His red eyes were filled with hostility. To whom it was directed, not even he knew.
“And as for the order I gave you earlier, I withdraw it.”
But in Rapel’s eyes, it was clear.
It was directed at her.
“Your Majesty. What the hell is this… ha.”
Rapel was about to give the Crown Prince her usual flippant response, but then she remembered Sienna and closed her mouth.
Then she resumed her calm tone.
“I told you the other day, don’t be weak.”
“If you’re going to be so unsympathetic, I’m going to do this on my own, by any means necessary.
He said it back.
“But since the request comes to me, the head of the Order, it’s my job to deal with it. I merely wanted to bring it to your attention.”
“Your job? Have you forgotten that it’s the Crown Prince who is above you?”
“I am aware of that. The Imperial Knights are part of the imperial family, so if you’re not happy with me handling things on my terms, perhaps I should take it up with the highest authority, the Emperor?”
“Lord Isdon!”
It was a mockery of the Crown Prince’s lack of supreme power.
Even though she was a hostage, it hurt his pride to be seen like this in front of the royalty of another country.
He glanced over at Sienna, but thankfully she was too busy wiping the table with a disinfected tissue to notice.
“You’ll regret treating me this way, but I’ll give you a chance now. Accept my demands.”
“You’ll regret not taking my advice, and, as I said, it’s not your place to tell me whether or not to accept the demands, unless you’re the Emperor.”
“You’ll use your words to piss people off, I see. Go ahead and rampage. Let’s see if you can pretend you’ve forgotten I’m royalty until the end. Now get out of here.”
“I haven’t forgotten…”
“Get out.”
Rapel smirked, raised her hands in surrender, and walked out.
What a disgraceful thing for a knight to do in front of the royalty of another country!
He was the one who pushed her to the top of the order, even though he knew she lacked some skills, and then she turned on him like that without any grace.
No. She had often behaved badly when she didn’t get his way before, but to do so in front of the royalty of another country was beyond the limit.
It was a good thing he kicked Rapel out at the last minute to prevent it from getting any uglier.
He didn’t want to be as ungrateful as Rapel.
Regardless of whether you like it or not, a favor must be repaid.
At least once, he would defend his benefactor.
“Your Highness.”
Sienna called out to the Crown Prince, who was still mulling over his decision.
She was looking at him with some interest.
“The knight named Irillin Heather. I’ve heard of her. She became a knight as a punishment for her crime.”
The Crown Prince, who had just remembered her presence, stiffened in surprise.
So what? The Crown Prince stared into Sienna’s dark eyes.
Then her expressionless face broke into a coy smile.
“I would love to meet her.”
* * *
The short holiday came to an end, and the three of us returned to the Knights Templar.
Upon our return, we had news.
Nix Heyman and Callie Hant had separated.
Apparently, the Duke of Ortega’s letting go of Viscount Hant’s hand had made the relationship worthless…
Nix had told me this in person, with a look of resignation on his face.
It was as if he had changed his tactics to make himself visible again, now that there was no hill(?) to climb.
And, as expected, the escort idea was rejected like a knife.
I was expecting him to be disappointed, but for some reason, Vin’s reaction to the news was one of disbelief.
…Rather.
“I can’t help it. I have to protect you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
I wondered why you asked for approval when you were going to be rejected.
Was this the plan all along?
“I haven’t seen you with your hair in a bun in a while.”
Vin whispered, pretending to look at my posture.
Normally, I’d always worn my hair up high for ease of movement, but during my stay at the Marquis, I’d left it loose or in a half-bun.
“It looks great. Oh, and it looks great untied, too.”
…Wouldn’t you normally say the opposite?
Loose hair is beautiful, but tied up is nice too.
But it’s universally preferred over tied hair.
In terms of subtlety, Vin seems to like it better tied up.
From now on, I’m going to wear it loose, even if it’s a hassle.
“Are you eating dinner tonight?”
If I give in to this request and let it go, he’ll make another one, and then look at me pleadingly as if it’s the last one.
