My Engagement was Cancelled so I will stop Pretending to be a Fool

After getting off the train the group stayed overnight in the Realis territory where the terminal station is located before continuing on their way the next day.

At the moment, Olivia and others are on board a ship sailing down the Edival canal which flows from the southwestern part of the Realis territory to Zackfil.

The ruins in Count Zackfil’s territory are famous tourist destinations. Even though the place shares its border with Karzol, things have been calm around that area ever since the wall was built along the border. For years, there have been no major conflicts between Brior and Karzol which increased the number of tourists gradually as time passed. Currently, it is regarded as a rapidly developing area. For that reason, there are now commercial cruise lines that travel there with private rooms and entertainment corners onboard the ship.

Since they will be staying in Zackfil for a while, they have sent a notice to Count Zackfil to inform him in advance. Since the Count was sick and wouldn’t return to his territory for the holiday season, the letter was sent to the Count’s resident in the royal capital.

The Count is a kind old gentleman who’s already in the middle of his sixties. He has no children with his first wife who passed away and his son who was born of his second wife is currently only 10 so he still has to continue his work for a while before his son comes of age. Because of that, although he can’t push himself to accompany them, he wished them a happy stay in his territory.

When they arrived in Zackfil after a two-hour voyage, Olivia and the others board a carriage to the town of Beymar where the ruins are located.

After checking in at the luxurious inn where the count has arranged for them in Beymar, Olivia decided to take a tour of the town with Cyrus. It was scheduled for them to visit the ruins tomorrow.

“Olivia, look. They have the White Rose Palace cookie too.”

In Beymar which pushes its ruins tourism as its forefront industry, there are many ruins-related merchandises. Cyrus smiles when he happens to find a rose-shaped cookie displayed in front of a bakery. After all, although it was named White Rose Cookie, it still looks like a simple rose-shaped cookie.

“Ah, look, it says that they are selling King Adrian’s favorite rose tea over there. Did King Adrian prefer rose tea though?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve read in his biography that he had more than 40 kinds of roses planted in his palace though.”

“I see. So that’s why there are so many rose-related things here. Interesting. Let’s buy them later as souvenirs before we return.”

Beymar is a well-planned town with its design emphasized on being a tourist destination so there’s a lot of people walking its street. With their hands joined together in order to not get separated, the two walked down the street and leisurely window shopping until they stopped in front of an incense store.

Perhaps due to its distance to Karzol, it seems that the culture here is influenced by Karzolean culture as there are Karzolean traditional jars lined up in the store. There are gorgeous white porcelain jars drawn with intricate patterns. When Olivia looks at those jars, Cyrus asks her if she wants to buy one.

“You want it?”

“……is it okay if I take a look?”

“It’s okay. If you want something then tell me. I will buy it for you.”

When she entered the store many jars of various sizes greeted her from the shelf. The smaller ones are about the size of her palm while the larger ones are so big that she could wrap her arms around one.

Olivia picked up a palm-sized white jar with a small red rose drawn on it. Its rounded design made it look very cute.

“You like that?”

“Yes.”

While Olivia was wondering if she should buy it, Cyrus picked it up from Olivia’s hand and gave it to the shopkeeper.

“We will have this one, also, can you show us some of your incense?”

“Ah, that’s, I can pa–……!”

“Nope. You need to let a man show off at a time like this you know.”

Saying so, Cyrus patted Olivia’s cheek with the back of his hand while winking at her. When Olivia turned bright red in response, the shopkeeper who still seems to be in her 20s giggled at the scene.

“You two sure get along.”

Perhaps the thought that he’s a prince is not even in her mind, the shopkeeper who’s already used to welcoming nobles who came to sightsee is quite easygoing.

The shopkeeper then takes out some incense and arranges them on a small table.

“This incense jar doesn’t use fire so it suits to be used with fragrant wood or potpourri.”

It seems that there are two types of incense burner here. Ones that use fire and ones that don’t. The one Olivia picked is of the latter. It appears that the larger ones are what you call incense burners.

“The type that uses fire can fill your room with the scent immediately but the non-fire type lets you gradually enjoy the subtle scent. For this one, I recommend that you place it at your bedside.”

“If it’s for bedside then do you have any relaxing scent?”

“If that’s the case then please try this one.”

The shopkeeper took out three potpourris. Each of them is a blend of several scents. All three of them smell nice but the one that Olivia especially took a liking to was the one blended with the scent of jasmine that gives a refreshingly sweet scent.

Cyrus purchased the potpourri and the jar as a gift for her. And after Olivia carefully put them into her bag, they left the store.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Calling me [Your Highness] would make us stand out here so can you call me Cyrus instead.”

“…….Thank you, Cyrus-sama.”

When Olivia rephrased herself, Cyrus nodded satisfactorily and started walking down the street while holding her hand.

After they walked around window shopping for a while, they got tired and decided to rest at a cafe facing the main street. The reason they chose a place that’s close to the main street is that it’s easier for their escorts who have been following them from a distance to watch over them. As Olivia sat in the open space outside the cafe and drank the spiced tea which is common around here, she spotted Princess Florencia on the main street.

It seems that Cyrus also spotted her as his eyes turned in the direction of the princess.

The princess is laughing happily with her escort knight, Legion.

“This has been on my mind for a while but those two are a little too close aren’t they.”

“I think so too…….”

It seems like there’s something that’s more than trust going on between those two.

(……maybe the princess is…………..)

While looking at the princess’s happy expression from a distance, Olivia immediately vanquished the suspicion from her mind.

It’s not something that she should speculate about.

While putting the cinnamon cookie into her mouth, Olivia averts her eyes from the two.

TLN: Anyone knowledgeable about these incense burners? I’ve never used one in my life.