12. Flowing Star – 12
The center of gravity inside the Imperial Palace. Among them, a large, splendid, and luxurious room where only those who have been recognized as ‘Honored Guests’ by the emperor, who can be said to be the owner of the palace, can stay.
The only princess of the empire, Iris el Devhardt, openly proclaimed to the world that she is a ‘private guest who deserves to be treated more cordially than anyone else’. It was also the room where Aria, the lady-in-waiting, was staying.
The current owner of this room, Duke Estelle, and the only servant he accompanied, Aria, the exclusive maid, were far from being blunt human beings, so the room they were staying in was always quiet and secluded. I tried to keep it, but today, for some reason, there was only a noisy atmosphere in this room.
Yeah, it wouldn’t be a crowd. If the emperor, who can be called the ruler of the empire and the owner of all things on the continent, sent a notification today, saying that we should talk a little bit, any person in the world would end up wandering around without composure.
Especially if, without prior notice, it is not to meet face to face in a private place, but to meet in front of the palace, where all the great and small officials of the court are gathered.
‘What kind of plan does that smirking old man have?’
The last time we met, when I recalled the face of the emperor acting impudently like a raccoon that had been there for hundreds of years, I involuntarily frowned. It seems certain that there is some ulterior motive, but I have no idea what kind of insidious plot the emperor is plotting behind his back.
‘…It’s all useless to worry about like this.’
In the first place, if the emperor, who holds all the wealth of the empire in one hand, decides to step on the duke family of Estelle, who only has patterns, it is a miserable reality surrounding the duchy that he must be stepped on without even making a sound. In the end, it was useless to roll your head hard in this room, so I came to the pitiful conclusion that I had to face the emperor’s impudent face in person.
…Well, at this moment, there were other elements that disturbed me more than that.
“…Arya, are you still far away?”
“…sorry, sorry. Cain. I’m not sure what to do…”
I let out a sigh as I looked at the sight of Arya, who, as my exclusive lady-in-waiting, had to help me put on the conquest as a minor duke, was ignorant of how to wear the conquest, wiggling her bracken-like hands.
Arya, who is said to be all-powerful because she always maintains a gentle attitude toward almost everyone except for a few people, and has knowledge of magic that easily surpasses common sense in this world, had only one drawback, and that was It was said that she was very clumsy at her job as an exclusive lady-in-waiting, which could be called her main job.
In the first place, I didn’t take Arya with me expecting clean work as an exclusive handmaid, so I didn’t have any special thoughts, but seeing Arya, who was just wandering around with conquest in front of me, changed my mind a little. After all, if she were to return to the Estel family, wouldn’t it be necessary to give Aria special training to become a little more proficient in her duties as an exclusive lady-in-waiting?
If that wasn’t the case, this time around, he would appoint Arya as the exclusive magician of the Duchy of Estel, following in the footsteps of old Carol, who was of no use to anyone.
Just as I was thinking about this and that while looking at Aria, who was crying, a knocking sound from the doorway reached my ears.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Just three knocks with concise, precise spacing and intensity. At the sound of the knock, which seemed like a machine knocking on the door, I realized who the hell was knocking on the door from the outside.
“…Cain, would it be all right if I went in?”
just as expected. Outside the door came a voice all too familiar to me. To be more precise, it was the voice of the person who could be called the landlord of the place where I was staying.
“Yes, it’s okay to come in…”
“Hmm, no. What does permission between us mean? I’ll just let you in.”
jump-
Before I could finish my answer, the princess opened the door and burst into the room.
“…..”
If you’re going to act like this, I don’t understand why you knocked in the first place and asked if you could come in towards me.
“…Sir, I don’t think it’s a little strange to suddenly enter the room without any notice.”
At my words, the princess only showed an expression that did not seem to understand.
“Hmm, I’m not sure what you mean. From what I remember, I must have knocked and asked permission to enter the room.”
…But you came in abruptly without entrusting an important permission.
However, when she entered the room, there was no point in uttering such complaints, so I had no choice but to push the words that had risen to the bottom of my throat back down…
However, it seems that there was one other person in this room besides me who couldn’t bear to see the princess’s violence with her eyes open.
“…Lowering. This doesn’t seem like something. Cain-sama did not speak to me with that intention.”
Aria is the protagonist with a voice full of justice. From the moment the princess burst into this room, Aria had been staring at her with a dissatisfied look, her eyes sharply raised as if she didn’t like anything. To put it in a word, if Chris, the princess’s escort knight, was present here, he would have been so arrogant that he would have yelled at him for disrespect towards the imperial family.
“Oh, that is a very interesting opinion. What do you mean by that, Arya?”
Fortunately, the princess seemed to have no intention of taking issue with Arya’s attitude towards her, just sipping and twisting the corner of her mouth at Aria.
“Cain-nim asked the princess such a question after having doubts that the princess was an idiot who didn’t even know basic etiquette. Ha, that must be a really funny story. To think that the princess, who is no different from the mother of all people in the empire, took the lead in committing an act against the court’s laws!”
…Of course, I didn’t open my mouth to the princess with that intention. It was the wish that the princess also knew that that was Arya’s individual interpretation.
