Episode 16
I meticulously tied up my hair and put on light makeup.
When I descended, dressed and ready, into the carriage, Igon was waiting.
Resting his hand on the cane, standing straight with an authoritative demeanor, he exuded dignity.
Her well-brushed platinum hair shimmered under the sunlight.
I was surprised how he managed to find time to see me off, given how busy he must be.
“Evelyn.”
At Igon’s call, I approached and took his hand.
He helped me into the carriage.
“You can come back anytime if there’s a problem.”
His tone seemed to imply he wished for that.
Smiling softly, I nodded slightly in response to his words.
Seemingly pleased with my answer, he squeezed my hand.
I expected him to kiss the back of my hand as usual, but strangely, he didn’t.
Instead, he turned my hand over to reveal the palm.
“Take care.”
Since he turned my hand over, I felt something was off, but surely not.
Igon pulled up his glove and pressed his lips onto my wrist.
The warmth against my exposed skin was evident.
Locking eyes with me, he smiled, his mouth stretching like a devil disguised as a tempter.
I watched, momentarily frozen, as he did so.
Igon, as if in good spirits, withdrew his lips and let go of my hand.
Her face was flushed.
As I glanced hurriedly behind, the servants were already bowing their heads.
“I’ll see you in the evening,” Igon muttered as if to himself.
“Come back early.”
“…I’ll be back.”
After the noisy farewell ended, the carriage door closed.
With a creak, the carriage started moving.
Until I stepped out of the mansion’s gate, I kept looking at Igon standing beyond the carriage window.
“Phew…”
I exhaled deeply, repeating the process of inhaling.
Though I hadn’t been nervous until we passed through the palace gates, now my fingertips tingled with unnecessary tension.
Knock, knock.
I heard the signal for opening the carriage door.
I wanted to use motion sickness as an excuse to delay, but I couldn’t procrastinate.
As the door opened, a palace attendant helped me descend with courteous posture.
“Allow me to guide you. I am Dimitri, a servant of the royal family.”
“Thank you, Dimitri.”
Following Dimitri, I headed towards the Belzeh Palace, where the princess usually stayed.
He informed me that today, due to the good weather, they had relocated from the originally planned greenhouse to the garden.
Throughout the journey, Dimitri spoke about the princess, and from his words, I could sense his affection for the one he served.
I recalled briefly meeting her at a reception.
She was a tall, blond beauty.
Though one couldn’t fully judge based on a brief greeting, she seemed to have a refreshing personality.
As we passed through the halls of Belzeh Palace, I caught sight of a well-maintained garden, a large arbor, and people in yellow dresses seated around tables.
It was a picturesque scene.
Just looking at the gracefully sprawling arbor was charming, and the sunlight dancing on the dresses matched perfectly.
But from afar, they also seemed to resemble chicks under the shade of a tree, which made me suppress a chuckle.
As I approached, the princess set down her teapot and waved, acknowledging me.
Then she approached briskly, extending her hand unexpectedly. Startled, but awkwardly, I took her hand, and she wrapped one arm around my shoulder.
Being unfamiliar with such contact from a stranger, I was taken aback, but the princess didn’t seem to mind, offering me a warm greeting.
“You’ve arrived. The journey wasn’t too difficult, was it?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“Although it may seem formal, you’ll get used to the titles gradually, so let’s keep it that way… Now, I should introduce you, right? Everyone, please set aside what you were doing and pay attention over here.”
The princess clapped her hands to draw attention.
The eight pairs of eyes in the room turned towards me.
“This is Evelyn Rodore, who’s joining our gathering this time. Let’s welcome her with warm applause.”
I stood amidst the waves of applause.
It felt like I had experienced this before, maybe in a past life.
The awkward and embarrassed feeling one gets during self-introduction at the beginning of a new semester.
From my cheeks to my ears, I felt flushed.
“As you may know, I’ll still introduce each person individually. Here’s Stella, the daughter of Marquis Listrick.”
Upon the princess’s introduction, Stella stood up and gave a light bow.
Her face was familiar to me.
“We met at the tea party of Lady Molly, didn’t we? Nice to see you again.”
Ah, it was then.
I nodded, pretending to remember her as well.
“It’s nice to see you here again.”
“Next to her is Lady Camilla, the daughter of Count Tremayne.”
“Hello.”
A sophisticated beauty with impressive black hair greeted me.