[“Do you want me to tell you why he won’t go away no matter how hard you push him?”
“What is it?”
“You don’t want to push him out.”
“You were telling him to go away, but your eyes were begging him to hold on to you.”
“…….”
“You honestly enjoy being held by him, don’t you?”]
I gripped my chest tightly, remembering my sister’s words.
“No…….”
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”
My reply was drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
But by the way, Vin’s expression turned downcast, he must have recognized my answer from the initials.
I turned away from Vin in apology and saw the Crown Prince visiting the training grounds of the new knights.
Next to him was a strange girl.
The crown prince introduced her.
“This is the princess of the Kingdom of Serom.”
At this point, the princess of Serom in the Empire would be Sienna, who had been taken captive.
‘Is a prisoner allowed to roam around like this?’ I heard some chatter around me.
Of course they can. A captive is not a prisoner in a cell.
But since the princess hasn’t wandered off since arriving in the Empire, the newer knights, unfamiliar with imperial affairs, have assumed she’s been locked up.
“…….”
To the dismay of the prince who introduced her, Sienna stood still without a greeting.
After a few moments of silence, Sienna finally spoke.
Her voice was soft and pretty.
“Thank you.”
Coincidentally, her dark eyes met mine.
A coincidence. Sienna is a character who hasn’t had much contact with Irillin.
* * *
“I heard that you were knighted as punishment for your trial, and I wanted to meet the woman behind the rumors.”
I was clearing my throat during a break when Sienna came up to me.
……So it wasn’t a coincidence that our eyes met.
I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Not just Sienna, but all the knights had been looking at me in wonder all day when I first joined.
Even so, is it really that surprising?
So much so that people who rarely came out would shift their weight just to see me.
“Well, actually, not for that one reason.”
Oh. There was another reason? I narrowed my eyes and waited for Sienna to speak.
“It’s because you’re so rare here in Serom, and I wanted to meet you. Oh, sure, I suppose you’re also rare in Abert, but we’re even rarer, with only one in existence today.”
The existence of this place was a mystery to her.
But why come all the way here when there’s another knight, Rapel, just a short distance away?
“I’m sure the other female knight’s quarters would be closer to the palace where the princess is staying.”
“I was more curious about the rumored lady than the knight.”
“Haha… Were you that curious?”
I laughed awkwardly, scratching my head in embarrassment.
Sienna gave a small nod, then leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“Actually……. I’m an aspiring knight myself. When I heard that your skills were honed in Serom, I thought of one thing.”
“What thought?”
“That I want to get to know the Lord.”
Ducking her head slightly, Sienna smiled shyly.
Hmm, but I don’t know why. I thought she was cute.
Maybe it was the atmosphere…that made that smile seem fabricated to me.
But it was probably just a fluke.
Sienna’s not the kind of character to put up a pretense, and she has no reason to.
“I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me after work if you don’t mind?”
I’ve just been asked out to dinner by the same woman(?), but I can’t help but think.
With the Dalian monsters lulled into a lull, I don’t want Sienna to become Dinner Monster 2.
“Then I dare say you wouldn’t mind if I joined the group, Princess. After all, I was supposed to join you for dinner.”
Dinner Monster 1 sneaks up on me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
When was I supposed to have dinner with you, and besides, there’s the Crown Prince over there watching!
Look at him, he’s glaring at me like he’s going to kill me at any moment…… isn’t he?
Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince was looking in this direction in a rather dignified manner.
What’s wrong with him?
“Did I… interrupt something?”
Sienna asked, nudging Vin’s hand on my shoulder.
I whirled around, shaking Vin’s hand away, and shook my head.
“No, I think Lord Ortega may have a misunderstanding…… and I’m afraid I won’t be able to join you both for dinner.”
* * *
The place I came to, after defeating Dinner Monster 1 and Dinner Monster 2, was Rapel’s office.
I was accompanied by my sister, who had left work.
We were going to do ‘it’ today.
