Volume 1 Chapter 5 (1/2)
By the time Ludwik returned to the castle, the sun had completely risen
His Majesty isscratched by Her Majesty’s pet monkey!? No, perhaps he was assassinated by Her Majesty!? As such theories rattled throughout the castle, Ludearing a townsfolk’s clothes that had become sullied with dirt here and there and also frayed and torn, returned to the castle with a sunny expression, leaving those who saw him in mute awe
Ludho felt refreshed after crying himself all out of tears, wore a clear and cheerful face
“Good ”
He greets a guard, upon which
“Ah, g-good o yesterday?”
“I went to the town for a bit”
“I-Is that so Did soood happen?”
“Yeah, I had a wonderful encounter”
Ludwik answered with a smile, which startled everyone All present stiffened their throats in surprise and were unable to ask anything beyond that
Fro over,
“Is Your Highness aware? Everyone’s saying that Sire snuck out of the castle and enjoyed a night of passion That the other party has blond hair and blue eyes and is the innocent daughter of a florist, and that Sire plans to welcome her to the castle as a beloved concubineAnd even that Sire’s child is already in her belly”
Even when he was told with the biggest scowl on her face he’s seen so far, Ludwik rehing
“Ahaha To already have a child with so her for the first tiirl with blond hair and blue eyes but another man’s ith black hair and passionate black eyes”
Ludwik says impishly
Adelheid’s expression becaly bitter
“I’m aware that Sire’s scope of interests is broad, but I’ll be troubled if I can’t have Sire wait until Sire has at least two or three boys born between Sire and Her Majesty to enjoy such encounters”
Ludas lectured repeatedly like so, but Adelheid’s words simply went in one of his ears and out the other
Just by recalling the things that happened in the small cabin in the woods, Ludwik’s heart is cleared of all clouds and filled with sunshi+ne Adelheid probably won’t be pleased, but I’ain I’ll become Ludy, who’s just another townsfolk, drink ifts I definitely want to see his faain
And also, if I could dance with Suzanka again…
Twisting her volu passionately with her black eyes, and stepping powerfully with her feet— Ludas entranced by how Suzanka danced
(Her dance truly was spectacular)
That was the first time Ludwik had ever met a woman who danced so passionately It was like she was the one leading her male partner the whole tihtest, but fresh and fun to Ludwik
Ludanted to continue dancingonto her hot hands while seeing her sunny shter
Suzanka’s vibrant black hair and gentle black eyes fill his mind and inadvertently make his heart flutter
(Wait! Suzanka is Yan’s wife She loves Yan)
Ludwik restrains his heart, which see to draw closer and closer towards Suzanka if he doesn’t
(No matter how attractive Suzanka is, she’s a married woman)
He was told that he had a wide scope of interests by Adelheid Well, it’s true that he has a soft spot for women like his mother
When he was the young master of a dress histo him to ask for advice on what to do about her fiance, who to marry in just a few days and who on her
Ludwik became completely infatuated with her
—If it wereto make you cry Please break up with him and marry me instead
That he proposed dead seriously like so was part of his black history
Furthers, like how she can’t restore her relationshi+p with him anymore and how the two of theo,
—I’m sorry, Ludy Because of you, I realized— I do love him after all He said that he won’t cheat anymore too
She told Ludwik before readily reconciling with andher fiance
—Ludy, you’re really a kind and gentle, nice guy aren’t you I loved you Thank you for everything until now
Leaving behind the words “nice guy” that Ludwik heard tiirls
Suzanka is living happily with her husband and children right now
(That’s right Married women are off-limits)
Moreover, Ludas also coine having an affair with his wife
To begin with, Suzanka deeply loves Yan, so she’d never turn towards Ludwik in the first place
But, even if Suzanka off-liirl like her, would he be able to build a household like Yan’s?
—There's a big festival to celebrate the fall harvest toirl who's perfect for you there
(No no, I have a wife already No matter how you look at it, if I look for a e, she won’t have any face as the queen)
He smiled bitterly
(A festival huh…)
Ludwik’s ain
(Back when I lived in the town, I participated every year didn’t I?)
Recalling hoould dance with girls wearing their best clothes reserved for special occasions whilethe merry melody of the orchestra, Ludwik’s mouth naturally slackened
Next to hiroup of bandits have been running raht, and that if Duke Walter’s faction, who feels no love for hiht, it would become problematic
However, Ludwik’s heart had already left the castle and was flying towards the tohere the fall harvest festival will be held
(Mother said a night festival is where sheCalvin too…)
At the ti that it was a silly fabrication of his mother
—That person’s ignorance of the world was staggering When he tried to buy sweet duold coin, the owner told hie so she can’t accept it He beca “Eh? Eh? I can’t pay with this?” in confusion
—Even though he was a prince, he wasn’t stuck up at all When I treated his he failed to buy, he said, “Thanks” while looking terribly es in his ized every ti “Sorry, sorry”
—He was a really adorable person!
