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Chapter : 14
After officially announcing my engagement to the prince at the banquet, invitations of every kind—from grand banquets to small tea gatherings—came flying my way.
To be honest, conversations with nobles—especially young noble ladies—often involved a lot of roundabout speaking, which made me reluctant to deal with them. On top of that, I found the formality tiresome, so I’d decided just yesterday not to attend anything at all…
“Goodness, this must be the—!”
“That’s right, Serinne. The lady who will become the crown prince’s consort in the not-too-distant future, and the older sister I love most!”
“Ah, h-hello…!”
So why was I now surrounded by all kinds of noble young ladies, including Lilia—whose cheeks were flushed—in the garden of the Strien estate?
Absentmindedly exchanging greetings with them, I took a sip of tea while watching the young ladies chatter brightly.
Warm sunlight and a garden.
People talking cheerfully.
Compared to my time at the Spirit Tower, this was like standing in the heart of enemy territory—and yet, it felt peaceful.
Resting my chin in my hand, I reflected on what had happened so far.
Coming to the Empire, saving Adriel, meeting Lilia, negotiating with the Second Prince, and then even getting engaged.
A whole month had flown by in an instant.
Especially when I was with the Second Prince, time seemed to rush past.
Just like my first impression, he was cold—and incredibly sharp. But… how should I put it? He wasn’t cold in every way.
There were gentle sides to him, and at times he even seemed cute.
And he was handsome, too.
…It wasn’t just me who thought that, right?
[Good work.]
I frowned and shook my head from side to side. Nonsense. Just idle thoughts.
Lately, whenever I let my guard down, the prince kept coming to mind, and it really bothered me.
What’s wrong with me?
“…S-sister?”
I snapped back to my senses and looked up to see Lilia and the other young ladies staring at me, having stopped their conversation.
“…Ah. Sorry. I didn’t hear you. What was it?”
“You’ll be attending the hunting festival, right?”
“…The hunting festival?”
I tilted my head.
Was it already hunting festival season? I was sure it was usually held in autumn…
“Oh, yes! This time, to celebrate the Second Prince’s return, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Emperor announced a few days ago that they’d be moving the festival up…!”
At my question, a young lady sitting beside Lilia—called Serinne—answered.
“Um, well, Spirit Master… will you be giving His Highness the Prince a handkerchief as a gift, after all?”
At the hunting festival, it was customary for a participant’s lover—or a woman who admired them—to present an embroidered handkerchief.
A handkerchief, huh…
“…I’m not sure.”
The young ladies all put on puzzled expressions at once.
“I’m thinking of actually participating in this hunting festival.”
The prize awarded to the person who caught the most game at the festival was a fairly large magic stone, traditionally provided by the imperial family.
People who used swords or bows were said to desperately seek magic stones to embed into their weapons, but my goal lay elsewhere.
I felt a bit guilty about tossing Alec a few words and sending him back to his room before leaving that last day. And according to a recent letter from Jema, it seemed Alec would be conducting experiments with magic stones this time, so I’d already been planning to obtain some and send them to him.
But magic stones weren’t exactly easy to come by. I could find one if I really tried, but it was a hassle.
Then I heard news of the hunting festival. Honestly, I was glad.
Whether the imperial family would hand over the magic stone without protest if I won was uncertain—but well, since it was up for grabs, I might as well try.
Imagining Alec’s face lighting up as he blushed with joy upon receiving the magic stone, I suddenly noticed how quiet it had become around me and looked up.
No—regretted it the moment I did, and lowered my head again.
Starting with Lilia, at least six young ladies were staring at me with eyes sparkling so brightly it felt overwhelming.
“My goodness, you’re participating? I never would’ve imagined it! If the Spirit Master is joining, victory is practically guaranteed…!”
“No, it’s not like that…”
It was true that I’d spoken with winning in mind, but seeing such a reaction made me break out in a cold sweat. Smiling awkwardly, I looked at the young ladies praising and uplifting one another.
