Episode 7

"Let go now."

"I felt dizzy earlier."

"You know that's not true at all."

Ines shook his hand off of her before Cassel could let her go.

In the middle of the hallway, which was already quite far from Ines' personal library, Cassel looked back once more to see if Oscar was chasing him, still looking as if he was shocked.

"What if His Majesty sees it?"

It seemed like it would be okay to skip over the sight of you walking around like this… because Ines was looking at him with an extremely annoyed expression.

"Whether you see it or not."

Of course, that was true. Considering that she had been acting so bashful in front of the crown prince—with a face that didn't look sick at all, complaining that she was dizzy and asking for help—what could be the problem with her walking around so confidently in a place where the crown prince couldn't even see her?

Still, there was one question that lingered in Cassel's mind.

"… … Is there no tomorrow for you?"

How is the family's safety? If she had learned the word 'safety' in advance, she would have asked that too. Ines answered nonchalantly.

"It would be a disgrace to the royal family if you spoke out against the Ballestena family over something as trivial as this."

It was certainly a shameful thing. Cassel recalled Oscar's almost downtrodden expression. The Ballestenas were one of the most powerful families in the Grandes de Ortega. They were not in a position to be punished arbitrarily by the imperial court for a few words spoken among children.

"It's embarrassing. And the one who has been harassing me all this time is your cousin. If anyone says anything to Father or Mother about this, the Crown Prince will be the one who was rambling to me today…"

Ines's stern face clouded for a moment. It was evident that she was thinking back to the Crown Prince's grand proposal.

Cassel also looked a little offended.

wing....

"… I'm going to write down every single word of those nasty remarks and send them to Mentor's weekly bulletin as a complaint. Then let's see who gets in more trouble."

"Complaint?"

When Cassel frowned and asked for a word he didn't know, Ines waved her hand.

"What am I talking about with you…?"

Judging from the fact that he was saying things directly that he would have just brushed off with an expression at other times, he was being quite friendly to Cassel today. He brightly brushed it off, intending to go home and look up the meaning of the word, and went into her room with her.

It was because I missed the timing to ask if it was okay to leave now.

"Anyway, there's one thing you should remember when you see the Crown Prince."

"… … ."

"How comfortable you can live if you only have one embarrassing memory of someone else… If the Crown Prince bothers you again, remind him of today."

Ines said that and took off her ring as if she was frustrated. Cassel, who was still standing by the door with an embarrassed expression, was busy going back and forth from the desk to the console table without even looking.

Cassel looked around his fiancée's room, which he had entered for the first time, with a strange look and kept his mouth shut. It was different from the embarrassment Ines had described, but he felt embarrassed for some reason.

"Bella, water."

At Ines's words, a maid who had been somewhere appeared, and then came out carrying a large bowl. Contrary to expectations, it was not drinking water, but water for washing hands.

She washed her hands, rubbing them so vigorously that it seemed somewhat obsessive. And then she saw Ines washing her hands for the first time. Cassel took advantage of the moment when Ines wasn't looking at him to stare at her as if he was exploring her.

Still, she's not that pretty... ... . She frowns a lot and looks at her own hands as she diligently washes them, which is a little cute, but... Is that cute? I don't know because she doesn't even say things like that in front of her parents.

Children are usually small, and small things are usually cute, so no matter how weird a child is, he or she can still be cute.

Cassel admitted, somewhat unconvincingly, that Ines was a bit cute.

At least her face was free of any blemishes, but it was also true that she was somewhat lacking in having a husband like herself right next to her… … He looked at himself in the mirror that happened to be attached to the nearby wall and thought to himself without the slightest bit of admiration.

I guess I feel sorry for myself.

"Escalante?"

Was it because of the series of events with the crown prince? He unconsciously looked back at her like a puppy whose name had been called by its owner, then realized that he had been a little undignified and turned away gracefully.

Since I was thinking about marriage, I felt that a certain amount of dignity was needed.

