46 Valentin's side 2
Seeing Candice curled up and sleeping soundly on the sofa, Valentin
stopped in his tracks. For a while, he observed the state of Candice
sleeping.
Keeping his distance so she wouldn't cry like before, he lightly
grabbed a bundle of her silky white-blonde hair, only for it to slip smoothly
through his fingers.
「Nnu……?」
Just as he thought she groaned, Candice swatted Valentin's
hand away with a resounding smack, causing his expression to cloud over. Just
as he thought Candice smiled a goofy smile, she suddenly returned to a
serious face.
The doors opened, and the maids of the Violet Palace who brought
tea and cake saw Valentin pressing his index finger to his lips, so they
lined the items up on the table making as little noise as possible. To Hugo,
who had entered the room with them, Valentin mouthed 『Hand over the documents』 and waved his hand.
Looking at the documents Hugo brought, Valentin waited
until Candice woke up.
When he heard from Hugo that it was rumored in the White
Palace that Candice's attitude had suddenly changed and she had
become like a different person, he was somewhat surprised. However, upon
actually meeting her, he realized that her attire, hairstyle, and the
atmosphere she wore had completely changed. He thought the sight of her
laughing together with Arthur looked very much like her mother, Rina.
The only Imperial Princess, Candice, was still five years
old, yet she was overbearing, selfish, had a rough temper, was incredibly
extravagant, and fired her maids immediately. Valentin had received
reports about it as well, but honestly, he thought it was a hassle and didn't
want to get near her.
The reason was that she closely resembled the women who had tormented
his mother when he was young. That stimulated an untouchable part in the depths
of his heart.
He had met face-to-face with Maxence and Luca a few
times, but whenever he heard Candice's shrill voice, he would always
turn back.
However, it seemed Candice was unable to even meet her mother
due to Duke Radziwill's ulterior motives. He was likely planning to make
Candice his puppet, but as long as there was no harm done, Valentin
had no intention of intervening. Because she made maids and chamberlains quit
before they could become close, the White Palace was always
short-staffed. He had also been concerned about her staying holed up in the White
Palace.
When they met face-to-face at a party, she had loudly hurled insults at
Hugo. 「Is it alright if I go assassinate the Imperial
Princess-sama?」 Even though Hugo
had joked like that, yesterday's Candice had thanked Hugo as if
it were only natural. Thinking she was exactly like a different person, he
ended up being surprised.
Although he felt inclined to try talking to her a bit about that,
having her cry right in front of him was truly unexpected. It was a fact that
he was bewildered seeing the sight of tears steadily streaming from her large
lavender eyes.
He had her summoned after telling them to prepare things like cakes
that children would like, but she was fast asleep before they could even talk.
It was true that he was the one who was late for the promised time, but he
didn't think she would fall asleep in this short amount of time.
（Is she bold, or is she nervous…… I do not know.）
Valentin poked her cheek while reading the
documents. He was shocked by the excessively smooth skin and the bouncy
softness. Valentin played around, touching Candice's cheek.
「Wait…… Ar…… no, muu……」
Just as he thought she was happily smiling a goofy smile, perhaps
sleep-talking, he sent a glance at Candice who suddenly sat up
vigorously. However, changing her posture to the opposite side, she placed her
head on his lap, wiggled around, and then began to sleep comfortably once
again. Thinking he really should wake her up soon, he touched and shook her
shoulder, but Candice seemed to have no intention of waking up.
「Hehe, wuv you……」
He stopped his hand at those words. Soft and slender, his lap was
unusually warm. After letting out a small sigh, he looked through the documents
once again.
The moment Hugo, who came to check the room thinking it was
about time she woke up, saw Candice sleeping on Valentin's lap,
he silently burst out laughing and clutched his stomach. When he glared
piercingly at him, Hugo swiftly averted his gaze, then left the room
while shaking his shoulders in laughter once again.
Her head moved again, and when he looked down to check, her lavender
eyes were open wide.
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