Chapter 01
On the other hand, Eri muttered boredly,
“There’s nothing here.”
“……”
“Right?”
“Well……”
Moan, who had been admiring Eri’s beauty until just now, quickly grabbed at any words.
“Maybe there’s even a hidden illegitimate princess?”
“What?”
“Well, something like a secret about her birth?”
“Heh. You’ve been reading too many romance novels.”
Unlike Moan, who liked to daydream, Eri was a person who lived grounded in reality.
She liked reading books, but only as a way to better understand the world.
She preferred essays, papers, or travel stories over novels.
Moan blushed and said,
“But it would be fun if something like that happened!”
“That’s true. As long as it’s not about me.”
“Why?”
“Think about it. One day, a nobleman suddenly appears and tells me I’m really a princess. So I have to go to the palace with him. But I can’t take my parents with me.”
For Eri, that was like a shocking sentence.
Two years ago, she lost her father and was barely making a living with her mother, but she loved her parents deeply and wasn’t unhappy with her life.
Her parents were humble people, and Eri had grown to be like that too.
Sometimes, just finding a four-leaf clover made her happy all day.
“Not everyone is as close to their mom as you are.”
“Oh.”
When Moan pouted, Eri sighed.
“Sorry, I just—”
“It’s okay. But if it were me, I’d leave my mom and go to the princess’s castle.”
***
Eri Abil was a beautiful girl with deep, shiny black hair like wet stones and sharp eyes—not the kind you often saw in the countryside of Giniss.
Compared to Moan, who wore a big hat to avoid the sun at the beach, Eri’s skin was fair and soft. Moen often felt jealous of her.
“A shiny black car. It looked really expensive.”
The two girls were talking about a black car that suddenly appeared in their quiet village that morning.
“Who said that?”
“The miller at the mill.”
Eri laughed, splashing water with her slim calves.
The cool waves broke around her bare feet.
“He’s never seen another car, so how does he know if it’s expensive?”
“All cars are expensive. Only rich people drive them, even in the capital.”
“Exactly. It doesn’t make sense for a car to be here in this village. Maybe someone just saw a big carriage wrong, or the story got mixed up…”
“There’s more than one person who saw it. It’s true.”
Moan felt a bit hurt that Eri doubted her.
Plus, Moan liked the miller and didn’t like that Eri pointed out his mistake.
There was an awkward silence.
Sitting on the golden sand with just a handkerchief laid out, the two girls let the white foam wash over their heels and breathed in the fresh air.
They had come out from working at the imported grocery store during lunch, carrying sandwiches.
A paper corner stained with yellow sauce was held down by a heavy stone.
“Why did it come here?”
After a long pause, Eri spoke.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew and scattered her long hair everywhere.
Moan watched quietly as Eri frowned and grabbed her hair.
Taking a sky-blue ribbon from her pocket, Moan tied her hair back, revealing Eri’s sharp nose and pointed chin.
Any man would fall in love at first sight.
“Moan.”
“You’re different.”
Eri saw that Moan wasn’t really upset and nodded carefully.
“Yes. Especially if it’s not with my parents—I might even slap that nobleman.”
After their fun lunch, when the two girls returned to the grocery store, the owner told Eri to go home.
“Mrs. Abil wants to see you.”
“Mother?”
Eri’s face darkened, but the owner tried to reassure her.
“She’s not sick. She said, A visitor came from far away.”
“Go quickly.”
Moan whispered excitedly.
Visitors were rare in this Giniss countryside.
“See you tomorrow, Moan.”
“Yeah, Eri.”
Eri quickly took off her plaster-colored apron and hurried away.
She had to save money even for the carriage, so it would take about 40 minutes to reach ‘Morning Glory’ on the hill.
‘Morning Glory’ was the Abil family home.
The name came from the father’s hometown, where morning glories bloomed by the window.
Eri even had a morning glory pot by her room’s window.
