“You’ve been through a lot, Your Highness.”
Jade, clearly exhausted, looked back at Dante and spoke.
Dante gave a small nod with an expressionless face.
“You’ve had a harder time than I have.”
“I’m glad the talks ended well. The hostility toward the Empress from Gillard’s side was stronger than expected.”
“Seems all the tricks she pulled to fix things too late only backfired.”
He raised his hand and gently pressed his eyes as he replied.
The Empress was a greedy one.
Blinded by the rare mineral Espialde that could only be mined in the North, she naturally pressured the small northern nations into offering continuous tributes.
After she found out Dante was secretly dealing with the North, it seemed she tried quite hard to win back the favor of those small country leaders—though too late.
‘All forces in the North, including Gillard, will stand with Prince Dante.’
The northern nations, including Gillard, gladly sided with him.
Gaining the support of the North, whose harsh environment had naturally built up strong military power, was the biggest win of this meeting.
“You should rest for now. I’ll organize and report on the contents of the meeting.”
“Thank you.”
Dante stood up from his seat and stepped out into the hallway.
The hallway of the royal palace, now emptied of all staff, was as quiet as after a strong tide had gone out.
As he walked alone through the silent corridor, Dante quietly lowered his head and sighed.
He felt empty and drained.
The meeting had ended so smoothly, it made all his tension feel pointless.
At the same time, he just felt utterly tired.
Something so simple—why hadn’t he been able to do it right until now?
He wondered if, maybe, the one who had been tying himself down the most… was none other than himself.
“Ha…”
Though the meeting had wrapped up well, the investigation into the Empress was just beginning.
Steeling his heart again, he slowly walked and walked, recalling the locations of each village Reuters had sent.
“…?”
Without thinking, he found himself suddenly staring at a familiar carpet pattern that filled his vision.
Stopping in his tracks, he dumbly lifted his head.
Before he realized it, he was standing in front of the room of the one he wanted to see.
“Ah.”
Dante stared blankly at the closed door.
It’s late… I shouldn’t call them out.
Unable to take his eyes off the firmly shut door, Dante slowly turned around.
*****
“Um… may I help you with something?”
“No! Please stay where you are!”
“O-okay…”
Letier looked awkwardly at Rubia, who was rushing around the large room.
She was opening every drawer in the display cabinets in the sitting room, clearly searching for something.
“Ugh, where on earth did I put that…?”
Letier, feeling increasingly uncomfortable, quietly rose from her seat.
Whatever the princess was looking for, she felt she had to help somehow.
“Ah! Found it!”
As Letier was just about to stand, Rubia gave a small exclamation and pulled something out from a drawer with a flourish.
In her hands was an adorable, dainty tea set.
She handed the tiny teapot and cups to a maid standing nearby and gave a small instruction.
“Please serve the tea in these.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The maids bowed with the round teapot and a couple of cups, then quickly left the room.
Rubia, looking pleased, returned to the seat across from Letier.
“I received it quite a while ago, but never got a chance to use it.”
“Oh! I don’t know who gave it to you, but it’s such a cute and thoughtful gift.”
“Prince Dante gave it to me. Though I doubt he even remembers.”
Ah…
Letier quietly nodded.
A gift from her fiancé, huh.
“I’ve always wanted to have a proper tea time with you, Healer! I finally have the chance.”
“Oh, I’ve been looking forward to it too, Princess.”
Letier lifted the corners of her lips into a graceful smile.
Rubia looked at Letier with curious eyes.
“How has life in Eustian been for you?”
“I’m quite satisfied. It’s a beautiful country filled with a unique sense of freedom.”
“And are you enjoying your time in the royal palace?”
“Of course! The room you’ve given me is spacious and comfortable, and the garden has so much to see. Oh! And the food is amazing. I’ve lived in the imperial palace of the Trillante Empire, so I have pretty high standards—but objectively, Eustian has nothing to complain about.”
“Really?”
Rubia brushed back the hair that had fallen over her shoulder.
She stared at Letier, who was giving textbook-perfect answers, and spoke again.
“Your expression says ‘I’m the most bored person in the world…’ though?”
“Excuse me?”
Letier looked startled.
Was it really that obvious?
“You just flinched, didn’t you?”
