I glared at my hands on the table inside a cabin filled with the smell of rose. In front of me is the prince smiling with contentment while provokingly waving his last card.
I frowned and bit my lip.
"Bell, this won't end."
"Grrrr...."
I forcibly moved my trembling hands and drew the remaining card on the prince's hand. What I have is nothing but the silly clown(card).
"Okay. I win."
"Why......Just why!"
5 matches, 5 losses.
This prince is too good.
A couple of months have passed since I have successfully achieved 80% of 'Operation Friends'. We played various games together but I have never won.
"Again, let's play one more time!"
"You know, Bell unexpectedly hates losing."
Among my brothers, only in old maid, my Pokerface's power was strong, and yet...... To think I can't win even with this.
(Note: Old maid or 'babanuki' is a Victorian card game for two or more players probably deriving from an ancient gambling game in which the loser pays for the drinks. To know the more, consult google. Hehe. Sorry, I'm not familiar with this card game,at all.)
"Am I easy to read?..."
"Hmm, not really but. This...card game, right? It's self-made right?"
"Yes. It's a game I thought of."
The truth is, card games do not exist in this world. There are games like chess but there are no card games.
Because of that, me wanting to play card games, have no choice but to make one. Though, I think it became rather a great success.
"It's because I was having quite a hard time in the beginning but, in the second half, I memorized the cards."
"Memorized the cards?"
"Like this, the 7 of hearts have a little scratch and the 11 of spades have a cut here."
"Don't tell me you memorized all of it?"
"I remembered it."
The prince smiled sweetly and shrugged his shoulders.
I see. I was stupid to try winning against this person.
"Then we can't use these cards anymore......?"
"It won't work if it's a game where numbers and symbols are essential."
"Ehhhh...... I had games I wanted to play more......"
Like daifugo or fan-tan. I want to do something exciting for the first time in a while!
(Note: daifugo also known as Tycoon, is a Japanese shedding-type card game for three or more players played with a standard 52-card pack. For more click . Fan-Tan or fantan is a gambling game long played in China. It is a game of pure chance which has similarities to roulette. For more info, again search Google if your interested.)
Ignoring my puffed-up cheeks (due to dissatisfaction), the prince began talking. His attitude towards me was excessively casual.
"Anyway, this place is really nice."
"When I was younger, I found it while exploring the garden."
A small space where roses fully bloom. This is the only place I hid the day I showed the prince around the garden, the day I carried out my operation. After that, he seemed very curious so I showed him anyway.
(Note: In episode 5, when she tried to stop the prince from going to a place in the garden, she was actually hiding this place where they are now. In case you guys get confused.)
I knew this place even before I remembered my previous life. Surrounded by sunlight passing by the trees, I can't say it's a cabin but, it has a roof capable of withstanding rain with a table and chairs surrounded by roses that beautifully blossomed.
Told by the gardener not to tend to it, it didn't add to my things to do. I like how the roses easily blossom. Also because it looked like a secret base, I liked it.
"It's my secret place."
"You've already taught it to me, though."
The prince smiled looking mean. I sweetly smiled too.
"Yes. Don't you get excited because it's like a secret base?"
"A secret base?"
"Meaning it's a secret place. A place to play, only for us."
"Only for us......"
This time, I smiled looking mean.
Since before, I have always liked places like this, a place I can call my own. Particularly places I can put a closet, manga, and futons and can call my room. It's so much fun to read manga with an open lamp in the middle of darkness. It was a good feeling to have a space where I was secluded from the rest of the world.
When I relaxed my cheeks, the prince laughed happily too. Like a flower suddenly blooming, I almost got enchanted by him. It really looked like an innocent expression of a child.
"I see, I secret, huh. A secret only for us. Fufufu(giggle), it's exciting."
He laughed so joyfully that I laughed too and the both of us giggled together.
"Oh, that's right. The other day, I learned one magic."
"M-magic!?"
Surprised by his sudden information, I stood up without thinking.
That right. I forgot. Our country's royal family━━the Vermerio Family is the only household that can use magic. Then it's not unusual for the prince to use magic.
In the route of my favorite, the lord knight Aswad, magic-user demons did not appear so I completely forgot.
"Can everyone in the royal family use magic?"
