“Sophia? Why did you suddenly come here?”
“Ah, well… I have something to discuss…”
Before I knew it, our time in the Imperial Palace was coming to an end.
After all, Kyle and I had to go back.
This time spent in the capital, particularly in the Imperial Palace, was now over.
All thanks to the Princess inviting us.
Not only inviting us to a ball but also letting us stay in such a magnificent palace.
Honestly, I didn’t expect it at all at first.
I thought we’d just be staying in a villa or an inn.
Anyway, after having dinner, I told Kyle I was going for a walk and came to meet the Princess.
I simply told Kyle to keep sleeping.
The reason was simple.
It seemed like the conversation would go on for a while.
“Suddenly?”
“Yes, is this a good time?”
“Of course, it’s fine, but it’s surprising to see you come to see me like this.”
Is that so? Maybe.
I rarely met the Princess alone like this.
To me, she was a bit of an ambiguous figure.
She was definitely someone I was grateful to, but we weren’t exactly super close.
It felt like the position of a friend of a friend had gotten a bit complicated?
That was how it felt.
If I had to say, the Princess was closer to Kyle than to me.
“Anyway, please come inside.”
“Ah, are we not doing this in the reception room today?”
Usually, when we talked, we would go to the reception room or a similar place.
I wondered if it was closed for dinner or something.
No, that shouldn’t be the case.
I thought I saw the reception room open even during dinner last time.
“It’s a bit bothersome, and seeing as you came alone at dinner, you might not want Kyle or anyone else to see you, right?”
“Ah.”
As expected, the Princess was very considerate.
She even thought about that.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. Just come in.”
“Then, excuse me.”
I entered the Princess’s chamber.
The room was even more splendid than Kyle’s.
Was it because she was royal?
Or because she was a woman too?
Well… probably both.
“Um… there aren’t any comfortable chairs. They’re all small… I’ll just sit on the bed to listen. Is that okay?”
“Of course. It’s the least I can do for you, Your Highness…”
What was she asking me?
It was already late, and her sudden visit felt intrusive.
But what would happen if I didn’t show etiquette to the Princess?
My head would probably roll.
Definitely.
“Um… So? What exactly do you want to talk about? You’re not about to confess your feelings to me, are you?”
“Um…”
She had come to talk, but as everything was set up, she suddenly felt shy.
It wasn’t anything monumental, but it was something I had been worried about for a few days.
“What… does it mean to like someone?”
“Eh?”
The Princess’s reaction was one of confusion as if she didn’t quite understand.
Damn, this was even more embarrassing.
I should have known it would be.
I knew how embarrassing what I was about to say was, which made it even worse.
“So… I’m currently Kyle’s temporary girlfriend…?”
Ah, hell.
This was really embarrassing.
My fingers felt like curling up.
But honestly, the only person I could ask about this was the Princess.
“I’m just trying to figure out if I truly like Kyle or not, so… what does it mean to like someone?”
“….”
“….”
Both the Princess and I fell silent.
I truly couldn’t say anything out of embarrassment, and as for her… I had no idea.
Was what I said that ridiculous?
So ridiculous that she couldn’t even respond?
“Your Highness, please say something…”
It was incredibly embarrassing.
I wished she’d just say anything to halt this awkward atmosphere.
“Um… So you’re asking what the feeling of liking someone is, right?”
“Yes…”
“How am I supposed to know that!?”
“Eh.”
The Princess suddenly jumped up from the bed and started shouting.
Wait… what?
Now that I thought about it, I’d never heard anything about the Princess ever dating anyone.
But that didn’t mean there weren’t any other ways to find out.
“But who else would I ask other than you, Your Highness?”
“No, Sophia, think about it. How can I, a royal who has never dated, give that kind of advice!?”
“Then why have you been giving advice all this time?!”
And she had often spoken as if she was knowledgeable about romance to both Kyle and me.
So I naturally assumed she knew about it well!
She was always advising Kyle and me, so that made it even more reasonable to think so.
“No, it’s because both of you were so frustrating!”
“….”
I had to admit that.
I think I would also feel frustrated looking at the mess we were in.
I had nothing to say, and Kyle kept leaving me hanging.
It must have been incredibly frustrating for the Princess.
Sure, that made sense.
“Still, please tell me. What does it mean to love someone or to like someone?”
Right, I asked with the mindset of ‘I’m utterly shameless.’
After all, I didn’t know; she might know better.
Probably.
“What does it mean to like someone… how do you feel about Duke’s Son Kyle?”
“Um…”
That was tough.
How did I truly feel about Kyle?
“Brother…? Student?”
These were the first two thoughts that came to mind.
