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She
felt like the face of the young Arthur overlapped with the face of the Arthur
who died protecting Louise. They seemed surprised by Candice, who
had her eyes wide open and her hands clasped at her chest out of tension.
「Candice, Imperial Princess-sama?」
「Is something…… wrong?」
「………… N-Nothing at all.」
Candice slowly shook her head side to side.
Perhaps relieved because Arthur clung to her, her trembling stopped.
（I will never do such a thing again……
Absolutely not this time!）
With
such resolve in her heart, Candice repeatedly took deep breaths as if to
calm herself down. After hugging Arthur back, she managed to float a
smile while talking about what happened at the Violet Palace. The fact
that she would be heading to the Violet Palace while Eva and Rose
were taking their vacation. The fact that she wailed loudly out of happiness
and ended up falling fast asleep while clinging to Valentin. She also
talked about how, when she woke up, it was decided that a guard would be
prepared for her.
「If I have that guard, I wonder if it
will be alright to tag along with Eva and Rose next time……! I'm
looking forward to it.」
「「「…………」」」
At
Candice's adorably spoken words, the three maids could only nod. That
was because, judging from Valentin's overprotective words, they thought
such a day might never arrive. The reason they couldn't tell that to Candice
was because she was rejoicing so much.
She
watched over Arthur making pressed flowers until dinner time, and
invited Luca to the White Palace for a meal. The chefs served
many adorable dishes for Candice.
「I don't like this vegetable.」
「Arthur, being picky is………… I don't like it
either.」
「Arthur, Candice, that vegetable has
a lot of nutrients and is said to be a panacea; it's even used as an ingredient
for medicine, you know.」
「So that's why it's this bitter.」
Candice held her breath before bringing it
to her mouth. As expected, she didn't like the sensation of eating leaves, but
the things she could eat without holding her breath had increased. But she just
couldn't bring herself to like salad no matter what.
（Uuu…… Bitter! Tastes awful……）
It
was when Candice was about to say, Don't ever serve this vegetable
again.
「Also, I heard it's good for the
skin!」
「──Give me more of these leaves!」
Candice's obsession with beautiful skin
remained the same as always. Luca gave a wry smile, and Arthur
raised his hand, saying, 「Me too!」
The long table was lively, and she felt that all the dishes were delicious. At
the same time her stomach became full, her feelings were also satisfied.
（Because I have everyone! I am no
longer lonely at all!）
This
was the first time in her life she had welcomed a birthday in such a happy
mood.
──A
few days later.
Eva and Rose departed in a
carriage while crying. As planned, they would have about a week and a half of
vacation. It was said it takes three days one-way to head to where their family
is. It seems they will only be able to spend about three days with their
family. As one might expect, she advised them to rest more, but Eva and Rose
refused to listen, saying, 「This is plenty!」
The
moment she saw the two of them off, just as she thought about returning to her
room, the maids of the Violet Palace charged in.
「Candice, Imperial Princess-sama, we
have come to pick you up!」
「Now, now, let's go to the Violet
Palace!」
Just
as she was about to ask about Arthur and Jeanne, weren't they
right there behind the maids? Arthur was taken aback by the momentum of
the Violet Palace's maids.
「……U-Understood! Let's go.」
Candice had no choice but to nod. The chefs
of the White Palace also looked lonely, but they apparently planned to
take this opportunity to take a vacation as well. Holding hands with Arthur,
Candice walked down the long, long corridor. She was happy to be
welcomed by the maids of the Violet Palace, but their level of welcome
was almost scary.
The
birthday was over, and starting today, they would return to normal days. The
room was the one Candice and the others always spent time in. Arthur
was in the one next door. Arthur was innocently rejoicing that he could
stay over at the Violet Palace.
On
the other hand, Candice was fidgeting restlessly, thinking she must be
careful not to make a blunder. After all that had happened, she had to be even
more careful.
The
maids of the Violet Palace, as expected of those caring for Valentin,
had no wasted movements. Everyone was as perfect as Jeanne. While
watching them, Candice became nervous, thinking she had to be proper
too. She missed the laid-back atmosphere of Eva and Rose.
Discussing today's schedule, they quickly tidied up Candice's
appearance.
「How would you like your hairstyle?」
「I want you to use this ribbon every day.」
The
ribbon she received as a present from Eva and Rose.
『Please think of this as us~hic』 『Candice, Imperial Princess-samaaaah』
Crying as they left in the carriage were Eva and Rose. Was it just her imagination that the two of them looked much lonelier than Candice?
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