Chapter 54
Someone knocked on the door. Sian lowered the veil she had raised over her head.
She didn’t particularly intend to hide her appearance, but under Carl’s judgment that there was no need to show her face and reveal her presence first, Sian was playing the concept of wearing mourning clothes in memory of her long-deceased parents.
By the way, who could it be? Sian tensely looked at the door through her veil.
“Your Highness, I’ve brought the items you ordered.”
A familiar voice was heard from beyond the door. The deep male voice was Max’s.
Ordered items? While Sian was wondering, Carl gave a deep sound of permission, saying, “Enter.”
The person who appeared when the door opened was indeed Max. At some point, Max, now dressed in the same servant attire as the Imperial Palace’s staff, entered the room and bowed politely. Behind him, mercenary members followed in a line, carrying large boxes.
“Have you already gotten a job at the Imperial Palace?”
“To be precise, I got them employed.”
Carl sat in a chair, folded his arms, and smiled contentedly. Sian looked at him with a bewildered face.
“Where should I put these, Your Highness?”
“Just set them down anywhere for now. We’ll check and organize the items.”
They say the position makes the man, and Max, dressed in the Imperial Palace servant’s clothes, acted like a real servant. Max, who had asked the Prince’s opinion with courtesy, set the boxes down one by one in a corner of the room.
The rest of the mercenaries who followed were also all dressed as servants. They too were each carrying armfuls of large and small boxes. Sian watched her comrades who had transitioned from mercenaries to servants with a rather dumbfounded gaze. A wry laugh naturally escaped her.
“But what on earth are these things?”
“Necessities.”
Carl answered. His expression was full of a mischievous smile.
“Open them.”
Carl gestured towards Sian, who was blinking with curiosity. He looked excited, full of pride and some indescribable expectation. Sian tilted her head for a moment and then approached the boxes. As she unwrapped the packaging of a box, she saw the dress inside.
“…Uh…”
Sian made an awkward sound as she discovered the neatly folded dress. The Prince and the mercenary-turned-servants all wore the same expression, as if they had planned it.
Sian looked around at them with a bewildered face and immediately opened another box. An innocent dress, a calm everyday dress, a party dress, sapphires, rubies, necklaces and rings crafted in gold and silver.
They were all expensive items, closer to luxuries than necessities.
“As the fiancée of the Lord of Ivarid and a Prince, you should be equipped with at least this much.”
The only ones in the room with dissatisfied faces were Dr. Zivago, who couldn’t bear to see the Prince and Sian getting along well, and Sian herself, the person in question. Feeling it was excessive or burdensome, Sian looked at Carl with a dazed expression due to the strange discomfort.
“Isn’t this too much?”
“Not at all. With the Dragon King assassinated and my brother and I at odds, there probably won’t be any big parties for a while, but once rumors spread that you’re my fiancée, connections trying to curry favor will line up. Think of it as battle gear.”
Battle gear.
Sian pulled the corners of her mouth into something resembling a smile, somehow convinced by Carl’s words.
…Well. Even for a country bumpkin who inadvertently followed a prince to the capital, it was natural that too shabby an appearance would be fodder for gossip, especially since she was already engaged to the prince.
With mixed feelings, Sian unfolded one of the dresses she had no excuse to refuse.
It was on a completely different level of luxury compared to the black dress she had bought from a shop to roughly match appearances upon entering the capital. The texture of the glossy fabric, the neat and flawless stitching, the impeccable finishing.
Moreover, the size seemed just right, as if tailored, to the point where a lady’s maid’s assistance wouldn’t be necessary.
“Thank you, I’ll accept them gratefully…”
The moment of being moved by the luxuriousness that made her feel she had really come to the Imperial Palace was brief. Sian answered, immersed in complex emotions difficult to explain, and felt a strange sense of discomfort.
“…?”
Sian tilted her head left and right, staring intently at the dress.
“What’s wrong?”
Carl had secretly hoped for a tearful expression of gratitude… well, not quite that much, but he was still a bit disappointed by Sian’s more subdued reaction than expected. When Sian went further and tilted her head as if sensing something strange, Carl looked at her expression and alternated between the dress she was looking at and her.
“Did you order this yourself?”
Judging by the flawless stitching and finishing, all the clothes must have been custom-made. Ah, Carl let out a low exclamation. So that’s why she was staring at the dress so intently.
