A humble bakery.
A cozy little bakery you might find just about anywhere.
Since lunchti has already passed, the aroma of freshly baked bread has long faded, but its distinctive warm, nutty scent still lingers in the air.
“Bang! Bangg!”
“…Why are you so excited?”
Isaac follow behind Sharen, who scampers into the bakery.
He knew Sharen liked bread, given her fondness for snacks and sweets.
But he didn’t think she’d be this excited about it.
Maybe she’s just happy to get outside, having spent the last few days stuck in the royal palace.
‘I guess I haven’t been paying much attention to Sharen lately.’
With all the intense maneuvering involving Clarice and Raphael, Isaac really hadn’t had the ti to look after Sharen.
Not that she had any particular role to play in this operation anyway.
‘All she really did was lend weight to the Helmut—na, I suppose?’
“Welco!”
As soon as they enter, the woman running the bakery greets them with a simple, good-natured smile.
According to Heyrad’s investigation, she runs the bakery with her parents, which makes the young woman before them Dell.
‘…Interesting.’
Isaac, casually surveying the bread, hesitates in thought. He’d heard she was a beauty.
Indeed, for soone running a small bakery, she was quite strikingly beautiful.
But was she so stunning that a prince would fall head over heels for her at first glance?
‘She’d have to be on Rihanna’s level at least.’
Isaac knows his standards for beauty might be unreasonably high, but still, that’s what he thinks.
The great command figures rule nations, and beauties rule those great figures.
Still, Isaac couldn’t help but wonder whether this woman was truly soone worth abandoning a kingdom for.
He had no idea what sort of romantic saga the two of them might share, but for now, he quietly picks out so bread.
“I want this one, too.”
Sharen promptly adds more bread to the basket for herself.
“There aren’t that many kinds of bread left.”
Seeing Sharen look a bit disappointed, Dell approaches with a gentle smile.
“I’m sorry, miss. Most of the bread has already been sold.”
“Ahhh? Isaac, then should we co again tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
Isaac nods lightly.
Thanks to Sharen’s suggestion, they have a natural excuse to visit again tomorrow. As Isaac is about to pay.
“Excuse , sir.”
Dell, looking sowhat uneasy, speaks up.
“You’re from the royal palace, aren’t you?”
“…Is it that obvious?”
He had deliberately dressed in clothes reminiscent of his commoner days to blend in better.
“I heard that the princess from the Albion Kingdom—had arrived. You’re soone I haven’t seen around here before, so… I thought you might be from the palace.”
‘Prince Raphael sure told her quite a bit.’
Then again, Dell’s insight is clearly impressive in its own right.
Isaac had suspected she wasn’t ordinary, given that she’d won over a prince, but perhaps she’s more extraordinary than he thought.
“Well, you’ve caught , so I’ll speak plainly. My na is Baron Logan. I’m here as the princess’ knight to see you.”
“What? So you weren’t just here to buy bread?”
Sharen looks perplexed. Isaac silences her by popping a piece of bread into her mouth, and she just rolls her eyes as she chews.
‘I should be careful what I say.’
Everything said here will undoubtedly reach Raphael eventually. He currently believes Isaac was sent by Princess Adeline to seal their marriage arrangent. So Isaac must play that role accordingly.
“Do you truly think there’s a chance for you and Raphael?”
His voice was cold.
Dell’s shoulders tremble as her head lowers bit by bit.
“Your actions are putting the kingdom at risk. Prince Raphael must fulfill his duties.”
“…”
“It may seem cruel for to say this. I know love isn’t sothing you can control—but…”
They were not just cold, but rciless.
That was Isaac’s reputation here.
“Your love is a sin.”
The mont he proclaims this, Dell’s eyes tremble violently.
“Huh… Ugh.”
Tears begin to fall from her eyes. They bead like pearls, rolling down her cheeks.
Isaac watches her quietly. He feels sorry for making her cry, but this was necessary-
Gulp.
“Ah, a-ah, Isaac made a girl cry!”
“…”
Isaac promptly shoves another piece of bread into Sharen’s mouth.
“Isaac made a girw cwy—mmph!”
****
At the back door of the shop.
With Dell’s parents shooting him daggers, Isaac waits outside for her to calm down.
“Do you feel a bit better now?”
A quick confession:
Isaac was weak against crying won.
Because Rihanna never used to cry.
‘Well… that did change, eventually.’
By the ti the divorce was underway, she cried quite often, if mory serves.
To be honest, Isaac never realized Rihanna was that prone to tears.
“Y-yes, I’m s-sorry—hic!”
She turns to look at Sharen.
Munch, munch…
Isaac deliberately gave her a big piece of bread, and now she’s glaring at him as she eats—like she’s watching to see how he will respond.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have brought her along.’
After throwing a resentful look at Sharen, who has suddenly taken the other side, Issac turn back to Dell.
“Miss Dell, I know my words were cruel. But in a way, I said them for your sake as well.”
“…”
Dell, who has finally cald down, takes a mont to breathe and listens quietly.
