Ivan learned to move with his body very quickly. From waltzes to intricate court etiquette, he never made the same mistake twice after seeing something once.
In fact, it was Tarjei who made the most mistakes in dancing and etiquette on the spot. He had returned to the palace after nearly ten years, and as Anne said, he had not danced in thirty years, so there was no way he could remember it properly.
On top of that, with a hangover, the dance turned into more of a struggle to avoid stepping on his granddaughter’s feet rather than a proper waltz. The rhythm of the music played by the flutist changed as if mocking him, and eventually, he had to leave the scene to catch the musician, whether to vomit on him or fight him.
Whether he grabbed the musician or beat him was kept a secret, and after that, the waltz demonstration was left to Princess Anastasia and Karnov.
Karnov, with a more serious expression than usual, watched Princess Asha intently as she stepped through the waltz steps. At first, he thought about teasing her, but decided against it.
Having seen the two waltz twice, Ivan danced the waltz without a mistake, although he quiveringly held his breath when it came to waltzing with Asha himself.
Watching him learn so quickly, Princess Anastasia clapped her hands in delight. Even after the sun set, she had no intention of returning to the palace, as she continued to praise and admire Ivan. Tarjei, who had come to take them back to the palace, urged and cajoled them, turning the departure into a lively scene.
“Is it satisfactory?”
When all the other knights had left, only Ivan and Karnov remained in the training ground. Karnov asked, and Ivan, who had been kneeling on one knee for a moment, stood up and brushed off the dirt from his knee.
“Yes. It’s fine.”
Karnov thought he might have been praying for something, but he didn’t ask what he was praying for.
“Just go there and sit for the test, and you’ll pass.”
Princess Anastasia’s cherished, slave-turned-commoner knight apprentice. It was possible to pick a fight with the princess’s toys, but few people would actually destroy them completely.
“But then Her Highness would be upset.”
So, he wanted to pass the test with his best effort, not only to avoid embarrassment but also to spare Princess Anastasia any distress. Karnov didn’t want to acknowledge that there might be a significant problem in their communication. He really didn’t want to know. Karnov wiped his forehead and let out a short sigh.
“The Princess is worried that you might be upset.”
“Yes?”
“Among the knights, you’re the only one taking the apprentice knight test, so she thought you might feel uncomfortable.”
Ivan’s expression showed that he hadn’t realized it yet. Karnov somewhat understood his feelings. All of this was something Ivan never had.
It wasn’t about not being able to have things, it was about not even thinking about having them. When a dazzling array of things one never thought about pours in, it’s hard to imagine someone worrying about it.
“Even if you say you’re not offended, she’s probably worried that you’re saying it because you’re thinking of how she feels.”
“Oh…”
Ivan looked puzzled. Karnov thought it would be better if Princess Anastasia had seen this face. Then, Asha’s constant worrying about day and night might come to an end.
“That’s because she cares about you…”
Karnov continued and smoothed his forehead. The loudest part of him was shouting that he didn’t want to talk about this.
But the quietest part spoke at the same time. If Ivan knew this and accepted it, how happy Princess Anastasia would be.
“…because she cherishes you. That’s why she does that. So, tell her often. Honestly, tell her what you think, what makes you happy, what you think about what’s happening to you now, whether you want to go down to Bishti in autumn and winter.”
“…I’m afraid I’m bothering her…”
“If that was a nuisance, she would not have waltzed with you, helping you prepare for the apprentice knight test, even though it won’t affect your passing the test.”
At that, Ivan looked a little resentful.
“Lord Karnov and I are different.”
Karnov stood with his arms folded. Ivan pursed his lips at Karnov’s attitude, as if asking him what was different.
“I can’t afford to incur her hatred… and as for the test, I told Lord Karnov because I didn’t want to cause trouble for Her Highness…”
Karnov pressed his forehead, recalling moments when Anastasia would smile awkwardly whilst watching Ivan, wishing she could rip out her own hair instead. Karnov strangely empathized with that sentiment.
“Is that so? It seems your concerns are more important than Her Highness’s feelings. Or does that mean you don’t trust Her Highness’s feelings?”
At that, Ivan looked as if he had realized something. Perhaps if Princess Anastasia were to find out that Karnov had spoken to Ivan in this way, she would definitely scold Karnov, hitting him on the back while asking why he would say such unpleasant things.
“…Thank you for making me realize.”
Even as Ivan said this, he bit his lip, showing signs of frustration. Karnov held back a sigh. There was something Princess Anastasia always said.
– Ivan always says everything is good, so I’m worried because it’s just words.
The Ivan that she saw was completely different from the Ivan that he saw. Karnov sometimes felt at a loss as to whether he should like this or hate it.
A person whose emotions have always been locked away is bound to be poor at controlling them. The same was true for Ivan, who was now gradually waking up.
He can’t hide his feelings yet. The reason Princess Anastasia said that was probably because that was Ivan’s sincerity. When Karnov showed signs of returning, Ivan quickly caught him.
“Are you going to see the princess?”
“Yeah. I need to let her know your feelings so she can be relieved.”
Karnov responded like that, even though he grumbled to himself that he didn’t know what he was doing among the master and servant, even though he was a deputy commander of the imperial army. Ivan said in a tense voice.
“Can I… come with you?”
Karnov paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly.
“Since joining the Knight Order… I heard that you’ve never gone to see Her Highness the Princess first.”
