Kayan silently stared at my outstretched pinky. Then, in a low voice, he spoke.
“Princess, you cannot leave the palace without your fiancé’s permission. How exactly do you plan to come out?”
He sighed.
After glancing up at my expression, he visibly flinched.
“Why are you smiling like that again?”
“Like what?”
“You’re smiling so smugly… it’s unsettling.”
“Because you’re finally talking to me?”
I curved my eyes into a gentle smile and took a step closer to him.
“Not the soulless, dead-inside ‘I appreciate the Princess’s something or other,’ but actual conversation. It makes me so, so happy.”
“…”
“There’s progress. I see hope.”
“…”
“I feel like I can conquer this. I just need to keep advancing.”
“…”
As I took another step closer, Kayan instinctively took one step back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing,” he muttered, his voice flustered.
“It’s just… the way you’re looking at me right now, it’s like you’re staring at prey…”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m a weak, gloomy child consumed by despair right now.”
I blinked my round, blue eyes innocently and shook my head.
“Take a closer look, okay? These are the eyes of a pitiful, pure-hearted kitten, seeking forgiveness and trying desperately to make amends with a friend.”
“Kittens are predators too.”
“Really? Then maybe I look like a cute little teddy bear from a fairytale?”
“Bears don’t come from fairytales; they tear people apart,” Kayan mumbled flatly.
“I’m immune to the Princess’s sweet, gentle tone or angelic smiles. I’ve known you since you were a child—calling yourself weak is just…”
He furrowed his brow and grumbled, but then abruptly stopped, biting his lower lip as if he’d said something he shouldn’t have.
Before he could apologize, I quickly smiled and cut in.
“Wow, I’m so glad you brought up childhood memories.”
“What?”
“Because those were the happiest and brightest days of my life, being with you. I’ll always welcome talk about those times.”
I smiled warmly and pulled back my outstretched pinky.
It didn’t feel like the right time to push for a promise yet.
“I want to be that happy again. But this time, with you.”
Kayan stared blankly at my retreating pinky, his expression unreadable.
“Ah… um…”
And then it happened.
“Princess! Princess!”
“Princess! How did you even get all the way over there?!”
From afar, my maids and guards were running toward us. Ironically, they were the very same people who had harshly berated Kayan during our falling out a year ago.
I sighed heavily.
“Ugh, the mood was perfect…”
I’d been making real progress!
Kayan glanced at them briefly before turning back to me with a formal bow.
“Thank you for your attention, Princess. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
This time, he truly walked away, his strides decisive and firm.
I called after him,
“We’ll meet again! I’ll come to you next time, too!”
Kayan seemed to think such a thing was unlikely, but I meant it sincerely.
“And next time, let’s spend even more time together!”
Just like before, for a long, long time. In a place where no one could ever separate us.
I watched his retreating figure with determined eyes, then turned around. It was time for me to head my own way too.
My destination was clear, after all.
‘Most importantly, you have to avoid being exiled.’
That was the most crucial of my brother’s warnings.
But, brother…
I grinned mischievously.
‘My goal this time is exile.’
If you thought about it, exile meant I could leave the palace officially. Not only that, it would force the other party to accept my presence.
‘It’s the perfect punishment that lets me stick close to him legally!’
At this point, it felt less like a punishment and more like a reward.
With my maids and guards in tow, I wandered through the garden under the pretext of a leisurely stroll. After quite some time, I arrived at my destination: the audience chamber.
“Princess? This is…”
“Still within the palace walls,” I replied, cutting off my maid’s objection with a sweet smile. “I haven’t disobeyed my brother’s instructions.”
That silenced them. Taking a deep breath in front of the chamber doors, I steadied myself.
If I had found my way here correctly, Kayan would be inside.
I turned to the attendant standing by the entrance, offering a gentle smile.
“Would you please deliver this immediately?”
Before my guards could stop me, I continued,
“Princess Ivnoa requests an audience with His Majesty the Emperor, right now.”
***
“Impressive,” the emperor remarked.
Kayan was in the middle of an audience with the emperor.
“For the northern territories to become part of the Empire… extraordinary.”
The emperor’s face lit up with satisfaction as he read the letter sent by Arthur on Kayan’s behalf.
“To think such a feat would happen during my reign. Truly, we owe our gratitude to the ‘Mercenary King.’”
“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”
At this moment, the Barcklith family was officially elevated to the rank of viscount.
The land Arthur had conquered became the territory of House Barcklith.
“And… ha, remarkable. An iron ore mine.”
The emperor muttered, rereading the letter several times.
“When I promised the ‘Mercenary King’ the title of count, I didn’t expect him to achieve this so quickly.”
Arthur had sent Kayan to the capital first for a reason.
According to imperial law, the emperor could personally bestow titles up to the rank of count when imperial territory was expanded.
A year ago, after Kayan was rejected by Princess Ivnoa and returned to the north, House Barcklith had posed a question to the emperor: If they managed to incorporate part of the northern territories into the Empire, would they truly be granted the rank of viscount as stipulated by law?
At that time, the north was inhabited by barbarian tribes in scattered settlements.
“If you can conquer the territory of the Lanchina tribe and incorporate it into the Empire, I will immediately grant the title of viscount,” the emperor had said, pointing to the map himself.
“As for the Ogiano tribe’s territory above that—rumored to be rich in iron ore—if you can secure that as well, I see no reason why I couldn’t bestow the rank of count.”
Currently, House Barcklith had enough forces to make such ambitions plausible, having absorbed the mercenaries under the ‘Mercenary King’ into their knightly ranks.
After securing the Lanchina tribe’s territory, Arthur pressed onward and conquered the Ogiano tribe’s land in one swift strike.
“I must admit, my promise of a countship was almost made in jest. So, the fact that Barcklith sent you first must mean he wants confirmation about the title before proceeding,” the emperor said, studying the handsome boy with dark hair.
According to Arthur’s letter, they had already conquered the Ogiano tribe’s lands and were in the process of confirming the existence of the iron ore mines.
“Ha! Such suspicion. Would the emperor go back on his word? Preposterous! Very well, I shall give my answer now.”
The emperor raised his voice, then declared,
“Tell Viscount Arthur Barcklith that once the existence of the iron ore mines is confirmed and he returns to the capital, the title of count will be his immediately.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Still, to send his son ahead to the capital—Barcklith seems to have placed quite the heavy burden on one so young.”
“We needed to establish a viscount’s residence in the capital and attend to other matters, so it was only natural for me to come first,” Kayan replied calmly.
“Though I did briefly stay in the capital a year ago because of the princess, my father has never been here before, so…”
“You handled such tasks yourself?”
“In the mercenary world, we begin pulling our weight by the age of ten.”
Kayan’s confident reply made the emperor laugh heartily.
“Ten years old, carrying such responsibilities? My niece Ivnoa is thirteen and still seems like a baby.”
At the word baby, Kayan flinched slightly.
The emperor’s baby… was the same girl who, at eight years old, had cheerfully torn apart monsters with her bare hands.
“She still trembles and appears so timid that she looks like she might topple over if an adult so much as nudges her.”
…Topple over? More like topple adults with a single blow.
“Well, she’s like a little squirrel, scurrying around but managing to say whatever’s on her mind. Clever, though. I imagine her confidence will only grow as she gets older.”
…If she became any more confident, she might just unite the entire continent.
Kayan frowned slightly, recalling Princess Ivnoa.
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