The decision to meet with a messenger from my parents’ home was just an idea. If it wasn’t an idea, it was a whim…either way, I didn’t have any real sense of purpose.
Life in the royal palace is monotonous once you get used to it.
The same routine is repeated. There is rarely a private outing, and I need the permission of the Crown Prince to even leave my palace here.
Even walking through the garden is accompanied by two knights of the guard, and a knight stands at the entrance to the room.
About 30 escorts who are dedicated knights to me take turns. I don’t mind so much because I know them all well, but I don’t like it when it’s another stranger.
Princesses are such caged birds after all!
I know that I’m in danger. I am being targeted and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is protecting me.
One can only visit Arthirea with the permission of His Highness the Crown Prince, and said visitors are few and far between.
His Highness has rejected all requests for an audience on the grounds that I am too young. I certainly wouldn’t know what to do if they make a petition or something. I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is taking care of all those things for me.
The one thing that the Crown Prince can’t dismiss is the emissary from Elzevert. Even if I didn’t have the right to do so, Elzevert is my family and backer as the Crown Prince’s wife.
And as long as I’m the provisional heir, I can’t refuse that contact nor can I withhold the offerings from Elzevert.
But so far, Lilia has handled everything and I hadn’t met them.
But on this particular day I was a little bored, so when I heard that he was a messenger from my parents’ house, I was eager to meet him.
“It is a great pleasure that Your Highness has granted me an audience.”
A beautiful young man with blonde hair kneels down and bows. Alice, Julia and Miredei are all admiring him.
They were making a lot of noise on the way back home too, come to think of it.
He was indeed a beautiful young man like the crown prince. He’s the very prince that everyone thinks of when they say prince.
His mood is soft and he’s affable…If the Crown Prince’s good looks reminded me of a frigid winter, he reminded me of a dazzling blue spring sky.
He’s a man who might be my older brother.
I felt lucky.
If this is my brother, I can finally thank him.
I give him a small nod in greeting.
…Wait a minute. Who do I have to check with?
Is the reason they don’t say their names because they think I already know?
It would indeed be a bad idea to ask him.
I’m going to appeal to Lilia with my eyes. Please, look at me!
Lilia came to me right away. As expected of Lilia.
“Who are you?”
She hides her mouth with the lacy fan she had in her hand and asks only with her lips.
The lacy fan is a must-have item for the crown prince and princess to hold in their hands during an audience. I don’t have to carry it when I am in an audience, but I need it when I receive an audience. Especially in these situations.
It’s a secret that I thought would be good for putting up cheat sheets.
“…I am Her Royal Highness’s half-brother. Sir Rael Crozes Vi Finos.
I whispered to Lilia secretly too.
Is that so? I’m glad.
“Thank you for the other day.”
He looks up, as if surprised.
I’ve gotten pretty used to that kind of reaction, but I just jumped up lightly. I think you’re too surprised by that.
“Her Highness has always been grateful to Sir Finos for saving her at the lake and for escorting her back to the Royal Capital, and she has always wanted to thank you for that.”
Lilia speaks for me.
“Those kind words are wasted on me.”
Deeply, the older brother bows his head.
Sir Finos…This man is not qualified to call himself Elzevert. He is a bastard child.
A child’s surname is tied to his mother’s surname and his father’s surname, but a bastard only has one.
And the only title he can call himself is the knightly ‘Vi’ which he earned himself. Since being a knight is a natural part of being a nobleman in Dardinia, the ‘Vi’ is omitted in the case of other titles.
“Your Highness, these items have been delivered to you by Elzevert.”
Alice holds up an inventory on a silver tray.
I take it in my hand and skim through it.
It lists the titles of the books and the types and colors of textiles that were presented to me. There is also a bottle of Elzevert’s famous fruit wine, honey and sugar.
I laughed with pleasure when I noticed that it contained the sequel to “Eyes of the Sky.”
I was hooked on it because I had no other entertainment other than this series.
Now I know why Arthirea loved this.
It’s because the sky-eyed hero, the exotic king, looks like His Highness Nigel. He’s similar in appearance description, silver hair and blue eyes, and his personality is cold.
The king is arrogant and high-handed, but he’s always saying and doing things that are very clumsy and misleading to the main character. But in the end, they understand each other.
I wonder if Arthirea was thinking of this king as his highness…wishful thinking. I don’t know what the truth is, but I have a feeling that it’s not far off.
“Thank you.”
I thanked him. I can’t say much, but I don’t want to forget my gratitude.
“I am very glad to hear that Your Highness is pleased…Is there anything else you would like to have? The Duke fears that Her Highness may be inconvenienced.”
I give a small nod of my head at those words.
Lilia looks a little surprised. Maybe she’s never said anything like that before.
I hesitated for a bit, but I thought this would be forgivable, so I told her.
“I want to eat the sweets I had in Elzevert’s castle.”
Baked goods can last ten days or so, so I thought maybe they could transport them to me at some point.
They were really good. There’s a big line for them over there.
I kept remembering how much I wanted to have them again. They’re professional pastries, made by a professional.
Maybe the artisans in this world make them in a casual manner. They have an eye for size, and they have a hunch.
But sweets are a very delicate thing. You have to be precise in your measurements, and the procedures are exactly as you set them.
That’s the basis.
For example, pouring milk into a bowl of flour and pouring flour into a bowl of milk —- You may think the result is the same, but in the world of sweets, that’s a completely different thing.
And that difference can make the result completely different.
It’s a bit like a chemistry experiment. If you’re not careful by nature, it may not be suitable for you.
I learned all these things from the cake shop I worked at right after graduating from college.
“Understood.”
The third brother looked very surprised, but he laughed happily.
It wasn’t a bad laugh.
So I caught on and laughed a little bit too.
I would probably never call him ‘brother’. I call him brother in my mind because I don’t think of him as just a relative.
But as long as I treat him regardless of blood ties or anything like that, he’s a nice guy.
“Does Your Highness like sweets?”
“Yes.”
Delicious snacks make me feel happy.
When I said that, my third brother laughed like he thought it was cute.
I’m older than him, though!
Well, I look like this, so it can’t be helped.
Snacks aren’t that bulky, so I thought it would be nice if he brought them along for something. For example, when my brother went home and came back from his parents’ house.
But I wouldn’t have minded if he forgot about the candy.
I didn’t think at that time that it would become such a big problem later on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|♡| Table of Contents |♡| Support me! |♡|
KizunaTLs 