Mathias Kareem?”

Raytan’s voice, which repeated Mathias’ name, was notably unwelcoming that day.

Although she was not as frightened as Kaen, Sezh was just as perplexed, but she didn’t make such a big mistake of sharing her thoughts….

“Why is he sending you letters?”

“Oh, that’s…”

“So he’s crazy. How dare he send letters to a Princess?”

“He’s not doing it arbitrarily!”

“…What?”

“That… We send each other letters. It’s been like that…”

Raytan’s expression instantly distorted. Noticing that, Sezh hurriedly continued her explanation.

“After my debut, we met once again at the Imperial Palace… Knowing I don’t interact with anyone, I think he was worried about me.”

“…”

“On the day of my debut, I was alone, and I’m also alone in the Imperial Palace… I- I already said that he was a very kind-hearted person. So, he didn’t make the decision to exchange letters on… on his own…”

Raytan could roughly see what happened. As Sezh was left alone, Mathias seemed to have approached her while Raytan was spending time with Carolyn.

“You.”

“What?”

“Did you send reply letters too?”

“That- that’s right. It’s not polite to not reply after receiving a letter. And, I’ve been bored…”

At Sezh’s words, Raytan clamped his lips.

Rationally thinking, it wasn’t a big deal for Sezh and Mathias to send each other letters. Such a light exchange is something anyone can do.

In addition, the members of the Imperial family used to host tea times or dine together with the nobles in order to relieve their boredom. However, Sezh was in a situation where she could not invite Mathias to the palace, so their simple correspondence was not something he couldn’t accept.

However….

He didn’t like it.

Raytan glared at the pile of letters as if he would burn them down. It would have been better if Mathias Kareem had sent them one-sidedly, better if Sezh would hate it and not bother to write a reply.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh, that’s…”

Sezh wavered. She didn’t mean to hide it from the beginning. She was just…

“I’m embarrassed…”

Raytan paused. His face was stiff to the point where it couldn’t harden anymore.

“Embar…. rassed?”

“What Lord Mathias does… I thought it was out of pity. Because nobody noticed or regarded me at that time,” Sezh bowed her head.

“I thought our correspondence would end soon since pity doesn’t last that long…”

“…”

“That’s why I couldn’t tell you. I’d feel embarrassed if Brother knew that Lord Mathias pities me…”

Raytan’s face softened a little. Having stared at the letters for long enough, he shifted his gaze towards the window. It appeared different from usual. The curtains and the slightly opened windows were all the same, but one thing had changed: now, a small pot was there. It was his first time seeing it.

“That thing.”

“Yes?”

“Did he also send that flower pot?”

“Ah, yes. Lord Mathias sent that together with the letter today, in case I feel lonely ….”

Raytan didn’t say anything anymore. Sezh couldn’t tell what kind of expression he was making since he had his head turned to stare at the pot.

Nevertheless, since he didn’t ask any more interrogative questions, Sezh thought he wasn’t angry. Of course, it seemed like he was still unhappy about something. Whenever the situation becomes like this, her first thoughts are to warm up the atmosphere.

Even if Raytan is in a bad mood, he would soon shake it off after Sezh cracked a few jokes or threw some flattering words. It was a little embarrassing to dare say such light things to the Emperor, but Sezh decided to be courageous.

“I don’t know what kind of flower it is yet, but when spring comes, I’ll know.”

“…”

“When the flowers bloom, you’ll be the first one I show!”

“…”

“Hmm… And- Also-….”

“Do you like…”

“Yes?”

“…You like? ”

“Lo-Lord Mathias?”

Sezh became flustered.

“No way! We’re just penpals. He cares about me, but it’s because he is purely a kind person! I have no other feel-”

“Sezh.”

“Yes… Yes?”

“I’m asking if you like the flowers, not Mathias Kareem.”

Belatedly realizing her mistake, Sezh’s face turned red.

‘Then you should have said that from the start…’

“I- I like it. Flowers. I appreciate him for doing such things.….”

Sezh was in a full frenzy.

“That’s why now I’m currently thinking about what kind of gift I should give him.…. I feel thankful.…. Not that kind of like……. No, I like flowers, but…… I mean….”

“You don’t have to give Mathias Kareem a present,” Raytan replied with an expressionless face. “Because what you said just now saved his life.”

“What, life? What do you mean…?” Sezh asked in a slightly frightened voice, but Raytan did not answer.

‘Let’s just change the subject.’ Sezh’s experiences over the years rang out a warning.

“But brother… What brought you here?”

“I…”

Raytan closed his mouth, avoiding voicing an answer.

