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nAt that moment, I smiled in spite of myself. I was supposed to be wary of him, but I forgot it because I was overjoyed with the idea that I could go to the party to celebrate Caresein. I sprang to my feet and thanked him.

nHe looked at me silently for a while before standing up and said, “Okay. Let me prepare to go out. Just wait here for a minute.”

n“Thanks for your thoughtful consideration, Your Majesty.”

nAs if he was used to this kind of occasion, he came back quickly, after completing preparations.

nWearing white ceremonial dress, he reached out to me.

n“Okay, I think I have to stop by your house first. Let’s go.”

n“Yes, Your Majesty.”

nWhen I returned home with him, my family employees were pleasantly shocked to see him. He waved to them who hurriedly came to offer formal greetings and said he would take a walk in the garden. Then, he disappeared with the royal guards.

nWhen I told Lina that I would attend the party to celebrate Duke Lars’s son, she cheered. She kept chattering to me endlessly, prettying me up in time for the party.

n“My lady, what happened? Why is the crown prince here?”

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n“Well, I’m surprised, too. ”

n“I was really surprised. Well, what kind of dress is a good match for you? As the crown prince is in white, I think your dress should match it. ”

nLina seemed quite excited about his visit. I could understand her feelings, but I opened my mouth because I would be late for the party as she spent too much time prettying me up.

n“Can you choose any matching dress? And can you hurry?”

n“Okay, my lady.”

nOnly then did she begin to shut up and focus on preparing me.

nI hurried through taking a shower, drying my hair, putting on light makeup, choosing a dress, putting on a corset, and so on.

nEven though I completed preparations as soon as possible, I was still in danger of being late for the party because it was about to start pretty soon. Finally, I looked in the mirror after adjusting my clothes and thanking her. I looked a bit mature in the mirror perhaps because my hair was in a knot. My blue-purple dress, decorated with a white ribbon, seemed large thanks to the pannier supported on it, and my waist seemed more slender than usual due to the tight corset. But I liked it, given that Lina hastily prettied me up in such a short time.

nWhen I went downstairs in a hurry, I saw Sir League overlooking the garden from the balcony across the hall. He looked back at me and said pleasantly, “Oh, how are you, my lady? You are so beautiful, dressed like that.”

n“Thank you. By the way, did you see the crown prince?”

n“He is right there!”

nAt the place he directed, a young man with blue hair was overlooking the garden tree, escorted by three royal guards. I thanked him and turned when someone murmured behind my back. It was Sir League.

n“Oh, the crown prince became taller than before.”

n“Pardon?”

n“When he came here last, he was smaller than the tree over there…”

n“Has he ever visited here before?”

nI stopped walking at that. What the heck is he talking about? These days it seems that I’ve come to know a lot about him that I have never heard before.

n“Yes. He came here often for some time.”

n“I see.”

n“Yeah, but when you were about five years old, he came here suddenly, then just left. He never returned since then.”

n“What happened?”

n“I don’t know. At that time, I was on duty inside the mansion, so I remember it vividly because I was here. He was looking at you and your mother standing over there. When you approached him and said something, he left. If my memories are correct, he hasn’t come back since then. ”

nI was suddenly confused. What the heck is this? Why am I hearing a lot about what I didn’t know in the past? To the best of my recollection, I met him for the first time when I was ten, not five.

nWhat happened to me, him and my mother in my childhood that I can’t remember? Also, what was our relationship at the time?

nI stood blankly, lost in such thought, when I came to my senses at Sir League’s urging.

nNow, it was imperative for me to leave if I was to arrive at the party in time.

nHe was standing right where he looked down from the second floor. As if deep in thought, he was also lost in thought. I approached him carefully and said with my head down, “I’m sorry for being late, Your Majesty.”

n“If you’re done preparing, let’s go now.”

n“Yes, Your Majesty.”

nHe climbed into the wagon first and reached out to me. I was a little surprised by his kindness I had never experienced, but I silently took his hand and got in the wagon. The royal guard on standby closed the door. Escorted by guards in white uniforms, he and I headed for Duke Lars’s mansion.

nThe party had already started long ago when we arrived. There were not many people around.

nSir Lars, who was waiting for us at the entrance, bowed politely and said, “I’m so honored to greet Your Majesty for your visit to my shabby place.”

n“It’s been a while, Sir Lars. How have you been?”

n“I have been doing well. All thanks to you, Your Majesty. Thank you for your concern. I’ll escort you inside. ”

nAfter bowing his head to express gratitude, he headed straight to the banquet hall.

nWhen I stood at the door, a very nervous employee announced with a trembling voice.

n“Crown Prince Rubis Kamaludin Shana Castina, the Little Sun of the empire, and Lady Aristia La Monique have arrived!”

nThe music stopped right away and silence fell. Everyone bowed deeply toward him when he entered. They showed due manners to the next emperor.

n“Please raise your heads, everybody.”

nWhen they did, I could see the family of Duke Lars approaching him and me in a hurry.

n“Your Majesty, I never expected you would come here. We’re endlessly honored to have you here.”

n“I’m sorry to hear that. As you know, I have a special bond with your family, right?”

nI looked at Duchess Lars unconsciously. Duchess Lars, with dark blue hair, was looking at him with a bit of a fear, which was unusual.

n“As you got married to Duke Lars, your relationship with the imperial family was cut off, but in terms of our personal relations, you’re my father’s sister. Don’t you think so, aunt?”

n“Your Majesty, please don’t say that. Like you said, my relationship with the imperial family was cut off when I got married. Why are you bringing it up?” Duchess Lars said in a trembling voice.

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nHer full name is Ernia Shana de Lars. As seen in her middle name ‘Shana’, her status before marriage was a princess.

nIn the early days of the empire, a princess’s power was strong, but after they experienced several disputes of succession, her power was drastically weakened until she was irrelevant under the revised imperial law. According to the revised imperial law, a princess had to abandon all her rights as a royal family member, including her right of succession, once she got married, and she obtained her husband’s status only. Even though she was the crown prince’s only younger sister before her marriage, she was now no more than the duke’s wife.

nIf a princess who lost her ties to the imperial family promoted her personal relationship, she could be misunderstood for plotting treason, so most of the princesses hardly visited the Imperial Palace once they got married.

nAlthough she was taking care of the women affairs of the palace with Duchess Verita in her capacity as the First Lady of the empire because of the Queen’s absence, her role was confined to that as the wife of Duke Lars, ranked the first in the nobles’ list, not as a princess.

nBecause she was always careful about her words and deeds during the emperor’s rule, it was only natural that she was afraid of what the crown prince said.

nClicking his tongue a bit, the crown prince said, “You don’t have to be so afraid, Duchess. I just wanted to say that I am valuing Duke Lars’s family and feel happy about your son’s remarkable achievement.”

n“I’m so honored to hear that, Your Majesty.”

n“I would like to congratulate today’s hero.”

n“I, Carsein de Lars, am honored to greet Your Majesty, the Little Sun of the empire.”

nHe opened his mouth silently, watching Carsein dressed in great uniform greeting him.

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