The envoy procession had already arrived, and they had exchanged pleasantries with Julion.
Julion quickly noticed my approach, and his eyes widened.
“Rohiriel, is your somedule today all finished?”
I wanted to answer positively with faint hope in his golden eyes, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
I shook my head as I stood by Julion’s side as he led the way.
“No, I just wanted to take a quick look at something.”
“Something you want to see…?”
Julion asked with a puzzled tone, tilting his head.
But before I could explain further, the man at the forefront of the envoy procession stepped forward and bowed his head.
“I greet Rohiriel Roa Sertizan, the Light of the Empire. I am Shutkatan, the prince of Razia.”
He was the prince of Razia.
Instead of addressing me as the crown princess, he greeted me by my name.
Seeing his gentle smile and shining eyes, it seemed like he had no ill intentions, so I smiled back and replied softly.
“Nice to meet you, Prince Shutkatan. I’ve heard some rumors…”
“Oh, it’s an honor that you’ve heard of me. If it’s not impolite, may I ask what rumors you’ve heard?”
“Well. That you have a gentle nature… and…”
His crimson eyes, shining even brighter than before, were intently fixed on me.
Instinctively, I glanced at the envoy standing behind him, but no one stopped the prince.
‘It’s too burdensome.’
I’ve heard no rumors.
The prince wouldn’t be oblivious to casual greetings.
I racked my brain to come up with one more thing to say.
“And…that you possess a great deal of curiosity.”
“Oh, yes. I often hear that without curiosity, one might as well be dead. Hahaha!”
The prince laughed heartily.
Feeling quite bothered to engage further, I stepped back and grabbed Julion’s sleeve.
In the past, I might have just brushed him off, but this prince was Julion’s guest. It was more appropriate for Julion to handle him than for me to step in.
Julion seemed to understand my thoughts as he spoke with a stern expression.
“It would be very easy for the Prince of Razia to become a corpse. Curiosity is an easy thing to move.”
“Haha, Your Highness jests cruelly.”
“I’m not one to enjoy jokes.”
Julion’s voice was cold.
Glancing up, he stared at Prince Shutkatan, one corner of his mouth slightly raised.
‘I didn’t mean to provoke a fight.’
Worried it might escalate, I tugged on Julion’s sleeve.
Julion’s arm twitched slightly at my touch.
“I apologize if I’ve made a mistake. I’ve heard rumors about Her Highness’s supreme mastery of medicine, so I may have been too impertinent.”
Prince Shutkatan flashed a crooked smile and bowed politely.
Finally, with what seemed like a normal gesture, I was about to respond that everything was fine.
That is, until the conversation took a bizarre turn.
“In that sense, Your Highness, please feel free to refer to me as Shuka!”
“…Excuse me?”
No matter how much I think about it, this prince seems a little out of place… No, there’s something strange about this prince.
“How dare you, when I, myself, am still…”
And needless to say, Julion’s expression hardened into a terrifying one, with his buttons clearly pushed.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Fortunately, nothing serious happened.
Julion seemed poised to strike Prince Shutkatan’s neck at any moment, but thanks to the timely arrival of the princess of Razia, the atmosphere was refreshed.
“Chersoniet deli Razia, it is an honor to greet the crown prince of the empire and the crown princess.”
I heard the princess wasn’t in the best of health and had fallen a bit behind.
As she descended from the carriage, Princess Chersoniet gracefully bowed. She had rare pink curls.
Her voice was soft and melodious. She displayed a small smile and a calm expression.
‘Quite the opposite of Prince Shutkatan.’
The only similarities they had were their facial features and red eyes.
Princess Chersoniet seemed to sense the odd atmosphere, showing a slight hint of confusion.
However, she quickly composed herself and spoke.
“I apologize, Your Highnesses. On behalf of my brother, allow me to offer my apologies.”
Then, without another word, she knelt on the ground.
Her delicate, white hands touched the ground as she bowed deeply.
Apologizing without even knowing the situation, this princess seemed a bit… odd too.
“Do you know what’s going on, Princess?”
Julion, also perplexed by the Princess of Chersoniet’s actions, inquired with a slight chuckle.
The princess flinched and shook her head slightly.
“No, not at all. But I know my brother must have done something wrong.”
“I see you have little trust in your brother.”
“……I apologize. Please forgive him.”
Thud. A faint trace of transparent tears marked the ground.
Although her face was not visible as she had her head bowed, it was clear that she was crying.
“Come on, Cherry, there’s no need to cry. Get up.”
