[CHAPTER 61]
After finishing the final dress inspection with Cora, Dianu lay down on the bed in her nightclothes.
It’s finally tomorrow……
Since Count Demion Erbinjel’s birthday was approaching, they decided to use a modest family celebration as the pretext for the meeting.
However, the real protagonists of that “party” would be Elpenlira and Ravelan Arasas.
Just a few months ago, the princess who had ordered that her corpse be dressed and sent to Arasas was finally going to meet the Crown Prince.
Even though she had been counting down the days to this moment, it still did not feel real.
Perhaps, deep down, she had believed that such a day would never come.
With a strangely bitter feeling, Dianu turned onto her side and closed her eyes.
I hope he’s a good person……
For Elpenlira’s sake at least, Dianu hoped that Ravelan Arasas was a good man.
Elpenlira’s first love had ended in tragedy, so her marriage deserved a happy ending.
It was strange.
Elpenlira had to marry someone she did not love, while Dianu could not marry the person she loved.
So which of them was more unfortunate?
Right now, she was incomparably happy.
Every single moment she spent with Rision was precious.
But whenever happiness swelled to the point that tears threatened to fall, the anxiety that these days would someday end inevitably followed.
Whenever that happened, Dianu would fidget with the peridot hanging around her neck.
Even if I leave someday, I should take this with me.
And when she missed his warm gaze, she could simply look at the necklace.
She was confident she would remember the affection and passion in his eyes for the next hundred years.
The advice she had once given to Rision might, in truth, have been meant for herself.
Creating as many memories as possible to look back on after love had left was the best she could do.
* * *
Inside the carriage heading toward the Erbinjel Grand Ducal Residence, Elpenlira remained silent.
She merely stared out the window at the capital scenery sliding past.
Unable to endure the awkward silence any longer, Dianu cautiously spoke up.
“You’ve studied the Arasas language diligently all this time, so you’ll be able to hold a proper conversation.”
Keeping her gaze fixed outside, Elpenlira nodded halfheartedly.
“You look incredibly beautiful today.”
“Even the Crown Prince won’t be able to help falling for you at first sight.”
That was the truth.
The pearl-toned dress tailored specifically for today suited Elpenlira perfectly.
She wore thin fabric gloves on the arms revealed beneath her sable-fur shawl.
Her golden hair, which she usually wore long and loose, was braided beside her ears and rolled into neat loops.
With a tiara made of small pearls delicately woven together, she looked like a perfect princess.
Yet Elpenlira seemed uninterested in the new dress, the jewelry, the destination of the carriage, or the future husband awaiting her there.
Watching her unreadable expression made Dianu unbearably anxious.
Elpenlira glanced at Dianu’s restless 모습 and let out a short laugh.
“Don’t worry.”
“I’m not going to try to strangle Ravelan Arasas.”
“Y-yes……”
“And I won’t stab him with a dinner knife either.”
“……”
“I won’t pour hot soup on his face.”
Why did listing things she would not do only make things more unsettling?
“If it’s not someone I love, then it doesn’t matter who I marry.”
That last remark sounded less like something said to Dianu and more like something Elpenlira was telling herself.
Dianu let out a small sigh inwardly and leaned back against the seat.
Will it really be okay……
That uneasy question stubbornly remained.
* * *
The princess’s party arrived at the grand ducal residence and was led directly to the banquet hall without any special welcoming ceremony.
It was Rision’s judgment that drawing attention would do no good.
For the same reason, Rision had arrived at the residence several hours earlier than Elpenlira and Dianu.
The one who came out to greet the two ladies and Sir Edric Loisen was Count Demion Erbinjel.
After helping Elpenlira and Dianu down from the carriage, he spoke in his usual gentle voice.
“The ‘guest’ has already arrived in the banquet hall.”
“Ellaris and I will join later in the evening, so please dine at ease.”
Before the massive mahogany doors leading to the banquet hall opened, Dianu took a quiet deep breath.
The Arasas Crown Prince she had only heard about was inside.
To Dianu, it felt like meeting a horned horse from myth in real life.
And the princess who had to marry that horned horse kept her stiff expression unchanged until the doors opened.
Even a soldier heading into battle might not have looked so grave.
Dianu carefully reached out her hand.
Startled as if burned when her hand was suddenly grasped, Elpenlira nevertheless did not pull away.
“It will be okay.”
At Dianu’s whisper, Elpenlira’s lips parted slightly.
But she said nothing in the end.
She only gave a small nod.
The doors slowly opened before the two ladies holding hands.
* * *
Dianu actually knew what Ravelan Arasas looked like.
She had once glimpsed a portrait that Rision had half-abandoned in a reception room of the Imperial Palace.
The young man in the portrait looked cheerful.
Despite wearing formal attire and a solemn expression befitting a Crown Prince, there was mischief shining in his amber eyes that etiquette could not conceal.
When she shared that impression, Rision had smiled with a subtle expression.
You have a good eye, Dianu.
Ravelan Arasas is the kind of man who can crack jokes even in the middle of a battlefield.
There was no hint of reproach for inappropriate lightness in his tone.
What colored Rision’s voice instead was something closer to reverence.
And now, the man capable of drawing such an evaluation from the Emperor of Catalos stood before her, extending his hand toward Elpenlira.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess.”
The people of two nations bound by a tangled history harbored vague prejudices about one another.
The people of Arasas thought Catalos nobles looked pale and bookish.
The people of Catalos thought Arasas nobles were rough and uncultured.
And Dianu briefly wondered whether those prejudices might be true.
Ravelan was shaking Elpenlira’s reluctantly offered right hand up and down in midair.
