After that, a fresh, utterly soulless apology followed, as if she didn’t know a thing.
Already furious, Matella whipped her head around as if she had been waiting for it.
“What, who…?!”
A refined woman with pink hair was smiling brightly.
And the man standing beside her was glaring at her with a chill so cold it was frightening.
Those golden eyes were eerie enough to send a shiver crawling over her entire body.
Without realizing it, Matella averted her gaze.
‘Golden eyes? A nomad?’
What would a nomad be doing in the Central region?
She was so flustered that no name came to mind.
As a commoner without even a family name, the nobles Matella knew were limited at best to those of the Capital.
She had never attended a banquet, and even when she visited shops like this one, she rarely saw young ladies from truly great Houses.
Yet for some reason, the two of them felt like a strangely familiar combination.
“I had no idea that looking around comfortably would cause trouble for someone.”
The bright, almost sing-song voice sounded surprisingly gentle even in this situation.
Matella deliberately ignored the man and swept her gaze over the woman from head to toe.
She did not know much, but it certainly did not look cheap.
‘From head to toe, it’s all high-end goods?’
Soft, pale pink hair and light-colored eyes.
Suddenly, one person came to mind.
‘Liselotte, the Imperial Princess?!’
No matter how ignorant she was, pink hair was a color unique to the Imperial Family.
Then naturally, the man beside her could only be Grand Duke Keilos.
Matella hurriedly bowed her head.
“I-I’m sorry. I never imagined that Y-Your Highness would be here…”
Liselotte’s temperament was famous throughout the continent.
Matella lowered her head, lips pressed tightly together in resentment.
‘Why would a Princess even come to a shop? She should be going to a salon and looking at made-to-order pieces to her heart’s content.’
She had heard that the Princess had married Grand Duke Keilos. Could it be that her private funds were more limited now than when she lived in the Imperial Palace?
A petty sense of satisfaction seeped into her heart.
Did this not mean that even the Princess who once wielded unchecked power in the Central region was now buying things here?
‘Even without money, a Princess is still a Princess, huh. Hoarding jewelry like this in such a vulgar way just to try them on.’
It seemed she still had her pride.
She could not possibly afford to buy them all, so that had to be the reason for this display.
Unlike her, Matella had the money to buy everything. She was only lowering her head now because she did not yet hold a title.
Just as she was silently sneering at Liselotte, hoping this would pass quickly, a red velvet case suddenly slid into her view.
When she looked up, Liselotte was holding out the case to her.
“As an apology, this is a brooch the shop manager showed only to me, saying it was a top-tier item. I’ll let you have it.”
Ahem. Beside them, the shop manager let out a series of dry coughs, his expression flustered.
As Matella hesitantly opened the case, Liselotte kindly added an explanation.
“It’s a brooch made from a magic stone. If I’d known they had this, I wouldn’t have made such a fuss earlier. It’s surprisingly expensive.”
For an instant, greed flickered in Matella’s eyes, which had been struggling to suppress her displeasure until just moments ago.
Looking at her recent purchase history, Matella’s spending habits were those of someone who had only just gotten their hands on money.
If it was expensive, she bought it. Even if cheaper options existed, she always chose the most expensive ones.
Of course, it was not something Liselotte would ever buy, but they said one only knows the taste of meat once they’ve eaten it.
For Matella, who had never owned a magic-stone ornament, it was a tempting piece.
“Your Highness, really. You didn’t have to go this far…”
Despite her words, Matella grinned as she carefully hugged the case to her chest.
Liselotte calmly took hold of Eren’s arm.
With a light, fluttering wave of her hand, she greeted the shop manager naturally.
“Then please send the purchased items to our residence.”
They left the boutique unhurriedly, passing through the bowing crowd.
Once they were some distance away from the shop, Liselotte was the first to ask brightly,
“You’re wondering why I didn’t ask anything related to House Rovans, right?”
“I assumed you had no intention of telling me.”
“That’s right!”
At her shameless reply, one of his eyebrows twitched.
Even if she had asked outright, there was no way Matella would have answered obediently.
She let out a deep breath and looked with satisfaction at the carriage of House Keilos waiting at the entrance to the alley.
“You will find out soon enough anyway.”
As she looked ahead, her eyes shone with grim resolve.
“I will definitely get back every last bit of the money spent on jewelry today.”
Eren, for his part, did not seem particularly bothered, but Liselotte was not the same.
The wealth of House Keilos was, in effect, her future wealth.
To squander such assets in a mere shop like this was unacceptable.
***
According to the original schedule, today was supposed to be the final day of the Imperial banquet.
Since she had skipped the second day, Liselotte had planned to attend on the last day.
However, as soon as they returned from the shopping district, a letter sent from the Imperial Palace arrived.
“Your Highness, a letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace stating that the third-day of the banquet will be postponed.”
The moment they stepped down from the carriage, Ail hurried out to the lobby to meet them.
That alone showed how important the matter was.
The contents he relayed were brief.
“His Majesty wishes to attend the banquet, but as he sprained his finger while hunting a wild boar recently, he intends to postpone the banquet for a few days.”
“How do you even sprain a finger while hunting a wild boar?”
No, to begin with, if it was not even his leg but just a finger, wouldn’t it be fine for him to attend anyway?
Who would so presumptuously ask the Emperor for the first dance, and who would dare drag him down from the throne where he would merely sit and watch?
If his legs were fine and there was no problem with his sight, hearing, or breathing, he could simply sit and observe.
Since she had already submitted the complaint, she had intended from the start to stay longer in the Capital.
Yet the fact that the banquet had been postponed using a finger as an excuse left her with a bad feeling.
All the more so when she considered the reason behind why the banquet had been held in the first place.
“What did Valen say to him? Or did House Gloria pull some strings?”
The banquet had been led by Valen to begin with, and whether Emperor Perida attended was not particularly important.
The father she remembered was not someone who enjoyed banquets.
“I understand.”
Eren tersely confirmed and handed the letter back to Liselotte.
Since there was effectively no way to refuse the Emperor’s command, she had no choice but to give the same answer.
The fact that they had gone out of their way to send a letter specifically mentioning the third-day of the banquet meant that…
Looking down at the letter she had been handed, Liselotte let out a long sigh and passed it back to Ail.
Emperor Perida was not, by nature, someone who openly expressed his personal feelings in politics.
That was true if one set aside the fact that he was her father.
Judging by how decisively he had pushed his own daughter out of the Central region, one could say he was rather cold-hearted.
As she stood there with a displeased expression, Ail held out another letter to her.
This one bore the seal of the Senate.
“Your Highness. A hearing date has been set.”
It meant that the case she had submitted was already moving forward.
Surprised by how quickly things were proceeding, Liselotte blinked.
Eren seemed to feel the same, as he offered a brief remark beside her.
“That was fast.”
“It really is. I guess it’s because correspondence moves quickly in the Central region.”
“Even the processing is fast.”
“If it’s sent from the Capital, it probably arrives even a second sooner.”
Well, that was obvious.
Liselotte looked it over with mild curiosity, then opened the letter from the Senate.
Normally, just getting a date assigned by the Senate took at least a full month.
Of course, there were cases handled in summary proceedings, but the matter of House Rovans did not fall into that category.
Tilting her head, Liselotte unfolded the letter and asked Ail,
“When is it?”
“Tomorrow.”
For a moment, Liselotte’s hand holding the letter twitched.
“…When did you say?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. The hearing date.”
Ail’s bright smile was strangely beautiful, utterly mismatched with the situation.
