Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 178

February had arrived. After much contemplation, Eirik decided to confide in Miesa and ask her directly.

“What should I give you for your birthday, dear?”

Miesa, lying in his arms to catch her breath, thought for a moment, but no particular answer came to mind.

“I already have everything. There’s nothing I particularly want.”

“Those words are a gift to me. They make me happy.”

As he smiled and stroked her skin, Miesa absentmindedly murmured, “On my birthday…”

At that moment, something crossed Miesa’s mind.

“Oh! I’d like to visit the market. Just the two of us.”

“We can do that anytime. We do inspections once a week, after all.”

At Eirik’s words, Miesa looked up to meet his eyes and shook her head with a playful giggle.

“Not as the lord and lady, but in completely different disguises.”

Miesa shook her head as she looked at the makeup tools Siata handed her.

“No. Since I’m going out with Eirik, I want to look pretty. I don’t want to be ugly by his side ever again.”

“If you want to look pretty… Shall I make you into a beautiful tavern owner in her thirties?”

“No, my hair stands out, so I’ll just cover my head.”

Miesa chose clean and pretty clothes from the commoners’ outfits that Siata had laid out. After changing clothes, she sat in front of the mirror, and Siata carefully covered her platinum hair with a headscarf that women wore.

After applying light makeup, Miesa checked her appearance in the mirror and headed to Eirik’s office.

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

“You’re ready?”

Eirik raised an eyebrow at Miesa but soon nodded. Since Miesa’s idea of a disguise was only this much, he figured he didn’t need to put in much effort either, so he set aside the hunchback prop he had planned to use.

The two of them, dressed simply, left the mansion. By now, Miesa could ride a horse on her own quite well.

“Father said it would take you more than half a year to learn to ride alone.”

“I feel sorry for Father, but Siata taught me much more efficiently, at my level.”

Miesa had already told Eirik about the agents. The great madam had said it wasn’t necessary, but Miesa didn’t want to hide anything from him anymore.

The two entrusted their horses to the guard post and slowly made their way to the market. The cold winter wind still brushed against their cheeks, but Miesa’s face was bright with anticipation and excitement.

“From now on, I’m a newlywed who just came from Kazen.”

“From Kazen?”

“Yes, from Kazen, the home of walnuts.”

Eirik watched Miesa mimic the Kazen accent with a natural expression, then stopped in his tracks and sighed playfully, as if he had no choice.

“You’ve been secretly learning something again.”

“Huh? Didn’t I tell you?”

Miesa looked a bit surprised, then seemed troubled for a moment, as if lost in thought. Eventually, she spoke up, as if she’d made up her mind.

“Eirik, I’m really asking because I don’t know.”

“Go ahead.”

“When you said I’d be punished, is it okay if I was honestly happy about it?”

Eirik couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter. But Miesa, with a serious expression, grabbed his arm and explained, “No, I mean, logically, when someone says they’ll be punished, shouldn’t they feel sad or scared based on the meaning of the word?”

“Oh dear. If you’re happy about it, then it’s no longer a punishment.”

Even as Eirik wiped away tears of laughter, Miesa continued to plead, “Eirik, don’t misunderstand me. I honestly do like that kind of punishment, but it’s not like I hide it on purpose.”

As she spoke sincerely, Eirik comforted her, “I see. Since the word has an unpleasant connotation, how about we call it a reward for your honesty from now on?”

Just like when they first met.

Recalling those old memories, Eirik smiled gently and took Miesa’s hand, leading her.

Before long, they reached the market. Among the crowd of people, the tall young man and the young woman who appeared to be his wife naturally stood out. It wasn’t just their handsome and beautiful appearances. Their upright, elegant, noble gait was far from ordinary.

“……”

“……”

Some merchants and estate residents who noticed them seemed unsure of what to do, but Miesa didn’t seem to care. Fortunately, since the market was crowded, not many people had noticed them yet.

“Honey! Oh, look at this.”

Miesa lightly skipped over to a stall in front of a shop.

“How much is this?”

She examined small wooden figurines displayed on the stall and asked in a perfect Kazen accent. The shop owner, who had been nervous, couldn’t help but burst into laughter at her question.

“It’s only four parses.”

“Honey, it’s four parses each.”

The owner seemed to play along enthusiastically. Eirik briefly considered whether he should join in too, but in the end, he couldn’t keep from laughing and silently handed over ten parses.

“I’ll give you three for ten parses.”

At the merchant’s generous offer, Miesa chose three small animal figurines. Each wooden figurine was only the size of a palm, but Eirik checked them to make sure the surface was smooth, with no rough edges, before handing them to Miesa.

“Thank you, honey!”

The shop owner, watching Miesa’s cheerful chatter, was startled by Eirik’s gaze and quickly bowed his head.

“Let’s go.”

