Chapter 85

Lilith awoke, smiled happily at the sight of Jesarld beside her, and then gradually recalled the situation, noticing that Jesarld was still wearing his shirt and pants.

"Good morning, Lilith."

"Good morning. I'm sorry for holding you back so forcefully last night. Didn't you sleep well because you were still dressed?"

"No... it's fine."

"But you should have taken off your clothes..."

"Really, it's fine."

The clothes were a bulwark of Jesarld's rationality, and he could not cross that line himself.

Lilith, looking worried, furrowed her brow, but then her face suddenly lit up.

This only gave him a bad feeling.

Although the days she had spent with Lilith were still short, Jesarld, who had been tossed around by various events, had come to understand.

"Lilith—"

"Then, let's take them off now!"

"Huh?"

"It's still early in the morning, so we can sleep a little more. So, please?"

There was no way he could obediently follow such a request.

Indeed, it was around the time when the servants were just starting to wake up, but Jesarld still tried to resist. ——In vain.

"No, Lilith. I'm really fine. It's normal to sleep in clothes on the battlefield, and I'm used to it—"

"But this isn't the battlefield. It's a comfortable bed. Look, making too much noise will disturb everyone. Tena will come, so come on."

Of course, it was easy for Jesarld to escape from Lilith.

The problem was that he had become weak for Lilith.

If someone had told him a few months ago that he would be helplessly undressed by a small woman, he would have laughed it off. ——No, even yesterday.

Lilith undid all the buttons on the shirt and then reached for the pants, but then stopped.

She was looking down, but her cheeks were flushed, and her hesitation was evident.

That was the problem.

Jesarld's bulwark of rationality crumbled with a loud noise, and in the end, he spent the night in the bedroom until the last moment.

＊ ＊ ＊

"Ah, Your Highness. You're up early."

"Cut the sarcasm. Are the preparations for departure ready?"

"It's not sarcasm, it's envy. I want to get married too. I want a cute bride."

Surprised by Dennis's unexpected words, Jesarld realized he hadn't taken much leave.

In the palace, no women approached Jesarld, so it was naturally a stuffy workplace full of men.

Thinking that he should give more leave to Dennis and Frio, Jesarld smiled to himself, realizing how much he had been influenced by Lilith.

To others, that smile would have been terrifying, but to Dennis, it looked like a genuine smile.

"Are you reminiscing? Ah, how envious I am."

While listening to Dennis's complaints, Jesarld prepared himself and focused on the documents that had been delivered while waiting for Lilith to be ready.

When he was informed that Lilith was ready, Jesarld stopped the carriage in front of the inn and waited for a short time while conducting a detailed inspection.

Originally, he would have ridden a horse, but this time he planned to ride in the carriage.

Lilith eventually emerged from the inn with a smile befitting a princess, but Jesarld, seeing her, pursed his lips to keep from laughing.

However, the people of the town, who had gathered to see them off, did not miss this expression and shuddered.

They mistakenly thought that the prince was angry because the princess had kept him waiting and were worried about her.

The townspeople, who had not even noticed that the princess had been kidnapped and had housed the culprit, thought that some punishment would be in order.

The innkeeper who had housed Saul was now bedridden.

In such a tense atmosphere, when Lilith noticed Jesarld standing in front of the carriage, her face visibly lit up.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

"No, I wasn't waiting."

Everyone doubted their ears at this exchange.

The prince had indeed been waiting for the princess, even if only for a short time.

The princess, looking as if she were running, pinched the skirt of her dress and headed towards the prince.

Moreover, the prince was looking at her with a raised corner of his mouth.

(What? Could it be... the prince is... smiling?)

Everyone in the town, including the guard knights, was surprised by Jesarld's expression, which might have been a smile, while Lilith stood beside him.

Then, she turned to face the townspeople.

"Everyone, I've caused you trouble. But I'm completely fine now. Thank you. Then—"

The townspeople were stunned by the princess's words, which were not a reprimand but a thank you.

However, the princess's gaze, which had been slowly scanning the crowd, stopped at a certain point, and her words faltered.

"Lilith?"

