Apparently, the expression I wore while imagining a peaceful future had been interpreted in some strange way, because Minabel suddenly burst into tears and threw her arms around me from the other side.
Without warning, I ended up sandwiched between two women like jam between slices of bread.
More than touching, it was honestly a little suffocating.
“You worked hard, Bel. Without you, this wouldn’t have been resolved so easily. I was really nervous.”
“What are you talking about?! For someone who was nervous, you lied unbelievably well! Even if a fight broke out in the middle of the street, you’d never lose.”
I had no idea what exactly she meant, but being praised still made me happy, so I smiled weakly.
Even though the road ahead was still incredibly long.
* * *
“But you know…”
When we boarded the carriage to return home, Minabel cautiously began speaking.
A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. Why was she acting so hesitant?
“I was wondering when you’d ask.”
“But there’s no original story left to rely on anymore! That just makes every single action even scarier!”
“Alright, alright. So what is it?”
She had clearly wanted to ask something for a while now. Her face brightened immediately.
“I think Tie really is beautiful.”
“Huh? Suddenly?”
I considered myself someone who was usually good at reading the mood, but this completely blindsided me.
What in the world was she talking about?
“She’s an unrivaled beauty. Truly the treasure of the Empire. Ah, of course Rphina unni is beautiful too.”
“I still don’t know why you call her Rphina, but just call her Pina if you want. Anyway, Tie’s beauty is famous throughout the Empire. At her debutante ball, there were so many people lined up asking her for dances that the line stretched outside the ballroom.”
My sister began proudly boasting about me as though she hadn’t even heard the compliment directed at herself.
“But after three dances I fainted because I ran out of breath…”
That was the day I realized dancing and I were fundamentally incompatible.
“It really was a spectacular debutante.”
Minabel nodded with a smile, as though recalling the memory fondly. We had apparently been friends back then too.
“So maybe His Highness fell for you too? My extensive reading experience is telling me so.”
“What?”
The color drained from my sister’s face. Mine probably didn’t look much different.
“No.”
I rejected the idea firmly, causing Minabel to tilt her head in confusion.
Anyway, absolutely not. If I hadn’t noticed, then there was no way that was true.
No way!
* * *
Lucian Advein returned to the Imperial Palace while surrendering himself to a strangely unreal floating sensation.
Flotie Rosena.
The moment her true appearance was revealed, her pink hair faded as though bleached away before shimmering into silver, while her green eyes transformed into cold violet.
Lucian could not forget the feeling of that instant when she became an entirely different person.
His heart had pounded wildly, and his mind had felt shaken apart by a bizarre sensation.
It felt as though that lady had seized my heart with her gaze and shaken it violently. Like being pierced through with a blade.
If there had been someone around capable of teaching him such things, they would have told him that this was called love at first sight.
Unfortunately, there was no one in Lucian’s life knowledgeable enough about romance to explain it.
“Your Highness, you’ve returned?”
When he arrived at the prince’s palace, Haston greeted him with a displeased expression.
A precious attendant, knight, and friend who had remained by his side since childhood.
These days he seemed to have forgotten all sense of hierarchy and spoke far too freely… but Lucian had graciously decided to let him live for the time being.
Though he hadn’t expected “the time being” to become ten years.
“Yes.”
“Couldn’t you at least tell me where you’re going? ‘Don’t follow me. If you send anyone after me, I’ll kill both of you.’ You really shouldn’t throw around the word kill so casually.”
“Then I’ll say elegantly that I won’t let them off easily.”
“If Your Highness insists on living quietly, you should be even more careful with your words. Especially lately, when rumors are already spreading that you’ve been frequenting shabby taverns. Do you know how anxious this Haston has been because of that…?”
“I was at a shabby tavern, so what’s there to worry about? Whoever reported it described it accurately.”
Say one thing to him and he answered with ten.
He had always been talkative, but instead of growing more dignified with age, it only kept getting worse.
