Chapter 276: The Inexplicable
After returning to the royal castle, Elizalina dismissed the soldiers she’d stationed to make Felisiana and the others believe she was staying there.
Since she’d already finished her official duties for the day, she walked through the castle corridors, intending to head straight back to her room when…
“Ah, Razamiliana-oneesama!”
Spotting Razamiliana walking toward her from ahead, Elizalina hurried over and called out.
Razamiliana stopped, turned toward her, and spoke.
“Elizalina, you’re back already?”
“Yep! Just a little while ago!”
After a brief pause, Razamiliana continued.
“Come to think of it, I hear you’re planning to hold some kind of event tomorrow. Is the fact that you were out until this late, and that you’d stationed more soldiers than usual in rather unnatural positions within the castle until just now, related to that event?”
“You could say that.”
“I see… and for someone like you, who’s never been the type to host large gatherings on your own, the reason you decided to hold an event yourself is… because of the man you wish to become engaged to, isn’t it?”
“Oh, you knew I had a man I want to get engaged to?”
How did she know?
She had a pretty good guess why, and when she said it in her usual tone, Razamiliana nodded.
“Yes. I heard it when Father spoke to me about my own potential fiancé.”
Just as expected.
But there was nothing in particular to worry about even if Razamiliana knew.
“I see! Then I’ll answer too. You’re right! The reason I’m holding this event is so I can be united with the boy I want to get engaged to.”
“I see… even so, it’s quite inexplicable.”
“Inexplicable?”
Razamiliana shifted her gaze to the cityscape outside the castle window, bathed in moonlight.
“That both of us, who until now hadn’t shown even the slightest sign of finding a man we could want to be engaged to, met such men around the same time.”
“That’s true! I mean, even now, I seriously can’t imagine that Razamiliana-oneesama has a man she’s fallen for!”
Those words came straight from Elizalina’s heart.
If, hypothetically, Razamiliana were to say right here and now that it was actually a lie, Elizalina felt she could honestly believe her.
That might be an exaggeration, considering how strongly Razamiliana had spoken about that man before, but…
Even so.
Elizalina simply couldn’t imagine Razamiliana harboring romantic feelings for any one man.
Hearing that, Razamiliana turned her gaze back to Elizalina and spoke with a slight lift at the corner of her mouth.
“It’s understandable that you’d think that. Even I’m still not fully used to the version of myself that harbors romantic feelings toward a man… but the fact that I love him, that much at least, exists within me as something undeniable.”
There was unmistakable love woven into Razamiliana’s words.
To Elizalina, that love felt even stronger than when Razamiliana had spoken about that man before.
Elizalina smiled gently.
“If that’s how it is, then I’ll be cheering for you so your feelings come to fruition, Razamiliana-oneesama.”
“Yes. I’ll be cheering for your romance as well. If you ever have any troubles, come talk to me anytime.”
“Yeah! You too, Razamiliana-oneesama!”
After that, the two of them looked at each other with gentle expressions, but…
A short while later, Razamiliana lowered her gaze from Elizalina’s face and spoke.
“By the way… what’s with that outfit, showing so much at the chest even though it isn’t formal wear?”
“Oh, well, I actually just went to see the boy I want to get engaged to, so that’s why I’m dressed like this.”
“The man you wish to be engaged to… but wearing something that reveals that much of your chest might make you seem frivolous and leave a bad impression, don’t you think?”
“You don’t get it! If you want a man to see you as a woman, or think you’re cute or beautiful, you’ve got to do things like this too!”
“Is that how it works…?”
“That’s how it works! You’ve got a great figure too, Razamiliana-one-sama, so I think it’d look really good on you! Since we’ve got the chance, I’ll pick out some clothes for you right now!”
“W-wait, I…”
Pushing along the visibly flustered Razamiliana from behind, Elizalina led her to the wardrobe room.
For a while, she had Razamiliana try on all sorts of different outfits.
Razamiliana kept her cheeks flushed the whole time, shyly saying things like, “Wearing something like this in front of him is…” but perhaps because she truly wanted to move her relationship with that man forward, she never stopped trying on the various outfits.
And after spending that kind of sisterly time together, and eventually falling asleep…
At last, the day of the event hosted by Elizalina arrived.