I Became The Childhood Friend of the Obsessive Second Male Lead

Chapter 100

I have to get used to it.

Not to take the glory herself, but for someone else to give it to her in a certain form.

Such a form will further solidify the position of the Emperor.

To make her realize it, the Emperor completely trampled on Gabriella’s hopes today.

“I . . . understand.”

The answer she gave in the cracked voice was, in fact, close to resignation.

Being a ‘good Emperor’ was also her dream, so she had no choice but to accept it.

Even if it was something that burdened her very nature.

“Put it deep in my heart, make sure . . .”

Nevertheless, she couldn’t bear to say ‘make sure that never happens again’.

Had she not wanted that?

The Emperor patted her head and stepped forward again.

But Gabriella stood still.

Soon the attendants following her Emperor passed by.

After some time passed, she was left alone.

Gabriella chewed on the Emperor’s words several times.

And when a few minutes have passed,

. . . That’s it.

She understood everything perfectly.

Come to think of it, her father never even stepped in to achieve anything.

He made and provided a place for his servants to play an active role, and he took the fruit produced at the end.

Thinking about it, something got a little funny. Her former self eagerly waited to turn sixteen.

At this age, she was expecting that something would change drastically, that there would be something new.

“Haa . . .”

Gabriella let out a long sigh.

“You can’t sigh.”

Rieta, who had just approached quietly, grabbed the Princess’s hand.

“. . .?”

Turning around in surprise, Rieta lifted her toes and tapped the Princess’s shoulder.

She remembered playing something like this with Darrel a few times as a child.

When they sigh, the fairy of misfortune will come, and she quickly swipes her shoulder.

“Thank you, Princess.”

As she greeted with a smile, Rieta quickly removed her hand.

“Have you seen the Duke who returned from hunting?”

“No, we haven’t met yet.”

“Oh no, it’s complicated, so it looks like the roads are crossed. Shall we find the Duke together?”

The Princess moved her steps first and said so.

“No. Who I am looking for is. . .”

But Rieta shook her head as she grabbed her wrist and pulled it.

“It’s the Princess.”

* * *

When the Princess received a token of victory from the Emperor, Rieta was watching it from afar.

“Darrel.”

“Yes?”

“It seems that Noel could not catch a deer the size of a carriage.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“Um, maybe?”

The two laughed softly and looked at Gabriella again.

“Princess, I don’t think she’s very happy.”

“She wouldn’t be happy.”

Darrell knew Gabriella well.

The two had been very close since childhood.

Just like the current Rieta and Noel.

“If it were her, she would have wanted to run on her own two feet, even if she made a mistake.”

“Then why didn’t she go in person?”

It was a fact that was always on Rieta’s mind.

Gabriella’s attire made it seem as though she were ready to go out on her own.

“Well . . .”

Darrel did not give an immediate answer to Rieta’s question.

He seemed to be a little worried.

Is it okay if I say this . . .

“Maybe. Maybe it’s because everyone likes this way?”

“. . . This way?”

“Look, Princess.”

As Darrel said so, Gabriella raised her hand high, and draped the victory token on her body.

The nobles who watched this gave great cheers.

With a very happy face.

“Look, everyone likes it, right?”

It is true that most people are enthusiastic and happy about it, but . . .

“The Princess is someone who values

making people happy.”

Rieta was trying to say, ‘But that’s why the Princess isn’t happy.’

Of course, she couldn’t speak those words lightly.

Rieta was a Princess too.

She could understand that, sometimes, she had to satisfy something greater than her personal wishes.

Rieta left her beloved Kingdom, and with that heart, she was able to live here.

“Still, that.”

Because it’s so upsetting

“. . . Darrel. Can I go somewhere for a moment?”

To that question, Darrel didn’t ask where she wanted to go.

Instead, he took his handkerchief from his arms and placed it in Rieta’s hand.

“Have a safe trip, Princess.”

Rieta looked up at him in surprise.

For some reason, it felt as though he had peered into Rieta’s heart.

Wouldn’t it be better for him to go, not Rieta, but he . . .

“No.”

He seems to have perfectly figured out Rieta’s heart this time too.

The answer to the proposal that was not presented came back.

“The Princess is better.”

“. . . Darrel.”

“I’ll put someone there so people won’t bother you. Go safely.”

