“Next on the agenda.”
Today, a political meeting was held early in the morning, hosted by the crown prince, Alex. The servant quietly brought out his words and looked at Alex.
Today, the prince had his gaze directed in the wrong direction while his mind was elsewhere.
‘Ciel won’t betray me.’
Because Ciel was the one who came up with the idea for this alliance in the first place, there would be no such thing as Ciel suddenly going to the Lily Palace.
“Your Highness,there is a message for Your Highness, and it comes from the palace of the Crown Prince.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s just that Lady Ciel……”
“What happened to Ciel?”
The crown prince sprang to his feet and left his seat. Alex was becoming increasingly anxious when Sir Wilhelm calmed him down.
“Your Highness, I beg you to please calm down. What’s the matter? Go ahead and tell me.”
The messenger, who was scared, shook his head and shivered.
“It’s not that, she asked me when the crown prince would be back today….”
“Did Ciel send it to you directly?”
When Lord Wilhelm asked the messenger a question, he kept nodding.
“That’s fine.”
“What is Lady Ciel doing now?”
Alex asked another question instead of answering the first one. The messenger took a moment to look around before answering.
“On the patronage walk with Lady Regina.”
That was why she asked. Regina would be uncomfortable if Alex returned to the palace. He knew that she wanted to spend a lot of time with her new friend, but he didn’t think that meant she wanted to show off.
There was a feeling of sadness. Alex tried to hide his melancholy and pretended to be calm.
“It will be very late today. Tell her to eat dinner first. Go back.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
The cold order to leave made the messenger in despair that he had to leave the room.
Alex, who had seemed quite happy since Ciel entered the crown prince’s palace, was especially discouraged today. Sir Wilhelm, who was worse off, asked Alex.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
“Is there something wrong?”
Alex tried to regain his composure. As soon as he let out a loud sigh, everyone in the room returned to being silent.
Anyway, there are a lot of things to do. After everyone had finished their lunch, the meeting resumed after a short break. Because everyone was in a rush, most of the work was completed around the time the sun began to set.
Alex managed to keep the office going by looking at issues that could be dealt with later while everyone else was busy getting ready to leave because it ended sooner than expected.
“You can leave. I’ll go in after looking a little more.”
After Heine and even Sir Wilhelm had been left, the office became quiet. Alex sat in silence as he looked at the white paper in the dim light while the outside of the window began to darken.
He smeared the ink on the pen, then wrote very slowly.
Ciel Valentine.
Ciel Valentine.
He wrote down the same name several times before putting the pen down again. He knew he had to appease Ciel’s fears, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back to the palace.
She may be still with Regina at this time. Ciel would be content with her new friend even if he weren’t around.
He knows it would be better for him to be somewhere else, so why bother him so much?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out anything, so Alex only glared at the blank paper.
“Your Highness, It’s already late.”
“Right.”
The servant said something that indicated that he was concerned as midnight drew closer. By now, Ciel ought to have finished his meal early and been in bed by now.
Also, he must guard her at the bedside if she has nightmares. Because he was the one who made Ciel enter her imperial palace. He is no longer a child who is helplessly beaten.
Burnett will intervene if a guest exhibits suspicious behaviour, and even if the princess is involved in another plot, she can stop it with her own hands.
“I should apologize first.”
It was always painful to return alone to the palace late at night, where no one was waiting. For someone like Alex, Ciel asked him every day how he was.
He couldn’t see how Ciel really felt because he was so happy that someone was waiting for her. If he brought her there against her will because he was greedy, it would be better for her to go back to her family.
‘Stan.’
Stan, on the other hand, is of indisputable proof that he comes from the most illustrious lineage, in contrast to Alex, whose parentage is in question because of his mother.
It’s just that Stan didn’t show interest in the position of emperor, so he wasn’t hostile to him either. However, when Ciel becomes involved, the story takes a different turn.
He was shocked when Stan said that he would take Ciel as his wife since childhood.
Fortunately, Ciel hated it, so he thought she was fine, but when he remembered how she was happy with the gift Stan gave him, he felt sick to his stomach for some reason.
It was customary for him to send gifts to guests entering the imperial palace, and he had no reason to feel bad about her receiving them.
