The little girl who was decorating it was startled and stepped back. The startled Wagner shouted at the girl, “You’re still in the Princess’s room! Get out now!”
“So, sorry.”
The girl quickly put down the flower basket and quickly walked away.
Wagner, who was looking at that back, bowed in front of Rieta.
“I’m sorry. This is my recently bought adopted daughter, but she’s not good at anything… My God, what unsophisticated flowers.”
He hurriedly picked up the pretty wild flowers that the child had brought.
“It’s okay. I like it.”
Rieta did not want to waste the little girl’s devotion. She thought it best to say that she liked this more than anything else.
Didn’t Craig Wagner say it a little while ago?
‘Recently bought adopted daughter.’
She knew without further investigation how the child was treated.
Of course, there was nothing she could do for the girl.
“I’m glad the Princess likes it.”
“She gave me flowers from her hometown as a gift. You have a good adopted daughter.”
The old man’s face lit up at her praise.
Rieta breathed a sigh of relief. At least the child won’t have to worry about this issue.
However, it wasn’t long before she felt something eerie.
Come to think of it. She was casually talking about leaving the Kingdom and marrying a prince who she had never even seen.
If this had happened right after she first came to the Kingdom, she would definitely try to escape.
But… It’s now something I can’t help but accept.
Rieta thought of her younger brothers, the people she left behind that night, and the people who barely saved her life.
She felt a little devastated.
* * *
The next day.
As she was about to leave on the road again, Rieta received a basket of snacks from the little girl she had met yesterday.
“Thank you… for yesterday.”
Rieta shook her head, looking at the whispering child.
“I really did think the flowers you gave me were pretty.”
“Because the princess said so, I was fine yesterday.”
The child smiled bashfully, and for a moment, Rieta wondered. Fine?
But the answer came too easily.
There was a bright blue bruise on the child’s wrist, slightly exposed as she handed Rieta the basket. She may have accidentally injured herself there, but considering Craig Wagner’s behavior that Rieta had seen…
…What to do…
Rieta knew immediately that she wanted to help this child in some way.
But there was no way, no matter what she did. Soon, she would leave, and she couldn’t control what would happen after she did.
Because she was going to have to give up all her power over Liz soon.
“BB said it too, don’t show affection. Doesn’t that mean not to make unnecessary expectations out of clumsy kindness?”
She suddenly remembered what Noel had said. He had shown her how cruel clumsy kindness could be.
“Thank… you.”
So all Rieta could do was to say that.
“You see.”
The girl, who did not know Rieta’s feelings, continued. “They say that if the Princess gets married, everyone in Liz will be happy.”
The child smiled brightly as she spoke.
“…Is that so?”
Rieta answered, gently stroking the child’s head.
“I also want the Princess to be happy.”
The corner of Rieta’s mouth slightly rose as she heard the child’s parting words.
Her kind words were the truth, without any lies.
Rieta knew that she did not deserve this child’s blessing, so she could not bear to nod her head.
Soon the self-blame and shame about herself came flooding back, and Rieta hurriedly climbed onto the carriage, carrying the snacks the girl had brought her.
* * *
The carriage carrying Rieta set off again.
She set down the snack basket aside for a moment. She ate well since yesterday, so she wasn’t particularly hungry.
She was a very cute child…
She couldn’t stop thinking about the child, so she stared blankly at the basket.
The coach-side window was opened without permission.
“Emile! I said not to open it without permission!”
Rieta said that out of habit, but in fact she was used to it, a door opening without knocking beforehand.
She and Noel had been interrupting each other like that since they were kids.
“Princess, is there anything delicious there?”
“Were you aiming for this?”
“Of course. Unlike your comfortable seat, my seat is a battlefield where I fight to death against the cold wind!”
Rieta shoved the whole basket out the window.
“Share it with the coachman.”
“Oh, you’re giving me everything?!”
“I don’t really want to eat right now.”
Emile grabbed a chocolate-covered cookie from the basket and offered the same to Rieta.
“Eat one, at least. Eating sweets will make you feel better. If your fiance saw that face, he would be so scared that he would run away.”
“…”
Rieta looked at the cookie in Emile’s hand for a moment, then shook her head again.
“You’re stubborn. Tsk.”
“I just don’t want to eat.”
“Are you upset because I mentioned your fiance?”
“…Ugh.”
Rieta couldn’t really object to that.
As a mercenary who made a lot of money, he was quite quick-witted.
“What a strange Princess.”
He gave the coachman some candy too, and then he peeked his head out of the window again.
“If I were the Princess, I would have gotten married in excitement. He’s rich and handsome. I bet a guy like me would fall in love with him too!”
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