(It’s sweet… somehow, it’s sweet…!)

After surviving the evening party and Luna Mare’s relentless barrage of questions the next day, a sense of normalcy had finally returned. However, at their regular weekend tea party, Aurora was found writhing in agony, clutching a needle and thread.

“What’s wrong? It doesn’t seem like you’re focused on it.”
“I-It’s nothing, Ouch!!”
“It’s because you’re distracted.”
(It’s your fault!!)

Aurora grimaced as she pricked her finger—a mistake she hadn’t made in years. It might have been expected when she was a young beginner, but now that she was well into her double digits, she usually didn’t make such a basic blunder even when half-asleep.
As she stared resentfully, her eyes stinging with tears at the bead of blood welling on her fingertip, someone gently took her hand. She froze instantly.

“Come on, let me see the wound.”
“I-It’s fine! Really! Just a quick lick and it’ll be all better!”
“Saliva will have germs in it.”

Without a second thought, Felix took her hand and cast a spell on the cup before him. The water inside began to steam; he poured the heated water onto a white handkerchief embroidered with his initials and gently wiped the small bead of blood from her fingertip.
His gesture was so gentle, as if he were handling something incredibly fragile, that Aurora couldn’t help but flinch instinctively.

“Okay, it’s clean.”
“Thank you very much.”
(so…… uneasy)

Felix had been like this in every way for a while now.

This was their first encounter since that sinister evening party, and he had been acting strangely from the moment he arrived at the Porta family’s townhouse.
He had arrived bearing Aurora’s favorite pastries and tea leaves, dressed in his usual summer clothes—save for one striking detail: a shining green stone ear cuff that looked slightly mismatched with his casual attire. When Aurora tilted her head, realizing it was the very same stone she had seen at the evening party, he spoke, his voice low and steady:

『I never know when your whisper will reach my ear.』
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze clearly saying, ‘I’d love for you to join in, too,’ to which Aurora shook her head vehemently.
『Ah, these are designed for evening parties; They’re far too fancy to be wearing daily.』
『Then, I’ll send you an earring for daily use shortly.』
『No, you must not waste your money!』
『On what basis is it a waste of money? I just want to give it to you.』

It was impossible to refuse when he whispered, “Please… accept it.” Seeing Aurora reluctantly nod, Felix’s expression brightened, and he sat down on the terrace sofa in a conspicuously good mood.

Aurora holds her forehead as she remembers and exhales, wondering what is going on.

“……Does the wound on your forehead hurt?”
“No, it’s just a scratch. You can’t tell unless you look closely.”
“Are you sure?”

A shadow suddenly fell over her. Aurora, who had been staring down at the embroidery frame on her lap, lifted her gaze to find Felix’s blue-violet eyes and pale, elegant hands right in front of her.

“Wh… what?”
“Don’t move.”

The bare fingers of his ungloved hands gently lifted her cream-colored bangs, and the tips of his pale pink nails smoothly stroked Aurora’s round forehead.

“There is a faint pink tint remaining, but you certainly can’t tell from a distance.”

‘Good,’ the cool beauty murmured, his features relaxing into a soft, rare smile. Seeing that melting expression from such a breath-stealing distance, Aurora froze—and the needle she had been holding to change her thread slipped from her numb fingers and dropped.

“Be careful. It’s dangerous if the needle gets lost in your dress.”
“Ah, thank you very much…….”

Felix picked up the thin needle, which seemed to be buried in the lace, and gently handed it to Aurora. Aurora took the needle back with trembling fingers and gripped it tightly.

(Calm down, calm down, Aurora. This is a scarf for the Crown Prince’s fiancée. There must be no rough spots!　Focus!　Focus!)

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
After a few moments of deep inhalation and slow exhalation, Aurora opened them again. With her mind finally at rest, she began to guide the needle, one precise stitch at a time. The thread was a shimmering, brilliant white, and the pattern on the fine silk was nearly complete. She had kept the piece on her embroidery frame until that morning, but she had moved her work to the terrace specifically so Felix could see the result. Now, only the white star at the very center of the scarf remained.

Felix watched intently as Aurora worked the needle with even greater concentration than usual.
Her profile as she engrossedly embroidered was one of the things he loved most about her. It served as a stinging reminder of his own perceived inability to hold a meaningful conversation—a thought that often left him feeling dejected—and yet, there was something about the quiet intensity of her expression that made her utterly captivating.

