In the Rain (3)
Bridget pouted, her lips pursed in a sulky expression.
“Why do you look so startled?”
It seemed she didn’t like how Edwin had panicked the moment he saw her.
“Does Your Highness not find me welcome?”
“What? No! That’s not it!”
A shrill, almost squeaky cry burst from Edwin’s mouth.
“Ahem, it’s not that… it’s just…”
The young prince kept stumbling over his words.
Then he suddenly realized he had just finished training and frantically covered his face.
“J-just a moment!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Well… I just finished training, so I must look terrible right now…”
Edwin’s face flushed bright red.
He peeked at Bridget from behind his hands.
“Sorry. If I’d known you were coming, I would have at least wiped off the sweat…”
Bridget’s eyes widened at his answer, then she burst into laughter.
“Your Highness, are you feeling shy right now?”
“N-no! It’s not like that…”
“If it’s not, then why is your face so red?”
Because he wanted to look cool in front of her.
Edwin swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to say and lowered his gaze.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed, Your Highness.”
Bridget tilted her head toward him.
She met his eyes and smiled sweetly.
“I think you look wonderful even when you’re sweating.”
Wonderful? Did she mean that?
Edwin stared at her with wide eyes.
“…Really?”
“Of course. I don’t know how to lie.”
At Bridget’s answer, color flooded Edwin’s face in an instant.
The young prince let out a sigh of relief and broke into a bright smile.
“That’s a relief.”
It was a fresh, vibrant smile that seemed to brighten the entire space, like a flower bud blooming.
Bridget’s cheeks flushed faintly, but she quickly returned to her usual composure.
Thanks to the early education from her aunt, Empress Melanie, she had already learned at a young age how to hide her emotions.
“By the way, what brings you all the way out here, Bridget?”
Only then did Edwin ask, as if he had finally grown curious about why the duke’s daughter had suddenly come to the knights’ training barracks.
“Did you come here on purpose to see me?”
Bridget looked slightly flustered by his words, then frowned.
“I didn’t come here on purpose because of you, Your Highness!”
She crossed her arms, pursed her lips, and put on a grumpy face.
“I came to see Father, and when I heard you were here too, I just stopped by to say hello.”
Her brilliant emerald-green eyes, reminiscent of the duke’s own, turned toward Edwin.
“If a friend leaves without even saying goodbye, people will call them cold-hearted.”
“Ah, I see.”
Edwin nodded, his voice tinged with slight disappointment.
But the fact that the duke’s daughter had come all this way thinking of him hadn’t changed.
Once he thought of it that way, his mood quickly lifted again.
“Thank you, Bridget. For coming all the way here just for me.”
“It’s nothing.”
Bridget hesitated for a moment, then suddenly pulled something from her pocket.
“Here. This is for you, Your Highness.”
“What is it?”
“I made them myself, but I ended up making way too many. So I wanted to share some with you.”
She made them herself?
Edwin accepted the silk-wrapped bundle she offered and looked at it with a puzzled expression.
It felt somewhat hard, but not particularly heavy.
What on earth could it be?
A strangely sweet scent wafted from the silk.
He couldn’t begin to guess what it was.
“Open it after I leave, all right?”
Bridget gave a flawless curtsy, then immediately turned away.
Philip, who had been watching the two from a short distance, stepped up beside her at once.
“I will escort you to the Commander’s barracks, Lady Bridget.”
“Thank you, Sir Philip.”
Philip naturally escorted Bridget and disappeared with her into the rain.
Thanks to that, Edwin was left standing alone outside the barracks.
“……”
The young prince watched Bridget’s red hair vanish into the distance, then lowered his head.
He slowly untied the silk bundle in his hands.
“Ah.”
No wonder it smelled so sweet.
Inside the bundle were cookies of rather clumsy shape.
Edwin picked one up and brought it to his mouth.
Crunch.
The moment he bit into it, something shattered with a loud sound.
It was a rather brutal noise, but thankfully his front teeth remained intact.
“…Hmm.”
Edwin chewed the cookie thoroughly and swallowed.
With an ambiguous expression on his face, he let out a dry laugh.
“Haha, it’s incredibly sweet.”
The texture was like a rock, but the taste was so sweet it defied description.
Sweet enough to make laughter burst out uncontrollably.
Is this the first time I’ve received a handmade gift from Bridget?
If so, it was a rather monumental day.
Edwin smiled and brought another cookie to his mouth.
Crunch. Crunch.
The rather spine-chilling sounds blended with the rain, creating quite a bleak atmosphere.
But Edwin simply kept smiling brightly, as if he couldn’t be happier.
After chewing on the cookies for a while, the prince reached for the rest, then stopped and tied the silk bundle again.
