Karnov’s lips twitched without a sound. It was clear that Princess Anastasia—or rather, Grand Duchess Pesheranskaya—was driving people mad. Otherwise, how could someone like Lyudmila Shchedrin…
“…Don’t tell me the rumors are true…”
Lyudmila’s elegant smile, paired with a slightly embarrassed and troubled expression, was striking. Her hair was now very short. Though longer than Natalya’s, reaching just past her ears, it was a shocking change considering that before Asha and Karnov had gone north, it had flowed down to her waist.
“My goodness. Is the other party… still alive?”
“That’s quite an outrageous thing to ask.”
Lyudmila responded sternly to Karnov’s comment, but Natalya, standing beside her, quickly answered.
“She let them live.”
“Natasha!”
Lyudmila scolded Natalya, but the latter only shrugged, as if she had said nothing out of line.
“Her Highness will be quite… surprised to hear this.”
“Oh? Asha hasn’t heard the rumors yet?”
“I’ve been dealing with His Majesty these days.”
“Oh…”
Only then did the two look a little embarrassed. Rumors of a hand-to-hand fight with the tea party organizer by the Marquis of Oleg’s infirm eldest daughter, Lyudmila Shchedrin, at a small tea party were so false that no one in the social circle believed them.
Karnov also heard it, but he thought that Lyudmila’s business was going well and that everything was going around.
Just then, Asha appeared, freed at last from Alexei and the Emperor. Her dress and hat fluttered in the wind as she hurried over, holding them in place with her hands. Behind her, Evan trailed closely, clutching the long ribbon of her dress.
“Sorry! Did you wait long? It’s all done now! We can—oh, Lyuda?!”
Asha, about to urge everyone into the carriage, suddenly froze with wide eyes.
“Lyuda, your hair… you cut your hair! And so much of it…”
“Uh, well, it just kind of happened.”
Lyudmila’s face flushed with embarrassment as she cleared her throat.
“Sparks flew. I had no choice…”
“Really? Were you hurt?”
“No, but the other person…”
Natalya mumbled, only to be silenced by a jab from Lyudmila. With an awkward smile, Lyudmila tried to play it off.
“You know, now that it’s cut, I feel a little regretful. I always thought I kept it long because I felt I should, but maybe I just liked having long hair after all.”
As she ran her fingers through the short strands by her ear, Asha quietly observed her before turning to Karnov. Karnov met her gaze with a subtle nod.
“Now?”
“It’s the perfect time.”
At Asha’s remark, Karnov rubbed the corner of his eye.
“Um, Miss Lyudmila.”
Noticing the silent exchange between the two, Lyudmila glanced at Karnov. He clenched and released his fist as if struggling to find the right words. Watching him hesitate, Asha grinned and gently took Lyudmila’s hand.
“Lyuda, would you like to grow your hair back?”
“What?”
Lyudmila’s eyes widened in surprise.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Karnov silently swallowed a sigh of amusement as he recalled Lyudmila’s expression—the look of someone whose heart was about to leap out of her chest. Asha had always wanted to reveal Karnov’s powers to everyone, clearly and properly. She wanted them to know that his power was not the power of death, but the power of time.
Karnov didn’t believe that changing the name of his power would drastically alter how people saw him. But Asha couldn’t let go of that hope. Naturally, the first attempt was to reveal it to friends.
Lyudmila, who became the first victim, forced a composed smile as she clutched her hair, which had suddenly grown long in an instant.
– Oh… I did wonder why flowers bloomed out of season near Her Highness. So it was the Duke’s doing.
Her nonchalance wasn’t because she was truly unaffected by what she saw, but because half of her courage came from not wanting to disappoint Asha. The other half stemmed from embarrassment—after all, there was a time when they had used that power to threaten and counter-threaten each other.
Natalya ran away, waving her hands frantically, claiming she despised long hair, but Lyudmila politely thanked him. Asha smiled happily at them.
“Did you see her off well?”
Karnov lifted his head at the sound of the Commander-in-Chief, Wilhelm, standing beside him. Despite being busy preparing for the upcoming Empire’s Protection Day, Wilhelm looked cheerful and lively.
“Yes, she departed with the knights.”
Today, Anastasia had gone to “inspect her lands” with her “close aides.” Only she could describe a camping trip in the woods with friends in such a manner.
“By the way, I heard you refused any rewards this time.”
Karnov nodded.
Since she successfully concluded negotiations with the Noctis Elves, Anastasia was awarded the title of Grand Duchess. Naturally, Karnov should have received a reward as well. But he declined.
“Yes, I thought I might need it later… I told them I would ask when I found something I wanted.”
“Later?”
Wilhelm questioned, but Karnov couldn’t bring himself to answer.
“Rather, I heard you were considering retirement.”
Wilhelm chuckled with his weathered face.
“My back aches, and my eyesight’s failing. It’s time to rest.”
Karnov thought of calling his bluff but decided to hold his tongue. Even before Karnov had turned fifteen, there was no one on the battlefield who could claim to protect him—not even the Commander-in-Chief.
Karnov had always believed the sense of indebtedness others felt toward him was unnecessary guilt. He had said as much to them, but they never let go of that feeling.
Wilhelm’s continued service as Commander-in-Chief stemmed from that very sense of debt. He wanted to ensure Karnov would not be burdened with further responsibilities.
Now that Wilhelm was talking of retirement, it meant he had received assurance that there would no longer be wars with the Noctis Elves.
It meant he believed everything would be alright.
“His Majesty won’t allow it.”
“He won’t have a choice.”
Wilhelm smiled faintly.