Until he met Aurora, Felix’s perception of noblewomen had been divided into two narrow categories: married women, like his mother and sister, who were devoted to maintaining their beauty and social standing; and unmarried women, who were desperately flaunting themselves to secure a high-ranking marriage. He had never known someone like Aurora—a woman who lived with such healthy, unpretentious vitality and lost herself in the things she loved.
Surely, among the women he had been treating so coldly, some were committed to something like her. There must have been others who had the same charm as her. But he had no way of knowing that if he hadn’t met her. She expanded his world. It all started with the ring he had thrown away. Some people might say it was a coincidence, but for him, it felt like it was inevitable.

Felix thought about this as he rested his chin on the tea table.
Aurora’s green eyes sparkled in the summer sunlight as she stared intently at her hands.

“…Okay, that… let’s finish off the edges…”

She had been on it for so long that the blue sky gradually started to fade, and the sun was setting. Aurora suddenly raised her head and let out a big sigh. Then she patted her shoulder, lifted the embroidery frame from her lap, and smiled.

“It’s done”

A look of profound satisfaction crossed Felix’s face as he suddenly leaned in to peer at the embroidery frame. The closeness made Aurora tremble for a fleeting second, but she quickly steadied herself. Tilting the frame slightly so he could get a better view, she held it out for him to see.

“……This is amazing.”
“Since this is for the Crown Prince’s fiancée, I made it into an embroidery style that is often given to brides in the past.”

An honest exclamation of admiration escaped Felix’s lips, and Aurora couldn’t help but puff out her chest with pride.
A rich tapestry of violets—deep plums, indigo-purples, and vivid amethysts—flowed across the soft, elegant wisteria silk. The pattern depicted an ancient wheel and ivy, a design said to have been worn by a seafaring princess at her wedding to celebrate the cycle of life and the guiding hand of fate. At the center of the wheel, Aurora had used white and silver threads, accented by shimmering silver beads, to recreate the brilliant North Star amidst a vast starry sky. It was a blessing for one’s journey—a prayer to foresee the future and ensure a path free from obstacles.
It was an embroidery of courage and blessing, crafted for a bride marrying from the “Former Royal Faction”—a neutral ground that belonged to neither the old nor the new royal faction. It was a position unprecedented in the nation’s long, turbulent history, a quiet defiance stitched in silk. (Tl- can’t seem to find the correct meaning of the kanji 『旧王家派』, so going with former royal faction. Do comment if anyone knows.)
Felix couldn’t tell if the design was good or bad, but he could tell that it was made with great skill. As he gazed upon it, Aurora blushed in embarrassment.

“This finally takes a weight off my shoulders.”
“I’ll have to set up another audience with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince……”
“I look forward to it, thank you.”

Aurora gave a slight, formal bow, but then let out a startled “Ah!” as if she’d just remembered something. She glanced at her maid standing nearby, who gave a knowing nod and fetched a basket from a chair a short distance away. Felix watched, curious, as Aurora rummaged through it before suddenly holding out a white tie. “Here you go,” she said, offering it to him.

“This is……”
“This is the tie that I promised Clavis-sama when I received the request to make a tie for the Crown Prince.”
“Felix”
“Yes?”
“You called me that at the evening party, right?”

Aurora shivered again at the sound of his whisper. She cleared her throat and glared at Felix with half-closed eyes.

“Felix-sama”
“Yes?”
“So this is the tie that I promised that time”

With a frown and a slight blush coloring her cheeks, Aurora gave the tie a small, impatient shake. Stitched in shimmering white thread was Felix’s monogram, a magnificent piece framed by intricate arabesque patterns. It was padded with a soft core to give it a rich, substantial feel—so expertly crafted that it was indistinguishable from the work of the master artisans who supplied the Clavis family’s finest linens.
Yet, beneath the professional finish, Felix sensed something more: a subtle hum of magic clinging to the threads. It was a gentle, unintentional enchantment—a quiet wish for the wearer’s happiness.

“For the crown prince’s tie, I chose the national emblem as the design, but for Felix-sama, I thought the initials would be better than the family crest. With a family crest, it would be difficult to tell which member of the Clavis family it belongs to, wouldn’t it?”

Just for me. When Felix realised the implied words, he felt something welling up in his chest and gently held his heart. That something filled his chest with heat, making his heart rate increase.
Felix accepted the swaying white tie and stared at it intently, then gently pressed it to his forehead.

“Thank you for the wonderful tie”
“N-No, it’s not that big of a deal. ……”
“But it’s just for me. I couldn’t be happier.”
(Oh come on, that face is so unfair……!)

Aurora couldn’t take it anymore, so she slumped at the sight of his smile again.

“I’d like to personally give it to him before I leave for summer vacation, so please schedule an audience early!”

Aurora said this at an unusually fast pace, hiding her face behind the embroidery frame. Felix just stared at her, his expression relaxed.

Author’s Note:-

A guy is excited about his first love.