Chapter 6
“Oh, you’re a son of House Tristan. Then we’ll be going now….”
Fabia tried to pull Kartia, who was hiding behind her, away. But Kartia dug in her heels and didn’t move.
How could she just walk away from her lifeline?
Fabia looked worried that Kartia might say something inappropriate since she was ignorant of etiquette—but there was no need to worry.
The boy standing in front of them, Lianus, wasn’t the kind to gossip.
“Hi, I’m Kartia.”
“Kartia…? I apologize, Lady. May I ask your family name…?”
His overly formal tone made him seem like an old man in a child’s body.
Kartia was about to be annoyed at his stiff manner, but then nodded to herself.
That was just how he was.
Serious, righteous, and someone who shed tears in secret for others’ pain.
No matter how young he looked, his nature hadn’t changed.
“Kartia Vistid. A princess.”
“Ah…! I apologize for my rudeness, Your Highness. Allow me to reintroduce myself—Lianus, firstborn of House Tristan.”
“It’s fine. Relax. Want to go for a walk?”
There was no need for questions like why she was here or what she was doing.
Kartia grabbed Lianus’s hand and began to drag him far away from the grand hall.
“Y-Your Highness…! You mustn’t do this!”
Fabia panicked and tried to stop her, while Lianus’s face turned redder and redder as he was pulled away in a daze.
Once they arrived at the garden she liked, Kartia finally let go of his hand.
Lianus’s face was as red as a tomato.
Kartia stared at him curiously and then came to a realization.
“Wait… was that your first time holding a girl’s hand?!”
“W-Well…”
Fabia looked like she was about to faint, and Lianus bowed his head in flustered silence.
Only Kartia narrowed her eyes and looked him up and down with a mischievous glint.
“Hmmm…”
“M-My mother always said that women should be treated with utmost respect…”
“Really? But we held hands.”
Lianus froze up, speechless.
His childhood was more innocent than she remembered.
Though women had constantly approached him in adulthood due to his good looks, now that she thought about it, he had always pushed them away.
“We held hands, so now you have to take responsibility.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Since we held hands, you have to marry me.”
Fabia finally sank to the ground, holding her forehead.
How was she supposed to survive in the royal palace with a heart that fragile?
“Okay, now give me your pinky. Let’s make a promise.”
Kartia held up her pinky in front of his face, and Lianus dumbly offered his own.
“You know promises must be kept, right? We’re promising to get married.”
Their small fingers linked together, and Lianus stared at it, stunned.
Kartia nearly burst out laughing at his pure expression but managed to hold it back.
It was half a joke—but not entirely.
She wasn’t asking for actual marriage, but she wanted him to remember that they made a promise.
Someday, when her life depended on it, maybe that memory would save her.
Because Lianus was the kind of person who took even silly promises seriously.
Kartia. It would be better if you…
Her third life, the one just before this, where she had joined the rebels following Lianus, was still vivid in her memory.
You should be the emperor instead.
Haha. Lianus, don’t be ridiculous. You’re the hero.
Kartia. You want me to become a hero by killing my best friend’s father with my own hands?
Yes. You have to. Because you’re the protagonist of this world.
He had looked deeply hurt then.
She didn’t know why he’d been hurt.
He had led every rebellion and suffered through them—
But isn’t it the protagonist’s fate to overcome such pain?
Does my heart not matter to you?
You’ll get over it.
I want to protect you.
Then please spare me, friend.
Could they be friends again?
Back then, everything she said seemed to hurt him.
She never understood what she did wrong.
Maybe she hadn’t wanted to know.
She had already failed twice, and her heart had grown desperate.
“Young Master—!”
Lianus finally came to his senses at the sound of someone calling him.
Kartia pulled her hand back and smiled sweetly.
It was a deliberate smile.
Fabia and Zervan said she was pretty, so Lianus must think so too, right?
That way, the odds of him saving her in the future increased.
Just as she expected, his face went blank again.
“Today’s promise is our little secret.”
