The Empress smiled warmly as she watched Britia and Kyra engrossed in their knitting.
When she had first started knitting with Britia, enjoying their conversations and the simple pleasure of crafting together, it felt like a dream come true. Still, she often wished there was one more person to join them.
Specifically, she had hoped that her future daughter-in-law would be that person.
But she had hesitated to approach Kyra directly, as Kyra seemed quite reserved.
Then one day, Britia asked if Kyra could join them in learning to knit. The Empress was thrilled and gladly agreed. Soon, the three of them were sitting together, knitting sweaters in the middle of summer.
“Kyra, you have a real talent for this,” the Empress remarked, impressed by how quickly Kyra, who had started late, was nearing completion. It was hard to believe this was her first time learning from the Empress.
“If anyone asks who taught you, make sure you say it was me,” she added with a playful grin.
Kyra agreed, and the Empress beamed.
The Empress usually felt a pang of jealousy whenever someone was better at knitting or sewing than she was. Since many women were, she often found herself feeling that way.
But for some reason, she felt no jealousy toward Kyra, who was knitting away with a focused expression. Perhaps it was because her husband had recently done things she was pleased with, which had put her in a better mood.
‘I’ll let you visit your homeland.’
Although he had made it clear how much he disliked the idea, he had eventually given in. There were a few things she thought would never happen while her husband was alive, but one of those dreams had come true.
She no longer wanted a divorce, and now all that was left was for him to officially recognize their son as the heir.
But even that no longer seemed like a concern. Hadn’t the Emperor, unintentionally, written in one of his sincere letters?
‘He’s like you, frustrating but lovable beyond words.’
With her worries eased, the Empress felt at peace. While there was a tinge of sadness that her children had grown up and would soon marry, she felt more relieved than anything. She found herself smiling all the time.
Yes, I was always this calm. It was just the Emperor’s influence that made me so anxious.
As the Empress enjoyed her newfound tranquility, Kyra quickly finished her sweater.
“Is it done already?” Britia asked, glancing over enviously, as she had barely made progress on her own sweater. Kyra’s light yellow sweater, for a first attempt, looked flawless with no mistakes.
“It’s smaller than I expected,” Kyra said as she compared her finished sweater to the ones the others were working on. The difference was clear; Kyra’s was about three times smaller than Britia’s.
“Is your sweater too big?” Kyra inquired.
Britia wasn’t the fastest or most skilled knitter. The real reason she wasn’t further along was that she was working on an unusually large sweater.
“Are you planning to fit both yourself and the Duke into it?”
Kyra regretted her teasing comment, wanting to be more respectful in front of the Empress. Luckily, the Empress just chuckled.
“No, it needs to be this size for the Duke to wear it,” Britia explained, measuring the width of her sweater with her arms and demonstrating its size.
“This is definitely the right size.”
Kyra was reminded of how huge Sig was and felt a shiver of fear. She even felt relieved that the Crown Prince wasn’t as large as Sig.
If that had been the case, even if it was the only way out, she would never have tried to seduce him. He was still a big man by her standards, and she was always startled whenever he approached while standing.
“Kyra, isn’t this a bit small? I don’t remember the Crown Prince being that small,” Britia commented, noting that Kyra’s sweater looked small compared to Sig’s, who wasn’t exactly slight.
Kyra tilted her head. She had never mentioned, nor thought about, giving this sweater to the Crown Prince.
She had knitted it just to please the Empress, who seemed eager to teach her. So she made it to fit her own size. Obviously, the Crown Prince couldn’t wear it.
“It does look small. What should I do?”
It seemed the Empress had naturally assumed it was meant for the Crown Prince. Kyra couldn’t outright say she had no intention of giving it to him.
“Britia, could you try it on for a moment?” Kyra asked, pretending to check the size. Britia happily tried it on.
“It’s a bit short in the sleeves, but it fits well otherwise.”
The Empress remarked that it fit perfectly, as if it was always meant for Britia.
“It wouldn’t fit the Crown Prince at all. I can’t just throw away a finished sweater, so I’ll give it to you. It will be cold in Altheim, so you should wear it.”
“To me?”
“I can’t give something that doesn’t fit the Crown Prince to him.”
Kyra acted disappointed, as though she had always intended the sweater for the Crown Prince.
* * *
The Crown Prince was surprised when Sig, who had come to report, sat down and began sewing. What was even more surprising was the eye patch.
He had always worn a plain black eye patch, but today he wore one with a red heart embroidered on it.
Moreover, Sig kept adjusting the eye patch, as if he hoped someone would comment on it.
“Sig, that…”
“I’ve confirmed that the wedding gift for the Emperor is currently in Vizhreng.”
The vice captain started the report, preventing the Crown Prince from asking about the eye patch.
“They say it’s stored in barrels labeled as wine. It seems that all the barrels in that warehouse are actually filled with Flu.”