The explanation for why he was offended was simple. Stan knows something about Ciel that even Alex doesn’t. Because the two of them are childhood friends.
As he recalled Stan feeling superior to him, as if he was closer to Ciel than he was, he clenched his fist and clenched it tight.
In this case, it may be best to ask her not to meet Stan on the condition that Regina, who exudes the scent of the noble ladies, enters the palace.
As Alex continued to mull things over, the carriage entered the crown prince’s palace. The moment the crown prince emerged from the carriage, the light in the crown prince’s entire palace suddenly increased for some unknown reason.
There is nothing like this at this time, so what happened to this? Upon entering the lobby, Burnett and her maids came running.
“Your Highness. Would you please come this way for a moment?”
“What’s going on?”
He followed the brightly lit hallway to the restaurant. A door with a beautiful embossed pattern opened.
The table was decorated with folded paper that featured colourful flowers and sparkling blonde hair hung from the ceiling.
“Ciel?”
He told the messenger to go to bed early because he would definitely be late. But why is she doing this here? Alex hurriedly approached and checked Ciel’s condition.
Her long eyelashes fluttered at the unfamiliar presence. Judging by the sound of her breathing, she was simply asleep, but she couldn’t understand the current situation at all.
“Why are you doing this here?”
“Your Highness, I have been waiting for you all along.”
“I must have said I was late for work.”
Actually, it was because he didn’t want to see Regina, but Alex didn’t even show his feelings and told her sternly. Burnett pointed to the table with a troubled face.
“Your Highness, please look at these.”
“This is something.”
The round cookies that she baked for Isaac the other day were crispy, soft, and multicoloured, and the cookies that were laid out on the table had very little differentiation between them.
“Lady Ciel baked these cookies herself.”
Alex was enticed by the mouthwatering aroma of cookies. It was quite unusual for a noble lady to bake cookies personally, except for exceptional circumstances such as the last time for Isaac. There has never been an episode where Ciel bakes cookies for Isaac. Is that okay?
“Did Ciel bake this by herself?”
“Yes. Lady said she would give it all to His Highness, without leaving a single thing.”
Come to think of it; she had said something like that before. The last time Ciel baked cookies for Isaac, she asked him to bake cookies for her next time. He means that it was today. Seeing Alex surprised, Burnett smiled happily.
“The Lady didn’t even give us a taste. All of this is reserved exclusively for Your Highness.”
Is it entirely for himself? Given the sheer amount, it must have taken quite a long time.
No, this is for a new friend. Alex asked Burnett without making it obvious.
“What about Lady Regina?”
“After lunch, she took a short walk and went back soon. After returning the guest, Ciel baked the confectionery only for His Highness for a few hours.”
“How about dinner?”
“I’ve told her that Your Highness would eat it when he came. I’ve clearly told her that you’re late, but Ciel said she’d be happy to wait.”
Why on earth why. Alex gently placed his hand on Ciel’s shoulder and roused her from her sleep because he couldn’t leave her here immediately.
“Ciel. wake up.”
Ciel’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar sensation. The emerald eyes of the girl who had a blank look on her face for a moment, were reflecting Alex’s face perfectly.
“Your Highness, are you here?”
“Why are you doing this here?”
A bright smile spread across Ciel’s lips when she saw him. The sight made him feel emotional.
For some reason, this was not Ciel’s fault; rather, it was more of an instance of him blaming himself.
She would have fallen asleep exhausted, waiting for him to be late. He would not have squandered his time by staying in the office if he had known it would turn out this way. In front of Alex, I extended my hand and patted him on the shoulder.
“I heard that Your Highness does not eat meals while you are on work. Oh, it’s already this time.”
The moon has already reached its apogee in the night sky. CCiel used her other hand to rub her shoulder, probably because her arm was numb from sleeping on it. He tried to stretch out his hand apologetically but withdrew again.
The truth that someone was waiting for him to return until this deep in the night was unfamiliar to him.
Why? Even though he had spent his entire life in the palace, he never stopped considering himself an outsider.
The son of a prostitute, the illegitimate child, along with the voice of Princess Lotte who said, “die like her,” along with the harsh words he had heard all his life, tore Alex’s heart to shreds.
