“Your younger sister, she looks so much like you, it’s really cute.”
“….”
“If I hadn’t seen her with my own eyes, I would’ve laughed it off, but she was really adorable. Like the epitome of a youngest sister.”
“Instead of saying that, why don’t you find other princesses in the palace cute? Your Highness, it seems you always overlook the fact that you have a younger sister as well.”
“Tsk, can’t I say anything else? Then, what about that maid?”
Suddenly remembering, Nicholas laughed and spoke.
“It kept popping into my head for some reason. Despite her appearance, there’s something slightly adorable about her being a bit mischievous…”
Snap!
Before Nicholas could finish his sentence, Lucio snapped his fingers with a stern look on his face.
Then, Bert, who appeared out of thin air, quickly subdued Nicholas and began dragging him out of the room.
With a bewildered expression, Nicholas struggled as he was being forced out, shouting indignantly.
“What! Is this how you treat a prince? Ahh! Fine, your sister is the cutest! Cuter than all the maids and princesses combined!”
Of course, there was no response as they left.
* * *
‘Wow, I really came to the palace.’
Despite my and the duke’s objections about her health, the duchess insisted that she was fine.
Even though I ended up coming here against my will, once the carriage entered the palace grounds, I couldn’t help but feel amazed.
‘I thought I could only come here after being recognized by the Master and given a mission.’
Unexpectedly finding myself strolling through the corridors of the empress’s palace made me feel quite dazed.
“Wow, is that a princess?”
“Diana, you need to be quiet.”
The duchess silenced Diana by putting a finger to her lips.
Diana quickly covered her mouth with her hand and nodded, but she couldn’t help but keep glancing around in wonder.
I could understand why Diana, who had been very quiet since we arrived at the palace, was so surprised.
Even I was momentarily taken aback when I saw the girls with light pink hair passing by us a little while ago, bowing their heads deeply.
“They’re not princesses, they’re imperial princesses.”
As Diana was being silenced with her mouth covered, the duchess whispered softly as if to say there was no helping it.
I silently nodded, thinking to myself, “As expected.”
“I thought they rarely left the palace.”
It was a well-known fact that they hardly ever left the palace, as if they were secluded.
However, today seemed to be an exception, probably because it was the empress’s birthday.
Although I knew this fact, seeing more than twenty imperial princesses with hair ranging from a light pink almost white to a deep purplish-pink made me inexplicably shiver.
Although everyone made light-hearted comments, the truth was that the emperor’s obsession with pink hair was well-known, and the girls who had passed by earlier were all victims of that strange obsession.
‘Of course, he’s not in his right mind.’
There was a bizarre saying that if the emperor found a woman with pink hair, he would marry her if she were a commoner and make her his empress if she were a noblewoman.
Upon hearing that, I was relieved for the first time to know that in the eyes of others, my hair appeared brown.
‘I was scared to think about what would happen if I were caught.’
Of course, I briefly entertained silly thoughts, like whether I might be a royal princess who had been sneaked out of the palace for some reason.
But seeing the princesses living like this, unable to even breathe properly, made me realize how foolish and chilling my thoughts were.
‘…Disgusting.’
It was a harsh thought, but honestly, thinking about the emperor made me feel sick to my stomach.
‘No matter how much of a fool he is, I can’t sympathize with him. He’s just insane.’
A little surprised by the guild master’s words, I didn’t ask for more details and just moved on, but now that I was in the palace, I realized how immense his obsession was.
‘I heard that the emperor’s first love had pink hair.’
Well, I didn’t want to know the details about that.
“The empress is taking a brief rest, so I’ll guide you to the reception area.”
Following the guide from the welcoming party, we headed towards the reception area of the empress’s palace, where other noblewomen were gathering.
Before long, a sweet fragrance wafted through the air on the breeze.
As we ventured further inside, we saw long tables covered with white cloths and circular tables placed a little further away.
The tables were adorned with exquisite silverware, surrounded by tempting fresh flowers, small fruits, lace, and petals.
With autumn approaching, the sky was clear, the breeze was refreshing, and the blooming flowers around made it a perfect place for an outdoor tea party.
