Chapter 40
I hadn’t given Baratheon any hint, so he had no idea I’d prepared a token for him.
He probably thinks I can’t hear him whispering like that.
Unfortunately for him, my hearing is excellent—so good that, if I focus, I can catch Kana’s whispers even a meter away.
Well, maybe he figured it wouldn’t matter even if I did hear.
Kana knows the token I made is a total mess, while hers is flawless.
If I present mine after hers, the comparison will be brutal.
A normal girl might be too embarrassed to even try.
But when have I ever cared about that?
“Teon.”
I spread open the ribbon in my hand and waved it before his eyes.
Baratheon, who’d been staring uneasily at Kana’s token, brightened.
“Ha! What’s this shabby thing?”
He shouted and tapped the token held out to him with his sword, knocking it aside.
The “shabby thing” wasn’t my ribbon at all, but Kana’s embroidered handkerchief.
Kana’s face stiffened as the handkerchief landed carelessly in the dirt.
See, you should’ve understood my personality better. You still don’t know me.
“Danae, give it to me. Quick.”
This time Baratheon called my name clearly, asking again for a token.
“You weren’t just teasing me by waving it around, right? I’ll quit right here if you were!”
“Luckily for you, no.”
I chuckled and handed him the ribbon I’d prepared.
He grinned, accepted it, and lightly kissed the spot with the embroidery.
A chorus of squeals erupted from the surrounding women.
“Wait right there! I’ll go beat everyone and be back!”
Uh… isn’t this supposed to be a formal match, not a brawl?
I was pretty sure it was meant to be courteous.
Whether he knew my thoughts or not, Baratheon dashed back into the arena.
The moment he disappeared, Kana’s face went past pale to ghostly white.
She staggered, then sank to the ground, head bowed, while the match began.
Whispers spread among the onlookers: What on earth just happened with Kana?
They say rumors travel fast in the capital.
By tomorrow—or maybe even before the match ends—today’s story will be everywhere.
Kana had brought this on herself.
I turned my attention back to the arena.
The duel at close range was thrilling to watch.
I focused on guessing which knight would win, but Sishe seemed uninterested, idly playing with my hair.
I told him to stop several times, but he wouldn’t give up, so I finally surrendered.
As he’d boasted, Baratheon kept winning and smoothly claimed the championship.
With a sword in hand, he looked unusually serious.
Like Sishe, he’d make a wonderful subject for a painting if he’d just keep his mouth shut.
But as soon as victory was certain, Baratheon shed the serious look and returned to his usual self.
The first place he went was the stands.
“Hey, kiddo!”
“Wha—?!”
He reached up, scooped me into his arms, and lifted me high.
“You know a winner needs a lady’s kiss, right?”
His face was lit with excitement, still riding the rush of the match.
It’s supposed to be on the forehead or the hand, right?
But since he was holding me with both hands, I couldn’t reach his hand.
After a moment’s thought, I kissed his forehead.
His grin widened even more.
“Well, guess it was worth entering such a rinky-dink contest.”
Any knight who heard that would’ve been offended, but all his opponents were too exhausted to protest.
When I got home, a pile of invitations awaited me again.
Ever since word spread that I ignored them all, their number had dropped, but they still kept coming.
Among today’s letters, one stood out:
a bright golden envelope sealed with the imperial crest.
“A royal invitation,” Sishe remarked, glancing at the envelope before tossing it onto the stack.
I picked it back up and carefully broke the seal.
I might ignore other invitations, but royalty was different.
The sender was Princess Iella.
She wrote that since she’d be making her first appearance in society at the upcoming imperial party and would have no friends there, perhaps we could share a private tea beforehand to get acquainted and tour the palace.
“This one’s hard to refuse, isn’t it?”
“Why? If you don’t feel like it, just ignore it,” Sishe said.
“How could I ignore a princess’s invitation?”
“Why not? You’re Danae Ashinoff. Ignore it if you want.”
He shrugged as if it were nothing, but I’d lived too many years as an ordinary commoner to take it so lightly.
“Still, I think I should go. I don’t like causing unnecessary fuss.”
“What kind of fuss?”
“Like people whispering at the party, ‘Oh my, that young lady refused the princess’s invitation!’”
“Why would that bother you?”
Baratheon tilted his head, puzzled.
“Teon, unlike you—who naturally draws attention—some of us don’t enjoy it. Amazing concept, right?”
I exaggerated my tone like I was teaching a child.
“Hey, I get that much! Do you think I’m an idiot?”
Sure you do, I thought as Baratheon averted his eyes.
“If you want to go, just go,” Sishe advised.
“Iella should be fine.”
“Oh, because she’s kind?”
“No, she’s not kind. Just not very strong.”
“…Her strength?”
“I mean you can handle her easily. She’s perfect for a first step into noble society.”
“I can’t even imagine what kind of evaluation that is.”
“Meet her and you’ll see,” Sishe said, and Baratheon nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. Princess Iella—definitely not kind, and not strong.”
What is that supposed to mean?
Still, with both of them reassuring me, I felt braver.
I sent a polite reply accepting the tea invitation, partly thinking that staying on good terms with royalty might raise my reputation as a minor duke’s daughter.
Less than a day later, a letter arrived with the date and time.
It was only two days away—tight, but manageable.
Thus my first royal tea appointment was set.
On the morning I headed to the Imperial Palace,
Marina took extra care dressing me and spent twice the usual time choosing jewelry.
The effort paid off: the figure in the mirror looked splendid, even to my own eyes.
Good. No one will dare look down on me today!
I rode off in the carriage with confidence.
Baratheon and Hedin had offered to escort me, but that would make it look like a child dragging along chaperones.
Besides, arriving at the palace with guards might imply I didn’t trust the imperial family.
So I went alone—though not completely unprepared.
Before leaving, Sishe had handed me a ruby ring enchanted with multiple spells:
if struck, it would automatically form a protective barrier and strike back at the attacker.
I’ve regained enough of my power not to need magical tools, I thought,
but since he’d given it to me, I slipped it on.
Gazing out the window, I saw the carriage drawing near to the Imperial Palace.
