Volume 01 Side Story 05 - Side Story 05 Part 02 (2/2)

The return carriage was full of books I’d obtained. Because of this, Annie, my maid, and the coachman couldn’t ride in the same carriage… I say, but it was the same when we came here. His Highness had cleared everyone out, and Annie had rode a horse with Sir Glenn.

Annie was uneasy at first because she wasn’t used to horse riding, but she was riding with Sir Glenn, who is popular with women, so she willingly rode with him.

As for me, I was excited, and my heart wouldn’t stop beating as I wondered which book I should start with, so I also ignored His Highness who was watching me and smiling wryly.

Should I reread 『Star Travellers』today no matter what?

When I held the copy that I got from old man Lezzi, His Highness said, “Say, Elli.”

I raised my head, and His Highness reached out to touch my fluffy hair.

“Why did you want to remember the past?”

“Eh… That’s, mm, I… wanted to remember.”

“Hmm?” His Highness’s gentle voice urged me to speak as if it was unravelling my feelings. I reflected once again and expressed my insecurities, “I’m by your side right now because of what happened in the past. So I thought I should remember…”

His Highness smiled gently.

“Mm, that’s right. I’m thrilled that you tried to remember. Then, I’ll be honest… I was actually worried at first.”

“Eh,” I looked back at His Highness who was blinking. His blue eyes were clouded over like how I remember them in the past.

“Elli, you may know this, but my mother became a completely different person after her illness was cured. I know that she was forced to do so because of the situation…. But, I was worried about that. People change. No matter how much I relied on my memories of you and thought of you, I thought you might have changed in the time we didn’t meet.”

“Your Highness…”

The cloud in his blue eyes suddenly disappeared, and I was reflected in them.

“But you didn’t change at all. You were still the same 『Princess Bibliophile』that I knew. Elli. I see the you that hasn’t changed in the last four years, but I also see that you are a little different and have grown, and I fell in love with you again.”

I instantly knew that my cheeks had turned red.

His Highness wanted to say that the past is important, but the four years that I spent as his fiancée reminded him that nothing has changed between us.

I also wanted to respond to his feelings and looked into his blue eyes even though it was embarrassing.

“Me too. Over these last four years, I began to think of you as more irreplaceable than books.”

“Elli.”

His Highness smiled and touched my cheeks. I looked into his clear blue eyes and found the boy that I had met in the past.

My past with His Highness is…

“I feel like I’ve found a treasure.”

I asked his blinking blue eyes.

“Can you tell me the secret spell you promised that day?”

His Highness, whose smile had widened, was so close that I could feel his breath, and he quietly told me the secret spell. I went even redder, and he smiled in satisfaction, then he dropped a gentle and sweet kiss on my mouth.

In the shade of the maze-like bookcases.

A boy walked through it as if he was going on an adventure. His destination was the Princess, who had been caught in the forest of books.

The Princess had fluffy hair, and she reflected brightly in his eyes, even in the darkness. So no matter how much the book forest tries to hide her, he’s always able to find her.

Today too, the boy found the Princess without any hesitation and approached her as she read. Then, he gently whispered the secret spell.

――― You are my treasure.