Chapter 23….
“Ah, n–no.”
Clears denied it instinctively.
His flustered heart made him blurt out a lie.
“…No?”
Ellie’s face fell openly with disappointment.
She had thought maybe they’d gotten a bit closer, maybe he’d warmed up to her—but apparently not.
“Oh… you didn’t want me to come visit, huh?”
And of course, there were plenty of reasons he might not want her there.
Ellie’s shoulders drooped even more.
She wanted to get along, but no matter what she did, it always turned into a mistake. That left her deflated—she didn’t even want to try anymore.
There had been a time she’d wanted to help her brother, so she’d offered to organize his study for him.
But instead of tidying it, she’d made a huge mess.
Books were scattered everywhere, papers soaked with dirty water until they were unreadable. The research her brother had worked so hard on had become ruined trash.
Her brother had been upset, of course, but Ellie’s heart had hurt just as much.
After that, it had taken a long time before she could bring herself to step into his study again.
…It felt like it might take just as long before she could face Clears again, too.
“N–no! It’s not that I dislike it!”
“So… you don’t like it either?”
Ellie still couldn’t bounce back.
Clears felt bad for her and wanted desperately to show that he really was fine.
“No, I—I do like it!”
“…You do?”
“I m–mean—yes!”
He’d gotten ahead of himself.
He couldn’t believe those words—I like it—had actually come out of his own mouth.
He covered his lips, but it was too late. Those words had already ignited a fire in his chest.
The heat of them spread through him, and his face slowly turned red.
“S–since you’ve come all this way, I’ll show you around the house!”
Unable to bear the heat, Clears jumped to his feet.
The air in the parlor felt suffocating—he needed to get outside.
“A tour of the house?”
“Yes, there’s much to see in the Berndt ducal estate. We have a training yard, a rose garden, even peacocks—”
“Peacocks!”
He’d been listing things at random, but one of them had miraculously struck Ellie’s fancy.
“Yes! Peacocks, and rabbits, and foxes too!”
As Ellie’s excitement rose, Clears found himself getting excited along with her, naming off all the animals they kept.
“Rabbits!”
“…You don’t like foxes?”
“I’ve seen plenty of foxes.”
“…?”
Where could the princess have seen foxes?
He’d never heard of any being kept in the royal palace—it was said they didn’t keep dangerous animals there.
Though puzzled, Clears didn’t dwell on it.
“Then shall we go see the rabbits and peacocks?”
“Yeah!”
Clears extended his hand to escort her.
Ellie blinked at the hand held out toward her.
No one had ever offered her such a gallant escort before.
Marquis Simon had helped her in and out of the carriage sometimes, but he was an old man—she’d never thought much of it.
But Clears was… different.
A dazzling duke extending his hand to her—it felt like something out of a storybook.
Just like the princesses in the books!
And now it was happening for real.
Ellie’s heart swelled and thumped wildly.
When she carefully laid her small hand in his, Clears gently helped her up and placed her hand on his arm.
Then, side by side, they walked together.
Ellie’s fingers fidgeted lightly where they rested on his arm.
He doesn’t hate me that much, right?
Maybe he was just a polite boy who was kind to everyone.
But surely he wouldn’t go out of his way to show someone he hated around the estate or offer them his arm.
He used to hate me so much, though!
He hadn’t even liked making eye contact with her before. He’d cut her off whenever she spoke, even said he found her annoying and unpleasant.
Compared to that, this was a huge improvement.
They weren’t exactly close friends yet—but for Ellie, this little bit of closeness was more than enough.
* * *
“Here is the rabbit pen.”
“Uh… oh…”
Ellie froze.
Rabbits.
There were rabbits in the forest too, but she rarely saw them.
They were too quick and too shy to approach people.
Usually, all she could do was secretly watch them from afar as they nibbled on grass.
She’d always wanted to touch one up close, but unlike foxes, rabbits were hard to befriend.
Foxes weren’t timid.
At first, they’d hesitate, but once they got used to her face, they’d start sneaking closer.
Whenever she shared her food with them, they’d rub against her affectionately.
Eventually, some even crept into her home, curling up beside her for naps.
