Chapter 22

Once discussions with the Marquis of Odonoghue settled down and peace was finally restored, Diana walked through the streets of the Royal Capital alongside Alan.

The date for their wedding had been decided, and they had come to the city together to purchase their rings.

Naturally, when a couple in love ventures out into the city, they do more than simply head straight to their destination.

“Lord Alan, what is that over there?”

Diana, who usually spent most of her time confined to the estate, gazed with intense curiosity at the merchandise of a street stall.

“That’s a dish made from beef offal.”

“Offal?”

At Alan’s words, Diana tilted her head.

“It’s probably an ingredient that never makes it to the estate’s dining table. People usually throw it away.”

“You actually eat parts like that?”

“It takes quite a bit of effort to prepare properly, I believe.”

“My.”

With a familiar air, Alan called out to the stall owner and ordered a skewer of grilled offal.

“They have to dust it with flour to remove the slime and use milk to get rid of the odor—it’s quite a lot of work.”

“And that makes the offal edible…? You go to all that trouble and time just to make cheap ingredients taste delicious.”

Seeing the stall owner flustered by Diana’s polite phrasing, Alan chuckled.

“There, it’s grilled and ready.”

“Thank you.”

What was handed to Diana was a skewer of sizzling, fat-dripping grilled offal (horumon).

“Eat it while it’s still hot.”

“Yes!”

Accepting the skewer, Diana glanced around restlessly.

Spotting a bench set in a corner of a park just across the street, her expression brightened as she took Alan’s hand.

“Lord Alan, there’s a bench. Let’s eat over there.”

“Alright.”

Raised with strict nobility, Diana likely had never even considered the notion of eating while walking.

Walking beside Diana, the corners of Alan’s eyes remained crinkled in a soft smile the entire time.

“Mm, it’s delicious…!”

Her eyes sparkling as she nibbled on the skewer, Diana looked just like a child.

Given the age gap, Alan could easily consider her a child to begin with, but the innocent smile worn by the usually composed Diana naturally caused Alan’s own expression to soften.

“If I had known, I should have bought a portion for you as well, Lord Alan.”

“I eat this sort of thing all the time.”

“My, is that so?”

A cool breeze swept across the park bench.

From somewhere nearby, the laughter of children drifted over.

Right in front of the park, along the shopping district’s street, food stalls lined the way with fragrant smoke rising into the air.

For Alan, it was a completely familiar everyday scenery.

This was, after all, part of the Third Order’s regular patrol route.

The peace of this city was maintained by men like him.

Watching Alan’s profile as he kept a warm, watchful eye over the streets, the lives of the people, and the daily bustle of the residents, Diana’s heart fluttered naturally.

“Besides, the skewers from that stall are quite large. Diana, will you be able to finish it?”

“Indeed… it is a bit of a large portion.”

Seeing Diana struggling valiantly with the skewer that seemed to never shrink no matter how much she ate, Alan deftly reached out and plucked it from her hand.

“Ah──”

And right before Diana’s eyes, he polished off the rest of the skewer in a flash.

(Using the same skewer──!?)

Seeing Alan casually chewing away with the skewer in his hand, Diana’s face flushed bright red in an instant.

To Diana, a daughter of a ducal house, sharing tableware with anyone was simply unthinkable.

Even taking the skewer itself, eating from the exact same stick as someone else was an entirely unprecedented experience.

(W-Wait, wouldn’t this count as an indirect kiss…?)

Once she became conscious of it, the heat rushed to her skin all the more.

Yet Alan, who was gazing casually at the children playing in the park, remained completely oblivious.

She pressed her hands to her cheeks in an attempt to calm herself down, only to become all the more acutely aware of her own burning skin.

(No, I need to compose myself… Besides, it’s not as if we haven’t shared ordinary kisses, so there’s no need to fret over this now…)

Even as she tried to reason it away logically, the mere thought of the word “kiss” sent her thoughts scattering further.

Though she was someone who had been a wife in a past life, why on earth was her heart beating so frantically and her chest fluttering like this?

No matter how hard she searched, no answer came to mind.

“──Diana?”

“Y-Yes!”

At Alan’s voice, her heart leaped.

“Is it just me… or are your cheeks a little red?”

“Ah…”

Alan’s finger gently brushed against Diana’s cheek.

“Indeed, you do seem a bit warm… Shouldn’t you take a break and head home before you push yourself?”

“N-No, that’s not—!”

Panicking, Diana shook her head vigorously.

They had gone all the way to the city together, after all.

They had finally decided on a wedding date, and she wanted to make sure the rings were arranged in time.

“It’s not that, it’s just that I felt a little embarrassed…”

“Embarrassed? Did something happen to make you feel that way?”

