# Chapter 8 #
After much bickering among many people over which dress was best, the final decision ended up being a silver dress paired with a very thin peach-colored sheer top. The shoes were matched in a similar peach hue, and the accessories were decided to be emeralds that suited my eyes.
Even I had to admit—it was beautiful enough to take my breath away. Everyone else seemed equally satisfied with the result.
After that, Father and I held hands and went down for dinner. My two older brothers greeted us warmly as if they had been waiting for us.
“It’s already the day after tomorrow—Lara’s birthday.”
Father said, pouring his wine.
“I can’t believe our little Lara is turning fourteen already!”
Eith, who was slicing his veal steak, smiled softly.
“I was ten when Lara was born.”
Eddie paused as he was picking up some salad and looked directly at me. Father and Eddie were winter-born, while Eith was born in the summer. With a ten and seven-year age gap between us, they probably saw me as nothing more than a cute little girl.
Dinner was cheerful and lighthearted. As usual, Eddie and Eith exchanged jokes while I listened with great interest. Then Father opened his mouth to speak.
He began telling me how the banquet preparations were going, but what truly caught me off guard was this:
“What?”
I had just bitten into a sweet fruit that looked like a persimmon when I looked up in surprise. Father repeated slowly.
“They said the First Prince will be attending the banquet. Isn’t that wonderful news?”
“The First Prince…?”
I couldn’t hide my shock.
It’s quite rare for members of the royal family to attend someone else’s birthday banquet—especially when that someone is just a noble lady without even a title. To call it an honor wouldn’t be an overstatement.
But my surprise wasn’t just about the prince attending.
Let me explain: in our Ulysses Empire, there are only four princes.
Although the emperor is still only in his fifties, rumors have started to circulate about his declining health. People are beginning to wonder if it’s time to pick a successor.
The crown prince struggle is the hottest scandal in the Empire.
Currently, the two most prominent candidates for the crown prince are the First Prince, born of a concubine, and the Second Prince, born of the empress. Normally, the Second Prince would have a more legitimate claim. But things weren’t so simple.
The emperor has always shown great favor toward the First Prince and his concubine mother. The Second Prince, on the other hand, lost his mother at the age of ten and has no influential maternal relatives. While traditional nobles support the Second Prince due to his maternal lineage, the lack of powerful backing is a clear weakness. Moreover, the Second Prince has yet to show any ambition for the throne, causing the First Prince’s faction to grow stronger by the day.
As for the Duke of Roschahil—my family—we have remained neutral so far.
Some may say it would be wiser to jump in and reap the rewards.
But the First Prince is sixteen, and the Second Prince is fifteen. It’ll be another three to four years before either of them comes of age. Besides, our house is not so weak that we need to cling to someone’s faction to survive.
Gaining Roschahil means gaining the central region.
Roschahil is the center of power among central nobles. Whichever side we choose could determine the outcome of the succession. Whether it’s the First or Second Prince, they would be desperate to win us over. We have no reason to rush.
As I spooned up vanilla ice cream topped with cherries, I thought deeply.
‘This isn’t good.’
I had been studying with Lloyd, trying to learn the political dynamics of each country. My goal was to identify any possible cause for future rebellions. So far, nothing concrete had come up.
The most likely rebellion scenarios I’d considered were:
-
A rebellion of the people.
-
A succession war.
Let’s look at the first. The Ulysses Empire is a relatively peaceful place. Its welfare system is decent, and people don’t die en masse. But no one can predict the future. A massive famine or rising noble corruption could lead to revolt. It’s not impossible that the House of Roschahil might be dragged into such a conflict.
Still, the more pressing threat seemed to be the succession war.
What if the power struggle between the First Prince at 21 and the Second Prince at 20 escalated into open conflict? What if the prince we didn’t support became emperor and deliberately framed our house for treason to weaken our influence?
In all cases, safety is paramount.
Considering the possibilities, I concluded that it was best for the Roschahil family to remain uninvolved in the power struggle.
If our family continues to stay neutral—
‘At least we won’t be dragged into conflict over the succession.’
In that sense, the First Prince attending my birthday banquet wasn’t good news. It wouldn’t hurt to meet him once and assess what kind of person he is—but that should be the extent of it. Getting more involved wouldn’t be wise.
“Lara, are you feeling unwell?”
Father asked, concerned, as I unconsciously frowned.
“N-no, I’m fine.”
I quickly added an excuse.
“I was just thinking about today’s lessons.”
