Before the Continental War, a debutante was 12 years old and the legal age for marriage was 16, but these days, I thought that I should be at least twenty to be ready to take responsibility for building a family. Still, nineteen was not an unreasonable age to get engaged or married in the social world of Milua.
Brennan Stokes and Elizabeth McCarthy were the most perfect lovers I’ve ever known, and I loved them both so much that I wanted to be as helpful as possible.
“I’ve been thinking about something. What do you think about singing a proposal song in the square or something? I already wrote the lyrics. I became a poet again.”
“My God, Brennan Stokes. How fortunate that you’re not preparing for the proposal alone.”
I was horrified, having already known how terrible public confessions can be. and a song written by himself! I don’t know how well Brennan sings, but even if a siren who is said to bewitch people with her voice did that, I would still hate it.
“From now on, before you send a letter to Elizabeth, ask us first.”
Kyle said solemnly, tossing the turkey’s bone toward Brennan. Brennan was very sullen at our negative reaction. I went through my head quickly to comfort him. Did Liz ever mention anything about her romance? Fortunately, I’d been friends with her for almost 10 years, so I’m sure we’ve had that kind of talk at least once.
“A magic ship!”
Finally, I recalled a memory that might help Brennan. It was a thing of the past that hadn’t happened yet.
To celebrate Blossom’s birthday, Nadon’s twins rented a giant magic ship and held a banquet. I was kicked out with Kyle for bringing alcohol to the banquet hall, so I later asked Liz how the banquet on the magic ship was, and she replied with her dreamy eyes. ‘It was perfect.’
“Magic ship?”
Kyle asked nonchalantly. Brennan’s face was also full of question marks.
“Yes, a magic ship. We will rent a magic ship. Have dinner with the starry sky as the background. You can even recite a poem you wrote, but without singing. Anyway, it would be very romantic.”
“It sounds romantic, but where would I get the money to rent a magic ship?”
Brennan frowned. He was from a barony on the border of Milua, so his family was not well-off. It wouldn’t be easy for him even if he weren’t renting a magic ship that was huge enough to hold a banquet. Well, unless he has a cool, nice, and loyal friend like Ariel Dalton!
“Brennan Stokes, you will have to bow to where I live every morning for the next few years.”
I continued speaking in a very triumphant manner.
“Do you remember when I made a fortune selling magic locks last year?”
“How can I not remember? You sold it to me for five times the original price. You became a disgrace to your family for running such a wicked business.”
“That wicked business—what do you think about doing it?”
Only then did he realize what I was talking about, and a wave of emotion began to fill Brennan’s eyes.
“My parents are coming next week, and they’ve probably filled two chests with magic locks. I’ll just pay the original price and hand it over to you.”
“Oh, Ariel. You are my queen. Neither Anais O’Brien nor Rosemary Blossom can compare to your nobility.”
As if the word “poet” was not a lie, Brennan started praising me with all sorts of poetic expressions. He was almost ready to build a temple and carve my image on every pillar. As soon as Brennan took my hand in glee, Kyle said he would help him with selling the magic locks. He didn’t seem to like me getting all the praise alone.
Kyle Villard, who would still open his mouth even if he fell into the sea, was truly a great man who would even feed meat to elves. Brennan is now an ardent follower of Kyle.
***
After I hit the rock with an egg*, Professor Moore seemed to be very impressed with me. Whenever the time came when students needed to improve their morale in class, he would always talk about the brave girl from Milua who had exchanged swords with a holy knight of Illestia.
*(It is a word that refers to doing a foolish thing that will only result in loss, or a metaphor for a case that seems impossible and reckless, and there is no way to win.)
The same was true for some of the junior female students, including Kendra. Though they seemed to respect me more for not falling for Ramos’ temptations (he never tried to seduce me!) than for having sparred with Bolton.
I was the type to shy away from being on stage, so I didn’t like that kind of attention at all. So when I attended swordsmanship lessons, I tried to avoid drawing Professor Moore’s attention by standing in the farthest corner.
But Professor Moore seemed to think that was the kind of humility a hero should have, and whenever our eyes met by chance, he would praise me dryly and ask me to recreate that legendary scene.
In other words, it means facing Bolton.
Today I lacked agility. Bolton’s sword was still ruthless. He denied it vehemently, but I think he’s using some divine power. Without doing so, the place where I was hit couldn’t have been this hot.