“I’ve gone through sothing similar. I once believed that love would solve everything. But I learned you have to be realistic too.”
“Sothing similar?”
Her eyes still glisten with tears, making them sparkle even more than usual.
Isaac hesitates for a mont, as though lost in thought, then begins to speak, resolved:
“I was born a commoner. I may be a baron now, but I originally worked as a boatman, rowing a ferry across the river.”
“A boatman…”
“And like you, I fell in love with soone I should never have dared to reach for.”
“…”
“I know how it goes. It hits you at the most unexpected mont and shakes you to your core. No matter how hard you try to brace yourself, you can’t help but be swept away by that earnest longing.”
“…”
“When she isn’t there, I can’t stop thinking of her. When she is there, all I do is wait for the next ti we can et. I won’t deny that I beca greedy.”
“…”
“But in the end, we got divorced. We ca too far to untangle the knots that had ford sowhere along the line.”
Finally—
“We had no choice but to cut the thread.”
Isaac looks at Dell and speaks earnestly:
“Love alone won’t solve everything. There will co a ti when reality stands in your way.”
“…”
“Don’t beco like .”
With those words, Isaac gently pats her on the shoulder as if to comfort her, then turns away.
Telling herself she could overco everything through love…
Seeing Dell like that was too much like looking at his old self.
He could no longer bear to watch her.
***
That night, in the princess’s chambers. Everyone is gathered.
Clarice stands with her arms folded, glaring at Isaac.
“I got a tip.”
Heyrad and Grandmaster tilt their heads and look at Isaac.
Even Isaac himself has no idea what the princess is so upset about.
“I heard about this… absolutely insane plan to lure away each other’s lovers, apparently one of the worst sches in human history.”
“Ah, that’s a bit…”
“Isaac.”
As Grandmaster and Heyrad sigh, Isaac blinks a few tis. It takes him a few seconds to realize she’s talking about him.
Flustered, Isaac jumps to his feet.
“W-what do you an! That’s definitely not true!”
“Sharen told so.”
Suddenly, Clarice raises both hands and splits her own hair in two, imitating Sharen’s pigtails.
“‘Isaac went to see so woman nad Dell and made her cry! He looked at her all deep and aningful, and then started talking about his past!’—or so she said.”
“You do a good impression.”
“…It’s not incorrect, but I wasn’t trying to seduce her.”
“The mont you looked at her like that, you were seducing her. Do you admit it?”
With that, Grandmaster nods imdiately.
“I admit it.”
Heyrad, looking embarrassed, scratches his cheek.
“It’s the sa as how most n’s hearts flutter when a beautiful woman so much as smiles at them.”
“Haah, we really don’t have ti for this teasing.”
Realizing they’re just ssing with him, Isaac sighs. Clarice gives a little laugh and lets her hair fall back down.
“It’s fun, isn’t it? Besides, today’s operation was a complete success. We ought to lighten the mood.”
Their outing in the garden had gone beautifully. Thanks to that, she’s managed to get much closer to Raphael than before.
Clarice raises her hand in a ‘V’ shape.
“Tomorrow, we’re heading to the Exhibition Hall. Anything in particular I should know?”
She juts out her hip and leans forward in a cutesy pose. Lately, she’s been practicing how to inject natural charm into her everyday mannerisms in order to win over Prince Raphael.
“Manufactured naturalness, hmm.”
Grandmaster mutters in fascination. Isaac watches Clarice work on her act, smiles with satisfaction, and starts discussing tomorrow.
“The princess knows Brentarion Kingdom’s history and background well, so there’s no need to worry about that.”
“Oh, of course.”
“But a bit of planning won’t hurt. I’ve heard that a painting called ‘Lelon’s Flower Pot’ creates an optical illusion.”
“I know that one. Painted by Saint Pollute—people say it looks different from the left and from the right, right?”
“We’ll use that.”
And thus begins their rehearsal.
They each take on a role:
Heyrad will play Baron Logan, standing in the back and glowering.
Clarice will play herself.
Isaac will play Raphael.
Finally, Grandmaster will be the painting.
“Is there really a need for soone to be the painting?”
Grandmaster sits in a chair, looking puzzled. But the rehearsal starts imdiately.
“Wow! Look at this! They say it looks totally different if you see it from the left side!”
Following the plan, Clarice positions herself on the right. She rushes to move beside the painting, pretending she’s eager to see it, then topples into Raphael’s arms.
Thud!
Clarice ends up in Isaac’s embrace.
She looks up at him, swallowing nervously. He, holding her, clicks his tongue and shakes his head.
“That was too obvious. It looked like you intended to fall into my arms from the start.”
“D-did it really?”
“Yes. Maybe try leaning to the side next ti so Prince Raphael can catch you by chance.”
“Hmm.”
Isaac carefully sets Clarice back on her feet.
“Still, that shy expression was perfect. Your acting has really improved.”
He smiles and gives her a thumbs-up. Clarice shrugs and replies:
“I an, it’s !”
– – The End of The Chapter – –
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