They weren’t much younger than me, but they all looked cute and pretty.
I’d always known noble society to be a place where people tore into each other, and in the past, I’d been so intimidated by other young ladies at banquets that I couldn’t even get a word in. This kind of experience felt strangely new.
“Sister, I’ve decided.”
While I was laughing awkwardly and responding to their praise, Lilia wrapped both hands around mine.
“Hm?”
Her eyes were sparkling no less than the others’—no, far more intensely, almost excessively so.
“I’ll dedicate my handkerchief to you, sister…!”
“Oh my, then I will too.”
“Should we make two handkerchiefs?”
“Um, Spirit Master, may I call you ‘sister’ as well…?”
Fourteen pairs of sparkling eyes surrounded me in a circle, all staring at me at once.
They were… kind of scary.
Well, more than kind of.
There was a brief, concerned objection from Sierra along the way, but it soon faded. The prince didn’t object either, and there didn’t seem to be any particular restrictions on registering for the hunting festival, so I ended up participating just as I’d originally planned.
“Looks like I’ll have to choose your outfit for you, at least.”
Having failed to stop me, Sierra burned with strange enthusiasm from dawn on the day of the festival, her eyes blazing as she declared she’d dress me from head to toe.
“No… I’m just going to wear something comfortable to move in. What’s with all the dressing up…?”
Sierra sharply lifted her chin.
Her already catlike, sharply slanted eyes grew even fiercer, and her presence was overwhelming.
“That’s exactly what matters most, you know? Looking like you’re not dressed up—while being dressed up! Comfortable! Looking comfortable!”
“…O-okay…”
After being held hostage by Sierra for hours, I was finally released just in time to head to the hunting festival.
With a confident expression, Sierra brought over a full-length mirror and showed me my reflection.
“Well? What do you think?”
My wavy hair was tied high into a single ponytail, secured with a sapphire-studded hairpin and ribbon. A simple white shirt and black trousers formed a smooth, clean combination.
Over that, Sierra draped a deep navy outer garment over my shoulders, and from my ears hung long, delicate earrings adorned with turquoise gemstones that resembled my eye color.
Unlike the last banquet, there was minimal makeup or jewelry, and just as she’d emphasized, the outfit was easy to move in—yet everything came together in a simple, elegant, and pretty look.
“You like it, right?”
At Sierra, who asked with eyes sparkling brightly, I slowly nodded.
Together with Sierra, I arrived at the edge of the forest, where a wide plain stretched out, divided into two sections depending on proximity to the woods.
Closer to the forest stood scattered tents belonging to those participating in the hunting festival, while farther away, tea tables were set up like an outdoor garden for noblewomen and young ladies.
Separating the two areas were a fairly elaborately constructed platform and a low iron fence.
Apparently, about ten years ago, a wild boar that had been shot incorrectly ran out of the forest, resulting in a young lady suffering a minor arm injury, and the barrier had been erected after that incident.
Honestly, it didn’t look particularly effective.
As I stepped down from the carriage onto the field, the attention of the nobles—participants and non-participants alike, who had been chatting in small groups—snapped toward us.
At Adriel’s birthday banquet, it really had been mostly nobles aligned with the prince’s faction. Compared to then, there were now quite a few more people casting displeased looks in my direction.
Among the young ladies and noblewomen, it was less pronounced, but the wariness and hostility from the male nobles were no joke.
Well, the hunting festival was one of the Empire of Rupium’s major events, so naturally many nobles aligned with the Crown Prince would be present.
“It starts at noon, right? Let’s sit for now. No need to tire yourself out by going early.”
Sierra chose a table and sat down, beckoning to me.
I nodded and reached for the teacup a servant brought over—then froze as I looked ahead.
“…? Rien?”
“Oh my, so this is where you are, Spirit Master.”
Standing opposite me, just behind Sierra, was Arienne—wearing a sweet-looking but utterly false smile, accompanied by a sizable group of young noble ladies.
