Lausanne Arstans, the empire’s sole princess.
When they saw her silver hair, the noisy garden fell silent, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it. She walked with the grace and elegance of an imperial princess. Lausanne and Cameron share the same mother, so she is my enemy. Although they were different from Demimore in many ways, her elegant silver hair and her bright red eyes—which seemed to contain the sun—made her look more like Demimore than Cameron.
All of the young children gathered in front of the wide table as she came to a halt in front of it. I also approached the table, looking around.
Lausanne sat down after looking at the young children gathered in front of her with kind eyes. The other children followed suit and sat down as if it were a routine action.
“Long time no see, Princess!”
“You’ve become more beautiful!”
Everyone began to speak to the princess after a particular young lady made a brave greeting. Their greetings were all directed at one person, and it got very noisy and crowded. The main character… I see, really? Lausanne kept a smile on her face and answered each one in a way that would not be out of the ordinary in the circumstances.
‘She’s amazing.’
Is that something they learn from imperial etiquette? I was simply observing and scanning the area. Newcomers are expected to remain silent and observe. Before I knew it, the eyes of Princess Lausanne, who was making eye contact with everyone, had approached me. Lausanne’s eyes lost their smile for a moment. My shoulders briefly sagged upon seeing that.
In the original story, Lausanne Arstans was a female character who supported Astina wholeheartedly while standing opposite Mary. Mary, who bullied Astina while she was an orphan, was originally summoned to this salon for the sole purpose of picking on her. It would be unfair to me if I got picked on here. At the time I became Mary, I never bothered Astina.
‘No, but she looks kind.’
You shouldn’t base your judgment on appearances. There is a proverb that goes something like this. Physiognomy is a science. This is a time when neither physiognomy nor science is useful, but……
‘Is it because of Cameron?’
In any case, I attempted to draw a bow at her brother. She was not hostile to Demimore, but rather sympathized with his predicament. But it doesn’t change the fact that she is Cameron’s only sibling.
“Why did Lady Conler sit so far away?”
“……Yes?”
When the words started coming at me quickly, I looked at Lausanne with rabbit eyes. I was seated the furthest away from the princess.
“Right! You’re the young lady of Conler, you should sit right next to the princess.”
The lady who was sitting right next to the princess had strangely distorted facial expressions in response to the words of the lady next to me. It goes without saying that the Grand Duchy of Conler holds the second-greatest power in this empire, after the emperor, so it is only right that I, the Grand Princess, sit next to the Imperial Princess, but. However, I feel comfortable here.
“Sit close to me at the next salon.”
Lausanne concluded the conversation as if she understood me when I was unable to respond and instead just looked around. I felt a twinge of gratitude.
‘You said next time, right?’
Is there a second one? The tension I felt with Lausanne was relieved a little because I realized she didn’t despise me as much as I thought. Still, I can’t relax and let down my guard.
“Now, shall we start?”
They began to take out the same album that Logan had given me. There are a variety of covers. I took my album from my bag as well. Then I noticed the laminaicho next to it. I was momentarily perplexed. When should I leave this place and where can I find Demimore?
“It’s black like you, my lady.”
My mind had wandered. I was startled by the whisper next to me, so I cocked my head to look at her side. Likewise, the young girl who spoke to me appeared surprised.
“I must have spoken to you too abruptly.”
“Oh, no, I was distracted for a moment.”
“Talking to me doesn’t make you uncomfortable, does it?”
“No, no, I appreciate you talking to me first.”
It was a lie to say I wasn’t uncomfortable, but. Still, she must have summoned the courage to approach me; I didn’t want to embarrass her, so I responded as politely as I could. She then swept her chest in an exaggerated gesture.
“I’m so glad, my lady, because I really wanted to get along with you.”
“Oh, your name is……?”
“Oh, my! Look at me. My name is Sophia Bruno.”
Sophia Bruno.
