The Villainess Is Being Doted on by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Country 45
A Golden Sea and Sky"Hahh…"
Tiararose rubbed at her eyes as her consciousness slowly awakened. She knew that it was morning, but her tired body would not move as she wanted it to. Or so she thought…
But then she realized that it was because of the arm that was tightly wrapped around her, and she laughed.
It was Aquasteed who was in a deep sleep behind her.
-He usually wakes up before me. How unusual.
She flipped herself over in the bed and faced Aquasteed. Those eyes that were always looking in her direction were now closed shut.
-His eyelashes are so long.
Even now, his handsome face would make her heart race. I love you. She said in her heart, as she cuddled up to him and was ready to fall back to sleep….but then she jumped up when she heard Keith's voice.
"I brought the flowers."
"Ke-Keith!! Why are you in our bedroom…ahh!"
Tiararose asked him in surprise, but Aquasteed had awoken and pulled her into the bed. Then he covered her head under the sheets and she could no longer see anything.
She wiggled around and tried to escape, but Aquasteed kept blocking her and she couldn't get out.
Aquasteed didn't even try to hide his displeasure as he glared at Keith.
"What, does the crown prince of this country not bow to the Fairy King?"
"Not when it concerns Tiararose."
"Hmph. I'm not surprised."
Keith chuckled and then threw the bag he was holding at Aquasteed.
It was small enough to fit in one hand and was filled with sugar from Tiararose's flowers that Keith had collected.
The smooth sugar was without a doubt, higher in quality than any sugar in this country-no, the entire world.
"You could have easily waited in the other room until we were dressed? I am the only one who is allowed to see Tiararose."
"Really, you are a stubborn prince. Well, fine then. I will drink some tea and wait."
-He was just continuing without asking!!
Tiararose heard all of this from under the sheets and sighed in relief that nothing happened-and also felt her face grow hot by Aquasteed's possessiveness.
"Tiara, your face is so red."
"It is your fault, Prince Aqua…"
Tiararose's adorable face appeared from under the sheets. Aquasteed laughed and gave her a gentle morning kiss.
"Ah, so the person you had feelings for was Tiara's handmaiden."
"King Keith, please don't say anymore…"
When Tiararose and Aquasteed had finished getting prepared and walked down to meet Keith, they saw that he was talking to Aquasteed's close attendant. Keith had clearly caught him, and Elliot's eyes were a little teary from being teased so much.
The two of them were sitting on the sofa and drinking tea, but Tiararose was more curious about what they were talking about.
"Elliot, you have feelings for Philiane?"
"…I will keep silent."
"Um… Uh, I'm very sorry."
Hearing his heavy answer, Tiararose guessed that he had been turned down.
-Now that I think of it, I've never heard anything about Philiane liking anyone…
Elliot was very accomplished, and he was not bad-looking. As for his status, he was very self-conscious about being a commoner-but Tiararose did not think a future with them together was too far-fetched.
If he really cared about being a commoner, he could always be given a higher rank for his work as Aquasteed's right-hand man.
But Tiararose did not think that Philiane would have rejected Elliot based on his status alone. Tiararose wondered why Philiane had not confided in her.
In other words, she had rejected him for a reason other than status.
"Please do not apologize to me… Ahh, the flowers that King Keith brought have been planted in their own garden. Knights have been assigned to guard the area as well, so no one will be able to get in."
"I don't think it is necessary to guard it so… But, thank you."
Tiararose thanked Elliot and sat down on the sofa with Aquasteed.
After a few minutes, Philliane came in with a simple breakfast-she did not seem any different from usual.
And without showing any signs of caring, Keith began to explain about the flowers.
"The sugar I just gave you was taken from the flowers. Also, while it is only a small amount, you can get a little nectar from them."
"I see."
"And the petals can also be eaten. They are mildly sweet."
-That is amazing, I may be able to make new kinds of sweets.
Tiararose became very excited upon hearing Keith's words. Her eyes shone so brightly that it was hard to imagine she had only just woken up. Her eyes were glued to the flowers that Keith had brought.
Aquasteed picked up one of the flowers and gently put it in Tiararose's hair. The flowers were pretty enough to be used as an accessory as well.
"It really is your flower, Tiara. Just like you, everything about it is sweet."
"It is only you, Prince Aqua, who would say that I am sweet…"
Tiararose touched the flower in her hair as she blushed.
Keith watched them from the sofa and wished they would do this somewhere else, but he also enjoyed watching Tiara, which left him conflicted.
And so he forcefully changed the subject and moved on to the beach.
"I have had all of the trees removed. So the only thing left to do is to clean the ravaged beach."
"Thank you, Keith."
"You have my thanks. I will have people sent out to do the rest."
"Yes, that is good."
The beach that had been used to stop the tsunami was now filled with holes and large rocks and corals that had come up from the ocean floor.
