Prince, I Don’t Want To Be Killed by You This Time! -The Poor Lady Who Was Framed by the Saint, Avoids Being Skewered the Second Time! ~ - Chapter 29

When the saint arrived at the royal palace, she kept herself busy.

She accompanied the king and the crown prince on their official duties and if any noblemen were sick or injured in the area, she healed them with her healing arts.

The saint’s loveliness and holy arts quickly became the talk of the town and spread throughout the land of Leia.

It was not only the exceptional abilities of the saint that attracted the attention of the entire country.

The crown prince and the saint, who worked side by side on official duties, were conspicuous enough for their good looks alone.

Originally, the crown prince’s queen was often chosen from among the four great nobles. Eventually, people began to say.

“The saint Iris will probably become the crown prince’s wife in the future.”

A faction for the Saint was formed in the royal court and many nobles became its members. Most of them, by the way, were men.

In the morning, they would go to the Golden Retreat, the Saint’s residence, to pick her up. Then they would walk through the wide corridors of the palace in a group of about 30 people, following the saint as if they were her bodyguards.

They spread out all over the corridor and it was nothing short of a nuisance.

(This scene is almost the same as last time.)

One thing that was completely different, however, was that Gideon was not among that faction.

Gideon and I rarely saw each other at work, but we would often meet after the workday was over.

My work hours varied each day as I was on the crown prince’s official schedule, but Gideon was always waiting for me to come home from work on the weekends in the deserted courtyard next to the dormitory.

Thus we became friends at the end of the week, complaining about work and talking about the daily grind.

As autumn deepened, the courtyard, which did not get much sun, was cold.

I always hurried on my way home after work, when it was completely dark.

My dormitory building, located at the back of the palace, already had a few lights on and a cold wind was blowing.

The courtyard, surrounded by the dormitory and surrounding buildings, was simple with a small flower bed and benches, completely overshadowed by the tall buildings and cold.

Gideon was sitting on the bench, waiting for me to return.

“Sorry I’m late. You must be cold.”

When I rushed to him, Gideon looked up and smiled.

“I just got here. –Liesel, you’re the one who’s been working late.”

Sitting down next to the bench, I reach out and touch Gideon’s hand. His hand was as cold as ice.

“I don’t believe you just got here. Your hands are so cold.”

I pointed out and Gideon opened his arms to embrace me. I fit snugly into his robe. His clothes smelled of clean soap.

“It’s warmer this way.”

I was warm but embarrassed. What if the other boarders back home see me like this?

Gideon leaned in close and whispered to me.

“Welcome home, Liesel.”

Gideon’s face moves closer to mine and his lips gently touch my temple.

My heart races helplessly and it’s all I can do to keep my composure.

The lips that had left my temple now touched the opposite temple. The softness of the touch makes me close my eyes.

My heart is pounding so fast that I feel as if the sound will reach Gideon’s ears at close range.

Then Gideon kisses my eyelids.

“…. Hey, Gideon …….”

I can’t get any distance from him because he is hugging me. This time, he kisses me again, on the forehead.

My heart is pounding, my heart is racing and I can feel myself turning red in the face.

My whole face is burning.

“You kiss me too much, Gideon. A kiss of greeting is supposed to be given on the cheek when you first meet.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Then you should know.”

How could he doesn’t know?

“Wouldn’t you be offended if it was on your cheeks?”

With that, he placed a long kiss on my cheek.

His hands are behind my head, restricting my movement, so I wait patiently for him to finish kissing me.

(It’s taking long, Gideon! I don’t have a friend who kissed me this long!)

I’m intensely embarrassed, but I don’t actually want to resist. I’m not going to resist, though my head is going to make a big deal out of it.

The truth is, I don’t mind at all. ……

My heart is pounding in my chest, but my head is slowly melting and I’m enraptured.

I can’t think about anything else.

Gideon finally let go of my head and looked down at me.

“You don’t think of me as a rival anymore, right?”

“I don’t think so. You are a–a dear friend.”　

“… Friends, huh?”

“You know, Gideon. I don’t think friends hug and chat…”

When I awkwardly tried to brush off the arm around my back, the opposite force was put into it.

“We do. That’s all right.”

I am pulled into his arms on the bench and my mind becomes even more fluffy and I really can’t think about anything else.

Gideon said as if he suddenly remembered.

“I ran into Mac the day before yesterday.”

According to Gideon, Mac has become much friendlier since he started working.

“The black and silver uniform of the Royal Guard suits him well. Also, his physique has completely changed, probably because he works out in the Guard.”

“Mac has always loved to move his body.”

I huddled with Gideon and listened to him.

I kept thinking about one thing while I was listening to him.

(Could you be that Ulysses? Are you really in Gideon, right now?)

I want to call out, “Ulysses.” But if I do that, people might think I’m crazy.

But if Ulysses, the “initiator,” is in Gideon today, he would still remember everything if he went to the old magic book street.

(How do you feel, here with me now? –Didn’t you hate me for being so cold?)

Gideon doesn’t think I have any memories. If I call out to him, he will have to tell me that he remembers me being stabbed to death by him with a sword.

I can’t very well do that.

More than anything else, I feel that the relationship that Gideon and I have built up since we were thirteen years old would be destroyed. I’m too afraid to do such a thing. If I speak out, it would create irreparable cracks in the relationship.

We will remain just Liesel and Gideon, and that’s fine.

I wanted to stay in this relationship between the two of us for now.

(We want to be the two people who first met in Baral and studied together at the National Institute of Magic.)

The second time we were so different from before.

Gideon was always there to help everyone at the academy.

Gideon, who was consistently kind to me even though he came from a great noble family.

This Liesel is attracted to him because of his strength and personality.

I can’t help this feeling, I can’t suppress it. But I can’t help but be afraid of liking him.

Gideon touched my hair, which was half up and tangled his fingers in the hair that cascaded down around my shoulders. Just the touch of his fingers on the ends of my hair makes my heart melt.

I can’t hold the burning feeling, so I lean back against his chest and press my cheek against his chest.

Then Gideon gave a small laugh.

“Are you this sweet to your friends?”

“–Yes. Shouldn’t I?”

“If you get so attached to me, I’m going to want to kiss you again.”

“Patience!”

I’m afraid to go any further or go back.