Episode 5
After the wedding, there was supposed to be a reception, but thanks to Lankea, it was wrapped up rather quickly.
He wasn’t particularly favorable toward the marriage to begin with, and I, of course, thought it was a wise decision and readily accepted it.
If we had stayed longer, I would have suffocated to death.
The dress cinched my waist so tightly that it was hard to breathe, and naturally, I had to be careful with every single action and word.
If I get caught, I’m dead. If I get caught, it’s the execution block.
Fortunately, filling my head with extreme thoughts helped me hold onto my tension.
“Will you be staying longer, Your Highness the Princess?”
I had been looking down at the murmuring crowd below the platform.
Lankea was gazing at me blankly, his tone clearly laced with boredom.
“Then…?”
“Under the original schedule, we were to head to the Grand Duchy tonight, but His Majesty the Emperor has said to stay in the imperial palace for about a day.”
According to Libed, it supposedly took a full two days to travel from the capital to Lankea’s Grand Duchy. Was he saying we’d have to endure being together in the same space for two whole days?
My lips began to feel dry.
“Right away… you mean?”
“As I said, we’ll spend tonight in the imperial palace and depart tomorrow. In any case, we need to have all preparations in place before the gate opens.”
“…”
Faced with his calm demeanor, I couldn’t bring myself to say more.
Lankea was the very embodiment of the taciturn northern grand duke straight out of a novel.
And it seemed like his sole concern was the safety of the Empire—devoted to the people of his duchy and, above all, the imperial family.
Can my “romance fantasy reader” experience stop kicking in for once…?
In short, he was the perfect model of a romance-fantasy male lead. But if the plot took a unique turn, or if the author was obsessed with the crown prince instead, then he was the type of supporting male character who could still attract plenty of fans.
“What time are we leaving tomorrow?”
“You needn’t worry. I’ll have someone let you know.”
The sentence didn’t even sound strange, and I was just about to nod in agreement—
“Grand Duke Fidelanis!”
Just then, from the crowd where people were rising after the ceremony, a loud, clear voice rang out.
“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince. May the peace of the Empire be upon you.”
And as soon as that voice reached us, Lankea reflexively bent one knee in response to it.
“?”
Of course, I had no idea what was going on, so I just blinked. In that gap, a man with snow-white hair and violet eyes stepped forward.
“To think the Empire’s sole healer is this beautiful. Grand Duke, you’re lucky.”
Without warning, he gave me a slow once-over from head to toe and smirked.
“What a pity.”
He even muttered something incomprehensible under his breath.
With a double-lidded, handsome face overall, I almost got distracted for a moment, but fortunately, his behavior snapped me out of it.
“Ahem.”
As I continued staring at him, he returned my gaze with a look of puzzlement.
“…Wait a second, didn’t Lankea just say something? What was it?”
Unfortunately, when Lankea spoke earlier, the surrounding noise had drowned out his already quiet voice.
But one thing was certain—the atmosphere in the hall had taken on a strange quality the moment this man appeared.
“Ahem.”
A second cough followed.
Only this time, it came from directly behind me.
No way…
The only one behind me was Libed. If he was coughing, that meant the person before me was someone important.
And then it hit me.
“I—I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince. May the peace of the Empire be upon you.”
Following exactly what Libed had drilled into me, I lifted the hem of my dress slightly and offered a proper curtsey, swallowing dryly.
Damn it… How can I memorize his description perfectly and still fail to recognize him?
Cedric Vian Kansvine. The Empire’s only crown prince and…
The Star of the Empire. In other words, an extrovert.
According to Libed, the crown prince was a flawless individual.
No need to think twice.
Now that I had finally realized his identity, I parroted Lankea’s earlier words at the fastest speed possible, praying the crown prince would let it pass without fuss.
“Pfft! Puhahahahaha!”
But as always, unless you’re the protagonist, things never go the way you want.
Just like now.
I had hoped he would pass by quietly, but Cedric stood rooted to the spot, bursting into hearty laughter.
“Princess—no, Grand Duchess now, I suppose? Anyway, you have a cute side.”
To keep our first meeting from going off the rails, I instinctively bowed my head.
Of course, as you can see, my plan had already gone up in flames.
“I’m just… a little bad at recognizing people’s faces.”