“…I should save the rest and share them with Rachel when she gets back.”
Rachel was strong enough to chew through steel, so she’d probably be fine.
The prince rubbed his tingling jaw as he turned to head back into the barracks, then glanced behind him.
The rain was still pouring down, and for some reason it bothered him.
“I hope Rachel’s all right.”
It was the moment he suddenly found himself worrying about the safety of his nanny who had left on vacation.
“Bridget, you reckless child! What are you doing here!”
Duke Crowner, who had been inside the barracks, immediately scolded his daughter the moment he saw her.
“The weather is terrible! Why would you come to a place like this? What if your carriage had gotten into an accident? And if you were coming, you should have told me in advance!”
“If I had told you, you would have absolutely forbidden me from coming.”
Bridget replied with a face that seemed to ask why he was stating something so obvious.
“Besides, I arrived safely, so there’s no problem at all.”
“This girl, really!”
Who did she take after to be so reckless!
Jerome ground his teeth as he looked at Bridget sitting there so boldly.
“This place is infested with monsters. Just who allowed you to come here?”
“Since when have I needed anyone’s permission? With Father away, there is no one in the ducal residence who can give me orders.”
“This girl—talking back when you’ve done nothing right!”
The duke raised his voice, then let out a sigh.
It was already spilled milk.
He knew better than anyone that scolding his daughter would only make his mouth hurt.
“Haa, there’s nothing to be done. As soon as the weather clears, you will return immediately. Understood?”
“You didn’t need to tell me. I already planned to do so.”
“Good grief, I can’t believe this.”
Jerome crossed his arms and gave his only daughter an incredulous look as she grumbled.
“Is this how a daughter who came to see her father speaks? So coldly?”
“It seems she didn’t come to see the Commander.”
At that moment, Philip, who had been standing quietly behind them, interjected.
“B-be quiet, Sir Philip!”
Bridget visibly panicked at his words and shrieked.
Jerome, sensing something strange in the air, frowned.
“What does that mean, Philip?”
“Ah, well…”
“If you don’t stay quiet, I won’t let you off!”
Philip looked down at Bridget as she rushed over and swung her tiny fists at him.
Then, with a perfectly calm face, he said,
“…That is what she says.”
“Hey! What do you mean ‘that is what she says’! Can’t you speak properly?”
“The young lady said she would not let me off if I spoke. How could I possibly say anything?”
Philip added with an indifferent expression.
“Besides, the Commander cannot win against the young lady.”
“What? Y-you…”
It was so accurate that there was nothing to refute.
Jerome pointed at him and stammered.
Then he turned his gaze back to his daughter.
“Bri! You tell me! What do you mean you didn’t come to see your father? What does that mean!”
“What are you talking about! If I didn’t come to see Father, why else would I come all the way here!”
Bridget shouted loudly, then ran into the duke’s arms and hugged him.
“I heard you were supervising training in such a dangerous place on a rainy day, so your one and only daughter came because she was worried about her father!”
“Bri, I can’t feel any sincerity in your voice.”
“Ugh, I’m telling the truth!”
“Tell me the truth! Just who is the rascal that made you come all the way here! Who is it! Who would dare make our Bri…”
Jerome raged as if he would draw his sword at any moment.
“No, I really didn’t come for that! Calm down, Father!”
Bridget clung desperately to the duke’s arm.
She didn’t forget to shoot a resentful glare at Philip, who stood at a distance.
“The rain seems to have let up a little.”
But the very person who had caused the discord between father and daughter stepped out of the barracks with a perfectly calm face.
“Then I shall go oversee the rest of the training. Please enjoy your warm father-daughter time.”
A faint smile lingered on Philip’s lips as he left the barracks.
It was a smile full of mischief, something rarely seen on his usual serious face.
“…Children these days.”
Philip shrugged as he recalled the flustered prince and duke’s daughter.
“Who told them to be so adorable?”
He wanted to tease them.
The Vice Commander of the Gloria Knights let out a soft chuckle as he walked away.
Thinking about how he would tease the prince next.
“Nanny, you must be so cold! First, dry yourself with this…”
Catherine came running into the lobby with an armful of towels.
Then she made eye contact with me as I entered the prince’s palace and froze on the spot.
She looked like a rabbit that had come face to face with a predator.
“A-are you all right, Nanny?”
Catherine barely managed to speak, her voice trembling.
“Y-your clothes…”
She pointed at me with her slender, delicate finger.
“There’s blood…”
“Ah.”
After dealing with the assassins, I had run into bandits on the way back and ended up in an unexpected fight.
It must have been bloodstains from then.
“I’m fine.”
I glanced down at the blood on my clothes and gave a casual nod.
“It’s not mine.”