Seeing Lianus’s maid and knights approaching in the distance, Kartia turned away.
“Bye now!”
She walked away with cheerful steps, and Fabia hurried after her.
Left behind, Lianus watched her go, unable to take his eyes off her for a long while.
“Huff, huff! Young Master! You should’ve answered if you were here! I’m too old for this!”
Still catching her breath, the maid gasped.
Lianus murmured blankly,
“Shuri… I think there’s an angel in the palace…”
“…Excuse me?!”
Ignoring the shocked maid, Lianus continued to gaze in the direction Kartia had gone.
***
Today was the day Kartia’s etiquette teacher was scheduled to arrive.
Kartia watched the busy maids scurrying around from morning and clicked her tongue lightly.
“Your Highness, are you really going to wear that? Today is your first time meeting a noble lady.”
“I already met a noble before. Isn’t Lianus one too?”
Fabia gasped and hurriedly covered Kartia’s mouth, glancing around nervously.
Seeing that no one else had heard, she lowered her voice.
“You can’t mention that to others! The Marquis of Tristan isn’t close with the imperial family. You might get caught up in rumors!”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
Kartia understood why Fabia was being so cautious.
Lianus’s upright nature didn’t come out of nowhere.
His father, the Marquis of Tristan, was also a man of integrity. He constantly opposed the emperor’s tyranny.
People often whispered that House Tristan would eventually meet the same tragic end as other noble families that crossed the emperor.
Fabia clearly hoped Kartia wouldn’t get involved with them.
“House Tristan is an old, prestigious family. They won’t disappear overnight.”
“You say that because you don’t know any better!”
Fabia couldn’t exactly tell the young princess what horrors the emperor had committed, so she could only stomp her feet in frustration.
Unfortunately for her, Kartia already knew.
That the reason only House Ivia remained among all the duchies… was because of the emperor.
“The Countess of Cielon has arrived.”
At the knock and the knight’s voice, Fabia quickly stepped back.
Kartia stood and turned to the door just as Countess Cielon entered.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Enthe of House Cielon.”
Lifting her dress elegantly, she gave a perfect bow—a textbook display of etiquette.
“Hi. It’s been a while.”
Kartia waved casually, ignoring formalities.
Enthe widened her eyes in surprise for a moment, then smiled gently.
“I thought you wouldn’t remember me since you were so young back then. I didn’t realize how bright you were.”
“Really? My dad thinks I have a problem with intelligence.”
Enthe was briefly speechless, then regained her composure and stepped closer.
Seeing her approach, Kartia sat down again.
“Sit here.”
“Thank you.”
Enthe took the seat across from her, still smiling softly as she observed Kartia.
Her warm gaze made Kartia wait patiently.
“Your Highness, from today on, I’ll be your etiquette teacher. You’re aware of that, yes?”
“Yup. I chose you.”
“May I ask why you chose me?”
“Because your eyes are warm. And you’re not afraid of me, even though I look just like my father.”
People who feared the emperor were often afraid of Kartia as well.
They saw the same eyes, the same gaze, and the same emotionless tone.
Kartia knew she resembled the emperor—
But she had always been like this, even when she wasn’t Kartia Vistid but Lee Yujin.
“I suppose your direct tone might remind people of His Majesty. But I still remember that day.”
“What day?”
“When I was teaching etiquette to Her Majesty the Empress, you told me my hair and eyes looked like a warm sunset.”
Enthe had soft brown hair and eyes, tinted with the hues of an orange twilight.
Kartia didn’t recall saying that as a child, but now that she looked—she was right.
“I know there’s a warm heart inside you that can even love a sunset.”
As it had been with Zervan, meeting Enthe again in this life confirmed it—
Kartia loved kind, warm people.
“Being with you feels like everything around me gets warmer.”
Kartia held out her hand, and Enthe took it gently.
“I look forward to learning from you.”
“And I, from you.”
For some reason, the sound of Fabia sniffing echoed softly through the quiet room.