In the end, I went with a vague excuse.
“Oh dear.”
Cedric raised one corner of his mouth in a sly smile and let out a quiet chuckle.
The sight was irritating enough that I turned to Libed, seeking an excuse to escape.
“My apologies for the disturbance, Your Highness.”
It wasn’t Libed’s voice.
It was a deeper, calmer baritone.
Lankea, who had been silently observing, stepped forward.
He seized my wrist in his large hand, sighed faintly, and bowed his head to Cedric.
“Then we’ll take our leave. We still need to offer our respects to His Majesty.”
“Ah, right.”
Cedric kept his sly smile to the end, waving his hand lazily.
I personally didn’t think there was any need to curry favor with such a rude man at a first meeting.
I even had the urge to kick him in the shin.
“Next time, I’ll be sure to greet you first.”
But the man before me held power.
Treating him carelessly would be the fastest route to a “death ending.”
“Sure. Next time, don’t forget this handsome face.”
I chose to ignore his last jab in silence.
Didn’t the Emperor just give a congratulatory speech earlier? What else is there to hear that we have to go greet him again?
At first, I thought Lankea was just making an excuse to avoid the awkward situation with the crown prince.
But without saying another word, Lankea kept walking.
And as we went along, I noticed the decorations becoming more elaborate, the lighting brighter, and the number of guards increasing. The “maybe” in my mind turned into certainty.
He really was heading for the Emperor.
Seriously? We’re going to see the Emperor? Really?
Not being used to such sudden developments, I tried to discreetly slip my hand from Lankea’s grip to ask Libed for help.
“I’ll let go soon.”
But it seemed Lankea had noticed my subtle twitch, because he tightened his grip instead.
Ugh. I may have lived 20 years in this romance-fantasy world as a penniless nobody, but in my previous life, I’d been a conservative, traditional sort.
In short, I wasn’t used to physical contact like this.
Unconcerned, Lankea kept walking until we stopped before an imposing golden door.
“Open it.”
At his words, the guards standing stiffly moved in perfect unison to open it.
No herald announced our arrival, which for some reason made me uneasy.
“Only Their Graces the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess may enter.”
When Libed tried to follow, the guards swiftly blocked his way, their voices firm.
That only deepened my unease.
“…Then I’ll wait here.”
Even Libed seemed uneasy, nodding with a slightly higher pitch than usual. I took a deep breath and followed Lankea into the silent audience chamber.
“My, Lankea!”
We had barely taken three steps when the door shut like an arrow, and a booming laugh rang out through the chamber, tinged red by the setting sun.
As expected, bad premonitions never miss.
It was the Emperor.
“I greet the Sun of the Empire.”
“I greet the Sun of the Empire.”
Almost on cue, Lankea and I spoke in unison and bowed deeply.
Unlike with the crown prince earlier, I knew full well there would be no second chances with the Emperor.
“Grand Duke, and Princess of Eos. Once again, my heartfelt congratulations on your marriage.”
The Emperor smiled in that unreadable way.
“Thank you.”
Lankea responded mechanically.
And the strange behavior continued.
Whenever the Emperor asked a question, Lankea replied like a perfectly tuned machine, precise and prepared.
“When will you be going out for the next monster hunt?”
“In two weeks, once we’ve reconditioned our equipment and fused new weapons with the magic stones imported from the Kingdom of Baeterinum.”
“Good. Then you plan to return to your territory tomorrow?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Lankea kept the conversation steady, though he seemed overly stiff.
The Emperor asked questions; Lankea answered them.
“Have I perhaps kept you from your honeymoon for too long? My apologies, Princess.”
When the topic had run its course, the Emperor addressed me.
I forced a smile and shook my head.
“N-not at all, Your Majesty.”
“Hahaha. Very well. You may go now.”
For some reason, he stared into my eyes for a long moment before breaking into hearty laughter again, then gave the signal for us to leave.
“Then we’ll take our leave… sir.”
For the first time, Lankea and I seemed to be in sync, answering almost simultaneously.
But Lankea added something in a voice so low no one else could hear.
It was a relief the audience ended without incident, but one question lingered in my mind.
Didn’t he just say “Father”?
Lankea didn’t even share the Emperor’s surname.