“His Majesty has been on the throne for a long time. If anyone understands the desire to rest, it’s him.”
“…”
“The position that should have been yours… I held onto it for far too long.”
“That’s not true.”
Karnov denied it, but Wilhelm only responded with a calm smile.
“It reminds me of that day ten years ago. Or was it nine?”
Karnov didn’t know which event Wilhelm was recalling, so he simply looked at him in silence.
Wilhelm remembered the younger, colder version of the man standing before him. He recalled the small girl Karnov used to watch over—a girl who had gone off today to inspect her lands with her entourage, now almost of age but once so much smaller and younger.
Karnov had never been one to approach others first, nor to inquire after their well-being. But upon discovering that the girl was of royal blood, Wilhelm hadn’t known what to do with himself. He had hurried to the Crown Prince, as if seeking guidance.
Wilhelm had seen the way Karnov quietly shielded anyone who dared to engage him in conversation.
Knowing now that all those worries had been for nothing brought Wilhelm immense relief. He smiled serenely as he spoke.
“I look forward to standing at the front for my final Empire’s Protection Day.”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“You need to take a full tour of your domain first.”
Upon arriving at the entrance of the Pesheranskaya estate, Lyudmila opened her notebook. She had researched the rituals a lord must perform upon returning to their land after receiving their title. The knights, watching the young girls, smiled warmly and began setting up camp deeper in the forest.
“After that, you march while receiving the cheers of your people. Finally, everyone shares a feast and drinks made from the local specialty.”
“Hmm. Alright. Let’s start with the tour.”
As Asha nodded, Natalya, already on horseback, extended her hand toward Asha. Asha climbed up, and Lyudmila mounted her horse as well.
The girls excitedly rode along the edge of the peach forest, making a full circuit. It wasn’t a large forest, so they returned quickly.
“But what about the cheers of the people?”
Dismounting, Asha spoke with sudden seriousness, causing the three of them to huddle together in thought.
Natalya, the first to come up with an idea, clapped her hands and sprang into action. She climbed a tree with remarkable agility and returned with armfuls of ripe peaches, arranging them in two long lines on the ground.
“Ta-da! How’s this?”
“Hmm…”
“Not good?”
As Natalya’s face fell, Lyudmila calmly assessed the scattered peaches.
“No matter how you look at it, this feels more like a conquering monarch.”
“Ah.”
“That… let’s pretend we received cheers and go in quickly.”
The three of them picked up the scattered peaches and made their way back. They shared the peaches Natalya had gathered, and as the sun set and evening approached, everyone gathered to prepare dinner.
A bonfire was lit, and a large pot was placed over it. Various meats were grilled and added to the pot, followed by water and a bundle of herbs. As steam began to rise, peeled potatoes, chopped onions, and celery were added. Finally, whole roasted cabbages were tossed in generously to complete the stew.
“I prefer meat. Isn’t there more greens than meat in this?”
“You’ll be surprised how good the cabbage tastes! Oh! We need tomatoes too.”
One of the knights, watching the pot with watering mouths, quickly ran to the carriage and brought back a bundle of tomatoes.
“It would have been nice to have Karnov. He could cook this in no time.”
Hearing Asha’s muttering, Lyudmila glanced down at her hair. She thought she understood why Karnov treated Asha differently.
To others, his power was one of death and fear. But to her, it wasn’t…
“You always think like that, don’t you?”
“What? Are you saying I’m always thinking about food?”
Asha, stirring the pot with a large ladle, widened her eyes at Lyudmila. A knight sitting a little farther away coughed awkwardly.
“Huh? No, I didn’t mean—”
“Wow, look at you, Lyuda. You can make blunt remarks to Her Highness now.”
“Natasha, don’t say it like that! Now everyone will know how she thought of me…”
Asha’s playful tone turned Lyudmila’s face bright red.
“I-I would never dare! I mean…”
By the time their teasing of Lyudmila ended, the cabbage and meat stew was ready. Asha handed bowls to the knights who had accompanied them, as well as to Lyudmila and Natalya.
Gathered around the bonfire in small groups, they sipped the steaming stew, listening to the crackling fire and the chirping of insects. The rich flavors of cabbage and tomatoes blended perfectly with the tender meat and well-cooked vegetables, warming them from the inside.
“Hey, Lyuda. What really happened to your hair?”
As the distance from the others grew, Asha quietly asked. Lyudmila flinched, hurriedly opening her mouth to dodge the question. She thought she had let it go.
“A spark caught it…”
“And why did that spark fly?”
“She… attended a tea party a few days ago.”
Before Lyudmila could explain further, Natalya stabbed a piece of meat in her bowl with a fork and answered. Asha’s eyes widened.
“Did someone bother you, Lyuda?!”
“No, it was Lyuda.”
“…What?”
Lyudmila gave Natalya a look as if she wanted to smack her, but she didn’t deny it. Natalya, seeing her reaction, gleefully continued.
“They said how lucky Your Highness was, saying something about how being pretty meant you’d get a duchy just for smiling.”
“Natalya! I told you not to tell her!”
“But it was their fault!”
“Well… that’s not entirely untrue…”
At Asha’s remark, the two girls glared at her in unison.
“No way! Do you know how much you went through?!”
“Exactly! Those idiots have no idea—”
“But.”
Asha interrupted, elegantly sweeping her hair behind her shoulder with one hand.
“If it’s about… this beauty of mine? Isn’t it kind of true?”
“….”
“….”
Asha’s face instantly turned bright red.
“I-I was joking! Don’t look at me like that.”
“Anyway, that’s when Lyuda asked him directly what he meant.”
“And you just went back to the point like that.”
