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~Chapter 5~
“The Minister of War must be reading a lot these days.”
“Huh? Me, Your Majesty?”
The Minister of War blinked slowly, like a cow.
“You must be good at making up stories. Impressive.”
The Minister of War’s broad shoulders shrank after the emperor caught his lie.
“Treasury Minister.”
Grey called out his next target.
The tips of the Treasury Minister’s fancy mustache trembled.
“Y-yes, Your Majesty?”
“The founding festival happens every year. Why is the budget five times bigger this year? Is there some huge event I don’t know about? Or maybe the Minister of Internal Affairs can answer?”
Everyone’s faces turned pale.
The emperor had aimed at two people at once.
Grey’s annoyed eyes looked out the window. The ministers naturally followed his gaze.
Many carriages from different countries were lined up, arriving for the founding festival.
So that’s why the emperor is in a bad mood, they realized.
The Minister of Internal Affairs let out a quiet sigh and spoke up.
“This year, especially many kingdoms are visiting us.”
“That’s what I mean. Why are there so many visitors this year?”
Before the emperor called on him, the Foreign Minister quickly slumped his shoulders as if in apology.
The Minister of Internal Affairs glanced at the other ministers, but everyone avoided his eyes.
The emperor waited for an answer, but no one wanted to speak, so he had to do it himself.
Tsk. What a bunch of cowards, he thought.
“Your Majesty, this year is special because… it’s time for Your Majesty’s royal marriage…”
“Do you think the royal stallion isn’t working hard enough?”
The emperor’s cold eyes were sharp, but his smile was bright as a flower.
“N-no, Your Majesty! Never, not at all…”
“I’m tired. Let’s end the meeting here.”
When the emperor left, the ministers finally breathed a sigh of relief. Every time their beautiful emperor smiled, the stress made their hearts beat so hard they worried about heart attacks.
“This year, it seems all the kingdoms made up their minds. The budget is five times more, and the number of envoys is ten times higher than last year.”
“Sigh, what a headache.”
The ministers stared at the emperor’s empty seat and each let out a deep sigh.
In the rocking carriage, Dahlia smiled as she read a letter. Annie laughed.
“You’re reading it again and again. Aren’t you tired of it?”
Dahlia opened her eyes wide and proudly showed the letter.
[Dahlia auntie. Hurry up and come. I love you. Princess Rose.]
The letters were wobbly like little drawings, and a pink flower was drawn next to them.
“My Rose is definitely a genius! Even this pink flower—she drew it to show my hair color. Have you ever seen a child as observant as her? And her handwriting is so good, too.”
Annie had heard this praise at least a hundred times. She pointed out the window to change the topic.
“We’re in the imperial capital. Aren’t you going to look outside?”
“I should!”
Dahlia carefully folded the letter and put it in her pocket, then looked out the window.
Her sparkling eyes moved everywhere as she looked at the city.
“Ria, is it really that amazing?”
Annie brushed some dust off Dahlia’s dress as she asked.
She was used to calling Dahlia “Princess” all her life, so just saying her name felt strange. But after the long journey, she was slowly getting used to it.
“Yes! I’ve never even left the royal palace before. It’s amazing to see so many people on the main street.”
Hearing Dahlia’s honest answer, Annie hesitated, then kept brushing off the dust, pretending not to be affected.
She understood why Princess Dahlia had to live in the separate palace for her safety, but every time she heard things like this, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad.
Other princesses wouldn’t be this amazed just by seeing the capital of another kingdom.
At that moment, Cole, the guard knight, rode up to the window.
Cole had curly dark brown hair, warm amber eyes, and was tall and strong—190 centimeters. He was acting as one of the guards for the envoy.
“Prin—Ria.”
Annie glared, so Cole quickly corrected himself.
“What is it?”
“We’ll arrive at the imperial palace soon. You can already see it from here.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
After Cole left, Dahlia leaned her chin on the window, waiting to see the palace.
Soon, the enormous imperial palace came into view.
Its white walls reflected the sunlight, shining like gold, and on the blue roof, the empire’s flag—a red bird—fluttered in the wind.
“It looks twenty times bigger than our palace.”
“It really is huge,” Annie agreed with a nod.
Dahlia gazed at the palace, her eyes shining.
Finally, they had arrived. Just one more step, and she would meet the emperor.
Dahlia and Annie entered the room assigned to them.
The room was clean, with two beds. Outside the window, lush leaves and sunlight looked fresh and cheerful.
So many guests came for the festival that the envoys from the small kingdom of Forevern were put in the rooms farthest from the main palace.
Knock, knock.
Annie opened the door. Cole was there, smiling kindly.
“Prin—”
“Cole!” Annie quickly cut him off.
Cole awkwardly laughed. “Ah, the air is really nice today. Ha ha.”
“Cole, this is the empire. There are eyes and ears everywhere. You have to be extra careful!” Annie warned.
Cole hunched his big shoulders and made an excuse.
“…Yes, I know. But it’s so hard to get used to the new way of talking. So from now on, every time I say your name, I’ll just say ‘the air is nice’ before it. Please understand.”
“What kind of—”
Annie frowned, but Dahlia jumped in before Cole got in more trouble.
“Cole, that’s a great idea! The air really is nice here.”
“Thank you.”
Cole smiled shyly.
“So, what brings you here?”
“I found a nice walking path nearby. The air is good, and you like walks, Ria.”
“Thank you, Cole.”
“Ria, I’m going to check the kitchen. Make sure there’s no mold. Please rest.”
Annie poked Cole’s side, pushing him out.
After the two left, Dahlia lay weakly on the bed.
She thought she was healthy, but the long carriage ride was exhausting.
Then—
Tap, tap.
She heard something at the window and lifted her head.
A small bird, no bigger than her hand, with a yellow body and red wings, was tapping on the glass.
“How cute.”
Dahlia got up and opened the window. The bird flew in.
The round, fluffy bird landed on the bed and looked up at her with red eyes, crying little tears.
…The bird is crying. Do birds usually cry?
Surprised, Dahlia gently picked up the bird and placed it on her palm.
“Little bird, why are you crying?”
The bird gave her a triangle glare, as if asking, “You really don’t know?”
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
It flapped its wings and chirped fiercely, just like Annie when she was scolding her.
Dahlia awkwardly smiled and asked the bird the question she always asked Annie.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Chirp.
The bird nodded, like it understood.
“We just met today. How could I already have done something wrong to you?”
Chirp.
The bird nodded again.
“But we really did just meet, right?”
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
The bird shook its head hard.
