Chapter 20
“But, Commander…”
Rowan turned around, feeling a chill from behind. Havel, emanating a dark and oppressively cold aura, was staring directly at Rowan.
There was clearly nothing there, but Rowan swallowed hard, feeling as if a knife were at his throat.
“Sir Rayon, are you done with the practice? Why is everyone slacking off? Is there nothing to do? Have you all mastered everything perfectly?”
Pa-pa-pak! The knights quickly got up and began their sword dance in perfect unison. At Havel’s sharp presence, Rayon also put his bag down under the tree and swiftly returned to his position.
Rowan, who had been watching Havel warily, took a step to move toward the training ground when a large hand rested on his shoulder.
“Commander…?”
“You will spar with me. My body feels stiff after concentrating on the sword dance for a few days.”
No, absolutely not, the Commander’s swordplay could ever get rusty.
Rowan wailed internally but couldn’t utter a single word, only managing an awkward smile.
“Then, shall we go to the training ground?”
“Yes. Oh, it would be good to use wooden swords today, for a change.”
Gasp, huff, puff. The sound of gasping for breath could be heard from all over the training ground.
It would be good to use wooden swords. That phrase carried an unspoken message that said, ‘I plan to beat you black and blue today,’ and the knights all let out quiet groans.
Hoping for a knight to help him, Rowan cast a pleading glance around the training ground. But the knights, seemingly desperate to survive, meticulously avoided his gaze, staring straight ahead and completely ignoring him.
Moved by his comrades’ deep solidarity, tears welled up in Rowan’s eyes.
Rowan accepted reality and followed Havel. And soon after, only Rowan’s pitiful screams echoed through the training ground.
* * *
“Rima, I could have just gone to your salon.”
“No, you’re our salon’s most special client, so of course I should come to you. Besides, I had to come to the capital anyway today to order fabric from the linen shop.”
In the blink of an eye, only two days remained until the Blyos Kingdom delegation arrived.
I hadn’t planned on getting a dress for this party, but Hilda and Liche had sighed so heavily in the dressing room that I had no choice but to hastily get a dress fitted.
Time was pressing, so I had half given up and sent a letter to Rima. Fortunately, Rima rushed straight to the mansion, and now I was choosing a dress from Rima’s design book.
“Hmm, you’ve worn beige-toned dresses with a lot of embellishments so far, haven’t you? This one’s a bit different… I made it recently, you see. It’s a dress with dark colors, mixing various fabrics to create a flowing color effect. How about this one?”
“It’s so beautiful!”
The ethereal, flowing dress looked like something a Roman goddess would wear. As I admired it, I suddenly realized the color transitioned from a dark violet to a deep blue.
“Oh, but Rima, I can’t wear blue.”
“Yes? Why not? Blue isn’t bad for your skin tone, Young Lady.”
“No, it’s not that. Someone told me their dress code was deep blue.”
“Yes?”
“They told me they were going to wear it, so I shouldn’t, right?”
If I were to wear blue after he said that, he’d surely be displeased. Though I don’t know why his suit and my dress can’t be the same color.
“Young Lady, was the person who said that another young lady?”
“Huh? No, it was a man.”
“……”
When Rima, who had suddenly become silent, made a soft “hmm,” I looked up from my design book.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“Young Lady… Um, well, um…”
Feeling frustrated with Rima’s trailing words, I urged her on.
“Why, why? You can tell me.”
“Well, when that gentleman told you his dress code, I don’t think he meant for you to avoid the color.”
“He didn’t? Then what did he mean?”
“He meant… not to avoid it, but to match your dress code with his. Usually, noble young ladies and masters who are secretly dating match their dress codes like that.”
“…What? Secretly dating?”
Why does this absurd phrase fit so well? No, it’s a secret, but it’s not dating… I don’t think it is, but Havel might think it’s dating… No, I made it clear that it wasn’t… Why does this phrase fit us so well?!
Rima leaned in and whispered to me, who was stunned and struck by the phrase “secretly dating.”
“Young Lady, don’t worry. It doesn’t seem your maid heard what I just said.”
“Huh?”
No, I’m not secretly dating! Why are you winking at me with such a convinced expression that I am?
“For the dress, I think a light sky blue would be good to match the deep blue. If I saw the Young Master’s tailcoat design, I could match it even better, but we don’t have time for that now… I’ll quickly make it for you, without too many beads, to match the feel of the tailcoat.”
“No, you really don’t need to…”
“No, Young Lady. If the Young Master told you that, it must mean he has expectations, and we can’t let him down, can we?”
That day, I’ll make sure the Young Master only has eyes for the Young Lady.
Rima took the design book from me with a confident expression, as if telling me to trust her.
No, why is she so passionate about this? Wait, am I really going to wear a couple’s dress with Havel like this?
