Side Story 6………………………………….
“Elliot.”
At his superior’s quiet voice, Elliot felt a chill run down his spine for the first time in a long while. It was a deadly premonition he hadn’t experienced in years.
He tried to rationalize it—after all, the voice sounded normal—but his senses were already sending a warning: be careful.
Stopping his steps a bit farther from the Duke than usual, Elliot cautiously spoke.
“Did you call for me, Your Excellency?”
“Are there any lands available along the southern border?”
At the sudden question, Elliot narrowed his eyes and studied the Duke’s expression. What could have caused such a change in his mood? No, first he should answer. But he wasn’t a land surveyor… and even if he were, how could he know immediately whether there was available land along the border unless he was a local?
“I’ll look into it.”
“Don’t look into it—just buy everything.”
“I’m sorry, but may I ask why? Southern lands are fertile and have favorable climates, but they’re in constant dispute due to their proximity to the kingdom. Even the frontier dukes under the previous king abandoned them for this reason. That’s why the Emperor has always been troubled by these lands. The original local lords are even trying to get out whenever they can. If word gets out that Your Excellency is interested, people will sell quickly. It wouldn’t be difficult to purchase them—but did the Emperor give you any special orders? If it’s a matter of managing the frontier, it might be better to refuse…”
“It’s nothing like that. For now, buy any land that’s up for sale. Especially those prone to disputes along the kingdom’s border.”
“Pardon?”
Has he lost his mind? Did someone feed him something strange at the palace?
Elliot suddenly longed to see Anje. If she were here, she could have somehow calmed this utterly absurd situation.
“The disputes happening on my land—I will resolve them myself. The Emperor won’t be able to object to that.”
“Pardon?”
Elliot repeated the words like a parrot, but he couldn’t follow the logic of this development. Clearly, there was another underlying issue.
Hoping, however faintly, that he might not have to travel all the way to the southern territories, Elliot stepped closer to the Duke.
“Please explain it so I can understand, and I’ll handle it properly.”
“You know that the king of Naiyan sent a princess as the head of his delegation, right?”
Elliot’s expression darkened. He had heard the rumors circulating through social circles. But the princess had only arrived this afternoon. Even if, as the rumors said, she intended to seduce the Emperor, she shouldn’t have acted so quickly… or had she?
Otherwise, why would His Excellency give such an outrageous order?
“Has the princess already done something? Should I investigate separately?”
The Duke of Side, lifting one corner of his lip, smiled with deadly intent.
“In front of everyone, she asked about Anje—whether she was only kind to subordinates because of her lowly birth.”
“Ah…ugh!”
“I couldn’t kill her in front of His Majesty, so I considered killing the king instead.”
“Gasp!”
A sigh escaped Elliot. The situation was turning out far worse than he had imagined.
“When I told His Excellency we needed to prepare for war, he looked at me like I was insane.”
Even to Elliot, that sounded utterly mad…
He silently agreed with the Emperor’s judgment, wisely keeping his thoughts to himself.
The Duke of Side furrowed his brows and ran a hand across his chin. His beard, perfectly groomed that morning, had grown considerably. He would need to clean it properly before Anje returned.
“I had to find a somewhat persuasive solution. I couldn’t just watch. Not killing her on the spot was already an act of restraint.”
“Yes… I suppose so.”
Ah, why did it have to involve the Marquis of Crow…? Elliot silently blamed the Princess of Naiyan, whom he had never even seen. And so, his long journey to the southern territories was confirmed.
Outside the palace, along the outer wall leading to the garden of white marble, Anje peeked her head cautiously.
According to the palace servants, the princess had gone out shopping under the pretext of experiencing Imperial culture, leaving only the maid Zeira behind. Indeed, the palace where the princess stayed was eerily quiet, visited only occasionally by cleaning staff.
Spotting Zeira walking in the garden from afar, Anje’s eyes narrowed.
“No matter how I look at it, the princess should be here… but why has the situation changed?”
Judging by the monthly and yearly horoscopes, even as a princess, she hadn’t been properly loved or nurtured. Yet the golden aura surrounding the entire horoscope indicated that Zeira was of royal blood—not Illya, whose appearance alone suggested royalty.
Then why did Zeira pose as a maid while Illya pretended to be the princess? There must be a reason.
Anje wanted to understand why a fragile-looking princess was attempting such a bold deception against the Empire. Reporting this to the Emperor without evidence would have been reckless.
So Anje decided to lower Zeira’s guard and gain her trust.
“Even if she’s a guest, I can’t just grab her and interrogate her immediately,” she thought.
Anje smiled knowingly as she held a cake box purchased from a dessert shop earlier. Who could resist a limited-edition strawberry cake, only available in spring?
Carrying the sweet-smelling box, she approached Zeira.
Zeira’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I wasn’t informed you’d be coming. By the way, the princess is currently out.”
Anje pretended to be flustered.
“Oh dear. I heard the princess likes sweets, so I brought this specially…”
She trailed her words, gauging Zeira’s reaction.
“If you leave it, I’ll deliver it to Her Highness.”
Anje shook her head.
“It’s already quite warm. As far as I know, the palace where the princess stays doesn’t have a cold storage for food. If we don’t eat it soon, the cream on the cake will melt. The pastry chef worked so hard early this morning whipping the cream…”
She let her voice trail off in apparent regret.
“What a waste… it would taste perfect right now.”
Even without that, Zeira was almost dizzy from the sweet, fresh strawberry aroma. Strawberry cake! Something she had never tasted in the palace before.
Her mouth watered instinctively.
“Ah! How about this? I’ll send another strawberry cake to the princess on another day. For now, we’ll have to eat this ourselves.”
“Have to… eat it ourselves?”
Anje nodded firmly to the timid Zeira.
“Of course. We can’t just waste such a precious cake, can we?”
“Y-Yes, I suppose so…”
“Exactly. Naturally.”
Anje called a passing servant with a wave.
“Bring some plates and forks. And prepare tea, not too sweet.”
Then she took the cake out of the box. Zeira’s eyes widened at the sight of strawberries piled on top.
“Are strawberries in season already?”
“The Empire’s weather is cooler than the kingdom’s, so technically it’s too early. These were specially grown in a glass greenhouse. Expensive, but thanks to special care, they’re much sweeter than regular seasonal strawberries.”
The fresh scent of strawberries filled the air, no explanation needed.
Even as a princess, Zeira had never seen so many strawberries at once. In the most remote palace of the kingdom, fruit was rare, and even regular food deliveries were unreliable.
A princess born to a concubine, outside the king’s favor, was largely ignored.
Her maternal family had once been the wealthiest in the kingdom, but that was long past. Repeated business failures by her maternal uncle and her mother’s extravagance had led the family to ruin. By the time Zeira came of age, few remembered her maternal family.
