episode_0086

Phew, that’s a relief.

It was clear that these three, including Cosette, had completely fallen for the perfect excuse I had come up with. If they had found out that it was my story, I would have been so embarrassed that I wouldn’t have been able to see them for a few days, so it was a relief.

According to them, it’s just for reference, but Yugram probably isn’t that angry at me. And that includes the fact that I was a little annoying.

I felt a little better. Just a moment ago, I felt like the world was falling apart, but when I realized that it wasn’t a big deal, I felt better. As I picked up my teacup again, Ayla said to me.

“..But princess, if you listen to that story.. maybe that friend likes that acquaintance?”

“Ugh!?”

I was so shocked that I almost spit out the tea I was drinking. Since I had almost swallowed the tea, nothing terrible happened, but I kept coughing as if it had entered my airway. It was hard to stop it because it was a physical reaction regardless of the pain. I barely suppressed the cough by covering my mouth with a handkerchief.

“What, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“No, that’s right. I felt a family-like atmosphere with the opposite sex, but if it’s not my dad or my older brother, then the age difference isn’t that big, right? Crying and whining to someone like that, caring about their reaction, thinking they’re cute… Isn’t that what you like?”

“That, that.. That, that doesn’t seem right? Even if he’s my brother, the age difference can be huge, so it wouldn’t be strange at all if he relies on me, right? There’s a nine-year age difference.”

What on earth is Ayla talking about? My voice trembled at her absurd words.

“Hey, in the first place. You like a guy because you think he’s cute. Isn’t that weirder? I’m sorry to bring up an example all of a sudden, but… you could have a cute face like Mathias.”

“That’s right! Well, I was mistaken. I don’t even know what the person the princess’s friend knows looks like…”

“Oh my goodness. I’m really embarrassed.”

Of course, Yugram didn’t have a cute impression, and he had a cold impression that suited his glasses very well, but that had nothing to do with this. I drank tea one after another, and this time Cosette spoke to me.

“Then what does that person look like? Is he/she ugly?”

“..No, that’s not it. He’s really handsome.”

“Really? But if you don’t like it… Is it because of your family circumstances? Is your family a bit poor?”

“Well.. I don’t know exactly how rich he is, but he’s really rich..”

For some reason, Agnes also got involved and started asking a ton of questions.

When asked if he was a rich bum and didn’t fit his standards, he answered appropriately that he was young enough to be an academy professor. When asked if he was weak, he answered that it wouldn’t be strange for him to be a knight commander of any organization.

After answering several questions over and over again, I was quite tired, but when I heard Ayla’s serious expression, I felt like my efforts were being rewarded.

“Hmm.. He’s such a perfect person, but since he immediately says he doesn’t like me, there must be some circumstances we don’t know about? I get it. It’s clear that he doesn’t like me.”

“I said so?”

I smiled broadly and put the cake in my mouth. I felt a sweetness that seemed to thrill my brain. Today, this sweetness felt even sweeter. I was quietly eating tea and cake while smiling broadly when suddenly I heard a thunderbolt.

“But then, isn’t the princess’s ideal type someone her friend knows?”

“..Huh?”

What all of a sudden?

I was so surprised that I dropped the fork I was using to eat the cake on the plate. Ideal type? Who?

Yugram?

Cosette continued to speak to me, who was blankly staring at her.

“If you listen to the story, he’s very handsome, rich, and smart. And he’s also very good at swordsmanship, right? There were a lot of other things too, but anyway… Doesn’t this all fit the ideal type that the princess mentioned last time?”

“Oh, no. That’s ridiculous! That guy is old!”

“If you’re a princess’ friend, aren’t you the same age? A nine-year age difference isn’t that big of a deal. Right? Princess.”

I stared blankly at Cosette and thought of Yugram.

To be honest, I don’t really care much about looks, but objectively speaking, Yoo Gram was an incredible handsome man. I’ve been seeing him for over 10 years, but every time I see him, I’m a little surprised. His face, which has a cold impression, is truly beautiful.

And what about his wealth? As a member of the royal family, he naturally has a lot of money, and Yugram always buys and reads new books that he has never seen before. If you look at the speed at which Yugram reads books, the money he spends on buying new books alone must be enormous.

Moreover, unlike the immature children my age, Yugram was very mature and easy to talk to. It is said that the children attending this academy have direct and indirect experience with the aristocratic society and are more intelligent than ordinary commoners, but that does not mean that they are not immature.

