Bonus Story: In Which Raul Asks Rishe If She Likes Arnold’s Face

Bonus Story:
In Which Raul Asks Rishe If She Likes Arnold’s Face

AFTER THE HUBBUB in Vinrhys settled down, all Arnold and Rishe had left to do was prepare to return to the capital.

Having found an opportunity to speak with Rishe without any prying eyes, Raul-dressed-as-Curtis asked her, “Hey, what do you think of your Prince Arnold’s face?”

What is this hunter asking me out of the blue? Rishe eyed him with suspicion, but he returned her gaze with complete sincerity.

Arnold and Prince Curtis were supposed to have a meeting this afternoon. Of course, Curtis was a fake and the meeting was just for show, but Rishe planned to attend as well.

When she arrived at the meeting room and ran into Raul, he propped his elbow on the desk before him and rested his chin in his hand. “His Highness does have an attractive face, doesn’t he? To another man like me, it’s no less impressive than a work of art.”

“I think his beauty is obvious to anyone.”

It was the prettiest face Rishe had seen in all her seven lives. Arnold’s visage was, just as Raul had said, a work of art.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because your eyes wander toward him a lot.”

Rishe blinked in alarm. “I-I don’t intend to!”

“You also make interesting expressions only when he’s nearby.”

“Ugh…” Rishe’s cheeks were aflame with embarrassment.

“See how red you are? No matter how close to you I get, even if I push you up against a wall, the look on your face never changes.”

Well, I got used to Raul being all up in my face from my fifth life.

Back then, Raul was always resting his arms on Rishe’s head or mussing up her hair. He would come back in high spirits and hug her, and he spun her around at times too. Though now that she thought back to the beginning of her fifth loop, she didn’t recall being particularly bothered by his proximity before getting used to it either.

“I’m not bad looking myself, am I? But you don’t react at all to me, so I thought maybe Arnold Hein is just special to you.”

“And the conclusion you reached is that I must prefer His Highness’s face?”

“Mm-hmm.” Raul nodded, still looking sincere.

The reason Prince Arnold is special to me…?

Rishe knitted her brow as she considered this.

It’s true that I get excessively embarrassed whenever Prince Arnold’s face is too close to mine. I also feel different when he touches my hand or cheek, or when he trains those blue eyes on me, than when anyone else does those things…

While lost in thought, she heard someone approach the room. The footsteps were familiar to Rishe; they came at a regular interval without deviation. But while she was distracted, Raul smirked.

“Come on, tell me why I can hit on you and you’re unfazed, but that guy says your name and you don’t know what to do with yourself.”

“That’s because…” Rishe frowned again. Then she decided that she would never be able to get away from this hunter, so she marched to the door and pulled it open to reveal a surprised Arnold standing there.

Without saying anything to Arnold, she grabbed his hand and declared to Raul, “I like his face and his voice and the color of his eyes and the shape of his hands and everything else!”

A weighty silence descended on the room after Rishe’s impassioned speech. She didn’t let that deter her.

Pulling Arnold’s hand behind her, Rishe continued pleading her case to Raul. “Prince Arnold’s face is the handsomest in the world, of course, but it’s not just his face! If he looked at you with those eyes and called your name with his voice, then anyone would—”

“Rishe.”

She looked up at Arnold and jumped. What she’d just described was really happening. Her gaze fell on her hand, where she was still gripping Arnold’s wrist. Timidly raising her gaze, she found that the most beautiful face in all her seven lives was giving her a stern glare.

Oh…

It was like all her blood had rushed to her cheeks.

What in the world am I saying right in front of him?!

Rishe dropped Arnold’s hand like it was on fire and dipped low into a clumsy curtsy. “I-I’m sorry, Prince Arnold! Please pay no mind to what I just said! Forget it immediately!”

“…”

“Arrrgh!” Rishe’s head spun. She lifted her head in Arnold’s direction and blurted, “I’m…I’m going to go request some tea for our meeting!”

Before Arnold could reply, Rishe fled the room and raced down the hall.

It’s just like Raul said!

Failure wasn’t embarrassing to Rishe. She didn’t like causing trouble for people, but she considered making mistakes to be a source of inspiration. So why did her face get so hot whenever she made a mistake in front of the prince?

I must go outside to cool down!

Her hands pressed to her cheeks, Rishe scampered toward the courtyard.

Left behind in the room, Raul now found himself the target of Arnold’s chilly, quiet gaze.

“…What did you say to her?”

“Eep! You’re so scary, Your Highness!”

“…”

“You don’t need to worry. I can’t win against your wife, so you can lower your guard some.”

Raul kept his tone light, but Arnold’s expression didn’t soften.

Well, it’d be easy enough to explain… Raul shrugged. But hey, that’s not very fun! I think I’ll keep quiet. Those two have a solid enough relationship that they can take this much teasing.

Unrelenting, he flashed the prince a gleeful grin.