Chapter 36: Curiosity

 “I don’t understand why they’re interfering so much.”

 “They’re probably doing it out of concern.”

 “What concern? If I had gone out alone, they would have asked why I bothered to get permission.”

 They were on their way back from asking Odin and Elina for permission to go out for some fresh air.

 The process of getting permission wasn’t actually a problem.

 The two had readily granted permission for Clea’s sake.

 However, the issue lay elsewhere.

 “I didn’t expect them to insist on coming along.”

 “Neither did I.”

 Odin and Elina had insisted on joining them.

 Edmund had tried to flatly refuse, saying what nonsense that was, but when they said they wouldn’t give permission otherwise, it led to an argument.

 Fortunately, Clea stepped in to mediate. Thanks to her, they were able to safely leave the imperial palace by themselves.

 “Still, I’m happy just to be out here with you like this.”

 She smiled at Edmund sitting across from her.

 Looking at Clea’s bright expression, Edmund vividly recalled her appearance that day.

 The lonely figure of her sitting alone on the terrace, gazing at where Lloyd was.

 Seeing how different she looked now compared to then, Edmund felt somewhat relieved.

‘I’ll definitely find out today.’

 Edmund looked out the window for a moment, determined to discover what she wouldn’t tell him. He was committed to uncovering whatever she kept to herself.

 “It’s getting cold.”

 “You say that while holding my hand.”

 The person who always complained about her cold hands mentioned the cold while naturally taking her hand.

 “I’ll let go if you hate it.”

 “I don’t hate it.”

 When Edmund made an awkward expression after hearing her words, Clea laughed and squeezed his hand tightly.

 “Shall we get off soon?”

 “Already?”

 “We can’t spend all our time in the carriage.”

 “I think we spent that day just in the carriage.”

 Clea recalled a past event.

 When he had suddenly appeared before her as she wandered on the bridge with nowhere to go.

 There was no response from him.

 Feeling something strange about his silence, Clea looked up at Edmund briefly.

 Edmund was covering his reddened face with one hand, not knowing what to do.

 “Are you embarrassed by that?”

 “Yes, very.”

 “With so much shyness, will you be able to introduce me confidently in front of others?”

 “Don’t worry about that. I absolutely won’t be shy then.”

 Despite his embarrassment, Edmund spoke with a serious expression, making Clea laugh at how ridiculous it was.

 “By the way, Oberon didn’t come along this time. Did you deliberately leave him behind?”

 “His sister returned from studying abroad after a long time. So he left work early.”

 “He has a sister?”

 “Sometimes I wonder how much people know about the Philip family. They seem interested, but they don’t seem to know much about that family.”

 Clea wasn’t the type to take much interest in others, so she didn’t know much about the Philip family either.

 She only remembered that Oberon had already inherited the family and established his position by volunteering as Edmund’s right-hand man.

 Even that was something she remembered because it appeared in the original work.

 “Does she look like Oberon?”

 “Hmm, I’m not sure about that. It’s been several years since I’ve seen her too.”

 “I see.”

 The topic of Oberon’s sister quickly cooled off.

 The person Clea was interested in now wasn’t Oberon, but Edmund.

 She carefully got off the carriage while holding Edmund’s hand.

 “I’d like to look inside the Duke’s mind. How could he be so cold to such a beautiful daughter?”

 “Who do you think I inherited this personality from?”

 “Well, I’m not sure about that.”

 “You’re quite good at avoiding answers.”

 After getting off the carriage, Clea linked arms with Edmund.

 While holding hands and walking side by side was nice, linking arms allowed her to get closer. She habitually nestled into his embrace.

 Edmund looked down at Clea with a stiff body, but he didn’t push her away.

 “You look bright, which is nice to see.”

 “Yes. It seems you were right.”

 “If I had known this would happen, I should have taken you out more often.”

 “You’ve made time for me despite being busy. I’m satisfied with just this.”

 The two walked slowly, as if wishing this moment would last forever.

 Though the early evening air was still cold, Clea felt very warm, unlike when she had been alone on the bridge.

 But Edmund didn’t want to keep her in the chilly place for long.

 Although she was dressed warmly, Edmund still had concerns.

 “Shall we go eat first?”

