She lectured herself, but shortly after…

“――!”

Arnold touched Rishe’s hand effortlessly.

He intertwined their fingers under the table and hooked them playfully.

She looked at Arnold in surprise, but he looked completely unconcerned. While holding Rishe, he continued to talk to the knight about work.

Their joint hands were still hidden under the table.

But someone’s right there!!

The thought of it no longer made her afraid.

This kind of secret was too bad for her heart. She tried to pull her hand away, but Arnold kept squeezing it tighter.

And yet, his tone remained indifferent.

They held hands covertly, and when she listened to Arnold’s voice, she felt her ears burning and getting hotter.

“…Rearrange tomorrow’s schedule the way I just told you. Tell the others to do the same.”

“Leave it to me. Well then, Your Highness, Rishe-sama, if you’ll excuse me.“O-Okay!”

The knight bowed and left the room, and the door to the dining room closed.

Rishe wondered if the knight thought it strange that Arnold and her chairs were so close together even when the food hadn’t been served yet. She couldn’t stop thinking about it, but the problem was still her left hand.

“Ah, Your Highness…”

“Hmm?”

With a rather softer reply, he traced Rishe’s ring finger with his.

“Thank you for holding my hand. Um, but…”

“…”

He rested his cheek on the opposite armrest, his eyes fixed on the ring on her ring finger.

It was the ring he gave her.

“You’ve been wearing this ring a lot lately.”

“It’s very important.”

That was a fact, but it was strangely embarrassing when he pointed it out.

I thought His Highness was not interested in what I wear, but…She wondered if he even noticed how she looked through the sapphire at every turn, gazing at the surface of the stone at length.

The thought made her even more embarrassed and upset.

“Is goldsmithing a Koyor craftsmanship? Despite such fine workmanship, it is well cared for.”

“So, Your Highness…”

“What?”

Arnold looked down and traced a smooth line over the ring.

Rishe mused what he would think of her scarlet face.

She was curious, but there was no way she could ask him directly. Gathering up her courage, Rishe said something completely out of topic.

“Well, it’s time for dinner! I heard that His Highness Prince Curtis has dined onboard the ship, so Your Highness should be finished by the time they arrive…!!”

“…”

Arnold chuckled and gently removed his hand from Rishe.

“It can’t be helped. It looks like you’ve stopped trembling.”

What do you mean by can’t be helped?!

But first, she had to calm her beating heart.

Rishe took a deep breath and rang the bell for the servers.