A beautiful white embroidered dress glove softly brushed her lips.

　She tilted her head thoughtfully and blinked her big eyes.

　The young man, distracted by her long, beautiful silver eyelashes, hears a gentle whisper in his ear.

"...... Futa.
Yes.

　At the sound of his own name, he looked up.
　The girl sitting in front of him seems to be still thinking about something.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

"...... Futa, kun?
"...... yes?

　"?" "Yes?" Futa asks back, having never been called by an honorific title before.
　Lilac herself shook her head with a subtle expression.

　Then she looked straight at Futa and muttered.

"Mr. Futa.
"Huh. ......

　I'm not sure what's going on here.
　Despite his emotions, Lilac continues.

"Hoo-kun.
"...... Uh, princess?
"That's a tough one.

　Setting the saucer down quietly on the low table, Lilac looked up at the ceiling. The gesture of her fingertips brushing her lips was a habit that Futa had recently noticed when she was lost in thought.

　Crossing her legs comfortably, she looked at Futa again.

There is a custom in this country to give special nicknames to those who are close to you.
"Oh, I see. ...... A custom. It varies from country to country. ......

　Futa also looked up at the ceiling.

　A high domed ceiling and a large room.
　This is the private room of Lilac, where Futa was temporarily hidden when he first visited the royal castle.

　Lilac, with a difficult look on her face, seemed to have taken Futa out for an afternoon break.
　I'm sorry we have to talk about this here.

　It was a disappointing situation for Futa, who had been wondering if he was in trouble or if there was anything he could do to help.

　For that reason, he could only give a bland response to Lilac's words.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this." "Well, ......, did you take the time out of your afternoon break to talk about this?

　It's been at least a month since I came to the castle. Lilac had never visited Futa's room in the middle of his political duties and spent the break with him.

　That's why I was so worried when I got the call.

"Can we go to ......?

　But the answer to that question was a definite "no".

No, I have nothing to do with restricting the princess's actions.

　Futa had no desire to offend Lilac in any way.
　She shook her head in response, and Lilac turned away with her cheekbones.

What's wrong with starting from scratch when you're going to have someone close to you?

　The word "get" pierced Futa's heart even more.


I'm still not sure how you feel.
"What?
But... I think I'll try to understand .......


　It was her way of coming around.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

　The earnest Futa decided that this was the moment for him to take a stand.

　He stood up from the sofa and shouted like a presenter.

"Well, how about Pooh-Ta!

　Lilac looked up slowly and asked with a very confused and complicated expression.

Why?

Why?" "Because in the Far East, it's used to refer to people who don't work, even though they could.
Isn't that a derogatory term, not a term of endearment?
...... Yes.
Do you want me to call you a derogatory name?
Yes, no, I'm sorry. ......

　"Yes, no, I'm sorry, ." Pu Tai, or Futa, sat down without effort.

"......". You can't help it if I'm sulking. You are a helpless person.
"There's no excuse for that .......

　Lilac smiled softly, as if troubled.

"After all. In the end, conventions are not for me. You're best known as Futa.

　To begin with," she said, holding up a finger.

It doesn't make sense to get hung up on the face value of it. How did such a custom come about? Is it to prove that we're close?　No, it's just a way of getting closer.
"I see.
If that's the case. If there is another way to get closer, it doesn't matter what you call Futa.

　There was no maid here to say, "Are you really that serious?

　Futa nodded as if impressed, and Lilac regained her good mood.

...... But if we do that... Why did you decide to change your name?


"If it works, so much the better. And then--

　And then .

　The first time I saw him, he was still standing there.

　The first corner of his eyes lowered and he smiled.

I'm not sure why I thought it was a bad idea to talk nonsense with you.

　The first thing you should do is to look at your eyes.

　Not only her, but time is limited.
　And the girl Lilac M. Fangini, in particular, has a lot of "to do" in addition to her assigned duties. In order to solidify her position and run this country as she wished.

　If, for the first time in her life, she was able to find value in "meaningless talk". That would be a blessing for a human being.

　--Unfortunately, there's no one in this room who understands that meaning.

　Unfortunately, there is no one in this room who understands its meaning.

　At the very least, Futa was happy that Lilac was willing to spend time with him like this, and it was one of the few times he had the pleasure of talking to someone.

　It was also one of the few times I had the pleasure of talking to other people, and most of those experiences were built around a fussy cleaning maid.
　I was glad to get these words out of Lilac, because I knew that she could make any human being have a good time.

It's an honor to have a princess say that.
"......
"...... Princess?

　She looked at Futa with a difficult look on her face.

"...... Futa.
"Yes?
Isn't ...... too far away?
What?
You told me you had feelings for me.
Yes, I did.
"Isn't ...... too far?
"What? ...... Okay.

　Futa thought about it for a moment and then stood up.
　He looked at Lilac, who was looking up at him, and walked around the low table.

"Excuse me.

　He sat down next to Lilac.


"......
"......

　Lilac slowly picked up her teacup and took a sip of her tea.
　Then she looked up at the large body next to her and said.

Not...
"What?
"If you're talking about the physical, I felt it enough that night.
Oh, no, that was ...... that. I'm ashamed to think about it now.
...... is... It's a name. A nickname. The princess is very far away from you, don't you think?

　I'm sure you're not the only one.

"I'm afraid I'm afraid to call you anything else.
"Oh. Fearful?　That's fine. I'll allow you to try it and see what you think of it.

　Actually, with a little bit of excitement.
　Lilac waited for Futa's words as she elegantly sipped her tea.

"My Princess.
"Gobofe.
"Princess?

　Lilac put down the saucer with trembling hands and glared at Futa.

"You really do have a sense of language!　Sense!
"No, you don't.
"No!

　"No!" Futa was devastated.

...... I never thought I'd be hit from a direction other than my name.
It's not like you're calling me names.
It's far better than being called My Princess every day, everywhere.
I see. ......

　"Well," Lilac breathed, looking up at Futa next to her.

I'll give you credit for being able to proudly say you're my princess. I would be furious if you found me in the hallway and called me by that name.
"What do I do at ......?
"Why don't you just call me Lilac?
What?

　The exchange that had just taken place disappeared, and Lilac reached for her tea with a composed face.
　I'm sure you'll be glad to know that I'm not the only one.

　But her ears were a little red.

"......, Lilac-sama.

　This was all he could do.

　You'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

"Well. I'll let you off with that for now. From now on, you can call me that.


Yeah.
Is that good?
Oh, yes. ......
Okay, we're done here. I'll look forward to seeing you after government business.

　With that, she stood up and walked out of the room.




　She closed the door behind her and gave a small laugh.

"Hmm.

　"I didn't like the name 'princess' for some reason.

　--Even though there were a couple of unusual answers that she hadn't calculated.

　Today, Lilac had quietly accomplished what she had set out to do all along.