At the end of summer, when the sunlight became soft and the season cheerful to spend time, a carriage with the Crown Prince on board was heading to the neighboring country Jigguras going through the main road of the Baldin"s royal capital.
Keithfalt and Tinaria were together in the carriage which was protected by a few soldiers of Baldin. When they had visited the orphanage, they had been together in the same carriage, but this time, they had to spend 3 long days in the confined s.p.a.ce of a carriage to reach the neighboring country, so Tinaria was a little nervous. However, since both were silent creating a quiet s.p.a.ce like in the garden, she had all the time to enjoy the view from the window.
While Tinaria watched the royal capital until it looked tiny like a dot, she made a sight of relief about the fact that she could prepare a dress before the departure. When the owner of the rental costume shop, who said she was an acquaintance of the director, looked at Tinaria"s embroideries, her eyes were sparkling, and the minute after, brought all the dresses and garments she owned. When she gave the embroideries with colorful accents, the shopkeeper took them with a happy face, and lent her with the owner"s recommendation a dress suited for daytime in addition to a dress suited for an evening party. She had thought she had no choice but to bring a dress she would fix herself for daytime, so she was very thankful for the shopkeeper"s consideration.
Tinaria timidly looked up at Keithfalt"s face which was closer than usual. It appeared Keithfalt was worn out by his daily government affairs and was sleeping with his eyes closed. A natural smile came looking at his relaxed sleeping face. She was worried sick that he might be working too hard, so she was extremely relieved to see him rest. Keithfalt had his arms folded and his head was lying down, sometimes, his black hair were fluttering in the wind coming from the slightly opened window. If he were to open his eyes now, then she could have clearly seen his navy blue eyes that she loved. The heart of Tinaria was warm just by been near him like this.
＊＊＊
When the carriage came to a stop with a rattling sound, Keithfalt opened his eyes. What immediately came into his eyes were beautiful silver hair that were shining as if emitting a warm light on its own with the light from the window. His hand was unconsciously about to touch her hair, but when he heard Tinaria"s voice saying "Keithfalt?", he suddenly stopped moving it.
"It looks like we arrived in the town where we chose the inn for today…"
Keithfalt informed Tinaria as if nothing happened, and she replied with a soft smile. Keithfalt stepped out of the carriage, his brows furrowed, not understanding why his palm raised up. Then, he raised his hand a second time for the escort and Tinaria happily took it while blushing.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
The pace of the travel was good, and as planned, on the evening of the 3rd day after the departure, they finally arrived at the royal castle of Jigguras. Even if Keithfalt was able to sleep in the carriage during the travel, he thought he would still be tired, but contrary to his expectations, he finally had plenty of rest and his body was light.
When they arrived at the royal castle, Siegfried, the King of Jigguras, came to greet them. Keithfalt and Siegfried were cousins, Keithfalt"s mother was the younger sister of Siegfried"s father. He had the same black hair as Keithfalt, but his eyes were purple. Today, he was 26 years old, 4 years older than Keithfalt.
"Keithfalt, thank you for coming. It"s been 5 years since we last met."
"Yes. It has been a long time. Happy birthday."
"Thank you. I didn"t think I would hold a birthday party at this age."
Siegfried answered with a wry smile. When he succeeded to the throne last year, a large-scale party should normally have been held, but because the former King of Jigguras suddenly died of illness just before, it didn"t happen for the sake of mourning. For that reason, one year later, the birthday party of Siegfried was dealt with on a grand scale to make it up.
"Still, you came even though you"re busy. I heard you are doing most of Baldin"s government affairs. It is a great difference with the mediocre me, who still entrust the government affairs to the prime minister of my father."
"That"s not true. I am still a novice."
"No need to be so modest. Besides… I don"t have such a beautiful wife."
Tinaria, who felt a darkness in his eyes for a moment, turned towards him, bowed her head in a hurry, and greeted him.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Tinaria."
"Nice to meet you. I am Siegfried, the cousin of Keithfalt. By no means, you are certainly a beautiful woman. You are captivating."
"I don"t deserve such a praise."
"Don"t be so humble. I am looking forward to see you dressed up tonight."
After saying those words, Siegfried turned back. Keithfalt, somehow feeling irritated at Tinaria who was shrinking back in fear more and more, walked to the room prepared for the occasion in silence.