“Ha-ha, I really have no talent for embroidery.”
As I muttered that with an awkward laugh, Pere hummed to herself and began to ponder something. Then, as if a brilliant idea had just struck her, her ruby-red eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“Why don’t you just sketch the design and give it to him? I’m sure the Grand Duke would be touched by that.”
“…….”
“I mean, if you give him something else, he might think you’re just teasing him.”
There was a hint of amusement in Pere’s voice, so I purposely shot her a playful glare.
“Please stop, I’m already hurt enough as it is.”
I deliberately pouted and put on a grumpy expression, causing Pere to let out a small, amused laugh.
“Well, at the very least, he’ll appreciate the effort.”
“What if he runs away without taking it?”
“The Grand Duke isn’t that narrow-minded.”
“You think the Grand Duke is open-minded?”
Somehow, it sounded like Pere was singing Theor’s praises, and I felt the need to bolster Theor’s standing—just in case it might influence Pere’s future choices.
I looked at Pere with sparkling, curious eyes, and she asked me if I wanted to meet him. No, that’s not it, sister. Theor is one of your options. It’s troublesome if you keep trying to set him up with me.
“Shall we meet together?”
“Why? Are you shy?”
“I’ve told you, I don’t have feelings for the Grand Duke.”
“I can join you for the meeting. But since it might look a bit odd for just the three of us to meet, it would be better if we met as a group of four with the Prince.”
It seemed Pere was thinking of inviting Lloyd, who was close with Theor, to make it a group of four. Would Lloyd actually come? I didn’t want to waste my precious wish on a group meeting, but seeing how much Pere was looking forward to it, I decided that if push came to shove, I would use my wish to make sure Lloyd attended.
“Since the Prince always comes whenever the Grand Duke tells him to, I’ll leave the task of bringing Prince Lloyd up to you.”
Wait, what? Doesn’t that just mean I have to tell Theor to call Lloyd? I was planning to use my wish anyway, but seeing her try to offload everything onto me like this… she really is a villainess, isn’t she? Well, that aspect of her is actually kind of cute, like a cat that only cares about itself.
“Do you have his contact info?”
“No, I’m not close with the Grand Duke at all.”
“I’m not close to him either. But I do have his contact information.”
Pere told me to use her communication orb to reach Theor and set a date. She suggested we give them the handkerchiefs on a day we meet separately, since they’d be receiving so many on the day of the Hunting Festival anyway.
I nodded and took the communication orb she held out. I pressed the speed-dial number she gave me and stared intently at the device. A moment later, with a soft click, Theor’s face appeared, filling the screen.
[Lady Ellinea?]
As soon as Theor saw me, he called me by my name instead of my surname, his eyes widening in surprise.
“Hello, Grand Duke.”
[How… Ah, this is the Young Lady’s communication orb.]
“Yes, I’m calling because I have something important to discuss.”
[Something important?]
“Um, sorry to bother you, but are you free tomorrow by any chance?”
[Free?]
“Yes. If you are, I was wondering if you, Prince Lloyd, the Young Lady, and I could meet up…”
[What is the intention behind this meeting?]
Theor, having misunderstood the group meeting as having some ulterior motive, questioned me.
“Intention? It’s just for friendly ties. Only friendly ties.”
When I answered with an incredulous look, Theor nodded and said he had plenty of time.
“Then, would Prince Lloyd have time as well?”
I asked with a sly smile, and only then did Theor go, “Ah.” It seemed he had correctly grasped my true intention for reaching out—albeit by shifting his own position to that of the protagonist. I had only called Theor for Pere’s sake, but it appeared he thought I was interested in him. Regardless, what mattered was that Theor would bring Lloyd along, so I confirmed it with him once more.
“Let’s meet with Prince Lloyd. I have something to say, and something to give you.”
Hearing that I had something to give and say, Theor didn’t hesitate at all and said that tonight would work as well. When I looked at Pere, she gave me a small nod.