Suddenly, I recalled hearing from the maids once that she was dating a famous actor.
“Here’s Lady Liliana, the daughter of Baron Lucian.”
Liliana, with her well-groomed long hair, had a classic beauty.
I heard she had a very quiet and neat personality.
And despite their differences in appearance and personality, Camilla and Liliana were inseparable friends.
Today, they were sitting next to each other, with Camilla leaning on Liliana.
As I greeted her and glanced at her side, I noticed two girls with strikingly similar faces looking at me.
This time, there was no need for introductions; I could tell who they were.
The twin sisters of Marquis Margo.
They were the youngest among us in this gathering.
“Lady Isabel of Marquis Margo, and next to her is Isabel’s twin, Christina.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Oh my, your lace is incredibly beautiful. Where did you order it from?”
Sitting next to the twins, who looked alike but seemed to have very different personalities, was Eunice.
For some reason, she had a bright and welcoming expression on her face.
Her beautiful smile was dazzling, matching her stunning face.
“Lady Eunice Duran daughter of Count Duran.”
I greeted her with a sense of confusion.
Until I turned away from her, Eunice continued to smile brightly at me.
“Lady Andrea daughter of Marquis Riesling.”
She, like the famous Marquis Riesling daughter in the trading industry, wore an exotic headdress made of feathers of various colors.
The unique decoration matched her curly golden hair perfectly.
Her personality, as unique as her decoration, was well-known in the capital.
There wasn’t a person who hadn’t heard the anecdote about the time when, feeling overwhelmed in the capital, she cut her hair very short, causing the novelist’s wife to faint.
The once-cut hair now swayed around her ears.
“Hello.”
I greeted her warmly.
“Hello.”
“And here is Tielle of Count Silvaner.”
Lady Tielle, wearing glasses, smiled gently.
She was the eldest among the attendees.
Despite her mild and gentle demeanor, she was much stronger-willed than expected. Although engaged to a prince from a neighboring country, she had stated that she wouldn’t marry him until he secured his succession to the throne.
It wasn’t that she lacked affection, either.
During his time studying abroad in the empire, he stayed at the Count Silvaner’s mansion as a childhood friend, and they still communicated regularly through letters.
In fact, I already knew about Tielle.
She was a prominent character in the original work, appearing significantly unlike other characters who briefly appeared as light antagonists or transformed into someone sympathetic towards Eunice. Tielle actively helped Eunice in difficult situations. Even after marrying the prince who ascended to the throne, she risked financial assistance to Eunice, as well as jeopardizing her relationship with the Duke Igon Rodore to help Eunice with her exile.
Her story could still be found in subsequent side stories.
“Is everything… alright?”
As I was lost in thought, staring at Tielle for too long, I hadn’t noticed until the princess pointed it out.
It was embarrassing; I quickly apologized for the intrusion.
Tielle smiled warmly, reassuring me that it was okay.
Even if it was all just an act, the first impression was positive for everyone.
After finishing the greetings, I took my seat at the designated place.
Whether it was the princess’s consideration for a novice like me or not, I found myself seated closest to the princess.
We drank tea and engaged in light conversation.
Even if I didn’t speak much, there were plenty of people who enjoyed talking, so I could just listen.
As time passed, the tension in my stiff neck and back gradually melted away.
It was enjoyable just listening.
Everyone had great conversational skills.
When I turned my head at the feeling of someone’s gaze, the princess smiled at me.
Attempting to awkwardly return her mysterious smile, suddenly, the princess leaned her head towards me.
“How did you come to know His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince?”
Her whispered voice was filled with irresistible mischief.
A sense of confusion washed over me as I realized I had completely forgotten about it.
It felt like being slapped out of nowhere while enjoying oneself.
I was at a loss for words, feeling flustered, but the princess chuckled, tapping my back lightly.
“It’s not the time to discuss such matters yet, is it? Right, since we just found out today, let’s get to know each other gradually.”
With that, the princess leaned her head towards me again.
“But it seems like I’m already quite fond of the Lady.”
The princess, with a mischievous smile like that of a boy, looked quite different from the image I had painted of her before getting to know her.
She exuded both dignity and a human scent.
She was an uncommon character.
If I had been a bit more relaxed, I might have wanted to become friends with her and felt a pang of sadness knowing that despite her unique charm, she would end up marrying someone from a distant country against her will, which didn’t even happen properly in the original work.