Fortunately, the princess, who had just listened to Aria’s words, did not show any sign of anger. No, on the contrary, seeing the widespread smile on his lips, I wondered if the current situation was just pleasant.
“Hmm, you seem to be misunderstanding something, Aria.”
“…mistaken? What am I mistaken for?”
When Aria frowned as if she couldn’t easily understand what the princess was saying, the princess giggled at what was so interesting and at the same time raised three fingers in front of Aria’s eyes.
“First of all. This is the imperial palace, and all the laws governing this place are for the imperial family. Originally, the law was merely a tool enacted for the purpose of correcting the authority of the imperial family. But if the law itself binds the royal family and suppresses authority, wouldn’t that be absurd?”
“…..”
It was a fairly radical story based on the idea of absolute imperial authority, but it was also correct in principle. As the princess said, tradition and laws were nothing more than a branch of etiquette created to establish the authority of the emperor and the imperial family.
“second. Arya, no matter how you look at it, I respect you. Ignorant people who don’t know anything may dismiss you as a maid of the Duke of Estelle, but I know very well what you are. That’s why I respect you, and even if you show a somewhat rude look towards me, I tolerate it. However, keep in mind. About the fact that I am only respecting you, not recognizing you.”
“…..”
“If you are truly for Cain, and want to be by his side and help him, then it would be better to follow the laws of the human world, as you just said. That means don’t cross the line. Well, it doesn’t matter if you disregard this advice if you’re going to do whatever you want without paying attention to us like we did in the past.”
As she quietly listened to the princess giggling and saying such things, she could see Aria biting her lips tightly. However, that was short-lived, and Arya, who quickly regained her composure like a wizard, opened her mouth in a cold tone.
“…then what is the third?”
“Ah, the third word? That’s right…”
The princess turned her head and looked at me with a meaningful look, then smiled and answered like this.
“It’s a secret. You needn’t be discouraged by that. Because, sooner or later, you too will know about the third reason.”
Towards the princess, who was looking this way with a really relaxed attitude, Aria gently closed her eyes and then just stared at her with a tone as if she was holding something tight.
“…The princess’s valuable advice, I must keep in mind. As you said, this is the imperial palace and it is like your front yard. Even if it’s just a house dog, it’s a way to eat half of it in the front yard of your house.”
Despite Aria’s provocation, the princess’ expression did not change at all.
“That’s really, really looking forward to it. Please struggle desperately for the rest of your time.”
As they exchanged warm thanks to each other, the two of them just looked at each other without taking their eyes off each other for a long time.
…It’s all good, but I hope these two don’t fight in front of me. I just don’t want to see the imperial palace, which boasts a thousand-year history, become half-destroyed in front of my eyes.
“…Well, by the way. What were you doing so late? It’s not long before we go see His Majesty, and it’s really pitiful to see her dressed up.”
When the princess raised her eyebrows while watching my outfit, I had no choice but to smile bitterly to hide my shyness. Because it was clear that Aria and I were responsible for this.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve worn a uniform, so my hand movements seem clumsy.”
When I shrugged my shoulders and made such excuses, the princess just clicked her tongue as she looked at Aria to see what else she didn’t like.
“…It’s pitiful. Claiming to be his exclusive lady-in-waiting, she’s so useless.”
Even though the princess clicked her tongue at herself and repeated such words, Arya could only swallow her moans and not respond. As the princess said, becoming an exclusive maid and not being able to properly help her even wear the uniform was the same as not being able to earn half a penny as an exclusive maid.
“Tsk, come here.”
“yes?”
The princess pulled me towards herself by tightening the tie I was wearing. In the meantime, I was dragged by her, and before I knew it, I was placed between her and tickling each other’s breath.
“Look at this. Isn’t Kara crooked? Also, if you close even the top button of your shirt, people will look too stuffy. Apparently, it’s been too long since I’ve been at a public event like this, so I’ve overlooked even the basics.”
Saying that, the princess gently placed her hand on my chest and began to tidy up my clothes step by step. Her hands were very stylish and neat, so my entire outfit was quickly transformed into a neat outfit because of her touch.
“Come to think of it, the tie also looks crooked. Cain, please stay still.”
Saying that, the princess took a step closer to me and gently touched my necktie from a close distance, as if she had been held in my arms. That touch was like a new bride taking care of her husband on the way to work, and I had no idea.
“…It’s such a tickling feeling. But, not bad. Yes, really.”
The princess’s hand slipped down the necktie and passed by as if caressing my collarbone and chest. Her eyes seemed to stare at something other than mine. Her breath gently landed on the nape of my neck, making me dizzy, and the fragrant scent from her only tickled my nose.
“…Lowering.”
The moment I try to open my mouth to her, she gently raises her index finger and blocks my mouth.
“Don’t look at me with those eyes. don’t say anything to me I am not a woman weak enough to have to be comforted by you in this way.”
Saying that, she shakes her hand and tightens the wrinkles on my collar and sleeves while taking a step forward toward me. Her petite body made her look like she was hugging me tightly in my arms.
“…Cain, do you know that?”
Her very small whispers begin to creep into my ears.
“From the beginning, all I had hoped for were these, at most. Do you know that these little moments with you mean everything to me…”