That may be because he couldn’t sleep easily, even the moment he lay in bed. But after Ciel came in, he suddenly felt a sense of stability in his heart.
Something burning came up from the bottom of his throat. Alex hastily grabbed a cookie from the tray next to his bed to deflect attention away from the conversation.
“Did you bake this yourself?”
“Yes. I baked it to give it all to Your Highness.”
Ciel smiled and stared at Alex. He should be happy to hear that everything is him, but the reason why he can’t just smile may be because of guilt.
Alex reached for the buttery cookie. It was angular and clumsy and had a stronger salty taste than regular cookies.
“How is it?”
“A bit salty, but still delicious.”
Actually, there was almost no other taste other than the salty taste. But what she made for him was enough.
“Salty? It’s strange. I want to try it too.”
“It’s delicious. Let’s eat them all together.”
After hearing Alex’s answer, Ciel smiled in satisfaction. Then she picked up the cookie she had made and tasted it.
Ciel’s face, which had been in the process of chewing a few bites, suddenly contorted and screamed.
“Ugh!”
The others, who had finally tasted Alex’s recommendation, also frowned. After taking a bite, Burnett was startled and immediately looked after Alex.
“Your Highness, are you okay?”
Since childhood, Alex has been the target of multiple attempts to poison him, so he has developed a high tolerance for the substance. But in other people’s mouths, it was terribly salty.
Ciel hurriedly washed her tongue and stuffed all of the hard-baked cookies into the basket.
“There is no way I can eat this. Give it to me.”
“What’s wrong? Give it to me.”
He didn’t want to lose the gift he had received. Alex reached out and snatched the basket out of Ciel’s grasp.
“I will bake it for you again. So please give it to me.”
“You already gave it to me. I’m fine, so come on and give it to me.”
He didn’t know how it tasted in other people’s mouths, but when he chewed it, it was quite edible. It won’t go bad in this state, so it’s okay to use it as combat rations.
A fierce battle ensued. After a long debate on whether to throw it away or not, Burnett stepped forward.
“Next on the agenda.”
Today, a political meeting was held early in the morning, hosted by the crown prince, Alex. The servant quietly brought out his words and looked at Alex.
Today, the prince had his gaze directed in the wrong direction while his mind was elsewhere.
‘Ciel won’t betray me.’
Because Ciel was the one who came up with the idea for this alliance in the first place, there would be no such thing as Ciel suddenly going to the Lily Palace.
“Your Highness,there is a message for Your Highness, and it comes from the palace of the Crown Prince.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s just that Lady Ciel……”
“What happened to Ciel?”
The crown prince sprang to his feet and left his seat. Alex was becoming increasingly anxious when Sir Wilhelm calmed him down.
“Your Highness, I beg you to please calm down. What’s the matter? Go ahead and tell me.”
The messenger, who was scared, shook his head and shivered.
“It’s not that, she asked me when the crown prince would be back today….”
“Did Ciel send it to you directly?”
When Lord Wilhelm asked the messenger a question, he kept nodding.
“That’s fine.”
“What is Lady Ciel doing now?”
Alex asked another question instead of answering the first one. The messenger took a moment to look around before answering.
“On the patronage walk with Lady Regina.”
That was why she asked. Regina would be uncomfortable if Alex returned to the palace. He knew that she wanted to spend a lot of time with her new friend, but he didn’t think that meant she wanted to show off.
There was a feeling of sadness. Alex tried to hide his melancholy and pretended to be calm.
“It will be very late today. Tell her to eat dinner first. Go back.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
The cold order to leave made the messenger in despair that he had to leave the room.
Alex, who had seemed quite happy since Ciel entered the crown prince’s palace, was especially discouraged today. Sir Wilhelm, who was worse off, asked Alex.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
“Is there something wrong?”
Alex tried to regain his composure. As soon as he let out a loud sigh, everyone in the room returned to being silent.
Anyway, there are a lot of things to do. After everyone had finished their lunch, the meeting resumed after a short break. Because everyone was in a rush, most of the work was completed around the time the sun began to set.
