Valery noticed Yuriev approaching a little too late. If he had noticed even a moment earlier, he would have run out of the terrace.
“It’s been a while, brother.”
“Indeed it has. I think it’s been thirty years since I last heard you call me brother.”
“Has it? It feels more like thirty-five years.”
From the mid-years of his childhood, he hadn’t properly called him brother. At Yuriev’s words, Valery’s face crumpled. He knew better than to say anything, knowing he wouldn’t hear anything good. Yuriev stared blankly at his brother’s sensitive expression. Valery, frowning, averted his gaze and muttered.
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
How could he be close to someone who had everything he desperately desired and threw it away? To Valery, Yuriev was that person.
He had the emperor’s attention, the position of heir, and everyone’s recognition, but Yuriev didn’t seem the least bit pleased. Watching him act as if it were all natural twisted Valery’s insides. And he hated himself for feeling that way, leading to days of turmoil.
Now those days felt like a distant past, but facing Yuriev made him feel as if he had returned to those times.
“I heard you’ve been taking good care of Asha.”
“Who… who said that?”
Valery instinctively denied it but then closed his eyes tightly. He knew exactly what his sharp-tongued brother would say.
Why are you being disingenuous, why are you denying what we see clearly, and assume others wouldn’t see through it? Was it a habit to speak in such a disadvantageous manner…
But even after a while, it remained quiet. Glancing sideways, Yuriev was just staring at him with a blank expression.
“Why… why are you looking at me like that?”
“It seems Brother hasn’t changed at all since childhood.”
Valery almost felt his head explode but barely managed to hold on with the patience accumulated over the years.
“By the way, I heard Ilya passed the Imperial Investigator Exam this time.”
“He passed it ages ago. He just went for his practical training now.”
“I thought he was a gentle child, didn’t expect him to take on such a job.”
Yuriev reminisced about the day his nephews and Asha had come to play by Lake Bishti. Ilya, amidst a major fire incident, had quietly helped people, leaving an impression of being reserved and somewhat fragile.
“Did you think I expected it? It’s all thanks to your daughter…”
Valery said, referring to her as the Grand Duchess of Pesheranskaya. Yuriev shrugged as if it was obvious.
“Hmm. You mean my princess helped me find my nephew’s dream.”
Valery took a deep breath and exhaled. His shoulders relaxed. Seeing his brother’s face after twenty years and having such a trivial conversation without thinking was bewildering. But what annoyed him more was that he didn’t hate it as much.
Since Valery didn’t retaliate, Yuriev’s face soon showed disinterest, and he turned his gaze. In the hall, Natalya Bagration was taking Karnov’s place. Anastasia grabbed her friend’s hand with a joyful expression.
‘…Goodness.’
Valery saw the face of his brother looking at his daughter for the first time. To be precise, it was the first time he saw Yuriev’s expression as a married man and a father. Yuriev’s eyes curved like crescent moons, and warmth spread across his cheeks. He looked at her with a mix of tenderness and regret, as if seeing something young and fragile. Could he make such an expression? Was he always like this? While Valery was confused, Yuriev spoke up.
“By the way, that Duke of Sedvoyer…”
And for the first time, Valery didn’t miss the opportunity.
“Soon enough, he’ll be shouting all over the place that he’s going to marry your daughter.”
“Hmm.”
Valery saw Yuriev’s eyebrow twitch and felt a slight sense of victory. For the first time in his life, he had shaken his brother’s emotions. But he soon felt pathetic for being pleased with such a trivial matter and became sullen again.
“And Asha?”
“Hmm?”
“I get it regarding the Duke of Sedvoyer, but what about Asha? Does she like him?”
“You can see for yourself, can’t you?”
“I’m asking because I don’t know how things were while she was in the capital.”
“What if Asha likes him? Are you going to give your blessing?”
“Is that something I can give or withhold? If Asha wants to, she’ll do it.”
“You… you! You told me…”
Yuriev had always warned him not to dream of things beyond his reach, as if the throne was his own. Yuriev, who would go to any lengths—whether it meant his own death or someone else’s—to get what he wanted, even if it was someone else’s future or dreams. Yuriev looked at Valery without hiding his displeasure.
“How can you compare yourself to my daughter?”
“You crazy…”
“And our Asha has a keen sense of judgment. She knows exactly what she’s doing.”
Valery bit his tongue. The retort, ‘So I didn’t know?!’ rose to his throat but he swallowed it back down. He knew Yuriev would look at him and say, ‘Do you even hear yourself?’
Feeling a bit sad about his slightly chewed-up tongue, Valery finally admitted a little. He had always been uneasy around Yuriev because he had a knack for piercing his deepest insecurities without hesitation.
“Well… well. Even a hedgehog finds its own offspring soft. So, having a child makes you like this.”
“Our Asha is not a hedgehog.”
“No, I mean…”
“Oh! Father invited us to dinner tonight. You’ll come too, right? Though, given the time, it might be more like a late-night snack.”
“Oh… because of Dimitri? Are you… coming too?”
Valery looked at him with a sour expression. A few days ago, he received a separate message from the emperor, inviting him to a dinner at the palace after the coming-of-age ceremony. The messenger said it was because of Dimitri. Valery didn’t like this either. If it was because of Dimitri at this point, it was probably to celebrate his passing the Imperial Investigator Exam, but there had been no such celebration when Ilya passed the same exam. Ilya had laughed, saying they couldn’t celebrate just him when Dimitri had failed…
“Yes, I was invited too. But I’m telling you because I thought you might not come if you knew I was coming.”