"Come on."

"While we are engaged but not yet married, I cannot go around a woman's bedroom…."

"…You're still six years old, Escalante."

Ines said it again, as if sighing. As if she were not six years old.

"Even if you sleep in my bed, no one will say anything."

"Is that okay?"

"it's crazy?"

"I didn't want to do that either."

Cassel quickly gathered up his things. Then, at Ines's gesture, he somehow approached her.

Just then, the maid brought a new bowl of water. Ines pointed to it with her chin.

"Wash your hands."

"why?"

"Everyone in my room must be clean."

"…I'm going back now?"

Even as she asked that, her hand was already in the water bowl. Strangely, since earlier, she kept doing what she said. Ines answered indifferently.

"Your cousin is still at the Ballestena residence. So you should stay with me."

Ines, who naturally treated her fiancé as a shield and called the crown prince as just 'your cousin', received a dry cloth from the maid. Then, when Cassel held out his roughly washed hands as if to wipe them, she firmly shook her head and pointed to the water bowl with her chin again.

"Wash it properly."

"… … You're not some duchess or anything."

"Wash up. I like it clean."

I wanted to protest that it didn't matter what you liked, but somehow I didn't want to go through the trouble of protesting. Somehow… why do I keep doing this? Even in the midst of confusion, Cassel diligently washed his hands until they made a squeaking sound and held out his hand again.

"ruler."

He meant to give the cloth over to him, but what landed on his hand was Ines' hand holding the cloth. Cassel was quite embarrassed. She was wiping his hand herself.

It was as if he was treated as if he was lacking and couldn't do it properly on his own… .

"… … ."

Even though my mother, nanny, and maids had washed my hands countless times, this was the first time I felt this embarrassed. My ears were hot. Cassel lowered his head as if he was afraid of meeting Ines' eyes.

His hands were small, but hers were even smaller. The hands that thoroughly cleaned between the fingers and the inside of the palm were by no means clumsy, but… these were the hands of a girl. A girl… … . I lowered my head to avoid the accident of accidentally meeting Ines' eyes, but when I looked at Ines's white hands, I felt awkward and had nowhere to look.

It was the first time I had stared at Ines's hand, the hand of a girl, so intently. There was so much I was seeing for the first time that it was confusing. Everything was new to me.

Cassel lowered his head as Ines finished her simple business and walked away, then finally looked straight ahead again.

"what's the matter?"

On that not-so-pretty subject.

"Escalante?"

"… You didn't call me by my last name earlier."

He was embarrassed by the way his own voice sounded somewhat sad. Suddenly, Ines, who was sitting on the sofa under the window, smiled.

"Do you want me to call you by your name?"

"… … ."

"I know you hate me."

"No, no."

A denial that she didn't want you to call her by her name, and another denial that she didn't hate you. But Ines shrugged her small shoulders as if she didn't care.

"You cried when you said you didn't want to marry Ines Ballestena."

"When will I cry…!"

He cried. The first day Ines pointed her finger at him.

"I'm crying again because I have to live until I die."

"… … ."

"I have to make a baby again—"

"—Stop it. Ballestena."

Cassel's ears turned red. Why should I be embarrassed? The weather was bad today. So this must be it. Wherever he went, every person he met was bullying him, making fun of him, and making fun of him...

"Okay. I'll call you, Cassel."

Her cheeks flushed at the sound. She looked like a young Confucius who had never had a conversation with a girl. She was clearly possessed by something. As she was fidgeting and looking at the edge of her seat, Ines tapped the seat next to her.

"So come here."

It was that voice again. The voice of a puppy calling… But it wasn't as cold as usual.

He sat down beside Ines with a stiff gait. Whenever she called him to come near, he would be absentmindedly flipping through a book that had popped out of nowhere… … .

Seriously, I have never been treated like this in my entire life. At least not as far as six-year-old Cassel can remember.

Only Ines Ballestena does this.