89.
“Uh, but……”
From that spot, the dressing room partition would more or less create a blind spot, so it wasn’t as if anything could be seen.
Thinking back, the last time he changed clothes, I had only turned my body away.
While I trailed off, Prien added,
“Have that one continue attending to your clothes.”
Prien jerked his chin toward Jaka.
I looked back at Jaka.
One corner of his mouth was lifted ever so slightly, but his eyes were not smiling at all.
“Uh, no! I’ll dress myself. Jaka, could you go and serve some tea?”
Jaka gave a small nod, then slowly left the dressing room.
Though it was called a dressing room, it was nothing more than a space on one side of the bedroom enclosed by a temporary wall and partitions.
In other words, if I simply sharpened my senses, I could hear and see what was happening in the room without much difficulty.
A little while later.
I heard the sound of the tea water gradually coming to a boil……
Far too clearly……
Because, other than that, there wasn’t a single sound……
I hurriedly changed clothes.
I awkwardly touched my hair a few times before giving up.
It was impossible to make it look the way it did when I usually went out—in other words, the way it did when Julie styled it for me.
So I simply let my hair fall completely loose, then put on gloves, earrings, a bracelet, and a necklace in a roughly coordinated fashion.
Finally, I put on my shoes.
Aside from nearly twisting my ankle as I rushed out, it was a fairly perfect preparation for going out.
“I’m all ready!”
Prien, who had been holding a teacup to his lips, drew a faint curve at the corner of his mouth and set the cup back down.
Jaka even came out to the mansion entrance to see us off.
“Then please return before it gets too late.”
He even waved lightly at the two of us.
By the time Prien and I finally climbed into the carriage and left the mansion, there were only a few hours left until his birthday.
I checked the time as discreetly as I could, then let out a breath inwardly.
“What is it?”
When I raised my brows and asked, seeing Prien looking at me, he took a handkerchief from his breast and handed it to me.
“You’re sweating.”
“Ah, because I got ready in such a hurry……”
I accepted the handkerchief and roughly dabbed at my forehead.
“Summer nights are often hot too.”
“Yes, it really is midsummer now. I don’t know when it got this hot already.”
When I smiled faintly in exasperation, Prien opened the carriage window halfway.
A somewhat muggy breeze, yet one that cooled my sweat, rushed into the moving carriage.
I tucked my fluttering hair behind my ear and leaned back against the backrest, feeling a little more at ease.
“Thank you. That’s better.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The conversation broke off around there, but it didn’t feel as uncomfortable as I had expected.
If anything, the silence felt comfortable.
Then, little by little, conversation resumed.
“Then what would be good to buy for Julie?”
“I’m not very familiar with what’s popular these days either.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I don’t know much either. There are two of us, so we’ll manage somehow!”
“That’s true. We can learn even now.”
“Exactly. Ah, and this is my first time going out to choose gifts this late at night too.”
“Is that so? I heard a large summer night market opens in the imperial capital around the Holy Festival. Have you never gone to see it?”
“Places like that get too crowded……”
“Do you dislike crowded places, Baron?”
I hesitated for a moment, then answered casually.
“Mm, not me. Someone else disliked them.”
“I see.”
Prien accepted my words as if it were nothing, then soon answered like this.
“I think I’ll be all right.”
“Pardon? You clearly confessed to me that you dislike even brushing against other people, didn’t you? Are you lying right now?”
At my playful remark, Prien smiled faintly and shook his head.
“It has been so long since I lived that way that I don’t remember it well.”
“……”
“But I think I rather liked it in the past.”
“……”
“So if you are beside me, Baron, I think I’ll be fine.”
I shrugged as if it were no great matter.
“Well, doing that once in a while isn’t bad. Making an unusual memory, I mean.”
“Then……”
He looked at me quietly.
I made up my mind.
“All right. The next time the night market opens, let’s come out together again.”
“Yes.”
As Prien answered, the corners of his mouth curved gently upward.
* * *
Choosing gifts while thinking of the people who would receive them was more fun than I had expected.
My finances had also improved lately, and I wondered if this was the pleasure of spending money.
Thanks to that, Prien, who didn’t know much about the mansion’s servants, naturally ended up becoming a porter.
I didn’t want to foist the baggage onto the person whose birthday it was today, but every time I bought something, Prien naturally took the packages away from me, and so it happened.
