Chapter 84

"From tomorrow, I will be living together with Prince Leonhardt."

With a fluttering heart, Cordelia looked up at the mansion before her.

It had been three months since Leonhardt was declared the crown prince and she became his official fiancée. After completing various procedures, Cordelia was to live in the mansion given to Leonhardt.

The Young Lion Palace, located within the palace grounds, was a palace with a main residence, several annexes, and a large garden. It was named after the legend that the ancestors of the Lionel royal family were sacred beasts, lions.

(The annex I will be living in is the eastern one.)

Turning her gaze to the right, she saw a building with a light pink wall. It was about two sizes smaller than the main residence, but from the roof to the walls, it was adorned with beautiful carvings and decorations. It was an annex built for the crown prince's fiancée, connected to the main residence by a covered corridor. Although the buildings for sleeping and waking were separate, it was designed to make it easy to spend meal and leisure time with Leonhardt.

"Meow!"

Sniffing the air, the white cat Nini was walking around the garden. Nini was also going to live with Cordelia in the annex. To be safe, she had brought Nini here a few times to check if there were any issues with the building or the location.

(I heard that cats often attach to a house rather than a person and don't like to change their residence.)

Fortunately, Nini seemed to have no major complaints. She followed Cordelia wherever she went, wagging her fluffy tail.

"Meow!"

"Good, good. Nini is so cute."

Nini was looking up at her feet, a sign that she wanted to be picked up.

Cordelia took a handkerchief from her dress pocket. After quickly wiping the dust and sand from Nini's four paws, she picked her up, and Nini purred contentedly.

Purring, Nini suddenly stretched out her tail and flicked her ears. Soon, the sound of hooves grew loud enough for Cordelia to hear, approaching quickly.

"Cordelia!"

A bright and refreshing voice, like the wind of early summer. Leonhardt, skillfully riding a white horse, approached. His posture on the saddle was beautiful, his back straight, and his golden hair, shimmering in the sunlight, was dazzling. With his cloak billowing, he rode straight toward her.

(Beautiful...)

Cordelia let out a small sigh. The sight of Leonhardt riding the white horse was so picturesque, she wanted to capture it on a canvas.

Cordelia had also learned horseback riding as a pastime, but her riding was nothing compared to Leonhardt's elegant and powerful style. She found herself completely captivated.

‘No matter how the times change, many women still admire men on horses.’

The voice from her feet immediately brought her back to reality. The speaker was a small golden beast, Lionel himself, the ancestor and first king of Leonhardt.

Three months ago, when he appeared as a lion cub, he could only make sounds like "gyau" and "gau." But somehow, he had learned to speak human language in this form.

It was unclear how he managed to speak in the form of a lion cub, but as a sacred beast, it was probably easy for him to do so. Cordelia accepted this and understood.

Since Lionel and Leonhardt could not be far apart, they inevitably had many opportunities to interact.

"I'm glad. Cordelia, you've been watching my horseback riding for a long time."

A smiling voice came from above. Leonhardt, who had stopped his white horse beside her, gracefully dismounted. In one fluid motion, he took Cordelia's right hand.

"Your knight, Leonhardt, has arrived."

A light touch on the back of her hand. Leonhardt, kneeling, kissed her hand, as a knight would, with love and loyalty. He held her hand respectfully and lowered his eyes.

"K-Knight?!"

The golden hair swaying below her, the lips touching her hand, the secret sweet whispers, and the use of formal language by Leonhardt made Cordelia freeze.

"His Highness is the crown prince. Please don't kneel and use formal language with me."

"At the same time, I want to be your knight. Do you think I am not good enough as a knight?"

"…I don't know anyone as reliable as His Highness."

Not only his skills with the sword and horseback riding, but also his character and way of being. To Cordelia, Leonhardt was so reliable that it almost seemed wasteful. Even though she thought she shouldn't rely on him too much, she often found herself being helped by him.

"I find His Highness incredibly reliable, but this kind of playfulness is bad for my heart…"

"I enjoy it."

Leonhardt said with a smile. Though he was gentle and sincere, he often played pranks when it was just the two of them, Leonhardt and his guard. It seemed he enjoyed seeing Cordelia flustered, who usually maintained a serious and composed demeanor.

"Looking up at you like this reminds me of the view I had when I was a lion cub—"

"Meow!"

Nini was hitting Leonhardt's leg with her front paws, trying to separate him from Cordelia, who was being troubled by him.

‘What a brave one. A cat acting like a loyal dog?’

Lionel snorted. Despite his adorable appearance as a lion cub, his true nature seemed to seep through, giving him a somewhat arrogant expression.

"Hehe. As a knight for Cordelia, Nini might be the senior."

Leonhardt laughed softly, brushed the sand off the hem of his cloak, and stood up.

"I'm sorry for being late. Did something urgent come up?"

"Yes. I have something to discuss with you. Can you spare some time?"