A Day Out with the Princess

“In the end, I still got kicked out.”

Ziyao stacked her hands behind her head, gazing up at the clear sky, and suddenly felt a faint sense of relief. It was fortunate the Empress and the Pope had returned early, allowing her to escape. Otherwise, she truly wouldn’t have dared to meet Aiya’s gaze.

After all, it had been a French kiss—something only couples did.

She, Ziyao, was a very pure person. Before transmigrating, she hadn’t even touched a girl’s hand. Now, she had fast-forwarded straight to kissing… it was far too stimulating.

“Recovering well?” Elena’s voice drifted from beside her. This girl, too, had been chased out by her mother.

“Go on, go on. The Pope and I need to examine Aiya,” the Empress had said, pushing Elena toward Ziyao. “Go play with Ziyao.”

For her daughter’s happiness, the Empress had truly gone to great lengths.

Take Ziyao to play?

Elena admitted it was a good suggestion. However, as she turned to look at Ziyao, she realized she still didn’t know what the girl actually liked.

“Ziyao, what do you like?”

“Cute girls,” the white-haired girl replied without hesitation.

Slap—

Elena lightly tapped Ziyao’s head. “Be serious.”

“Oh.” Rubbing her head, Ziyao’s eyes seemed a little hazy. Besides girls, what else did she like? Things that could turn her back into a boy… was there anything else? It seemed… there wasn’t.

“I don’t know.” She shook her head.

“You don’t know? You’re not a child anymore; do you really not have anything you like?” Elena expressed her doubt. “Just tell me. It’s my treat today.”

Despite Elena’s somewhat naive demeanor, she was a bona fide rich young lady. At the very least, treating Ziyao to a full day of shopping wouldn’t be an issue. However, Ziyao wasn’t poor either. Moreover, if she really went shopping in her Sage’s Robe, whether people would even dare to accept payment was another question altogether.

“I’ve always been studying magic and making potions. I didn’t really bother with other things.”

The small town had been incredibly dull, and there were no cute girls around, so Ziyao had simply locked herself at home to research potions. She had achieved remarkable success, hadn’t she?

Always… studying magic? Elena’s gaze flickered. No wonder Ziyao had achieved such great things. Years of continuous study, combined with her inhuman talent, meant it would have been strange if she hadn’t accomplished so much.

Speaking of which, Ziyao had never mentioned her parents…

“Then, do your parents not care about you?”

“…I don’t know where they went.” Parents? It had been a long time since she had heard that word. After transmigrating, she hadn’t considered herself to have parents in this world. Even if she did, what connection would they have to her, a visitor from another world? She didn’t have the audacity to occupy someone else’s body and then steal their family.

I’m sorry, I didn’t know… Elena thought. Unexpectedly, Ziyao was an orphan. With such a tragic past, yet so diligent—she truly was amazing.

“It’s fine. Aren’t I doing quite well now?” Ziyao spread her arms, indicating that she could live perfectly well even without parents.

“You…” Elena sighed. Since the person concerned saw no issue, what more could she say? They had already reached the main street, where passersby would stop and bow upon seeing Elena. This was the deference due to a princess.

“It seems your popularity is quite high.”

“Perhaps. They used to be the same when they encountered my imperial brother,” Elena smiled. “I used to envy my imperial brother quite a bit back then.”

“The First Prince? I hear he’s a good person.” Rumors painted Edward as a valiant prince who treated commoners with kindness. Every subject of Roland was drawn to his charisma, and people believed he would inherit his father’s throne, leading Roland to greater heights.

“Yes, my imperial brother shines upon everyone like the sun,” Elena said, seemingly unconsciously taking Ziyao’s hand. “When I was little, I used to wonder if there was any man in the world more outstanding than my imperial brother.”

Ziyao, whose hand was being held, showed no reaction. To her, this was a very normal way for girls to interact. “And now, do you have an answer?”

“I do.”

“But you don’t seem to want to tell me.”

“You guessed right.”

Elena flashed a sweet smile, like any ordinary girl, and for a moment, Ziyao found herself momentarily lost in thought. It turned out Elena had such a charming side to her.

“What’s wrong? Stunned?” Seeing Ziyao about to crash into a lamppost, Elena quickly pulled her back with some force.

Puff—

However, Elena seemed to have pulled a little too hard. The small, white-haired girl was yanked directly into her embrace. Elena’s height was a little over 1.6 meters, while Ziyao barely reached 1.5 meters. Thus, Ziyao plunged headfirst into Elena’s chest.

It was soft. As mentioned before, Elena was very well-developed, and this was Ziyao’s first time directly feeling that softness with her face. Blood rushed to her head instantly, and the wave of shame she had just suppressed surged back, overwhelming her.

Ziyao felt as though she shouldn’t have left the house today. In this one morning, she felt like she had “matured” a great deal.

“Ziyao? Are you alright?” Elena, a little bewildered, released Ziyao from her chest. Why… why is she smoking again?

“I’m fine… probably…” The dizzy feeling wasn’t pleasant. “I think… I probably need to rest for a bit.”

“Do you want a cold drink?” Stroking Ziyao’s burning cheek, Elena offered a suggestion. There was a good cold drink shop nearby that Elena occasionally patronized.

“Let’s go, then.” Ziyao patted her own face, trying to clear her head. She felt like something was off with her mind today. The old her wouldn’t have gotten embarrassed so easily. So what if she accidentally fell into Elena’s chest? It was no big deal.

If worse came to worst, she could just make Elena fall into her chest. Though, such a thing didn’t exactly exist.

After just a few steps, Elena led Ziyao to the cold drink shop she had mentioned.

“‘Flower of Roland,’ what a… domineering name.” Ziyao twitched her lips as she looked at the signboard. “You don’t regulate these things?”

“If what they made wasn’t good, then of course we would. However, their quality is worthy of the name,” Elena said, spreading her hands. “Come on, let’s try the best drink in Roland.”

Ding-a-ling—

Pushing open the door, a melodious chime of bells rang from above, followed by a voice as pleasant as the bells. “Welcome! What can I get for you, meow?”