Weeping Men: The Innocent Princess's Secret Delight - Chapter 1.6
A typical hothouse flower, raised only with love, never exposed to dangerous situations. That’s why she trusts and relies on even strangers without doubt, and can’t sense danger even when malice is directed at her.
“I’ll move you.”
All the more reason to treat her formally.
Kaizen clearly stated his intention, making sure there was no personal motive in his actions. He also took care not to touch her bare skin as he carried her out of the water and set her down.
“We’ll find your pendant shortly.”
He bowed to the Princess who was looking up at him while sitting on the rock, stepping back a couple of paces. Then he turned to wade deeper into the pond.
“W-Wait!”
The Princess called out, stopping Kaizen.
When Kaizen turned back, the Princess shrank her shoulders, intimidated by his gaze. She barely managed to stretch out her arm, pointing at the lake surface, and stammered:
“My shoe fell over there…”
The shoe was floating on the surface of the water. It was strange.
‘She was still wearing it when I picked her up, wasn’t she?’
It should have been custom-made at the palace, fitting her foot perfectly, not too big. Does it become loose when wet?
“….”
“I-I’m sorry. For asking you to do this…”
As he didn’t move immediately, lost in thought about how one shoe had come off, the Princess became even more withdrawn.
Kaizen quickly regained his composure. Making the Princess apologize was even more disrespectful than before.
“Please don’t apologize. Your Highness need only command me.”
“….”
“I’ll go and fetch it.”
He waded through the water and retrieved the shoe. The velvet lining felt rough, soaked with water.
It became even more incomprehensible why it had come off. Still, Kaizen stopped his speculation.
‘Perhaps women’s shoes expand when wet.’
That’s absolutely not the case, but the inexperienced young man could only assume so.
When he brought the shoe, the Princess’s face immediately lit up, and without a moment’s hesitation…
“….”
She extended her bare foot.
“Oh! Sorry…”
As he stood there speechless, the Princess quickly realized her mistake and hurriedly apologized. Kaizen nearly let out a sigh, but managed to suppress it by rubbing his face.
“I’ll put it on for you.”
As he knelt before her, he had a disrespectful thought.
‘If Her Highness were to go to the North, there would be trouble within half a day.’
Kaizen tried his best not to look or touch as he put on the shoe.
It seemed to be going as intended, but just as he was removing his hand from the shoe, he accidentally brushed against the Princess’s ankle.
Flinch.
He could clearly feel the Princess’s momentary agitation and trembling through the shoe.
“Ah…”
The Princess’s face turned red. Her lips quivered.
“Then, I’ll resume searching for the handkerchief.”
He spoke first to cover up the moment. Then he turned his back, barely acknowledging the Princess’s nod.
He had hurried without realizing it.
‘That was dangerous.’
Because he might have become conscious of that momentary contact.
It’s unthinkable to even briefly consider the one you serve in a romantic way.
The strict family tradition that revered chivalry. The common sense instilled in him during his childhood in such a household still governed Kaizen.
‘Don’t think of it as a woman’s foot. Just think of it as the same as that child’s foot. …Don’t be conscious of it, Kaizen!’
He inwardly urged himself. Feeling that this was all because his subordinates hadn’t properly attended to the Princess, he treated those who approached more harshly than usual.
“Captain. We can’t find it anywhere.”
“Search more.”
“Yes, sir!”
The subordinate hurried away flustered. Kaizen bent down, almost burying his nose in the water surface, and plunged his arm deep into the water. Hoping that the touch of the delicate skin would be washed away by the water.
Somehow, his ears felt hot.
‘How cute.’
It’s fun to tease him too. Judith wondered if Kaizen might be a gift sent from heaven for all her hard work.
Judith giggled as she watched Kaizen’s reddened ears.
If it was to see that expression, showing her bare legs to those disrespectful men didn’t seem so bad.
That should be enough. Judith pretended to be cold, shrinking her body, then hesitantly stood up.
“Um, it’s so cold after coming out of the water… Would it be alright if I went in first?”
“Yes, Your Highness! We’ll find the pendant for you!”
When she spoke softly, the knights she had played with responded enthusiastically. Judith smiled, taking one last glance at Kaizen as she passed by, then turned around.
‘This should have significantly increased my presence.’
Now it’s time to sow the seeds of discord.
As she was leaving the pond area, Judith deliberately dropped her pendant.
It wasn’t a mistake that she dropped it far from Kaizen but close to the other knights.
After dropping the pendant, she stepped on it gently to make it look natural. No one noticed what was happening under her voluminous skirt.
The preparation was complete. Judith gracefully left the pond area.
***
The next day, Judith requested escort personnel from the 4th Division for a secret outing to town. The designated personnel were those three knights from yesterday.
“We will serve Your Highness with utmost devotion.”
It’s not possible for just three ordinary knights to be solely responsible for escorting the Princess. Naturally, their captain had no choice but to accompany them as well.
“Ah… Y-Yes…”
Judith beamed when she saw the three knights but appeared intimidated by Kaizen’s greeting. All the while, she was observing the reactions of the ordinary knights from the corner of her eye.
Their foreheads were creased. It was evident they were displeased at having their well-progressing situation interrupted.
“…I look forward to your assistance.”
Judith responded to Kaizen’s greeting with downcast eyes, pretending to be subdued.
With her head slightly bowed, no one noticed the crescent smile that formed on her lips.
Even after going out, Judith continued to be friendly only with the ordinary knights.
“Actually, yesterday while bathing, I found myself unknowingly walking in the bathtub as if it were a lake. Although I was searching for the pendant with you, it felt just like playing in the water… I guess I enjoyed it without realizing it.”
“I-Is that so? Haha! We’re honored.”
The knights blushed and laughed at Judith’s words. She smiled back, thinking to herself.
‘What are they imagining to make their faces so red? Perverted bastards.’
However, it was she who deliberately brought up such a provocative topic to stimulate them.
“Were there times like that for water play at the academy too?”
“Pardon? No, there weren’t… Um, do you know that I graduated from the academy?”
“Of course, Sir Philian. And Sir Teritos and Sir Kitchel too.”
She pretended to have known about them all along. It was merely a matter of looking at the family crests on their epaulets and recalling some of the family information she had memorized as part of her basic princess education.