“That’s exactly why I’m asking you not to go to such places! Why does Your Highness pretend not to understand the heartfelt concerns of this loyal servant?! Those places are crawling with unsavory people. Today there were even ass—”
Haston abruptly cut himself off before saying assassins, glancing around coldly.
Inside the Imperial Palace, there were far more listening ears than outside.
“It was noisy enough that rumors must already be spreading. Perhaps it’s time I stopped visiting.”
Originally, that place had been where Lucian purchased information.
But if assassins had infiltrated it, then either the informant had betrayed him or already died.
The poisoning attempt and drawn blades had been so clumsy that Lucian had simply watched in disbelief—until the unexpected variable named Flotie appeared.
“Enough about that. Do you know anything about Flotie Rosena?”
Ignoring the concerns of his loyal retainer entirely, Lucian immediately moved to the main topic.
“The youngest daughter of House Rosena?”
“I heard she isn’t married yet.”
“Yes, she’s seventeen this year. It’s already famous that Duke Rosena treasures his daughters dearly. I hear marriage proposals arrive almost daily, but because of her poor health they continue delaying things. Especially after the title of heir was transferred.”
“There seem to be quite a lot of bold people.”
Lucian sneered as though displeased by something, causing Haston—who had been helping remove his coat—to stare at him in disbelief.
Since when had the prince who supposedly cared nothing for noblewomen suddenly become interested in one?
“Then how much do you know about House Rosena itself? Not strange rumors. Tell me only the truth.”
“The truth?”
You suddenly start asking things you’ve never cared about before. I was beginning to think you’d finally gone mad.
After twitching his lips slightly, Haston gave up and continued speaking.
From the reason Serphina—whom even the Mage Tower coveted—had inherited the title of heir, to why she secluded herself within the ducal estate to remain beside Flotie.
Unfortunately, after all that explanation, the prince only seemed interested in one part.
“So the sisters are close.”
“Close? It’s honestly excessive. Everyone who knows the rumors already knows Serphina dotes on her little sister endlessly because Lady Flotie has always been frail. Those rumors calling her some madwoman who abuses her sister are complete nonsense.”
“Flotie is ill?”
“Yes. They say she was born weak. She was constantly sickly, and when she was younger there were even rumors she wouldn’t survive past ten. She spent almost every day bedridden, though apparently it isn’t quite that severe anymore…”
At some point, Lucian stopped truly listening as he recalled Flotie’s appearance.
Certainly, the moment her disguise magic disappeared, all color had drained from her face.
Not simply cold-looking—she had been pale to an almost excessive degree.
She did seem fragile.
He also remembered the way she had desperately endured when he released his aura earlier.
Ordinary people didn’t tremble and suffer like that. Most merely froze beneath the oppressive pressure.
But Flotie had looked as though she might lose consciousness at any moment.
She had seemed so fragile that even Lucian had instinctively restrained his aura belatedly.
Come to think of it, the magic that guard used wasn’t ordinary either.
If they possessed enough mastery of ancient magic to spread such large-scale wards around the ducal estate, then the magicians within House Rosena were likely exceptional as well.
And House Rosena itself—even Lucian, who intentionally ignored political information, had heard enough to know it possessed immense influence within the Empire.
He had heard rumors about Flotie too.
That she was cold, sharp-tongued, and extremely selective about the people she associated with.
But the Flotie he met in reality was completely different from those rumors.
Heed the will of the gods, owner of the red eyes.
Her gaze lingered in his mind—the gaze of someone who claimed she merely desired peace for herself.
Yet despite that frail body, she had sought him out personally.
House Rosena was far too powerful to act out of desperation alone.
If the Imperial Family were ever to fall, Rosena possessed enough influence to pursue power for themselves.
It would actually be easier for them to seize power if the Imperial Family collapsed beneath divine punishment. Calling herself selfish is almost laughable.
