A few days later, returning from the Eustian Royal Library, Letier stopped in front of the grand palace gates.
The wide garden was filled with carriages bearing unfamiliar crests she had never seen before.
Lucy, carrying a pile of books in both hands behind her, stared curiously at the lined-up carriages and spoke.
“Huh? Isn’t that… the crest of the Gillard royal family?”
“Gillard?”
“Yes! A small kingdom located in the north of the Trillante Empire.”
Listening to Lucy’s explanation, Letier tilted her head.
Gillard was one of the northern small kingdoms that had friendly relations with the Trillante Empire.
Especially after Rosenthal became Empress, it was a place they had invested heavily in to expand influence in the north…
Wasn’t Gillard supposed to be on the Empress’s side?
“What could have brought Gillard all the way to Eustian? I don’t think I’ve heard of those two countries being on particularly good terms…”
“Who knows…”
Letier glanced at the sleek, sturdy carriages that clearly came from the north, then slowly turned her body.
Once inside the palace corridors, it became clearer what was happening.
The Eustian servants were rushing about, too busy to even finish preparing the conference room, and knights, officials, secretaries, and aides from Gillard were lined up in rows.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Lucy quickly moved closer to Letier.
“Lady… it looks like there’s an important meeting today?”
“Yeah… Maybe it’s related to the alliance terms between Trillante and Eustian?”
As they whispered softly, a familiar face hurried past them.
Recognizing him, Letier instinctively raised her hand.
“Um… Sion…?”
“Huh? Miss therapist?”
Sion, spotting her, quickly turned back.
He looked extremely tense, his usual relaxed smile was nowhere to be seen, and his face was filled with anxiety.
“Sion, are you okay? Why do you look so nervous?”
“Ah… well… is it that obvious?”
Sion scratched the back of his head with an awkward laugh.
Letier nodded seriously.
“Very obvious. Is there some important meeting today?”
“Ah… actually, I don’t know the details either. It’s so important that information is restricted. Besides, I’m just a junior secretary… Usually, juniors don’t get to attend meetings this big. I was just helping with the preparations.”
Right, Sion is still the youngest…
Letier looked at him with a hint of sympathy.
“I see. Then you’d better hurry back! Looks like you’re really busy.”
Sion nodded, giving her a lingering, regretful glance before finally turning away.
He rushed into the wide-open doors of the conference room and soon disappeared.
“Let’s go too, Lucy.”
Letier turned away without hesitation.
After all, it wasn’t like she could understand anything about such a high-level meeting.
She had only been curious because life at the Eustian palace was surprisingly dull.
“Huh? Isn’t that His Highness?”
Just then, Lucy, who had also turned to leave, whispered urgently.
Ack, no!
Hearing Lucy’s voice, Letier instinctively froze and frantically looked around for somewhere to hide.
A pillar!
She spotted a huge pillar and quickly calculated the distance in her mind, but suddenly stopped herself.
‘…Wait. Why am I trying to hide?’
Since that day at the festival, she hadn’t properly faced His Highness even once.
Feeling dizzy and confused inside, she had hidden every time she even glimpsed his shadow.
But…
‘…I didn’t do anything wrong!’
If anything, it was His Highness who had crossed the line!
Letier stood awkwardly in the middle of the corridor, staring at Dante’s group approaching from the conference room.
Dante, talking to Jade about something, stopped walking when he noticed Letier standing with Lucy.
His red eyes immediately locked onto her.
“……”
“Your Highness?”
Jade looked puzzled at Dante’s sudden halt.
“Your Highness, is everything all right?”
At the mage’s prompting, Dante quickly came back to himself and started moving again.
Letier quickly lowered her gaze and began walking casually along the outer edge of the corridor.
“……”
She quietly stared at the carpet patterns beneath her feet.
The sound of multiple footsteps grew louder and louder in her ears.
“……”
As the footsteps grew closer, so did the pounding of her heart.
Before she realized it, Dante had passed by her without a word.
Then came the loud boom of the conference room’s massive doors closing behind her.
Letier closed her eyes tightly, feeling as if her heart had dropped just like those heavy doors slamming shut.
****
“Lucy, are there no desserts today?”
“…Huh?”
Lucy, who had been sitting by the window reading a leaflet about the latest cosmetics, lifted her head at the sudden question.
Letier spoke with an unusually serious face.
“Normally, they bring dessert after meals, right? Maybe the chef forgot? Why don’t you go down to the restaurant and check?”
Blinking at the unexpected request, Lucy soon smiled slyly, as if she understood everything.
“You mean… you want me to check if the meeting is still going on?”
“What? No!”
Letier yelped, startled.
“I’m just asking you to check if there’s dessert!”
“That excuse is way too obvious, lady. If you’re that curious about the meeting, why not ask His Highness directly?”
…But things are so awkward between us right now.
“Hah, just wait a moment. Let’s see…”
Lucy got up and walked over to the window, peeking down.
“None of the northern carriages have moved from the garden. It looks like the meeting isn’t over yet.”
“I see…”
Letier quietly nodded.
“It’s already been seven hours since it started. They’re really dedicated. The sun’s been down for a while now… Oh?”
Just then, Lucy let out a small sound and pressed her face closer to the window.
“It’s over! Looks like it’s ending now! People are coming out and heading for their carriages!”
“…Really?”
Letier stood from her seat and walked to the window where Lucy was looking.
She leaned her head out as casually as possible and looked down.
Just like Lucy had said, the people from the meeting were climbing into their carriages one by one.
Behind them, the palace staff were busy cleaning up.
“But why are you so interested in the meeting, lady? It’s not like you.”
“Not like me?”
Letier asked, pulling her gaze away from the window.
“You’re usually not that curious about anything, except for cosmetics.”
Was I really like that…?
Letier seriously reflected on herself at Lucy’s comment.
Why was she so interested in the meeting today?
After thinking for a moment, Letier looked at Lucy with a determined expression and spoke.
“…Lucy, I’m going for a little walk.”
“Right now? Let me come with you!”
“No, it’s fine. I’m just going to stroll around the corridor. I need to clear my head.”
Honestly, it wasn’t the meeting she was curious about.
It was the person who attended the meeting.
She couldn’t get the tired, worn-out look of His Highness, when she’d seen him earlier in the corridor, out of her mind.
Wasn’t he pushing himself too hard…?
Letier gently sat Lucy back down and slowly turned away.
****
Letier walked toward the conference room where the meeting had been held, trying to act as casual as possible while sneaking glances inside.
‘…It’s not over yet?’
The doors were wide open, but there were still people inside speaking in low voices.
Every now and then, Dante’s low voice echoed out, drawing Letier’s steps closer without her realizing.
What’s he saying…
She slowly crept closer to the door, leaning her ear toward it.
“Oh my! What are you doing here?”
A bright, cheerful voice suddenly called out from behind her.
Startled like a child caught misbehaving, Letier whipped her head around.
Standing across the corridor in a luxurious, voluminous dress was Princess Rubia, smiling brightly at her.
“A-Ah, Your Highness!”
Letier quickly straightened up and bowed.
Rubia, clicking her heels lightly on the floor, approached her with a bright smile.
“Were you waiting for someone?”
She asked, her emerald green eyes glancing into the conference room.
“No! Nothing like that. I was just passing by and got curious… I was being rude.”
Letier answered awkwardly.
Rubia stared at her for a moment, then smiled again.
“Are you busy?”
“Huh?”
“Are you busy right now?”
“Ah, no!”
“Then would you have some tea with me? There’s something I’d like to talk about.”
So suddenly?
Blinking her eyes, Letier looked quietly at Rubia’s clear, striking features, then slowly nodded.