Alex managed to keep the office going by looking at issues that could be dealt with later while everyone else was busy getting ready to leave because it ended sooner than expected.
“You can leave. I’ll go in after looking a little more.”
After Heine and even Sir Wilhelm had been left, the office became quiet. Alex sat in silence as he looked at the white paper in the dim light while the outside of the window began to darken.
He smeared the ink on the pen, then wrote very slowly.
Ciel Valentine.
Ciel Valentine.
He wrote down the same name several times before putting the pen down again. He knew he had to appease Ciel’s fears, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back to the palace.
She may be still with Regina at this time. Ciel would be content with her new friend even if he weren’t around.
He knows it would be better for him to be somewhere else, so why bother him so much?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out anything, so Alex only glared at the blank paper.
“Your Highness, It’s already late.”
“Right.”
The servant said something that indicated that he was concerned as midnight drew closer. By now, Ciel ought to have finished his meal early and been in bed by now.
Also, he must guard her at the bedside if she has nightmares. Because he was the one who made Ciel enter her imperial palace. He is no longer a child who is helplessly beaten.
Burnett will intervene if a guest exhibits suspicious behaviour, and even if the princess is involved in another plot, she can stop it with her own hands.
“I should apologize first.”
It was always painful to return alone to the palace late at night, where no one was waiting. For someone like Alex, Ciel asked him every day how he was.
He couldn’t see how Ciel really felt because he was so happy that someone was waiting for her. If he brought her there against her will because he was greedy, it would be better for her to go back to her family.
‘Stan.’
Stan, on the other hand, is of indisputable proof that he comes from the most illustrious lineage, in contrast to Alex, whose parentage is in question because of his mother.
It’s just that Stan didn’t show interest in the position of emperor, so he wasn’t hostile to him either. However, when Ciel becomes involved, the story takes a different turn.
He was shocked when Stan said that he would take Ciel as his wife since childhood.
Fortunately, Ciel hated it, so he thought she was fine, but when he remembered how she was happy with the gift Stan gave him, he felt sick to his stomach for some reason.
It was customary for him to send gifts to guests entering the imperial palace, and he had no reason to feel bad about her receiving them.
The explanation for why he was offended was simple. Stan knows something about Ciel that even Alex doesn’t. Because the two of them are childhood friends.
As he recalled Stan feeling superior to him, as if he was closer to Ciel than he was, he clenched his fist and clenched it tight.
In this case, it may be best to ask her not to meet Stan on the condition that Regina, who exudes the scent of the noble ladies, enters the palace.
As Alex continued to mull things over, the carriage entered the crown prince’s palace. The moment the crown prince emerged from the carriage, the light in the crown prince’s entire palace suddenly increased for some unknown reason.
There is nothing like this at this time, so what happened to this? Upon entering the lobby, Burnett and her maids came running.
“Your Highness. Would you please come this way for a moment?”
“What’s going on?”
He followed the brightly lit hallway to the restaurant. A door with a beautiful embossed pattern opened.
The table was decorated with folded paper that featured colourful flowers and sparkling blonde hair hung from the ceiling.
“Ciel?”
He told the messenger to go to bed early because he would definitely be late. But why is she doing this here? Alex hurriedly approached and checked Ciel’s condition.
Her long eyelashes fluttered at the unfamiliar presence. Judging by the sound of her breathing, she was simply asleep, but she couldn’t understand the current situation at all.
“Why are you doing this here?”
“Your Highness, I have been waiting for you all along.”
“I must have said I was late for work.”
Actually, it was because he didn’t want to see Regina, but Alex didn’t even show his feelings and told her sternly. Burnett pointed to the table with a troubled face.
“Your Highness, please look at these.”
“This is something.”
The round cookies that she baked for Isaac the other day were crispy, soft, and multicoloured, and the cookies that were laid out on the table had very little differentiation between them.
“Lady Ciel baked these cookies herself.”
Alex was enticed by the mouthwatering aroma of cookies. It was quite unusual for a noble lady to bake cookies personally, except for exceptional circumstances such as the last time for Isaac. There has never been an episode where Ciel bakes cookies for Isaac. Is that okay?
“Did Ciel bake this by herself?”
