The moment Astrid met eyes with the navy officer, she knew her escape had failed.
But she had to do everything she could until the end. If she could climb higher, quickly decide where to run, and then drop down and sprint away—she might have a chance. Besides, she might as well learn the layout of the city for the next time.
Astrid took a deep breath, got a running start, and clung to the outer wall of the bell tower. Since the ceremony was still going on inside the chapel, she figured the pursuers wouldn’t be able to do much for now.
The thought that she might be caught only fueled her energy. Being chased always made her feel truly alive.
With the same agility she used to climb ship masts, Astrid ascended the outer wall of the bell tower. Thanks to a combination of experience and urgency, she reached the top in no time.
Gripping a pillar with one arm to support herself, she leaned her body out into the air.
“Wow…”
The city was enormous. And beautiful.
Astrid momentarily forgot about her pursuers as she gazed out over the landscape.
Endless red-tiled rooftops rippled like waves. Behind them, two layers of cream-colored walls enclosed the city. Colorful flags fluttered here and there.
The view looked like ocean waves catching the sunset—or like a mosaic on a chapel wall.
The sea, however, was nowhere to be seen. Not surprising when she thought about it.
It took over five hours by carriage to get to Luz Rosada. While the city wasn’t completely inland, it wasn’t close enough to the coast to see the sea with the naked eye. A disappointing realization for Astrid.
She quickly surveyed the roads. The main avenue leading from the imperial palace split into five paths at the plaza. Three of those led to outer gates in different directions. One of them had to head toward Luz Rosada. She wished she had a compass.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out below. Astrid looked down to see people pouring out of the chapel—it seemed the ceremony had ended.
‘Shoot, this isn’t the time to be daydreaming.’
A spiral staircase led up to the bell, but going down that way would get her caught instantly. Making her decision, Astrid lowered her posture and clung to the wall again.
She could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs. Her sense of urgency grew. Unlike the climb up, she now had to descend feet first, which made things trickier. Her skirt kept tangling around her ankles, preventing her from getting a good foothold.
‘Ugh, come on…!’
In her haste, she tried to force her feet into position. Her mistake was not checking if the skirt was caught. Astrid’s body suddenly slipped downward.
But just as she thought, “I’m falling,” a strong hand shot out toward her.
It grabbed her arm. There was decorative embroidery on the cuff of a blue sleeve—a navy officer.
Astrid’s mind raced.
‘Falling to my death vs. getting scolded by Madam Vasquez and being grounded.’
Clearly, the second option was better. Memories of her near-execution weren’t exactly pleasant.
She clung to the arm that grabbed her and slowly climbed back up. Once safely on top of the bell tower again, she exhaled her pent-up breath. The officer was also breathing heavily, likely from running up the stairs.
Astrid looked up to see his face.
It was familiar. She froze, like a mouse meeting a cat.
“Buttstock!!”
“…Is it polite to call someone a buttstock?”
It was the same navy officer she had met on the Ortez merchant ship.
He looked at her incredulously and sighed, lifting his musket slightly toward her. Unfortunately, Astrid had a bit of trauma when it came to people pointing muskets at her.
“Let’s go.”
“I won’t run. Can you please put that thing down…?”
Astrid raised both hands in surrender.
Climbing the bell tower had been easy. Coming down was the hard part.
Not figuratively. Going up had been fueled by adrenaline, thrill, and excitement. But descending the stairs felt like dragging chains on her ankles.
Outside the chapel, several navy men were waiting—probably the buttstock’s companions.
“Al, that was some heroic rescue of a lady!”
“I didn’t know you could run that fast. Are the central forces losing talent to the navy?”
They joked casually with the officer. He ignored them and approached a palace guard nearby, whispering something.
The guard glanced at Astrid, then nodded and signaled for a carriage.
“Let’s go,” said the officer, extending a hand.
With no other choice, Astrid climbed into the carriage heading back to the imperial palace.
The road felt so much shorter on the way back. With no roof or walls, the wind and speed hit her directly. Astrid pretended to admire the view to avoid looking at the officer.
Instead of being returned to the inner palace, they were taken to the main palace near the front gates. It was even grander inside than it looked from outside.
A guard escorted them to the emperor’s office. The doors opened, and the officer knelt before the emperor.
“I greet the great sun of the Empire.”
“…I greet you.”
Astrid couldn’t just stand there blankly, so she bent her knees slightly and echoed the last part.
The emperor stared at her for a moment, then burst into laughter. He gestured for the officer to rise.
“Sasha, this little wild colt! You act exactly like your father.”
“…My apologies?”
“No need. You even managed to slip past Juliana—impressive.”
He laughed so hard that he dabbed tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.
“Lieutenant de Galicion, thank you for your work. I’m relieved my important guest wasn’t injured.”
The officer gave a small bow.
“Astrid, greet Lieutenant de Galicion. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t have met you if he hadn’t spared your life back then.”
Astrid looked at him sullenly. She had no interest in being on a first-name basis with Buttstock.
Still, after running out of class, disobeying now probably wouldn’t help her case.
How did the etiquette go again? In her mind, Madam de Vasquez’s voice returned:
“We’ll learn how to greet young noblemen after tea time.”
With no other idea, Astrid extended her right hand to shake. The officer stared at it, surprised.
Astrid nearly died of embarrassment.
‘I know this isn’t right. But can’t you just play along…?’
Then, unexpectedly, he took her hand and kissed the back of it like it was nothing.
Astrid was stunned. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head and rolled across the floor.
Behind them, the emperor roared with laughter, banging his desk.
Astrid’s eyes twitched in frustration.
“Astrid… del Fonto…”
“A pleasure, Miss del Fonto. Alejandro de Galicion.”
While Astrid turned pale, his expression and voice remained calm.
“Welcome back, Miss del Fonto.”
As they walked back to the inner palace, Astrid kept imagining how furious Madam de Vasquez would be. But the lady’s reaction was surprisingly calm after reading a note from the emperor delivered by the guards.
“Now I understand how bold your character truly is.”
She took a deep breath in and out. Astrid sensed the patience of an adult in her demeanor.
She gave a slight curtsy in apology.
“I’m sorry.”
“As long as you understand your wrongdoing, that’s enough. Let’s resume our lessons.”
Without preamble, Madam de Vasquez began the etiquette lesson again. With a single gesture, the cold teapot was replaced with a fresh tea set.
She taught how to pour tea without help, how to hold a teacup properly, how to set it down silently, how much tea food to eat… Tea time only ended after Astrid nearly gagged from drinking too much tea.
“We’ll do a makeup lesson on tea time later. Nothing is more unsightly in the inner palace than vomiting…”
Apparently, running away was less disgraceful than vomiting.
“Now let’s end today’s lessons with how to greet young noblemen, which we skipped earlier.”
At the words “last lesson,” Astrid’s face brightened slightly. She straightened up, eager to finish and leave.
“It’s good to see you eager to learn. The basics aren’t too different. Just slightly bend your knees and lift your dress a little. Oh, and unlike with His Majesty, no need to bow too deeply.”
Astrid mimicked the motions fairly well. Madam de Vasquez’s face showed both fatigue and satisfaction. Clearly, Astrid wasn’t the only one looking forward to the end of class.
“And if you extend your right hand, it means you’re requesting a hand-kiss. That signals romantic interest—so don’t do it casually. When a man offers his hand, it means a handshake, but when a lady does it, it means something completely different.”
Ah. That explains it.
Astrid wiped her face, recalling the officer’s puzzled look.