Her family and I have a difficult relationship. Were you unaware of what happened between your father and me? No, if you know, did you purposely speak to me in this manner in order to screw me a little? But she spoke in such a sweet way, and her smile was so endearing, that it made me feel so trashy to even consider it.
I suppose his father wouldn’t say to his daughter, ‘I fought with a girl your age.’ And I also have a very different personality than Grand Duke Estin. Maybe it’s the same for her, and I have no reason to hate her just because of what her father did.
“Lady Sofia’s album is also very beautiful.”
“Thank you. I love Edelweiss so much.”
“It suits you.”
Sophia smiled with her eyes at my words. Yes! As I said before, physiognomy is science!
“You two appear to be having a good time talking.”
Everyone’s gaze was drawn to Sophia as Lausanne spoke. It appears that our private conversations bothered them. It was as embarrassing as if I had been caught talking in class. Oh, I don’t know, but I’m afraid of being noticed.
“Oh, I met Lady Conler for the first time today, so I said hello…….”
“Lady Sophia, what poem did you bring today?”
Lausanne interrupted Sophia’s deliberate speech. Sophia slid through her album. Looking through Sophie’s album, I saw a lot of writing and photos. I guess this type of decorating is very popular in the Britina Empire right now. My album, which is still pristine, felt humiliating.
“Hmm, can I read it out?”
“Of course.”
After receiving Lausanne’s approval, Sophia carefully got up from her chair. She stood up and read it. Don’t tell me I have to do something like that later? I felt uneasy in some way. I carefully lifted the chair I was sitting in and moved away from Sofia. I had a feeling Sophia and I shouldn’t be so close.
“It was a night with a red moon, so I made a laurel wreath and wore it on my head.”
Oh, this.
“This must be the devil’s work. A heavy phrase with love mixed in, and that’s how I drown in Larta’s mirror.”
Yes, this is the poem Logan mentioned. When I thought of Logan, I once more turned to face Sofia. Is Sofia aware that Logan, who used to work at her house, has now become my tutor? Sophia, who had finished reading, smiled at me as if she had noticed my gaze. I’m not sure why she’s smiling like this……
“Oh, I prepared this poem, too! That’s great. Sophia.”
“Me, too!”
It is said to be a popular poem in the Empire, and it appears that most of the young children have prepared the verses of this poem. Is this poem really that good? Of course, this is the only poem in my collection. Another minor commotion erupted over the content of the poem. Lausanne simply smiled and looked at them.
“What a romantic poem!”
“Yes, it’s beautiful. I want to be loved like this.”
Well, this kind of love? Isn’t it too scary?
Their conversation about poetry was accompanied by a dreamy expression on their faces, leaving me perplexed. Romance is romantic, but do you really want to be loved by the speaker of this poem? Given the age of the children, it was understandable.
“My favorite part is when the lake is compared to a mirror of Larta.”
“Yes, the laurel tree also means immutable.”
These are all the stories that came out of my class with Logan. It’s a little strange seeing them talk with their eyes twinkling and their hands clasped together like that……
“What are your thoughts, Lady Mary?”
“Lovely?”
“What?”
“What?”
Unconsciously, I swallowed a dry saliva as I felt the gaze on me. It seemed obvious that I was thinking of something else.
“Did you find the poem lovely?”
“It’s not that…… the young children talking about this poem.”
“Oh, my…”
The young children, who up until a short while ago had been talking, began to hug their cheeks. Lausanne responded with a smile.
“What exactly do you mean?”
“You know, I think it’s lovely when they are reading the poem and talking about love like that; their eyes sparkle like sunlight.”
“Lady Mary also speaks beautifully!”
Sophia’s compliments drew positive responses from other young kids. Well, I didn’t mean to look good, but I did mean it, and the positive energy in the room contributed to my positive mood. In embarrassment, I twisted my hair with my index finger.
“It appears that my lady was unable to find romance in this poem.”
I pulled back my hair. There was a bone in Lausanne’s words.
