TLDWAE 67

Chapter 67

Karia knew perfectly well why he was so irritated and picking a fight with her the moment they met. Recently, she had been spending time with Serivis, cutting off her meetings with him, and even snatched away the Marquessate of Balta.

And Karia felt no reason to apologize to Robert for any of it. So she simply smiled as if she knew nothing and retorted lightly.

“Since I’ve recently inherited a title, I thought I should dress neatly to uphold the dignity of a lord. I’m relieved to hear you say it suits me.”

“—Right, you received the Marquessate of Balta, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I refused several times, but Seri was so insistent that I ended up accepting it.”

The moment Karia called Serivis Seri, cracks formed on Robert’s otherwise calm mask.

He had heard rumors that the two had been spending time together lately, but he assumed it wasn’t true friendship—more like some sort of transaction. After all, he and Serivis had once considered Karia their common enemy and shared many memories because of it. He believed Serivis wouldn’t deny those times.

But now, listening to Karia act close with Serivis right in front of him? His annoyance boiled over.

Only he was allowed to call Serivis Seri. And lately, he could barely even get a glimpse of him.

“I hear you’ve been meeting with the princess often these days? As I recall, you weren’t all that close before. Was there some particular reason?”

“A reason…? If anything, it was because she approached me first to apologize. Apparently, some little pranks she played in childhood ended up becoming rather significant incidents for me, and she said she was sorry for that. She wept, saying that although she has many brothers, I am her only sister, and she had been too indifferent all this time.”

“—The princess cried?”

“Seri said we should care for and cherish one another from now on. So I agreed.”

Karia flaunted her intimacy with Serivis in a casual tone. In truth, even if Serivis were struck and killed by a speeding carriage right this instant, she would not shed a single tear of mourning. But she knew this was the best way to get under the crown prince’s skin.

And indeed, while the prince was smiling, he could not hide the displeasure behind it.

“Did she perhaps say anything about being upset with me? Normally the things she’s been doing with you were what she used to do with me. Lately I feel as if I’ve lost a close friend. It’s a bit lonely.”

“Well… perhaps Seri has grown up. She must have realized she shouldn’t trouble His Highness the Crown Prince, who is so busy. You are soon to be married, after all, and you can’t always linger by your younger sister’s side, can you?”

It was unreasonable for a grown man to constantly trail after his grown sister. When Karia said this, Robert could no longer maintain his composed expression. If Alcad hadn’t interrupted, asking if that jab was directed at him, Karia might have enjoyed the sight of the crown prince’s distorted face.

“Setting the princess aside, how have you been doing these days?”

Robert quickly composed himself and shifted the topic. Karia frowned slightly—she had expected him to leave once he’d picked a fight to his satisfaction.

Why bring up such talk now? He wasn’t the type to care about her daily life.

“I hear you haven’t been seeing anyone since your divorce. In the meantime, now that you’ve received a title, haven’t others been pestering you?”

“—Many people do come calling, yes.”

“And you live in a townhouse now, correct? Isn’t it inconvenient when you have many visitors, given the limited space?”

He seemed to have something else to say, yet kept circling around it, as if feigning concern. It was laughably unconvincing.

When Karia wordlessly urged him to get to the point, Robert suddenly clapped his hands with a feigned look of realization.

“Why not take this opportunity to host a party at the palace? That way, you can deal with all those curious people in one night. Now that you’ve inherited a title, shouldn’t you make your position clear to the nobility?”

At his suggestion, Karia laughed inwardly. So that was it—he wanted to dump the responsibility of hosting the first imperial palace party of the social season onto her.

Normally, this party was hosted by the empress, who held domestic authority within the palace, or the dowager empress. But ever since the empress had passed away, Robert had been hosting it in Serivis’s name. Now, as a direct royal of the same rank as the princess, Karia had every right to host it too.

Being host of a palace party was an honor—at least on the surface. But what Robert was handing her was not honor.

“Make your position clear,” meant she was to hold a dazzling, extravagant party so no one could say she didn’t befit imperial status. And the expenses would come out of her own pocket.

A party encompassing all the capital’s nobility would easily cost a hundred thousand gold. So this was his way of getting revenge for her taking Balta. His petty provocation was almost amusing.

Still, it wouldn’t be a complete loss. If I host a palace party and firmly establish my image as a member of the royal family, the annoying insects buzzing around me will vanish. And if I spread the name of the Marquessate of Balta, people will finally stop calling me duchess.

For Karia, money was no concern. With a gracious smile, she nodded at the supposedly considerate crown prince.

“I never imagined Your Highness would care for me so deeply. If entrusted with this, I will do my utmost.”

“—Good. I’m glad you accept so readily.”

Her quick acceptance made Robert’s expression waver in surprise. He had expected her to panic and struggle. Even with the Marquessate of Balta, she hadn’t collected taxes yet, and surely she had received no alimony from her divorce—how could she remain so calm about such an expensive endeavor?

But soon he dismissed his doubts. Surely she had no concept of the actual costs, never having managed such an event before. When she later panicked and wore a distressed face, perhaps his irritation toward her would ease a little.

“Well then, I’ve detained a busy person too long. Go on with your business. Alcad, you should escort Karia.”

“Huh? Your Highness, but—!”

“Mercenaries pretending to be knights are hardly real knights. And she is now the noble Marquess of Balta. Who knows what danger may come? See to her well.”

With those parting words—still tinged with spite—Robert left without so much as a backward glance. He hadn’t cared about her safety; he had merely dumped a troublesome burden.

Alcad scratched the back of his head but joined Karia’s group anyway, perhaps agreeing there was some truth in Robert’s words. Though really, in a quiet capital where palace guards were just a few steps away, what danger could there be?

“So what are you even here for?”

Without answering, Karia opened the door of the workshop before them. The shopkeeper, having overheard the earlier conversation outside, quickly bowed deeply upon seeing the two blond nobles enter.

“Is the item I commissioned finished?”

“Y-yes! Here it is!”

The shopkeeper scurried inside and returned with a luxurious polished wooden chest, which he set carefully on the reception table. Karia reached out and opened it. Inside lay a neatly folded green banner embroidered with a golden hawk.

The hawk was the symbol of Balta, green for the marquessate, and gold thread to signify royalty. Without a word, Karia lifted the banner. The shopkeeper, watching her carefully, rubbed his palms together nervously.

“The embroidery wasn’t simply painted in gold afterward. Each thread was gilded first, then stitched one by one with the utmost care. And though the cloth is so smooth, it’s incredibly durable—resistant even to heavy storms.”

“—I see.”

“Heh… so this is the banner for your estate. Are you planning a flag-raising ceremony at your townhouse?”

Although Alcad also held a count’s title, as an unmarried man he still lived in the grand ducal palace. Thus, he’d never had reason to commission such a banner, nor to hoist one.

Seeing his curious, excited expression, Karia replied curtly.

“It won’t be a formal ceremony, but bringing a new banner into the house must be done by the head of the family.”

“‘Head of the family,’ huh… Who would’ve thought you’d be the first among us to become one.”

“Indeed. Who would have thought it.”

Neither the grand duke nor the emperor had ever intended to grant her a title. Had she not acted on her own, she would have been remarried to some “suitable” match after her divorce from Duke Pandeon. No one would have asked for her opinion in her own life.

Alcad watched her stare intently at the hawk embroidered on the banner, as if locking eyes with it, before shifting his gaze elsewhere. Then he noticed something still inside the chest.

“—Wait, you already had one of these made?”

Inside lay another banner. It resembled the one she held, but its background was black. A black banner was used only when a family suffered tragedy—for instance, when a family member had passed away.