Volume 3

Chapter 157.2

Chapter 157 . 2 : The Awakening of The Second Princess

「Ri.......... O? 」

Before she realized it, her lips were already muttering that name . While she missed that black haired youth’s introduction, she thought that he might have introduced himself as 「Rio」 . Thinking that, she trembled in excitement .

Rio―― Is the name of a youth who had carved himself in the corner of Flora’s memories so deeply that even now she still remembered him . That’s why when she heard part of the youth’s introduction, he was the one she recalled first .

Could it be because Rio was also a black haired man? Was that why I thought that the black haired youth I saw was him?

She didn’t understand at all, her thoughts were a mess, but she couldn’t help but think of Rio, so her thoughts continued to revolve around that matter . Another thing .

What happened after I passed out?

Aside from that black haired youth’s identity, she was also extremely concerned over what happened after she fell unconscious .

「!!!!! ? 」

Before she could try to figure things out, Flora’s stomach let out a loud sound due to hunger, and Flora’s face flushed bright red . She was embarrassed to the point of rolling around in her bed even though she knew that there was no one inside the room to hear the sound .

「Such a...... . Nice smell . 」

The nice smell that drifted to her room from the door left slightly opened, lingered in the air stimulating her hunger . She noticed the nice smell entered from that slightly opened door .

「....」

Flora gulped her saliva, which reminded her that she had just woken up, and had yet to drink anything, thus the parched feeling in her throat .

.. Eh?　I’m, hungry?

Yes, this feeling was hunger . She remembered that her fever had caused her to lose her appetite, but now she once again felt hungry..noticing that, Flora was suddenly reminded of the fact that her body did not feel as heavy as before . In fact, it felt better than before she woke up .

My fever is........ . . Gone?

Though she still felt exhausted, the headache and burst of chill she felt along with her fever were gone .

「Am I........ . . Cured? 」

She wondered out loud, but she didn’t know whether she was cured completely or not, only that she definitely felt better than before .

Therefore, her face showed a dumbfounded expression . However, she couldn’t stay in that state forever, thus she tried to get up, putting more strength in her arms to support herself as she forced her upper body up . But, her body still felt as heavy as lead . Nevertheless, she didn’t give up, and somehow managed to shift her feet to the side of the bed . Yet when her feet touched the ground, she emitted a startled sound .

「Kya! ? 」

She had collapsed on her feet when she tried to stand . Her feet felt limp .

Why? She thought helplessly, but now was not the time for that thought . The sound she made when she fell was by no means a small noise .

What should I do?　What should I do now?

Flora thought in panic, trying to get away from the bed . Before she could do that though, the slight sound of door to her room opening wide could be heard . And when she heard that sound, she trembled, timidly looking in the direction of the opened door .

「.... . . Good morning . 」

An ashen haired youth stood beyond the door as he greeted Flora, not passing through the door .

◇　◇　◇

「.... . . Good morning . 」

The ashen haired youth―― Rio was looking dumbfoundedly at Flora who fell on the side of her bed .

「Ah, uhm..Good..morning . 」

Flora replied with a flustered voice .

「It appears that you’ve awoken..are you fully cognizant now?」

After manipulating the magic tool that was placed beside the door to lighten up the room, he approached Flora and offered his hand to help her .

「..Thank you very much」

The sudden intensity of the light in the room caused her to squint her eyes, yet she still reached out to Rio’s offered hand and accepted it, not forgetting to express her gratitude . Lightly, he pulled her hand as he helped her to stand on her feet, but Flora let out a startled scream .

「!KYAa! ? 」

Because he put too much power when he pulled her, she ended up entangled on his hip .

「Are you okay? 」

Rio checked Flora over while she was confused .

「Y-Yeah！ 　M-My apologies!　My body feels limp! 」

Flora moved her hands in panic, trying to get away from Rio’s hip, yet instead of getting away, she came closer since she moved too much .

「Please calm down and excuse my rudeness . I’m going to carry you to bed . 」

Heaving a sigh that was mixed with a wry smile, he lifted Flora up and held her in his arms .

Namely, he was using a princess carry . Since he carried her like that, it was inadvertent that Flora’s line of sight would lay on Rio’s face at point-blank range . Unconsciously, she looked intently at his face, and only when she realized her own actions did she look flustered .

「M-MY APOLOGIES! 」

Embarrassed, Flora apologized with flushing red cheeks .

「It’s nothing . I’m going to put you on the bed now . 」

Shaking his head, he spoke calmly as he carried her to her bed . Then, he carefully placed her on the top of the mattress . But .

「........」

Flora kept staring at Rio’s face, gripping his clothes strongly, not letting go at all .

―

「Is something the matter？ 」

Rio, who couldn’t separate himself from her, could only ask that with a troubled face .

「Ah, uhm, you’re lord Amakawa.............. Haruto-sama, is it? 」

Flora asked with a timid voice, brushing off his question in favor of her own .

「...... . . Yes, it’s my honor to have your highness remember my name . 」

After pausing for a while, Rio nodded his head respectfully .

「Uhm, are you.......... The one who saved me? 」

Gazing at Rio’s face, Flora continued asking him questions .

「Yes . Don’t you remember what happened before?」

After answering her question without a shred of hesitation, Rio asked back .

「....Yes . My memories are rather vague, so..」

Flora frowned as she told him of her vague memories, but her eyes were glued on Rio’s face .

「Please don’t force yourself . Some parts of your vague memories might be from a nightmare caused by your unbelievably high fever . 」

After confirming that Flora’s memories regarding that event were fuzzy, he decided to keep up an act as Haruto .

「Uhm..It’s..No, I mean can you tell me what happened back then? 」

After hesitating for a while, in the end Flora decided to go forth with her question .

「Yeah, I don’t mind」

Rio immediately agreed . At that time, the sound of gurgling surprised them .

「!!!!! ? 」

It was Flora’s stomach . For the second time that day, it let out a loud growl . Flora’s body stiffened, and in the next instant her face flushed red . The awkward air that drifted between them vanished as if it was all a lie and Rio unintentionally let out a loud chuckle .

「Come to think of it, it’s about time for your meal . I’ll prepare one immediately . 」

To cover up his unintentional laughter, he offered to bring her a meal so as not to let her feel even more awkward than she was already feeling .

「M-MY APOLOGIES! 」

Flora released her grip and put her hands on her stomach, trying to get it to quiet down with a flustered face . Thus, Rio regained his freedom .

「No . I’ll excuse myself for a while then」

Turning around, Rio headed out towards the kitchen, without looking back .

Thus, he missed the way Flora kept looking at his back with slightly flushed cheeks, and her mutter . ――,

「There’s..some resemblance between them? 」