The Reason I Called You
The Dukedom's garden.
A small tea party was being held there.
"How's the tea? It's black tea made with only the finest tea leaves from Bloomberg."
"I-It's delicious…"
Bloomberg was a small region located in the southern part of the Kingdom, famous for its high-quality tea leaves since ancient times.
Of course, Rudell didn't even have the time to think about such things right now.
"I'm glad you like it."
At his answer, the Princess smiled brightly.
To anyone else, it would have been a truly innocent smile, but to Rudell, it looked like the smile of a grim reaper, ready to take his life at any moment.
"Ugh…"
Unable to express his feelings out loud, Rudell let out a groan.
Frankly, he couldn't hear a word the Princess was saying.
He didn't even know if the tea he was drinking was going into his mouth or his nose.
"..."
Barely calming his trembling fingertips, he shifted his gaze towards the Princess sitting across from him.
White hair that resembled a snowy field and deep blue eyes like the vast ocean.
Her playful face, as if filled with joy, was looking at him with a faint smile.
"Hmm…"
Looking at her, Rudell let out a low groan.
Her appearance in the original story was definitely different from now.
A coldness that felt like it would freeze you just by approaching her.
Because of her always calm and composed personality, she was known as someone difficult to approach even within the academy.
It was to the point where people in the original story called her the Ice Princess of the Lagrind Dukedom.
Looking at her now, it wasn't a fitting nickname at all.
'It's not like I don't have any guesses…'
Of course, he wasn't completely clueless about her different demeanor compared to the original.
Eight years from now.
To be precise, in the spring of the year when Rudell turns 15.
Although it wasn't directly addressed because it was an event before the start of the original story, something happens in the Lagrind Dukedom.
If Rudell's memory served him right, that incident would have a significant impact on shaping her personality in the story.
'So this was her original personality…'
Feeling a sense of novelty at her completely different appearance from the original, Rudell spoke to her.
"By the way… I wish you would tell me now…"
"Huh? What?"
The Princess looked puzzled at his question.
What do you mean what? It's about why I'm here drinking tea with you!
Rudell wanted to shout, but he swallowed it down and said,
"That is… why am I here?"
"Why? Because you came here on your own two feet."
"..."
The Princess looked at him as if he was asking something obvious.
And at her confident response, Rudell was speechless.
Technically, he didn't come here on his own, but that wasn't what he was asking.
The reason he was here.
In other words, he was asking why the Princess had summoned him.
"What? Don't tell me you didn't hear?"
"All I heard was that you wanted to see me…"
The knights didn't tell him anything, and all Alma had said was that the Princess wanted to meet him.
He couldn't hear an explanation for the reason anywhere.
"You know well."
"..."
That's it?
Rudell looked dumbfounded at her drinking tea with a look that said, 'What more do you want?'.
But only for a moment.
"Just kidding, kidding. Don't look at me like that, it makes me feel like a bad person."
"Ah! I-I'm sorry!!"
Rudell hurriedly bowed his head towards Leje, who was giggling.
He had momentarily forgotten that to her, he was less than dirt on her shoes.
He knew that if he upset her, he wouldn't be safe.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
The Princess smiled and waved her hand at Rudell's apology.
And then, with unreadable eyes, she slowly scanned him…
"The reason I invited you is simple. It's because…"
"Because…?"
Rudell looked tense at the Princess' trailing words.
A Princess of a Dukedom wouldn't have invited him for no reason.
Feeling his heartbeat quicken and cold sweat trickle down his neck, Rudell looked at her.
And then, the next moment.
"I want to be friends with you."
"…Huh?"
A dumbfounded voice
escaped Rudell's lips at Leje's words.
"Did I make it too complicated? I want to be friends with you."
"No… No, no, no. It's not complicated, but wait a minute!!"
A moment later, Rudell shouted at the Princess, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression.
It could have been seen as rude behavior, but the Princess simply smiled at him, as if she didn't care.
"Friends? You and me?"
I want to be friends.
It was a simple, short sentence, but to Rudell, it was the most complex and incomprehensible sentence in the world.
'Why?'
Why would the Princess of a Dukedom, famous throughout the Kingdom, want to be friends with an insignificant Viscount's Young Master?
At this moment, Rudell's brain was working faster than ever, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a plausible answer.
"Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?"
"Hidden camera prank? What's that?"
The Princess looked bewildered at Rudell, who asked as if he had forgotten that this world was a world inside a novel.
The situation was so unnatural to Rudell that knowledge from his original world slipped out.
"Seriously. Is it that strange to want to be friends?"
"No, that's not it!!"
Rudell shouted, forgetting even the need to be polite, and stood up from his seat.
But only for a moment.
Clearing his throat and sitting back down, Rudell asked in a low voice,
"It's strange. Ms. Leje, you're the Princess of a Dukedom."
"So?"
"What do you possibly lack that you would want to be friends with an insignificant Viscount's Young Master like me?"
"Is it not allowed?"
"No, it's not that it's not allowed…"
Rudell stammered at the Princess's straightforward question.
Technically, there was no law against it.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't think of a good reason.
"At least I want to know the reason. I'm just an insignificant Viscount's Young Master. I honestly don't understand why someone like you would want to be friends with me."
"What? Was that the reason?"
The Princess chuckled at Rudell's desperate voice.
Then, she got up and moved closer to him, who was sitting across from her.
Close enough to feel each other's breath.
The Princess, with a faint smile, spoke to Rudell, who was looking at her with a tense expression,
"I just have a feeling that we'll get along."
"..."
"Wow, your expression is amazing."
The Princess let out a short exclamation at Rudell, who was speechless and staring at her.
Although there was no mirror in this place, Rudell could roughly guess what his expression was like.
That's how much he couldn't control his emotions right now.
"Was my answer that shocking? I feel a little hurt, you know."
"No… Is that really all?"
"What? Have you been living under a rock? I'm serious."
The Princess shrugged at Rudell, who asked in disbelief.
At the same time, Rudell felt as if all the strength had drained from his body.
What was the point of all the worrying he had done?
Feeling a sense of emptiness along with the loss of strength in his body, he leaned back in his chair.
"So? What's your answer?"
"..."
The Princess asked, looking at him, and Rudell let out a short sigh at her question.
The answer was already decided.
To be precise, the answer had been decided the moment he left the Viscounty.
There was no way he, a mere Viscount's heir, could refuse the request of a Princess of a Dukedom.
[It's easier if you give up.]
Recalling the phrase that suddenly flashed through his mind, he slowly rose from his seat.
Then, he slowly knelt on one knee.
"I, Rudellheit Weinstein, pledge my loyalty to Princess Leje El Lagrind."
"Good. Then I'll give you your first order."
The Princess nodded with a satisfied expression, and as a nervous Rudell waited for her next words,
"Rudellheit Weinstein, from now on, speak informally to me."
"…Huh?"
A dumbfounded voice escaped Rudell's lips at her command.
"It seems like you've misunderstood something. I didn't ask you to serve me. I have more than enough people to do that. What I need is a friend, not a servant."
"W-What does that even…"
"Surely you're not going to go back on your word, are you?"
"..."
Didn't someone say that words are like water, once spilled, they cannot be retrieved?
At this moment, Rudell felt the sting of those words deeply and sighed inwardly.
"What's your answer?"
"O-Okay…"
"Ah-ah!"
"O-Okay."
"With my name!"
"L-Leje…"
What could he do now that things had come to this?
All he could do was play along with the Princess's words.
"Good. Then I look forward to working with you, Rudell."
"O-Okay… I mean, okay."
And so, the worst day of Rudell's life was passing by.
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