Chapter 18

On a night with beautiful stars, Rosa arrived at the embassy of the Kingdom of Rai in a carriage.

Tonight, a party is being held here.

Moreover, today she is wearing the mountain of jewels that her sister Lucrezia left behind. From the buckles on her shoes to her hair accessories, they are densely covered with diamonds.

-- Amazing, my whole body sparkles.

The large, teardrop-shaped diamond earrings especially complement her delicate strawberry blonde hair, and she adored them.

And her escort is her proud fiancé.

Falko tied his golden hair with a ribbon in the current style and wore tight trousers that clearly showed the shape of his long legs. He was so handsome that Rosa was captivated.

"Rosa, you look especially beautiful tonight. I want to confirm our love right now."

"Oh, Master Falko."

-- To be able to marry such a wonderful person, I am so happy.

After exchanging greetings with the Waja couple, who welcomed them, she noticed a man standing behind them.

The man seemed to be from the Kingdom of Rai, with an exceptionally tall stature, a sturdy muscular build, and sharp eyes. His skin was pale, and his hair was black.

"Please allow me to escort you to the dining room. I am Prince Reisch of Rai."

Smiling warmly, Rosa was taken aback. He was just as handsome as Falko.

"Hello."

When Rosa revealed the greeting she had just learned from the Kingdom of Rai, the Prince of Rai was pleased.

"You speak it well."

Smiling back, he felt a sense of triumph internally.

-- See, I can do what my sister can do just as easily.

She had always been assertive, and it was annoying. By being liked here, Rosa wanted to overwrite all the good reviews of Lucrezia, who remained in the court.

Rosa finished the dinner by showing off what she had studied in advance.

Afterward, they moved to the drawing room.

Upon meeting Prince Reisch again, Rosa felt a slight flutter in her chest. Now, she wanted to talk to Reisch more than to Falko, who was next to her.

Rosa went straight to Reisch and spoke to him.

"Thank you for the invitation. The food was delicious."

Reisch looked a bit puzzled but soon smiled.

"Thank you. It's rewarding to hear that. However, I think it was Mrs. Waja who invited you."

Looking at Mrs. Waja, she was staring at Rosa as if she had seen something unbelievable.

-- What's wrong?

Rosa was a bit concerned but did not think too deeply about it.

-- She must be jealous again.

The adorable Rosa was always the object of jealousy wherever she went, and when she spoke to men, she was often glared at by women.

In Rosa's country, it was generally considered a major breach of etiquette for women to speak to men first, but Rosa, who had been captivated by the heroines in romance novels who spoke to various men proactively, thought it was a superficial, outdated manner.

-- What? It's old-fashioned to think that it's improper for women to speak first.

She believed it was an excuse for unattractive women who feared rejection.

Rosa knew that this was based on religious beliefs, but she did not know that the Kingdom of Rai had even stricter norms than the Illuminati.

In a country where a scandal could tarnish the family name and lead to being killed by relatives, Rosa's behavior was taken more seriously than she realized.

"Do you mind if I talk more with Prince Reisch?"

Speaking in a friendly, casual tone, Reisch laughed.

... Mrs. Waja was looking at Rosa with a gaze that seemed ready to stab her, but it must be jealousy.

After all, no man would be unhappy to be spoken to so casually by the cute Rosa.

-- It's a pity for those who aren't cute.

Rosa smiled and asked, "What were you talking about?" with a smile. Falko stood beside her, ready to join the conversation.

"The rabbit served today was excellent. We were all praising it."

"The Prince caught it during a falcon hunt."

Hearing the explanation, Rosa exclaimed, "Wow!"

-- Falconry. Men talk about the same things in every country, don't they?

Rosa had a surefire topic to liven up the conversation about falconry.

"Your Highness is also good at falconry! My father is too."

The casual tone of Rosa made the surrounding men flinch.

However, the conversation quickly resumed in a friendly manner.

"Was your falcon named after your father's hobby?"

The Prince spoke to Falko.

"Yes, my father also likes falconry. But why my name?"

"I heard it before. It's an honor to meet you."

Falko's blank expression caused the conversation to stall.

-- Oh, Master Falko always has this kind of moment.

It was always Rosa's job to keep the conversation flowing.

"I think everyone here likes falcons... but has anyone here ever eaten a falcon?"

Rosa's question made the room fall silent.

Everyone glanced at each other, but no one answered.

-- Huh? Normally, they would say, 'No way,' or something like that.

"…I heard a story from the classics of this country. It was about a man who cooked and served a falcon he had raised like a friend to a lady he loved."

Reisch tried to ease the tension.

"Really, there's such a story?"

Reisch laughed, caught off guard by Rosa's casual response.

"Haha, it's a story from your own country, why don't you know it?"

"It's my first time hearing it. You don't have to laugh so much."

Reisch laughed and said teasingly,

"If it's not that story... perhaps you're going to tell us a story about eating Falko?"

"Wh-What? No, that's not it! It's not that kind of story!"

Hearing their exchange, the surrounding people began to laugh in relief again.

"My father was very poor in the past and, in desperation, cooked and ate a falcon!"

The room fell silent again.

-- What's going on?

Every time Rosa said something, the room seemed to lose its spirit. Normally, people would be interested and ask questions like, "What did it taste like?"

"My father said the falcon tasted like it was rotten and was not edible at all. Since then, he has disliked falcons."

"Haha, that's funny."

Reisch laughed politely, and Rosa's story was accepted by the surrounding people.

-- Men always get excited about stories about eating falcons.

Rosa felt great.

"By the way, I'd like to hear the story about you eating Falko. What did he taste like?"

Rosa laughed it off. Although she liked Reisch's appearance, she was not ready to talk about such things on their first meeting.

"Would you like to try if your family has a history of bad eating habits?"

"You're always joking."

Rosa laughed it off.

-- Men get excited by cute girls, no matter where they are.

"Hey, Rosa..."

Falko, standing next to her, had a pale face. Rosa felt even better.

-- Is he jealous?

Falko pulled Rosa away to a quiet corner of the room and whispered.

"I just learned from the person next to me. The royal family of the Prince uses 'falcon' as their symbol. It might be very bad."

"What's bad about it?"

"Don't you get it? You were saying things like 'it's not edible' and 'I hate it' to the falcon family. It could be seen as extremely disrespectful."

"Wh-What!?"

Rosa, who had no intention of being disrespectful, turned pale.