"From what you have just told me, I understand that Your Highness is a very sincere person. But... I still don't know him well enough. Can you give me some time to get to know him, please?"
I want to know what kind of person Renato is.
At this point, she may be starting to be attracted to him.
"Since that's the case, why don't you go to the flower festival with me?" Renato asked.
He stood up and held out his hand to Mariabelle.
She was startled by the first touch of a man's hard palm, and trembled.
A manly hand firmly grabbed Mariabelle's slender hand as she tried to escape.
"I think we should take more time to get to know each other," he said. "I understand that your heart is still broken, and you are not ready to choose a new partner right away. But unfortunately, I can't give you that much time."
Renato's hands were very warm as they touched Mariabelle's across the table.
The warmth made her feel embarrassed, and her face turned bright red.
To begin with, this was the first time she had even touched a man other than her father like this.
Even Edward, her former fiancé, only crossed his arms when escorting her.
"Please, get to know me, and let's nurture our love together."
"Love...?"
"Yes, but I'm not saying right now. Let's take time to get to know each other. I hope we can become one and the same. I am convinced that I can do that with you," Renato said.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I believe it's destiny. On this day, at this time, at this moment, there was only one woman who was suitable to be my queen: Miss Berkeley. What would you call it if not fate?"
"Fate..."
"And isn't fate more dramatic than true love?" Renato asked.
His tone was playful, but his eyes were serious.
Mariabelle couldn't help but be fascinated by his deep blue eyes.
Then, a deliberate coughing sound echoed.
"Your Highness, please don't seduce a daughter in front of her father," James said.
Mariabelle suddenly came to her senses and looked at her father, who was wrinkling his brow.
She quickly removed her hand and hid it behind her back.
James looked at Mariabelle's hand behind her dress with a wry expression, then coughed again before standing up.
"In any case, she is still in her traveling clothes, so let her change," James said.
"I've already prepared some handmaidens for you. Please, come this way." Renato said.
After leaving the reception room, they walked down a corridor with a beautiful parquet pattern and found two doors.
When he opened one of the doors, Mariabelle found several handmaidens waiting for her inside.
"Then, please."
With these words, Renato closed the door, and Mariabelle was immediately taken by the handmaidens to the bathroom, where she was given a light bath, dressed in a simple, high-quality but unadorned outfit, and given a thin layer of makeup.
In no time, she was ready, and when she returned to the reception room where Renato and her father were waiting, she found James' eyes wide open at the sight of his daughter, whom he had never seen before.
"Even if I wanted to make her look like a mere town girl, it's impossible to hide Miss Berkeley's elegance. I've dressed her in a way that makes her look like a noblewoman's daughter on her way out."
Saying this, Renato stood next to Mariabelle.
He then accepted a wide-brimmed hat from Carlo, who was waiting, and placed it on Mariabelle's head.
The hat was decorated with lots of fresh red and white roses.
Renato, on the other hand, wasn't wearing a hat, but had a single purple rose on his chest.
The color of the flower on the hat at the flower festival has a meaning.
White flowers for the national founding celebration, yellow flowers for family and friends, and red flowers for lovers.
Mariabelle looked up at Renato, wondering what this meant. Renato noticed her gaze and gently brushed the purple rose on his chest with his fingertips.
"Although artificial flowers are usually used to decorate the flower festival, fresh flowers have a different meaning," Carlo said.
"This single purple rose means 'I am courting,' and the red rose means 'Please, be my lover'."
"In other words, if His Highness and Miss Berkeley were standing side by side, it would be a sign that no other man should come near them because His Highness is ardently courting the woman beside him," Carlo said.
Renato complained at Carlo's blunt explanation, "You should think about the atmosphere. What are you doing by creating such an atmosphere in front of the father of the woman I'm courting? Anyway, I'm going to go now. Time is limited," Renato said.
With that, Carlo pulled on a man's hat.
The hat, covered with white artificial flowers, suited Carlo surprisingly well.
"I'll stay here. Have fun," Carlo said
James, who had a complicated look on his face, saw her off, and Mariabelle headed to the flower festival with Renato.