Treats [Part 2]
“Young Lady—! Emma-sama—!”
The siblings heard Martha shouting from afar. Martha would never make such a loud noise if nothing big had happened. A few seconds later, they could see Martha come running to the garden.
“Nee-sama, what have you done?”
“Emma, I will cover for you if you tell me honestly, so speak. It will be easier for my heart if I know about it first.”
The two brothers quickly asked Emma, who had blended into the mass of cats.
“Ehhh? I haven’t done anything! You two are so mean!!!”
Even though she protested from within the four purring cats, George and William wouldn’t listen to what she said.
“Think carefully. From when you woke up this morning till now, have you done something that would get you in trouble?”
“Most of what Nee-sama thinks as alright is already a no-no for the public. You know that, right? Did you do something bad?”
“I already told you that I didn’t do anything! Hey, Koumei-san, I’ve been together with you all this time, right?”
“Meow?”
“See, even Koumei-san said that it was probably okay!”
“No, that was an interrogative sentence earlier though?”
“Nee-sama, you can’t give a false translation!”
♠♠♠
“Emma-sama, Emma-sama? …George-sama, William-sama. Is Emma-sama here?”
Martha looked around for Emma, who was currently invisible because she was hidden within the cats, as she caught her breath.
“She is inside that mass of cats, Martha.”
“Wha— William! You didn’t have to tell her directly…”
“What are you doing, Emma-sama?! The Prince, His Highness Edward, has come to visit— AH, you’re full of fur!!! And t-t-t-the insects in the back, EEKKKKKKK.”
Martha noticed the tailless whip scorpions that were still in the Canned Cat Food Formation and screamed.
♠♠♠
The Prince and Arthur, along with their knight escorts, were guided to the drawing room of the Stuart family’s mansion.
The sofa that the Count, Leonard, had offered them to sit on was covered by a (Emma silk) handmade cover. Noticing that, the Prince and Arthur sat down very carefully while the knight escorts just stood on stand-by behind the sofa like the diplomats did on that day.
“I apologize for the wait, Your Highness.”
“No, I’m the one who came so suddenly. Please don’t mind.”
The Prince, who couldn’t hide the tiredness on his face, smiled bitterly.
He detained Robert and Bryan and went to bed later than usual, but he couldn’t sleep well for most of the night because he kept worrying about Emma. Today too, he attended to his official duties since early in the morning, and when he was about to sigh for the 30th time, Arthur suggested he go check on Emma’s condition himself if he was that worried. Arthur further persuaded him by saying that it wasn’t strange for the Prince to ask for the testimony of the number one victim in the turmoil, Emma, personally.
And that was how the Prince came knocking at the Stuarts’ door in high spirits.
“Your Highness! Is something the matter?!”
George and William entered the drawing room in hurried steps and asked the Prince after giving a vassal bow.
There was no sight of Emma behind them.
“I came to ask about yesterday’s uproar. …Is Emma alright?”
The Prince was so worried that even his voice trembled when he said “Emma…” out loud. The Prince thought to himself. There’s no way she’s alright. The things Robert did, such as dropping a bunch of insects on the delicate Emma, were too atrocious.
“Yes, she is alright. She’s feeling great. There’s no problem at all.”
“Yes. My older sister will be a little late because she needs to change her clothes, but she will come in a moment, so please don’t worry.”
George and William answered awkwardly after seeing the Prince’s worried expression. Emma had been playing with the cats and tailless whip scorpions enthusiastically since morning, so her clothes were full of cat fur. She needed to change her clothes first in order to be presentable in front of the Prince.
“…Change clothes…”
The Prince’s face that had initially been gloomy became even more clouded. Those faces… Both George and William are terrible at lying. Emma must have still been in bed because of the shock from yesterday’s turmoil. She had to change her clothes because she couldn’t appear in front of me, a prince, in her pajamas.
“She doesn’t need to push herself too hard. If it will stress her body, then please just let her rest in bed.”
” “Huh?” “
The brothers tilted their heads in confusion.
However, in the Prince’s eyes, their action seemed to mean that they didn’t expect him to see through their lie.
