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“Stay still.”

“…That should be enough. It’ll fade if you leave it alone.”

“No. It needs to be properly cleaned.”

We were sitting on a bench in a secluded corner, away from the bustling crowd.

Bella was rubbing the back of my neck with a handkerchief, trying to remove a stain. I had no idea what the stain was, but she seemed unusually bothered by it. She had been in a bad mood since the moment we met.

“Can’t just cover it up…”

“Cover it up?”

“No, just saying. But, Count, you seem to be getting along well with your bodyguard knight lately.”

If she meant the bodyguard knight, she must be talking about Helga. Indeed, as my confidant, she was almost always by my side.

“Haha… If someone saw you, they might think you’re lovers, not just a knight and master.”

“Maybe so.”

“Hmm… Do you not care about being misunderstood like that?”

“Do I seem like the type to care about such things?”

“Even if you don’t care about other things, shouldn’t you care about this?”

Bella held up the ring on her hand with a serious expression.

“Even if it’s unofficial, we might get engaged again, right? More than lovers, less than spouses. I’ve always emphasized that, haven’t I?”

“…You have.”

That was the setup, after all. Maintaining this delicate relationship was for both our benefits.

By keeping Bella close, I could prevent any threats to her in advance. On the other hand, Bella had an excuse to fend off suitors swarming around her. Of course, she could leave my side anytime if she wished.

“If any scandalous rumors about you surface, what would that make me? Stop surrounding yourself with women and living so promiscuously.”

“Promiscuous? That’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s not an exaggeration! Dressing your bodyguard knight in such short skirts… You should be ashamed, Count.”

“That wasn’t my doing.”

“Enough. You’re such a lowlife. You can’t resist a pretty face, can you?”

That’s not true. She’s got some ridiculous misunderstanding.

Bella fiddled with her skirt as she spoke.

“If you have a mouth, say something. Did you want to dress me in something embarrassing too? Is what I’m wearing today not enough to satisfy you?”

“That’s not it.”

She was dressed in a casual style, different from her usual dresses. She looked like an ordinary schoolgirl, simple yet beautiful, as if she had let her guard down. But it wasn’t just any outfit. It was something Bella had carefully chosen.

The pure white blouse and the blue-checkered skirt complemented her silver hair perfectly.

Noticing my gaze, Bella smiled faintly.

“Is that so? Then repeat after me, Count.”

Bella cleared her throat and spoke in a low, masculine voice.

“You are dazzlingly beautiful today.”

“You’re so dazzling today, it’s blinding.”

“…Should I really blind you?”

Bella glared sharply, but it wasn’t intimidating—it was cute.

“Sigh… You’re so stingy with compliments. If you keep this up, I won’t spend time with you. Especially since Patrick…”

“Patrick? Did he come looking for you?”

“Yes. Typical Patrick, showing up out of nowhere.”

An unexpected name came out of her mouth. Patrick Wolfbert, Helga’s brother and a noble who had his eyes on Bella. Did he approach her when he came to discuss the Tangmar issue last time? Persistent guy. I’ll need to prepare countermeasures.

“Do you know what he said to me?”

“No.”

But I could guess. Patrick probably tried to woo Bella with some proposal, and she must have flatly refused. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so smugly asking me about it.

“Hmm? Aren’t you curious?”

“Do you want me to be? If you want, I’ll ask.”

“Huh? No. Who said I wanted that? Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Is that so? Must’ve been my mistake. I thought Patrick might’ve made some grand proposal to you.”

“Ah…?”

“Of course, I assumed you’d reject his proposal, but it seems I was wrong.”

My guess must’ve been spot on because Bella looked flustered.

“No… You’re right.”

“Thought so.”

Bella isn’t an easy woman to win over. Even Peter, the protagonist of the original story, had a hard time getting close to her. Many men gave up because of her pride and haughty personality.

I nodded inwardly when suddenly Bella leaned in close to me.

“…What are you doing?”

“Praise me. I did well.”

“Praise?”

“If I did well, I deserve praise.”

Well… that’s true, but with her suddenly sticking her face out, I had no idea what she wanted.

“Why? If we’re more than lovers but less than spouses, isn’t this level of skinship normal?”