As she climbed the hill bravely, she saw ‘Morning Glory’ in the distance.
But something was different.
Something strange had mixed into the familiar scene.
It was like accidentally spilling black ink on a peaceful country picture.
A shiny black car was parked in front of the house.
“……”
As Eri climbed the hill, she hesitated.
The conversation with Moan on the beach came back to her.
“Something like a secret about your birth?”
Eri shook her head.
“Go away—strange thoughts. Go away, go away, go away.”
It was just an unfounded fantasy.
But strangely, her heart was pounding.
Sometimes strong instincts can overcome reason.
Uneasiness and a quiet hope shook her.
“Maybe… It means they found my father. Calm down, Eri Abil.”
The army said they couldn’t find her father’s body.
So secretly, Eri believed he was not dead but missing.
She took a deep breath and opened the door.
“I’m home.”
In the kitchen at the table, she saw her mother sitting across from a middle-aged gentleman.
“Eri, welcome back. This is—”
The man, with some white hair, pulled his chair back and stood up.
He bowed politely to her.
“I am Johnson, the lawyer for the Earnest count family.”
“……”
“Miss Eri, I’m here to escort you.”
***
The prince was lying lazily on a blue silk chair.
Suddenly, he seemed to realize something and slapped his thigh, sitting up straight.
“Are you castrated or something?”
“…”
“Silence means yes—”
“It’s just not worth answering.”
“If you were, it would be a social loss.”
Felix, the second prince of Bretia, laughed like a mischievous boy and lit a cigar.
The orange flame curled at the cigar’s end.
“You speak as if your thing is public property.”
Lorantz leaned back in the armchair opposite him, almost lying down and blowing smoke like a chimney.
A strong, masculine line ran from his forehead down his nose.
His long legs rested on the low table, crossed at the ankles.
If he weren’t holding a cigar, he might have looked like he was napping.
Felix looked at him with genuine pity.
“Play along like it’s public property. You can do that.”
“……”
“Silence means—”
“Shut up, Felix.”
“How rude, Lorantz Bringer. Even with a knight title, you act like you own the place.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Please kill me.”
“Words are one thing.”
Felix smiled and waved the smoke away with his hand.
“I can’t kill the friend who saved my life.”
This was why Lorantz Bringer, a lowborn commoner, could stand equal to a prince.
He had served as a navy officer in the Giniss-Lebrot War and led the fierce Battle of Mississini to a great victory.
He even saved Prince Felix’s life during that battle.
After many fights, they became close friends.
Since then, Felix treated Lorantz as if he had given him half his soul.
One week ago, they helped create a ceasefire between Giniss and Lebrot and returned home.
Lorantz Bringer was praised as a navy hero and was awarded a knight’s title by the king.
Lorantz’s handsome face had already won many women’s hearts, and now he was the most popular single man in Bretia.
But only as a boyfriend, not a marriage candidate.
Because Lorantz was a person with lowborn parents.
The knight title was just honorary.
He might have gotten some money as a hero, but his social status wasn’t enough.
Prince Felix was frustrated by this and almost went mad.
He clenched his fists and shouted in the air,
“I’ll find you a wife instead.”
“……”
“An amazingly beautiful woman!”
Lorantz sighed and puffed his cigar until his cheeks looked full.
The robe hanging loosely on his body slipped open at the front.
Felix had been talking wildly, but maybe Lorantz was the real wild one.
“I don’t know how to thank Your Highness for offering to arrange my marriage.”
Lorantz said,
“I’d appreciate the effort.”
Look at this—he acted indifferent but didn’t say not to look for a woman.
“What a twisted guy.”
Felix excitedly started naming daughters from good families one by one, then sighed and looked up.
“No matter how I think about it, the Earnest count family is just average. If only they had a granddaughter.”
“They only have three sons.”
“And all three sons are dead.”
“That’s sad.”
“Yeah.”
Lorantz replied with a bored tone.
“That’s awful.”
