The founders of the Kingdom of Aurum fell instantly silent under the graceful aura of the golden-haired girl.
Count Roselyn and the old king exchanged glances, unable to muster even a trace of anger, and found themselves, almost involuntarily, shrinking back just a little.
Yet the feeling was far too subtle to acknowledge openly. The king simply gave a dazed nod on the surface:
"Well... you two go on ahead."
Count Roselyn added: "Have fun."
"Thank you."
Cinderella immediately restored her sweet smile, as though the one who had just subdued the king and her father with that icy, commanding presence had been someone else entirely. She tucked her arm into Faust's and walked away.
Watching the backs of the two young people, the old king and the count exchanged another glance:
"Viviana... isn't she a little different lately?"
"It's probably because she's fallen in love. I've never seen her dress like that before. That daughter of mine, actually putting effort into her appearance."
The old king grumbled: "Still, was I really not able to hold out for even a single move? That's a bit hurtful."
Count Roselyn chuckled, wheeling the chair further away:
"If it weren't a formal duel, a life-or-death situation, then yes, that's more or less how it would go. Ha, ha, ha. Refusing to accept old age simply won't do."
"......"
Faust had actually wanted to chat a little longer with the king about his retirement, for though there was no blood between them, he had truly come to regard the old man as a father.
The royal family of Aurum had quite a warm atmosphere at home, nothing like the cold, unfeeling image that royalty so often conjured.
Seeing how relaxed the old king was with his old companion, Faust figured there was nothing to worry about.
After leaving the palace, Cinderella led the prince toward the bustling commercial district at the heart of the royal capital.
Clean roads paved with asphalt and stone bricks stretched out in both directions, lined with shops offering all manner of goods: everyday snacks and food, specialty products from distant regions, and even cafes, amusement parks, and cinemas.
Yes, though the political structure resembled the medieval era, the technological landscape of this world was strikingly uneven.
Some nations were practically futuristic sky cities, while others were little more than pastoral idylls. The gap between countries was wider than the gap between man and beast.
A few years prior, the prince had conducted a census throughout Aurum, and the kingdom's population stood at roughly five hundred thousand, or close to seven hundred thousand when accounting for transient residents.
It was an awkward number. Before Faust's regency, Aurum had subsisted mainly on agriculture and forestry, and the vast majority of its people were farmers and herders.
But after Faust took the reins, sweeping reforms followed.
He concentrated nearly the entire population in the royal capital, the single location with the most favorable geography and the richest resources, then built what was now the most advanced rail system on the international stage, connecting it directly to the surrounding transit hubs.
Thanks to Aurum's favorable geopolitical position, and with no expense spared in promotion and investment, the royal capital, once a marginal city on the periphery, had genuinely come into its own through tourism and manufacturing.
The urban districts expanded again and again; workshops rose from the ground one after another. Judged by the city alone, it was now fully comparable to the provincial capitals of much larger nations.
These were the achievements Faust was most proud of.
I must say, the Prince of Aurum has done quite well: urbanization proceeding with striking effect, social culture in good order, class conflict largely resolved, and the standard of living dramatically raised.
If only the Kingdom of Aurum had the scale of the Empire, it would be the very Utopia the sages dreamed of.
"Your Highness, what are you smiling about?"
Noticing the prince standing taller, a mysterious smile on his lips, the golden-haired girl leaned in close and arched a delicate brow:
"It doesn't look like you're smiling because of me... that simply won't do. This is a date; your smile should belong to me. Smiling for something else is not acceptable."
The girl crossed her arms before her chest, forming a grand X: "Absolutely not!"
Cinderella pouted with a hint of jealousy: "Let me see, have you gone and set your eyes on some other girl?"
Faust denied it at once:
"Impossible. Is there anyone on this street more lovely than you? Just taking in your beauty alone is enough to leave me completely satisfied!"
Viviana was already strikingly beautiful on her own, let alone in her Cinderella form, where her otherworldly charm surpassed even that.
Had Faust not been constantly on guard against the twisting pull of the "Wheel of Fate," even he might have lost himself in the honeyed, rosy atmosphere that seemed to drift around Cinderella wherever she went.
"Besides, even if I were trying to catch someone's eye, no one else could see me anyway."
Cinderella had cast a cognition-obscuring formula over the two of them, ensuring that even in the middle of a busy street, the people around them paid them no mind.
Otherwise, the prince would inevitably have been surrounded by his devoted citizens, and the date would have been impossible to enjoy.
Cinderella propped her chin on one slender finger and smiled:
"Mm... fair enough."
She tilted up her soft, exquisitely sculpted face; the lines of her profile grew all the more hazy in the warm glow of the streetlamps:
"Your Highness, you don't need to be so tense. Last time it was my fault; I really did lose a little control. For tonight's date, you don't need to think about anything at all."
"Everything you want to know, I will tell you. Every goal you wish to achieve, I will help you reach."
Faust was startled: "How did you..."
"Shh."
Cinderella stepped forward and pressed one pale, slender fingertip to the man's lips, smiling softly:
"I've already said it: I am not that foolish Viviana, forgetting herself over a few sweet words. My heart is full of you, my eyes see only you. How could I possibly fail to see what's truly in your heart?"
Cinderella extended her hand toward Faust, gesturing for him to take it.
Only then did Faust realize that, despite being on a date and walking through the streets together, they had hardly held hands at all.
He reached out and took the girl's soft hand. Cinderella clutched it as though it were something precious, drawing it up and holding it close to her full, rounded chest.
She looked up at him, her gorgeous, deep violet eyes soft and hazy, filled with fervent, earnest longing:
"Your Highness, do you love me?"
Before Faust could even reply, Cinderella blinked playfully:
"A lie is fine, too. I'm the one doing the pursuing right now, after all. Think of it as making me happy."
Since she had put it that way, Faust had no reason to hold back. He drew the girl into his arms and murmured soft words of affection close to her ear.
"Mm... mm..."
Cinderella's cheek pressed against the pale golden locks of hair as she let out a quiet, contented hum.
Faust had always had a silver tongue; it was simply that Viviana's built-in lie detector was so formidably sharp that the prince had no room to say anything that wasn't true.
And so, for the hours that followed, the two of them worked their way through every last item on Viviana's romantic novel checklist, strolling through the commercial streets of the royal capital.
It was nearly midnight when Cinderella finally stepped out of the inn, leaning close against Faust's side.
The streets were quiet now, nearly empty. A dream-like carriage drawn by a unicorn stood waiting before them; in the face of Cinderella's power of wish fulfillment, everything fell into place with effortless ease.
"What a wonderful evening, just like those days at the ball, no, even more beautiful than that!"
After stepping into the carriage, Cinderella rested her head against Faust's shoulder and pressed one fingertip lightly to the space between his brows, murmuring softly:
"Take me home, please. Whether it is me, or Viviana, we are both very happy. Your Highness... good night."
The golden-haired girl pressed a light kiss to Faust's cheek, closed her eyes, and drifted quietly off to sleep.