Chapter 9

After finishing her conversation with the queen, Olivia headed towards the library in the back garden.

The paperwork was completed in the morning, and she had originally planned to spend the afternoon reading.

Silas had sword practice in the afternoon and would join her as soon as he finished. Although he was not particularly skilled at swordsmanship compared to Alan, he had been taking his lessons more seriously since the carriage attack a while ago. According to Colin, his bodyguard, it was to protect Olivia in a cool manner if anything happened. To Olivia, being cool was not important; she just wanted Silas to be safe. However, when she heard this, she felt a bit flustered.

When Olivia stepped out into the garden, she opened her parasol. If she walked outside without it, Taylor would nag, "What will you do if you get sunburned!"

It was a slightly windy day, and as she approached the library, a pleasant fragrance from the rose garden drifted over on the breeze. Drawn by the scent, Olivia's gaze turned to the rose garden, where she stopped and saw Princess Florentia.

Princess Florentia seemed to love roses. She was looking at the flowers with a very peaceful expression.

When Olivia greeted her, Princess Florentia slowly turned and gave a small bow.

"Good afternoon, Lady Olivia. Are you here to see the roses too?"

"No, I am heading to the library..."

Princess Florentia shifted her gaze to the library visible from the rose garden and smiled gently.

"Hehe, that's right. You do love books, Lady Olivia. I've seen you reading with Prince Silas in the library. The two of you are going to be engaged soon, aren't you? You two get along so well."

When she was told that she and Silas got along well, a light blush crept onto Olivia's cheeks. She didn't want to deny it, but it was also embarrassing to agree. As she was wondering how to respond, Princess Florentia, who was staring at the library, said softly,

"...I envy you."

Olivia tilted her head in surprise. Did Princess Florentia also like books?

Since permission was required to enter the castle's library, Olivia couldn't invite her, but Alan or Silas could get the permission if asked.

When Olivia said this, Princess Florentia widened her eyes slightly and smiled in a troubled manner.

"Yes... if there's an opportunity."

It was a rather hesitant response.

Princess Florentia said she would continue to look at the flowers in the rose garden, so Olivia bid her farewell and headed to the library.

Using the key to the restricted section that Silas had given her, she entered and took the book she had been reading to the reading area.

From the window in the reading area, she could see Princess Florentia.

"Really, she does love roses."

Olivia didn't particularly dislike them, but she wasn't so fond of them that she could spend time just looking at them.

Silas knew this, so he had initially sent her roses frequently, but recently he had stopped giving her flowers altogether.

"...It's not that I particularly want them, but now that he's stopped giving them, I sometimes want them... Is this being picky?"

"What's being picky?"

As she muttered this while looking at Princess Florentia, a voice came from very close by, making her shoulders tremble in surprise.

Turning around, she saw Silas entering. His sword practice must have ended earlier than expected.

Olivia's face turned red.

"N-nothing... nothing at all..."

"I heard you say that you want something now that it's stopped. What do you want?"

Silas sat next to Olivia and leaned in to look at her face. He poked her blushing cheeks and smiled a bit mischievously.

"You were looking at the rose garden, right? Do you want roses?"

"No, that is, um..."

"I would give them to you anytime if you asked."

His thoughts were completely exposed. Trying to hide it would be futile. Olivia felt embarrassed and looked down.

Silas plucked a white rose from the vase on the table, checked that it had no thorns, wiped it with a handkerchief, and placed it behind Olivia's ear.

"I want you to endure with this for today."

Olivia couldn't say anything more. Her face felt like it was on fire. Silas seemed to find it amusing that Olivia blushed so much and always pushed her to the limit.

When Olivia finally covered her face with both hands and looked down, Silas laughed and hugged her.

"Sorry, sorry. I went a bit too far."

Silas, chuckling, didn't seem to be truly repentant.

Olivia glared at him through her fingers.

Silas kissed the top of her head to calm her down.

"So, why did you suddenly want roses?"

"N-no, I didn't suddenly want them... I just saw the roses and remembered when you gave me a bouquet before, and then..."

"You wanted them?"

"That's not it..."

