I continued my journey, almost dragging Derek, who wanted to eat at every opportunity, and Bell, who wanted to stop and look at everything.
Ten days later, we arrived in Rosen. Unlike Clanoviche, which still had a chilly air, Rosen was already fully immersed in spring.
Our carriage entered the busiest center of Rosen. To avoid any annoying situations during our travels, we had covered our family crest, so we slowly made our way through the throngs of carriages and horses.
“Wow!”
Bell was still making a fuss after arriving here. Throughout the ride, she couldn’t close her mouth, marveling at the wide, open streets, numerous shops, and the people dressed in splendid attire.
With you acting like this, it really makes the Grand Duchy seem like a rural village.
“Lady Ar, Lady Ar! Can’t we just look around a little before we go?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m tired. I want to get there and rest quickly.”
“Ugh…”
What’s with the ‘ugh’ from a grown person? As I furrowed my brows, Bell clasped her hands together and looked at me.
“They say there’s a really famous cake shop here. You mentioned it to me before. Can’t we just eat that and then go?”
Since I didn’t respond, Bell shot me a teary-eyed look, just like a squirrel begging for a single acorn.
“Lady Ar, Lady Ar! Let’s just eat that! Okay?”
“…”
I let out a groan and held my head in my hands. Now I understand how my father felt watching my mother and me twelve years ago.
The cake shop was bustling with customers. It seemed like there were even more patrons than twelve years ago, as if everyone living in Rosen had come to eat cake.
Just then, an outdoor table became available, and we sat there. We ordered three pieces of the most popular cake and chose tea and coffee according to our preferences.
I fanned myself with a hand fan. Everything was lively and sparkling. The warm sunlight, gentle breeze, murmurs of people chatting, and sweet scent filling the air.
Though I had come here reluctantly, I started to think it wasn’t so bad, but then I noticed a newspaper on the table.
It contained brief news items discussing the latest fashion trends, gossip circulating in social circles, and recent political issues.
The content was mostly of interest to the nobility, which was to be expected since it was a newsletter aimed at nobles. Moreover, very few commoners could read this text.
In Castoria, there are three types of writing. The sacred script, Akati; the magical script, Rune; and the popular script, Pan.
The Akati script was originally used in temples but is now also used among the nobility. Therefore, newspapers written in Akati script cannot be read by commoners without special education.
“Lady Ar, what does it say?”
I briefly explained it to Bell.
“It’s about the issue of the Crown Prince’s appointment. The Prince faction and the Princess faction are divided and fighting each other.”
“Wasn’t the Crown Prince already decided to be the Prince?”
“The Queen’s family is not to be underestimated. They are putting pressure on the King to not make an illegitimate son the King, and there are many nobles who agree with them.”
Hearing this, Derek cautiously asked, “I’ve been curious for a while. Who does His Grace support? The prince? The princess?”
“Neither.”
I quickly flipped past the political articles. It was all common knowledge anyway; I wanted to see something interesting.
“The Iskas Grand Duke family will have nothing to do with that muddy fight.”
One of the warnings my father had given me during this trip was to never get involved in the succession struggle.
People still remembered how the Duke of Acanthus had intervened, causing the prince (the king’s brother) to oust the king’s son and take the throne.
Just gaining support from either the duke or the grand duke could easily change the next king’s position. So it was clear that the prince and princess would reach out to our family in some way.
But that was out of the question.
Hmph, they chased my grandfather to the north, and now they want help? They have no conscience. Both the prince and the princess are the descendants of the one who chased my grandfather away.
Let them fight each other and die.
Just then, our orders arrived. As I added sugar to my tea and stirred it with a spoon, Bell asked, “Is that possible? Don’t you think they’ll try to involve the grand duchy somehow?”
“They have to make it possible. The prince hates me anyway, so it’s fine. We just have to deal with the princess.”
“Why? Why would the prince dislike you, Lady Ar?”
“Because I made him bleed when we were kids.”
“Gasp!”
“Gasp!”
Seeing both of them react in shock, I frowned.
“He hit me first!”
They nodded in unison.
“The prince must have done something to deserve it.”
“Still, considering your personality, Lady Ar, you must have been very patient with him. The fact that it ended with just a nosebleed shows that.”
After that, Derek and Bell focused on tasting the cake.