At the same time as those words, Rieta immediately turned her body and started running.

* * *

Gabriella smiled apologetically at Rieta’s words that Rieta had been looking for her.

“I’m sorry, Princess.”

And she carefully asked for Rieta’s understanding.

“I have to go do the work of a Princess from now on.”

Meeting people who worked hard all day on the hunting ground and praising them for what they hunted.

“So, if it’s about Noel’s story, let’s meet separately next time. I’ll write you a letter, so let’s schedule it.”

The Princess looked around for a moment.

Fortunately, the knights attached to them by the Duchy were taking good care of Rieta’s surroundings.

“Then take care and go back. Princess.”

“No, Noel. Not!”

To the Princess’s greeting, Rieta responded very quickly. Again, with a misleading sentence.

If I’m embarrassed, my words seem to get tangled.

After all, it was only natural that the Imperial language was foreign to her.

Rieta’s messed up Imperial language continued a little longer.

“Not a story, I.”

But that was it.

She seems to have realized that it is difficult to convey her message through the rush of messy words.

Rieta stopped her speech and opened the handkerchief she was holding.

It had been given to her by Darrel a while ago.

“Princess?”

Even though Gabriella was puzzled, Rieta didn’t say anything else.

She simply wrapped the long hanging handkerchief tightly over her wrist.

Hoping that it will never be released.

“. . . This.”

The Princess murmured in a low voice.

Tying a handkerchief around the wrist was a fairly common scene in hunting competitions.

However, this act.

It was done before one left for the hunt.

Not now when everything is over.

Maybe Rieta came from a foreign country, so she doesn’t know about it?

“Thank you, Princess. I have already won.”

The Princess lightly touched the sign of victory on her clothes.

Rieta’s gaze followed her hand.

But it was also for a while.

The blue eyes were facing Gabriella again.

“The Princess will win.”

“. . .”

Listening to Rieta’s words, the Princess felt a little strange.

It wasn’t because of a strange foreign accent or a slightly flat pronunciation.

Gabriella had one thing on her mind all day long, saying things that people liked to hear.

She wondered why there is no one who can tell her what she wants . . .

Besides, she realized that she wasn’t even allowed to ask for something like that until a little while ago.

So . . .

She was completely giving up

“You will win.”

However, it was surprising that a young Princess from a small country she had never met more than a couple of times said such a thing.

“Really.”

Standing with an unshakable gaze too.

Gabriella touched the handkerchief, which Rieta had tied, with a hand that had touched the badge a moment before.

At the end, Darrel’s name remained in pretty embroidery.

“. . . It was Darrel.”

As she muttered his name softly, Rieta hurriedly released the handkerchief from her wrist.

“It’s not just Darrel who is praying for the Princess to win. I’m looking forward to it too!”

Rieta also quickly tied another handkerchief.

Suddenly, there were two handkerchiefs side by side hoping for Gabriella’s victory.

“Next time, the Princess will win! If not, later! If not later . . .”

Rieta didn’t know the word for ‘next time’, so she hesitated for a moment.

“Later?”

She didn’t think ‘later time’ was grammatically correct.

However, it was difficult to find a dictionary.

Looking at Gabriella with a perplexed look, she immediately hugged Rieta tightly.

“Thank you.”

Rieta was relieved because the voice she heard in her ears was gentle and somehow happy.

It must have been that all of the unresolved words had been conveyed.

Rieta leaned her head near Gabriella’s heart, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

It’s really good that I entered the novel.

She thought about it for a moment.

Of course, the Princess was someone who would walk the path she wanted even if Rieta did not support her like this.

But if she could give the Princess a little hope earlier, maybe . . .

The Princess may achieve what she wanted a little faster than the original story.

“Ah.”

Rieta, who suddenly realized something, slipped out of the Princess’ arms.

“I think it’s ‘then time, not ‘later time.”

Is she still having a problem with the sentences that are still not connected? The Princess smiled a little with a curious look.

Either way, neither was the right answer, and the Princess couldn’t find the right word.

“I can’t help it. I will make sure to win ‘next time’. Princess.”

That way, Rieta won’t have to struggle with strange words like ‘then time’ or ‘later time’.

“Yes, that would be great!”

Of course, Rieta actively agreed with that opinion.

The Imperial language is very difficult, she said, not forgetting to complain slightly.