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Deep inside Eleanor’s chest her heart contracted wildly. She was overwhelmed by a sad yet pleasant feeling. Eleanor was in the truest sense of the word experiencing her first love.

Thinking of Seletina alone was enough to ignite sparks in the depths of Eleanor’s eyes and make her cheeks flush with excitement. It broke her heart and tempted her to surrender to the encompassing sadness.

Those days spent with Seletina were pure bliss for her, sweeter than even cotton candy. Eleanor was certain that she and Seletina were connected by the red thread of fate.

After all, Seletina had been the knight who’d saved her.

We’re definitely like the main characters of those picture books I read as a child.

Eleanor smiled unconsciously as she wove a crown of flowers with dexterous hands in the garden. Seletina’s golden hair would have surely matched the white flowers of the clover. While imagining such things, Eleanor’s slender white fingers carefully knitted up the crown.

It was one of her few special skills.

“You’re in a good mood,” a familiar voice remarked.

Eleanor stopped humming merrily and slowly looked up, following the direction of the voice.

A fearless face for his age, coupled with a pair of slitted eyes that had a somewhat wild look to them greeted Eleanor. It was none other than the Kingdom of Elugor’s first prince and Eleanor’s older brother, Dios.

Dios let out a big sigh and glanced at Eleanor’s hands.

“You’re quite skilled.”
“Right? Would you like one, Brother Dios?”
“I’ll pass. It’s quite far off from my tastes.”

Dios replied bluntly, while Eleanor chuckled modestly.

“A gift for Seletina?” Dios inquired.
“That’s right. You did well to figure that out brother.”
“Well you’ve been getting along great these days, so it’s not that hard to guess.”
“Fufu… It seems like you’re not all brawn and no brain, dear brother.”
“I’m not that stupid you know. It’s just that with Elias by my side, I look like an idiot.”
“It’s done!”

Eleanor’s smile broke out spontaneously as she finished knitting her white flower crown. She imagined the smile on Seletina as she gave her the present. Eleanor’s chest tightened even more.

“Eleanor, have you decided?”

It was a sudden question. Eleanor had no idea what her brother was referring to when he asked that. Gently placing the crown of flowers on her lap to preserve its shape, she rolled her eyes and asked Dios,

“Decided? On what?”
“Spring. I know it’s all gone in the gutter, but we had a mission, didn’t we?”
“A mission?”

Eleanor responded, dumbfounded and caught off guard. Dios whispered to his sister, who pretended as if she didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Hey, hey, hey, you were the one who was most excited about it.”
“Um, what was it again?”
“Marriage. Or as you’d call it, groom hunting.”
“Oh!”
“You seriously forgot, didn’t you… The day before, you were suddenly all excited about finding your prince and all.”
“Come to think of it, I really did say that.”

Eleanor had completely forgotten about it.

“Well it’s no wonder you forgot, considering all that happened. But, we’re still people of royal blood. We have the duty and obligation to pass on this blood to the future generations. Groom hunting is no small feat.”
“You say some good things sometimes, brother Dios.”
“Do I look like a monkey or crocodile to you?”
“Hahaha.”

Eleanor exerted effort to produce a dry laugh. Groom hunting. Passing on the royal bloodline. Those were the most important duties for a princess¹.

“……”

A still, gray shadow crept into Eleanor’s mind. The image of Seletina’s smile lingered vividly in her mind. Her palms grew slightly sweaty, and a thick saliva invaded her mouth.

Eleanor’s grip on the flower crown tightened, straining her hand.

“Hmm? Hey, are you okay? You look a little pale.”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m as healthy as a horse.”
“I see… If you don’t feel well, you can always let me know.”
“T-That aside. Did you find a potential bride, brother Dios?”
“What, me? Well I guess you could say I did.”

Dios responded, scratching his cheek and appearing somewhat embarrassed.

Eleanor’s heart ached. Struggling to maintain her smile, she anxiously awaited the answer to her next question.

“May I ask the name of that person?”
“It’s Seletina.”

A single sharp thorn pierced Eleanor’s heart. Her clenched hands inadvertently crushed the flower crown.

“S-So it’s Lady Seletina! L-Lady Seletina is really beautiful, isn’t she? S-She’s also really smart…”
“That’s right. Seletina is a wonderful woman. But it would seem like Elias also has his eyes set on her. Though I don’t feel like losing to my younger brother… I’m thinking of inviting Seletina to dinner next time.”
“I, I see…”
“Say, Eleanor, you’re close with Seletina, right? Could you tell me what her preferred meal is?”
“I… don’t…”

The voice of Eleanor, hiding her face towards the ground, sounded muffled and seemed to fade away. Dios couldn’t make out her expression at all.

“What was that? I can’t hear you with your head like that.”

“LIKE I SAID! I DON’T KNOW!!!” Eleanor suddenly stood up and screamed, leaving Dios completely stunned.

Dios observed Eleanor forcefully gripping the crumpled flower crown, her shoulders trembling. Most notably, tears streamed down her cheeks, several of them large and evident.

Dios stood speechless, taken aback by his sister’s sudden change. His mind was in a state of confusion, and his throat felt dry. He had no understanding of what had caused his sister’s pain and sadness.

Eleanor turned her back on her bewildered brother and fled without even wiping away the large tears.

Dios was left completely speechless as he watched the devastated Eleanor leave.

As Eleanor ran, her usually resilient figure grew smaller, and Dios couldn’t help but feel that his sister was in fact fragile. Fragile enough as to where even the slightest touch could break her.

1. Robinxen: I want to marry a princess… someone isekai me already!!!!