I took a sip of my tea and continued to skim through the newspaper. Then I spotted a phrase in the article that made me suddenly inhale sharply.
“What’s wrong?”
Derek read the newspaper article and inhaled sharply as well.
“Wait? There’s an article about you, Lady Ar?”
“Really?”
Bell leaned forward in surprise, but when she couldn’t read a single word, she let out a small whine.
“What does it say? Please tell me.”
“Fine, fine. It’s nothing important…”
“Finally, the ice flower of the north, Arcadia Iskas, is coming to Rosen.”
“Hey!”
I lost my composure and shouted.
But Derek, finding something to tease me with, couldn’t stay quiet. He snatched the newspaper from my hands and began reading aloud.
“The Iskas young lady, who is set to attend this debutante ball, is attracting the intense interest of many men. Who will be the lucky man to melt the heart of the cold ice flower from the north… cough!”
I kicked Derek’s knee under the table. This guy always finds a way to get a beating and then complains about me being scary and violent.
I snatched the newspaper back from Derek and folded it neatly, placing it on the table. Derek, who was holding his knee and silently screaming, finally began to glance at me nervously. Bell, looking at him with pity, cleared her throat.
“Um, Lady Ar, so will you be choosing a husband at this debutante ball?”
“If there’s someone suitable. After all, I have to marry eventually.”
“But does it have to be a noble from Rosen? Since you’re going to become a grand duchess anyway, wouldn’t it be fine to choose a husband from the northern nobility?”
“I thought about that too. It wouldn’t be bad to just pick one of the men around me as my husband…”
“Gasp!”
Suddenly, Derek flinched and backed away, trembling as he shouted.
“Don’t say such scary things! We’ve grown up together since we were little! That’s not something a family does!”
“What are you talking about? I wouldn’t want that either!”
“Good thinking. If you really have to choose from among us, take Luca.”
“Why Luca?”
“Because Luca has never been hit by you.”
“Well, that’s because Luka doesn’t do things that deserve it like you do!”
“Yes, so if something happens, we agreed to offer Luca as a sacrifice… Ouch!”
I kicked Derek’s other knee in frustration. Still not satisfied, I was about to punch him again when I heard an interesting conversation from the next table.
“I heard that the young lord of Acanthus is officially debuting in society this time.”
“I heard that too. He turned 18 this year, right? Everyone must be looking forward to it.”
Two ladies at the next table were discussing Hyperion while enjoying their tea. Hearing a familiar name, I perked up my ears.
“Of course. The best husband candidate in Rosen is finally making his appearance. Parents with daughters have been counting down the days for this year.”
“Oh, by the way, isn’t your youngest daughter debuting in society this time?”
“Yes, our Delphina is really looking forward to this debutante ball. Actually, she has liked the duke since she was little.”
“The duke is quite handsome, so he’s very popular among young ladies. The competition to win him at this debutante ball will be fierce.”
“Exactly. I wish he would dance with our daughter at least once, but I wonder if that’s possible…”
“Why not subtly ask the duchess? If it’s his mother asking, the young lord would find it hard to refuse.”
“You know the duchess’s personality. She dislikes it when people approach her son with ulterior motives. If I annoy her, I might never set foot in the duke’s residence again.”
“Well, that’s true.”
I took a sip of my black tea and thought.
So this is what it means to be the son of my mother’s friend? Hyperion seems to have grown up even better than I expected, judging by all the praise he’s receiving.
I hadn’t been in contact with Hyperion since the last letter twelve years ago. The duke and duchess had tried to visit the grand duchy with Hyperion, but something always came up each time.
I often thought about it. How had that child grown up? Would he be tall like Derek? Had his face changed much since childhood?
“By the way, did you see the newspaper? I heard that the young lady of Iskas is also attending the debutante ball this time.”
“Gasp!”
Suddenly, my name popped up in the conversation, and I quickly set my teacup down and covered my face with my fan. Even though no one here knew who I was, it was still embarrassing.
“Yes, that’s why the social scene has been buzzing lately.”
“Of course. With both the young lord and the young lady attending this year’s debutante ball, has there ever been a coming-of-age ceremony that has received this much attention recently? I don’t think even last year’s coming-of-age ceremony for the prince and princess was this big.”
“Speaking of which, there are so many rumors about the Iskas young lady.”
I perked up my ears. Rumors? What kind of rumors?