Fortunately, there was no garbage, so it wouldn't take too long to fix everything.
"I will go to the beach. You wait here in the castle, Tiara."
"Huh?"
Tiararose had been meaning to go as well, and so she looked in surprise upon hearing his words. She had been involved with this incident from the beginning. She could not force the others to do the final clean up for her.
"No. Tiara, you should stay here and make sweets with these flowers until we return."
"But, how could I…"
"I want to be the first to try them. If you make them, you could even bring them to me at the beach."
-Ah. But it is not that easy to just make something new.
Aquasteed did not want Tiararose to do any physical labor. But more than anything, he knew that she was tired.
-But, I at least know that he is worried about me.
If anything, she might get in the way if she went, as she had little physical strength… And so she decided that it would be best for her to wait quietly. She could make some delicious sweets and deliver it by the time that they were finished.
While Aquasteed rounded up his knights to leave, Tiararose was in her private kitchen and wondering what to make.
The ingredients to use was the sugar, nectar, and petals from her flowers. Of course, she could also use other ingredients with them.
Tiararose put one petal in her mouth in order to taste it.
In an instant, a sweet, gentle taste spread in her mouth. It wasn't a strong sweetness, but the gentle flavor was something suited for something you would taste for a long time.
"Maybe I could make candy?"
Then you could roll it in your mouth and enjoy it.
Tiararose put the flower sugar into a small pan. She would add water and put it over the fire next—what if—she suddenly remembered the blessing of the sea that she had received.
The power of the sea, in other words, water. It made her think of seawater, but it was also possible for her to make normal water.
She put both of her hands over the pan and searched for the magic energy within her in order to use water magic.
"Water that will match the finest sugar…"
As if in answer to her request, water began to pour into the pan and mix with the sugar.
"Yes! I did it!"
She rarely used magic, and so she became very excited at this. And she didn't care, as no one was watching her. Or so she told herself, as she turned the fire on and slowly stirred the sugar.
While she did this, she also slowly poured in the nectar, which made the sugar sparkle and shine. Tiararose thought that it looked like she was making magical sweets.
Once it had turned into a beautiful golden color, she poured some onto the flower petals and wrapped them up. They would just need to cool off and then they would be ready.
"Yes. It was simple, but I think they turned out well."
Tiararose nodded with satisfaction. Philiane came in to see how she was doing. "They look delicious," she said with a big smile as she looked at the finished candies.
"But it is almost a waste to eat them. They are so beautiful, Princess Tiararose."
"Thank you, Philiane. I think everyone is still at the beach. Let us go and take these to them."
"Oh. Are you not going to wait here for Prince Aquasteed's return?"
Philiane laughed and called for a carriage.
They immediately set off for the beach, but of course, it was Elliot that they talked about on the way there.
"I think that Elliot is a nice man…"
"…That is, well. Yes…"
Philiane nodded to Tiararose's words, but she chuckled with a troubled expression.
"He is too good for me. Besides, my father is talking with someone else about my marriage."
"I didn't know about that…"
-So it was not that she disliked Elliot.
However, if her parents were already having discussions, then it would be difficult for her to return Elliot's feelings, Tiararose thought.
Philiane's father was a baron. While she was Tiararose's handmaiden right now, she had the option of marrying happily one day. And there were also many who returned to working as a handmaiden once they had settled into married life.
A heavy silence fell over the carriage, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the beach near Aishira's mansion.
"Prince Aqua!"
"Tiara! I didn't think that you would come so early."
He looked surprised as he gave out orders to his knights, but gently welcomed Tiararose. Next to him, Grail was looking dazedly at the beach as it was cleaned.
Tiararose did not recognize him at first, as he was not dressed as a woman, but the air he gave off was immediately recognizable as that of a Fairy King.
"King Grail."
"It is filled with rocks, but still beautiful. Isn't it, Tiararose?"
"…Yes. This is Pearl's sea after all. It would not be dirty."
Grail smiled at Tiararose's quick answer.
He knew that there was no fear that Tiararose would misuse Pearl's blessing. He nodded and was just about to ask about the sweets she was making when—
Something happened to the sea.
One beam of light shot out from the ocean floor like a fountain.
The knights who were working, stopped as they saw this. The mysterious sight had caught their attention. Grail alone understood what was happening.
"I never would have thought…"
His eyes widened as he looked at the light.
It became a large spray and rained down onto the beach, gently enveloping everything.
"Grail, what is this…?"
Grail silently shook his head at Aquasteed's question. Then he whispered, 'Stupid.' But Tiararose heard him clearly.
The sparkling light that rained down made the ravaged beach beautiful again. The larger rocks that had mixed in with the sand disappeared, leaving the beach white. The larger stones returned to the sea.
The corals that had been pushed onto the beach turned into decorations that did not look out of place on the surface.
"The beach is reforming… King Grail, is this Queen Pearl's…?"