“I did. I personally selected the fabrics and specially chose ones that would suit you…”
“…How do you know my size?”
“…Huh?”
Thinking she must be moved by his thoughtful consideration and sense, Carl’s shoulders rose high as he began to explain, but he was met with Sian’s sharp eyes full of suspicion rather than praise or admiration. The mercenary-servants who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the prince and his supposed fiancée all looked at Carl, following Sian’s gaze.
“…Uh?”
Suddenly, cold sweat broke out.
“Just by eye, I guess…? Why, does it seem too perfect a fit?”
Carl, who hadn’t been this nervous even when facing off against the Crown Prince in the noble assembly hall, now felt his shoulders stiffen with genuine tension.
“Anyone would think…”
Sian narrowed her eyes and held the dress up to her body.
“That someone who knows my size ordered this…?”
Sian’s suspicious eyes showed no sign of relenting. While not exact without direct measurements, the sleeve length, fit, everything was uncommonly precise.
“…Just how far have you two progressed in your relationship…”
Skull muttered in disbelief, looking appalled.
“It’s not like that!”
“W-What impertinent words are these? I didn’t do anything…”
Sian shouted, flushing, while Carl waved his hands in panic, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“You said you didn’t see anything when we first met… Don’t tell me you were lying, swearing on Idelin?”
“No, that’s…”
“When you first met? Wow, you managed to see something even in that state? Prince, you’re quite sly, unlike your appearance…”
“I’m telling you it’s not like that!”
Carl desperately denied it. But no one believed him.
“Lecher.”
“…”
“Scoundrel.”
“…”
“Oh my, what a terrible deceiver who even swears false oaths on his dragon.”
Carl could only sigh deeply with a criminal’s heart at Sian’s unrelenting accusations.
“Besides, just how many women have you been with to be able to gauge sizes well enough to order dresses after spending some time together? That’s quite a skill, really.”
Huh, indeed. Sian folded her arms and snorted mercilessly.
“…I’m telling you, it’s a misunderstanding. I really do have a good eye for these things.”
“I’ve never met anyone with truly good perception who claims to have good perception themselves.”
Haah, Carl scratched his temple while letting out a long, tired sigh.
“Well, I’ve seen you for more than a day or two so I’d know your height, and to be frank, haven’t I held you once or twice? I should know roughly.”
“Oh my, what scandalous things are you saying? Making people around us misunderstand! When did you ever hold me…!”
Sian denied it in shock. This time, Carl let out a scoffing laugh.
“You came into my bed first in Ivarid Castle!”
“T-That was an accident!”
“And when we were chased by soldiers in Ivarid Castle, clearly under the bed…!”
“Oh my goodness! That was an accident too!”
The argument between Carl and Sian continued for quite some time. Even Max, who was very favorable to their relationship, was now bored and picking his ears, while the rest of the mercenary-servants found their own rest spots to doze or play, showing no interest.
“…Well, all romances start with accidents. Let’s wrap this up now. The listeners are getting bored…”
“Whether you held her two times or three, I’m not really curious.”
“The thing I hate seeing most in the world is other people’s lover’s quarrels…”
Complaints erupted from those who were awake. Sian’s face turned bright red at the sensitive word ‘lover’s quarrel’.
“It’s not like that!”
“What do you mean it’s not?”
“Whose side are you on?”
“Yours, of course. But let’s get the facts straight. Lecher and scoundrel, is that any way to talk about a gentleman with keen perception?”
So much for being moved. Carl added, grumbling. Sian frowned, looking stung, having just received an onslaught of expensive gifts.
“Of course, I’m touched and very grateful for the gifts, but…”
“…Shh, someone’s coming.”
As Sian was saying this, Skull, who had been sitting near the door, suddenly stood up.
As Carl and Sian closed their mouths at these words, the room was enveloped in silence. Footsteps could be heard outside the quiet room. Not just one or two, but quite a number of footsteps.
Without anyone needing to say anything, Sian hurriedly put her black veil back on at the presence of a group approaching the Prince’s room. The rest of the mercenaries huddled around Carl.
“Who could it be? There’s no one who should be visiting.”
Carl showed a rather tense expression at the approaching presence.
— Knock knock.
