Chapter 36

The island we visited on our family trip was incredibly beautiful and overflowing with nature. It was, without a doubt, a blissful few days.

First of all, the sea was blue.

It was obvious, but seeing the ocean again after so long moved me. The water was so clear that I could see the sand on the seabed, and even drinking it wasn’t nearly as salty as the ocean on Earth.

However, I was still a young lady, so I didn’t go swimming in the sea. It would be a problem if I got sunburned. Besides, apparently swimming in the sea wasn’t much of a custom here in the first place.

The only people in the sea were fishermen and those who went free-diving. If anything, we simply admired the ocean. When I got bored and ended up falling asleep halfway through, Mother got genuinely angry with me.

I ate the meat of the shellfish that the island was famous for and bought a wind chime as a souvenir for the Prince. So they had wind chimes here, too. How nostalgic.

I bought one to decorate my own room and another as a present for the Prince. They ended up being different colors, but surely that much would be forgiven.

Those three peaceful days after such a long time were truly enjoyable.

“Uuugh…”

I groaned as I stared at the still-blank sheet of paper while dipping my quill into the ink. I had been thinking so hard that a black stain had already fallen onto the fresh white paper.

I let out yet another sigh and took out another new sheet. There were countless crumpled pieces of paper scattered around my desk.

I was currently writing a letter to accompany the wind chime I had wrapped as a present for the Prince. I wanted to give him his souvenir as soon as possible, but I couldn’t make any progress at all. What was I supposed to write in a letter again?

“Should I start with a typical greeting…? But what should I write?”

I thought about using the Prince’s letter as a reference, but since that letter had started with “Happy Birthday,” it was rather unusual and not very helpful as a model.

And then there was the question of whether I should write the final sentence.

My head was beginning to hurt, and I rubbed the space between my eyebrows, which had become deeply furrowed from thinking so much. What should I do? This was getting troublesome. Maybe I didn’t need to include a letter at all.

Surely nothing would change just because I didn’t include one or two letters.

I replaced the blank sheet with a piece of thick paper about the size of a message card. At least I could briefly write something like, “Here’s a souvenir.”

…No, but still.

It would be insincere toward the Prince, who had gone out of his way to give me a letter along with my birthday present.

Just as I began agonizing over it again, there was a soft knock at the door. I somehow guessed that it was Will and answered.

As expected, Will entered.

“Sister. It seems His Highness will be coming next month.”

“Oh, really? Thank you for telling me. Ah, wait a moment, Will.”

I hurriedly stopped my younger brother, who was already leaving as if he had nothing else to say.

Will frowned as though being stopped was a hassle.

“Don’t make such a troublesome face!”

“What is it? Please make it quick.”

What a terrible younger brother.

Even as I pouted, I tried asking him about the letter while waving the white sheet of paper.

“I was thinking of writing a letter to the Prince when I send him the wind chime I bought on the island.”

“…Haa.”

“But I don’t know what I should write.”

“Do you really need to send the wind chime? Why can’t you just give it to him next month?”

Oh, right. I could just give it to him when the Prince came next time.

“Hmm, but…”

“Is there some reason?”

“For my birthday, the Prince gave me a present. There was a letter with it, too, so I thought maybe I should write something in return.”

“…A letter?”

Will looked like he wanted to see it, so I took the letter from my desk drawer. After looking at it for a while, he glanced at me, unfolded the stationery, and read it.

His eyes moved from top to bottom, then stopped dead at what was presumably the final sentence.

“…What is this?”

“Is this how you’re supposed to write to your fiancée?”

“I don’t know about royalty, but normally, no. Haa… Is this supposed to rub it in my face?”

With a sigh, Will’s speech became more casual. When he glared at me, I hurriedly waved my hands.

“No, no! I just wanted you to give me some advice.”

“What advice can I possibly give a pair of lovey-dovey fiancés? Says the man whose first love has already withered away.”

Will was actually resorting to self-deprecation.

This was serious.

Better not to poke the bear. I should just leave him alone.

“Sorry. I’ll figure it out myself, so it’s fine.”

“…”

I apologized obediently and lowered my gaze back to the white paper.

