Back at Camer Palace, Pristin couldn’t easily fall asleep. Instead, she furrowed her brows, pondering over what had just happened.
‘What on earth is it?’
It was truly the first time he appeared like that. She tried to dismiss it and think of other things, but the thoughts kept coming back.
‘Did something bad happen with a dog?’
“Oh, Your Excellency.”
At that moment, Aruvina entered Pristin’s room. She seemed quite surprised, probably expecting Pristin to be asleep.
“You’re still awake.”
“Oh, yes.”
“You must be tired.”
“I woke up once and couldn’t fall back asleep.”
“I see. Well, then how about taking a walk? The sunlight is shining right now.”
“…No.”
Pristin firmly replied to Aruvina.
“I need to go to the central palace.”
“The central palace?”
Aruvina’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected answer. Pristin nodded her head.
“Yes. I have…something to tell His Majesty.”
“Something to tell him?”
“Well, I still haven’t made the request to find my sister. And there are other matters I need to discuss separately.”
Pristin spoke with a determined expression.
“I have to share those stories. Right now.”
“Oh, yes. Sounds good.”
In the end, after quickly preparing herself, Pristin went to the central palace. As she stood in front of Jerald’s room, Pristin internally rationalized that she was here simply to make a request.
However, a surprising situation awaited her shortly after.
“I’m sorry, but you cannot enter.”
“What? Why…”
“His Majesty is currently in seclusion.”
“Oh.”
There was nothing she could do then. Pristin returned to Camer Palace in disappointment.
‘Perhaps this is for the best.’
At first, she was worried and anxious, coming up with all sorts of reasons to visit the central palace. But as she thought about it calmly, she found it amusing. What right did she have to worry about him? What would she even say if she met him safely? It was absurd that she was making such a big deal out of it when she wasn’t even the empress.
“Countess.”
Pristin was about to call it a day and focus on her own tasks when Aruvina approached her.
“What’s the matter?”
“An update came from the princess’s palace. Her Highness would like to have lunch together.”
“Oh, yes. Please let her know that I’ll go.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
After receiving the response, Aruvina promptly stepped back, and Pristin sat down at her desk, opening the book she had been reading lately.
Her mind was too cluttered at the moment, and she thought that reading a book would help her calm down a bit.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
A few hours later, Pristin arrived at the princess’s palace in time.
“Pristin!”
“Princess.”
As always, Pristin embraced Claret affectionately, who welcomed her like her own sister.
“We see each other often, so it feels like I see you all the time, but it feels like it’s been a while.”
“Well, you know. Sometimes I think I should move the palace to a place closer to Camer Palace. So that we can see each other more often.”
“I’m close to His Majesty as well, but I can’t see him very often.”
“Oh, right! You escorted the envoys with Brother this morning, right?”
“Ah, yes. I did.”
“Did you do well?”
“I’m not sure.”
Pristin replied with a troubled expression.
“I tried my best not to make any mistakes.”
“Our Pristin is so well-mannered! You must have done well.”
Claret tightly held Pristin’s hand and led her to the dining hall.
“Well, you must be hungry. Let’s go in and talk slowly.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
She wasn’t sure if they always ate like this or if they paid special attention because Pristin was coming, but the lunch banquet that day was splendid, as if it were a state banquet.
Pristin admired the numerous dishes that were piled up on the table.
“Can we eat all these dishes at least once?”
“Well, I’m still growing. I eat a lot these days.”
“That’s good. You should eat a lot to grow well.”
In truth, Claret’s height was not at a level that could be considered small compared to her peers. Pristin smiled and said,
“If you resemble the emperor, Your Highness will definitely grow up to be slim and beautiful.”
“If I can grow up as pretty and slim as Pristin, I’ll have no more wishes.”
“Oh, what about me?”
Pristin chuckled awkwardly.
“You are even more beautiful, Your Highness. You will grow up to be much more gorgeous than I am.”
“Oh, come on. Pristin is beautiful too. A true beauty.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you like the food?”
“Yes, Your Highness. It’s excellent.”
It couldn’t be anything but excellent. Good-looking dishes tended to taste good as well.
While savoring the rich flavor, Pristin was eating the caviar salad in front of her when Claret asked,
“By the way, I heard from one of the maids.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“I heard they gave him a puppy as a present before the Perk envoys left today.”
“Oh… Yes.”
The puppy seemed to already be fully grown, but Pristin didn’t bother to correct her.
“Do you want to come and see the puppy with me later?”
“The puppy?”
“Yeah. Do you hate them?”
“No, I don’t hate them.”
“You didn’t seem to like it very much, so I asked just in case.”
“The puppy is a bit big. I’m worried that the princess might be scared.”
“Oh, come on. How old do you think I am that I’d be scared of a puppy?”
