The Princess Who Saw the Fall of Her Homeland Strives to Change Fate by Becoming the Cold Prince's Bride! - Chapter 24

“Elze, Princess Elze, are you there?”

“Ah, yes!”

Hurrying to hide her borrowed clothes behind the bed, Elze—who had just returned—put on an innocent face like, ‘I’ve been here behaving the whole time,’ and opened the door to her room.

Without even a hint of suspicion that Elze had secretly gone out, the lady-in-waiting calmly spoke.

“The next selection will be held three days from now. Please wait at the designated place when the time comes.”

“I understand. By the way, what will the selection be about?”

“I cannot say.”

Her question was sharply brushed off, and Elze sighed in her heart.

(They’ve probably already told their favorite candidates anyway.)

But there was no use complaining about unfairness.

She needed to be in top condition and ready for whatever kind of selection came her way.

After the lady-in-waiting left, Chiffon, who had been hiding, came hopping over.

“Elze, are you okay?”

“Thanks for worrying, Chiffon. But I’ll be fine.”

As she stroked Chiffon’s fluffy body, Elze started to think.

(The next meeting place is outdoors… and not in a fancy spot like a garden party. So the next selection has to be something that can only be done outside?)

If it was a selection that involved running speed, Elze, who had run freely through the mountains and fields since she was young, would never lose.

(Well, that’s not going to happen…)

It’s hard to imagine that being fast on your feet is something required of an empress of Ernstahl.

“I’ll be fine. Whatever happens, I’ll handle it.”

Telling herself that, Elze squished Chiffon’s tummy with her fingers.

“He’s not here today… huh.”

It was early afternoon the day before the selection. Elze had come again to the abandoned church.

But Richard wasn’t there.

It seemed like he wasn’t always here whenever she came.

“Oh well. I’ll get started.”

“Yay~!”

With a broom she had quietly borrowed, Elze began cleaning the abandoned church.

She brushed away spiderwebs and layers of dust, trying to tidy up the place that looked like a haunted house.

“Ugh… It really looks like no one’s been in here for ages…”

Just sweeping stirred up clouds of dust, making Elze cough and wheeze.

Just as she finished sweeping the dusty floor, Chiffon returned, bouncing in from outside.

“I’m back, Elze! I brought it~”

As he said that, Chiffon dropped something he had been carrying in his mouth in front of Elze.

They were various flowers, picked from around the stems.

“Thanks, Chiffon. They’re so pretty.”

Taking the flowers from Chiffon, Elze skillfully began weaving them.

Soon, she finished a small flower wreath.

“I’ll hang it here… alright!”

The abandoned church was still lonely-looking, but with the flower wreath up, it felt a little brighter.

Would Richard notice it?

No, they’d only ever met outside the church.

Maybe he had never stepped inside either.

“Hehe, I’ll tell him next time we meet.”

“…Elze, thank you.”

“Hm? Why are you thanking me, Chiffon?”

“Hmm, no reason?”

Elze picked up the puzzled Chiffon and smiled warmly.

“I did this because I wanted to. And you helped too, right? I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

“Elze’s thanking me? Then I want dessert today!”

“Fufu, of course! You’ll get dessert today, Chiffon.”

Laughing together, Elze and Chiffon left the abandoned church.

…Not knowing that Richard had seen them.

Once he confirmed that Elze had completely left, Richard stepped into the abandoned church.

…It had been a long time since he entered.

Until now, he had only looked at it from the outside.

He felt like he wasn’t allowed to go in, like something was holding him back.

But Elze had walked right in, like it was nothing.

It felt as if time, which had been frozen in this place for so long, had started moving again.

Step by step, Richard walked forward.

Eventually, he reached the place that used to be the chapel and narrowed his eyes.

What stood out immediately was a bright flower wreath, totally out of place in this ruin.

He walked closer and picked it up.

The fresh wreath of flowers clearly showed it had just been placed there.

The moment he saw it, Richard felt as if his feet were rooted to the spot.

…Many emotions rushed into his heart.

Something he had been holding back was about to overflow.

—“Prince Richard, you might not remember, so let me introduce myself again. I’m Elze, second princess of the Kingdom of Maglier!”

—“Hehe, don’t you think a bride who can also taste-test for poison is really valuable? Please vote for Elze, the girl with a dog’s nose! Woof!”

The face of the bride candidate who must have made the wreath came to his mind.

“What is with that girl…”

Disguising herself as a servant, wandering around, cleaning an abandoned church no one visits—a weirdo.

A free spirit who didn’t seem like a royal princess at all.

She was completely different from all the princesses and noble ladies Richard knew from other countries.

…Maybe that’s why.

Why her actions stirred something inside him.

As the sun set and the first star twinkled in the sky… Richard stayed there, unable to move.