“Oh, it’s Lady Elad!”
“Come this way, please have a seat over here.”
Upon seeing Lady Elad, the first person to greet her was Lady Petite, whom I had met in front of the academy.
While Lady Petite escorted Lady Elad to the honored seat, I noticed that Lady Faylunt hadn’t arrived yet.
“Lady, please come this way when Lady Elad arrives.”
A maid approached Diana and spoke.
It seemed that there were separate tables for noblewomen and young ladies.
Then it happened.
“The empress is here.”
Just as the guide’s voice was heard before we could take our seats, everyone rose from their seats.
Quickly recalling the palace etiquette I had diligently studied, I bowed my head as the empress and her first princess, Princess Serfin, arrived a moment later.
“Thank you all for attending and congratulating me.”
As she spoke, urging everyone to raise their heads, I couldn’t help but glance up out of curiosity.
And I was pleasantly surprised.
The empress, with her dark blue hair and porcelain skin, exuded elegance. She was so graceful even when she was just breathing.
“…Mm. Sister, I’m scared.”
It was then that Diana, who was holding my hand, whispered softly enough for only me to hear.
Thanks to her memory of hearing even the slightest sounds when we were alone together, I was able to hear her now.
Startled, I looked at Diana, but thankfully, she didn’t hide behind me, indicating that she was aware we were in the palace.
But seeing the fear in the child’s eyes, I turned my head away again.
“A princess?”
Surely the person Diana was afraid of was Princess Serfin, who was standing confidently next to the empress with a bright smile.
“She looks so scary.”
I chuckled at Diana’s words.
Her features were a bit sharp, and perhaps because of her position from birth, she exuded an air of haughtiness.
But with her vibrant red hair cascading to one side, Serfin was a beautiful lady with a striking impression like a blooming rose.
Moreover, she was only seventeen now, so she seemed younger and more dangerous than I remembered.
But why…
“Come on, what should I do! She’s coming closer again.”
As I was about to follow that train of thought, Diana trembled.
With a genuinely smiling Serfin approaching us, Diana squeezed my hand tightly, as if to say, “I’m with you, don’t be afraid.”
“Lady! It’s nice to see you again. Have you been well?”
I thought Serfin might be cold towards Diana after her stiff demeanor at the last dinner, but that wasn’t the case.
Instead, Serfin was warm and affectionate, leading Diana to the table where the young ladies were gathered. And even though it was a circular table, Serfin placed Diana in a prominent seat next to her.
Since we had promised to keep a low profile and not to be called sisters in the palace, Diana quietly sat in her seat while holding onto my hand.
Shortly afterward, a bell rang, and the table was filled with lemon cream cake, strawberry mousse, various cookies, tarts, and puddings.
Standing among the handmaids from other noble families, I looked at Diana, who was shivering with excitement as she tasted the desserts.
The other young ladies, including Princess Serfin, blushed and giggled as they watched Diana, finding her adorable.
At that moment, when I saw Diana with crumbs on her lips, I quickly approached her. After gently wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, I stepped back quietly.
“You’re the maid that the princess favors.”
Unexpectedly hearing the voice, I looked up to meet the eyes of Princess Serfin, who had a smirk on one side of her mouth.
She then extended the hand holding the knife towards me.
* * *
Thwack!
The sound of blades clashing echoed through the training ground in an instant.
Allen’s sword, unleashing a rapid flurry of attacks, relentlessly pierced through Jack’s defenses once again.
Jack desperately stepped back, narrowly blocking the fierce attacks.
But even that was short-lived. With a sharp clang!
The swords clashed and soon began to push against each other. With a slight distance between them, Allen’s sword came to a halt right near Jack’s neck.
“… … “
“… … “
A silence fell between the two frozen figures.
After a moment, Allen lowered his sword and broke the silence.
“It seems like I followed through properly this time, don’t you think?”
“… … It seems so.”
Jack nodded slowly.
Jack and Allen, currently, were reenacting the recent sparring session they had with Lia.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
If you like my work please support us in Patreon. Next post will be released on June, 1.
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