The Villainess Is Being Doted on by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Country 62
Resonance of the Ring"Oh, Princess Tiararose…is something the matter?"
"Philliane. No, it is nothing."
Philiane and the maids were making preparations for her trip to attend Akari and Hartknights"s wedding ceremony. Tiararose had been watching them, when she felt a strangeness in her finger.
-There is something wrong with the ring?
The ring finger of her left hand.
The Ring of the Starry Sky that Aquasteed had created and gifted to her. It now looked like it was shining. As if it wanted something. That was what she felt.
If it was just a normal ring, Tiararose would not have cared as much. She would have a.s.sumed that the jewels had caught the light, and that was all. However, this was not the kind of ring where such suspicions could be ignored.
As Tiararose sat still and stared at the ring, Philliane asked her, "do you miss it?"
"It will be nearly two years since you last saw your old house in Lapis Lazuli. Though, the time has pa.s.sed rather quickly…"
"Indeed. I plan to stay in that house for only one day, so I would like to talk to father and mother as much as possible."
"Yes."
She would also have to check to see if there were any new pastry shops in the area.
She wondered…if there were any new pastry shops, would she be able to go around and eat everything?
"By the way, I hear that Lady Akari"s position has become quite stable."
Tiararose said that she was glad to hear it. But Philiane looked indignant.
-Ah, she was still angry.
Akari had once snuck into Tiararose"s room and hurt her in order to take Aquasteed for herself.
Tiararose did not care about that anymore, but Philiane had continued to harbor ill feelings towards Akari. Of course, it was much the same with Prince Hartknights, who had treated her badly when annulling their engagement.
"I am well aware that you and Lady Akari are now good friends. However, you do recall that Lady Akari put a mark on your face?! Even if it is now gone, that was too horrible."
"Ye-yes…"
"And this Prince Hartknights. I think it is very odd for him to invite his former fiancee to his own wedding!"
"But we are neighboring countries and our on the most friendly terms…"
The memory of it alone seemed to make Philiane very annoyed. She pulled out a handkerchief and began to bite it.
"I know. Why don"t we drink some tea and relax? I have some honey that I recently bought. And there are scones as well."
"Princess Tiararose…yes, I will prepare it right away."
"For yourself as well. You will drink with me, won"t you Philiane?"
"Thank you, my lady."
Tiararose smiled and said that it was very important to be calm. Philiane allowed the tenseness in her shoulders to loosen and she laughed.
The bite-size scones were freshly baked and very fragrant.
The honey, jam and cream cheese that were served with the scones were all Tiararose"s favorites.
"By the way, Philiane. It seems that I"ve been receiving many new accessories of late?"
"Yes. Many hair ornaments and brooches have been brought in. They are designed to go with your new ring."
"I see…"
Even the dress that Tiararose was wearing now was decorated in jewels around the neck that matched her ring. She was impressed at what others carefully observed, and of course, she was genuinely happy.
"This is additional proof of your popularity with the public."
"Yes."
She was very happy with the fact that Marineforest had accepted her. It made her want to do more for this country.
Philiane looked very proud and somehow even more pleased than Tiararose.
Tiararose felt that she was blessed not only with a good marriage partner but with a good maid.
"It was surely for this that I separated from Prince Hartknights. That is what I think now."
"For this… Yes, that is true. Princess Tiararose, you look the prettiest when you are around Prince Aquasteed."
"Oh. But thank you, Philiane."
The ring, as the name implied, was like a star.
It shined like a night sky.
"It wasn"t just me then."
As Tiararose was reading in her room, she saw clearly that the ring was bright and blinking. It wasn"t like yesterday, where she wasn"t sure about it.
-Is there some secret to this ring?
It was almost as if it wanted something or was trying to tell her something.
"I wonder if Prince Aqua knows something about it?"
She had a.s.sumed this to be the case at first, but apparently, it was not.
And it wasn"t something that bothered her too much-but she felt that it would perhaps not hurt to ask him about it at least once.
As for Aquasteed…he was currently sleeping on Tiararose"s lap. It was to be only a short rest during his work.
It was their afternoon rest time on the sofa.
"…He looks so cute when he is sleeping."
