“Do you think that’s an appropriate thing for a lady to do?” I reprimanded her. Usually this would be Jeord or Keith’s job...

“But nobody’s looking! And it really feels good. You should try it yourself!”

Not only had she completely ignored me, but she even suggested I join her. If I were used to scolding Katarina, like Jeord and Keith were, maybe I could have managed to stop her... but this was a rare thing for me.

And also... she looked so happy with her bare feet on the grass, walking around under the sun... enticingly so. As a prince, I normally wouldn’t do anything unbefitting of a noble, but I couldn’t resist the temptation of sharing something so unusual, improper even, with Katarina.

I found myself barefoot, stepping onto the grass. It really felt good... I couldn’t blame her. I lost myself in the moment and, when I looked to the side, she wasn’t there anymore.

She was here seconds ago! What happened?! Did she get kidnapped again?!

“Katarina! Where are you?!” I shouted while frantically looking for her.

“Prince Alan! Over here!” came a casual voice from above.

I looked up and was shocked to find Katarina sitting on a tree branch.

“What are you doing up there?! I thought you were done with tree climbing!”

As a kid she’d spent more time atop trees than she did on the ground, but after her debut in society, the people around her insisted on it strongly enough that she decided to stop playing in trees... or at least, that’s what she’d said.

“I’ve been resisting the temptation all this time! But I was barefoot, and there happened to be a tree next to me, so...”

“So what? This isn’t your home! You’re at the academy!”

She laughed in response, and all I could do was sigh at this helpless girl.

“Don’t worry! Even from up here, there’s no one in sight. And the view is fantastic! Why don’t you come up too?” she said while playfully gesturing for me to come to her.

Climbing a tree in the academy was absolutely unthinkable. But today — maybe because of Katarina’s influence — my self-control wasn’t quite working.

I’m already barefoot, and if it’s just a little bit... just a couple of branches... were my unusually unrestrained thoughts.

And so, for the first time in eight years, I climbed up a tree. The memory of my climbing competition with Katarina in her garden was embarrassing but nostalgic at the same time. After that (as is the norm for any self-respecting noble), I had never even thought of going up a tree again. Despite this, muscle memory helped me reach the same height as Katarina relatively quickly.

I sat next to her, and she welcomed me with a smile. If we still were kids we probably could have sat on the same branch, but considering how much heavier we were now, I chose another one nearby.

I looked down at the courtyard, which looked nothing like it normally did. It was larger and more beautiful than I thought it was, shiny with its sunlit grass. Back when I first climbed on top of that tree in the Claes garden, I felt exactly the same as I did right now, after all these years. When you look at it from a new perspective, the world can be so different.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“...Yeah, it is,” I replied to Katarina.

“I told you!” she boasted with an innocent but prideful smile.

I felt a pounding inside my chest. A year had passed since I’d recognized what my true feelings for her were. I’d probably been in love with her for much longer, but was too dense to realize it.

Even then, with my twin being engaged to her, what could I do? I had to forget about her... which was easier said than done. Her smile was enough to send my heart racing.

“The wind feels so good, too!”

Just there, easily within my grasp, I could see them: her carefree smile, her eyes glowing with happiness. But I couldn’t move my arm... I couldn’t bring myself to close that last tiny distance keeping us apart.

I was resolved not to tell Katarina about how I felt about her, forcing all romantic feelings out of my mind so that one day in the not-so-distant future I could congratulate her on her marriage to my brother.

I knew painfully well that I couldn’t make her mine, but then... why? Why did I find myself hoping that this moment, shared between the two of us, could last forever?

But time is bound to pass and take with it my vain delusions. We couldn’t stay on this tree forever. What if someone saw us?

I reluctantly started climbing down, with the intention of helping Katarina’s descent once I was on the ground... But I had forgotten about how she was dressed today.

“Wait! Stop!” I shouted at her from below as she started moving towards a lower branch.

I hadn’t really thought about it when we were sitting together, but she was wearing a dress. And now, from this angle... I could see right up her skirt.

“I said stop! I can see up your skirt!” I shouted again, unsure if I should focus on decorum or helping Katarina — whose clothes made it hard to move — to the ground.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m wearing trousers underneath,” she said, noticing my distress and lifting her skirt.

She was definitely wearing something underneath her skirt, but it barely counted as trousers! It was so short that I could clearly see most of her thighs! The view of her bare legs made my face turn red and my heart throb uncontrollably.

I somehow helped Katarina, whose descent was so practiced that she hardly needed any help anyway, down from the tree. Then, still blushing, I shouted at her. “You’re not a kid anymore! Learn some decency!”

Her reaction reminded me of a puppy who doesn’t understand why it’s being scolded, but still looks up at its master. I gave up and sighed.

My oblivious friend and I went back to the dormitory, and thus ended my afternoon of bliss.

The only thing that was left to me after those few hours was the image of her legs burnt into my eyes. A souvenir that would definitely keep me up at night...