ETL – Chapter 18
She snapped her fingers and the broken vase became whole again. I watched the entire scene while holding my breath in amazement.
The vase was placed back onto the table and the princess sighed. I wondered if the princess was a wizard but I could not recall any information on it from my memories.
Her brother is also a wizard, so it was not a far fetched idea. This disparity in information made me feel strange. It was an unpleasant feeling.
“It’s so unpleasant every time I come here.”
I guess she thought the same thing as I did. I tried to listen and understand the situation.
The princess said my name out loud, “Emilone.”
Emilone, not Miss Emilone. It was the first time she said my name like that, so I felt chills going down my back.
The glass greenhouse was full of flower pots. I was able to hide well behind the pots.
I supposed God didn’t give me good hearing to do this but I listened attentively. Unfortunately the princess did not say anything else.
I was feeling a little distressed because I had to find the right timing to come out without her noticing that I was hiding. Wiggling my toes and leaning against the flower pot, I wanted to know more of what the princess was thinking…
Her finger lightly touched the exterior of the vase that was just broken and restored.
“I wonder when the saintess will come back.”
I got goosebumps from her slow tone. The princess must be getting wary. I swallowed my saliva and got up from my spot and approached the table.
The princess’s face instantly changed as she smiled at me.
Honestly, the princess looked good with an innocent demeanor. It made her noble appearance appear brighter.
“Did I keep you waiting long?”
Sitting down, I pushed aside the vase the princess had broken and fixed. It was a deliberate move on my part.
In a bright voice, she replied without any reaction, “Of course not. It’s so beautiful here that looking at everything makes me feel good.”
Lies. She looked unhappy earlier when she was breaking the vase.
“The greenhouse garden is the pride of the temple. Previous saints had cared for it carefully,” I explained to her.
I guess from her previous comment, there was dissatisfaction with the prince and Duke Cassan these days. I wonder what happened since I have not seen the princess lately.
I continued the conversation with the princess. During this, a priest came in and interrupted our time. No one can enter here without my permission.
The priest was sweating because of this. “Miss Emilone, I wanted to inform you that HIs Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived in front of the temple.”
“His Highness…?” I said with a puzzled expression.
The princess covered her mouth and sighed, “Saintess, I apologize for not mentioning it earlier… actually His Highness wanted to visit the temple… so I told him he could go whenever he was comfortable with.”
Heh so she was such a person, the princess was trying to make fun of me. And I am a person who easily embraces the princess’s cuteness.
Ronella was trying to see how I would react when a line was crossed.
I didn’t want to cut off my relationship with the princess yet because she is my entertainment. I was using her to have some fun and she was also using me. We were in an interesting relationship.
Just like that, the prince came into the greenhouse. He walked in with confidence and looked at me instead of the princess.
“Your Highness, you’re here!”
The princess rose from her seat, grabbed the prince’s arm without a proper greeting, and looked up at him. If the prince refused, I would have hugged the princess instead since she had such a lovely expression.
The prince patted her back and sat her down.
An ordinary person should get up and be polite. Since I was not an ordinary person, I tilted the tea cup and lifted my head a little. I did not look at him after that.
The prince stared at me intently. Is it because he had something to say to me?
The servants who followed the prince brought in a chair for him to sit. The chair was placed in between us and the prince sat down.
As the head of the temple, I could not ignore the lack of politeness.
“Your Highness, you came without sending a word. What’s happened?” I spoke in a soft dry tone, as if I had no emotions.
He bit his lip and said, “I am sorry to have come without sending a word.”
“Don’t mention it. I won’t feel bad if it only happens once.”
I’m not sure what my mood would be next time it happens.
“I’ll call for some tea. Do you have one you prefer?”
“Your Highness, I think the Espol tea is fine. It’s made from leaves grown only in the temple so it tastes good,” the princess said.
The Espol tea was a precious tea made only in the temple and not distributed outside. Certainly the princess would want the Espol tea every time she came to the temple.
I wondered if the prince would be the same way. I called the priest to prepare the tea. However the prince raised his hand to stop him.
“I’ll take the tea the saintess is drinking.”
“Yes… will that be ok?”
I think the tea I’m drinking is herbal tea? I’m not sure since the scent isn’t that strong. The mint colored tea might look good but it won’t suit the tastes of imperialists.
Of course, even though I called it an herbal tea, it wasn’t really an herbal tea. It has its own name but since it smells like herbs, I called it herbal tea.
However, the prince responded as if there was nothing more to reconsider, “I’ll like to have the tea the saintess is having.”
“So then…”
Instead of a servant, a priest brought out the tea. After the tea was placed in front of the prince, I turned to look at him. The prince’s eyebrows furrowed as if he wanted to say something.
“That day, that day.”
“Yes?”
“…”
“Your Highness?”
The prince kept trying to say something but instead shook his hand and bit his lip again. I don’t know what it is but it seems unsatisfactory.
The herbal fragrance from the prince’s tea started to spread in the greenhouse. The princess cried and covered her nose with her sleeve.
“Your Highness, the scent smells so weird, are you going to drink it?”
At her words, the prince looked down at the teacup with a slightly strange look and picked it up.
“It certainly does not smell good…”
“I did not know if Your Highness would like this tea. Would you accept this please?”
At my words, the maid brought over a glass bottle. It was a new bottle of candy that has not been opened yet. It was the candy that Reneben and Jessie had a hard time eating.
The prince put down the teacup and looked at the candy.
“It’s candy that tastes like the tea you are holding right now. It helps to clear your mind and improve your concentration. It will be good to eat one when you are tired.”
The prince’s face became distorted with my words. He took the glass bottle and handed it to one of the servants that followed him.
That was expensive. It doesn’t matter though. The prince’s reaction made it clear that the candy would be thrown away. I wonder if I could ask for my cold tea back.
CLICK- The prince placed the teacup down again and the princess smiled widely.
“Doesn’t Your Highness agree? I think this tea is for the saintess. I never saw anybody drink it except for the saintess.”
At the end, the prince stopped Ronella, “Does the saintess like this?”
“I like it. Your Highness, was it not to your taste? I thought you would like it since you asked for the same tea as me, but I am sorry.”
This tea had to be enjoyed for its fragrance and not its taste. They did not understand how stimulating the fragrance of this refreshing tea was.
“Well…”
The prince swirled the teacup around. He put his elbow on the table, lifted the cup and met my eyes. The mint tea splattered inside the cup.
He was not a prince who always values politeness, so he pushed the cold teacup to the maid.
“If you drink it, you might feel better.”
He did not seem to believe that the herbal tea was helpful for strength. In this world, it was difficult for people to understand that concept.
The prince got rid of the teacup and made eye contact as if he had something to say to me.