Chapter 9

As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Natalia, who had caught up, sipped the tea she had prepared, while the pouting saint glared at the prince with a sidelong glance.

"Every time, what do you come here for?"

"What do you mean?"

Prince Cecil put on a hurt expression at Coco's words... but even that looked overly dramatic.

"Of course, to whisper my love to Coco."

"Cut it out!"

"No one is joking. If I don't show my face regularly, you tend to forget my existence."

"Even if you show up regularly, I always think you're not here."

"How cold, my future husband."

"There's no future where I marry you!"

As Coco shouted at the prince of her own country, Natalia watched nervously and tried to calm her down.

"Milady Coco, please calm down. He is the Crown Prince, after all."

"Can I stay calm in front of this annoying man?"

"Yet... the Crown Prince is very popular among all the girls in the country. What's your complaint?"

"Who's the one who coolly invades a girls-only convent, enters a room without permission, and waits there drinking tea? How can you not be dissatisfied with a pervert and a criminal?"

"What are you talking about, Coco? I haven't committed any sexual crimes yet."

"There you go! How can I even consider marrying a man who doesn't deny being an illegal intruder and a pervert!"

Coco roughly put the teacup back and stood up.

"How can I sit here with this guy! I'm going to the chapel to complain to the goddess! Call me when he leaves!"

"Milady Coco!"

As Coco stormed out in a huff and Natalia chased after her, Cecil quietly put down his cup and called out lazily.

"Hey, is it okay, Coco? I'm sending a guard to buy some piroshki right now."

Coco stopped.

"...Just to be sure."

"Uh-huh?"

"Are you talking about the piroshki, which are made by wrapping a filling of finely chopped and simmered meat and vegetables in dough and frying them?"

"Do I know any other kind of piroshki?"

"Ugh..."

The saint looked suspicious.

"Milady Coco? What's the matter with the piroshki?"

Natalia, curious, peered at Coco's face... and the saint was torn between her favorite food and her aversion.

"Ugh, piroshki... those delicious things filled with hot meat and vegetables..."

"Right, right."

"I love them, but I only manage to escape once in five attempts, so I rarely get to eat them!"

"Can you choose your words more carefully, given my position?"

After a moment of struggle, Coco slumped and quietly sat back down in her chair.

"Really... just frying the soft bread is luxurious enough, and then to have it stuffed with so much filling..."

While grumbling, Coco took a second bite, but her face clearly showed she was enjoying it, which was obvious to everyone.

In fact, Coco was savoring her long-awaited favorite food. Previously, whether stolen or bought, she had always shoved it into her mouth in a hurry before being caught. This might be the first time she had eaten it calmly.

"Mmm... the way the dough is puffed up, and the generous filling... it's definitely Yanoz's work! Out of the five piroshki stands in the market, your guard chose the right one. You can be proud of that!"

"Well, his main job is a knight, you know."

Ignoring the prince's cool interjection, Coco eagerly ate the piroshki. If the guard who bought them were here, she would have praised him... but he couldn't enter the convent, so she had never seen his face.

Natalia, who had brought them, looked at Coco with admiration.

"Milady Coco really loves piroshki, doesn't she?"

"Do you understand now?"

"Yes. You don't even scream when the Crown Prince holds you like a stuffed animal."

"I'm a reasonable woman. I'll do my job for my pay."

After eating three fried buns and finishing her tea with a satisfied look, the saint turned to the prince.

"Well, Prince, you can go now."

"Isn't that a bit too dry, Coco?"

"My relationship with you is strictly business."

At Coco's comment, Prince Cecil shrugged.

"Five minutes of touching for one piroshki? That sounds like a new idea for a brothel."

"Have you been infected by some old pervert, you black-hearted prince?"

Coco, who had jumped off the prince's lap, became a bit serious.

"Visiting a devout believer in the church is just an excuse to see the saint. You've spent enough time to make people believe it's a casual rendezvous, right? You've achieved your goal, so go home."

"Hey, Coco, is there anyone who would shorten the time they can spend with their beloved?"

"Hmph, are you that much of a lecher?"

Coco laughed through her nose at the prince's rebuttal.

"You're a prince, and I'm a saint. If we were to marry, it would be a popular combination among the people. Politically, it wouldn't affect the balance of power among the nobles, and on the other hand, it would strengthen the bond between the royal family and the papacy. You and the old man both benefit. And the rumor that you're waiting for my retirement is probably something you're spreading with a straight face, right?"

Coco's pointed comment about the underlying reasons for the marriage after her retirement made Cecil smirk. The beautiful, sparkling prince's sweet facade revealed the cunning and darkness of a royal successor.

"Going after the papacy rather than the church... you really are sharp, Coco. It's a waste to keep you as a 'foolish child.'"

"Is 'foolish child' the court's term for the saint?"

"More like the upper echelons of the church outside the papacy and the upper nobility... those who know the circumstances of the current saint's discovery but don't know you directly generally call you that."

"You mean the ones who look down on me as a street urchin."

Coco understood this. With her extraordinary life experiences, she was much more sensitive to the hidden faces of others than any noble.

"Yet, the real thing is so dangerous. You're not just a 'puppet of the pope.'"

"None of your business."

Cecil slowly stood up and put on the mantle that was hanging on the back of the empty chair.

"But, Coco, let me tell you... I'm not just visiting to promote a 'good relationship with the saint.'"

Saying this, the handsome prince picked up Coco and nuzzled her cheek.

"Hey, what are you doing! That's enough!"

"How cold... it's our relationship, isn't it?"

"Stop it! Keep your jokes to your face!"

"Ouch!"

"Ah!"

Coco kicked the prince's shin with her heel and broke free from his hold, causing Natalia, who had been silent, to let out a short scream.

To Natalia, a noble lady of Vigne, it was an unbelievable act to harm the prince, even if he was in the wrong. But Coco did it.

Coco, who had put some distance between them, took a fighting stance like a giant armadillo and glared up at the prince.

"Are you doing this to all the noble ladies out there!? I'm surprised you haven't caused any scandals yet."

"No way. Would I do this to a noble lady who has feelings for me?"

The prince, rubbing his kicked leg, said with a serious face.

"Serious women are too much trouble."

"You're the worst."

"Well, Coco... if I made a half-hearted move, she might mistake it for a proposal and move into the palace the next day."

Then he nodded thoughtfully.

"Still, it's best to spoil someone who doesn't hide their disgust, like you."

"You're rotten to the core."

"Hahaha, I'll take that as a compliment."

The prince, who was about to leave, turned back.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Saying this, the prince took out a small package.