âLei, you need to go over there a little more.â
âTheyâww cathch ush if I go over thhere.â (Theyâll catch us if I go over there)
Nico and I sneaked around behind the plants as we bumped into each other.
âWhat are you doing, Lei-sama, and Your Highness?â
âHansh, be quieth!â
âYes, yes.â
Hans quickly disappeared behind a tree. Nicoâs guards were quietly hiding behind the tree since the beginning, but our Hans is like this.
âLei be quiet! The guards have arrived first. Iâm sure uncle and his matchmaking partner will show up shortly after.â
I think I was quieter than Hans, and if anything, Nico was louder than me, but I knew that it was better to be quiet, so I nodded silently.
The guards who came looked at us, then at the trees behind us, but I think weâre well-hidden so we should be fine. I had a feeling that Hans was waving his hands, but when I turned back, he wasnât. Let me see.
Soon, the double-glass doors to the greenhouse opened wide, and Prince Albert came out while escorting a beautiful young lady.
The greenhouse led directly to the guestroom like at the Albans mansion, but even though this was the north, it was warm enough with no heating if there was sun. However, Nico and I both have our jackets on.
âOh, uncle looks cool.â
âAberage.â
Indeed, Iâve only seen the Prince in his travelling attire, and when we stayed at the noblesâ mansions, he hadnât worn anything gaudy. So, I couldnât say that seeing him dress in a military uniform and having his hair sleeked back while looking like a noble wasnât cool.
But, as a young girl, what I should be looking at is how young women in Farland dressed. I stared at the young woman. Her blonde hair which was as dark as wheat ear, hung elegantly around her small and pale face, and it was tied up high behind her head. Her chest had good volume, and she wore a dark rose-coloured dress over a sheer, thin blouse. She was probably older than Felicia.
âPwetty.â
I sighed. Iâll probably wear a dress one day too. And, maybe one day someone will escort me as well. Well, itâs troublesome, so itâll be fine if such a day doesnât come. Me aside, the pretty Onee-san looked amazing.
However, come to think of it, I donât know what fashion the Onee-sanâs in Kingdom wear in the first place. I looked at my poncho. It was a larger version of the poncho I wore last year, but it had more room in the pockets, and was practical. But I canât tell what fashion they wear just from looking at baby clothes.
âThere are plenty like her at the castle,â Nico was a bit harsh. At least, Natalie and Nicoâs maid are pretty, and so is Julia-obasama and Ange-obasama. Ange-obasama had approached me because of nasty rumours, but I think her milk tea hair is very pretty.
The two people sat down, the maid made them tea and there were sweets on the table. And yet, they only talked while smiling, and occasionally sipped their tea; they didnât touch the sweets.
âThe shweethsh ath Ojii-shamaâsh pwace are yummy.â (The sweets at Ojii-samaâs place are yummy)
âWhat, are you hungry?â
âIâm noth hungry!â
Itâs not like Iâm hungry. However, we escaped to this place before snack time, so I havenât had todayâs snack yet.
âHmm. I do feel a little peckish.â
Nico rubbed his belly. I had some sweets in my poncho pocket, but they werenât freshly made and nicely decorated. I looked sadly at the sweets on the table. I canât believe theyâre not eating them even though they were made just for them.
Wait. That snack at the end of the table... can I grab it if I reach up?
There were several large potted plants along the way.
âNico, dat.â
âThat?â
âThath pwathe if we jushth reach outh tho ith...â (That plate if we just reach out to it)
âHmm.â Nico put a hand on his chin and quietly observed the way to the table.
âFirst, weâll run to that potted plant. Then, weâll move to that plotted plant. Then, we just need to crouch down and go to the bottom of the table.â
âWe can craww for thhath.â (We can crawl for that)
âThat sounds like a good idea. But there is a problem.â
âWhath probwem?â
I tilted my head.
âYou canât run, can you?â
âI can! I awwaysh run!â
âShh! Youâre being too loud.â
I think the woman looked over here.
âDidnât you hear something?â
âWho knows? The greenhouse is warm, so it might have been a bird chirping?â
âOh my, I want to see them.â
âN-no, ah... They flew away.â
Nice Prince Albert! The two went back to what they were talking about.
âThen weâll do it quickly and without hesitation. Iâll go first and confirm itâs safe before you go.â
âAi! I goth ith.â
I raised my hand properly.
Nico stood up from behind the plants. He looked left and right before running to the first potted plant.
âAh! Come to think of it, the glass design on that terrace is so exquisite that you donât see something like that in the royal capital.â
âReally? I thought it was beautiful earlier. Is Your Highness also interested in architecture?â
The moment Nico signalled for me to come; the two adults looked at the building. Now!
I jumped out and started running.
âAh, youâre tottering.â
âIâm noth thoththering!â
âHans, Lei, shhh.â
I huffed and quickly rushed over to Nico.
âPhew.â
âYou donât have to worry about everything Hans says.â
Nico was angry.
âAi. Sowwy.â
âAlright. Weâll go to the next potted plant while those two are looking over there. Now, give me your hand!â
âAi!â
This time, we held hands while rushing over to the next potted plant. Alright, the two adults still havenât noticed us.
âWeâre almost there. Good, now letâs lower our bodies.â
âAi!â
We quickly rustled our way to the bottom of the table.
âB-bug.â
Ignore Hans, ignore him. We just have to get the sweets.
âAlright, then Iâll reach for it since my arms are longer.â
Nico extended his short arm.
âTheyâre not as short as yours.â
âRude.â
âHuh?â
âWhathâsh wrong?â I asked quietly from under the table.
âSee, I just stretched my arm out and I got this.â
In Nicoâs hand was a plate covered in napkins to keep the snacks from falling out.
âI can theww from thhe shmeww. Theyâre definithewy shweethsh.â (I can tell from the smell. Theyâre definitely sweets)
âYou can tell from the smell...?â
Of course, I would? Itâs normal. Next, grab the plate and get out of here!