I’ve decided. I made up my mind. No matter how many hours it takes, I’m going to write the Prince a letter!

Just as I renewed my resolve and gripped the pen again, I heard a deep sigh nearby.

“Fine. I’ll help you, too. I’d rather not have you write something strange.”

“Really!? That helps so much!”

Will looked at me with an exasperated expression, but he was kind in his own way. He might act prickly, but he was still a shy boy who had a softer side.

“All right? A letter comes from the heart. As long as Sister’s genuine feelings come across, we’ve already won.”

“My genuine feelings… Hmm. Yes! Teacher, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

Standing beside me with his arms folded and looking every bit like a teacher, Will raised one hand as if granting me permission to speak.

“How am I supposed to convey my genuine feelings?”

“That’s easy. Just write down whatever you’re thinking. Like how much fun you had on the island, or how surprised you were that the sea was blue.”

“Would anyone really be happy to receive a letter like that…?”

“You idiot!”

Will suddenly insulted me, so I glared at him.

What did he mean, idiot? Calling me an idiot?

Will frowned when he realized his mistake and coughed to cover it up.

“Ah, excuse me. It’s fine. His Highness absolutely adores Sister, after all.”

“…Does he?”

“Then, let’s say Sister received a letter from His Highness, and it was just about what he did that day. What would you think?”

“Hmm…”

That day…

That actually sounded rather interesting.

“That sounds interesting.”

“See? It’s the same thing.”

“But wouldn’t he think he doesn’t want to hear about someone else’s trip? There isn’t even any climax or punchline.”

“Who said you needed a story with a climax and punchline? Besides, wouldn’t that make him rather cold as a person, rather than just as His Highness?”

“Really? I feel like the Prince might think that.”

Will stopped moving completely.

After thinking for a while, he quietly nodded.

The Prince was pretty devious, and you never knew what he was thinking.

Will knew that all too well. Actually, if he’d grown up watching Father and the Prince, it was probably impossible to avoid ending up with a completely black heart.

“Anyway! Come on, write the letter.”

Will clapped both hands and urged me to hurry up.

Reluctantly, I wrote about thanking him for my birthday present and about our family trip. I’d thank him properly for the present in person later.

I wondered if the Prince knew what the sea looked like. His country was technically bordered by the sea, but it was a long way from the royal capital to the rural area where we had gone. There were mountains in between, too, and I wasn’t even sure how developed the town there had been.

“What about this last part?”

After finishing most of the letter, I nervously asked Will.

The last sentence of the Prince’s letter.

“I love you.”

Should I write it or not?

As I stared into Will’s eyes, they suddenly gleamed.

“Of course. Write it with all your heart.”

For some reason, Will’s words were unusually passionate. I nodded and moved my pen across the paper.

“…Is this okay?”

“It’s perfect, Sister.”

“Haah, I’m exhausted.”

In contrast to me slumping against the back of my chair, Will wore a satisfied, smug grin.

“One favor owed, I suppose, Brother Dylan.”

Several days later, a letter addressed to Prince Dylan arrived at the royal palace.

“Hmm? That’s unusual. A letter for Prince Dylan.”

“Really? He hasn’t even gotten any love letters from young ladies since he got a fiancée.”

“Ah, that’s not true. Lord Schwarz, one of His Highness’s attendants, had already collected all of them beforehand.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Who knows? I can’t understand what important people are thinking.”

The two gatekeepers looked at the letter with its unusual wax seal with interest. Their job was to inspect packages before they were delivered. It was a much better job than standing guard at the gates under the sun every day, so only the most trusted among the gatekeepers were assigned to it.

“You don’t see wax seals much these days. And there’s no sender listed, either. What should we do with this?”

“What do you mean, what should we do? It’s suspicious. There’s a package, too. Should we just throw it away?”

“Yeah. That’s what happens when you don’t write a sender.”

“It’s a shame, but… Ah!”

By sheer luck, Lord Schwarz, one of His Highness’s attendants, happened to be passing a few meters away from the gatekeepers.

One of them hurriedly ran over.

“Excuse me for disturbing you while you’re busy.”

“…What is it?”

Perhaps he had been on his way to take some books out of the royal castle library beside the palace. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance at being stopped.