Claret pounded her chest and exclaimed loudly.
“I love puppies very much. Isn’t it obvious? How can anyone not love those adorable creatures?”
“…”
As Pristin listened to her words, she naturally thought of Jerald. Although it was a large dog, it was indeed an incredibly cute one, as Claret had described. Why had he been so afraid of such a dog? No matter how much she thought about it, it was inexplicable.
“Pristin, eat more quickly. The food might get cold.”
“Oh, yes.”
At Claret’s words, Pristin once again forgot her thoughts and focused solely on her meal.
However, the lingering discomfort continued to unsettle her throughout the meal.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Through Claret, Pristin learned that the dog presented by the envoys earlier was in a palace very far from the central palace.
The two went to see the dog together while holding hands.
“Wow, it’s a puppy!”
With its snow-white fur, the large dog was enough to capture the young princess’s heart. Claret approached the dog with her eyes as if she were in love. Claret squatted in front of the dog and stroked his fur.
“You’re so cute. What’s your name?”
“His Majesty the Emperor hasn’t given him a name yet.”
Upon hearing the words of the caretaker, Claret made a confused expression, as if wondering how that could be.
“It doesn’t make sense that a cute and adorable creature like you doesn’t have a name yet. I should come up with one.”
Claret pondered for a moment before clapping her hands.
“Okay, little one. From today, your name is Chris!”
“Chris? Is there a particular reason for that?”
“I don’t know. The name Chris just came to mind.”
Claret looked up at the caretaker and nodded.
“Got it? As of today, his name is Chris. Call him Chris.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“No. Can’t we just raise Chris at the princess’s palace?”
Claret asked, looking back at Pristin.
“What do you think, Pristin?”
“Well… I think we should inform His Majesty the Emperor first and seek his permission, shouldn’t we?”
“My brother will probably give his permission. If I say I want to, that is.”
Claret turned to the caretaker again and said.
“I’ll take him with me. I want to raise him.”
And the dog’s caretaker became very troubled. Because this was a diplomatic gift, it couldn’t be given away so easily just because the princess wanted it. The caretaker carefully aided Pristin’s opinion.
“I apologize, Your Highness, but as Countess Rosewell mentioned, the emperor’s approval is necessary for this matter.”
“Why is it so difficult to give away a dog?”
“Because it’s not just any dog, Your Highness.”
Pristin spoke calmly, reprimanding Claret.
“This is a gift from the Emperor of the Perk Empire. So it would be best to inquire about the emperor’s intentions to avoid any breach of etiquette.”
In truth, if Claret had wanted a dog, Jerald would have given one right away. But Pristin didn’t bring up that topic.
“Fine, then let’s go to the central palace! It’s quite far from here, but I still want to go now. We’re bringing Chris along!”
“Yes, Your Highness. It would be better that way…”
“Oh my, Princess!”
An unexpected voice interrupted the two. When Pristin turned her head, Tanya was approaching them. Claret’s eyebrows instantly furrowed.
“Lady Gennant?”
“I didn’t expect to meet you here.”
Tanya bowed gracefully towards Claret.
“I greet the star of the empire.”
“I guess you can’t even see Pristin next to me?”
When Claret asked Pristin with a side glance, Tanya replied with a slightly cracked smile.
“Of course, Countess Rosewell. I was going to say hello right away.”
Tanya greeted Pristin with a cool look.
“It’s been a while, Countess Rosewell.”
“Yes, Princess. I haven’t seen you in a long time…”
“More importantly, I didn’t expect to see you here, Your Highness. What brings you here?”
Without even properly hearing Pristin’s greeting, Tanya immediately questioned Claret.
In response to her attitude, Pristin felt a sudden pang of irritation but didn’t show it, quietly observing the situation.
“I came to see the puppy.”
“The puppy? Are you referring to the one that was given away when the envoy departed today?”
“Yeah. Isn’t it cute?”
Claret proudly petted the white dog and spoke.
“From today onwards, I’ll be raising it.”
“Oh, looks like I’m a step late.”
“What do you mean?”
“I also came because I heard about that puppy. I really love dogs, so I wanted to get the emperor’s permission to raise one.”
In truth, it was a lie. Tanya Gennant didn’t like dogs, or any animals for that matter. It was because they couldn’t communicate well with her.
However, the reason she wanted to raise the dog even by lying was because she thought it was an opportunity to appeal to Jerald as a “woman who likes animals.” It was a very impure reason.
Meanwhile Claret, who heard Tanya, squealed.
“What? No! I will raise Chris!”
“Have you received His Majesty’s approval?”
“I’m on my way to get it.”
“Then I still have a chance.”
With her mouth slightly upturned, Tanya asked Claret.
“Shall we go together? Who will His Majesty give this puppy to?”
