"The Duke of Persia has..."
"What? So, Rudy and she are an item now?"
"Shh! Shh! Keep your voice down."
"Oh, no. Then what about our Princess..."
"Hey! Hey!"
The maid who had spoken first pointed towards the corridor.
There, Rie was standing.
"Hem hem!"
"Did, did you cough? Good morning, Your Highness...!"
Rie stared at the two maids before speaking.
"It's not a good morning."
"Wha!"
"Gah..."
Though the maids looked shocked, Rie walked past them without another word.
Sigh...
Rie sighed.
She had already heard the rumors about Astina.
She couldn't know exactly what had happened.
All she knew was that they all had a conversation together.
While it seemed like no one else knew anything, Astina seemed to be in the know.
Had she known all along?
Had Rudy chosen Astina?
With these thoughts, Rie entered her office.
Then, she saw a letter on her desk.
"What's this then."
The letter on the desk was from Rudy.
It contained an invitation to dine together that evening.
Could it be...
Rie was overwhelmed with anxiety as she thought about the spreading rumors and the letter.
Was this meant to be a final goodbye?
That was the only conclusion she could draw.
Such thoughts made her heart ache.
'Maybe I should just not go.'
Would avoiding it make things any better?
Even with these thoughts...
Rie had no choice but to head to the place Rudy had set for their meeting.
Rudy had called Rie to a small restaurant in a quiet corner of the capital, away from the bustling preparations for the upcoming coronation ceremony.
"Huh?"
While waiting for Rudy, an unexpected person showed up.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Unni?"
It was Yuni.
Rie was puzzled by Yuni's sudden appearance.
"Why are you here?"
"...Why are you here?"
They looked at each other, both with displeasure on their faces.
"I'm here because I have an appointment with Rudy."
Rie said, looking at Yuni.
Yuni was wearing a pink dress she usually wouldn't wear, as if trying to look good for someone.
Yuni narrowed her eyes and looked at Rie, then spoke.
"...Me too?"
"What?"
There was nothing about this in the letter.
Then why was someone else there?
The presence of another person at Rudy's meeting place upset them, but what really soured their mood was the rumor related to Astina.
Rie pondered deeply before her eyes widened in realization.
"Could it be..."
A dreadful thought crossed her mind.
Had he called them both here with the intention of settling everything at once?
Then, could Luna also be here?
As Rie was lost in thought,
"Oh, both of you made it?"
"...Rudy?"
"Ah, senior!"
Rudy, dressed sharply in a suit, appeared.
Yuni and Rie were surprised to see Rudy dressed up.
Rudy usually didn't dress up like this. He worked in research at the Magic Tower, and dressing up wasn't his style; he found it cumbersome.
"Shall we go in?"
"Huh?"
"...Why?"
Rie glanced around, looking puzzled.
"Did you only call the two of us?"
"Yeah. Ah, sorry I didn't tell you I invited two people. There was a reason."
Rudy bowed his head, sincerely apologizing.
The thought 'He didn't invite Luna?' crossed Rie's mind.
And seeing him genuinely apologizing.
Was this an attempt to cut us off?
Rie had many questions.
"Well, that happens. Shall we go in then?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Yuni said this and clung to Rudy's arm.
"You, you!"
Rie was shocked by Yuni's action and looked at Rudy.
The Rudy she knew would have been flustered and pushed Yuni away.
"Let's go in."
But Rudy didn't do that.
He didn't push Yuni away and let her cling to his arm.
"????"
Rie was baffled by Rudy's behavior.
"Yep. ...Huh??"
Rie wasn't the only one with a confused expression.
Yuni, who had hooked her arm with Rudy's, also looked confused.
"Welcome."
As they entered the restaurant, a man who appeared to be the manager greeted them.
"A table has been prepared for you inside. Please, go ahead."
"Thank you."
Rudy responded with a bright smile.
Rie was puzzled by Rudy's demeanor.
Rie's face is well-known to everyone in the Empire.
Naturally, Yuni and Rudy were in the same situation.
Despite this, was it okay for them to be seen together by ordinary people?
