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Volume 3, Extra 01: The Melancholic Prince

[Vernoux’s Perspective]

*STEP STEP*. My footsteps echoed through the corridor that didn’t have a speck of dust in it.

It was quiet, but there were palace guards around, so it wasn’t like there was no sign of life here. However, nothing was moving, just like artworks, so there were no sounds. It’s excellent that they’re faithfully performing their duties, but I can’t help but think that I would get stiff shoulders if I were to do that.

In the corridor which I was walking down, there were two guards at a door. The two guards noticed me and went inside to get verification. The door opened widely as soon as I got there.

“Excuse me, Your Highness.”

I paid attention to the guards and acted appropriately until the door was closed. As soon as the door closed, I quickly walked up to Gille.

“You’re late today.”

Gille kept his gaze on the book in his hand and spoke without looking up. Seems like he’s in a bad mood for a change. His voice sounded the same as it usually did, but he would usually say something to show his appreciation at this point. But I can guess why he was in a bad mood.

“What could I do? Clay caught me.”

“Did you do something again Vernoux?”

“Why do you think I did something? He just told me something trifling.”

And while we were talking, Clay unwittingly found fault in one thing I said, and it made things worse… That was all it was. Well, he was probably angry. It was my bad for wondering just how angry he was. Clay’s reactions are pretty interesting, but it was more annoying than I’d imagined, so I’ll hold back a little from now on. He’s actually more serious than I thought he would be.

But, while I was thinking that, Gille sighed in shock.

“Try to get along.”

“Well, little-by-little. Anyway, it’s this right? The thing you were waiting for?”

Give me a break, I thought as I took out the letter that Dilly had given me yesterday. Gille reacted to the word 『this』and finally lifted his face from the book. He’s so obvious.

But his expression looked a little different from the fidgety yet calm expression he usually wore as he waited for Dilly’s letter.

Right now, he was frowning, which showed that he was in a bad mood.

This is the first time I’ve seen him receive her letter like this. But I can’t blame him since it’s only for today.

It’s probably because Dilly came to the castle the other day. He should be happy that she’d visited, since he wants to talk to her as 『Sylvester』.

But when we saw her, she was already going home with Cyrus-dono.

He could have caught up to her if he ran, but, unfortunately, Gille couldn’t do that. A calm Prince chasing after a lady he’d seen; he probably thought that Dilly would hate him if he did that. Actually, she’ll probably be attracted to him instead. Probably.

But, if he had talked to her at that time, then he would be in a good mood right now… Maybe. I don’t know how Dilly would have reacted, so I can’t say for sure.

But anyway, he was sulking because he couldn’t talk to her.

I should say something, but Gille wasn’t taking it out on anyone. I think he’s only being sour towards me because I’m the only one who knows about this. I can usually put up with his attitude, so I might listen to him. But I’ll get angry if he goes too far.

Gille hesitated to open the letter he’d received from me, then finally he took the paper knife, that he’d received from Dilly, and opened it. He seemed to really like the paper knife, and I’ve tried to pick it up from the desk before, but he immediately went to pick it up. Apparently, he didn’t like it when other people touched it.

Aren’t you glad, Dilly? He’s cherishing it.

Gille took the letter out from the envelope and looked over it nervously, then he relaxed.

“Why are you relieved?”

It’s much better than his stiff expression, but I wanted to ask that because he was different now that he’d read the letter.

Gille slowly took his eye off the letter.

“Err, it doesn’t seem like Dilly will write unpleasant things, so it should be okay… I would be bothered if she’d written something unpleasant about seeing me.”

“Well, even Dilly wouldn’t write something like that.”

“I know. She might not have realised that I was there.”

Nope. I’m sure she did notice you… I can’t say that even if I thought it. If Gille accepted it as fact, then it was fine.

“You worry too much when it comes to Dilly. Be a little more confident.”

You look unreliable, I thought, as I advised him. I don’t know how effective my words are.

Gille acts magnificently as a Prince, but he’s so moody when it comes to Dilly. If he were to act like that on an everyday basis, then it wouldn’t do him any good. Gille should understand that the people around him are influenced by his emotions. However, he unexpectedly looked bitter.

“Do I look arrogant? I’m a little worried.”

“You know your own position, don’t you? If you act stupid, I’m going to punch you.”

He’s in a position where he can’t be carefree. What’s he saying? I glared at him and he awkwardly looked away. I’m sure he said that despite already knowing.

“Of course, I don’t plan on acting arrogant, but I thought I might have acted like that without realising it.”

“You know…”

I wonder if he should have made an effort to talk to Dilly at that time after all. I thought, as I put my hand on my forehead.

In Gille’s position, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to talk to the girl he likes. Then, of all things, he had to meet the exceptional Dilly. He’s fascinated by a very difficult lady.