 “Will it be okay outside the imperial palace?”

 This had been Clea’s concern when Edmund first mentioned dining out.

 She had often witnessed it at the academy.

 Nobles who had only eaten customized food prepared by their family’s private chefs vomiting after eating the food provided by the academy.

 Before her possession, Clea had tried to dine with the members of the ducal family, but after the possession, she ate the meals provided by the academy.

 During that time, she had never seen Edmund, the crown prince, eating anything in the academy cafeteria.

 Edmund smiled when he realized what Clea was worried about.

 “You may not know, but I often come out like this and enjoy street food.”

 “Were you trying to experience the commoner’s culture?”

 “It might seem that way, but it’s faster to come out and see for myself like this than to read reports when I want to understand how the people are living.”

 Hearing Edmund’s words, Clea thought it was unexpected.

 She had never imagined that he would come out like this and enjoy street food.

 “How was it the first time?”

 “Well, my stomach was definitely upset, but I’ve eaten well since then.”

 “How old were you when you first came out?”

 “Around fourteen, I came out of curiosity.”

 “That’s probably when it started. When Oberon became so irritable.”

 “I think that might be true.”

 During their conversation, Edmund stopped in front of a store.

 The store looked classic at first glance.

 After waiting a moment, a waiter appeared and guided the two.

 “May I have your name?”

 “Hill Glazer.”

 “I’ll show you to your table.”

 After quietly observing the scene, Clea asked Edmund,

 “Did you prepare this in advance?”

 “We can’t go to street food stalls.”

 “I wouldn’t mind that.”

 “This is our first date, and I hate that idea.”

 Clea barely held back her laughter at Edmund’s stubborn appearance.

 The seat the waiter guided them to seemed to be the best in the restaurant.

 Seeing this, Clea realized that he had prepared thoroughly for today.

 Meanwhile, Edmund felt his throat burning.

 He took a sip of the prepared wine to quench his thirst.

 ‘How should I ask?’

 After carefully sipping his wine, Edmund organized his thoughts.

 He planned to accomplish two things at this meeting.

 One was to properly convey his feelings.

 And the other was to ask what she was hiding.

 Edmund was extremely nervous.

 Especially about the latter more than the former.

 ‘What if she hates it when I ask?’

 The scene of Clea holding a knife to her wrist kept circling in his mind.

 Just waiting quietly seemed too extreme.

 So Edmund wanted to use today as an opportunity to ask.

 But he hadn’t thought about how to bring it up.

 When Edmund quietly drank his wine, Clea got up from her seat and approached him.

 “Clea?”

 “It seems a shame to spend this wonderful day drunk.”

 She then took the glass from him and downed the remaining alcohol herself.

 She frowned at the stronger-than-expected liquor.

 Still, it was better than letting him get drunk. Clea quietly placed the glass on the table.

 And then she asked directly:

 “Do you have something you want to say to me?”

 Encouraged by her question, Edmund swallowed and asked her:

 “I want to know what’s causing you pain.”

 * * *

 “My lady, are you alright?”

 It was truly a coincidence.

 She was on her way to visit a newly opened cafe with other ladies.

 Her parents expressed concern that it was too late, but she wanted to recover from the mood that had been ruined at the recent tea time.

 In the end, the Hersher couple, unable to break Aria’s stubbornness, granted her wish.

 So, without anyone’s interference, while heading to the cafe, Aria saw it with her own eyes.

 ‘I must have seen wrong.’

 She had witnessed Edmund and Clea walking arm in arm toward somewhere.

 Thinking she must have seen wrong, that he who should be in the imperial palace couldn’t possibly be out here, she tried to continue walking.

 But somehow, her feet wouldn’t move easily.

 “My lady?”

 “I’m sorry, but I just remembered something I forgot. Would it be alright if I leave?”

 The ladies showed bewildered expressions at Aria’s words.

 Having already reached the cafe, they found it strange that she suddenly had something to attend to.

 But there was no one present who could stop her.

 As Aria wished, they made way for her.

 Aria followed that path, apologized once more with a bow, and then pursued what she had seen.

 ‘You’re not supposed to be happy.’

 She continued to deny this situation.

‘How dare you be happy when you’re cursed in my place!’