Chapter 12.2
Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
A knocking sound that seemed regular, all of a sudden, became irregular and urgent. It sounded like knocking on a glass window. Ariel’s consciousness, which had sunk deep into unconsciousness, slowly returned.
‘…Is there a breeze?’
She struggled to lift her eyelids, which had collapsed from sleep.
A black silhouette hung over the wide glass window in front of her. Outside the moonless window, it was eerie, like a monster had come to visit.
Ariel, who had been lying on her stomach, stood up in horror. Her stiff body stared at the slithering glass with a looming shadow. It took more than a dozen seconds for her to realize that it was the Prince talking through the window glass.
“Your… Highness?”
Seeing the blonde and familiar outline of a face illuminated by the orange light of the nightstand, she was taken aback, relieved that it wasn’t a complete stranger or a monster.
Ariel staggered over on her loose legs and opened the window to the unexpected visitor.
A refreshing scent permeated the night air as the blond hair and a thin blouse fluttered in the light breeze. Skyla, who stood with a grumpy face on the window frame, tilted his head. As usual, he looked somewhat displeased.
‘Aside from that, why is he here…’
“Your Highness, why did you come this way instead of the door?”
“…You don’t have to know.”
Skyla hesitated for a moment before he refused to answer.
‘I wish he could explain it to me sometimes.’
He was reticent and didn’t even have the slightest bit of affability.
Not knowing what more could she ask, awkwardly, Ariel fiddled with her fingers. As his blue eyes flickered to the white hand that moved, he sighed softly as she stopped moving at the glance.
“More than that, I heard you still haven’t eaten dinner yet.”
How on earth did he know when she hadn’t even told him yet?
“…Did Your Highness hear about it through the lady-in-waiting?”
“Yes.”
“Does that mean all of my other actions will be reported as well?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I brought you as my guest under my name, so I should know about your whereabouts.”
That was true. At his words, Ariel nodded her head in agreement.
“Thank you for your concern.”
However, Skyla’s ears blushed as if he had been caught talking about the obvious with an embarrassed look.
His rigid demeanor made her think he might turn and walk away at any moment. But instead, against her expectations, he moved closer. His left arm, hidden outside the window frame, then reached out and held something out.
Ariel’s eyes naturally fell to his palm.
A light pink paper box. It was a dainty and pretty thing, complete with a white ribbon.
“Your Highness, is this…?”
“At least eat this.”
He replied curtly.
“What’s my dignity if you come as my guest and keep starving?”
While it was an unfriendly way of speaking, Skyla’s behavior was clearly intended to take care of her. He must’ve put a lot of thought into it in his own way.
“Thank you.”
As she clasped her hands together politely and held them out, Skyla handed the box over, sliding it over her neat palms.
The box was cold. It looked like there was something like dessert in it.
Ariel glanced down at the small package she’d taken from him, then back up at him. When she made eye contact with Skyla, who had been watching her the entire time, he seemed surprised and flustered by the sudden gaze. The blue trembled and averted obliquely.
‘Is he embarrassed?’
She had a rough idea of Skyla’s feelings. In the first place, he seemed to be clumsy at being friendly, so she wondered if he was embarrassed to do something like this.
As she continued to stare, Skyla’s elegant face lowered slightly.
“Why did you turn down the Crown Prince’s offer?”
After a moment of hesitation, he asked something unexpected. Ariel thought for a moment before answering.
“He’s being rude to Your Highness.”
The answer was so unexpected that Skyla seemed surprised. His eyes widened as she went on.
“As someone who has been invited by Your Highness, I wasn’t happy to see someone being rude to you, even if it was the Crown Prince.”
“….”
Seeing Skyla was silent, with a complicated expression on his face, Ariel couldn’t quite guess what he was thinking.
‘He isn’t going to get mad, is he?’
As she was curious, he opened his mouth after a while.
“Behave as if every action you take is the reputation of your family. My name is on the line, so keep your head on straight and be smart.”
She thought he was going to give her a compliment, but he made another blunt remark. Ariel had gotten used to hearing it that it sounded as gentle as a nag at this point.
“Yes. I understand.”
“If you understand, just stay quiet and don’t unnecessarily show your face around.”
Turning his back without saying a word of goodbye, his expression remained stern until the end.
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