Unable to mimic the Kazen accent, Eirik gently lowered his voice to speak to Miesa.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Kalite sorbet! No, Valenta! No…”

“Eat whatever you want. If there’s any left, we can take it home.”

Realizing his tone had changed, Miesa opened her eyes wide. Amused, she answered his important question first.

“Kalite sorbet first, then.”

“Ah, there’s a good place for that over there. It’ll take a bit of walking, though. Is that alright?”

“That’s fine.”

Miesa smiled brightly. Eirik took the wooden figurines from her hands to prevent her hands from getting cold, putting them inside his coat. He then wrapped his arm around her, holding her cold hands firmly in his.

“We should have brought a muff. It’s colder than I expected.”

Miesa looked up at him with sparkling eyes. “Honey, you’re a bit different today.”

“Stop. If you keep looking at me like that, we’ll go straight home.”

“Yes.”

Miesa obediently closed her mouth, but soon other interesting things caught her attention.

“Honey! Over there, a muff with cotton stuffing!”

“Buy it. Put it on right away.”

“Honey, I want that!”

“A fur hat? Buy it.”

Whatever she pointed at, Eirik took out his wallet and bought it. Although they already had a rare blue fox fur hat and other winter accessories, Miesa kept adding items from the market to her attire with great joy.

Initially hesitant, the merchants who greeted them quickly played along when Miesa spoke in the Kazen dialect, pretending not to recognize who they were.

Then, Miesa stopped at a new toy shop. As she curiously looked around, the shopkeeper came out and greeted them in a thick southern accent.

“Welcome!”

“What’s the most fun toy here?”

“Pardon? Oh, the most fun toy?”

The shopkeeper, momentarily taken aback by the striking appearance of the couple, quickly composed himself and continued his sales pitch.

“This is a spinning top. You wrap this long string around it and spin it—!”

“Wow!”

“Newlyweds, are you? The wife looks young, but do you already have a child old enough to play with a top?”

The shopkeeper spoke familiarly, clapping his hands as Miesa admired the toy. Eirik, caught off guard by the comment, remained silent, but Miesa responded without hesitation.

“No child yet. I’ll be playing with it myself.”

“Oh dear. Still playing with toys, are we? The husband must have a hard time entertaining such a young bride.”

The shopkeeper, seemingly unaware of the signals his neighboring merchants were giving him, kept talking while they gestured urgently for him to stop.

“This here is a slingshot. Let me show you how it works.”

“A slingshot!”

Miesa, who had always regretted not being able to join the hunts, was intrigued. The former margrave had tried to teach her archery, but she had barely learned how to ride a horse.

“This is perfect for me. Honey!”

“Buy it. And the spinning top too.”

A little while later, the couple was on their way to the pastry shop, hands full of toys. Eirik, noticing the commotion behind them—the neighboring merchants hurriedly pulling the toy shopkeeper aside—pretended not to see anything and stopped Miesa.

“Wait, watch the ground. It’s icy there.”

“Oh, right. I’ll be careful.”

“It’s so cold, and you’re still set on having sorbet? Are you sure?”

“It’s fine. The shop will be warm.” Miesa looked up at him with twinkling eyes. “That person really believed it, didn’t they?”

It seemed Miesa knew full well that everyone else had recognized them.

Eirik smiled as he asked her, “I suppose you wouldn’t have missed it. Do you still want to keep this up?”

“Yes. Because all these people are playing along with my whims.”

When Eirik raised an eyebrow, Miesa returned to her normal tone to explain, “Of course, it’s probably annoying and burdensome for them, but it’s my birthday today. Just for today.”

Eirik’s pace slowed as he looked at Miesa. An inexplicable emotion welled up inside him.

Did she simply want to experience the goodwill of strangers, or was she trying to make up for her lost childhood?

“Miesa.” He spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, “Of course, it’s alright. As much as you want.”

Miesa also stopped and blinked. “Really? Still, just for today. It’s a bit tiresome and bothersome to pretend not to recognize someone when it’s obvious who they are.”

“Did we raise taxes, or enforce forced labor? If anything, thanks to the Flamtia region, every household’s food expenses have significantly decreased. The estate residents would gladly cooperate at this level.”

At his resolute words, Miesa’s face lit up with relief. As if to say how fortunate it was, she smiled softly.

“But doesn’t it seem like everyone really likes me? Is it because I’m speaking in the Kazen dialect?”

“Everyone genuinely respects and loves you.”

“Receiving love from you is enough for me.”

Miesa smiled brightly. Eirik, watching her for a moment, bowed his head and kissed her flushed cheek.

Sometimes like an only daughter, showered with love; sometimes like a boastful leader of children, running around with pride. And perhaps, like the cat she had once envied so much, smiling without a care in the world, Miesa was breathtakingly beautiful.