The gatekeeper shuddered at the sight of those eyes, which looked neither red nor black, but somewhere in between.

This man had changed ever since His Highness had shut himself away, the gatekeeper, who had served at the palace for many years, thought.

“Something like this arrived today…”

He held out the package and letter.

Schwarz sighed as though this were a bother. As soon as Schwarz took the package, the gatekeeper quickly picked up the book he had been carrying.

“Another young lady, I suppose.”

The gatekeeper heard the quiet click of Schwarz’s tongue and instinctively flinched.

How pitiful.

In the end, human beings couldn’t resist power.

Another deep, deep sigh made the gatekeeper flinch again.

“My, my. Once again, it seems we’re going to ruin Lord Dylan’s mood—”

Schwarz abruptly cut himself off and froze.

His eyes were fixed on the wax seal, and he remained completely motionless.

The gatekeeper tilted his head, wondering if something had happened.

“Lord Schwarz…?”

“Ah. This is serious.”

Despite saying that it was serious, the corners of Schwarz’s mouth slowly curled upward.

The ominous smile made the gatekeeper tremble.

“Could this upset Prince Dylan? If so, we can—”

“No, that’s fine. I’ll deliver this myself.”

“We couldn’t possibly trouble you with that, Lord Schwarz! I’ll take it there.”

The gatekeeper eagerly reached out to take the package, but Schwarz easily dodged his hand.

As the gatekeeper stared in confusion, Schwarz smiled again.

“Better not touch it too much. This is Lord Dylan’s treasure, after all.”

Schwarz hurried off.

Protecting the adorable little package in his arms, he walked briskly down the enormous corridors of the royal palace.

He reached Dylan’s room within a few minutes.

At first glance, it had a lavish door covered in decorative ornaments. Schwarz knew that those ornaments were magical devices handmade by Dylan himself.

“Lord Dylan, excuse me.”

“Ah.”

Along with Dylan’s listless reply, the door opened a few centimeters.

The door would not open without its master’s permission—that is, without Dylan’s consent.

When Schwarz opened the door, he met a pair of vacant eyes.

Still holding a pen, Dylan sat with one leg crossed over the other and some documents in one hand. His state of mind could be summed up in one word: bored.

“How are things? Are you making any progress?”

“It’s boring. It’s not fun. I want to see Bell.”

He cut Schwarz’s question down with a strange three-part progression.

Because the day Bertia left on her family trip happened to coincide with the day Dylan was supposed to visit the Tybus family, it had already been several months since he had last seen Bertia.

“I’m dying. I’m really dying. I need healing. I want to see her. I want her to praise me.”

“I brought you something nice.”

Schwarz gave him a creepy smile, and Dylan furrowed his brow as hard as he could.

“I have a really bad feeling about this.”

“That’s harsh. Here, take this.”

Dylan looked wearily at the package and letter. Like Schwarz, his eyes stopped at the wax seal.

He blinked repeatedly, then opened his mouth in disbelief.

“The Tybus family crest…”

He broke the seal and looked at the letter.

Partway through, he discovered that the accompanying package contained a fūrin, a traditional wind chime unique to the island.

Dylan slowly ran his eyes over every carefully written word, almost as if savoring them.

Then, upon reaching the final sentence, he let out a groan as though he had been vomiting blood.

“What happened? You sound like someone punched you in the solar plexus.”

“Haaah… I can keep going from today.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“In one month, I’ll be able to see Bell…”

Fortunately, the only person who saw Dylan clutching the letter with vacant eyes was Schwarz.

Even Schwarz understood that a royal palace without Bertia’s healing presence must have been difficult for Dylan.

Now then, what exactly had the letter said?

Schwarz secretly leaned over to peek at his master’s desk.

The fact that Dylan didn’t chase him away meant he was probably allowed to look.

“I love you, too.”

The words had been written in beautiful, delicate handwriting.

Whether they were truly heartfelt or not, that probably didn’t matter to Dylan.

He was simply happy that she had written those words for him.

“…I see.”

As he watched his master break into a radiant smile, Schwarz nodded to himself.

Lady Bertia understood him, after all.