# 39
While I was focusing on reviewing the documents, there came a knock on the door, and a servant entered the room.
“Ma’am, it seems it is time for you to start preparing for departure.”
“Really? Oh, right! Time has gone by so fast!”
At the servant's words, I put aside the documents I was reviewing and jumped to my feet.
Today was the day of the long-awaited festival.
Eager to finish my preparations and get going, my steps through the hallway became more energetic.
Then, in the distance, I saw a zombie... No, Ivan was walking like a zombie.
With empty eyes, as if he'd drunk five espressos in one day, Ivan swayed.
When he noticed me, he managed to bow politely.
Even then, his formality was impeccable – this is how a true professional assistant should look.
“Are you going to prepare for the festival with His Highness?”
The way he said it made it sound like Harold and I were going together, just the two of us.
Suddenly, Harold's suggestion that we attend the festival together crossed my mind.
At the time, the unexpected suggestion left me dumbfounded.
Even the spray of the fountain felt like sweat, my mind spinning in confusion.
<“Um, Harold…actually…I have a prior commitment…”>
I couldn't forget Harold's deep smile as soon as I told him about my advance plans with Dante.
Afterwards, I explained everything in detail, feeling like a wife caught cheating, about how I ended up making those plans.
To my surprise, it was Harold who suggested that the three of us go together.
Fortunately, Dante also accepted after receiving my letter, which was full of explanations of the situation.
Looking at the whole process still gives me chills.
It was a relief that everything ended well in the end.
Well, at least it was a happy ending for me...
“Yes, I'm heading out to get ready now....But Evan, are you okay?”
“Yes, I'm actually—*sob*—happy.”
His claim of happiness was not convincing, especially from his exhausted face that looked like it had been worked to death.
'He's even crying.'
Horrified, she handed him a tissue.
“I'm fine, ma'am. If I take that… *sob*…”
Instead, Ivan wiped his face violently with his sleeve. Between his sobs, I heard him mutter something about “Your Highness.”
"Harold? What about Harold?"
“…! I just meant to wish you and Your Highness a pleasant date. I’ve been taking too long. I’ll be leaving now.”
Ivan swayed past me, his tears falling like chicken droppings.
As he walked away, a white envelope slipped from his clothes.
I picked it up and saw the word *“RESIGNATION”* written on the back.
The compressed lines carried the weight of an exhausted employee's suffering.
'He looks really tired...'
However, I couldn't help but remain curious.
Although Harold seemed to trust me more than before, our relationship was still contractual.
No matter how much my admiration for Harold grew, I never forgot this fact.
But why would he rearrange his schedule to attend the festival with me?
Harold, who usually sticks strictly to his schedule, went out of his way for me, and I couldn't stop thinking about it.
At that moment, Anna appeared from afar, running towards me and calling: “Ma’am!”
“Ma’am! If you want to be ready before the agreed upon time, you must start preparing now.”
“Okay, I'm on my way.”
I quickened my steps and shook off the thoughts that were running through my head.
'Hmm, I don't know. Maybe that's part of why Harold is good with the people around him.'
If it was something bad, I would still worry about it, but honestly, I was just happy to go to the festival with Harold.
I decided to simply enjoy the festival.
The streets were crowded with people who had come to see the fireworks, which are only held on the last night of the festival.
Standing in front of the clock tower, I looked around at the bustling crowd.
I pulled out a pocket watch, checked the time, and took another look at the area.
“Young Master Dante has not arrived yet.”
Thirty minutes have passed since our scheduled meeting time, but Dante has not arrived yet.
Did he lose his way? But the meeting place we chose was right in front of the clock tower, which is easy to see from afar.
Harold, without showing any annoyance or concern at Dante's tardiness, spoke in a calm voice.
“Something unexpected must have happened to him.”
“...I think this is better than something bad happening.”
Harold covered the pocket watch I was looking at with his hand.
Only then did I look up at Harold, who was staring at me.
As his eyes blinked slowly, the corners of his lips rose slightly.
While I was momentarily distracted by how much he looked like a sly fox, Harold spoke.
“Don’t worry too much. If Young Master Dante goes out, the Meier family will probably have sent someone to secretly guard him.”
“True, Mrs. Mayer is meticulous about things like this.”
"Exactly. So come on, Diana. Thirty minutes is plenty of time to wait, right?"
We couldn't stand here forever. Moreover, I was not alone – Harold was with me.
After one last look around, I nodded.
“A wise choice.”
Harold's eyes narrowed further at my agreement.
His expression looked exactly like a fox, smiling contentedly after a successful hunt.
'Harold doesn't even have fox-like features, so why do I keep thinking about foxes today?'
Has my vision finally gotten worse?
I closed my eyes for a moment but shook my head to shake the ridiculous thought away.
Before leaving, I stopped at a merchant near the clock tower and gave him some money to deliver a message to Dante if he showed up.
“Let's go now!”
Excitedly, I dragged Harold along as we explored the neatly arranged booths.
Some of the items on display were things I had never seen before, even in Diana's memories, and they were fun to look at.
As we were about to move on to the next area, Harold suddenly stopped.
“Harold?”
What happened? I followed his gaze to see what he was looking at.
A young man working in one of the stalls had his head hanging down, drops of sweat falling from his face.
When our eyes met, his face flushed, then quickly turned pale.
“Ma’am, excuse me for a moment.”
Harold placed his hoodie over my shoulders.
Not only that, but he lifted the hood over my head, lowering it so much that it covered my field of vision.
I pushed the hood back and asked, “Why are you giving me this?”
“The night air seems to be getting colder. I was worried you might be cold.”
"I'm not cold. I'm dressed warm enough."
I tried to return the robe to him, but Harold held it tightly, refusing to let go.
I struggled for a while, pulling the robe, but he remained calm and did not move an inch.
“Huff, huff.”
I wasn't cold – I was practically sweating at this point.
As I caught my breath, Harold buttoned the robe one by one.
When I stared at him, transfixed, he smiled unashamedly.
Look at him, he uses his handsomeness to ignore it as if nothing happened.
"Even if you're not cold now, you might feel that way later. Diana, don't make me look like a heartless man who lets his wife freeze in front of my knights."
“...Do I look cold to you guys?”
Hoping they would support me, I asked the two knights who accompanied us as guards.
"You're pale, and your lips look a little bluish. You look like you might collapse at any moment."
“Wouldn't it be better if you wore something warmer than that robe?”
“…”
The knights' impudence seemed to match their master.
Eventually, I gave up and walked around in the robe and hood.
Fortunately, the material was light and refreshing, so it wasn't too bad after a while.
In the end, I forgot I was even wearing it.
After eating the chicken skewers recommended by Anna, we continued walking when suddenly I heard a familiar voice behind us.
“Young Master Dante?”
“Ah, it's really you! I thought it might be His Highness, so I ran over. It's a good thing I did!”
Dante welcomed us with a bright smile and a slight bow.
“I was worried when you were not at the meeting place.”
“We waited for a while but didn't see you, so we left. Nothing happened, right?”
When I asked out of concern, Dante blinked in confusion.
"Huh? When I arrived at the appointed time, you weren't there. Were you really waiting at the clock tower?"
“The clock tower? Yes, we stayed there the whole time. That was our agreed upon meeting place.”
“This is not possible. I received a message saying that the meeting place has changed...”
“I did not send any message, young master.”
When I firmly denied it, Dante rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“If it wasn’t the Duchess who sent her...”
After pausing for a moment, his reddish-orange eyes turned away from me and settled on Harold.
“Looks like someone decided to play a prank.”