~CHAPTER 29~
The elegant shopping street was one of the few places where unmarried men and women could mingle without formality.
Even among such places, it was natural for couples to gather at this luxurious tea house.
That meant people also saw Dianu and Rision that way.
“Your fiancée is very beautiful.”
When a lady seated on the opposite terrace approached and spoke, Dianu blinked blankly.
She had not considered the comment was directed at her and Rision.
Rision glanced at Dianu, who froze while holding her teacup, then turned toward the lady with a diplomatic smile.
“I agree.”
“You two look wonderful together.”
“Thank you.”
Perhaps she only wanted to say a few words, because the lady peeked at the silent Dianu before returning to her table where several young girls watched curiously.
Rision calmly lifted his teacup.
“They must be regulars here.”
“Seeing unfamiliar faces must have sparked curiosity.”
“…?”
“Lady Dianu?”
Startled, Dianu looked at him.
His green eyes held puzzlement.
“Is something wrong?”
“N-no.”
“I think they misunderstood something.”
“About you being my fiancée?”
“Since you’re not wearing a ring, it’s reasonable to assume.”
“…”
“And we look nothing alike to be mistaken as family.”
How can he be so calm after being misunderstood?
Feeling awkward, Dianu fiddled with the teacup handle.
It was always like this when they were alone together.
Back in the palace, as long as Sir Roysen or Elpenlira was present, she never felt this lost.
But when left alone with him, her heart tightened and she never knew where to place her hands or feet.
This must be why etiquette books warn unmarried men and women not to remain alone together.
Feeling suffocated, Dianu brushed a hand over the button of her cape and spoke casually.
“When will Sir Roysen return?”
Rision paused mid-pour and stared at her with a probing gaze.
“What do you think of Roysen?”
It was an abrupt question.
But Rision had been unusually unpredictable today, so Dianu simply accepted it.
“Sir Roysen?”
“He’s a good person.”
The simple answer did not seem to satisfy him, so Dianu tried harder.
“Well, he’s an imperial guard knight, so he must be skilled.”
“He’s kind to women and children, and he keeps his word…”
The more she spoke, the darker Rision’s expression became.
What answer does he want?
In truth, Dianu had never thought deeply about Marek Roysen.
Since he always followed her everywhere, sometimes he felt less like a person and more like furniture or a very large potted plant.
“He’s also a count’s second son, so his family is well-established…”
“…”
“Ah, and he’s handsome.”
She squeezed out the last compliment like wringing a dry cloth.
Only then did embarrassment hit her.
She was complimenting another man’s looks right in front of Rision Catalos.
Rision watched her chattering while tapping the table with his finger, then crossed his arms in silence, looking displeased.
Dianu quickly shut her mouth.
I have no idea what rhythm he wants me to match…
Rision Catalos, not the Emperor, was unpredictable.
Dianu sighed deeply and turned her gaze outside the terrace.
She could feel Rision staring at her profile relentlessly.
* * *
Sir Roysen appeared only after Dianu and Rision finished the entire teapot in silence.
Dianu felt completely drained from dealing with Rision’s strange attitude.
The last thirty minutes were especially exhausting because of the incident that followed after the breeze blew her hat away.
Right as Rision bent over to retrieve her hat from across the street and Dianu began to rise, someone approached their table with a polite cough.
“Excuse me…”
It was a young man around Dianu’s age.
He wore a cape embroidered with the emblem of Catalos Imperial University and held a thick book, likely having stepped out during a break from classes.
Holding his hat in both hands, he bowed.
“Are you Lady Dianu Ortensa, graduate of Sirene Girls’ Academy?”
“I attended a neighboring school.”
“I often sent you letters.”
He said his name.
Dianu nodded reflexively, though she had no memory of him.
The young man glanced subtly at her bare left ring finger.
“If it’s alright, may I treat you to tea—”
“The lady already has company.”
Before he could finish, an icy voice cut between them.
Rision had appeared at her side, still holding her hat.
The young man turned to him, frowning slightly, but the moment their eyes met he made a strangled sound like a chicken being seized.
Even Dianu nearly fell backward, and the only reason she didn’t was because Rision held the back of her chair still with one hand.
The cause of it all was Rision’s expression.
Calm and unreadable.
“You recognized me.”
The young man could not answer, which was enough of an answer.
Rision placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Pretend ignorance and forget.”
His hand tightened.
“Answer and leave if you understand.”
“…Yes.”
The man turned stiffly and left the tea house like a toy soldier.
Rision sat back down, still holding Dianu’s hat instead of returning it.
With his displeasure clear on his face, Dianu began sweating coldly.
Should I apologize?
He was recognized because of me.
But she had done nothing wrong.
He was the one who insisted on accompanying her.
Why are you acting like this today, Your Majesty?!
Of course he could not hear her silent scream.
“Did you attend school during the same period as that student?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, yes.”
Rision’s expression grew serious.
“Lady Dianu, forgive my forwardness, but how old are you?”
“I am twenty-one this year…”
Rision’s lips parted and he leaned back slightly with his eyes shut tight.
His throat bobbed deeply.
Silence followed until Sir Roysen finally arrived, and Dianu almost cheered inwardly.
Fortunately, Roysen noticed nothing unusual despite Dianu’s nervous state and Rision’s shocked expression.
The knight with great combat skill but almost no perceptiveness leaned to whisper something to Rision.
Rision’s expression quickly returned to his usual serious self.
“Lady Ortensa, can you wait alone for a moment?”
He even forgot to address her by name, so it must have been urgent.
Dianu pointed to the closest shop.
“I’ll wait in there.”
“Do not leave the building.”
“Stay inside only.”
“Don’t worry.”
“There are no pickpockets here.”
She hadn’t checked what kind of shop it was, but it turned out to be a lace boutique.
Rows of lace and ribbons hung from ceiling to floor, an irresistible sight for any young lady.
But Dianu Ortensa was known as a miser even at Sirene Girls’ Academy, and the ribbon she wore now was a gift from the Emperor himself.
The shop attendant, unaware she had no intention of buying anything, eagerly tried to impress her.
Ten minutes later, the clerk brought out her final offer.
“Then how about this one?”
“It is lace made using a method passed down in only one convent in Arasas.”
Seeing Dianu glance toward the door, the clerk confidently played her trump card.
The lace was indeed remarkable, impossible to imagine how such threads could be crafted that way.
Of course, Dianu still had no intention of buying it.
She was more interested in something else.
“So lace from Arasas can be imported?”
“Yes, legally and properly.”
“Everything comes with official certification.”
For lace produced by a convent in Arasas to legally end up in a Catalos shop, it would require many intermediaries.
It was widely known that nobles and officials lined their pockets throughout that transport chain.
The certificate the clerk boasted about was likely more expensive than the lace itself.
No wonder smuggling was common.
If the western border opened and trade with Arasas became free, unnecessary costs would disappear.
And tax revenue would rise.
That must be Rision’s ultimate goal.
There are things you cannot know from reports alone.
He was called the Sun of Catalos.
But no one ever asked how the sun felt.
Is he never afraid?
Never anxious?
Does he never want to run away?
Is his radiance never heavy or painful?
“Miss?”
Snapped out of her thoughts, Dianu reached into her purse.
“I’ll buy this lace.”