“U-uhm… yes…”
“Haha, so you’re an honest noble lady, aren’t you?”
Rubia beamed with laughter.
Letier blinked at the now-laughing princess.
“I did a bit of research on you.”
Rubia, having calmed down, reached for a report nearby.
Flipping the cover, she glanced at Letier before returning her eyes to the pages.
“Lady Letier Lenever. Owner of the Lenever Cosmetics Shop, correct? Started the business in the Lenever territory a little over three years ago.”
“Ah…”
“The business did very well. So much so that you were recognized and brought into the palace as Prince Dante’s skincare therapist, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Letier straightened her back and sat properly in response to the sudden shift to an interrogation-like tone.
Is she trying to scout me again?
“You’re also the one who treated Prince Dante’s skin condition. Hmm… you’re quite the capable talent.”
“You flatter me.”
“To bring in someone like you and just keep you idle in Eustian… no wonder you seem bored.”
Ah…
Letier blinked and lowered her gaze.
It felt like this princess, who had just appeared out of nowhere, understood something no one else had noticed.
“But I’m treating this as a break. Eustian has a lot of new ingredients, and books I couldn’t find in Trillante, so I’m using this time to brush up on my basic studies.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Rubia looked up with her deep green eyes and gave a soft smile.
“I apologize for looking into your background without permission. I was just curious about you, Lady Lenever.”
“You were… curious about me?”
“Yes. Do you know why?”
Rubia asked without erasing the small smile on her lips.
Letier thought she was a mysterious kind of princess.
But the question itself wasn’t all that difficult.
Of course…!
“You’ve become interested in Lenever Cosmetics, haven’t you?”
Letier’s eyes sparkled as she clenched her fist and responded.
Finally, Lenever Cosmetics had a chance to enter the Eustian market!
“…Excuse me?”
“If we’re considering exporting to Eustian, I’ll need to conduct a market analysis first. On the surface, Eustian seems culturally similar to Trillante, but it’s actually very different! While both have generally mild climates, the subtle weather variations and dietary habits of the people—”
“Wait, wait a minute!”
Rubia, who had been listening blankly, suddenly raised both hands to stop Letier.
Letier, who had been speaking excitedly, paused mid-sentence.
“Yes?”
“W-well, Renneber Cosmetics is indeed wonderful.”
Rubia sighed and rubbed her forehead.
“But unfortunately, my interest in you isn’t because of the cosmetics.”
“Then…?”
“I’m interested in you as Prince Dante’s fiancée.”
Rubia stared straight at Letier after she spoke.
“Ah…”
Letier let out a small sigh.
As soon as she heard Rubia’s words, memories from the recent festival filled her mind.
She avoided Rubia’s eyes and let out an awkward breath.
Rubia shrugged and spoke up.
“I’ll just be blunt.”
“Yes.”
“Prince Dante and I… we have no real feelings for each other. To put it plainly, we’re in a contract. A business relationship.”
A business relationship…?
Letier slowly looked up.
“I think you probably had a sense of it. Royal engagements and marriages are usually like that, right? The couple’s feelings don’t matter. It’s all about the political and social benefits the union brings.”
“…”
“My engagement to Prince Dante is the same. We even agreed from the start not to interfere in each other’s personal lives. I already have someone I’ve given my heart to, anyway.”
Rubia said it lightly.
Letier furrowed her brow slightly and looked at her.
So then…
“Are you thinking of breaking off the engagement?”
Letier asked.
After seeing her casual attitude, Letier felt a strange sense of relief.
Rubia smiled at her, who looked hopeful, and replied,
“Nope. Breaking off the engagement is absolutely not an option.”
“…What?”
“Even if our relationship is purely business, we won’t ruin the business. This engagement isn’t child’s play—it’s a political, economic, and cultural alliance between Trillante and Eustian.”
“…”
Letier looked at her, visibly confused.
As silence fell between them, a knock came and the door opened.
“Princess, your tea has arrived.”
A maid walked in with a tray and set the teapot and cups down between them.
Once the maid bowed and left, Rubia personally reached for the teapot and poured warm tea into Letier’s cup.
“I’ll turn a blind eye to you being Prince Dante’s temporary lover. But I wanted to tell you—don’t expect anything more or ask for something deeper.”
