it. Elsa found you and helped out.”
“…Pardon?”
Suddenly, Friedrich let out a strange yelp. Whoa, that startled me.
Must be because he’s such an extreme introvert—he’s super embarrassed. I cleared my throat and spoke up.
“Uh, I heard everything. You don’t have to feel too ashamed about it. Elsa probably only told me… and she said you followed along well after seeing it once.”
At those words, Friedrich’s expression changed oddly for a moment.
“…Are you perhaps talking about dancing right now?”
I narrowed my eyes at that and countered.
“Then what have we been talking about all this time?”
“…”
Friedrich fell silent. He was frozen with a dazed look on his face.
What? We were bantering just fine until now—why the sudden change?
“Friedrich?”
When I poked his arm, he jolted in surprise and drew in a sharp breath.
He looked like a hedgehog with all its quills standing on end, and I muttered with a bewildered expression.
“You really are shy, aren’t you? How did you step forward in front of all those people earlier?”
“…”
Suddenly, Friedrich looked like he was about to cry. It seemed like the memory from before was resurfacing.
I patted him reassuringly and encouraged him.
“Yeah, now I get how much you’ve been thinking about me. I’m glad I came, even if it was late.”
“…”
“Come on, only 20 minutes left now. But 20 minutes should be enough for at least one…”
“W-Why did you come here?”
Friedrich asked urgently, and I replied with a baffled face.
“I told you, to dance. What have you been hearing? You practiced in the garden under the moonlight to dance with me.”
I extended my hand to him with an arrogant expression.
“Come on, let’s do it. I’ll sing the song for you.”
“…”
Friedrich let out a sigh with a complicated look. Yeah, now that it’s time to actually dance, you’re probably nervous. No orchestra music to set the mood either.
To soothe his embarrassment, I started humming a waltz melody first.
He looked at me with conflicted eyes. I smiled brightly and gave him an encouraging gaze of my own.
Then he cautiously approached, lightly supporting my back and taking my left hand.
Dancing a waltz without gloves was a first, so the warmth transmitted through our fingertips felt strangely vivid.
I placed my right hand on his shoulder and continued humming the melody. After he took the first step, he began moving his body in smooth motions.
“You’re pretty good? Elsa wasn’t exaggerating.”
I chuckled and kept matching his steps. It was impressively advanced for someone who supposedly followed after seeing a demonstration once.
“You’re not teasing me, are you?”
“Teasing? I’m serious. You’re really good.”
I laughed and lightly turned my body. It wasn’t a formal ballroom, just a narrow room for a waltz. No matter how well we used the space, there were limits.
At some point, Friedrich’s leg bumped into the bed frame.
Losing his balance, his body toppled straight onto the bed. Without letting go of my left hand that he was holding.
In the end, I tumbled right on top of him.
“Ah!”
No, if you’re going to fall, fall by yourself!
I was about to narrow my eyes and glare at Friedrich, but as soon as our eyes met, I burst into giggles.
“T-The timing… the timing is truly exquisite.”
“…”
Before I knew it, Friedrich had turned back into a child, wearing a sulky expression.
I’m the one who should be making that face right now, but since I’m the adult here, I’ll let it slide.
“Aw, now I really need to sleep. Alright, since I already sang, I’ll sing you a lullaby too.”
“…No need.”
“Lowering your voice like that with your build doesn’t make you sound dignified at all.”
As I giggled, Friedrich finally pulled the blanket over his head completely.
Seeing that, I burst into another round of laughter, and it was when I was about to get up from the bed.
“Huh? What?”
Friedrich grabbed the hem of my clothes tightly with his small, fern-like hand.
As if he’d never been sulking, he quickly returned to his innocent child’s face and asked me.
“If you leave now, won’t it raise suspicions?”
“Why?”
“Because it’s nighttime.”
“That’s why I need to go sleep…”
In that moment, I realized what he was saying. After a brief silence, I asked.
“So?”
“Stay for a bit before you go.”
“A bit? What if we get caught?”
“…Then.”
Friedrich added quietly.
“It’s fine if you sleep here too.”
“Are you scared to sleep alone?”
I had a flash of realization.
“That’s why you didn’t lock the door! So you could run out if you saw a ghost. Actually, someone who saw a ghost in this room…!”
“…”
“Alright. Just kidding. Wait a sec.”
No one would dare come in anyway, but better safe than sorry.
I locked the door and returned to the bed, lying down next to Friedrich.
He was still watching me with the blanket pulled up to his nose.
I yawned long and said.
“Hurry up and sleep. You need to grow tall.”
“I think I’m already fully grown.”
That’s true.
Recalling Friedrich’s height of at least 190cm, I switched to a lullaby.
“Sleep well, my baby. In the front yard and back hill…”
But I was too tired to finish singing it. In the end, I only properly sang one verse and drifted off to sleep.
***
The next day, Elsa seemed to be obsessively watching to see if I’d send a letter to Joachim or not. Of course, I didn’t write him any letter.
As the day nearly came to an end, I thought I’d finally earned Elsa’s recognition of my sincerity…!
“Duke Rommel requests an audience.”
I was momentarily flustered and explained to Elsa.
“I didn’t send an apology letter. You know that, right?”
“…”
“Elsa.”
“But why has the Duke come?”
“Who knows. To confront me?”
“Does the Duke have two lives?”
“Yeah, that too.”
Even if he wanted to confront me, he wouldn’t do it face-to-face.
“I should meet him, right?”
Elsa narrowed her eyes and looked at me. I protested.
“Am I supposed to turn away someone who came all this way to see me? After I slapped him yesterday?”
“Normally, you would, but you’ve suddenly become generous.”
“I decided to be a bit more lenient now that I’ve got a handsome husband.”
I shamelessly retorted and headed to the reception room.
Was it my imagination? Joachim’s shoulders seemed more slumped than before.
“Your Highness.”
As soon as he sensed my presence, Joachim stood up abruptly and knelt before me.
“I greet Rene, the great morning star of Stade.”
“‘Great’ is a bit excessive for a greeting to a princess.”
“Forgive me. It’s the only way I can convey my sincerity.”
Joachim said, still without straightening his knees.
My own knees were starting to ache just watching, so I told him to stand, and he sat down following me with a moved expression.
“I apologize for yesterday. I was rude, reckless. And…”
Joachim paused for a moment, then continued with difficulty.
“Prince Friedrich was right when he said I was vulgar.”
Surprisingly, the title was polite. I nodded and replied.
“It’s fortunate you realize it now.”
“I was arrogant and failed to understand Your Highness’s deep intentions.”
That’s right. Now that you’ve seen Friedrich’s face, you finally understand my feelings!
I was thinking I should have shown him sooner when…
“It’s for the purpose of stably governing the conquered nation after ascending to the throne, isn’t it?”
Pardon?