The vice captain mentioned that there was about twice as much as they had initially estimated.
“The quantity is massive. It seems my uncle is really determined to settle things with me.”
The Crown Prince frowned and crossed his arms.
“I’ve also confirmed that there are items on the ship.”
“On the ship?”
The Crown Prince’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He suddenly realized and exclaimed.
“So, they’re targeting Slanford. They needed Nir to transport the flu by shi.”
Taking a ship was indeed a much faster route than traveling overland.
“Brother, there’s something even more important.”
While absorbed in sewing, Sig looked up.
“It would have been impossible to transport the Flu from the purple mines in Devon to Vizhreng without crossing the capital.”
Carrying such a large quantity of Flu would be too risky to smuggle through the strict checkpoints. Passing through the northern regions wasn’t an option either. The only solution was clear.
“Through the southern forces.”
Specifically, the Southern Alliance led by Robley.
The Crown Prince sighed deeply.
“It’s puzzling how those who supported me have ended up like this.”
He could understand Robley’s betrayal due to the Crown Princess, but he was baffled by Bryan’s betrayal, given he had no issues with Bryan.
The Crown Prince felt a stab of disappointment, like being betrayed by someone he trusted.
“It’s because we’ve become enemies to him after the Emperor’s injury. And then there was the marriage announcement.”
“So, you’re suggesting that Robley’s betrayal is because of my marriage? But wasn’t it you who kept pushing for me to marry quickly?”
The Crown Prince glared at the vice captain.
“If the Emperor had said he didn’t care whom I married, I would have advised him to take his time.”
Seeing the Crown Prince’s irritated look, the vice captain smirked.
“Still, Your Highness, you should make more of an effort with Miss Kyra.”
The Crown Prince felt another wave of frustration. As he said, his relationship with Kyra was far from good.
She flinched and stepped back whenever he approached, her eyes showing fear rather than shyness.
Honestly, her firm rejection and defensive stance hurt him. Where had the bold woman who used to provoke him gone?
“Even if it’s natural for you to feel more comfortable with our lady, isn’t it a bit pitiful?”
Oh, and that man had once been in a similar position.
The Crown Prince gave the vice captain a silent, reproachful look.
“But since you’re set on marrying, time will fix it. Just look at the Emperor. He and the Empress aren’t exactly on good terms these days.”
“True. If time will fix it, then that’s good. Even if it takes 30 years, as long as it gets resolved, it’s fine.”
The Crown Prince gave a wry smile and narrowed his eyes. Realizing he might have overstepped, the vice captain fell silent and looked down.
“On another note, it’s interesting that Bryan, who once betrayed me, is now sharing information.”
The Crown Prince shifted topics, feeling mixed emotions about Bryan returning to his side.
“It’s all thanks to Miss Britia. She really knows how to handle Bryan Radars.”
If only everyone were here to see it. The vice captain proudly exclaimed.
“Has she used some kind of special power again?”
The Crown Prince tried to probe for details, but Sig’s interruptions and the Emperor’s objections led to repeated failures.
“Do you know what kind of power Britia has?”
When the Crown Prince asked, Sig, fiddling with his eye patch, flinched.
“I can’t say.”
Sig’s evasive response surprised the vice captain, who wondered about this so-called special power.
Is there really something to it?
“You promised not to question me about it.”
“Seeing that you can’t even get Bryan or yourself to talk, I must indeed be powerless.”
Noticing the Crown Prince’s disappointment, Sig groaned. Since questioning wasn’t working, he needed to lighten the mood and coax the information out.
“By the way, it looks like you changed your eye patch.”
When the Crown Prince pointed out the change, the vice captain closed his eyes tightly.
“I thought you’d notice, big brother!”
Sig beamed with a high-pitched voice, clearly pleased.
“Britia made it and gave it as a gift. She specifically asked me to keep the heart side inward, but I couldn’t bear to hide it. So, I’m wearing it this way. What do you think? Isn’t the heart cute and charming? Britia was embarrassed by its shape, but I actually like it more this way. Especially this part…”
Seeing Sig enthusiastically discuss the eye patch, the Crown Prince slightly opened his mouth in surprise.
“My Lord, His Highness only asked if you had changed your eye patch.”
The vice captain interrupted, realizing the Crown Prince probably wasn’t interested in such lengthy bragging. Sig finally stopped talking.
“You two really are in love.”
The vice captain noticed the deep shadow on the Crown Prince’s face but Sig continued to boast about the eye patch without noticing.
“Your Highness, you’re also supposed to receive a sweater. I suppose you’re both enjoying your own sweetness, aren’t you? How nice.”
The vice captain remarked with a half-hearted look.
When he teased about working on the relationship, he was trying to lighten the mood. The Crown Prince snorted but couldn’t help a slight smile.