If Rudy was to marry Astina, they shouldn't be seen together.
Dining with the future Emperor of the Empire and her sister?
And with the sister hooked arm in arm?
If they were really planning to marry Astina, such a scene shouldn't be shown to ordinary people.
'What is he thinking?'
"Please, this way."
The manager led them to a private room inside the restaurant.
A lavish meal was prepared there.
"Have a good time."
After greeting them, the manager left, and Rudy gestured towards the seats.
"Let's sit down."
Then, Yuni looked up at Rudy and spoke.
"I want to sit next to senior."
Yuni stated boldly.
And Rudy just shrugged his shoulders.
"Sure. Do as you please."
"Okay~."
'Hmm...?'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Rie looked at Rudy with a meaningful gaze.
"What? Something wrong?"
"No, nothing..."
Rie shook her head in response to Rudy's question but then stopped herself.
'Right, I need to figure out what Rudy is thinking.'
With that thought, Rie decided to speak up.
"No! I have something to say."
"Hm?"
Rie clenched her fist and looked at Rudy.
"I also want to sit next to you."
"Next to me?"
"Yes...! Next to you..."
Rie, although embarrassed, said what she needed to say.
Normally, Rudy would...
"Sure. Do as you wish."
"...Senior? Sister?"
Yuni reacted to Rudy's words.
Yuni looked back and forth between Rie and Rudy, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Did I suddenly enter another world? Or is this a dream?"
Yuni looked bewildered.
Rudy chuckled and tapped Yuni's head.
"What dream? Let's just eat."
So, the three of them ended up sitting side by side.
Yuni ate her meal with a puzzled face, glancing at Rudy and Rie.
Rudy ate with a pleased smile.
Rie was so lost in thought she couldn't even tell if the food was going into her mouth or her nose as she moved her utensils.
'What's going on? What is this? Is there something I don't know? Or is it really a dream, like Yuni said?'
As Rie was eating, Rudy stared at her intently.
"Hm?"
Rudy reached out to her.
He then tucked Rie's hair behind her ear.
"?!?!?!"
"You might eat your hair."
With warm eyes and a tender gesture, Rie's eyes widened.
Her face flushed hot, and her mind couldn't understand the situation.
After everything that happened with Astina...
Even trying to think about it calmly and objectively, it was a situation hard to understand. Rudy's affectionate actions brought Rie's thought process to a stop.
As Rie's eyes began to spin, Rudy looked at her warmly.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, no! Uh, nothing?"
"Really? Tell me if there's something. I'm worried."
"Gasp...!"
Under normal circumstances, such words from Rudy would have been enough to melt Rie.
Well, they still did.
"...Hehe. Uh..."
The corners of her mouth twitched, trying to form a foolish smile.
Despite her best efforts to control her expression, it didn't work well.
"...Unni, what kind of face is that?"
"What, what..."
The corners of her mouth were as raised as they could be, but kept trying to fall, creating a strange expression.
Even though Rie was making a strange face, Rudy's eyes were dripping with honey.
Yuni sighed as she looked at them both.
"I can't figure out what's going on here..."
In such an odd atmosphere, the three of them finished their meal.
"Oh, right."
After finishing the meal to some extent, Rudy looked back and forth between the two and started to speak.
"I've prepared something special."
"Prepared something?"
"Oh! Is it a gift?"
"Well, it is sort of a gift."
Yuni's eyes sparkled at Rudy's response.
"What is it? Is it something good?"
"Kind of? Just a moment."
Rudy got up from his seat and went towards a bag at one corner of the room.
'A gift...'
Yuni was filled with anticipation, but Rie harbored a sense of unease.
She was afraid that Rudy might suddenly drop a bombshell.
Rudy started rummaging through the bag, and Rie and Yuni watched him intently, each with their own thoughts.
"Here."
And what Rudy pulled out of the bag was
"A mask?"
It was a mask that could cover the face and a light hood.
Rie and Yuni stared blankly at it.
Rudy smiled and handed it to them.
"Here, put this on."
"This?"
"What are you planning?"
Rudy gestured with a meaningful look on his face.
"You'll see if you come."
