# 77
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When we returned to the palace after a short walk, Princess Louisa was in the foyer, surrounded by a collection of shopping bags. As soon as we entered, the princess turned and waved excitedly.
"Oh! Brother, Duchess!"
Overjoyed, she quickly approached us.
"Did you go out for a walk? I just came back too!"
I glanced at the pile of shopping bags over her shoulder and nodded.
“I heard you went out with the knights. Looks like you had a good time.”
“Yes! There is a shopping area within walking distance from here. Since it is a tourist place, they have all kinds of unique things.”
Her cheeks were flushed, and she was talking excitedly, clearly enjoying her outing.
“Wait a minute! I found something I really liked. I'll show you.”
The princess rushed to the shopping bags and then quickly returned with something in her hands.
"Look at this! Isn't it beautiful?"
She showed us small accessories made of mother-of-pearl.
“It's a hair ornament made from sea shells. Isn't it unique and beautiful? I think they make things like this by the sea.”
So there were people in this world who also did pearl handicrafts.
"It's the perfect time. I was planning to show these to you, Duchess. If you have time, why don't you come to my room and help me choose one, and we can-"
The princess, who was speaking excitedly, stopped suddenly, as if she noticed something. Her gaze was fixed on the space between Ian and me.
"princess?"
Following her gaze, I realized something that made me want to faint on the spot.
I was still holding Ian's hand.
'Oh my God.'
I was startled, and pulled my hand away as if I'd been given an electric shock. Although Ian released my hand without resistance, the princess's eyes took on a naughty gleam as she stared at us.
"Hahahahahahaha."
"…princess?"
"On second thought, I think I'll keep this to myf! Yes, yes, after all, I'll be fifteen in a few days. I can't keep acting like I need a nanny!"
“A moment ago, you were practically ing me to go out with you...”
I stared at her, surprised by the sudden change in her attitude.
“So don't worry about me, you two!”
The princess looked at me jokingly.
“Go upstairs and have a good time together!”
She let out a loud laugh as she jokingly nudged us with her shoulders. Honestly, there was no one as cunning as her.
“Okay, I'll keep going!”
“Wait, princess...”
Before I could stop her, she was already gone, heading off with her servants and their pile of luggage. As I watched her disappear, I couldn't help but feel as if I saw a glimpse of the Emperor in her.
Still staring blankly at where she was, I turned to look at Ian. He seemed just as stunned as I was.
“The princess is really… very bold, like His Majesty, isn’t she?”
“There's no need to sugarcoat it.”
“I have also inherited His Majesty’s tendency not to listen to others.”
"Yes, this is correct."
Ian agreed immediately, as if he had been waiting for me to say it. Then he turned to face me and met my gaze.
“Why don't you go after her?”
“Shall I go after the princess?”
“If you don't have anything else to do in your room.”
“Well, I don't have anything urgent to do, but...”
I looked away from him and looked at the stairs that the princess had climbed.
“I think this is for the best.”
I was afraid to leave her alone, wondering what kind of wild imagination she might come up with.
...It was also awkward that we were holding hands for so long.
I shrugged and started walking.
“Okay, I'll see you later, Duke.”
"Yes."
Ian answered politely, and I turned away. Somehow, I can still feel his gaze following me for a long time. once again.
She reached the bedroom on the second floor and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
When I carefully opened the door, I saw Princess Louisa sitting on the sofa in the living room, surrounded by shopping bags that she was in the process of unpacking. She looked at me with wide eyes.
"Oh? Why did you come back?"
"I've spent enough time with the Duke. I wanted to be with you, Princess. May I come in?"
She tilted her head, then motioned me in with a smile.
“Okay, since you're here, come in.”
"Thank you."
I bent down and entered. The princess, narrowing her eyes as she scanned me up and down, muttered maliciously.
“After all this effort to say goodbye...”
“Well, the night is long anyway.”
What are you talking about now?