Bella clung to me as if it were nothing and gently closed her eyes.

“Here, no one will notice. So hurry up.”

Given Tristan’s personality, I couldn’t bring myself to ask for hints.

Her long eyelashes sparkled in the sunlight, and her rosy lips trembled slightly. As I gazed at her beautiful face, I made a decision.

“…Alright.”

“…?!”

When my hand touched her head, Bella flinched. I gently stroked her hair.

Bella stayed still, letting me touch her head. Then she slowly spoke.

“…That’s a 20-point praise.”

“Harsh score.”

“This is something you’d do to a child… I’m not a kid.”

“So you don’t like it?”

“…I didn’t say that.”

Bella grumbled but didn’t refuse my touch. Like a cat, she was prickly but didn’t stop me if I wanted to pet her. I was careful not to mess up her hair.

“Guess it’s too much to expect anything proactive from you. You’re such a lowlife.”

“Is that so?”

“Guess I have no choice…”

Bella suddenly stood up from the bench and held out her hand.

“Hand.”

“…?”

“Hold my hand. Hurry.”

I took her hand and stood up.

“You really should do this kind of thing without me having to say it. I’ll be your woman for today, so escort me well. Hehe…”

Bella laughed as she pulled my hand. Her smile was as beautiful as the blooming flowers around us.

“Shall we get something to eat first?”

—

“I can’t believe I’m eating this…”

Sia looked at the ice cream in her hand with admiration. Wendy and Rachel beside her also held ice cream cones.

“The line was so long…”

“Right? I don’t get why people line up for this. Isn’t it just regular ice cream?”

“This isn’t regular ice cream, Rachel.”

Sia explained with a serious face.

“This strawberry ice cream is made from Belouis strawberries, which are harvested in limited quantities each year.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of that. Aren’t they the precious strawberries supplied to the imperial family?”

“Yes. But that’s not all. Did you notice? This ice cream is made by Rudolf, the empire’s greatest ice cream artisan. His ice cream is famous for perfectly eliminating the aftertaste of milk.”

“The aftertaste…”

“Of milk…?”

“Ah, and of course, the aftertaste of strawberries too.”

Wendy and Rachel tilted their heads at Sia’s explanation. The more they listened, the more confusing it became. But the ice cream stand was packed with people, so it must be famous.

If the three of them hadn’t lined up early, they wouldn’t have been able to taste this famous ice cream.

“Then… let’s dig in.”

Sia brought the strawberry ice cream to her lips.

“Mmm…! This is really…”

“Really?”

“The best ice cream ever… How can ice cream taste this good?”

Sia’s eyes sparkled like a child tasting something delicious. Rachel, who followed suit, also looked surprised.

“Wow? I really can’t taste any milk or strawberry aftertaste.”

“Really…?”

Wendy looked at the ice cream in her hand with curiosity. When was the last time she had ice cream? Probably when she first entered the Count’s household. She remembered secretly eating a leftover scoop of ice cream Tristan had left behind.

‘That was really sweet too…’

Looking at the pretty ice cream with strawberry bits, Wendy swallowed her saliva. According to Sia, this ice cream was supposed to be incomparably luxurious.

“Well, let’s dig in…”

Just as Wendy was about to take a bite…

“Ah?!”

Someone bumped into her back at the worst possible moment. It wasn’t a hard hit, but it was enough to make her drop her ice cream.

“Ah…!”

The beautifully scooped ice cream fell to the ground in a messy heap. The person who bumped into her was already lost in the crowd. Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Wendy could only stare at the ground.

“Sniff… I waited in line for so long…”

Tears welled up in her eyes again. But then…

“…Huh? Wendy?”

A sudden voice made her look up. A beautiful woman with silver hair was looking down at her with concern.

“P-Princess…?”

It was Princess Bella Izakhel. Wendy was momentarily surprised by this unexpected encounter, but she quickly remembered that the princess was supposed to be at the festival today.

“Ah…”

When she saw the man standing next to the princess, the ice cream in Wendy’s mind vanished. Instead, her heart started racing.

“…What’s wrong? Wendy.”

A dignified black-haired nobleman asked her.

 

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