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nI stood blankly looking at Carsein whose uniform was shining brilliantly. I was pleased with his amazing achievements, and I was very envious. Somehow, I felt subdued by such contradictory feelings.

n‘Can I stand there someday? Will there be a day when I can stand there to swear an oath and get out of the net that binds me?’

nAccompanied by the chief of the Royal Guards and the captain of the 1st Knights Division, the emperor left, followed by the knights who attended the ceremony. I remained there. I felt a bit depressed somehow.

nHow long did I stand there? I came to my senses when someone pat my shoulder. A young man with red hair quickly approached and looked at me.

n“Why are you standing there?”

n“…Carsein. ”

nAs one of today’s protagonists, he had to be very busy, but Carsein was alone for some reason. He said with a smile, “Hey, you look aghast. Are you carried away with my gorgeous uniform?”

n“… ”

n“Tell me. Did you like it? When I looked at myself, I thought I was awesome. Don’t you agree?”

n“… Well, you were soundly defeated by my father today. Do you still want to boast?”

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n“Hey, you shouldn’t compare me to him! By the way, your father is really terrific. To be honest with you, I thought I might be killed,” said Carsein, chatting me up.

nHe was very happy, even though he had a tough time because my father sparred with him to certify his skills.

n“It was still a good experience for me. You know it’s very rare to have a chance to compare and learn the fencing skills of your father. By the way, do you feel better now?”

n“Yes.”

n“Wait. I’m going to make you an official knight pretty soon. Don’t complain even if the training is tough for you.”

n“Thanks, Carsein.”

n“Good. Don’t complain later. Oh, are you coming tomorrow? It’s been quite a while since I sent you the invitation, but I haven’t received any reply from you.”

n“Oh, it’s because…”

nA few days ago I received an invitation contained in a sealed letter. It was the invitation sent by the Duke Lars family asking me to attend a party to celebrate Carsein’s knighthood and a letter in which he asked me to be his partner.

nOf course, I could congratulate him, but attending the party as his partner was another matter. When I hesitated after receiving the invitation, my father advised me that I had better not attend a party that would generate ungrounded rumors about me. I agreed with my father’s opinion, but it wasn’t easy for me to refuse his invitation, so I was putting off RSVP until now because it bothered me not to attend the party for Carsein on that monumental day, one of my two close friends. When he saw me face to face and checked with me about the invitation, I was kind of embarrassed. I was so sorry.

n“Oh, you can’t come as I expected. Okay. ”

n“…Sorry.”

n“Well, that ‘s fine. We had better be careful especially in times like this. They are hellbent to find fault with you anyway.”

n“Still… It’s a memorable day for you. I’m really sorry I can’t come to celebrate.”

n“That’s fine, that’s fine.” Carsein, who had lightly waved his hand, said with a smile, as if he had thought of it, “If you’re so sorry, can you do me a favor later?”

n“Favor?”

n“Yes. If you hear it and think you can’t, you don’t have to do me a favor. What do you think?”

n“Sure. Thanks for understanding.”

nIs it because he has become a knight who took an oath? I smiled at him who seemed to be unusually mature today. This was the first time I felt he was trustworthy.

n“Thank you so much, Carsein. And congratulations!” I muttered to myself as I walked back with Carsein.

nI was depressed somehow in the morning.

nAs I thought I would feel better in a crowded place than being alone at home on this day,

nI followed my father to the Imperial Palace.

nHowever, there were few people in the training field today, and the office of the captain of the 1st Knight Division was empty.

n‘Well, today there was the celebration party for Carsein, so Duke Lars is perhaps at home.’

nWhile I was killing time, skimming through paperwork, an attendant came in and handed me a letter. It was an invitation to a tea time.

n‘Who is inviting me today?’

nExtremely tense, I headed to the Imperial Palace. As if he was waiting for me in advance, the chief attendant escorted me like he did before. It was neither a garden nor an office that he escorted me to. It was none other than a personal study filled with the smell of books.

nAs soon as I stepped inside, my eyes widened at the amazing scene. Can this place be called a study? There were three floors. On the second floor, there were bookshelves full of books, as well as movable bookshelves. The windowpane with a full view of the outside was draped with white curtains to block sunlight from directly hitting the books, and the ceiling had a window that could be opened and closed for ventilation.

nIn the center of the spacious room with a fluffy carpet embroidered with the royal crest, I saw a young man with blue hair sitting in a comfortable chair. His eyes were closed and his fingers were interlocked. There was a sort of melancholy in his dark blue eyes.

nI approached him carefully. As if he was in a shallow sleep, he did not open his eyes until I reached the other side.

nAs I couldn’t wake him up, I quietly turned and headed to the bookshelf. There was a variety of books on the bookshelves. I was impressed by the neat arrangement of the books about politics, economy, history, military, tactics, and administration by genre.

nWhen I was looking at the books here and there, holding back exclamations, I suddenly noticed luxurious black leather and gilded letters.

nAs the imperial family retrieved the directories more than five years old while distributing the latest edition, I had no opportunity to read the old ones, but this place seemed to possess even old ones as it was the crown prince’s library.

nI picked the fifth book from the right, which was a directory published about twenty years ago.

nWhen I turned the first page, I saw the pedigree of the noble families.

n1st, Duke Kasil, the ‘Shield of the Empire.’

n2nd, Duke Heidel, the ‘Red Rose.’

n3rd, Duke Lars, the “Sword of the Empire”.

n4th, Duke Laurel, the “Glory of Victory”.

n5th, Duke Jena, the “Black Rose”

nThe hierarchy of the duke families was the same as what I heard when I took a course on the history of the past empire.

n‘Well, this is not important anyway.’

nI opened the back of the book. I quickly browsed through the list of barons when I heard him calling me coldly behind my back.

n“What are you looking at?”

nI didn’t know when he woke up, but he had already approached and begun to stare at me.

nI hastily put the directory back on the bookshelf and turned to him. Just as usual, he was looking at me with a blank face.

n“It’s been a long time, Lady Monique.”

n“Yes, Your Majesty.”

n“Looking at your costume, it looks like you were in the Imperial Palace. I understand you are not supposed to come to the palace today.”

n“Well, I came to get on top of my assignments quickly because I had nothing else.”

n“Why? Didn’t you go to the party to celebrate Duke Lars’s son? ”

n“As for that…”

n“Hmm, it looks like your father told you not to go.”

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nAs if he understood the situation, he nodded and pulled the string to tell the attendant to bring tea. Shortly afterwards, the attendant who came in put the mugs down. I sighed a little while drinking lavender tea and enjoyed the fragrant scent. Even though I was enjoying the best tea available only to the imperial family, I was not happy as usual.

n“Do you really want to go there?”

n“Pardon, Your Majesty?”

n“It looks like you are not happy because you can’t attend the party.”

n“… ”

n“Then, let’s go.”

n“Pardon? What do you mean…”

n“If you really want to go there, let’s go with me. Then, nobody will gossip about you.”

n“… Pardon?” I asked blankly.

n‘What did he just say? Did he say he wanted to go there with me? Really?’

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