CL Chapter 16

The steward of Rosa Castle, Ferndel, was known as a strict but kind-natured person.

 

Since he had assured both Sophie and Charlotte that there was no danger, they had no reason to doubt his words.

 

Though Sophie couldn’t shake off a lingering unease, she tried to focus on the path leading to the lake.

 

That effort was rendered meaningless the moment they arrived her mind was wiped clean, as if swept of all thoughts.

 

It was because of Charlotte. Standing before the lake, she gazed at it with eyes that shone brilliantly, as if beholding a vision.

 

Sophie had not known Charlotte for long, but she had never seen such a transformation in her expression before.

 

A few swans, gliding in the water, flapped their wings, circling gracefully as if to greet the visitors before gracefully returning to the lake.

 

As the swans settled back onto the water with effortless elegance, they resumed their graceful movements across the surface.

 

Charlotte’s eyes shimmered brighter than the sunlit ripples on the water.

 

To Sophie, she looked like a spirit stepping into an unfamiliar world for the first time.

 

The usual cold aura she always carried had vanished without a trace.

 

“Please be careful, Your Highness. The lakeside is full of damp grass, it can be slippery.”

 

Sophie, having silently observed Charlotte, blurted out the words without thinking.

 

Charlotte, who had just been stepping forward along the lake’s edge, turned and stared straight at Sophie.

 

Regretting her unnecessary interference, Sophie hunched her shoulders and lowered her gaze.

 

Charlotte wasn’t a child, why had she said something so pointless…?

 

“…Alright.”

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

“Pardon…?”

 

There was no response.

 

Charlotte simply turned away as if she had never looked at Sophie in the first place and resumed walking.

 

Her strides were noticeably shorter than before.

 

“…!”

 

Overcome with quiet delight at such a small change, Sophie screamed inwardly.

 

Following behind Charlotte, she struggled to contain the grin tugging at her lips.

 

It didn’t go as well as she hoped.

 

 

 

 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

 

 

 

 

The unplanned walk came to an end only after the sun had set.

 

The maid who had suggested the walk grew increasingly anxious as the sky darkened, urging that it was time to return.

 

Yet, it was Charlotte, who had been reluctant to step outside, who wished to remain in the scenery just a little longer.

 

Still, she turned back with lingering regret. It had been a while since she had someone worried about her, so she couldn’t just stand by watching her maid nearly gasping for breath.

 

By the time they returned to the castle, the darkness had deepened. The corridor, faintly illuminated by moonlight, stood in the deep of night.

 

Charlotte dismissed the maid who had intended to follow her into the bedroom, accepting only the lit candlestick before closing the door.

 

The maid’s sullen face, disheartened from having her offer to help with changing her clothes were rejected, lingered like an afterimage on the closed door.

 

Charlotte stared at it for a while before turning away. The candlelight flickered with her movement.

 

Just as she was about to head toward the dressing room by relying on unsteady light, she stifled a startled gasp.

 

“!”

 

A dark silhouette appeared behind the candlelight.

 

She barely managed to keep her heart from dropping, only because she immediately recognized who it was.

 

The tilted candlestick spilled hot wax onto her fingers, but Charlotte, too startled to feel the searing pain, parted her lips.

 

“You…”

 

There were so many things she wanted to ask what was going on, why he was here, and how long he had been waiting.

 

“Why, when…”

 

But her trembling lips failed to form any coherent words and closed again. Her heart was still pounding too wildly.

 

Even in such a state, when Leo’s hand reached toward her, Charlotte hastily set the candlestick on a nearby cabinet.

 

As he stepped forward, closing the distance to where he could easily reach her, his large hand touched her poised shoulder.

 

That didn’t seem to be its destination, as his hand dropped lower, trailing over the soft curves of her body.

 

Charlotte drew in a sharp breath, hyper sensitive to the touch, and called out to him in a flustered voice.

 

“Leo…!”

 

Leo paid no heed. With an unreadable expression, he remained engrossed in his incomprehensible actions.

 

His hand, which had been exploring her slender waist, ventured further down without hesitation, finally coming to a halt as though meeting a dead end, grasping the hem of her skirt.

 

“…What are you doing?”

 

Only then did Charlotte manage to ask, But there was no answer.

 

Instead, she had to swallow another gasp as Leo suddenly knelt before her, lifting her skirt.

 

‘The only time the princess and I meet is for this.’

 

Charlotte nearly stepped back in alarm. Then, she suddenly recalled Leo’s firm words from the past.

 

At last, she thought she had found the reason for his unexpected visit.

 

His rough hands, stark against her pale skin, might trail up her calves at any moment.

 

Tense and frozen, she swallowed hard. Charlotte swallowed hard, embarrassed by the absurdly loud sound of it, worrying that Leo might have heard.

 

But contrary to her expectations, Leo’s hand moved to the top of her foot instead.

 

It was an incomprehensible touch.

 

“W-what are you doing? Leo, stop… Ah.”

 

As she struggled to pull away, Leo gripped her ankle with one hand and began massaging her foot, still clad in its shoe.

 

“Ha…”

 

She was only released when he let out a slow breath. His warm exhale brushed against the top of her foot.

 

Now, Charlotte was truly at a loss. She had no idea what Leo was trying to do.

 

Overwhelmed, she raised her voice.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

 

Leo looked up at her.

 

With him kneeling like that, it almost seemed as though he was pleading for forgiveness.

 

“Stand up.”

 

Charlotte’s tone softened at once.

 

“Get up and tell me why you’re acting this way.”

 

Speaking as though she were coaxing him, she reached for his arm.

 

“Ah…!”

 

But instead of pulling him up, she was the one drawn forward.

 

Thrown off balance by his strength, Charlotte ended up collapsing in front of Leo, facing him up close.

 

Though a blindfold veiled his gaze, it felt like their eyes had met.

 

“The dress you’re wearing,”

 

Leo finally spoke, breaking the silence.

 

“It’s terrible quality. Heavy and rough.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

Caught off guard by the sudden critique, Charlotte instinctively glanced down at her dress.

 

“The dressing room only had a few of these ragged things hanging inside. What happened to the clothes you used to change into every other day?”

 

As he continued, Charlotte found herself at a loss for words.

 

They were no longer walking in the same direction, as if proving how much they had drifted apart.

 

“You have only one pair of shoes, with not a single gemstone adorning them. How am I supposed to take this?”

 

“…”

 

“Explain it to me.”

 

When she showed no sign of speaking, Leo demanded it outright.

 

Charlotte straightened from her collapsed position.

 

Fixing her gaze somewhere in the empty space beyond him, she finally broke the silence.

 

“What good memories do I even have with my old dresses, that I’d bring them all the way to Rosa from the secluded palace?”

 

Her tone was sharp.

 

“I barely managed to grab a few dresses from the main palace before getting exiled to that wretched place. That’s why things are like this.”

 

After abandoning him.

 

“That’s your problem to solve.”

 

The one who had shattered them.

 

“You promised I could spend your money however I pleased.”

 

Like on that distant day.

 

“The budget hasn’t been assigned to me yet since we’re not officially married. Fix that first, Then your hands will get to touch something softer than this.”

 

Charlotte demanded brazenly, vulgarly.

 

Leo curled his lips in amusement and rose to his feet, his imposing silhouette casting a shadow over her.

 

“As you wish. I’ll speak with Ferndel about it.”

 

Then, with deliberate intensity, he continued,

 

“But, Princess, will you promise me one thing in return?”

 

“What promise?”

 

Eager to grant it, Charlotte’s little finger twitched in anticipation.

 

Leo leaned forward, as if urging her to listen closely to his whispered words.