Hush Now, Saintess! - Chapter 87
Chapter 87
Translator: Yonnee
—
“…I beg your pardon?”
Realizing Hildeon’s face had turned pale, I quickly corrected myself with an ‘oops’.
“Ah, my mistake. Not to touch, but to dust it off, right?”
“What happened that day… was really just a huge misunderstanding.”
“Of course. I know. Just wondering if there was anything to dust off today.”
“There’s nothing.”
“There must be something.”
Responding to my assertion with his own, he blinked in surprise.
I quickly reached out and dusted off his back.
His stiff back jolted every time my hand touched it.
Simultaneously, the dark dust that had been looming ominously gradually began to disappear.
I withdrew my hand, smiling contentedly, and then presented a strand of my hair that I had prepared earlier.
“Here, look. A strand of hair was stuck on you.”
Hildeon took the strand of hair somewhat bewilderedly.
He seemed puzzled as to why it was on his back.
“Animal fur tends to stick everywhere, you know.”
“Animal fur…?”
“Well, I’ll go on my own from here. See you next time, Your Highness.”
While he murmured, I quickly said goodbye and turned around.
I felt his gaze on my back but hurried on as if I didn’t notice.
Just as I was about to leave the crown prince’s palace…
“Lady Brietta?”
An unfamiliar woman’s voice stopped me.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that moment.
Hildeon stood still, exactly where he had stopped, holding a pink strand of hair that Roella had given him.
He blankly stared in the direction Roella had disappeared.
‘What exactly is that woman?’
His mind was in turmoil.
It always was, every time they met.
Someone, he had never experienced before.
It was the same today.
Before meeting her, he worried if she would be afraid of him…
‘This is our third meeting, but it’s the first time we’ve properly scheduled to meet again.’
Ordinarily, people were afraid to be in such situations with him.
Especially when face-to-face and all alone with him. Even if they pretended not to, their discomfort was apparent.
So much so, that he felt like a criminal.
—Uwaaah!
—Hiic, uwahh!
—Hic, hiic. Mommy…
—I-I’m scared…
The cries were still vivid in his ears.
Children crying here and there.
Himself, standing in the middle of it all.
—I apologize, Your Highness.
—Our children are still young…
—Oh my, I don’t know why he’s acting like this. Ohoho.
In the first place, those adults had tried to attach their children to the side of the crown prince—who himself was still just a child back then—for the sake of currying favor, but they all just made excuses in a hurry, flustered.
Their eyes, filled with confusion above their awkward smiles, stared down at him.
The young Hildeon could do nothing but fiddle with the hem of his clothes.
‘I’m the one who really wanted to cry.’
That happened in the banquet celebration of his seventh birthday.
After that, Hildeon built a wall around his heart.
The fearful glances of people became like thorns, much too sharp and much too painful. Thus, he chose to keep a distance from people.
Instead, he chose swordsmanship.
When holding a sword, the fact that the opponent feared him worked greatly to his advantage.
His skills improved over time.
But, as they did, so did the number of people who feared him.
Without exception, everyone who encountered him turned pale and could not hide their panic.
The vicious cycle did not end.
Even now, well past the age of seven, there was no improvement.
On the contrary, it only got worse.
Even if someone approached with an apparent purpose, as soon as they were left alone with him, they hurriedly backed away.
As if they had encountered a monster.
That’s why he had also deliberately avoided meeting people.
But Roella was…
‘Showing no signs of that at all.’
Far from being afraid, she looked him straight in the eyes and said what she wanted to say.
Even while she was speaking, she did not avert her gaze and even nodded in response to him.
Thanks to her, he was able to speak comfortably without feeling uncomfortable.
Aside from Hestin, it was the first time someone around his age had treated him so comfortably.
For the first time.
‘…Now that I think about it, it really is a series of firsts.’
The first time he was called cute.
The first time he was given the nickname ‘cutie’.
And.
“I was just looking because you’re handsome. My apologies.”
It was the first time he had heard such words.
Yes. Such a woman was truly a first in his life.
As Hildeon was lost in the thought of ‘firsts’…
“It’s the first time, isn’t it? That you’ve invited a lady to the palace.”
A voice suddenly came from behind him.
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