“Rima, Rima, wait, that dress…”
“Don’t worry about the dress. I’ll make sure you can keep this romantic promise.”
Oh, dear, she’s not listening to me.
Perhaps she thought I was calling her because I was worried, Rima reassured me and quickly packed her bag. Even when I desperately called her name, Rima, she seemed to hear nothing.
No, it’s not like that! I wanted to shout, but seeing Rima’s oddly delighted expression, I couldn’t bring myself to.
“Young Lady, then I’ll take my leave now.”
“…Yes, please take care of it.”
Well, it’ll work out somehow. Yes, no one will think Havel and I matched our dress codes except for us.
…Yes, that’s what will happen.
“Young Lady, dinner is ready.”
Shaking off my worries at Liche’s cheerful voice, I headed to the dining room for a pleasant meal.
* * *
The warm sunlight shone down on the well-manicured lawn in front of the main palace, where the Emperor resided.
In front of the main palace gate, Grand Duke Havel, First Princess Elise, and Crown Prince Yuan were standing in a line with soldiers, awaiting the arrival of the delegation.
Elise glanced at her uncle, who looked absolutely perfect again today. Havel, sensing her gaze, asked in a low voice.
“Your Highness, do you have something to say to me?”
“Uncle, I told you to call me by my name.”
“You’ll be an adult soon, so this is appropriate.”
Havel drew a line without even looking at Elise. Elise thought sometimes he felt too cold, but then again, Havel’s gentle side wouldn’t suit him.
Elise openly glanced at Havel, who was dressed in imperial attire instead of his usual knight uniform, and Havel’s eyebrows twitched upwards.
“Your Highness.”
It was a short address, but Elise understood its meaning, “What are you doing?”, and gave a mischievous smile.
“Just, Uncle looks so handsomely dressed, I was admiring you. Even an emotionless block of wood like Uncle can’t help but dress up for your fiancée, after all.”
“Fiancée?”
Havel turned his body toward Elise. Elise looked at Havel with a “why are you like that?” expression at Havel’s displeased demeanor.
“I heard my father and mother talking. There’s talk of a marriage arrangement with Princess Daisy of Blyos. I thought Uncle already knew…”
Elise’s words trailed off as she saw Havel’s increasingly grim atmosphere. Yuan, who had been quietly listening beside them, subtly tugged Elise’s arm due to Havel’s unusual mood and spoke to Havel.
“My sister must have misunderstood. Uncle, sister, it’s best not to discuss unconfirmed matters outside. There are many ears listening.”
“…Yes, I’m sorry. I must have misunderstood.”
Elise looked at Havel with the eyes of a puppy with its tail between its legs.
Havel let out a short sigh. It wasn’t even Elise’s fault, and he felt guilty for getting angry at his young niece.
It was all my brother’s doing.
Havel didn’t like seeing his nieces and nephews, whom he had watched grow up since childhood, watching his every move.
“No, I was overly sensitive. The engagement talk is just a small misunderstanding between His Majesty and me, and it will be as if it never happened. So please do not spread that rumor elsewhere, Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“The carriages are entering.”
Just then, Yuan loudly announced as he spotted the Blyos carriages.
Three carriages, escorted by knights, lined up and stopped in front of them. The door of the most extravagant carriage in the middle opened, and Princess Daisy and Duke Arnold Crowde appeared before the people.
“Welcome to the Empire, Princess Daisy, Duke Crowde.”
Daisy and Duke Crowde got off from the carriage and approached where Havel was standing.
Daisy, smiling at Havel’s welcome, moved her pink lips.
“Thank you for such a warm welcome, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for the welcome, Your Highness, Princess, Prince.”
Duke Crowde quickly greeted the Princess and Prince on behalf of Daisy, who couldn’t tear her eyes away from Havel.
Havel and Daisy’s eyes met. Daisy’s eyes sparkled, and she took another step closer to Havel, but Havel turned his gaze to Duke Crowde and took a step back.
“All preparations have been made for you to rest after your long journey. The banquet for the delegation will be held in the evening, so please enjoy your rest until then. His Majesty will also be present at the banquet. The rest of the welcome will be handled by the Princess and Prince. I must excuse myself, I have matters to attend to.”
With brisk, efficient words that didn’t seem rushed, Havel turned and walked away before Daisy could utter a word.
After Havel disappeared, a moment of silence lingered among the four remaining people. The silence was soon broken by Duke Crowde’s small chuckle.
“Well, Princess’s endeavor seems unlikely to go well.”
“Shut up, Arnold.”
Watching Princess Daisy hurl insults at Duke Crowde with a smile, and Duke Crowde smiling back without flinching, Elise and Yuan broke into a sweat, desperately calling out to their already vanished uncle in their hearts.
