Chapter 16
“I’m sorry to come without notice.”
Carsiel, who was seated in the parlor, spoke as he looked at Julius and Lucilla.
Standing next to him was a red-haired escort with sharp eyes.
Though I had no memory of ever meeting him, if he was the only escort Carsiel brought along, his identity was obvious—a knight of common birth who had risen to become Carsiel’s aide based solely on his swordsmanship.
Luten Saith.
“We greet His Highness the Prince.”
Julius, his wife, Bartol, Demeira, and I all bowed simultaneously.
“I didn’t have time to invite you to the Imperial Palace and wait for an answer. I really want to bring Lady Apellemion to the Pegasus Exhibition of the Morin family.”
Carsiel smiled lightly as he spoke to Julius. Though his lips curled upward, his smile held a distinct chill. Julius seemed to sense it too, shrinking slightly.
“D-Did you really come here to see Iris?”
“Of course. Do you think I’d lie, Viscount?”
“N-No! How could I dare!”
Julius frantically shook his head and hands.
“Is it so strange? The lady…”
For a moment, Carsiel’s gaze flicked to me, then returned to Julius. His eyes, which had been stern, softened briefly.
“…is fond of me, you see. And naturally, I have great interest in her as well.”
“B-But!”
As Julius stammered in shock, Lucilla cried out.
“What is this?”
“There must be some kind of misunderstanding. Iris is…”
After confirming multiple times that Carsiel truly meant me, she finally finished her sentence.
“Iris is betrothed to our son Bartol. It’s already been decided!”
“Huh, is that so?”
Carsiel raised an eyebrow.
His gaze returned to me again and lingered, as if trying to gauge my true feelings.
Without a moment to think deeply, I gave him a signal with my eyes: That’s nonsense.
Carsiel, a man who communicated silently with allies on the battlefield, would surely catch my meaning. After a few seconds of observing me, he let out a soft laugh.
“Was there an engagement ceremony? I must have missed it.”
“Not yet. It was delayed because my nephew hasn’t been well.”
“Then did you exchange engagement gifts? Or sign a contract?”
“That too, not yet.”
Lucilla replied, though her voice was beginning to tremble with unease.
“Since you’re directly involved, let me ask you myself.”
Carsiel turned to Bartol and ordered,
“Did you propose to the lady? Did she accept your proposal verbally? I ask because I don’t see an engagement ring.”
“Well…”
Bartol, standing at the front, gradually turned pale.
“We skipped all of that since we live under the same roof.”
“Then there’s no engagement.”
Carsiel concluded curtly.
“As I said, it’s because my nephew’s been unwell!”
Julius raised his voice defensively.
“We’ve already made the decision as his guardians.”
“That’s nonsense. The parties involved didn’t propose, didn’t accept, didn’t have a ceremony, and didn’t exchange gifts—so who made what decision?”
Carsiel calmly questioned every point, his tone light but his logic sharp.
“Does an engagement become valid if the guardian merely decides it in their heart? I doubt the late Duke of Apellemion granted that kind of authority.”
Julius and Lucilla were at a loss for words.
While engagements among nobles were generally between families, if the Imperial Family rejected it, the engagement couldn’t proceed.
Usually, if the heads or guardians of two families declared the engagement among themselves, the Imperial Family wouldn’t interfere.
Even if I ran to the palace and accused Julius of forcing the engagement, the Emperor or Empress would likely dismiss it as troublesome and send me away.
So Julius and Lucilla would never have expected a royal like Carsiel to personally challenge the engagement’s legitimacy.
To be honest, I hadn’t expected it either. Whatever the reason, his appearance seemed favorable to me, so I observed the situation in a daze.
“B-But!”
Carsiel cut off Julius with a dismissive wave of his hand, as if it wasn’t worth listening to. That same chilling smile lingered on his lips.
“Ah, I see. As her guardian, you must be worried about her safety.”
He lightly patted Julius on the shoulder and continued.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of forcing Lady Iris into anything she doesn’t want.”
“……”
“Forcing unwanted courtship or proposals on a lady is something only a worm would do, wouldn’t you say?”
He directed the question toward Bartol, who quickly nodded.
“O-Of course.”
“Then I’ll ask the lady directly. I heard there’s a Pegasus at the Count of Morin’s estate. Would you like to come see it with me?”
This time, Carsiel looked directly at me as he asked.
I didn’t miss the opportunity and nodded immediately.
“I’m ready to leave right now.”
“Perfect.”
“Hmph…”
Julius sighed in frustration, and Carsiel glanced back at the couple.
Seeing their unwilling expressions, as if they still had no intention of letting me go easily, Carsiel seemed to ponder for a moment before adding,
“If the viscount assists in preparing, then let Young Master and Young Lady Penton come along as well.”
“Really?”
Demeira asked reflexively. Her eyes sparkled, a stark contrast to her previous sulky face.
“C-Can we go too?”
Bartol, who had been staring at the floor a moment ago, also raised his head.
Their motives were obvious—one wanted to see Anthony, and the other hoped to use the exhibition as an excuse to become close to Balthazar again.
“Then… will Bartol and Demeira ride in the royal carriage?”
Lucilla asked, her expression now transformed, likely at the thought of her children regaining attention in high society.
“Of course.”
“In that case, that’s perfectly fine!”
Then, she added a half-hearted excuse for appearances’ sake.
“We’re only concerned about our niece’s safety, after all.”
“A reasonable concern. Let’s go with that.”
Julius still looked uncertain, but Carsiel nodded as if everything was settled.
“Your Highness, if you return for now, we’ll prepare on our side…”
“We’ll depart as soon as preparations are complete. I’ll be waiting right here, so could you bring me something to drink?”
Carsiel clearly had no intention of giving them time to reconsider. Faced with that pressure, Julius had no choice but to back down.
Two hours later, I left the ducal estate surprisingly easily.
Just like that, Bartol, Demeira, and I boarded a golden carriage adorned with the imperial crest, heading toward the Morin estate under Luten’s guidance.
The Morin Count’s residence, located on the outskirts of the capital, was massive. The Morin family, known for breeding warhorses, had not only vast ranches in their territory but also maintained stables on their estate in the capital.
By the time we arrived, the back garden was already crowded with guests gathered along the fences.
“Excuse me for a moment. I’ll come find you later.”
As soon as we stepped down from the carriage, Carsiel spotted someone and disappeared toward the eastern garden of the estate.
I had something to say to him, but it had to be in private, so I simply nodded.
Bartol and Demeira also scattered, each chasing their own goals, and I naturally walked toward the fenced area where the crowd had gathered.
“Oh my, it’s beautiful.”
“Ha, still not tamed? Is anyone even trying?”
“Just look at those wings. Like an angel.”
“Don’t be fooled. Earlier, Sir Gavrain got knocked out by those wings.”
Through the murmuring crowd, something dazzlingly white entered my view.
Frrrr—
As it shook its head, I saw its face and body—and a small smile crept onto my lips.
It was a real Pegasus.
A captivating creature I had only seen a couple of times in my past life now stood before me.
The Pegasus was snow-white from head to hoof, a still-young male. Though young, his muscles were flawless, and with his wings half-spread, the sheer majesty and beauty of him was breathtaking.
“Ugh…”
I had been mesmerized for a while before I noticed something else inside the fence.
“D-Damn.”
Three noble youths lay sprawled on top of one another, bruised and battered.
Clutched in their hands were whips—torn and tattered.