"Hmm, maybe. Though, the amount of magic power depends on the person."
After the prince muttered that he never really thought about it, a flower appeared in the air. A small pink flower. It resembles a plum blossom.
"W-wow!"
While I was open-mouthed and admiring it, flowers popped out around me. I'm not sure how it works but it feels strange.
Feeling that it was a waste to let it drop, I gathered the flowers waving in the air as much as I can in my hand. The flowers created by magic sparkly shined and disappeared.
"Bell, get out for a moment."
The place where the prince pointed is the lawn outside the roof. Going out as he said, the sunlight was brighter so I slightly narrowed my eyes.
"My dear fiancée,"
Looking at the person who spoke, the prince knelt down and took my left hand. Deep down, I started screaming because of the unthinkable scenario. Making the prince kneel, what kind of blasphemy is this.
Panicking, I tried to make the prince stand up but he won't move at all.
"Your highness! Please stand up!"
"Ehー?"
My hand that is settled on the prince's hand screamed. This feeling is much more like a sensation of being grasped tightly than being pulled.
"Bell, even just for now, I want you to call me by my name."
"Then Dylan, please stand up."
When I said that, his grip on my hand became tighter. I instinctively frowned.
My eyes says, 'don't say anything uncalled for!' so I decided to just quietly close my mouth.
"I will gift you a bouquet."
The prince tenderly smiled which is too beautiful as ever. His shining blonde hair and jewel-like eyes were dazzling. Is the frightening sparkle around the prince a hallucination or just a reflection of the sun?...
While I absentmindedly think about something stupid, the prince dropped his lips on the back of my hand.
And at that, my ring finger.
As my shyness boil up, my blood rose up to my head. I think my face is red right now.
In my previous life, having a ring on this finger is a sign of a married person but I wonder if it's the same in this world. Since it's an otome game made by a Japanese person, there's a high possibility that would be the case. If knowing that, the prince kissed me, then that's amazing.
In various ways.
Seeing my face that turned red, the prince smiled satisfied.
A moment, the wind blowing, and the flowers dance in the air.
In an instant after blinking, those pink flowers whirled around me incomparable to their number before. The wind blew stronger again and the flowers waved to encircle me. There was a soft and sweet smell.
"Wow......"
I was glued to the beautiful fairytale-like scene. The blue sky and sunlight shine on the flowers, complementing them. The pink flower petals mount the wind and fall down swaying.
Sweet scent with a beautiful view. The wind stroking my cheeks and the soft touch of the flowers.
Everything is beautiful.
"Do you like it?"
The prince's words returned me to my senses.
SomethingーI have to say something.
"It's just so, beautiful......I was captivated. It's very beautiful."
Although I was disappointed by my lack of vocabulary, I want to somehow express this emotion I even made gestures to state my feelings.
"The truth is, in the royal family, it's a common rule to give gifts to their fiancée. As a token of betrothal. However.......how can I say this, I know little about accessories and I wasn't interested in having a fiancée, so I didn't prepare any. Therefore, accept my magic as a token of my affection."
The prince smiled a little shy and gave me the bouquet. The bouquet was a combination of roses and flowers that I had never seen. It's a very good taste.
"Thank you. I'm happy."
"Some time or other, I will give you a proper gift."
I noticed a small flower on the prince's hair, as he said while looking happy. I thought about picking it but I stopped and took out a hand mirror.
"Why did you take out a hand mirror?"
"Fufufu(giggle), please have a look."
The prince peeped at the mirror and pouted in displeasure.
"You could have just told me."
"You're like a flower prince."
Shaking his head and successfully dropping the flowers, the prince smiled like a mischievous child.
"If I'm a flower prince, then Bell is a flower princess."
Telling me to see, he faced the hand mirror to me. Inside the mirror is a girl with a lot of flowers in her hair.
"Please tell me!"
"It's payback."
I hurriedly arranged my distorted hair. The prince also helped a little.
"Bell, if you want to win against me, make the cards more detailed."
The prince laughs suggestively and points to the cards scattered on the garden table, which is shadowed by the arch of the vine.
"You're right. I will do that."
The prince smiled like he was about to laugh at me who decided to win next time and made a ready-to-battle smile.
(Note: Well, that was pretty romantic for a scene between two children. 😳)