Chapter 184 - Whose Gift?
"My my, this is gorgeous!" Fresia exclaimed as she browsed the most recent catalog. She and her liege were in the carriage on their way to Arcade Street.
Max frowned. He couldn't understand why she was making a fuss about something useless. He looked out the window, thinking he would wander around away from her when they arrived at the square.
Just then, Fresia asked, "Why don't you choose a present as well, my lord?"
The crown prince mocked, "What gift? Surely you don't mean one for my sister?"
Fresia straightened her face. "Of course not. I mean one for the lady!" He stared at her in silence as if he didn't understand what she meant. Frustrated, Fresia cried, "Don't tell me you haven't gifted her anything yet!"
"What does it matter to you?"
Doubting her ears, she asked, "Not even once?!"
Max recalled the time when he had gone shopping with Jubelian. He had tried many times to buy her things. Realizing she always shopped for inexpensive items, he had once told her he would buy everything in the store for her. However, her reaction was not what he had expected.
"I like to buy my own things. It's a form of… relieving my stress, you know?" the lady had said.
Unwilling to give up, Max had tried many more times to buy her a gift, but the lady had persisted. "No," he admitted.
Unaware of the circumstances, Fresia rubbed her temple in distress. She couldn't believe it. She thought that her liege and the lady were exchanging gifts as he was always carrying something like cake or clothes after meeting with her.
'All this time… he was only receiving things from her? He's the worst.'
Having heard stories only from Max's perspective so far, Fresia thought the lady was somewhat interested in the crown prince. After all, she was always giving him something to take home. But now… he was lucky if the lady didn't think of him as a shameless brat.
"Your Highness, have you confessed to her already?" Fresia asked, desperately hoping he hadn't yet.
Contrary to her wishes, Max nodded. "Yes, I have."
She doubted her ears. He had confessed without a present? He was hopeless! The more she listened, the more she realized there was no way out. Although she was appalled, Fresia did her best to keep her composure and suggested calmly, "Then how about gifting her something now? Even a small thing would do."
Confused, Max asked back, "They will be of no use to her. Wouldn't it be better to give something that would impress her?"
Aggravated, Fresia sighed loudly. But now that she thought about it, it was only natural that her lord wouldn't be familiar with the concept of gift-giving. He had spent most of his life on the battlefield. Belatedly deciding to educate her lord, she explained, "Actually, gifts are like… compliments! The more you give, the better."
Max's eyes widened. "Like compliments?"
"Yes, instead of saying that you like them, you express your feelings by giving them something. For example, you can give a flower saying that it was a reminder of the lady or that you thought she would appreciate it—something like that."
Max swallowed, furrowing his brows. He had planned to give the palace's treasury to Jubelian once the rebellion was carried out successfully. But now, he was being told that it was better to give gifts frequently. If such was the case, he would have to revise his plan. 'She said she liked to spend money… Whenever I meet her, I will give her a gold bar,' he decided.
That was when Fresia asked, "So, what was the lady's answer?"
"She hasn't told me yet."
Fresia sighed. 'It's already ruined. I should have taught him better than this…!'
There were usually two cases when a lady did not easily answer a confession.
It was either that she was flirting with other noblemen or she was in a difficult position to refuse. Knowing that Jubelian had followed Mikhail around begging for love despite all kinds of terrible rumors, Fresia decided the lady wasn't the type to lead on multiple people at once. She seemed too naive and was more likely to be the latter.
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Hope you enjoyed it,
Love,
Biji ^^,
Nov.16.2023