Alright! Time to Go Home!
“Wha…!? …!?”
While I was still confused, Luke and Kevin called my name.
“Lady Clementina!!”
“No, I’m fine. More importantly, this…”
Reaching up with my hand, I touched the thing that had hit my face—and was still clinging to it.
It was soft, fluffy… Yes, it was a kitty.
A tortoiseshell kitty.
And in its mouth… a big chunk of meat.
(Which means… that gross squelch sound…)
With a plop, the kitty dropped the large piece of meat from its mouth.
It was raw meat, marinated in sauce, giving off a mouthwatering… no, fishy smell.
(R-raw… raw meeeaaaat!?)
Mouthwatering? No, more like fishy.
Well, of course—it was raw meat, after all. It was natural for it to smell fishy.
As I floundered in confusion, I heard a man’s voice.
“My apologies! Miss, are you alright…?”
The man’s voice abruptly cut off.
And me? I froze in place, still holding the kitty.
(Wait… that voice…)
“……”
“……”
A strange silence fell over the scene.
Time seemed to stop.
No, it wasn’t like someone pressed the pause button from my previous life.
It was simply that I…
Yes, I was just… overwhelmingly shocked.
Awkwardly, I pasted on a smile.
Then, facing the man before me, I offered a polite smile.
“… Greetings, Lord Runken.”
His eyes widened in shock.
How rare.
Before I could even enjoy that thought, he replied.
“Your Majesty…? Why are you… here…?”
Standing before me was my friend Lucia’s brother—
And the kingdom’s Minister of Finance, Luca Runken.
☆
Since standing around here would draw attention, we moved to the ranch further down the street.
There was a café next to the ranch, and we took a seat on the terrace.
Kevin took our orders and returned with two glasses of iced tea.
Seated across a small round table, Luca was the first to speak.
“Why is Her Majesty here…?”
“Please call me Clementina while we’re here. I’d rather my identity not be exposed.”
When I smiled wryly, he seemed to understand and nodded.
Luca Runken.
Lucia’s older brother, and the young Duke of Runken.
Like Lucia, he had silver hair and honey-colored eyes.
His long hair was tied at the back, and beneath his left eye, he had a single beauty mark.
As for my feelings toward him—
I extreeemely disliked him.
There’s no hidden “secret crush” backstory or anything.
I dislike him, openly and honestly.
But I suppose that’s to be expected.
After all, he was my so-called tutor.
Sighing inwardly, I let my mind drift back three years.
Three years ago.
When His Majesty entrusted me with paperwork.
Confronted with endless streams of numbers, my brain overheated, I broke out in a fever, and collapsed.
(Well, obviously!! Maybe in my past life, but in this one, even with queenly education, it only covered general knowledge! I never learned advanced math!!)
I was ready to throw in the towel and head back to my family’s estate when—
Did he save me?
Nope.
This man made a snide remark instead.
A snide remark! A snide one!!
To a helpless, clueless girl, instead of offering a hand, he shoved me away.
In other words—
“Please leave.”
“Eh?”
“I said, please leave. There’s nothing for you to do here.”
Yup, just like that, he casually stabbed me with a metaphorical dagger, no hesitation, no sugar-coating.
And did I obediently respond with “Alright, I’ll go home now! Good luck!” and scurry away?
Of course not.
I’m stubborn by nature. I bit back. Or rather, latched on?
In other words—
“I do have something to do!”
“And what, may I ask, can Her Majesty accomplish?”
… Looking back, what an infuriating remark.
Such insolence, speaking that way to the queen.
No wonder he and His Majesty don’t get along.
“You can teach me.”
And so began an endless loop of “No, I won’t” and “Please, somehow.”
In the end, he relented.
I could understand Lord Runken’s feelings.
His Majesty dumped the work on him, and suddenly an incompetent queen showed up as a replacement.
Of course, he was fed up.
Honestly, in his shoes, I’d feel the same.
But still, I was desperate too! Cut me some slack!
That’s how, after stubbornly clinging on like an overly eager new hire, I finally got him to teach me.
Though, it was strictly Spartan-style.
The days that followed… well, I’d rather not remember them, so let’s skip that.
In short, while he was technically my benefactor in matters of statecraft, I disliked him all the same.
Unaware that I was reminiscing about our shared past, Lord Runken crossed his legs and spoke with composed ease.
Despite that utterly adorable hair clip of his.
“Very well. I shall call you Lady Clementina for now. Then… may I assume the rumors are true?”
He was quick to the point.
Clearly, he already had information.
Most likely, he knew I had submitted divorce papers to the House of Lords.
I smiled sweetly.
Saying nothing, I confirmed his suspicions with silence, then turned the question on him.
“And what brings Lord Runken here?”
“That would be—inspection duties—”
“Surely not,” I interrupted.
“Your hairpin is most adorable. Where did you purchase it?”
I cut him off deliberately.
Pushing back his soft silver hair, right at his bangs, was a cat-shaped hairpin.
I thought I heard a faint “meow” from somewhere nearby.
What do you think about this chapter?