"Yes. This is Pearl's power."
"But I thought the Fairy Queen of the Sea used up all of her power when she blessed us?"
Aquasteed wondered when he heard this. He had not thought that Pearl would be able to do something like this after losing all of her magic.
However, Pearl had used her own power.
"This is my farewell gift."
Pearl's voice suddenly sounded in their ears.
Tiararose raised her voice as if to ask a question, but Pearl did not reply. Just as they became worried about what was happening, Grail opened his mouth with a sad expression.
"Pearl used the small amount of magic that she had left. Damn it. Now I don't know who was really the one that was punished."
"Grail, does that mean…"
"Don't, Aquasteed. I won't allow you to say anymore."
Those last remnants of Pearl's magic.
It was something that she needed in order to recover her magic during the next one hundred years. Not having that left, meant that she would not be able to maintain her consciousness.
Pearl had used the last of her power to bless this sea.
And now she was in a deep sleep. As the Fairy King of the Sky, it was Grail who realized this immediately. And Aquasteed had reached the same conclusion after seeing Grail's reaction and calculating the amount of magic used.
"Prince Aqua, what does it mean…?"
"Tiararose. This is something that you don't have to hear."
"But! I, I am sorry, King Grail…"
She asked what had happened to Pearl, but Grail would not tell her. Aquasteed quickly came in to help and gently caressed her.
Like Grail, he too had decided that she did not need to know. As a gentle soul, she was likely to be very hurt and saddened if she heard the truth.
Grail looked sadly at the sea before turning to Tiararose.
"I am sorry, for being so cold. May I have some of the sweets that you made with your flowers?"
"Don't mind me, King Grail. As for the sweets, I made some candy."
She took them out of the wrappings, and both Aquasteed and Grail said that they were very pretty.
"I'll take one then."
"Yes. They are very good…huh?"
Splash.
Grail tossed the candy into the sea.
"I thought, maybe it will reach Pearl like this."
-Will my candy really reach Queen Pearl?
She knew that Pearl did not exactly like her, and so she was not convinced. However, if it somehow did reach Pearl in her palace—that in itself, would be a beautiful thing, Tiararose thought.
The candy melted in the sea, its colors mixed with the colors of the water. The sea sparkled golden as it reflected the color of the sky.
-It is almost as if the there is a sky in the sea.
Tiararose and the other kept silent as they stared into the sea, praying that the future would be a blessed one…
And when the matter of the beach was settled and they returned to the castle-Elliot bowed in front of Philiane.
"I promise to make you happy. So please, please give me a little more time!"
"Whwhat…!"
She had rejected him once already, but now he was doing it again in front of their masters. Philiane's face turned red in a second and she shook her head in disapproval.
"I must obey my father's decision in this matter…"
"I understand that. But, but I want to be with you no matter what… I promise that I will distinguish myself, so please wait. You are always working so hard, and I love you for it."
-That was a very passionate confession of love.
Even Tiararose felt a surge of excitement as she watched the scene unfold. But then Aquasteed covered her eyes.
"Ah!"
"I don't think we should see any further. We must not interfere with this affair. Come, let's go to our room."
"Uh, of course."
"Ohh, Princess Tiararose! I am going with you…"
"Philiane, you can do it!"
Philiane reached out to her for help, but Tiararose only offered her a word of encouragement. And so she crumbled to the floor.
Whether or not these two would become lovers-was something that would not be known for a long time.
"Prince Aqua."
"Yes?"
As they walked through the hallway on their way to their room, Tiararose squeezed his hand tightly. Her hand felt so nice as she held him, that he immediately felt an urge to embrace her.
But he had since learned that she would be upset if he did such a thing in the hallway.
"I like you so much…I love…you."
"…Thank you so much for choosing me. I, I am so happy that-I was able to be with you."
Her cheeks turned red as she expressed her feelings to Aquasteed.
It was always Aquasteed who showered her with words-that she was cute, that he liked her, that he loved her.
And so she had thought to be more bold with expressing herself as well.
-So he can be sure as well. I want to tell him myself.
Tiararose wanted to be able to strongly believe, that from now on, there was no need to worry, even if Aquasteed drank a love potion again.
"Ahh, you are so cute. I love you too."
"Oh, in the hallway…mmmph."
Aquasteed was not going to stop when Tiararose had said something so cute in front of him. He embraced her tightly, and without asking her permission, kissed her.
After their lips gently pressed together, Tiararose felt his sweet breath on her mouth.
"Hahh, oh, this is embarrassing…"
"But you were so cute, that I couldn't help myself. Now, let's hurry to our room."
"Ahh!"
Aquasteed picked Tiararose up and moved through the hallway much faster than before.
The ladies of the court and knights that they passed gave them warm smiles as always.
And like that, the villainous daughter spent her time with nothing less than happiness.