(Ahh, how nice—)
I his parents’ first encounter naturally filled his heart ars
“You look distracted, Sire Do you hear what I’htly encounters”
Adelheid’s words could no longer reach Ludwik’s ears
(I should go and check out the festival after all Even if I don’t meet my fated partner like Mother and Father, it should be fun just to participate)
After Ludas finally released by Adelheid, he walked down the hallhile thinking of tohta silver shoe peek out from a corner of the hallway
It stepped forward, then immediately retreated back behind the corner As Ludwik stopped in his path, the tip of the silver shoe peeked out again
It retreats again,
It peeks out again,
Again—
“……”
(Uhhh, could this foot be by any chance…?)
As Ludwik hesitated, Queen Katerina appeared with her lips tied and her whole body stiffened
The outer ends of her golden eyebrows are hung even higher than usual as she walks towards Ludwik
Queen Katerina glared at Ludith an excessively grim face, so Ludwik instinctively became nervous
“H-hey there, ”
He greeted her aardly
(Is she ht? She didn’t seeh)
Queen Katerina grips the skirt of her dress tightly and says in a chilling voice,
“It’s past the ti”
“Ahh, you’re right”
Ludwik brushes her sharp words off with a smile, upon which one of her furrowed eyebroitched
“……You have an awfully sht in the town Did soood happen?
“Errr……”
As Ludas considering how he should respond, he gazed back at Queen Katerina’s face, upon which he noticed so out of place
(Huh? Her eyes are red)
And it sees under her eyes too……
“Could it be that you waited for ht unable to sleep? Also, there are leaves on your shoulders”
The instant Ludwik inadvertently reached towards her to try to remove the leaf stuck between the frills on the tip of her shoulder, she retreated backwards with a start and used her hand to brush the leaf off with teeps, after which she glared at Ludith fearsome eyes
“D-d-d-delsreta subelarda toris este deranoi! Lerondo! (A-a-a-as if! It’s just your iination! Don’t be so full of yourself!) Dela faras yusteemina toriano! (Also, this leaf just happened to fall between the frills okay?!)
Ludwik couldn’t follow her rapid Endrish, but he understood from her tone and expression that they ords of repudiation
“Right, of course Sorry for saying so stupid”
Ludwik apologizes, upon which Queen Katerina huffs and puffs a single breath with her eyebrows still sharply pointing doard
“That’s quite enough”
She said coldly in Dahl before passing Ludwik’s side and leaving
While furtively seeing off her tensely straightened back,
(A festival… I wonder if she’ll go with me if I invite her)
Such a thought popped into his head, but he immediately smiled bitterly and shook his head to the side
I should give up The queen doesn’t seem like she’d enjoy a festival of commoners It’s certain that she’ll reject me just like when I invited her to dance before
“What!? His Majesty spent a night of passion with the likes of a flower girl!?”
Just past noon, when Therese, the daughter of Duke Folma, visited the salon in the castle dressed up like a peacock, she received the news that King Ludwik had stayed out all night yesterday froroupies and was left shocked
(That can’t be! His Majesty did, with a coner wife, he has ht by his side, yet—)
As she gripped her folding fan tightly with her hand that began to tremble all over, she pretended to be calm to the bitter end
“Ho, hohoho… It’s just a one-night indiscretion in the end It’s sost noblemen, so it doesn’t bother me really”
(That’s right After all, I’irl His Majesty fools around with for one night)
“As expected from Miss Therese”
“Miss doesn’t look bothered at all”
Her groupies lavish words of admiration onto her
“Hohoho… but of course”
She opens her fan and turns her nose sharply to the side, but her hand is still shaking a little
“So, Miss Therese, I hear that His Majesty is going to sneak out again to held in the town”
“Eh!?”
She bends her body forithout thinking, then hurriedly retracts herself backward and shakes her fan flippity-flap
“I-I have no interest in so with cohter If a lady who does such a thing is found out, she’ll be mocked by everyone”
Even as she says this on the surface,
(His Majesty is going to secretly join the festival? If I also secretly join the festival and just happen to encounter His Majesty there, His Majesty ht feel a sense of fate towards me)
Therese’s heart begins to beat pit-a-pat
A groupie chimes in,
“But, I hear there’s an old custom for unmarried men and women to wear masks at the festival, which most people still follow even now If you do that, then no one will knoho you are, and besides, I hear that sons of distinguished families often secretly participate like so as well”
“That’s right Moreover, I hear that when he was a prince, King Calvin also secretly joined a festival, which here he met His Majesty’smasks?”
