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30.

"Y-you were simply trying to wake me up?"
I couldn't ‌‌bear to leave Wilhelmina Lopez lost in such troubled thoughts, so I spoke honestly.
Her face flushed as deeply as a well-aged wine.
But that lasted only a moment before she released my hand and spoke as if it were nothing.
"Y-yes! I didn't torment you, and I even asked Father to bring you to this villa, so how could I be upset?"
...She even asked Duke Lopez for this? ‌‌‌‌
Ever since Wilhelmina Lopez had gone abroad to study at Kingdom Academy, she'd made a point of avoiding conversation with her father whenever possible.
I was so moved I found myself speechless.
"...Did I really ‌‌‌‌push too hard ‌‌‌‌bringing you here?"
But it seemed Wilma had interpreted my silence in an entirely different way.
With sleep now completely banished from my mind, I quickly shook my head.
"No, not at all—it's wonderful. This is the first time I've ever ‌seen such a beautiful room."
This wasn't flattery meant to please Wilma; it was the truth.
I naturally stepped out onto the terrace adjoining the room and ‌‌smiled toward her.
"And the garden—just ‌‌‌looking at it feels like my heart is being healed."
Unlike House of Jamoti, which had only recently been elevated to ducal ‌‌status, Lopez Duchy was truly an ancient and distinguished noble house.
The vast estates, the abundant wealth accumulated over long centuries, and the political acumen of ‌‌successive Duke Lopezes who ‌‌never suffered a disadvantageous arrangement—all of it spoke volumes.
In any case, as the villa of such a renowned ‌‌‌house, the ‌‌‌landscaping was extraordinarily beautiful.
"Indeed, it's my favorite villa."
Wilma followed me onto the terrace, carefully gathering her hair as it danced in the breeze.
"The village adjacent to ‌this villa isn't particularly bustling, but it has character and is lovely to explore."
"I'd love to see it."
"In the ‌forest ‌‌‌a little ways off, there's a pristine stream, and it's ‌‌just the season when flowers bloom beautifully along its path."
Is this ‌‌a date ‌invitation between friends?
As I gazed at her with undisguised excitement, Wilhelmina Lopez offered a gentle smile.
"You're so childlike, Roselita Salice."
"It's my first time going somewhere so beautiful with a friend."
"F-friend?"
"Or am I overstepping again—"
The moment I opened my mouth, she gently ‌‌‌pressed a finger to my lips.
"I told you not to say such things."
"Oh."
"And yes, f-friend! We ‌‌‌are friends."
As she spoke, Wilhelmina Lopez's face flushed like a ripe apple.
"If we weren't friends, I wouldn't have invited you to the villa. Besides, you're the first person I've ever invited like this."
"Of ‌‌‌‌course, Your ‌Highness."
I leaned against the terrace railing, speaking with a bright smile on my face.
"Since we're friends now, please call me by my name."
"...Roselita Salice?"
"Just Roselita."
Cassian Artez had taken to calling me by a nickname at some point without asking.
It was strange that Wilhelmina and I—who were friends!—couldn't call each other by our given names.
She gazed ‌‌‌at me quietly, ‌‌then smiled with an expression ‌‌‌of utter exasperation as she spoke.
"You don't need to make such a pretty face for something like this—I'd agree anyway."
"What?"
"If you're going to smile so prettily, you should save it for when you need to ask the Crown Prince something difficult...."
Why would I need to do that with him...?
Of course, there was nothing ‌‌to gain from clarifying the relationship between Cassian Artez and myself, so I pressed my tingling lips together.
"In exchange, stop calling me Your Highness."
"Then should I call you Wilhelmina...?"
"Just Wilhelmina is fine, or you can call me Wilma!"
She actually gave me permission to use a ‌‌‌nickname.
I was so moved that I ‌‌grabbed Wilma's hand eagerly.
"Got it, Wilma!"
At ‌‌‌‌my enthusiasm, her face flushed beautifully once more.
We were both hopelessly clumsy at making friends.
Both Wilhelmina and I.

