Chapter 42
“Yes, she invited me with such an eager face that it felt a bit rude to refuse, so I said I’d go…”
“You did the right thing. It’ll be a chance to mingle with people your age. Opportunities like this are rare in the North.”
People my age.
That was true. In the North, it was hard to find friends around my age.
Not that there were many people at all in the North to begin with.
Not that I really need friends my age.
Still, tea parties, boat rides—things I’d never really experienced.
It was quite fun to get to try them out.
Even in my previous life, I had no friends of my age.
“In that case, I’ll prepare an outfit that’s perfect for the boat ride tomorrow. A large hat too, so you won’t get sunburned. Good thing we packed a lot of clothes, just in case.”
“Oh, speaking of which.”
Marina’s words reminded me of something.
“Today, the princess frowned when she saw my dress. It must have looked terribly unfashionable, don’t you think?”
“What? This dress?”
Marina looked me over, as if she couldn’t believe it.
“To me, it looks perfect. And besides, weren’t all these dresses chosen by the third young master himself…?”
But even as she said it, her voice lacked confidence. Clearly, she was also bothered by Iela’s reaction.
It was natural—after all, the princess led the capital’s noble fashion trends.
“I guess Sishe’s sense of style wasn’t as up-to-date as I thought.”
“True. He’s the most stylish man in the North, but the capital might follow different trends.”
Marina nodded with a faintly dejected face, but quickly clenched her fists with renewed determination.
“In that case, I’ll make extra sure you’re perfectly prepared tomorrow, my lady!”
“That won’t be necessary. We can only make do with the clothes we brought anyway.”
“Still! If the clothes don’t work, then we’ll win with your hair and accessories instead!”
While Marina was burning with fighting spirit, the others appeared.
Hedin’s hair was damp with sweat, and Baratheon’s clothes looked a little disheveled.
Ever since Hedin awakened as a Sword Master, Baratheon, glad to finally have a rival, often sparred with him.
They must have been “training” again before I arrived.
“Well, well, kid. Looks like you charmed the princess. You came back with a load of gifts.”
“Marina says the tea leaves are rare. I’ll share them with you too, Teon.”
“Tea leaves?”
Teon scoffed and waved dismissively.
“No thanks. That kind of thing’s more for Lucas. I don’t get what’s so great about sitting still drinking tea.”
He scrunched his brows as though even imagining it bored him.
“Tea’s just… leaf water, right? What’s the difference?”
“Honestly, Teon, you have no sense of refinement.”
Clicking my tongue, I looked to Hedin for agreement—but then spotted Sishe walking up behind him.
“Sishe!”
He came right up to me, and without a word, grabbed my hand and inspected the ruby ring he had given me.
“No trace of the defensive magic being used.”
“Of course not. I wasn’t on a battlefield—I was at a tea party.”
Well… technically, I did conquer the princess as if she were an enemy general.
But in the end, it was just children’s play.
The princess herself had been nothing more than an adorable little girl, flustered by a simple straightforward compliment.
“Oh, but you know, everyone seemed quite popular.”
I grinned, recalling the conversations I had with the other young ladies.
“Popular?”
“Yes. You three weren’t any less admired than the imperial princes.”
Every girl who grew up on fairy tales dreamt of becoming a princess.
And for those who weren’t born as one, the only way to become a princess was to marry a prince.
Well, unless she pulled off a coup and took over the kingdom—but that’s a bit much for a young girl’s dream.
So, to become the prince’s bride and join the royal family—that was the dream of nearly every little girl who had grown up on stories.
The three Ashinoff brothers were nearly as admired as the Kiryun imperial princes themselves.
“They even had nicknames for you three, you know? They said—”
“Enough. Don’t say it.”
The moment I mentioned nicknames, Sishe quickly cut me off, scowling.
Baratheon’s face also soured, as though he already knew exactly what I was about to say.
“Oh, what’s the harm? ‘The Lonely Ice Prince, Lord Sishe.’”
“Hey! I told you not to say it!”
“Pfft.”
Teon burst out laughing at the same time Sishe shouted.