Why did he come to her room? The reason was simple: his thoughts of Sezh being lonely resulted in this action.

He didn’t grant her wish to dismiss the guards, and when he allowed her to stroll around, the sky instead snowed a lot that day. Sezh probably would have just stayed in her palace all day. So Raytan purposely made time to visit her even though he was busy.

But now…

He was annoyed. The heap of letters was annoying. The flower pot that shamelessly occupied the window seat as if that had been its place from the beginning was also annoying. He wanted to get rid of everything if he could.

‘However, if I do that… she will hate it.’

Raytan regarded the flower pot with a blazing stare and then turned his gaze back to Sezh.

“I’ll come back tonight.”

Sezh blinked at Raytan’s words.

‘Come back tonight?’ That means… is he saying he will sleep here again like last night?’

“B-But Brother…” Sezh said in a small voice. “My bed must be uncomfortable…. As you may have noticed yesterday, it’s quite small…”

“…”

“Of course, I’m not annoyed at all… I’m saying this because I’m worried…”

“Worried?”

“Yes. I’m afraid you won’t be able to sleep well… And then… If you get sick…”

To some extent, she was sincere. If Raytan slept in Sezh’s palace every night, he would definitely get sick. Both Raytan and her.

Raytan was silent for a moment.

Looking back, Sezh was always worried about useless things. Raytan won’t be sick enough for Sezh to be concerned about, and even if it happens, isn’t it irrelevant to her? It was a concern that even his biological mother didn’t have for him.

Regardless, it didn’t feel bad. Honestly, it was comforting.

“I’m not saying I’m coming because of that. We have somewhere to go.”

“What? A place to go?…. Where…?”

“You can see it with your own eyes. Get ready and wait. It’s still cold, and you’re weak, so make sure to dress warmly.”

Sezh nodded her head in a trance. Upon receiving her answer, Raytan stared at the letters one last time, and then he spoke again.

“No one will dare pity you from now on.”

Following that, he said something Sezh couldn’t understand.

“No matter who it is.”

After finishing his speech, Raytan briefly stared at Sezh then left the bedroom.

‘What does that mean…?’

Sezh’s face filled with wonder. And where does he want to go? Not in broad daylight but at night? There was nowhere that came to mind.

‘Is he… going to do something harmful to me? Like in the past?’

That kind of thought haunted her, but Sezh swiftly shook her head. If Raytan had any intention of doing so, he wouldn’t have left her alive in the first place. She knew his character better than anyone else.

“P-Princess….”

Sezh turned to Kaen at the sound of her weak voice. Kaen had sat down in front of the door as if her legs had lost strength.

“I was- I was so surprised… Stop…”

“Are you okay, Kaen?” Sezh hurriedly helped Kaen stand up. “I was surprised too… but everything is okay, right? So calm down.”

“… But His Highness’s expression wasn’t good,” Kaen added with a pale face. “The fact about the Princess exchanging letters with the Lord.… I don’t think he agrees with such activity.”

Is that why he looked so upset? Sezh recalled Raytan’s face, staring at the letters with burning eyes.

“But… he didn’t forbid me to write again even after he found out…. And if he truly detests it, he wouldn’t have just left the letters as they were.”

Also, there is no reason for him to be angry at their exchanging letters.

The other day, Mathias already said that a request came from the Imperial palace for his family to govern one of the posts. Considering that, Raytan probably didn’t hate Mathias or the Kareem family. If he didn’t like the Kareem family, he’d have removed them during the coup. Sezh was optimistic about that idea without knowing that Raytan had only left the letters and flower pot as they were to avoid hurting her feelings.

“I’m sorry, Princess. For showing such an appearance…”

“No, Kaen. Don’t say such a thing, okay?”

“Now, first, tea… I’ll bring the tea. Herb tea is good for stability… Right, lavender. Lavender tea… I should get it quickly….”

Kaen went out of the bedroom after mumbling gibberish, and she brought in the tea shortly after.

Sezh drank the lavender tea together with Kaen as it seemed Kaen was the one who needed to relax. Of course, Kaen refused, asking how she could sit face to face with the Princess and have a cup of tea, but she had no choice but to succumb to Sezh’s strange request.

“It’s an order, so please just do it.”

After drinking tea and reading a few accumulated letters, it was finally dinner time. That day, Sezh also had a feast-like serving of food that was quite torturing for her stomach.

Kaen brought a thick coat for Sezh after she finished eating. Again, it was expensive clothing that she would not have even thought to desire in the past. After getting ready, Sezh sat before the table and waited for Raytan.

And it was late at night when he came back.