How About a Refill? ~The Elegant Tea Party of the Grand Witches~ - Chapter 33

Confusion

“Ah, I-I don’t know what to say. Is it alright if I give you my reply later…? A-and can you please let me go?”

Feeling agitated at Emilio’s sudden confession, Miriam lowered her head, hiding her blushing face in her hands.

“Ah, you can reply whenever you want. I’m sorry for suddenly springing it on you. But from now on, I’m going to do whatever it takes to convey my feelings to you.”

Emilio grinned mischievously and placed a kiss on Miriam’s forehead.

“Aaah!” Miriam let out an embarrassed squeal.

Emilio smiled while he set her down beside him.

“Come, let’s forget it for now and have some tea. Do you want to try the amaretti?”

“Ye-yes please…”

Miriam felt flustered at his gaze which was much more heated than before. She didn’t even taste the amaretti that she liked so much.

‘P-prince Emilio is being so strange… Maybe I should discuss this with my brother… no I can’t do that! I was sitting on his lap… oh, why is this happening!? My face feels so hot. What should I do…’ 

On the way back home, instead of sitting across from her like usual, Emilio sat next to her holding her hand the entire time. She occasionally glanced at Emilio only to find him staring at her with a charming smile and an alluring look in his eyes. 

By the time they reached Caparoni house, Miriam was beside herself with nervousness.

　◇

“Ahhh! What have I done!”

After returning to the palace, Emilio was beating himself up in his office. As the time passed, he kept recalling his brash actions during the day earlier. He smacked his head with his hand. 

“What was with ‘I’ll do whatever to convey my feelings to you’! So stupid!”

While murmuring that to himself, he rolled onto the sofa and thought about the day he spent with Miriam.

Her smiling face as she sat across from him in the carriage, her profile as she gazed at the lake in wonder, her adorable cheeks stuffed with her favourite amaretti like a small hamster, her eyes the met his when she gazed at him while tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ears… her softness when she was sitting on his lap!

“…she looked unbearably cute when she was embarrassed.”

‘Ah, how did I come to like her so much… In the beginning, we were only friends who had similar worries.’

“Ah! Forget that! What did I do! To put her on my lap and even hug her!”

Thud!

At the sudden noise of something falling to the floor, Emilio turned to the door to see his aide standing their with a demonic expression on his face.

“…… who…… what…to…?” 

“Huh?”

He couldn’t pick up what Leo was saying. Leo moved forward and grabbed his neck.

“Who did what to whom?”

“Ah! C-calm down, Leo.”

Leo let go of Emilio and started picking up the documents he had dropped to the floor earlier. He started piling them up on Emilio’s desk.

“If I heard correctly what you said was ‘put her on my lap and even hug her’.”

“O-oh, is that what I said?”

“You just accompanied Miriam back home didn’t you? Like always.”

“…uh, yeah.”

“So, in other words, you mean to say that today, you put my cute little angel, Millie, on your lap and even hugged her?”

“…….”

Emilio averted his gaze without saying anything.

“I had some sympathy for you whose daily efforts to appeal yourself to her weren’t being conveyed at all. And I even agreed to let you send my cute Millie home on your carriage when she told me ‘Prince Emilio also needs a break sometime. I can help him so please let him accompany me’.”

‘I’m sure Miriam must have looked adorable when she was making her request…’

Emilio started imagining Miriam asking him for a request.

She would tilt her head to him and look into his eyes as she would say ‘Please, Prince Emilio.’

‘Yeah, not bad. Rather, I want to make her ask me for something now.’

“Oi, you just imagined something didn’t you?”

Leonardo sent him a cold glare with a vein popping on his forehead.

“If you have so much free time to think of improper things then you don’t need a break, do you? If you’re bored then there is a lot of work for you to occupy your time, Your Highness, Prince Emilio.” 

Leonardo finished constructing the tower of documents on his desk with his lips pressed together in disapproval.

“I’ll go to the court and get the King’s documents for you too! What? You’re going to be the Crown Prince so it shouldn’t be a problem, right? No need to worry, if Millie comes to the palace again I, her older brother, will carefully escort her back home! There is really NO NEED For Your Highness to trouble yourself. Not even a little bit!”

After that, Leonardo’s anger didn’t subside for quite some time and Emilio was forced to bury himself in twice the amount of paperwork he usually did.

　◇

Alessia was sitting down next to the open window as she gazed out at the garden at night. 

She unexpectedly remembered that man’s words.

‘It must be hard for you to live in the Marquess’ household.’

And, the soft, yet warm feeling that had touched her lips.

‘I really can’t believe it! What a terrible thing to do… to speak as if he understood me…’

However, not a day went by when she didn’t think about it. Until now, she had desperately tried to control herself to not be ashamed as the daughter of a marquess. 

‘Your cold face is pretty, but you’re much more charming when you show some emotion!’

‘I also want to show my emotions freely. But I was born into aristocracy so I can’t just do so. And yet, that man…’

She suddenly noticed her mind kept wandering to that man.

The man with silver hair and golden eyes.

That brutish, self-centered man. She never knew what he was thinking about, and she always felt a sense of danger with him. So why was he weighing on her mind so much?

Alessia let out a sigh and turned to watch the stars glittering in the night sky.