Even Marina and Hedin struggled to keep straight faces, twitching their lips as they looked away.
“And ‘The Radiant Sun Knight, Lord Baratheon,’ was rather impressive too.”
“Ugh.”
Baratheon, who had just been laughing at Sishe, fell silent, lips pressed tightly shut.
And then there was Lucas’s nickname—“The Gentle Spring Breeze Prince.”
Altogether, they rivaled the imperial heirs’ own flowery titles like “The Elegant Swan Prince” or “The Noble White Lily.”
“I had no idea my brothers were such amazing people. The Radiant Sun Knight and the Lonely Ice Prince! Wow, such dashing titles!”
I smirked, thoroughly entertained, as Baratheon groaned and roughly ruffled my hair in warning.
“Hey, brat. Enough already!”
“Enough of what, Radiant Sun Knight?”
“You really don’t know? What you’re doing right now.”
“Hm, and what exactly am I doing right now, Radiant Sun Knight?”
“That’s… that’s…”
I deliberately emphasized the nickname, pretending not to understand.
Finally, Baratheon threw up his hands.
“Argh! Forget it! Just stop already!”
He smacked his chest in exasperation, both ears burning bright red.
I returned to my room after gleefully tormenting Baratheon, only to find Kana pacing outside my door.
“Miss Kana?”
Curious what she was doing there, I called to her. She looked relieved, smiling warmly as she came to me.
“My lady, I heard you were invited to the palace by the princess. Did you enjoy the tea party?”
“It was my first time, so it was fascinating. I heard lots of amusing stories too.”
Thanks to that, I’d be teasing Baratheon and Sishe about it for quite a while.
“But why were you waiting for me, Miss Kana?”
“Oh, well…”
Kana’s bright smile suddenly dimmed.
“It’s about what happened during the tournament. I thought you might have misunderstood, so I wanted to explain. But I hadn’t found the time until now.”
During the tournament…
She must mean when she tried to present Baratheon with a token of victory as the lady representing the Ashinoff family, right in front of me.
What misunderstanding was there? The situation had been plain as day.
Still, I looked at her, silently telling her to go ahead and explain.
“You see, I thought, since it was your first time at a tournament, you might not know about the tokens.”
“Yes, I suppose you could think that.”
“Yes. But it would have been terribly humiliating for a knight not to receive one, so just in case, I had prepared one myself…”
Before I knew it, Kana had clasped my hands tightly, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I only wanted to prevent you and the young master from being embarrassed. I acted too hastily. Please forgive my rashness, my lady.”
“Rashness, is it?”
I gently pulled my hands free, smiling sweetly at the angelic face begging my forgiveness.
“If you were truly concerned about me, you could have told me about the tokens before the tournament began—perhaps instead of spending your time crafting such a pretty one yourself.”
If she had genuinely cared about my dignity, that’s what she would have done. But she hadn’t.
Because that hadn’t been her intention at all.
“That’s…”
Her lips trembled at my pointed remark.
“It was thoughtless of me…”
Before she could start making excuses I didn’t care to hear, I raised a hand to cut her off.
“Well, it’s fine. Luckily, I have Marina—a most capable maid—who explained the tournament traditions thoroughly.”
When I looked at Marina, her face shone with pride as she bowed slightly.
I turned back to Kana and shrugged.
“So from now on, you needn’t worry so much about me. Just focus on your own duties instead. That’s far more important for you, isn’t it?”
In other words: mind your own business. But phrased in the kind of polite, “noble” way she preferred.
I thought she’d finally lose her temper and storm off. But, as expected, Kana was no ordinary opponent.
“How thoughtful of you, my lady. To consider my position first… truly, you’re so gracious.”
Instead of bristling, she only smiled radiantly and curtsied with perfect elegance.
After dealing with the princess—who melted at a single compliment like a baby chick—facing this sly snake of a girl made the back of my neck ache.
“And on that note, I have a request.”
“A request?”
“Yes. I’d like to ask you to be my escort for the Founding Festival Ball.”
“…Me?”
“Yes, you, my lady.”