She saw this face every day but was never bored with it.
His face looked so tranquil as he slept. She touched his face and then turned a page in her book.
"Looking at his face while I read. And with sweets too."
Aquasteed was on her lap.
She sank deeply into the soft sofa and read her book. To the side, there was a table that held some tea and macarons.
It was the perfect scene of happiness for her.
Tiararose was so in love with this moment, that she wondered if such happiness should even be allowed to one person.
Aquasteed had been so busy recently.
As he would be leaving the country soon to attend Akari and Hartknights" wedding, he was attempting to finish much of his work in advance.
Because of this, he would often return to their room very late. There were times when Tiarrose was unable to wait for him and fell asleep. And when she woke up…it would already be morning.
-To be his wife, but fall asleep first!
She would sometimes think.
But Aquasteed told her that it was fine for her to sleep ahead of him. Philiane had also told her that staying up late was bad for her appearance, and Tiararose could never resist her orders.
She did not want to add any more worries to Aquasteeds problems.
Tiararose looked down at the ring and wondered what it was trying to say.
But then again, she knew that if she stayed silent, he would probably be angry with her later.
"I suppose I will just tell him that the ring occasionally shines when he wakes up."
She didn"t want to wake him up by force while he was tired. Besides, he had said that he still had more work to do. And that would not change for quite some time.
So for now, she just wanted him to rest as much as he could.
Thinking this, Tiararose gently brushed Aquasteed"s hair with her fingers.
Then Aquasteed"s eyebrows narrowed and his eyes opened.
"Oh, did I wake you up…?"
"No. Something is coming."
"What?"
Aquasteed still looked a little tired as he got up.
She felt a tinge of regret as the warmth left her legs, but at the same time, she wondered what he meant-she did not have to wait long for the answer.
A bright light appeared before her eyes, and a single letter floated in the air.
"Ohh."
She caught the letter and saw that "To Princess Tiara," was written on it in pretty handwriting.
She immediately recognized it as Akari"s handwriting, and Tiararose could not help but laugh.
"I knew it," was all Aquasteed said as he returned to Tiararose"s lap.
"You two really are quite close…"
"Yes. Especially recently."
"I might be a little jealous that she is able to contact you so easily."
He sounded a little sulky. Tiararose chuckled and opened the letter.
What could she have to write about so close to the wedding? She looked at the words and saw a simple greeting that was standard in this world. And then Akari talked about how happy she was and how much she was looking forward to the wedding.
"What does it say?"
"It seems like Lady Akari is making very grand preparations for the wedding. She is very much looking forward to it."
"I see… Poor Hartknights. I can only imagine what surprises she will prepare."
"Oh, Prince Aqua…"
Aquasteed appeared to be bracing himself for a lot of trouble already.
Tiararose could not disagree with him though. Then she looked at the bottom of the letter-which contained her usual writing in j.a.panese.
-What could have happened this time?
She wondered if maybe Akari had found a secret pa.s.sage in the royal castle of Lapis Lazuli.
Because all that was written was, "I made a great discovery!! Let us unravel the secrets together." It was very much like Akari to show her excitement but not give any details as to what this discovery was.
And so Tiararose had no idea what she was supposed to do.
It was not as if the letter asked her to extend her stay so that they could solve this mystery together… However, given how obsessed Akari was about otome games, it must be reasonably important.
As she pondered all of this, Aquasteed raised a hand to her cheek and said, "what is it?"
"Oh, nothing… I was just thinking about how it was very like her to send such a letter. She appears to have made a discovery, but wrote nothing about it, otherwise."
"That is very much like her. But I wish that she would not involve you in it."
Aquasteed joked about how there would be less of her.
"That will not happen. Don"t worry."
"I know. But we are also visiting your family in Lapis Lazuli. And with the wedding and all, will either of you have any time?"
"That is just it…"
It was Akari"s own wedding. She could not run around playing right before or after it. Perhaps she would not mind behaving in such a way, but Hartknights would be very worried.
Well, it might be best for him to suffer a little… Tiararose thought.
However, Aquasteed was well aware of Akari"s personality now.
He was already sighing as he foresaw the trouble that would likely occur.