"But you do want them, right?"

Silas seemed determined to make Olivia say "I want them." When she finally gave in and said in a small voice, "I want them..." he smiled in satisfaction.

"Next time, I'll give you a bouquet of red roses—"

"N-no, one is enough! One is more than enough!"

"Is that so?"

Olivia knew she preferred books to flowers and that her personality was not as feminine as Princess Florentia's. She had just remembered the time Silas gave her a bouquet of roses when she saw Princess Florentia happily looking at the roses. She just wanted Silas to give her some flowers, not a whole bouquet. One was enough. So, she was completely satisfied with the single rose he had placed in her hair.

"This is enough."

As Olivia touched the rose in her hair and smiled with a red face, Silas sighed while still hugging her.

"If you want something, I'll give it to you. Olivia, you really don't have many desires."

"That's not true...?"

Olivia did have desires. However, she was already very satisfied because Silas had given her the right to freely enter the library, including the restricted section. She was currently very content.

Silas, still hugging her, suddenly raised his head as if remembering something.

"By the way, I had a message from Father."

"From the king...?"

"Yes. Princess Florentia is going to inspect the ruins in the south starting five days from now, and we are to accompany her. My brother is also being forced to go by Mother's order, and Father wants us to interfere with that."

"The king..."

The king seemed determined to interfere with their relationship. Even though the two of them didn't seem particularly interested in each other, he was trying to tear them apart thoroughly.

(Still, the south...)

The ruins in the south were likely near the border between the Kingdom of Brioll and the Kingdom of Calzor. The relationship between the two countries was rather delicate. After a minor conflict near the border over a decade ago, a high wall was built, and soldiers constantly patrolled the area. While it wasn't on the brink of war, the relationship was not friendly. It seemed questionable to choose such a place for Princess Florentia's inspection.

Silas must have understood what Olivia was thinking. He chuckled softly.

"It seems to be Princess Florentia's wish. She wants to see the remains of the old dynasty."

"I see..."

During the time of the old dynasty, when Brioll, Lebonor, and Filarus were one country, the royal palace was located in the south of Brioll, near the border with Calzor. However, the location of the palace had changed several times during the old dynasty, and the ruins near the border with Calzor were from the middle period of the old dynasty. They were over a thousand years old and had been destroyed in the war that led to the fall of the old dynasty. Most of the remains were buried underground, and excavation work was currently underway. The excavation work was very labor-intensive, and most of it was done by convicts. Since there were many guards supervising the prisoners, the nearby town was not particularly unsafe. However, it was surprising that permission was granted for Princess Florentia to inspect such a place, even if it was her wish.

(But, ruins...)

While worrying about Princess Florentia, Olivia couldn't calm her excited heart. She had studied the old dynasty in books and knew a lot about it, but she had never seen the ruins. When she had expressed a desire to go before, her father, the duke, had opposed it. At the time, Olivia was engaged to Alan, and he had said it was too dangerous to take the future queen to a potentially risky place. However, this time, the inspection was by the king's order, so her father couldn't object.

(There's also a museum with artifacts excavated from the ruins, and there might be new discoveries that aren't in the books...!)

She was getting excited. Researchers would be gathered for the excavation, and she might be able to talk to them. There might be research notes or other materials. Would they show her? The middle period of the old dynasty was when paper was first made. Could there be any artifacts? She could read ancient languages to some extent.

"Olivia seems to like ruins more than roses."

Silas looked down at Olivia's face from close by. When he pointed out that her eyes were shining, Olivia covered her cheeks.

"From the look of it, you don't seem to mind going on the inspection. I'm relieved."

Silas stroked Olivia's head.

"...Well, I doubt we'll actually meet, so it should be fine."

Silas muttered, but Olivia, who was excited about seeing the ruins, didn't hear it.

Thank you for reading!

Tomorrow, "Your Highness, the Woman You Abandoned Is the Real Saint" will be released by Ichijinsha Novels! It's already on the shelves in some bookstores.

If you've purchased it, please check the back of the pin-up! The fluffy thing attached to Maynard's head is amazing (laughs)!