“Yes. Lady said she would give it all to His Highness, without leaving a single thing.”
Come to think of it; she had said something like that before. The last time Ciel baked cookies for Isaac, she asked him to bake cookies for her next time. He means that it was today. Seeing Alex surprised, Burnett smiled happily.
“The Lady didn’t even give us a taste. All of this is reserved exclusively for Your Highness.”
Is it entirely for himself? Given the sheer amount, it must have taken quite a long time.
No, this is for a new friend. Alex asked Burnett without making it obvious.
“What about Lady Regina?”
“After lunch, she took a short walk and went back soon. After returning the guest, Ciel baked the confectionery only for His Highness for a few hours.”
“How about dinner?”
“I’ve told her that Your Highness would eat it when he came. I’ve clearly told her that you’re late, but Ciel said she’d be happy to wait.”
Why on earth why. Alex gently placed his hand on Ciel’s shoulder and roused her from her sleep because he couldn’t leave her here immediately.
“Ciel. wake up.”
Ciel’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar sensation. The emerald eyes of the girl who had a blank look on her face for a moment, were reflecting Alex’s face perfectly.
“Your Highness, are you here?”
“Why are you doing this here?”
A bright smile spread across Ciel’s lips when she saw him. The sight made him feel emotional.
For some reason, this was not Ciel’s fault; rather, it was more of an instance of him blaming himself.
She would have fallen asleep exhausted, waiting for him to be late. He would not have squandered his time by staying in the office if he had known it would turn out this way. In front of Alex, I extended my hand and patted him on the shoulder.
“I heard that Your Highness does not eat meals while you are on work. Oh, it’s already this time.”
The moon has already reached its apogee in the night sky. CCiel used her other hand to rub her shoulder, probably because her arm was numb from sleeping on it. He tried to stretch out his hand apologetically but withdrew again.
The truth that someone was waiting for him to return until this deep in the night was unfamiliar to him.
Why? Even though he had spent his entire life in the palace, he never stopped considering himself an outsider.
The son of a prostitute, the illegitimate child, along with the voice of Princess Lotte who said, “die like her,” along with the harsh words he had heard all his life, tore Alex’s heart to shreds.
That may be because he couldn’t sleep easily, even the moment he lay in bed. But after Ciel came in, he suddenly felt a sense of stability in his heart.
Something burning came up from the bottom of his throat. Alex hastily grabbed a cookie from the tray next to his bed to deflect attention away from the conversation.
“Did you bake this yourself?”
“Yes. I baked it to give it all to Your Highness.”
Ciel smiled and stared at Alex. He should be happy to hear that everything is him, but the reason why he can’t just smile may be because of guilt.
Alex reached for the buttery cookie. It was angular and clumsy and had a stronger salty taste than regular cookies.
“How is it?”
“A bit salty, but still delicious.”
Actually, there was almost no other taste other than the salty taste. But what she made for him was enough.
“Salty? It’s strange. I want to try it too.”
“It’s delicious. Let’s eat them all together.”
After hearing Alex’s answer, Ciel smiled in satisfaction. Then she picked up the cookie she had made and tasted it.
Ciel’s face, which had been in the process of chewing a few bites, suddenly contorted and screamed.
“Ugh!”
The others, who had finally tasted Alex’s recommendation, also frowned. After taking a bite, Burnett was startled and immediately looked after Alex.
“Your Highness, are you okay?”
Since childhood, Alex has been the target of multiple attempts to poison him, so he has developed a high tolerance for the substance. But in other people’s mouths, it was terribly salty.
Ciel hurriedly washed her tongue and stuffed all of the hard-baked cookies into the basket.
“There is no way I can eat this. Give it to me.”
“What’s wrong? Give it to me.”
He didn’t want to lose the gift he had received. Alex reached out and snatched the basket out of Ciel’s grasp.
“I will bake it for you again. So please give it to me.”
“You already gave it to me. I’m fine, so come on and give it to me.”
He didn’t know how it tasted in other people’s mouths, but when he chewed it, it was quite edible. It won’t go bad in this state, so it’s okay to use it as combat rations.
A fierce battle ensued. After a long debate on whether to throw it away or not, Burnett stepped forward.