(I see If I hide nize that I’m Therese of the Folma Family…)
Her heart wavered, but on the surface she remained cold
“No It’s not a question of whether you’re found out or not, but a question about the self-dignity of a noble lady Those who consider thele with commoners”
While she chides her fellow daughters of nobles,
(If everyone goes, even if I wear a ht find out who I am After all, I can’t hide this aura of refinement that naturally exudes out of me That would be a problem)
She considers, upon which,
“Oh my”
A groupie looked towards the door and suddenly raised her voice
“Is so the matter?”
“No, well, I felt like solimpse of the hem of a dress and the tip of a shoe for a moment”
“My, the door is open”
“Perhaps she was eavesdropping? How unpleasant”
“Really, how vulgar”
The noble daughters gru close the door
The maid looked down the hallway just to make sure, but there was no one on either side
Was it just ht I saw a silver shoe… It has to be, or if not, then it had to have been a shoe with a different color that si from it After all, the only ears that silver shoe is…)
The festival night, which Ludwik could barely bear waiting for, came
Though he was banned froatekeepers sympathized with Ludas abused by Queen Katerina
“If Your Highness wishes to leave the castle, there’s a sarden that’s noron Many in the castle secretly go out to play by using that hole”
They secretly informed him
Following their tip-off, Ludwik easily escapes the castle walls and descends the hill, heading towards the town under the refreshi+ng ht
The festival had already begun, and the streets were bustling, filled with people everywhere
The square was illuhts, where food stalls were lined up Transparent red and blue candy, grilled river fish that were browned, pork skewers dripping with juice, minced bird s
The young men at the festival adorned the clothes they usually ith things like flowers, ribbons, and feathers, while the young women wore coats with puffy sleeves and skirts laced withwith necklacesbrooches full of luster, and their hair that they had curled
In accordance to tradition, there arewith a wildflower piercing his chest pocket that he plucked on his way here
It wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to show his face as that he didn’t want the scratches on his face to be conspicuous Though it’s gotten much better, it still hasn’t coirls
(Well, I’ one to dance with ht? It’s the fall festival which only comes once a year after all)
The giant croas cla, all juh the square that is filled with liveliness and enthusiasirl stayed his eye
She alking in the same direction a little ways in front of Ludwik
As to why the girl caught his eye, it’s because she was dangerously unreliable: often coht, bu several ti when a wave of people push from her side
She seeh a crowd and has a troubled look on her face Being overwhelure out how to advance forward
She’s facing forward so Ludwik couldn’t see her face, but with a slender waist, supple arhs that wind down to dainty ankles, she was a girl with a relossy, flaxen hair dangles down to her back
As for age, she looks to be around sixteen or seventeen
As she teetered one way then tottered another, Ludwik beca on nervously as if he were on tenterhooks,
The girl suddenly turned around
As she suddenly turned her s to reverse her direction, her sainst Ludwik’s shoulder, for Ludho had begun to advance towards her, couldn’t dodge in time
“Kyah”
“Wah”
Each raises his, her respective voice
Repelled by Ludwik’s body, the girl’s slender body was about to fall over backwards Ludwik hurriedly winds his arm around her delicate waist to support her
“I-I’m sorr—”
The girl begins to apologize with a bright, adorable voice
While doing so, she looks up towards Ludwik’s face with her own hidden by a mask
“!”
Upon which, her shoulders immediately jolt with a start
“Eh?! Kya—h!”
She chirped
(What was the “Eh?!” and “Kya—h!” about just now?)
Ludas startled as well, causing hihter as he flinched
“P-please, let go”
The girl appeals while twisting her body
She then stained her cheeks bright red, and with a voice as faint as a ghost,
“I-I’m fine now, so”
She added
“R-right”
Her bashful de with the opposite sex, was si Ludwik to become flustered as well He obediently reirl with the flaxen hair cast her face doard and ain,
“It’s okay… Calm down, he shouldn’t have realized”
“Eh?”
“It’s nothing Now then, excusenow
She turned her back towards Ludwik in a huff, but iht into soain
As her body fell towards him,
“What th— watch out!”
Ludwik hurriedly catches her shoulders, upon which this tiins to flush red as she turns towards him
“D-don’t mind me”
She says in a shrill, nervous voice as if she’s feeling vexed and e off while continuing to bump into people
As Ludwik followed her with his eyes, wondering, “Is she really okay?” worriedly, for soirl stopped and slooowly turned backwards towards him as discretely as possible, as if to observe him
The moment her eyes met with his,
“!”
Her shoulders juins briskly walking forward in a panic After bu pushed to the side by several people, she turns towards Ludwik again
Their eyes ain
“!”
She begins walking again, then—
After repeating the sairl bit her lips with a beet red face and returned to where Ludas She expresses her discontentment,
“You’re troublingat me?”