*

Since I arrived at the villa quite late, Wilhelmina and I decided to enjoy a warm rooibos ‌‌‌‌tea that wouldn't disturb our sleep, along with some light refreshments.
Though our conversation was awkward and stilted, I felt genuinely pleased to have finally fulfilled the tea time Wilhelmina had requested of me several times, however modestly.
"Surely you're not ‌already satisfied, ‌‌are ‌‌you?"
"I beg your pardon?"
Before heading to her room, Wilhelmina asked me with a worried expression.
"I mean—you've rejected tea time with me so many times, and you're not actually thinking that one afternoon settles everything, are you?"
"May I be honest with you?"
Had we not spent this evening together over ‌‌‌‌tea, I would have gladly ‌‌‌surrendered all decision-making to Wilhelmina.
I had been thinking ‌‌‌it was more important to fill her heart warmly first.
But as we spent time together, I came to understand just how pure-hearted she truly was.
Despite her prolonged exposure to her family's coldness, her spirit was far more resilient and righteous than I'd expected. I realized that once I'd shown her kindness, she wouldn't take my ‌‌words unkindly.
"Of course! We're friends, after all."
She was remarkably honest, truly.
Noticing a hint of tension in her demeanor, I quickly spoke up.
"I'd like to do ‌‌‌‌this often, actually. Even back in the Capital City."
"...Really?"
Why did she look so taken aback?
"...What a relief."
The tension visibly drained from her shoulders as if she'd been absolved of a great burden.
"Why is that?"
"Because... I thought I'd forced you to come here against your will."
"What?"
"W-well, of ‌‌‌course! I didn't think it was something a lady should read, but... our maid recommended it so insistently that I read just a bit out of curiosity. Just a little, mind you."
Something felt off about where this conversation was heading.
"In those sorts of, um, romance novels, women who love the same man fight terribly and torment one another, don't they? Especially when the protagonist is a woman ‌‌of lower station, and noble ladies like me treat her horribly..."
Wilhelmina's face went deathly pale in an instant.
Aren't you getting a bit too invested in this, Wilhelmina?
"What was the title, exactly...?"
I ‌‌‌‌should have offered words of concern as a friend first, but my curiosity got the better of my reason once again.
"A B-beloved villainess ‌‌‌‌seeks a way to delete the Emperor."
Unfortunately, it was a new release I'd been too drowsy to start last night before bed.
Just from the title alone, I could sense it was melodramatic trash with every keyword jumbled together.
"Anyway! Someone as refined as ‌‌‌you would never read such things, so there's no misunderstanding. But my brother says..."
"Says what?"
"That you're rejecting me with such lofty pretense about not being suited to me, yet you cling to me without any sense of shame."
This is precisely why blood relations are problematic.
Why does he presume to judge my heart?
My refusal was simply because of my overwhelming workload.
"Of course, of course! I never thought you were the type ‌‌to speak empty words. Please don't misunderstand."
"How could I? I've actually been grateful. ‌‌You've always been considerate toward me, even though I'm so busy with work that I can barely manage to ‌‌‌‌‌write letters."
At my words, Wilhelmina rose from her seat and grasped my hand firmly.
"Really? I'm not such a petty and vulgar person! I didn't bring you here to torment you in some place where no one would know!"
I was beginning to grow ‌‌‌‌curious about what the villain in that work had actually done.
"Of course not. I could already tell how kind Wilhelmina is just from the fact that you prepared such a beautiful room for me."
"Is that... so?"
I nodded with conviction.
Of course, I didn't forget to ‌clear up the misunderstanding that truly needed addressing with her relieved expression.
"By the way, Wilhelmina. Have you perhaps read ‌‌‌'The Empress in the Novel is My First'?"
I couldn't lose such a precious reading companion! ‌

*

I had intended to have a brief tea time.
But Wilhelmina and I ended up retiring to bed only as dawn approached, lost in endless discussions about novels.
Of course, since we even exchanged books with each other, the time we actually fell asleep was even later.
As evidence of this...
"...G-good morning, Roselita."
Wilhelmina Lopez, who as a noblewoman always maintained her daily habits with meticulous care, had actually overslept.
By the time lunch arrived, Wilhelmina laughed sheepishly as I returned from a leisurely garden stroll.
I suppose I did recommend quite a lot yesterday...
It was because I had binged the new releases right before Wilhelmina arrived.
'Is it okay to become friends and corrupt her like this? What if Duke Lopez says we shouldn't let his daughter play with someone who's such a bad influence?'
A slightly anxious thought crossed my mind, but it didn't linger long.
"Ahem! But rather, Roselita."
"Yes?"
"How ‌‌‌about we go out for lunch? I know a place with absolutely delicious brunch options."
Wilhelmina had guided me ‌so perfectly to happiness that
on the second day of my trip, I should have spent such a perfect day.
"Hey, Rose?"
Why was I seeing things ‌‌‌‌before my eyes?
"C-Cassian Artez, Your Highness?"
But I could tell from Wilhelmina's flustered voice that it wasn't a hallucination.
...Running into my superior at my vacation destination.
The ‌‌worst possible disaster had befallen my holiday.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To ‌‌‌support ‌‌‌‌our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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