“Well, you see…”

At Alan’s words, Diana became unusually flustered.

This side of Diana was a first for Alan as well.

He had seen various expressions from her until now.

The calm and dignified expression she wore for everyone else.

The soft smile reserved solely for him.

The innocent expression fitting her age.

The face she was showing him now was entirely unlike any of them.

“It felt a bit like an indirect kiss…”

“…………”

Hearing Diana’s words, Alan’s gaze dropped down to the skewer still held in his hand.

“An indirect… kiss…”

“Please don’t say it out loud!!”

When Diana turned even redder and her voice squeaked, it was simply beyond his limit.

Alan placed the skewer down on the bench and pulled Diana into a tight embrace with both arms.

“Oh, goodness, Diana… why are you so impossibly adorable?”

“A-Adorable…!? “

Being suddenly pulled into a hug, on top of hearing words he would never normally say, Diana’s mind went completely past the point of confusion.

Being called adorable was something usually reserved for Cordelia.

She had always believed those words would never be directed at her.

“You are adorable, so very much so.”

Alan’s fingers gently scooped up a lock of hair falling across Diana’s cheek.

Their gazes were drawn together, neither able to look away.

In each other’s eyes, only their beloved’s reflection remained.

Thump, thump… Their heartbeats intertwined.

“They’re gonna kiss! They’re gonna kiss right now!”

“Ah, hey now, you shouldn’t say things like that!!”

Brought back to their senses by the children’s teasing voices, they snapped out of it.

Before they knew it, the children playing in the park had turned their unwavering gazes toward the two seated on the bench.

Flustered, Alan turned back to face the front and gave a small cough.

“What, they aren’t kissing? Boo.”

“Man, what a total letdown.”

“Such a coward, Your Highness.”

The children’s voices were joined by a chorus of mocking adult jeers.

“Hey, you lot──!”

Looking over, he saw they were the knights of the Third Order, who appeared to be in the middle of a patrol.

While Alan couldn’t be harsh with children, when it came to his subordinates, it was a completely different story.

“Stop standing around wasting time in a place like this…”

“Indeed. Let’s move along.”

A cold voice cut Alan off.

Looking, he saw Vice Commander Monique Goddard with her well-shaped eyebrows raised sharply.

“You’re still in the middle of your patrol. Don’t let your guard down just because you ran into an acquaintance.”

“Ehh, surely chatting for a bit is fine, isn’t it?”

“Silence, and don’t forget that you are currently on duty.”

Promptly shut down by Monique, the knight followed after her with a reluctant expression.

“My apologies, my colleagues are always such a noisy bunch…”

“No, having lively company is a wonderful thing.”

Diana offered a reassuring smile to Alan, who looked thoroughly exhausted.

Catching a glimpse of a gaze for just a single second, she looked up and locked eyes with the female knight, Monique.

Even though nothing had been said aloud, that gaze felt distinctly cold, causing a ripple of unease in Diana’s chest.

They had only made eye contact for a fleeting moment.

Monique quickly averted her gaze and resumed walking away.

Her figure vanished in the blink of an eye.

“Sorry about that. She’s actually quite pleasant to be around when she’s not on duty…”

Seeing Monique’s attitude, Alan let out a wry chuckle.

Hearing Alan say “when she’s not on duty” after witnessing Monique’s behavior made Diana sigh inwardly.

(Anyone can see she dislikes me… and it’s certainly because of Lord Alan.)

The oblivious Alan remained entirely unaware of it.

Or rather, the very idea that he might be viewed as a romantic interest was likely something that had never even crossed his mind.

(She must be in love with Lord Alan too… Since he’s such a wonderful man, I suppose that’s only natural, but…)

Having someone in Alan’s own workplace direct such blatant hostility toward her was, quite frankly, difficult to bear.

Noticing Diana falling silent for a moment, Alan wrapped a comforting arm around her slender shoulder.

“Shall we go choose our rings now?”

“Yes.”

The jewelry shop they were aiming for was right in front of the park.

For now, she decided to focus on good things rather than unpleasant ones and walk forward with her head held high.

Determined, Diana rose from the bench with a smile.

The rings they chose featured two different gemstones set side-by-side on a sterling platinum band.

Amethyst and tanzanite; gemstones reminiscent of their respective eyes.

They selected stones of identical size, decided on the ring design, and left the rest to be crafted.

“Once they are finished, please send word to my quarters.”

“Understood. I will dispatch a messenger to the detached palace or the Third Order’s holding facility.”

The time required to craft the rings was three weeks.

They would be ready well in time for next month’s wedding.

A rose-colored future lay spread out before the lovers standing on the threshold of marriage──or so it should have been.