It was only natural.
We had always been that way since the beginning.
I wasn’t crazy enough to view a twelve-year-old boy as a man.
“And as a man?”
The next thought was about Kyle being a guy.
It wasn’t my initial thought, but it was something I’d begun to think lately.
Sometimes when Kyle hugged me from behind, I felt like he was quite large around the hips…
Anyway, that was it.
“What’s it like when you have some skinship with the Duke’s Son?”
“Um… I get flustered? I mean, when someone like Kyle does it, it’s only natural, right?”
“….”
“He’s tall, handsome, and has a good personality.”
He didn’t have a single flaw.
That response seemed reasonable.
“Why?”
Why was she asking something so obvious?
“Sophia, usually when you don’t like someone, you don’t feel flustered.”
“Eh?”
“Logically speaking, if your heart flutters for someone you don’t like, then there’s something wrong with your heart.”
“Eh!? What do you mean?”
“Hah… how is it that someone older than me can think like this?”
“???”
Isn’t it normal for a girl to feel flustered around a guy like Kyle?
“Hah… Where did you learn such things?”
“Um… my mom?”
“… Then I have nothing more to say!”
I vaguely remembered my mom telling me something similar when I was little.
Something like it’s common to feel flustered around an alpha male.
Well, it had been a long time, so the specifics were fuzzy, but the impact remained.
“Hah… no matter how I think about it, it seems like you already like him.”
“Um… do you think so?”
I liked Kyle… really?
“Hmm, let’s put it this way.”
“?”
Suddenly, the Princess stood up from the bed.
Why was she getting up while we were talking?
Did she have something to bring out?
“Your Highness?”
“When you’re flustered or find someone handsome while having skinship, you said that was natural, right?”
“Um… roughly, yes?”
The wording was a bit off, but I could see it that way.
So, my flunction around Kyle was just a normal reaction and didn’t mean I liked him at all.
The Princess moved closer to me.
She didn’t go anywhere else; she was right in front of me sitting in the chair.
“?”
The height difference between the Princess and me wasn’t that huge.
We were both just of average girl height.
But since I was sitting in the chair, I could only look up at her.
“Princess?”
Suddenly, she placed her hand on my shoulder.
What on earth was she trying to do?
“Sophia, I can slowly hug you like this…”
“Uh, eh?”
The Princess suddenly hugged me.
What was she doing all of a sudden?
“See? You don’t feel anything, right?”
“Um… I guess?”
I just wondered why she was doing this all of a sudden.
“Look! You said that your heart flutters when it’s natural! But I’m holding you, and you’re not reacting at all!”
“Ah.”
“So even while I hug you here, your heart isn’t racing at all. What do you mean by that?”
“Ah… I see?”
Even with the Princess hugging me, I felt nothing special.
I didn’t feel my heart racing like when Kyle hugged me.
I didn’t feel breathless either.
It was just… nothing.
“Um, Your Highness?”
By the way, how long were we going to stay like this?
Wasn’t this more than enough hugging already?
“Your Highness? How long are you going to do this?”
“J-Just for a moment… The scent is so nice…”
“What?”
A scent?
I’d just bathed today, but I hadn’t applied any perfume.
“Your Highness?”
“Ahem… ahem…”
Suddenly, the Princess started taking in my scent while still hugging me.
I began to seriously worry if the Princess had gone out of her mind.
“Your Highness!”
“Ah…!”
So I called her out loudly, and she finally snapped back to reality.
What on earth was she suddenly doing?
I didn’t have any hormones or anything.
“…I’m sorry. I suddenly felt weird.”
“Um, it’s alright. I don’t really know what’s going on, though.”
She must have had some wine or something.
Maybe from just one glass of wine during dinner, she felt tipsy.
Alcohol can make you do weird things sometimes.
Just recently, I kissed someone out of the blue due to a slight drunken haze.
“Anyway! You definitely like Duke’s Son Kyle!”
“Um… do you think so?”
“Definitely!? You said your heart flutters every time he hugs you!”
“That’s true.”
“When you kissed, your face was completely red!”
“Yes.”
“Of course, Sophia, that means you like Duke’s Son Kyle!”
“Ah, I see.”
Listening to the now-calm words of the Princess, I thought about what she said.
That I liked Kyle.
It was hard to grasp.
There hadn’t been any super special event leading up to this; how could I possibly like Kyle?
“Hmm…”
“Hah…”
Usually, when you like someone, isn’t there usually some kind of event or sign that makes it special?
Is it really that easy to fall in love just by spending time together?
I listened hard to what the Princess was saying, but I still didn’t quite understand.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