So she wasn’t all that eager to see foxes anymore—she’d seen and touched plenty.
But rabbits—small, round, soft-looking rabbits—she’d never been able to touch one before.
That’s why she’d been so excited when Clears mentioned them.
“Ra…bbit.”
“Yes, these are the rabbits raised at House Berndt. Our knights eat a lot of meat, so we only raise the large ‘Raddle’ breed.”
“Ra…bbit?”
How could that be a rabbit?
Ellie’s eyes widened as she looked at the monstrous furballs filling an enclosure the size of a field.
The “raddles” were bigger than she was.
By body size alone, they could rival a grown man.
In other words—
They weren’t cute at all.
“They’re scary!”
Ellie took a frightened step back from the pen.
“Your Highness!”
Rilcia’s eyes flashed.
How dare anyone scare our princess!
She looked ready to strike Clears down where he stood.
Clears flinched under her murderous glare.
He had only shown her the rabbits because she’d said she wanted to see them…
“They’re not dangerous, Your Highness. They won’t hurt you,” he tried to explain.
But Ellie was already terrified.
“They’re too big! It’s scary!”
The rabbits all turned their heads at her voice.
Dozens of red eyes—each the size of a fist—focused on her at once.
“Kyaaah!”
Ellie screamed.
Clears quickly stepped in front of her, shielding her.
You wretched rabbits! How dare you glare at Her Highness!
Rilcia moved too, ready to grab the princess into her arms—
—but Ellie had already thrown herself against Clears’s waist.
“!”
He stiffened at the sudden contact. But of course, he couldn’t push the frightened princess away.
Thankfully, at least, the rabbits didn’t bark or make loud noises.
“…!”
Rilcia bit her lip in frustration and stepped back.
Our princess clings to the duke instead of me…
But it was the princess’s choice.
She could only return to her post quietly.
Marquis Simon patted her shoulder in sympathy, and Madam Laval looked at her with teary eyes.
We understand.
Their tiny princess—already acting grown-up, already drifting away from them—it broke all their hearts.
Unaware of their feelings, Ellie stayed clinging tightly to Clears’s waist, trembling.
Clears, holding his breath, stood perfectly still and waited.
After a while, Ellie finally raised her head.
The rabbits were still watching her curiously.
“Eek…”
Clears glanced back at them too.
They looked the same as always—huge, yes, but not scary to him at all.
“It’s all right.”
“But… they’re too big…”
“They’re big, but they don’t bite.”
“They don’t?”
“No.”
Encouraged, Ellie hesitantly looked back at the rabbits again.
They were enormous, yes—but just as he said, they stayed calm and quiet.
Up close, their fur looked soft and fluffy, like springtime down drifting through the air.
I want to touch it…
Just then, Clears spoke beside her.
“You can touch them if you like.”
“!”
How did he know what she was thinking? Could he read her mind?
Ellie turned to him, wide-eyed.
Taking her gaze as permission, Clears gently guided her closer to the pen.
With him beside her, she didn’t feel so scared anymore.
The rabbit stared at them but didn’t move.
“You just touch it like this.”
Clears slipped his hand through the bars and stroked the rabbit’s back.
It twitched its nose once but didn’t resist—if anything, it leaned into his hand.
Ellie followed his example, reaching her small hand through the bars.
“Wow!”
The fur was unbelievably soft beneath her fingers.
She squeezed it lightly, then petted it again and again, fascinated.
“….”
Clears, however, could no longer focus on the rabbit.
He found his gaze drifting to Ellie’s profile instead.
“So soft! So fluffy!”
Her eyes sparkled as she leaned closer, hair tumbling over her shoulders and catching the sunlight like fine silk.
It looks even softer…
Her pinkish hair looked smoother and prettier than the rabbit’s fur.
He wanted to touch it.
“!”
The realization jolted him.
Wh–what am I thinking?!
Touching someone—especially a lady—was something his etiquette tutor had warned him never to do lightly.
What if someone realized what he was thinking?
His heart pounded so hard it hurt, and his face burned red again.
He glanced around anxiously—but thankfully, no one seemed to notice.
Clears let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The thought of wanting to touch Princess Ellia’s hair… would remain his secret forever.