“Your personality doesn’t change, no matter if you look like 『Gille』or『Sylvester』. You don’t have to start worrying about it now. Dilly interacts normally with 『Gille』.”

“Well, I know but…”

“Get a hold of yourself.”

I tried to say things that would ease his mind, but I don’t know how effective it was. Gille stayed quiet as he looked down and read the letter. Did he get it? I hope he did. It’ll be fine if he did.

However, my thoughts only lasted for a moment because Gille’s expression gradually got grimmer.

“Say, Vernoux.”

“What?”

He said that in a stiff voice, so Dilly must have written something strange again, I thought as I spoke questioningly.

“I’m just confirming this… You don’t want Dilly as your wife, right?”

“Hah?”

For a moment, I doubted whether my ears had gone bad.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?”

“You don’t want Dilly as your wife, right?”

They were the same words as before. It seems like I hadn’t heard him wrong after all.

“Why’re you suddenly asking that? Did she write something about that in the letter?”

I want to question her about what kind of annoying things she wrote in her letter.

“She often writes about how people always think that she is doing things for you.”

“Haah?”

“She wrote that when she asked the Earl about a present for me, he thought that she wanted to get you something. Now, Cyrus asked her if she was writing letters to you. And people are questioning whether you have plans to get engaged to Earl Hale’s daughter.”

“Stop there.”

I stopped him from talking when I heard a name I’d never expected to hear. I never thought that Dilly would be so honest in her letters. I’m sure the last thing was just him reading too much into it. Well, if it’s about Lady Hazel, then it’s not surprising for Gille to misunderstand if he heard about her from Myles and the others… But I never thought that I would hear her name here. And I have to dissolve this topic quickly.

But I can see why the Earl and Cyrus were under that impression.

“It can’t be helped. 『Gille』has never sent a letter directly to Dilly. If you were to send her a letter as 『Sylvester』, then it might be considered as a national proposal. Do you get it?”

I don’t think it would get that out of hand, but people will notice that he cares about Dilly, since he’s not sending letters to other ladies. Do you think Dilly would just quietly agree to it if you do something like that? The answer is no.

“I know…”

『You know that but you look like you hate it, Your Highness Sylvester』. I turned the conversation away from Lady Hazel as I teased him in my mind. Phew, that was a close one.

“If you get it then come to terms with it.”

But, when I look at Gille, I thought, you could use the royal name a little. It seems like he doesn’t want to use his power as a royal, but he’s not getting anywhere like this. According to Gille, the Earl refuses to let his daughter visit the castle because she’s shy and immature. That doesn’t sound like Dilly, so if Gille insists on meeting her, then the Earl probably wouldn’t refuse to let them meet once. I’m sure Gille knows that… But he doesn’t want to order the Earl. His weird pride is getting in his way.

Even I don’t know why she’s avoiding 『Sylvester』, so I can’t give him my full support. If I had to say something, then I want to tell him to quickly tell her that 『Gille』is『Sylvester』. I don’t think Dilly would attack him… No, I can’t say it after all. The damage would be too great for him. It’s better for him to decide things on his own.

But there is something I want to tell him.

“Anyway, would you care if I complained about it?

“…”

“If you do care, then it can’t be helped. You should just act the way you want to act.”

Are first loves this annoying? I thought and realised that I’ve never heard Gille clearly say that he likes Dilly. Well, it’s not hard to tell from the way he acts.

When I thought that, I remembered that Dilly had given me something.

“I forgot. This is a gift from Dilly.”

“Huh?”

“She was worried that you seem tired.”

I said as I gave him the tea can from Dilly.

He went blank, so I pushed it into his hand, and he stared at it.

“This is from Dilly? For me?”

“Yeah.”

I couldn’t find the words to say to Gille as he stared at the can as if he was trying to open a hole into it. Gille finally looked up from the can and seemed to be in an extremely pleasant mood.

“Vernoux-sama, shall we have tea?”

“Oh? You’re going to serve that?”

This guy, is he forgetting that he was in a sour mood before?

I haven’t eaten many sweets here, so I gladly accepted his offer. The sweets at Dilly’s house are delicious, but I also have no complaints about the sweets in the castle.

“I wonder what it tastes like.”

“…”

“Gille?”

I tilted my head in curiosity since Gille had suddenly gone silent. He looked mystified.

“You’re drinking your usual tea Vernoux.”

It seems like he doesn’t want to share the things he gets from Dilly. I shrugged since he was acting like a child. I can taste it when I get home.

(I also got it, you know? I just haven’t tried it yet.)

Of course, I intend to keep that a secret from Gille.

Translator: Blushy

Editor: SenjiQ