Valery, who had been thinking, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t go,’ flinched.
“Then I’ll see you tonight, brother.”
Yuriev smiled. It was clearly a smile that said, “Just try not to come.” Valery didn’t respond to the greeting. He just muttered to himself when Yuriev walked away.
“Baby hedgehog… Cute…”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
The garden at Asha’s estate was lively with the full moon shining overhead. Tarts and cakes made by Asha were laid out on the table, and her cousins and friends were gathered around, chattering excitedly.
The fathers had gone to have dinner with the emperor, and the mothers were gathered together, leaving the children more excited and free. The unexpected arrival of Asha’s parents, the story of Dimitri having to dance with Maxim because Asha danced with Irina, the duties of the imperial investigators, and the introduction of Lyudmila’s sister kept them busy.
Lyubov Shchedrin, who looked a lot like Lyudmila and seemed cold at first glance, was actually quite shy and hid behind her sister for a long time. Natalya, who was initially wary of Lyubov, quickly warmed up and enjoyed feeding her Asha’s sweets one by one, watching her reactions.
“Lyuda says she’s shy, but she’s surprisingly assertive when working. Isn’t that interesting?”
Asha, who had slipped into the inner part of the garden for a moment’s breath from the bustling crowd, said. Karnov, gazing down at her, murmured, “Yes, it’s interesting.” His half-hearted response made Asha giggle and nudge him.
“Karnov, are you sulking?”
“No. Not at all.”
Karnov responded immediately, but Asha just laughed. Although Karnov was supposed to be her third dance partner, the sudden appearance of Yuriev and Irina led to even Tarjei, who took for granted dancing with Asha, cutting in, making Karnov’s turn no different from last.
Had it not been for Natalya and the pushed-in Dimitri, who rushed to dance with Asha towards the end, Karnov would have been the very last.
“I thought something was off about that Kerum game.”
Karnov glanced away. Even here, he could feel the tiny chicks perched at the top of the World Tree avoiding his gaze.
“Ahaha. Everyone must have been aware of Grandfather’s thoughts and kept quiet.”
“Just to be clear. I’m not really sulking. It’s not like I dislike it. I’m happy they came too…”
Karnov spoke quickly. Asha burst into laughter again. After laughing for a while, she finally stopped and remembered the gift Karnov had given her.
“Oh, right. Thank you for the music box, Karnov.”
“It was my prized gift, but I lost to His Majesty.”
The ballerina music box that Asha owned was a gift from the emperor from the royal treasury a long time ago, and the Neustetter family had the matching boy ballerino music box, which Karnov had gifted her this time.
“But Karnov? Is something wrong?”
Asha, who had been listening to the sound of her friends laughing in the distance, turned to look at Karnov. Though he had been speaking calmly, his emotions were in turmoil—nervous, anxious, excited, and happy all at once. A storm of conflicting feelings surged through him.
“Hmm.”
“Hmm?”
“Asha, do you remember?”
“I don’t know what it is, but I remember.”
Karnov smiled weakly at Asha’s silly joke and reached into his pocket, his hand trembling slightly. Asha tilted her head in curiosity.
“What is it… oh!”
“Do you remember?”
Asha quickly nodded and took the paper Karnov handed her, holding it up to the moonlight.
“This is the wish ticket I wrote for you a long time ago! It looks like it was written just recently.”
Asha, facing a memory from her childhood, excitedly examined the wish ticket front and back. The paper was stiff and not faded by the light, looking new. The ink seemed freshly dried, with the edges of the letters not darkened.
“Don’t tell me, Karnov, you reversed time for this?”
“They said small things like this are possible.”
“You used your power for something like this?!”
“It got wet! I had no choice!”
“Why did it get wet? Did you spill tea on it?”
“I dropped it in the lake.”
“The lake? When…”
Asha, recalling an old memory, widened her eyes. It was when Karnov had dropped something in the lake during a boat ride with her.
“You’ve been carrying this around all this time?”
Karnov avoided her gaze, his ears turning red. Asha looked at the wish ticket again, which seemed brand new.
“Isn’t this expired by now?”
“It’s not.”
“Are you sure?”
Asha was skeptical, but Karnov denied it with confidence.
“Then what’s your wish? You know it has to be something I can do, right?”
“Answer me honestly.”
“I don’t refuse things I can do!”
“No, that’s my wish.”
“Huh?”
Asha blinked. Karnov carefully placed his hand over Asha’s hand holding the wish ticket. Asha noticed how warm Karnov’s hand felt.
“I want you to answer honestly to what I’m about to say.”
“Just answer honestly? That’s… your wish, Karnov?”
“Yes. Forget about my status, Alexei, future matters, the royal family, your status, what I have, what you have, or what we might not have… Just answer honestly from your heart. That’s my wish.”
Asha, initially bewildered, slowly nodded. Seeing her expression, Karnov swallowed dryly, took a deep breath, and slowly let go of her hand.
Karnov opened and closed his hand about three times. Even in the moonlight, Asha could see his face turning red down to his neck.
And the aura emanating from him. A lovely, soft pink like sweet cotton candy, a pale apricot, a tense red, a warm ivory, and small, popping light green…
“I… like you. I want to be your first dance partner. Forever.”
We finally got our confession, everyone!! My heart was bursting as I was translating this.
