Three days later, she went to the Imperial Palace’s garden, where Cedric was waiting.
“……Sir Cedric!”
“Yeah, Dalia. Did your work finish well?”
He smiled calmly at Dalia. She bluntly asked him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What do you mean?”
Cedric really didn’t seem to know the reason for her visit. As evidence, Dalia’s favorite dessert was prepared in advance.
Now was not the time to eat these things, but to figure out the reason why he didn’t say a word about this matter.
However, Dalia’s body automatically sat in front of the delicacies spread in front of her.
She came to her senses while eating the mille-feuille on the first floor of the tray as Cedric led her.
“No, wait a minute. I didn’t come here to eat this!”
“Then why?”
“How much did you give to Wayne?”
“……Aha.”
Cedric quickly realized why Dalia was doing this.
“I forgot to tell him to shut his mouth. I thought he wouldn’t tell you.”
“Of course you have to. I asked for help because I needed it. But why did Sir Cedric pay for it?”
“They don’t take private commissions. They wouldn’t have received your request no matter what. So I couldn’t help it.”
“Then you should have told me!”
Dalia looked very upset.
Cedric seemed perplexed since he didn’t expect that she would come out like this. She immediately felt sorry because she was angry with the person who did her favor for no reason.
“…… I’m sorry. Anyway, tell me how much you paid Wayne. I will pay you back.”
“You really don’t have to do that.”
“No, I have to do that.”
Dalia was always grateful to Cedric for treating her well.
But paying for her work was a completely different matter altogether. She had to be very strict about this.
Cedric continued to hesitate.
“…… Can you pay it back in some other way instead of money? An Imperial Prince’s instructor receives quite a lot of money. Think of it as a tuition fee.”
“No. I have to give it to you in cash.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Cedric stared into the air, sighed, then he took out the pen from his chest pocket, and wrote the numbers gracefully on the napkin.
Then he handed the napkin to Dalia.
Dalia prepared herself.
He was a spy belonging to the Imperial Palace. Of course it’s extremely expensive…….
“Oh my God!”
“Shh.”
Dalia rose about 10cm from the chair.
Cedric gently grabbed her by the shoulder and sat her back.
“……That’s why I said you didn’t have to pay me back.”
Cedric sighed.
Dalia carefully folded the napkin a few times, as if it were a check, and kept it inside her bag.
Her hands trembled.
“H, h, how did you get this much money?”
Dalia roughly knows it.
The portion of the budget allocated to an Imperial Prince that can be used as his personal allowance was very limited.
This wasn’t the money that would come out from the level of that allowance.
“People need secrets to be attractive.”
“…….”
“If you are someone like me who has to look good to others, you have to hone your little charms.”
He never meant to say anything. Dalia sighed deeply.
“I will pay you back. Is it okay if it takes a little longer?”
“You don’t have to pay me back, but it’s okay if it takes a long time. Either way, do it comfortably.”
Cedric gave a calm smile.
Talking with him normally like this made her feel reassured that she had overcome a big hurdle this time.
“So, did you finish your work well?”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to Sir Cedric.”
“I didn’t know you were looking for my aunt.”
Dalia looked at Cedric in surprise.
Did Wayne tell him?
However, the contents of the duties assigned were always top secret. She doesn’t think anyone who knows that well would have told Cedric.
Cedric made eye contact with Dalia and shook his head.
“I just took a guess, but it seems that I was right.”
“…….”
No matter how much time passed, it was impossible to deceive Cedric. She became sullen.
“Yes.”
“I heard that my aunt returned to the Mershain family. My uncle almost cried because he was so happy.”
He would be happy if his older sister, who had become a criminal after giving up her position as a noble, was rehabilitated and returned.
“It’s really great. It was a pity for a transcendent like her to rot in such a place. But……they left her alone because there was no way they could stop her.”
“…….”
“But you did it. That’s amazing, Dalia.”
Cedric smiled beautifully as he folded his eyes.
The corners of her mouth twitched without her realizing it.
