“There’s a lot of people, huh?”
“Well, it’s the weekend, isn’t it?”
Coincidentally, today was a Sunday, the end of the week.
The reason I had the leisure to meet Miragen was simple: there were just a lot of people around.
Sometimes, it’s not so bad to come out like this.
There was no chance of being recognized outright, so I didn’t need to hide my face completely; there were just too many people for that.
Besides, even if we were spotted here, it would probably only lead to a little gossip for a moment.
It wasn’t my first time hanging out with Miragen, and she didn’t seem awkward in this situation.
Honestly, I thought it would be better if my identity got exposed.
I felt sorry for Miragen, but ever since becoming a duke, I’d been more aware of the various glances.
Just wandering around like this could lead to some unexpected consequences, and I was sure my desire to meet Miragen was mixed in there.
Lately, I had a lot on my mind and wanted to clear it a bit.
Meeting Adrian helped, but it reminded me that Miragen had invited me to the imperial palace.
“Isn’t this the first time we’ve gone out like this? At least that’s what I remember.”
“That’s right. We haven’t had many opportunities to hang out.”
“But why are we out? There’s really not much for the two of us to see, is there?”
That wasn’t necessarily wrong.
There honestly wasn’t much to do if it was just the two of us out.
It was a decision that could simply be seen as stepping outside of the imperial palace.
Since I knew that already, I just smiled and quickened my pace.
There wasn’t much to do, but there were plenty of things to see. It would be nicer if we could leave here and head toward my territory instead.
That seemed unlikely, though.
“Do you have any recommendations? I haven’t really explored the area around the capital much.”
I actually knew it quite well but asked Miragen on purpose.
There might not be any particularly special places nearby, but if Miragen picked one, I was ready to check it out.
Miragen stared at me intently, shrugged, and rolled her eyes.
“Well, there’s really nothing to see at this hour.”
“Then it should be fine to go see Adrian.”
“No, Adrian is probably busy.”
I chuckled at her firm answer. How could Miragen not know that Adrian was busy? She had come looking for me, saying she was free today.
She seemed to want to spend time with me if possible, so I nodded and listened to her.
“That’s right. He must be busy.”
“Adrian is a saint, after all. We can’t even imagine how busy he might be when we’re unaware.”
“That’s true.”
Miragen looked at me for a moment, then sighed deeply and shook her head.
Ragen let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
It seemed like there was really nowhere to go.
There wasn’t much for the two of us to do in the capital.
To be exact, it wouldn’t have been a problem if our identities were exposed, but…
Most of the places were meant for couples, so it’s understandable that it would be a concern.
That meant it was my turn to lead Miragen.
“Then follow me. I know a decent place to spend some time.”
“…We didn’t come out to pass the time, you know.”
“Don’t worry too much. I didn’t come out for that purpose either.”
“Alright. Let’s expect something. Should I call you Lord Robert now?”
I pondered for a moment over that title.
To be honest, calling each other by name in this status didn’t make much sense, but hadn’t I already called him by name once?
I wondered if it was really necessary. I just shook my head and replied that it wasn’t needed.
“Then I’ll call you Your Highness Miragen too.”
Miragen chuckled at the soft phrasing. She didn’t seem to particularly like being called “Your Highness.”
That was likely because she always harbored discontent over her precarious status.
It seemed that this time, the reason for not calling her by her full name was different.
It’s not like she was a kid, acting like this.
Now that I think about it, Miragen was older than me.
She seemed to be a year older, just like Adrian.
It was a bit amusing that there was no one younger than me around.
But then again, if they were younger than me, that would be a crime.
From my perspective, they all seemed like kids anyway. I thought it was because I had lived so long.
If I translated all my life into age, I’d be around 300 years old, right?
As I walked, lost in that thought, Miragen, who had been staring at me, spoke up.
“What are you thinking about that makes you smile like that at me?”
“Well, are you curious about the reason?”
“If it’s mockery, I won’t forgive you. Coming suddenly today…Did you come to make fun of me?”
Honestly, I just wanted to see her surprised expression.
Thinking it over, I realized there was a bit of a desire to tease Miragen as well.
But I couldn’t just say that, so after a moment of contemplation, I quietly added,
“I was watching you because you’re cute.”
“…Who? Me?”
“Yes. The way you act is quite child-like.”
I wasn’t sure how she would interpret that, but Miragen gave me the reaction I expected.