“Aren’t you feeling a little hungry?”
And at last, the moment I had planned arrived.
“Are you hungry, Baron?”
“A little.”
“Then shall we go somewhere for a short rest……”
“There! I think that place would be good. What do you think?”
I dragged Prien toward the only high-end restaurant in this area that stayed open until late.
He obediently let himself be pulled along.
I looked over the menu and ordered this and that, while Prien remained consistent from start to finish, saying anything was fine.
“Then for dessert, this one, please.”
I held the menu at an angle so Prien couldn’t see and pointed to the item with my finger.
What I had chosen was……
‘Cheesecake.’
This was the result of badgering the kitchen chef this morning to find out which dessert Prien had at least eaten without leaving any behind.
As I smiled proudly to myself, Prien, whose eyes met mine, looked puzzled.
“Were you very hungry? I should have taken care of it sooner.”
“No, no, it’s all right!”
I laughed awkwardly.
The meal that followed was quite satisfying.
The food was delicious, the atmosphere of the restaurant was nice, and there weren’t too many customers.
When the cake I had been eagerly awaiting finally came out.
I froze.
‘M-my candle!’
I put my hand into my pocket and rummaged through it again.
It wasn’t there.
It seemed I had dropped and lost it somewhere while excitedly buying gifts.
Then……
Wouldn’t my plan to congratulate him naturally fall apart?
Perhaps misunderstanding the way I was glaring at the cake, Prien pushed it toward me.
‘If I call back the person who was serving us and ask for a candle……’
“Baron?”
Prien’s expression as he gazed at me was calm.
It was the face of someone who had come out late in the evening, roamed around excitedly, and even cleanly eaten a late-night snack he normally would not have had.
He gave off a relaxed, comfortable air, even more free of tension than usual.
‘He also absolutely hates it when others do things for him. Once before, he even drew his sword.’
He said he hated celebrating birthdays.
Even if it was me, I couldn’t guarantee what sort of mood he would be in.
Especially since today was his birthday.
I didn’t want to do anything that might upset him.
“…….”
Prien and I finished even the dessert cleanly and left the restaurant.
If anything, there were more people in the streets than before.
Before we knew it, the night sky had turned pitch-black, and the glow of streetlamps brightly illuminated the road.
“I remembered the last thing I wanted to do. Will you do it with me?”
There was no way he would refuse.
Prien smiled.
We turned into a narrow alley lined with stalls selling all sorts of things.
Fortunately, there was a stall selling what I intended to buy.
“Sir, shall I give you one bundle of these?”
The stall owner asked that while looking at Prien.
When Prien naturally began untying his coin purse to pay, I hurriedly stopped him.
“This—since I’m the one who suggested this too, I’ll pay.”
“But at the restaurant, too…….”
Prien’s expression fell.
Of course I paid at the restaurant because I was the one who had made the reservation.
Though I had failed at putting candles on the cake.
“I can buy you this much. Being a paladin does not mean I have no money.”
The hand with which he held his coin purse seemed rather earnest.
But I couldn’t back down on this either.
“No.”
“…….”
“I’m buying it.”
“…….”
“Okay?”
When I quietly took hold of Prien’s sleeve and shook it as I asked, Prien’s ears flushed and he nodded.
While he couldn’t even meet my eyes, I quickly paid.
From there, we left the alley and moved toward the central open square.
To a spot beside the entrance of an alley, lined with roadside trees and a little distance away from the center of the plaza.
In a place slightly shaded, with no one around, I held what I had just bought in my hand.
It was a kind of firework that gave off small sparks when the end of a long stick was lit.
I had bought a bundle of ten, so there were plenty.
I put one stick in his hand and one in mine, then took out a match and lit them.
With a pop, tiny sparks began bursting out in every direction.
“Ack!”
When I was so startled I nearly dropped the stick, Prien covered my hand with his.
“These sparks fly farther than I thought.”
As I quickly got used to it and laughed while waving the stick around, Prien silently looked down at the sparking stick in his own hand.
“What are you thinking about?”
His mouth curved into a faint arc.
Because of the sparks, his face, mottled with shadows, looked even more inscrutable.
Then, suddenly, the corners of his eyes softened, and
“Thank you.”
He said that and smiled.
It was nearly midnight.