APTB | Ch 13

Now, Marisol buried her face in her hands, making snoring noises.
Vincente, with a slightly red face, gave a wry smile.
“…Thank you. I’ll have to work harder on my physical training.”
This time, Tia tilted her head slightly, as if asking what he meant.
“Maybe you should focus more on improving your intellect than your physique.”
He was not a soldier, but a lord. To fulfill his duties, it was more important to develop his mind than to worry about physical strength.
Intellect and wisdom are things that can never be perfected, after all.
“….”
Vincente, looking like he’d been hit on the back of the head, opened his mouth but didn’t speak.
When Marisol, still snoring, began to sob with her shoulders shaking, Vincente finally spoke again.
“…I’ll keep that in mind, Princess.”
“Good.”
Tia nodded with satisfaction.
She then turned her gaze to the servant standing next to Vincente, holding some papers.
“Hmm…”
Vincente, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache, spoke in a more composed voice.
“These are some of the documents the Emperor instructed me to bring. The administrative materials from last year are quite a lot, so you’ll need to go to the document office to review them, but I’ve brought only the summarized reports.”
He gestured to the servant who was holding the documents.
“We’ve only just begun requesting cooperation with the administration in the Carios region, so it might take some time before we hear back from them.”
Tia looked at the papers that the servant laid on the table, eyeing them carefully.
They were more modest than she had expected. Even considering Karayan’s small size, she wondered if the reporting system was inadequate.
It was just as the people had said—it was more like a tiny autonomous kingdom.
The size of the land didn’t cause major issues, but…
“If you need more details, just let me know. I’ll prepare them as quickly as I can.”
Vincente added, his face still expressionless, noticing Tia’s lack of reaction, and he seemed a bit anxious.
“For now, this is enough.”
Tia lifted her gaze and stared at his face.
It was awkward since they were meeting for the first time, but she still wanted to make sure they got along.
However, as she stared at him, she found herself thinking many things she wasn’t sure how to express.
She needed to be careful with what she said, to avoid misunderstandings while maintaining her dignity.
“The welcome ceremony… can we hold it next week?”
Vincente spoke first, as if he had already heard from the butler.
“The work here moves more slowly than in the capital. Rural areas are like that.”
“Please take care of it.”
Tia confirmed, then added, “Can we visit the Dignato Temple tomorrow?”
Of course, Tia didn’t worship the emperor as a god.
She visited the Dignato Temple out of respect for her mother and the people who took comfort in worshiping her as if she were divine, just as Osvaldo and Bellarenza did.
But Vincente seemed hesitant.
“I’d like to visit in the morning.”
When Tia insisted, Vincente reluctantly nodded.
“Understood. I’ll make preparations for tomorrow.”
Just then, a distant, solemn bell rang, signaling the start of evening prayers for the Catholics.
Since Tia wasn’t Catholic, she slightly tilted her head but didn’t look away from Vincente.
Vincente, not seeming to have any habit of praying, was looking down at her.
The brief staring contest ended with Vincente lowering his gaze.
“…It’s getting late, so I’ll leave now. Please rest well.”
He looked a bit pale, as though he had been nervous about how to treat royalty.
As he turned to leave, Tia called out to him with a clear voice.
“Vincente.”
He stopped and turned around, his eyes locking onto hers.
Tia felt a strange sense of satisfaction at that moment.
“I’m glad to have met you.”
“….”
“I’m thankful to the Emperor for sending me here.”
Tia said it both as a reassurance to herself and as encouragement for Vincente, who seemed as disoriented as she had been on the day she received the marriage order from her mother.
The soft moonlight wrapped around the flickering candlelight.
The shadow in Vincente’s golden eyes, which had been swirling, now glowed warmly under the moonlight.
“….”
His lips moved as if he were going to say something, but he only swallowed his words, his throat pulsing.
Perhaps because of the candlelight, his ears looked slightly red.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
He bowed again and quickly turned, walking out so fast that he vanished from sight in an instant.
Tia, still standing there in confusion, heard a giggle behind her.
“Oh, he’s embarrassed!”
Marisol was jumping up and down with excitement.
“He’s such a big guy, and he couldn’t handle our little princess! Ha ha ha!”
Oriana sighed with a cold look in her eyes.
“I wish someone would clearly explain how much of this is a cultural difference. Maybe we should have brought in a royal etiquette teacher for the lord instead of Marisol.”
Marisol stopped laughing and rolled her eyes at Oriana.
“Idiot, the lord’s fallen for our princess, so of course, he’s a little flustered. You don’t get it, Ori.”
“Get a grip, Marisol. You’re a maid meant to protect the princess, not to be the lord’s maid.”
“Hmph! I love our princess so much that I find it cute when the men who fall for her act flustered! As if you understand men’s hearts!”
Who’s right? Vincente’s manners were definitely lacking, but if he was just flustered because he liked her, maybe it was understandable…
Tia thought this was a situation she couldn’t judge based on her own experience, so there was no need to waste time or emotions on it.
“Can you prepare my pajamas?”
Now, she just needed to figure him out through his actions, step by step.
“Yes, Princess! I brought lots of pretty pajamas!”
It was time to go to bed early for the things she needed to do tomorrow.
Tia changed into her pajamas and sat on the bed, quickly skimming through the documents.
The printed words contained new knowledge beyond what she’d learned at the capital, and just touching them made her heart race with curiosity.
Each piece of information about Karayan felt precious, much closer to reality than any of the stories she’d heard before.
“Even though it’s such a small territory, there are so many different tribes…”
She was surprised to learn that various tribes had coexisted peacefully since the kingdom days.
Unlike the nobles in the capital, who often fought over the smallest differences, Karayan’s people seemed to respect each other.
She also learned that despite the fertile land, the area suffered from frequent food shortages because of the small amount of arable land. Most of the residents worked in fishing, and also had skilled craftsmen who had settled in the empire long ago.
She felt a strange sense of familiarity, as though she had read about such a place in a childhood fairy tale.
Oriana turned off the candle just before Tia finished reading, and she imagined Karayan’s landscapes while still holding onto the papers.
It was like being a child again, dreaming of flying high above the sea and fields, waving at the people of Karayan who cheered for her.