There was no need to mention his swordsmanship skills. Even if I gave it my all, I had no idea how much of a chance I could have against Yugram.

After considering numerous other conditions one by one, Yugram suddenly realized that he met all the conditions. And at the same time, this thought also occurred to him.

Isn’t it because he had Yugram in mind from the beginning that he spoke of conditions that would fit Yugram perfectly? Is there a man on this continent who fits all of these conditions, other than Yugram?

But isn’t there a 20 year age difference between Yugram and me?

Suddenly, that thought occurred to me, and I immediately remembered that it was my mistake, and that they were only nine years apart. Twenty-four, Yugram’s age… Twenty-four… It was a young enough age. It was almost the right age to get married.

As I thought about that, I suddenly felt my face get hot. I felt like my eyes were spinning. I jumped up from my seat.

“Mom, I’m not feeling well.. I’ll go and rest. I’m sorry..!”

Without waiting for an answer, I ran out of the room.

.

.

.

A warm atmosphere was in the room where Leah had left Cosette. Agnes, Ayla, and Cosette were all just looking at the room where Leah had left, smiling. That was understandable, because Leah, who rarely showed her emotions, was shocked and embarrassed to the point of shock.

Even so, since the basis of those feelings was romantic, no matter how you look at it, it would be natural for them to react this way.

“Cosette, aren’t you pushing too hard? I thought the princess’s face was going to burst.”

“Even if you weren’t, you were already an accomplice when you asked about my ideal type? I thought you were asking for this.”

“Is that right?”

The three of them put the cake in their mouths while laughing. Since last year, no, since their second year… or even before that, Leah had been vehemently denying that she absolutely did not like Yugram, but the three of them didn’t see it that way at all. Now that they had figured out Leah’s true feelings so well, how could it not be funny?

“Sharing a room with a guy you don’t even like, following him around no matter where you go, and praising and bragging every time you open your mouth… That can’t happen.”

“The princess has a bit of a childish side to her, no matter what.. Maybe she didn’t know her own feelings until recently?”

Agnes’s casual remark struck a chord with the truth, and the other two nodded as if it made a lot of sense.

“Anyway.. Since we did this today, let’s not provoke each other unnecessarily and just watch slowly from tomorrow. I think that will be more fun.”

“Aila, that’s a good idea… You’re not the only one trying to run away, are you?”

“..What are you running away from?”

“What? Do you really have to bring up Matias? It’s your turn now.”

Cosette made a grumpy face, and Ayla squeezed her eyes shut, wondering if she too should kick the door open and run away.

.

.

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I ran into my room, pretending not to hear Yugram’s words while waiting in front of the door, and threw myself on the bed. I immediately pulled the blanket over me and curled up.

My ideal type is Yu Gram?

I closed my eyes tightly. I started imagining the ideal spouse I wanted.

First of all, he has to be smart so we can communicate well. He has to accept my annoying personality and have a lot of money so I don’t have to work for nothing. He has to be handsome for the sake of my children’s bright future, and he has to be good at fighting so that he doesn’t get beaten up like an idiot when he gets into a fight at a bar or somewhere else.

He creates a fictional being by attaching the desired conditions to it. There is no way a man with such crazy specs can exist. But the one who was created that way was Yugram. I had my eyes closed, but Yugram appeared vividly and in detail as if he were right in front of me. I gritted my teeth and tried to think of something else.

But, whenever, wherever, wherever I thought of it, Yugram came to mind. All the knowledge I had, the swordsmanship and self-defense skills I had practiced so hard that I almost vomited. Wangseong, the mountain I had visited for the training of the Knights, the academy…

In almost every situation in my life, there was Yugram. Yugram was in everything. Whatever I was thinking about, Yugram came to mind. The Yugram in my head embraced me. My heart raced at the warm movements of his hands. The conversation I had with Yugram that day continued to torment my heart.

─Don’t leave my side.

─You don’t have to worry.

I couldn’t stand those cruelly kind words that he would never say in his usual way. I finally realized it. No… I decided not to turn my head away. I knew it. I already knew it, but I just refused.

Just as the dew that falls at dawn naturally wets the earth, just as the snow that fell all winter slowly melts to reveal the frozen ground to the world, just as beautifully bloomed flowers eventually fall and new buds emerge to bloom again.

My mind was naturally completed without any special or noticeable exaggerated events. Maybe this is how the mind was originally. It may not be something that seeks from others or from oneself. It may be that it is simply recognizing what already exists. And so I realized.

I like yugram.

I love yugram.

That’s all there is to the story.

Just that…