Dalia didn’t want to show that she was excited to be praised, so she took a bite of orange pudding for dessert.
‘Goodness, it’s so delicious.’
When she came to her senses, only the cup that used to contain the orange pudding remained.
She heard Cedric’s voice as she looked at the empty cup in despair.
“Come to think of it, a banquet will be held at the Imperial Palace soon. Lady Beolde will come too, would you like to go with me?”
It was a natural proposal to be a partner. She almost said yes right away unintentionally, but then stopped.
“I will discuss it with my brother first.”
If Dalia chooses a partner at will, Hikan will be disappointed if he finds out later.
“By the way, what kind of banquet is it? I didn’t receive any invitation.”
“My birthday.”
Dalia choked for a bit while sipping the tea.
“B, but there’s some time left until your birthday?”
Fortunately, Dalia remembered his birthday. There was still over a month left.
“Yeah. This time, since my aunt also came, I decided to pull it up a bit.”
That’s a relief. If she had forgotten, she would have been in big trouble.
Dalia wiped her mouth with the handkerchief handed over by Cedric, in cold sweat.
“If it’s a birthday banquet, it’s a special day.”
When Cedric was young, his birthday banquets were often canceled because he ran away so much.
The angry Emperor changed Cedric’s birthday banquet to be held once every five years.
“It’s a special day. So you should come as my partner.”
Cedric grinned.
He always attacks Dalia like this when she’s confused. This time, she gave up and nodded.
“Okay.”
“……Really?”
Cedric was rather bewildered as he didn’t expect that she would accept it easily.
However, since it was Cedric’s birthday banquet, it seemed right to do what he wanted.
“Yes, really.”
Dalia nodded. Then Cedric smiled.
It was a clear and transparent smile and the tone of the surrounding background added more to the ambience. A truly rare ‘real’ smile.
“Thank you.”
When she saw such a smile, there’s a strange tickle in the corner of her heart.
* * *
“Are you going to be Sir Cedric’s partner for this ball?”
Adrisha was delighted.
Naturally, Dalia thought that she would hate it, but she was a little flustered to see her opposite reaction.
“Yeah.”
“Then who is the Duke going with?”
Since Dalia’s partner has always been Hikan, so Adrisha’s curiosity was natural.
“Probably……hasn’t been decided yet.”
“Then can I go with him?”
However she didn’t expect that. Dalia was in great shock.
‘No way?’
No way, is Adrisha towards Hikan……?
“Adrisha……really, with my brother..…”
“Then I don’t have to be Sir Leonard’s partner this time!”
Aha. So that’s the reason.
Dalia immediately understood Adrisha’s strange reaction.
Adrisha has been Leonard’s partner for years. She said that she had enough of it.
Crown Prince Leonard was not a bad person, but he was tactless and stupid, making Adrisha often burst into anger.
In addition, he even liked her. He tried to hide it, but it was not properly hidden. He’s a bad match for the banquet, by any means.
“I have to ask His Majesty the Emperor. There are many young ladies who are seeking the Crown Prince after all.”
Adrisha said as she swept her attractive black hair over the nape of her neck and tied it up.
As the original female lead, she became more and more beautiful. White neck, smooth nose, and sparkling eyes. Just like Dalia who just had her birthday not long ago, she is now 19 years old.
In other words, it meant that the flow of the original work had completely begun.
‘What will happen to Adrisha’s love relationship this time?’
Please, she hopes that Adrisha can have a happy relationship with a normal person without getting involved with the original male leads.
Dalia suddenly wondered.
‘Who will take our pretty Adrisha?’
It would be nice if she could live next to her all her life.
She hesitated to say her wish. Because, to put it bluntly, she really thought Adrisha would stay next to her without getting married.
‘Dalia’s decision is the most important thing to me.’
While saying things like this.
‘Of course, that won’t do.’
Adrisha had many days to live in the future.
Even so, she thought in her heart that if it had to be continued, she hoped that it would go well with Hikan and she can stay by Dalia’s side.
