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Oh, it seems I've upset our little crown prince.
"That's right. Your Highness is very brave. If you were scared, you wouldn't have said anything and just run away."
Rudian nodded vigorously as if to insist he wasn't afraid.
Looking at Rudian with warm eyes, I realized that the people who should be there were missing and asked,
"But where did your nanny go? Are you here alone?"
"The nanny went home today."
"What about the other maids?"
"Belita said she went to the restroom and would be back."
A chill ran down my spine at Rudian's answer.
'This is when the accident happened.'
If I had been just a little later, I might not have been able to save the child.
I took a deep breath and asked Rudian again,
"Then, would it be alright if I stay with you until the maid comes back?"
"Why?"
"Because I only have one friend and I'm bored."
"Aren't you going to the banquet?"
"The banquet is too noisy. I'd rather be here with Your Highness."
Rudian nodded his little head as if he understood my feelings.
I crouched down under a nearby tree and spoke to the child.
"Has Your Highness ever attended a banquet?"
"No."
"Then don't you want to go see the banquet? If you want, I can take you."
Rudian's eyes twinkled for a moment at my suggestion, but he soon answered with a dejected voice.
"...I can't go to the banquet."
"Why?"
"Because people don't like me..."
'Ah.'
Thinking about Rudian's background, I understood the child's feelings.
The people of the empire didn't like Rudian's mother, Empress Vanessa, because she was the illegitimate princess of an enemy country.
No matter how much the emperor accepted and embraced her as his wife.
In the meantime, Her Majesty the Empress, who was already weak, gave birth to Rudian and her health deteriorated further.
'The nobles are drooling over the chance to put their daughters up as empress candidates when the Empress dies.'
When that time comes, Rudian would become a hindrance, so his position was actually very precarious.
'Rudian feels that too.'
Everyone thinks that because he's still young, he wouldn't know his situation, but he knows better because he's young.
Even if he doesn't clearly understand the situation, he instinctively feels that he is not welcome anywhere.
'Just like I was when I was a child.'
My childhood self overlapped with Rudian's dejected appearance.
A sick mother, a father who wandered off leaving her, vassals who hoped my mother would die as soon as possible, and...
A precious friend who helped me get through that time.
I smiled bitterly at the memory of the past and comforted Rudian.
"The people who hate Your Highness don't hate you because you're a bad child, but because they are greedy."
"Greedy?"
"Yes. They hate you because you have what they want. In other words, they're villains."
"Villains..."
"You can punish the villains later when Your Highness grows up big and strong."
"..."
"So you don't have to be upset. There are a lot more people who like Your Highness, including me."
"You...like me?"
"Of course. Your Highness is brave and dignified enough to wait for the maid by yourself, right?"
"Then are you going to be my friend?"
"Well, if Your Highness allows it."
Rudian's golden eyes began to sparkle with hope at my answer.
"I've never had a friend before!"
Those pretty eyes were obviously similar to those of his father, His Majesty the Emperor, but at the same time, they were similar to those of Idris, who shared the same blood.
"I wanted to have a friend too. Uncle boasted that he had a friend."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He said his friend was very pretty. He said he would marry her when he met her later."
Hearing Rudian's story reminded me of a conversation I had with Idris someday.
"How would you feel if the friend who hurt you when you were young came to find you?"
Also, Idris's emotions that he couldn't hide at that moment.
That wasn't just a feeling towards a simple friend.
A more sticky, deep emotion.
At the same time, I understood why Idris was avoiding marriage and why he accepted the contract relationship with me.
'...He's waiting for that person.'
His kindness was just a passing breeze.
However, it didn't matter to me who Idris was waiting for or who he married.
We are only in a business relationship, and we will eventually go our separate ways.
That's all, there was nothing to be surprised or upset about.
Rudian, who was staring at me blankly, took a step closer to me and asked.
"Then what's your name?"
It seemed that his wariness had completely disappeared.
I ignored the strange feeling that momentarily made my heart drop and focused on the problem at hand.
"My name is Leticia Cloel. You can call me Leticia."
"Leticia..."
Rudian, who was repeating my name as if to remember it, asked another question.
"Hey, Leticia. Are you good at swimming?"
"Um, no. I'm sorry. But why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
Then Rudian pointed to the middle of the pond with his small hand.
"Eddie fell into the water while crossing the bridge earlier. But I can't swim."
When I looked in the direction Rudian pointed, I could see a wooden doll in the shape of a horse floating there.
'Ah, Rudian fell into the water while trying to pick up that doll?'
As I looked around for something to pick up the doll with, I noticed something with a sparkling effect.
It was a long branch, but it probably wouldn't have been noticeable if it hadn't been for the effect because it was dark around.
I smiled and picked up the branch.
"I'll get that doll for you."
And just as I was about to approach the pond.
"No!"
Rudian hurriedly grabbed the hem of my skirt.
When I looked back in confusion, Rudian shook his head with a firm expression.
"Leticia can't swim. It's dangerous, so don't go near it!"
"Then what are you going to do about that doll?"
"I'm going to ask Sir Philip to get it for me tomorrow. Sir Philip is a good swimmer."
Sir Philip seemed to be a knight assigned to the Crown Prince's Palace.
Rudian was holding onto the hem of my skirt with his small hands, just in case I did something dangerous.
He had a dignified attitude, like an older brother trying to protect his younger sibling.
Looking at Rudian like that, a question arose.
Rudian is a cautious and intelligent child who doesn't follow strangers carelessly and doesn't do dangerous things.
'How did Rudian fall into the pond?'
And more than anything else, what's strange is...
'It seems like it's already been thirty minutes since I've been waiting here with Rudian, but why hasn't the maid Belita come to pick up Rudian?'
No matter how smart Rudian is, he's still a child.
He can do unexpected things at any time and become dangerous.
It was strange to leave such a child, a crown prince no less, alone for so long.
'Are the maids also neglecting Rudian?'
Even if it's the nobles, His Majesty the Emperor must have carefully selected the close maids.
'If not... did something happen to the maid who left Rudian?'
Just as I sensed an ominous feeling, I felt someone behind me.
Judging from her clothes, she was a maid from the imperial palace.
The maid didn't seem to have noticed me next to the tree because it was dark, and she was approaching while looking only at Rudian.
Quietly and carefully.
At first, I thought she was trying to surprise Rudian...
'...Huh?'
The maid stretched out her arms towards Rudian's small back with a gruesome expression.
So that's it.
'It's not like she's trying to surprise him, it's like she's trying to push the child.'
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