“…Yes. I’m worried that she might see my embarrassing side… But…”
After hearing what Karnov said just now and realizing what he should do, Ivan expressed his intention to follow him. Whether he should like it or hate it, Karnov, who was briefly contemplating, let out a short sigh.
If Princess Anastasia knew that Ivan had come first, she would probably jump and cry. Since she was so happy to see him shining so brightly, everything seemed to be resolved.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
As he expected, Princess Anastasia opened her eyes wide when she saw Ivan came, and later even tears were in her eyes. Karnov wiped the tears quickly and asked Ivan to start the story with his eyes.
Ivan hurriedly opened his mouth and gradually talked about what he thought of her help for the exam and what he thought of the future.
When Ivan talked about the expected and enjoyable things, his speech became a bit faster, but when he talked about the things he was afraid to mention, his voice lowered.
Princess Anastasia looked at the speaker as if he were a precious gem or a newly blooming flower. Ivan, looking at her eyes that sparkled so brightly, turned around to see what was behind him. He looked puzzled about what she was looking at with such sparkling eyes, probably because he didn’t think it was himself.
As they left the Taimir Palace side by side, Karnov said, ‘It was you.’
“What?”
“She was looking at you.”
When he heard that it was him she was looking at with such shining eyes, Ivan just looked like he didn’t understand at first.
Then, before long, Ivan laughed. It was the first laugh Karnov had heard since he met him. If Princess Anastasia had seen that expression, shining and glistening like a crescent moon rising in the night sky, she might have really shed tears…
When asked why he wouldn’t laugh like that in front of the princess, Ivan quickly avoided Karnov’s eyes as his ears turned red. A few days later, Ivan got a perfect score in everything on the apprenticeship test.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“I don’t think I’ll have to dance the waltz for the rest of my life.”
This was Princess Anastasia’s response to the emperor’s question that, if she could use the knight commander as a waltz practice partner, why couldn’t she use the emperor? It seemed that she had been busy soothing the emperor, who had practiced with her for quite some time.
“We promised to enter together when you reach adulthood.”
“Oh… except for that.”
“Aren’t you going to dance at your coming-of-age ceremony?”
“Oh… except that too.”
“Alexei…”
Princess Anastasia clenched her fist and swung her left hand first, but it was quickly blocked, and her right hand, which came out one after another, was also blocked. When she tried to hit him with her forehead, Karnov lifted her up and defended against it.
“How can you stop all this every time?”
“You’ve been consistent in your attack patterns since you were around the age of ten, Your Highness.”
After bickering for a long time, the topic naturally flowed to other places.
“…So our Ivan…”
“Why do you keep talking to me about that?”
These past few days, Princess Anastasia seemed to bring up Ivan’s stories at every opportunity. When the two walked together in the garden, half of the conversation always seemed to revolve around Ivan. Just like now.
As Karnov grumbled, Princess Anastasia, who was walking alongside him, stopped and covered her mouth with her fingertips.
“Oh my. Is our Karnov jealous? Is that it?”
Karnov tried to deny it, but Princess Anastasia’s expression seemed completely convinced. In that moment of deciding to answer honestly to at least ease his mind, she spoke.
“It’s not only Karnov who is close to Ivan. I’m close to him too!”
“No…”
Although jealous, it seemed that Princess Anastasia completely misunderstood it. Then, she flashed a mischievous smile at him and poked his arm.
“Are you sulking?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“But when it comes to teaching emotions, we’re like Ivan’s mom and dad. You can’t ask a baby things like, ‘Do you like mom or dad?’ Okay?”
Karnov pursed his lips for a moment. His throat felt a bit warmer.
Princess Anastasia hummed a tune, looking at the flowers in the garden. Karnov, feeling a bit lighter, approached Princess Anastasia.
“Why? Worried that Ivan will like me more?”
“…!”
Princess Anastasia glanced back. Karnov somewhat understood Natalya’s mind, wanting to lift her up whenever she saw her.
“No… it’s just the two of you always have secret conversations excluding me. It’s a bit disappointing.”
“I heard he comes to talk to you every few days lately.”
“I’m suspicious, actually. Did Karnov tell Ivan to do that?”
“I didn’t.”
After a few more back-and-forths, Karnov swept his hand lightly through the familiar spot in the garden, between the blades of grass. A white dandelion seed, hidden somewhere, quickly grew and bloomed into a flower. Karnov picked the white dandelion and placed it behind Princess Anastasia’s ear, speaking.
“Moreover, it’s said that the railroad and trains will be completed soon. If everything goes well, we can take the train to Lake Bishti by late autumn.”
Asha, who was playing with the ends of her ears, stopped her hands.
“Ah! I heard about that. It finished earlier than expected, right? That’s great; we can get to the lakeside much faster, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Olga will be thrilled. She’s been looking forward to it. It means she can sell more Phoebe powder to the Kingdom of Kirelete.”
“You’re getting richer and richer, Your Highness. Congratulations.”
“Oh no, I’m still lacking. There’s a shop on the most prosperous street in the capital; the prices there are quite high. Karnov, do you know the price?”
“When I was young, I collected buttons because I wanted to have a shop there…” Princess Anastasia said with a serious tone, gazing down at the ground. Karnov, who was looking at her, casually touched his sleeve.
“Shall I add a button?”
“Really? I’ll give you a stake later if the shop succeeds.”
Karnov removed the gold button from his jacket and placed it in the hands of Princess Anastasia. Princess Anastasia, with a white dandelion behind her ear, smiled at him and adjusted the button with both hands.
