Chapter 24
Words I’ve Never Heard Before
So I tried to change the subject. This time, I decided to speak honestly from my heart.
“Actually… I ruined Mary Grace’s tea party. I should apologize to her as well.”
Mary had not actively taken part in ostracizing Rachel from noble society. That didn’t make it right, but I could understand her to an extent.
Mary had been born and raised within the noble society of Owen, and she would continue to live within it. Breaking away from the social mold of the Owen nobility wouldn’t have been easy for her.
Even so, Mary’s family felt truly sorry toward Rachel. And they apologized. Feeling genuine remorse for something, and expressing that remorse, required real courage.
I had been thinking all this time that I had spoken far too coldly to Mary. Now it was my turn to be brave.
Rachel thought for a moment and then said:
“Daisy, did you know that Mary Grace and her friends really like you? Remember when you first met Mary? She took quite a liking to you right away.”
Rachel stirred her iced tea with a teaspoon.
I wasn’t sure what she meant. I hadn’t known that Mary liked me. I thought she was more interested in that foreign princess.
“Mary Grace and her friends… Their clothes, their tea parties—they’re all quite different from Owen norms, you know?”
I recalled Mary’s tea party. It was true that their clothes and accessories were much more extravagant compared to typical Owen nobles.
“Mary Grace and her friends are actually very famous Lundra-philes. That tea party you attended? It was basically a gathering of people who admire the culture of the Lundra Kingdom.”
Rachel burst into laughter as if she found it absolutely amusing.
“There are people who admire foreign cultures too, you know.”
“Even if you don’t apologize, they’ll understand. You’re practically a princess straight out of Lundra.”
Rachel’s mischievous face grew even more playful.
“Regardless of whether they understand, I still want to apologize.”
Rachel stopped laughing and said:
“Then in a little while, the Grace family is hosting a ball. What if you tell her what you want to say there?”
“To attend a ball, I need an invitation.”
I didn’t even know there was going to be a ball at the Grace estate.
“It’s not a small tea party, but a family ball. To invite a princess, it’s only proper that they deliver the invitation in person.”
Rachel glanced at Cedric before continuing.
“The Grace Count family is an old and prestigious house. They’ll send invitations to the House of Dayerton as well—an invitation from one noble house to another. Just attend as Cedric’s partner. You’re going, aren’t you, Duke Dayerton?”
I knew Cedric rarely attended even imperial banquets. Thinking he likely wouldn’t go, I began trying to figure out another way to speak with Mary.
“If Her Highness wishes it.”
But Cedric answered that he would attend. It seemed the dutiful host intended to assist me as much as possible while I stayed in his manor.
A few days later, I invited Sir Mathis and Sir Diego.
I hadn’t summoned them as knights of the kingdom. As the princess and fellow countrywoman, I had invited Leo, second son of the Mathis Viscounty, and Caris, third son of the Diego County, to a tea party. I even sent formal invitations.
“Greetings to the princess of the most beautiful land.”
“Greetings to the princess of the most beautiful land. Thank you for inviting us.”
The two knights greeted me—not in the manner of knights, but with the etiquette of nobles.
“Good afternoon. Have you had lunch?”
“Yes, we ate at the knights’ building.”
“That’s good. Are either of you having trouble with the food in Owen?”
“I’m fine, but Leo struggles a little. Fortunately, the commander arranged for us to have access to a Lundra-style chef at the knights’ building.”
“That’s a relief.”
If I had been comfortable with Owen’s cuisine, I might not have realized how foreign food could be difficult for someone else. Sir Mathis might have had a very hard time here otherwise.
“How do the two of you spend your free time?”
Compared to my life in Lundra, I went out much more now. But by noble standards, I still rarely left the estate. Because of that, Sir Mathis and Sir Diego—despite being assigned to guard me—actually had some free time.
“I train during my free time, Your Highness,” Sir Mathis replied.
“You train even in your free time?”
“Yes.”
As soon as he finished, Sir Diego added:
“Leo is someone who knows nothing but training, Your Highness. The commander even told him to stop training. There are probably barely any knights in all the land who’ve ever heard such a thing.”
“Haha, is that so? Why do you train so much, Lord Mathis?”
Knights trained constantly, yes—but they were still people.
“I wish to become a knight worthy of the glorious Lundra Kingdom’s knight order. The kingdom has given me an extraordinary opportunity, but I am still far from reaching the order’s reputation.”
“Lord Mathis, you’re truly an exceptional talent of our kingdom. I won’t tell you to rest more—just make sure you don’t injure yourself.”
Sir Mathis bowed politely.
“And you, Diego? How do you spend your free time? Don’t tell me you also do nothing but train?”
“If saying that would earn Your Highness’s approval, I’m tempted… but I won’t lie. I enjoy games, so I spend my free time playing.”
He smiled brightly.
“Games? Like card games?”
“Yes. I enjoy card games, dice games… I also like chess.”
“That’s interesting. If you don’t mind, could you teach me? Is there a game I can learn here?”
“It is an honor to play games with Your Highness. If it’s dice games, we can play right here.”
I was genuinely intrigued. Since coming to Owen, I had begun to enjoy experiencing new things.
No one around me was particularly fond of games, so I had never thought much about such hobbies. I called to a maid waiting at a distance and asked her to bring dice.
While the maid was gone, I asked the two men various questions. Since we were fundamentally a princess and two knights, the dynamic wasn’t the same as a normal tea party. I asked questions; they answered sincerely.
Even so, through the conversation, I learned quite a lot about the two knights who had accompanied me from Lundra.
Sir Mathis was like the ideal model of a knight—disciplined in absolutely everything, from his hobbies to his mannerisms. No matter how long the conversation continued, his posture never faltered.
Sir Diego, compared to Mathis, seemed much more flexible. He carried the elegance of a noble son and had refined tastes, but he enjoyed jokes and acted comfortably even around me.
I also learned that they were the same age and had attended the academy together. They had both volunteered to come to Owen. Among the volunteers, they had passed the exams and been selected, meaning both were quite talented.
“I suppose you’ve already guessed why I invited you both. I’m curious about how our kingdom’s people are living here in Owen. I invited you not as knights but as noble sons because I wanted to hear every detail—including the personal ones you couldn’t reveal as knights.”
I steered the conversation toward my purpose—learning more about the people who had mocked my manner of speech the other day.
Sir Diego nodded as if he’d been waiting for that question.
“I’ve heard rumors that there are imperial supremacists. But I had only heard of them—I encountered them in person for the first time just a few days ago.”
Imperial supremacists—that was a term I had never heard before.
“What exactly do imperial supremacists believe?”
“At the mild end, they believe the Empire is superior to other kingdoms. At the extreme end, they believe all nations on this land should stand beneath the Empire.”
It was a far more radical ideology than I expected.
“Do they affect our kingdom’s citizens as well?”
“I’ve heard that immigrants and foreign students from our kingdom have had difficulties. However, such views are not mainstream in Owen, and there have been no major incidents. Mostly ridicule—mocking accents or subtly pushing them out of shared spaces.”
“Even if it sounds minor, constant exposure to that must make our people’s lives in Owen very painful.”
All the troubling behaviors he described were everyday harassment. If someone endured that constantly, their daily life would be far from peaceful.
“I’ve never heard of any of this before.”
I didn’t know much about many small, hidden issues. That was partly due to the nature of the Lundra Kingdom—and partly due to my own lack of awareness.