“Great, then where shall we meet?”
***
Late that evening.
The place we gathered was a cafe that Pere liked. Pere and I brought the embroidered handkerchiefs we had spent all day working on and greeted Theor and Lloyd. Since all three of them seemed like the type not to be fond of sweets, I insisted on taking charge of the ordering for Pere’s sake.
I sang the praises of the combination of iced lattes and salt bread and told Lloyd and Theor to give it a try.
“How is it? It’s really delicious, right?”
I asked while watching Lloyd take a sip of his iced latte, and he gave a single nod.
“It’s quite decent.”
I glanced at Pere with a happy expression, and I could see the corners of her mouth curling up ever so slightly. Oh, she likes it. She really likes it. It seemed Pere was very happy that Lloyd enjoyed the iced latte she liked. Since Pere was happy, I felt happy too and chuckled, which caused Theor to set his latte cup down a bit noisily.
I glanced at him, and he was looking at me with one eyebrow arched, clearly dissatisfied with something.
“How about you, Grand Duke?”
I asked him first since he seemed unhappy, and he answered immediately.
“It is delicious.”
I was momentarily confused by his suddenly softened expression, but that wasn’t the most important thing.
“The reason I invited the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke here today is none other than…”
I paused mid-sentence and signaled to Pere, who then presented the handkerchief she had made for Lloyd. Lloyd’s eyes widened slightly when he saw it.
“You’ll be receiving many useless things on the day of the Hunting Festival, so I’m giving you this in advance.”
I winced slightly at Pere’s meanness in calling the handkerchiefs given by other ladies ‘useless,’ but Lloyd, who had met her often since he was young, seemed accustomed to her tone. He took the handkerchief Pere held out and wore a satisfied smile.
“Your embroidery is better than last year’s.”
“Ellie drew the sketch for me this year.”
“Lady Brensia did?”
As Lloyd looked at me, I waved my hands frantically.
“I only roughly sketched out the sun and the wind-bird. Pere did everything else.”
“I suppose so. The Young Lady has always been better at embroidery than any other lady.”
For some reason, Lloyd, who was actually praising Pere, said he would keep this year’s handkerchief well and tucked it into his pocket. He started a conversation with Pere, saying it was a surprise as he hadn’t expected one this year, and I sipped my latte quietly so as not to disturb them.
Then, I made eye contact with Theor, who was sitting across from me—and this man… is he dissatisfied with me? He was looking at me with a sullen expression, his handsome eyebrows twitching. But it was so dashing that it made my heart race, so I didn’t look away, instead staring at him blankly.
“Young Lady…”
Just then, Theor spoke.
“Who do you intend to give your handkerchief to?”
“Ellie, haven’t you given it to him yet?”
As soon as Theor finished speaking, Pere, who had been having a pleasant conversation with Lloyd, looked at me and asked. Only then did I remember the handkerchief for Theor, and with an “ah,” I quickly opened my handbag and took it out. I moved to hand it to him, then paused and pulled my hand back.
Theor’s hand, which had been reaching toward me, stopped mid-air.
“Um, just so you know, I wanted to say this in advance.”
“…….”
“Actually… well, you see.”
It was exactly at that moment when I had been hesitating the whole time.
“Could it be that the handkerchief…”
“If you don’t want me to misunderstand what you mean, then I won’t. I don’t think that you’ve come to like me after only seeing me twice….”
Huh? Who likes who? This man, what on earth is he talking about right now!
“That’s not the misunderstanding I’m talking about. Please, don’t forget that this is the Grand Duke’s black panther.”
I shook my head firmly at Theor, who had completely misread the point I was trying to make. At that, Theor’s eyes widened slightly. I gave him another firm, serious look and continued.
“It really, truly is a black panther.”
With that, I held out the handkerchief I had embroidered to him.
The handkerchief featured an embroidery that looked like a lump of black mass.