Elpenlira, who had clearly expected her future husband to bow and kiss the back of her hand, turned to Dianu with a scowl.
Is he insane?
That was roughly what her expression said.
Dianu was flustered as well.
What Ravelan had done was, in other words, a handshake.
It was a gesture gentlemen exchanged to signify agreement after concluding a contract or deal.
Of course, no gentleman shook a lady’s hand like that.
And according to what Dianu had learned from her Arasas instructor at the Sirene Girls’ Academy, the same was true in Arasas.
Watching his sister and close friend exchange their first greeting from a short distance away, Rision let out a wry smile.
Dianu shot him a questioning look, but Ravelan spoke first.
“In the capital of Arasas, it’s recently become fashionable for women to exchange handshakes as well.”
Elpenlira only stared up at Ravelan with a furrowed brow.
Ignoring her lukewarm reaction, he continued smiling brightly.
“I thought I’d like to offer the Princess a new experience, since she’s likely never shaken hands before.”
He also showed little consideration for Elpenlira, who had to converse in a foreign language.
He did not slow his speech or choose simpler words.
Dianu glanced at Elpenlira anxiously.
After turning Ravelan’s words over in her head for a long moment, Elpenlira finally spoke at a timing just barely safe from awkwardness.
“How thoughtful of you.”
Even in an unfamiliar language, her sarcasm was masterful.
As her tutor, it was an achievement difficult to celebrate wholeheartedly.
Fortunately, escort customs in Arasas had not changed as well.
Ravelan offered one arm to Elpenlira.
She grasped it while making her reluctance painfully obvious.
The sturdy Arasas Crown Prince and the tall, slender Catalos Princess made a surprisingly well-matched pair at first glance.
The banquet table was already set with food.
As befitted a secretive meeting, only the grand ducal butler attended to the party.
Rision took the seat of honor.
Ravelan and Elpenlira were seated to his left and right respectively.
Dianu was guided to the seat beside Elpenlira.
Sir Edric Loisen stood guard near the door.
As he took his seat, Ravelan made a lighthearted joke.
“It’s a relief I’m not of equal rank with you, Rision.”
“Otherwise, I’d have been seated all the way down there.”
If Ravelan had been seated at the far end of the enormous table, they would have had to shout just to converse.
The experienced butler filled their glasses and withdrew without a sound.
Rision was the first to raise his glass.
After locking eyes with Ravelan for a long moment, he looked alternately at Elpenlira and Dianu as he spoke.
“Today, we gather here to welcome a precious guest who has come from distant lands.”
“With hope for a better future in our hearts, and the resolve to bring it about in our hands.”
It was the first time Dianu had heard him speak at such length in the Arasas language.
Rision’s voice, pronouncing syllables slightly rougher than Catalos speech, was surprisingly sensual.
Dianu wriggled her toes inside her shoes without realizing it.
“To my dear brother Ravelan, and to my beloved sister Elpenlira, for their brilliant lives.”
He raised his glass high and took a sip.
“And to the eternal peace and prosperity of Catalos and Arasas.”
As Rision set down his glass, Dianu moistened her dry lips with diluted wine.
It had begun.
* * *
Throughout the meal, Dianu discreetly observed the “guest” seated across from her.
His dark skin was rare among the Catalos nobility, and his solid physique was evident even beneath his tailored tailcoat.
His hands holding the cutlery were large and thick-knuckled.
It was easy to understand why he had posed as a swordsmanship instructor.
He might actually suit Elpenlira……?
Perhaps because that hope surfaced, her gaze lingered longer than intended.
Amber eyes suddenly turned toward her.
Startled, Dianu quickly lowered her gaze, but Ravelan spoke to her first.
“So you are the lady from the rumors.”
Dianu blinked.
“The rumors……?”
A broad smile spread across his slightly upturned lips.
Ravelan even set down the knife he had been using to cut duck meat and leaned toward her.
“The woman who captured the heart of Rision Catalos, the greatest confirmed bachelor on the continent.”
Thankfully, Dianu did not have to respond to that outrageous remark.
Rision set down his water glass and intervened.
“Ravelan.”
“Do not embarrass Miss Ortensa.”
But the heir to the Arasas Empire seemed unwilling to let her off so easily.
Ignoring even the sharp glare of his close friend, he fixed his gaze solely on Dianu.
His catlike eyes were brimming with mischievous curiosity.
“When I have the time, I would like to read aloud the letter Rision sent me.”
“I considered us close friends, but I never knew he possessed such sensitivity.”
“…Pardon?”
“Especially regarding the lady’s hair and eyes.”
“He was practically composing poetry.”
“‘I never knew that colors painted upon the canvas of humanity could be so beautiful……’”
Dianu let out a choking sound and hurriedly covered her mouth with her napkin.
She stiffly turned her head toward Rision, but could not see his expression.
He had covered his face with one hand.
The skin visible beneath his palm seemed faintly red.
Elpenlira, who had been nearly invisible throughout the meal, mocked him silently with her eyes.
Ravelan continued unabated.
“Thank you for saving my friend, who seemed destined to enter a loveless political marriage.”
The playful tone that had colored his voice all evening softened slightly at those words.
But what unsettled Dianu was not the sincerity unfitting of a Crown Prince.
Saving my friend from a political marriage……
It almost sounds like His Majesty won’t enter a political marriage because of me.
That could not be the case.
Rision would marry someday.
And that marriage would undoubtedly be for political gain.
Perhaps there was a nuance she had missed due to the language difference.
After some hesitation, Dianu opened her mouth, prepared to request clarification even at the risk of rudeness.
But before she could ask, Rision changed the subject.
In the end, Dianu could only close her mouth, left with an uncomfortable feeling lingering behind.