“You seee crowds, so I’m worried whether you’ll be fine By the way, how a you?”
“W-, Well— I’ That’s why, do kindly stop o meet your sweetheart already— I mean, please don’t mind me”
“Sweetheart? I’m not scheduled to meet anyone”
Ludwik answers perplexedly, upon which the girl accuses him with a doubtful voice
“You say that, but you’re really scheduled to irl aren’t you?”
She looked left and right at the people behind Ludwik restlessly
Why a flower girl? As Ludwik becaly baffled,
“It seems she hasn’t arrived yet, huh”
The girl er sharply towards Ludwik, al his face
“You seem like a real softie so I’ll let you know: Just because she sells flowers doesn’t mean that inside, she’s sweet and pure like a flower as well Flower girls who are master swindlers or assassins are not uncommon even in literature— I mean, even in stories The moment handsome and sociable irls frouards down, they’ll be tricked and end up with their heads rolling on the floor”
“Eh? Ehh?”
Swindlers? assassins? What is this girl saying all of a sudden?
“For exa a poisonous snake within a flower basket, s your throat once through with the sharp end of a flower stem…”
What kind of girl sees a flower and iines variations on assassination?
However, her expression is dead serious Her pointed eyebrows and pouting lips tied slightly to one side look unduly adorable
“By stuffing your nose and mouth full of flower petals, she could also suffocate you Even if she’s not an assassin, she could be a swindler If she says she’s selling flowers to pay for her the medicine of a sick fa put into a treasure chest as a baby and set down a river, where she was eventually picked up downstream by an elderly couple requires attention as well”
“R-right Thanks”
(This girl’s a real oddball, but she’s cute, isn’t she)
Moreover, she’s really pretty
The upper half of her face is hidden by her ht line and her lips are sant Her skin, illu the streets, is white and translucent like snow
She’s bound to be even more beautiful if she removes her mask
Her outfit is soirl would wear: a simple blouse topped with a vest and finished with a skirt However, the textiles used are of good quality, and the seas done attentively as well The design is a bit old-fashi+oned, like soo, but that only served to give it a feeling of freshness
More than anything, her gestures carry an aura of refinehter of some noble family who snuck away to come see the festival
Listening to her outlandish warnings beca, such that Ludwik al to contain himself, his face naturally turned into a smile as he said to her,
“I’ll keep ht If you happen to be alone as well, wanna walk around the festival together?”
“Eh?”
The girl opens her eyes wide behind her mask
“You can have some peace of mind if you keep watch over ht?”
Ludwik says, upon which, while fidgeting her body,
“Y-y-y-you have have a point If alk together, I can guard you against swindlers and assassins better when they approach you… as well”
Sheher chin abruptly to the side
“Very well Please stick close to me”
“Thanks, you’re a big help”
Ludwik sain, which she tries to hide by turning to the side once again
(This girl seeerously unreliable, so it’s best that I look after her)
Ludwik felt like a guardian If she knehat he was thinking, she would probably becoh
“Let’s go over there first”
She began to step forward, but was i his best to contain hiain,
“It’s best not to go against the flow of people In times like these, you shouldn’t rush, but patiently walk in the same direction as everyone else
As Ludwik offers advice by her ears, her earlobes were stained red and she whimpered as if to express that she felt humiliated
“T… thanks I’ll contemplate that for now I mean, I’ll keep that in mind”
She persisted in acting tough but still thanked him
She has an unyielding spirit, but it seems she does have the humility to consider others’ words The reason she expressly corrects her formal speech, which she leaks out at times, into casual speech e
(For a noble daughter, the plain speech of a townsgirl must feel fresh)
Ludwik slackens his irl testily curved her mouth doards
“You irl, but that is not the case— I s are really quick I never lost to boys in a race when I was a child It’s just that I’ve never had a chance to walk around where there are lots of people gathered in one place Though I may look like this, I actually have an abundance of life experiences and have escaped hell several times”
“The hell that such a delicate-looking girl could escape ht as tried his best to hold his laughter in
(This girl really is an oddball and a cute one at that)
“So, I can buy food fro me when I was about to fall over just now, I’ll offer you so— I mean, I’ll treat you We’ll be even then”
The girl checks out the different foods being offered by several stands nearby
“That looks good”
She said, twitching her perky nose with glittering eyes at the fragrant aro froht
(She said she’d treat me, but she just wants to eat that herself, doesn’t she…)
The girl was about to buently pulled her back, causing her to whiain in shame The two slowly but steadily made their way to the pork skewer stand like so, upon which,
“I’ll have two skewers, please”
She takes out a gold coin fro triumphantly and hands it to the owner
“Missy, I can’t accept this”