She stared at Princess Louisa in disbelief, but she ignored it, feigning innocence.
“Come sit here. I was reviewing the things I bought earlier!”
In the short time it took her to get upstairs, it seemed like she had already finished opening most of the boxes. The low coffee table in front of the sofa was filled with empty shopping bags and paper boxes.
"These are shoes from a shoe store, and this is a bag I got from a souvenir shop. The design was so unique, I had to have them. Isn't it beautiful?"
She spread her arms wide, showing off her purchases.
“Yes, your taste is impeccable, as always, princess.”
"Ah! I knew the Duchess would appreciate it. Oh, and these are the hair ornaments I showed you earlier."
The princess, still full of pride, cleared the table of empty packages and spread out the accessories she had in her hands.
They were all beautifully made of mother-of-pearl.
"Aren't they wonderful? I bought them because I wanted to have a good time with you, Duchess!"
"with me?"
"Yes! I'm going to wear a black and white dress to my birthday party, and I thought these two dresses would go well with it."
She then spent the next ten minutes enthusiastically describing how beautiful and luxurious her dress, which Mrs. Zed had made, was.
"Anyway, you have wonderful taste, Duchess. I would like your opinion on the dress I should wear to the ball."
So that's what she meant by wanting to have a good time together – she wanted me to be her temporary hairdresser.
“I would be honored. Should I help you try them on one by one?”
The princess's face lit up at my answer.
"Yes! Do you know how to do hair, Duchess?"
“I'm not a professional, but I can handle simple hairstyles.”
“Perfect! Go to the dressing room now.”
The princess jumped up from the sofa, took my hand, and led me. The maids, who had been waiting silently by the wall, followed us quietly, carrying accessories.
We reached the dressing table, which had three mirrors attached to it. The princess sat on the chair.
“Of course, I will look beautiful no matter what I wear, but since this is my birthday party, I want to look my best!”
Her eyes sparkled brightly as she looked at me through the mirror. Just moments ago, she was acting naughty like a forty-year-old man, but now she was the little girl she was meant to be.
“Okay, let me show you my skills.”
I rolled up my sleeve jokingly, to match her energy.
We spent a lot of time together, trying out different accessories and hairstyles. Then suddenly, the princess spoke.
“The Duke came because you convinced him, didn’t you?”
I was surprised, so I stopped while picking up the next accessory and looked up. The princess was watching me through the mirror, and our eyes met. She shrugged lightly.
"There's no way my brother would agree to come on vacation so easily. Normally, he wouldn't bother listening."
Well, she wasn't wrong.
“I only pressed him a little. The Duke made the decision himf.”
“The Emperor – sorry, I mean His Majesty – said you were being held hostage to impress him.”
So the Emperor had already revealed the matter. The Emperor, who casually admitted to holding me hostage, and the Princess, who nonchalantly reported it to me, seemed to be in perfect harmony.
“Well, yeah...”
In the end, I could only respond with an embarrassed smile.
The princess laughed softly, wrinkling her nose.
“Indeed, I wanted to thank you, Duchess.”
“You thank me?”
“Yes. My relationship with my brother has always been distant since I was young. According to His Majesty, they used to be close before I was born, but after that, he rarely visited the main palace and mostly stayed in the second palace.”
"Yes."
There was a big age difference between the princess and Ian, so by the time she was born, he was probably already preparing to inherit the dukedom.
Realizing this, she let out a small exclamation.
The princess, who was scratching her nose, smiled cheerfully.
“But thanks to you, my brother came to celebrate my birthday with me, right? Even though it was probably only half thanks to you, he still gave me a gift.”
I laughed sheepishly, silently cursing Ian in my head.
'How can you call such a wonderful sister 'irrelevant', you idiot Ian.'
“But you know...”
While I was internally scolding Ian, the princess shot me a furtive glance. Her blue eyes were shining mischievously.
"What's really going on between you two? Why were you holding hands like that? Are you dating?"