“You mean the ones with Lloyd? Now that you mention it, Lloyd has been singing your praises.”
“…Lloyd did?”
That was news to me. I widened my eyes, and Father chuckled, clearly pleased.
“He says you understand ten things from learning just one.”
“Ah….”
I felt my cheeks flush. I always thought of Lloyd as a stern tutor—it was surprising to hear such praise from him.
“Speaking of which,”
Eddie, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.
“Lloyd said he forgot to give you a book and would be coming by to deliver it.”
“Really?”
I tilted my head in curiosity. That was something a maid could easily handle. For Lloyd, who was always thorough, to forget such a thing—it was strange.
“Lloyd forgetting something? That’s rare.”
Eith commented. We continued chatting about mundane topics. Eith mentioned a few new recruits in the royal guard. Except for one or two, he thought they were all mediocre. But since Eith was a genius, I didn’t fully trust his standards.
As I was returning to my room after dinner, I happened to spot Lloyd.
I saw his silvery-gray hair glimmer from around the corridor’s corner. I looked around and called out.
“Lloyd!”
My etiquette teacher always said it was improper for a noble lady to shout like that, but there was no one around to scold me now.
Smiling brightly, I walked toward him. Lloyd approached as well, his gray eyes blinking lazily behind his glasses.
“You had a book you meant to give me, right?”
Lloyd showed me the book tucked under his arm: “The Political Landscape of the Continent and the History of Its Military.” Ugh—just looking at it made my head hurt.
“Technically, it’s your homework. I’ll carry it for you until we reach your room.”
As we walked together, I made small talk. My head still filled with thoughts about the First Prince, I asked if Lloyd had ever seen him. He replied calmly.
“Yes, I’ve seen him before.”
“Really? What kind of person is he?”
“Well… he’s certainly someone with ambition.”
What did that mean?
As we rounded the hallway, I suddenly heard voices ahead.
“…Seriously, isn’t our lady just too beautiful?”
I froze.
“Right? And her smiling face is so adorable! She used to be hard to approach, but lately she always smiles and responds warmly to everything—it’s so much easier to talk to her now.”
“She’s so kind to her servants too—she’s really a wonderful person.”
“The Duke and young masters also dote on her. And honestly, who could blame them? I would too.”
My face flushed red. And with Lloyd right beside me, the embarrassment only intensified.
“It’s all true.”
I was trying to cool my cheeks when Lloyd suddenly spoke. Startled, I looked up at him.
“You’ve really become much brighter.”
The typically stoic Lloyd had a gentle smile on his lips.
“I hope it’s not too forward, but….”
No, it’s not. I scratched my cheek in bashful awkwardness.
“The Duke, and both young masters, are very happy. They say you laugh more and express yourself more than before.”
“…Ah.”
I let the words trail off. To think that everyone had been saying things like that.
Now that I thought about it, I realized it had already been a while since I truly accepted my family. It was a strange feeling.
Soon the maids left us, and once we arrived in front of my room, Lloyd pulled something from his coat and handed it to me.
“…What’s this?”
I took it without thinking. Lloyd smiled faintly.
“A gift.”
Inside the small, elegant gold-embossed box was a beautiful cherry blossom-shaped hairpin in soft pink velvet.
“Happy birthday. I figured you’d be busy during the banquet, so I wanted to give this to you ahead of time.”
“Lloyd…!”
I was deeply moved.
As I stood awkwardly, unsure how to respond, Lloyd scratched his head.
“I-I’m not sure if it’s okay for me to accept something like this….”
“It’s not just a gift—it’s a birthday present.”
“But still…”
Lloyd smiled gently as he looked at me.
“Once your birthday arrives, you’ll receive so many presents that something like this will seem like nothing. Because you’re someone truly worthy of being loved.”
“…”
I stared at him, then carefully closed the box and held it close.
“Thank you, Lloyd.”
“It’s nothing, my lady.”
“But no matter how many dozens or hundreds of gifts I receive, your gift will never be ‘nothing.’”
I beamed brightly.
“Because it came from you. It holds your heart.”
“…”
Lloyd looked at me. I quickly added, flustered.
“Of course, I’ll treasure any gift, no matter who gives it.”
Holding the present, I felt as if his warmth had passed through it and into my hands.
“Thank you! I’ll definitely give you a present for your birthday next time. And I promise to wear this at the banquet!”
I declared enthusiastically.
“Yes.”
Lloyd smiled.
“Thank you, too.”
We looked at each other and smiled brightly.
