Episode 81
“What?”
Come to think of it, the food in front of Phoebe was barely touched.
‘Is it not tasty? This?’
I was momentarily shocked and looked over the seven-flavored foods again.
The more I looked, the more my mouth watered and my appetite was whetted.
Soon, the shaved ice bowl began to show its bottom.
Regretfully, I begged Calisteon.
“Carl, since it’s the first day, just one more bowl, please? From tomorrow, I’ll only have one bowl per meal, okay?”
“Good heavens, Lou…”
Perhaps because it was cold food, Calisteon seemed hesitant for a moment.
But as I kept looking up at him with expectant eyes like a hungry puppy, he sighed and finally nodded.
However, after Chacha went to the kitchen and brought back another bowl of shaved ice, Calisteon took my spoon away.
“I’ll feed you. You might get sick if you eat too hastily.”
In front of all these people?
I was flustered, but as the spoon approached, my lips parted as if by magic.
“Mmm…”
“Is it that good?”
I nodded frantically, and Calisteon’s eyes sparkled with delight.
He commanded the head butler.
“Reward the head chef. Tell her to see me in my room after her duties.”
The twin sisters, Chacha and Collie, seemed to exchange happy glances.
For a while, Calisteon’s hand holding the spoon moved quite busily.
I was sadly watching the diminishing peanut shaved ice when the baby inside me gave a happy kick.
Feeling too shy to show others, yet curious about the baby, I subtly placed my palm on my stomach.
Of course, Calisteon noticed my action immediately.
“Our Free seems to like it.”
His voice was soft, but the servants’ gazes gathered on us with surprising speed.
‘I should correct him to “my Free”…’
But arguing about that would draw even more attention, so I just closed my mouth.
It was absolutely not because he was feeding me shaved ice at that moment.
Later that night, I had finished preparing for bed early when a knock was heard.
—Knock knock.
Phoebe, who was about to leave the room anyway, whispered softly.
“His Grace the Grand Duke seems to be here. Shall I tell him you’re asleep?”
I had just gotten into bed, so I shook my head.
“It’s fine. Let him in. Phoebe, you can go rest now.”
Phoebe grabbed the hem of her skirt and bowed politely.
“Then sleep well, Your Highness.”
Shortly after, Calisteon appeared with an apologetic face and sat in the chair by my bedside.
“It’s not an urgent matter. I wouldn’t have come if I knew you were in bed, but Phoebe said to come in…”
The faint light of the oil lamp tinted his silver hair yellow.
I belatedly realized how dark the room was and that I was in my nightclothes.
Even though I was covered by the blanket.
So, I pulled the corners of my mouth into a somewhat awkward smile.
“It’s okay. I just lay down. It’s… a bit dark, though.”
But saying that only made the atmosphere stranger.
Feeling unnecessarily tense, I lay there just rolling my eyes, when he spoke.
“…I just came because I thought you might be worried about the Imperial Capital.”
“Of course I’m worried.”
I answered honestly.
Him trying to cheer me up with sweet and sour foods didn’t make the worries I’d left in the Imperial Capital and Edessa disappear.
Calisteon smiled faintly, took out a communication orb, and rolled it on his palm.
“Shall I contact the Tower Lord for you? Through him, we could probably reach His Highness the Prince as well.”
Outside the window, darkness had already fallen deeply.
Instead of answering, I asked Calisteon.
“Have you heard any news? If there’s a problem, they’d contact you even if not me, right?”
Calisteon put the communication orb away back into his pocket.
Then, his long fingers gently brushed the hair above my forehead.
“I left the 2nd and 3rd Captains of the Babenberg Knight Order in Edessa. They report everything to me. If you just ask, they’d probably even tell you how many times the Crown Prince went to the bathroom today.”
I smiled faintly and asked.
“If I’m curious, will you tell me? How things are going.”
Calisteon raised an eyebrow and countered.
“The exact facts? Or just enough for Lou to sleep without worry?”
“If I learn the exact facts and can’t sleep because I’m scared… you’ll stay with me, won’t you?”
The line of his eyes curved slightly.
In the flickering yellow lamplight, his blue irises shone turquoise.
“Of course.”
His voice was quiet, but his tone was firm.
“Then I…”
As I hesitated, a dry swallow went down my throat, but I forced it out.
“…I want to know the facts. Not just what I need to know, but as much as Carl and my brother know.”
“Hmm…”
Calisteon pondered briefly, then parted his lips.
His words were more surprising than I had expected.
“Last week, that is, on the night of New Year’s Day… about twenty unidentified soldiers intruded into the Edessa hotel.”
“What, really?”
I half-sat up, nearly screaming.
“Lou, please.”
Calisteon pulled the corners of his mouth into a confident smile, held both my shoulders, and slowly laid me back down.
Then, sitting back in the chair, he said.
“There was no need to worry. Ren had warned us the night before, and the defensive wizards he sent were on standby at the hotel.”
The night before must have been the night we had gone out and enjoyed the festival.
‘The day we enjoyed the festival, we were almost in danger? Because of me?’
As I lay there gasping in surprise, a large hand grasped mine, enveloping it.
“Easy. It’s alright, Lou. There’s not a single day in our lives that’s perfectly safe anyway. You know that.”
He was right.
‘I am the youngest Princess of the Brentani Empire, and that man is the Grand Duke of the North, said to be the richest on the continent…’
With statuses like these, we can never be one hundred percent safe.
Being protected so cozily by so many people working together, I must have forgotten and lived too comfortably.
“We captured and imprisoned about five of the intruders. We naturally expected further intrusions, which is why Ernst stayed at the hotel. Last night, the scale of the intruders was quite large, I heard.”
“What? You anticipated intrusions and left Ernie there? What happened then?”
Calisteon burst out laughing as if exasperated.
“Lou. What’s your friend the Crown Prince’s name again?”
I tilted my head and said Ernst’s full name.
“…Ernst Savoy Larion Flavius?”
In the darkness-accustomed eyes, I saw Calisteon’s broad shoulders rise and fall briefly.
“Right. Ernst Savoy Larion. A descendant of King Larion. The next master of a territory that once included Hashtind and Zideln, second only to Babenberg. Your blond doll.”
I glared at Calisteon, offended, and warned him.
“Don’t call the Crown Prince of a nation and my longtime friend a ‘blond doll’.”
Of course, Calisteon didn’t even blink.
“Don’t underestimate the Crown Prince of a proper nation, thinking he can’t handle a few dozen private soldiers from a noble family. That guy only acts innocent in front of you; how do you still not know that?”
I shook my head side to side and asked again.
“So Ernst is okay?”
Calisteon affirmed.
“This time, the mages set traps in advance, so we were able to keep more than half of the intruders alive.”
“You kept them alive? To get confessions?”
He looked down at me with a thoughtful gaze, as if my question was unexpected.
“Of course that’s the plan… but I didn’t expect Lou to think that far.”
Naturally, I would.
‘I’m the creator of this book.’
I fake-coughed and asked another question.
“So you think there will be more?”
Calisteon gave another short, sharp nod.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