“That is such an elegant look.”
After some sparring and watching Ariel Dalton’s Power Show, Professor Moore gave us a little break. Bolton clicked his tongue as he looked down at me sprawled on the floor without concern.
“Thank you. It could have been much more elegant if you hadn’t just attacked my side to death.”
“I say it every time, but you have too many gaps there.”
When I responded by emptying the water bottle he handed over to me with sarcasm, Bolton nagged me that my hands were playing separately and that my chest was too open when cutting diagonally. I don’t know why, but after climbing 400 steps up and down, he must have determined that we had become somewhat close.
After breaking down the high wall he put around his heart, Marquis Bolton unexpectedly became a person with a heart. He has now started sharing his brief personal affairs when he meets me in the hallways, cafeteria, or classrooms. like right now.
“Prince Keran can’t sleep.”
“Why? Is he busy?”
“There is that, but I think there are personal reasons as well, although he’s usually a light sleeper.”
The loyal Bolton shared a room with him because he had to protect Illestia’s safety. I imagined Illestia tossing and turning and Bolton standing guard by his bed, wearing armor and holding a sword.
Since he was a priest who was nominated as the next pope candidate by the Holy Church of Illestia, he possessed stronger divine power than Illestia, who inherited the blood of Kaitlyn the Great. The biggest feature of his divine power was that he was shining, so he was probably like a moving light, fully prepared for battle.
“Isn’t it because it’s burdensome to have you watching him whether he’s sleeping or not?”
“For the imperial family, that is part of their daily life. That’s nothing new.”
Bolton dismissed the new possibility I had suggested with displeasure. Either way, I was worried about Illestia. If he wasn’t in good shape, deciphering <Patch Notes> would be halted.
I said that I wanted to borrow only the feet of a manticore, but in fact, I felt that I was not even as good as a well-trained manticore. Not enjoying human flesh was my only advantage.
The <Patch Notes> that we have deciphered so far after putting our heads together, if the date written at the top is correct and I am moving in the right direction, were recorded at regular intervals with some exceptions. However, there were several records in an unusually short time near the torn pages that I had found before, and Illestia had been engrossed in them recently.
Based on the torn pages, roughly a dozen pages shared a certain sentence, he said. As it had been written several times, it must have been quite important, so Illestia decided to decipher it first, putting everything else aside.
“It’s a big problem then.”
Seeing my seriousness, Bolton snorted.
“Why is it a big problem? Are you really seeing each other?”
“How did you come up with that? Are you saying that you failed to protect the crown prince of the Holy Illestia Empire from the daughter of a viscount in Milua?”
“No matter how you think about it, it’s strange. He’s never given such a personal order.”
“What order? The partner thing that didn’t work out because you dumped me?”
“Do you have to—!”
Blood rushed to Bolton’s pale face. Seeing him like this, he’s almost like a child who can’t hide anything, but I understand why he was called the ‘iron-blooded prince’ in some parts of the country.
“You know, Bolton. I know you’re in the middle of a love business right now; that’s why your brain has pickled in it, but please don’t treat the prince as a wholesale price.”
“When did I?”
“Rather than that, speaking of your love business, have you been to the store I recommended the other day?”
I couldn’t resist the impulse to laugh at Bolton’s pure love for Blossom and ended up being his love consultant. If I needed to cheer someone up to have things go well with Rosemary Blossom, it would have to be my dear friend Kyle, but since Bolton wasn’t as gifted with romance as I thought, a little help wouldn’t be a problem.
Bolton nodded sternly at my question. However, he said he regretted sitting down until the clerk came to him because he didn’t know he had to go directly to the checkout counter to order.
“Didn’t it seem too aristocratic?”
“I guess so. But you are an aristocrat. What’s wrong with aristocrats being aristocrats?”
“Rosemary is a commoner. I don’t want to make her feel distant.”
“What a great lover you are.”
Unknowingly, my lips twitched. Bolton saw that I was holding back a laugh, and then he turned away with his feet thumping louder than before. Thanks to that, everyone at the training grounds, including Professor Moore, witnessed Dalton’s tomboy lying on her back. I raised my body exaggeratedly, and by doing so, I hoped it would look like a continuation of some muscle relaxation exercise.
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