The confused Prince Shutkatan tried to help Chersoniet get up from behind.
The face of Princess Chersoniet, as she was forcibly lifted up, was truly pitiful.
Her pink eyelashes, the same color as her hair, fluttered, and her pale lips slowly opened.
“I showed disgrace. I apologize, Your Highness.”
At this point, it was Julion’s turn to say it was alright.
But judging by his expression, he definitely did not intend to do so.
‘I shouldn’t have come here. I should have just waited patiently.’
If it were a rare herb, the final destination would likely be the palace infirmary.
If I had waited, I could have checked it in the afternoon, but I came a little earlier to see it, and now I’m stuck in this uncomfortable situation.
Glancing around, I noticed Hemion was also stuck, wearing a troubled expression.
Julion… was still frowning deeply.
It seemed I had to take charge of the situation.
I spoke up, subtly pushing aside Julion’s arm that was blocking me.
“It’s okay, Princess; please don’t cry. Anyway, you must be quite exhausted. It’s best for you to rest for now. Right, Julion?”
I tried shaking Julion’s arm, but he remained unmoved.
Noticing his ominous golden gaze, I nudged his back.
“Let’s finish up and go have lunch together, Julion.”
Finally, Julion’s eyes met mine.
I grinned slightly, applying some pressure.
The complexity in his gaze softened, and he let out a small sigh.
“…Very well. Freck, guide the guests from Razia to their quarters.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Freck led the Razian siblings to their prepared accommodations.
Although Princess Chersoniet glanced back sadly a few times, I had something else on my mind.
‘The reason I came here…’
I came to see the rare herbs, but instead, we ended up engaging in pointless bickering.
Still, it was fortunate that we resolved the situation.
Given the circumstances, I expected Julion to agree to have lunch together as soon as I suggested it.
“Let’s go, Rohiriel. Let’s eat.”
Julion, gripping my hand tightly, gave me a meaningful look.
His lips curled into a gentle smile, as if he had never been angry.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Cherry, what’s your secret?”
After entering their private quarters, Shutkatan immediately approached Chersoniet and asked her curiously.
“Tell me, too, Cherry. How can you make your tears flow so effortlessly like that?”
“Please don’t call me that. It gives me the creeps.”
“Oh, my adorable little sister Cherry! When did you grow up to reject me like this… Ouch!”
When Chersoniet’s heel landed on his foot, Shutkatan finally stopped speaking.
He rubbed the top of his foot and frowned.
“Come on, we’re supposed to work together.”
“If that’s the case, my dear brother, why are you incurring the crown prince’s wrath on your first day? You shouldn’t do anything that isn’t part of the plan.”
“That’s unfair. It wasn’t intentional.”
“What do you mean? Weren’t you deliberately trying to provoke him?”
“Of course not. I just wanted to…”
Shutkatan couldn’t help but think of the woman with all white features.
Silky white hair, brilliant blue eyes.
Elegant, graceful, yet with a hint of cuteness…
“I just wanted to get acquainted with Her Imperial Highness.”
She was renowned throughout the continent for her exceptional medical skills, after all.
Shutkatan, who dabbled in medicine himself in Razia, wanted to have a deep conversation with Rohiriel.
“Then why was the crown prince glaring at you, brother, so murderously?”
“I don’t know either. I just asked Her Highness to call me Shuka, and out of the blue, he became angry. Ack! And again, in the exact same place…!”
Shutkatan sat down on the floor, massaging his injured toe. The pain was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
As he removed his shoe and checked for wounds, Chersoniet’s cold voice fell into his ear.
“That’s the problem, Brother Shutkatan. If you’re not going to help me, will you please pretend you’re not here?”
It was a voice that only emerged when she was truly angry.
Swallowing his saliva, Shutkatan quietly nodded.
“Sorry. I guess I got carried away.”
Rohiriel Roa Sertizan. He had made every effort to come here as the representative of this diplomatic mission, just to meet her.
That’s why he got too excited about their first meeting.
Shutkatan’s shoulders slumped as he rubbed the swollen toe of his foot.
The Princess of Chersoniet’s icy gaze slowly shifted towards the window.
Although Shutkatan was the first to commit the initial discourtesy, the prince’s anger seemed disproportionately intense compared to that.
But with just a word from the princess, all the anger melted away.
‘They seem to get along better than I thought.’
If that’s the case, how should she approach them?
Chersoniet murmured softly, lost in thought.
“Now that it’s come to this, I’ll have to change the plan a bit.”