Her mouth tightened in silence as a blush spread across her face once more.
With a look of disbelief, she let out a breath, swept her hair back carelessly, and stared at me intently.
I stared.
Her expression seemed to ask if what I just said was true. It was somewhat true.
Half of me wanted to tease her, and the other half was what I had been thinking in my heart.
Mostly, I’d say it looked more like a child than cute, though.
But it wasn’t a lie, so…
“Don’t say such things to just anyone. You really surprised me. You came to tease me, right? That’s it?”
“Well, that depends on how you interpret it. What I just said was sincere, but it seems you didn’t like it.”
“…Whether I liked it or not, if you suddenly say something like that, of course, I would be surprised… right?”
The tips of Miragen’s ears turned red again as she trailed off.
It’s reactions like this that make it impossible to stop. It was like this back then too; the only person I could comfortably tease was probably Miragen.
Although her status was higher than Adele’s or Adrian’s.
Walking with Miragen was in an area on the outskirts of the imperial capital.
A place where they purposely created greenery for the sake of harmony,
Just walking among the flowers that had just bloomed in the early spring made me feel at ease.
Miragen felt the same way, so the redness on her cheeks gradually faded as we walked further.
“It’s not bad. I thought I’d be secretly bored just walking.”
“It’s because there’s someone to walk with. If you come alone, it’s boring in its own way.”
“I guess you’ve been here alone before?”
“…Well, yes.”
When was it? As I got lost in thought, I soon remembered the time Miragen had died.
In her thirty-fifth life, the road Miragen walked alone, aimlessly after her death, was this place, wasn’t it?
I don’t know what I was thinking back then.
Was I walking to find my own place to die?
In the end, I did end up dying and reincarnating, but the memories of that time still lingered strongly.
In a way, it was only natural. The woman who had never died before didn’t die so easily.
The reason I couldn’t easily approach Miragen was because of that.
I was afraid of dying again if I got closer. If I approached her, would that thing happen again?
“Wait a moment.”
Leaving Miragen, who looked puzzled, I walked up to a vendor standing in the middle of the road.
The reason I had come back to this path was simple.
It was partly about steeling myself and hoping such things wouldn’t happen again.
What caught my eye among the vendor’s goods was a small pin for the hair.
What caught my eye among the things was a tiny pin to wear in my hair.
It wasn’t that expensive, but once, Miragen had seen it and said it was pretty.
So, as I tried to find this, I ultimately had to watch without being able to buy it for her before I died.
Thus, I tried to completely forget about it for a while.
By some coincidence, isn’t the same thing being sold at this street vendor?
Buying this held quite a significant meaning for me.
I gazed at the pin, similar to the thirty-fifth item, and approached Miragen.
“What’s that? I was suddenly wondering where you went, and why did you buy that—”
Tap.
My hand was quicker than listening to what Miragen was saying.
Though my hair was long and a mess, once the pin went in, it got nicely organized.
I hadn’t been able to put it in before, but this time, I did.
No matter what conclusion this might lead to, I was ready to accept it.
“…Did you buy it for me?”
Seeing Miragen ask that, I chuckled softly.
It was too small to be called a gift, and the meaning I held for myself was too great.
Still, it could be considered my first gift to her.
The thirty-fifth was no longer there.
What I was overcoming in this life were the bad things that had repeated in my past.
I managed to prevent Miragen from almost dying and warned Adele about the Crown Prince.
Though I hadn’t met the Saint in my past life, this time we became friends.
So, the future where you die shouldn’t be anymore.
“It’s a gift. I have many things to be thankful for in my own way.”
“You were just angry last time… Well, anyway, thank you. Does it suit me?”
Miragen was fiddling with the pin and seemed quite pleased.
She had said it was pretty in my past life, so I expected she would like it.
When I said that, Miragen grinned and held my hand as if she had made some resolution.
“Alright. I can’t just receive like this.”
“Are we heading to the Imperial Palace now?”
“You can expect it. I had something prepared to give to Robert last time, right? I guess I should show it this time.”
With that, Miragen, not feeling shy at all, started walking confidently while holding my hand.
The surrounding people’s gazes turned toward us, but none of us felt embarrassed.
I don’t know what she was thinking, but I couldn’t help but smile at the attention.
After all, I had received lots of such gazes before.
She might not know, but back when we were lovers.
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