Chapter 141

However, it seemed that Noel didn’t like Rieta’s question in and of itself.

“Why on earth wouldn’t I be able to meet them?!”

“Bu, but . . .”

As Rieta scrambled for an excuse, she came up with a good reason.

“If we go to the Kingdom, we may not be able to freely meet the Duke or Darrel.”

“Uh . . .?!”

“The Kingdom and the empire are very far away from each other. We might have to write letters from time to time.”

Of course, she didn’t believe that Noel would really follow her all the way to the Kingdom, but . . .

Still, it was a good excuse for now.

“That, that.”

Noel pondered for a while, then immediately regained his confidence and exclaimed,

“When you become an adult, you can use movement magic! I’ll meet them with magic.”

“. . . Ah.”

Rieta looked at Noel with slight sadness in her eyes.

Something similar had occurred in the original story.

Noel, who had missed the female lead very much, intended to meet with her using that magic.

And accidentally saw a love scene between her and the male lead.

“Why are you looking at me with those eyes all of a sudden?”

“No . . . Noel . . .”

Rieta grabbed his hand tight.

She didn’t care at all that the leaves she had been picking up all morning were rustling around.

“I will surely make Noel happy!”

“What is this, all of a sudden?!”

It’s because she was so worried about the future.

“I will make you happy for the rest of your life! Definitely!”

“I don’t need it?!”

Noel, terrified, dropped the leaves he was holding and bolted to the mansion.

* * *

Returning to the inside of the mansion, the two felt that the atmosphere had become heavy.

Perhaps it was because of the late letter, but apparently it wasn’t.

In fact, this atmosphere has been slowly circulating in the mansion since summer came.

“The Princess and the young master.”

Seeing the two of them restless, the butler approached and guided them to the family room.

“I will bring you snacks soon.”

The butler who spoke like that seemed to be paying attention to Noel for some reason.

“I will prepare what the young master likes.”

“Uh, yes.”

What’s going on?

Come to think of it, the maids or servants usually brought snacks to them, but today the butler took care of them.

“Master Darrel will also arrive soon.”

“Brother?”

Noel looked at his watch in surprise.

It was a little early for him to come back.

“Yes.”

“Is something wrong with Brother? He said he wouldn’t go at these hours.”

Due to the recent hot weather, Darrell used the relatively cool dawn and evening hours to go to and from the Academy.

“The Duke also said he would be here soon.”

“Father too?!”

Noel asked, surprised.

Of course, that meant, ‘Why is everyone gathering at this hour all of a sudden?’, but the butler just nodded.

Is there something worrying?

Noel bowed his head, and Rieta gently wiped his back.

She doesn’t know what happened, but she was sure it would be fine if the whole family talked together.

“Don’t worry too much, Noel.”

“Worry? Who’s worrying?”

However, Noel raised his head and smiled haphazardly enough to make any audience feel bad.

As though something very happy had happened.

“It can’t be. It has been proven that I am right.”

“What do you mean?”

Rieta tilted her head. He said ‘stupid’ and pulled back on Rieta’s braid.

“Don’t!”

Rieta annoyed, fiddled with her flowing hair, while Noel laughed as he twirled her hair ribbon.

“Did I tell you earlier? If you have the time to write a letter, it would be better to meet in person.”

“Yeah . . . you did say that.”

“Father and brother are of the same opinion. Look, they miss me, so they’re coming back to the mansion, right?”

“How do you know that?”

Rieta snatched the ribbon from his hand.

The maid, who was waiting behind, noticed it and tied Rieta’s hair back.

“Maybe they just want to scold Noel a lot.”

“Is that possible? When you see how the butler treats me so kindly, you will find the answer. Obviously, the most important person of today’s tea time will be me.”

Just then, they heard the sound of a carriage arriving from the garden.

It was a bit more urgent than usual, so Rieta felt a little uneasy.

But Noel doesn’t seem to feel that way at all.

* * *

The still young Noel wasn’t aware, but the Empire was already in a state of emergency.

An exceptionally hot summer.

Rain that never fell.

The parched land was cracked, and the crops withered.

Animals lost their vitality in the heat. Humans were animals too.

They could not escape death.

There was not enough water to drink, so even washing properly became a luxury.

Naturally, large and small diseases soon became prevalent.

The Emperor worked hard to solve this problem.

However, the rain, which was fundamental, did not fall.

He even held a prayer meeting to make it rain by borrowing the power of the temple.

Considering the Emperor’s lack of faith, it must mean that he was desperate.

His only hope was magic.