Chapter 12
A shy smile rose to Diana’s lips. Discovering that shy smile, like that of a girl falling in first love, Aisen trembled, saying he was afraid it would appear in his nightmares, but Diana’s ears heard nothing.
In high spirits, she hummed a tune as she walked around, greeting every passing servant warmly with a loose smile and dancing about. Thanks to this, rumors that Her Highness the Princess had gone mad swept through the palace once again.
Regardless, Diana’s feelings for Viern only deepened. She liked Viern. She liked him so much.
‘But how does Viern feel about me?’
She suddenly became curious. He was always polite in front of her, courteous, affectionate, and sometimes acted as if dealing with a child…
‘Does Viern like me too?’
…She hoped so. The small wish that bloomed near her chest grew lushly and filled her entire chest, making it float.
In the end, Diana couldn’t contain her fluttering heart and went to find Viern.
“Hey, Viern. I like you!”
He paused.
Sitting at his office desk as usual, flipping through a file, he raised his head to look at Diana. For such a bold declaration, she seemed rather nervous—her eyelashes trembling finely, her cheeks flushed red, her eyes shyly curved, her fairy-like lovely features filled his vision.
“Is that so?”
Soon a calm answer flowed from between his closed lips. Viern lowered his gaze again and continued signing the documents.
‘Huh? That’s it?’
Flustered, Diana blinked. Just realizing her feelings for him made her heart feel like it would burst, but his reaction was disappointingly bland.
“What about you, Viern? Don’t you like me?”
Diana stuck right next to him and asked again. Viern only turned to look at her after checking through to the last page of the documents. Under his steady gaze watching her, Diana’s face somehow reddened and her heart quickened.
Soon he curved his eyes loosely, then smoothly rose to his feet. The moment the eye level suddenly increased and Diana raised her head to look up at him—
“……?”
He patted her head once and simply walked past. When Diana looked at him with a puzzled expression, he stopped at the doorway, turned back to look at her, and said.
“It’s time for the state council meeting. If you’ll be staying here, I’ll send someone to attend to you.”
“Ahaha. Your Highness. Then have a good day.”
Viern’s aide laughed awkwardly, left a greeting for Diana, and hurriedly followed after him. Left alone in the empty office, Diana stared blankly at the closed door, then stroked the crown of her head where his hand had touched moments ago.
* * *
Diana sat by the window with a very serious expression, lost in thought.
‘Does Viern not like me?’
For the past few days, she had bombarded him with confessions of her feelings every time she ran into Viern. But each time, instead of answering, he would either let out a short laugh or silently curve his eyes loosely as he passed her by. That was similar to the behavior Viern showed when he didn’t want to give her the answer she wanted.
“This won’t do, Aisen.”
“Hik. Wh-Why me?”
It had been three months since he’d begun attending the princess. Having grown accustomed to Diana’s difficult personality, Aisen had been keeping his distance, cleverly noticing her troubled mood and worrying that he might catch the fallout.
“I need to test Viern’s feelings.”
“Y-Yes, yes. I wish you the best of luck. Your Highness, fighting!“
Diana gave a look of disdain toward Aisen, who was comically clenching both fists in encouragement.
“Not me—you.”
“Wh-What? M-Me? Test my brother’s feelings directly? H-How could I do such a thing?”
Aisen protested that he’d be the only one in big trouble if his brother caught him, but he eventually yielded to Diana’s violence.
The palace’s outdoor walkway. Diana and Aisen were hiding in the bushes along the path Viern would pass through, bickering.
“Your Highness, must we really go this far?”
“Shut up and hurry up and go out there.”
Diana pushed Aisen’s back. Tumbling out of the bushes and landing on his rear, Aisen was rubbing his sore bottom when he spotted Viern coming from that direction and quickly straightened his posture.
“B-Brother!”
“Aisen? What were you doing here?”
Viern, discovering Aisen, asked with a puzzled face. It was time to attend to the princess.
“Ahaha, n-nothing. I was just feeling troubled in my head, so I was taking a walk…”
“I see.”
Viern was nodding indifferently and about to pass by when—
“Br-Brother! What do you think of Her Highness the Princess!”
At the booming voice, Viern’s steps halted. Under his steady gaze watching his younger brother, the leaf stuck in Aisen’s hair caught his eye.
“Why do you ask?”
With a glance, Viern’s gaze shifted toward the bushes behind Aisen.
“No reason. It’s just… rumors are rampant throughout the palace that Her Highness likes you. So I was just curious about your feelings…”
“The princess is nothing but an easy-to-handle chess piece. The most efficient and powerful tool for seizing control of the Laurelai royal family.”
Viern’s low, cool voice—the one Diana liked—cut through Aisen’s rambling.
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