Surprised, the prince's arm was pulled, and the princess suddenly ran towards a point, causing everyone to frown.

There were street children there.

Several children had hurriedly run away, but one boy stood firm, biting his lip.

An adult standing nearby tried to hide the street children, who were a disgrace to the town, but it was too late.

"Are you the child who helped Hans?"

"Y-Yes..."

"Thank you! Your presence was such a great help! I was able to reunite with the prince safely thanks to you. Thank you so much."

"Eh? ...No, I..."

Lilith knelt down to meet the eyes of the dirty red-haired street child and shook his hand vigorously.

The child's thin body was swaying due to the force.

"I want to do something to thank you..."

"N-No, we, we've already received something!"

"From Hans?"

"Y-Yes. And, and from the prince..."

Saying this, the red-haired street child let go of Lilith's hand and frantically searched his pocket.

He then took out his clenched hand from his pocket and opened it to show a pearl that was reflecting the sunlight.

"I gave all the remaining pearls that fell at the crossroads."

"Prince?"

"Is that enough? If you want more rewards—"

N-No, no, it's enough! We're fine!"

The street child, who was already flustered, started to tremble, apparently because he had seen Jesarld standing behind Lilith.

He was trying hard to use proper language, but it only made him seem more suspicious.

The townspeople, who were watching the scene, were in a state of panic, not understanding what was happening.

Previously, a noble who had stayed in the town had been extremely angry at the sight of street children.

He had blamed the town for leaving such dirty people unattended and had made the mayor beg for forgiveness.

Since then, the town had focused on eliminating street children, but they kept appearing from somewhere.

The existence of street children was a headache for the town.

Now, the princess was holding the hand of a street child, smiling, and even thanking him.

"What's your name?"

"...Jean"

"Jean only?"

"That's... a nickname—ah, Red-Haired Jean"

"Red-Haired Jean. What a nice name. Because it's the same red hair as my husband— the prince. It's very cool."

Jean had intended to say "Jean, the cursed child," but corrected himself.

When he told the princess the name his friends called him, she smiled happily and praised him, but someone gasped.

It was probably because the princess had said that the street child was the same as the prince, who was called the "Red Reaper."

In reality, Jean's hair was reddish-brown, but the prince said nothing, just looking down at the two of them.

"Cool?"

"Yes, it is. Seeing your hair made me think of the prince and gave me courage. Thank you so much. I don't think giving you the pearls I dropped is enough, but I can't think of anything else right now. So, if you ever need help, could you write a letter to 'Imperial Capital Clerina, Royal Palace, Princess Amalilis Airas'? I'll do my best to help you—help you all."

"I can't write..."

"Oh... Then, you can ask a scribe. There's a delivery service in this town, right? Don't worry about the money. I'll take care of it."

"But..."

"Okay?"

"...Yes"

Jesarld could only watch Lilith's surprising actions, but he understood that he couldn't resist when she said "Okay?" with a full smile.

The street child—Red-Haired Jean—nodded, trembling in fear, but his cheeks were slightly flushed, and he seemed happy.

Jesarld should have said something to reassure him, but he didn't like the fact that Lilith was holding his hand and smiling at him.

He felt pathetic for not being able to handle a child, but seeing Lilith, who was bright and kind to everyone, made him feel as if she was pitying him.

Jesarld exhaled, trying to suppress his petty feelings.

"Lilith, we need to go now."

"Yes, you're right. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

"No, it's fine."

Lilith, who had turned around and apologized, looked apologetic.

Jesarld, who hadn't wanted to make her look like that, managed to smile.

Lilith's face lit up again, and she stood beside Jesarld, tentatively placing her hand on his arm.

"Jean, thank you so much. Can you tell the others my thanks?"

"Y-Yes..."

"See you again. Take care."

Lilith waved to Jean and was led back to the carriage by Jesarld.

But before getting in, she turned to the stunned townspeople.

"Everyone, please take care. Goodbye."

The townspeople, still in a daze, watched the princess, who smiled and waved, being helped into the carriage by the prince.

When the carriage started moving, they finally came to their senses and hurriedly bowed.

Then, cheers of joy and relief rose, and they waved their hands until the carriage was out of sight.