The Doll and The Prince - v3 Chapter 74, v3 Chapter 75, v3 Chapter 76

Akari (9)
When concerned, go check yourself.
Thinking that, I knocked on the door to Her Majesty's chamber. Without waiting for a reply, the door immediately opened. The excellent servants must have already known who was approaching.
I could hear Her Majesty’s cheerful voice. For the past year or so, her condition had been stable, but it was nothing like this. Recently, she had suddenly regained her former brightness.

"Excuse me. May I join you for a bit as well?"
"Of course, Miss Akari."
"Thank you."

Inside the room, Patriarch (Murashige) was holding the sleeping Naruhito, checking that nothing remained in his mouth, gently wiping around it with a cloth, and then laying him down on the bed.
Naruhito, wrapped in a luxurious blanket that looked incredibly soft, began to breathe peacefully in his sleep, looking quite content.

"He must be tired. It's rare for Little Naruhito to leave ice cream unfinished."
"He’s been running around all morning, claiming it's work. Despite having no stamina."
"He's working, is he? How admirable."
"I suggested we go shopping, and I think he believed he needed money for that..."
"That’s not unnecessary at all. It's a good thing. Thanks to you, Little Rikimaru, he’s learning about various things."
"But... it’s just, with everything that’s been going on... He's still a child, and he’s sick. We could buy anything he needs without him having to work."
"I think it's good that he has found something he wants to do. Even if he gets tired, he can just rest, so it's fine."
"... Yes, you're right."

It seemed that Her Majesty already knew about Naruhito’s unfamiliarity with shopping and the various things that had happened with Rikimaru. Despite Rikimaru’s awkward explanation, she didn’t seem confused at all and continued speaking smoothly.

"Apparently, he’s saved up quite a bit of money, so I’m thinking of going shopping with him soon."
"That sounds lovely. Where will you go?"
"A candy shop and a general store. Naruhito loves sweets, so I think he’ll be excited when he sees all the candy they have. And then, we’ll buy a treasure chest at the general store. I think it would be good for him to have a box where he can store important things. Right now, the only thing he treasures is Prince Hiiro’s ring, so he always wears it and doesn’t need a box for it, but I’m sure he’ll have more things to store soon. He also wants to hide his candy, apparently."
"That’s wonderful. Little Rikimaru, you’re such a good boy. I’m sure that chest will become essential to him."

Rikimaru shyly smiled at Her Majesty's compliment.

"Maybe I’ll go shopping with you too. Let me know when you’ve decided on a day."

Otoha, who seemed to have been enjoying her ice cream, suddenly said to Rikimaru. He nodded with a somewhat flustered expression, and Her Majesty added with a bright smile:

"I'll join as well. Let me know."

Rikimaru widened his eyes in surprise, but after a moment, he nodded. It seemed that they would be going out with an impressive group.
After some more casual conversation, with Naruhito still sleeping soundly, I left the room with Otoha and Rikimaru.

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Akari (10)
"And that's how it is."

Upon hearing my report, Akemi buried his head in his hands. He called for a civil official in the study, where we hadn’t even bothered to ensure privacy.

"Hurry and buy up one candy shop and one general store. Look for stores that are thinking of closing or are on the verge of going under, and make them my property. It would be better if the two locations were close to each other. I’m counting on you."

The civil official left without saying anything unnecessary, bowing as he exited. He must have heard most of the conversation since we didn’t lower our voices much, and he was in the same room.

"I figured it would come to this..."
"Of course. There’s no way Hiiro and Hitachimaru won’t go. Do you have any idea how conspicuous they’ll be? It’s one thing if it’s just Rikimaru and Naruhito, but even Naruhito alone stands out too much. That face of his, already too well-formed, now draws even more attention because of the scar. Back when he had no expressions, it wasn’t as noticeable, but now? You can see emotions starting to show on his face, right?"
"Yes... He's adorable. The way his stiff facial muscles, unused to movement, slowly relax into a smile. Though he only pouts or sulks in front of Prince Hiiro and Rikimaru."
"Hah... Even if we put an eye patch on him, that’ll just draw more attention. And there's no hiding that he’s missing his left arm, either."

I chuckled, thinking to myself that it’s not just Naruhito who attracts attention—there’s always someone even more conspicuous standing beside him.
I thought of Prince Hiiro's flawless face and smiled wryly.

"What’s so funny?"
"Oh, just thinking—if those shops start turning a profit, we’ll be in for a celebration."
"Am I supposed to be a merchant now too? As if running the kingdom isn't enough."

I laughed softly, and Akemi returned the gesture with a gentle smile.

"It’s about time to end this little spy game."

"Hmm?" I tilted my head in question. He stood, moved around his desk, and gently embraced me, allowing me to lean into him.

"We're going to have a wedding. It’s time. The war is over."

Playing spy had been somewhat of a hobby for me, but...
I nodded faintly.

"These days, there’s been a lot of good news. It makes me happy."

His words were said more to himself than anyone else.
Mother had said she wanted to go out…

Little by little, everything seems to be moving again. Surely, toward a brighter future.

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Naruhito (73)
We’re going shopping.

Once the date was set, I couldn’t stop feeling restless. I kept opening my bag, even though I’d already checked it countless times since yesterday. Inside my wallet, I had 300 yen—two 100 coins and ten 10 coins. It was money I’d earned from working.

During study time, I even practiced shopping. Aoba would say, "Welcome," and I would hand over the candy I wanted, saying, "I’ll take this, please." Then, she’d say, "That’ll be 10 coins," and I’d hand over the 10 coin. After that, I could take the candy and go home.

Okay.
I went over the process in my head again and again.

"Calm down."

Hiiro, chuckling, tugged my arm and pulled me into his lap, sitting cross-legged. Being held so tightly made me happy, but I couldn’t sit still.

"You’ll wear yourself out before we even go."

A kiss landed softly on my lips, making me so happy that I calmed down a little.

There was a knock on the door, followed by Hitachimaru's voice saying, "We’re leaving." I had planned to go with Rikimaru, but at some point, Otoha and Shizuku had decided to join us as well. I was excited. Hiiro said,

"I’ll always go out with you."

That made me happy. If Otoha and Hiiro were going, of course Hitachimaru would come along too.

When we arrived at the candy shop, it wasn’t very big, but it was packed with snacks. Everything was unfamiliar. Just the variety of candies alone was overwhelming. If I tried to look at each one, I’d be here until sunset. There were small square candies, large round ones, and apparently, different colors meant different flavors. There were tiny candies on sticks, and even big ones that cost 100 coins each. It wasn’t just candy; there were also things like rice crackers in bags, and small white round snacks in bulk.

"Those are ramune (tablet candy). They’re a little sour, but tasty. At first, they’re hard, but they dissolve in your mouth, so you’ll be fine, Naruhito."

Rikimaru explained to me. I had planned to buy candy, but now I was curious about ramune. What does "sour" taste like? It’s 50 coins, which is a bit expensive, but I think I’ll try one. Plus, the container is cute. The ramune comes in a hard, adorable container, not a bag. Now, which candy should I get? I want to try the lollipop. It comes in a bag, and you eat it by dipping it in powder. It costs 30 coins. Is that expensive? I still have enough. I also want my usual round candy.

As I hummed and pondered, I thought too hard and got a little dizzy. Without picking any snacks, Hiiro, who was beside me, caught me.

"That’s why I told you to calm down."

Hiiro chuckled softly.