I Don’t Care About the Story, I Want a Cat ～Transmigrated into an Otome Game～ - Chapter 44

In the Carriage (Part 2)

Since theThird Prince was now riding the carriage, the personnel were changed and Marvin himself took charge of the reins while Darius and Scott rode alongside the carriage as guards. 

Alissa stayed behind at the Palace to prepare things for the Prince who had returned without his staff, so it was only Amy and Edward inside the carriage.

It wasn’t the first time they were riding in a carriage by themselves.

And yet Amy couldn’t help but feel nervous sitting with him in such a narrow space with nothing but a dim light coming in from the window. 

Edward noticed her stiff posture and, with a smile, began to talk to her.

“I heard from Marvin about Lennis. Thank you for helping him.”

“Ah, there’s no need for thanks, I didn’t really do anything special……” Amy denied while waving her hands in the air.

“None of the staff members think that, they all seemed very thankful for your input. And I also think you helped a lot.” Edward quickly refuted her words. Then he grabbed her hands and stared at them intently. 

Amy sucked in a breath as he caressed it softly as if it was something fragile that would break easily. 

W-why is he doing this again!

Edward  had escorted her home many times before, and it was not the first time he had held her hand. So why did she feel especially flustered by it today? 

She was glad the inside of the carriage was dark right now. She’d probably have a harder time keeping her composure if she could see Edward’s eyes on her if the carriage was brightly lit.

Amy quickly changed the subject to take the attention away from her. 

“Ah, rather than that, were you alright with the trip, Ed?”

“Ah, yes. You must have heard about it from Darius. I think this was a test for me.”

“A test?”

“Yes, I suspect the court officials wanted to see how the ‘Third Prince’ would react if someone offered to help him gain power.”

Edward spoke absently, averting his gaze as he nodded.

Although the Kingdom seemed to be peaceful at first glance, there were still many people who secretly hoped for a change in political affairs to gain power. It was necessary to keep a check on these kinds of people.

Edward thought that this was probably one of those attempts to check his stance on the current political status quo.

“They don’t want a Third Prince who can be used by others, but it would also be troublesome if the Prince wants to use others.”  Edward’s voice was full of bitterness mixed with resignation. 

Hearing such an unexpected reply,  Amy gently squeezed his hand which was still holding hers and had now been lowered to rest on his knees. 

Edward was always smiling happily, and he never uttered a word of complaint. This was the first time he had opened up to her like this, so Amy wasn’t sure how to react. 

“At any rate, they don’t have to be concerned about anything where I’m concerned. Ah, did I make you worry about them?”

“………yes, a little bit but……” 

The Royal Family was the oldest aristocratic family in the kingdom. From Amy’s point of view, just this fact alone severely restricted their freedom making them bound to an inconvenient way of life. She felt the same in her past life where she was just an ordinary citizen, and she felt the same in this life, where she was born in a noble family herself.  

Amy was born to the same parents as her previous life, so she didn’t face many restrictions as a noble.

However, that was not the case for Edward. 

Although Alexander also belonged to a high ranking noble family as a Duke’s first son, the responsibilities he had still couldn’t be compared with Edward’s.

Edward had had these responsibilities from the moment he was born, so maybe he didn’t view them as anything troublesome. Moreover, his brothers, the first two Princes, must have even more responsibilities and duties compared to him.

But it must still be a heavy burden for him.

From the occasional rumours or her father’s talks about him, she knew that he had a difficult position in the Royal Family. 

He must have endured so much, and worked so hard to get to where he was today. He had to survive in an environment where he didn’t have many people to lean on. 

… How strong of him. Just like a ‘Prince’.

He was completely different from Amy who would have run away at the first sign of conflict.

He must be really tired, which was probably why he let her see him being vulnerable like this. 

Amy had spent enough time with Edward to know that it was probably easier for him to keep a mask on his emotions than to show his vulnerable side in front of others.

However, the way he looked at her hadn’t changed at all. Every Time they met, his usually solemn silver-grey eyes would gaze at her with a soft warmth. 

That’s why whenever he smiled at her she couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat. 

She’d always told herself that the reason she felt so flustered with him was she was wary of his status as a ‘capture target’, someone she should keep at a distance.

“Rather than the officials I’m more worried about you, Prince Ed.”

“…… Amy?”

“To be honest, holding Tiger in my arms is the best feeling for me in the world but,” she lifted her hand from his lap and placed her other hand on top of his, clutching his hand in both of hers. Then she gently pried open his hand and placed his palm on her soft cheek.

It was sudden, and this was the first time Amy had taken initiative to make a move like this. As expected, Edward was taken by surprise. 

Amy knew her shortcomings, she couldn’t do anything to ease Edward’s burden nor could she erase the way he was brought up. But at least she could do this. 

“Everyone says that touching me makes them feel better. I haven’t experienced it myself so I can’t tell if it works, but I hope it works for you.”

“……… ah, yes.”

“It might be too effective…” Edward mumbled in a small voice before quickly bringing his other hand to cover his mouth. He looked away, his eyes swimming with emotion.

Thank God it’s dark inside the carriage, they both thought to themselves as they sat quietly with their faces red up to their ears.