Chapter 22

"Wow, it's really clean!"

Aristine approached, exclaiming in admiration, and examined the sword as tall as herself.

"It's like a mirror. The wave patterns are so clear."

Instead of stepping back in fear, she leaned in even closer.

Aristine, who had been carefully inspecting the blade, even reached out her hand towards the sword.

But she hesitated just before touching the blade and glanced at Mukali.

"Can I touch it?"

Mukali didn't like others touching his sword. Any warrior would feel the same.

But Mukali nodded.

'To win the favor of the princess, there's no choice.'

It's really, truly, completely unavoidable.

"Be careful not to hurt yourself."

"Thank you."

Aristine smiled and gently touched the blade.

The cold touch of the metal.

The slight chill made her feel strangely.

"Amazing. It feels like it would cut just by touching it."

"A human's skin would be cut just by touching it, without any force."

Mukali said proudly.

"Yes, it's an incredible sharpening technique. The skin of a monster is indeed tough. This level of sharpness..."

Aristine nodded, muttering to herself.

Then she took her hand away and looked directly at Mukali.

Mukali flinched.

Aristine was right in front of him, looking at the sword.

He suddenly wanted to cover his left face.

He didn't want Aristine to see his disgusting scar in detail and step back.

But Aristine neither stepped back nor avoided his gaze.

She looked at him as if she was just meeting a person normally.

There was no sign of disgust or fear on her small face.

"How do you prevent rust?"

She just asked.

It was a serious and earnest question.

What she was concerned about was not the terrifying and disgusting scar, but the sword.

Mukali's pride, the sword.

"Rust? What do you mean?"

Mukali felt a lump in his throat.

"Yes."

Rust prevention.

He never expected to be asked such a question by someone who wasn't a warrior.

'She seems to have a genuine interest in swords.'

It wasn't a question asked just to be polite.

"The only way is to maintain it so it doesn't rust. I do it every morning and evening."

"It does require a lot of effort."

"This is a precious sword, so it deserves the proper treatment."

Mukali said, tapping the blade.

"If you take good care of it every day, it will respond well. Despite its large size, it has incredible elasticity. This is because the blacksmith who made it treated the heat differently in different parts. This results in different hardness levels, which are related to carbon..."

Aristine, who was not familiar with scientific matters, listened, trying to guess the meaning.

It was surprising to hear such a difficult principle from Mukali, who was a consumer rather than a producer.

Science was considered a high-level discipline even in the academically advanced Silvanus.

'She really loves swords.'

Mukali, who had been boasting about his sword like a dam had burst, came to his senses late.

Warriors didn't like such conversations.

Delving into such detailed principles was something that bookish, weak people, not bold warriors, enjoyed.

'So I usually don't talk about it to others...'

It was a behavior that didn't suit his large build.

Feeling awkward, Mukali glanced at Aristine's expression, and she nodded seriously.

"Thank you for telling me. It was quite helpful."

"Thank you."

Mukali subtly turned his head.

As the conversation paused, Mukali felt a bit awkward.

He was concerned about what the princess was doing but found it hard to turn around.

He started reciting the method of sword maintenance in his mind.

If she didn't say anything by the third step, he would try to say something.

It wasn't that he wanted to continue the conversation with the princess.

It was just a strategy to gather information.

While reciting the first step, Mukali couldn't help but think.

'...Should I just talk to her at the second step?'

Deciding to do so, the moment he turned to Aristine—

"Aah!"

Aristine suddenly screamed.

Mukali was startled, his eyes wide open, and his grip on the sword tightened.

His large body stood like a solid wall in front of Aristine.

His sharp gaze swept the room.

But there was no sign of danger anywhere.

'What is it?'

As Mukali raised his eyebrows in confusion, Aristine mumbled from below.

"...The tea has gone cold..."

'...The tea?'

Looking down, he saw the princess with a face as if the world had ended.

She was tightly holding a teacup.

"Strawberry cream tea... I really wanted to try it..."

She looked more depressed than ever.

Mukali's lips moved a few times but then closed.

He felt a mix of absurdity, frustration, and a bit of anger, but also found it somewhat funny.

"Ah, I was too focused on the story. I forgot about this important thing."

Aristine put the teacup down on the table.

But her gaze remained on the red tea.

Instead of clearing her mind, her eyes were filled with lingering regret.

Aristine, who had pouted in disappointment, looked up at Mukali and shrugged.

"But our conversation was interesting."

She smiled, as if to say, 'That's enough.'

Mukali looked into her eyes for a moment.

'Can't she just ask for more tea to be made?'

That thought crossed his mind.

Aristine had every right to do so.

But she didn't think of calling the maids again—

'Is it because of me?'

He remembered how the maids had looked at him like a bug with twenty legs.

Naturally, Mukali didn't want to see them again.

"......"

Mukali sheathed his sword.

After he left, Aristine could call the maids to bring out the tea she so desperately wanted.

Yes, she would definitely do that.

But.

"Would you like to come to my house sometime?"

"Huh?"

"We have that kind of tea at my house."

Cough, Mukali cleared his throat unnecessarily.

This is purely to keep a close watch on the princess.

"Really? Wow!"

Aristine was delighted.

Being invited to someone's house.

For her, who had been living in isolation, it was something she had never even imagined.

"Then I'll bring scones."

After saying that, Aristine frowned.

'Can I bring them? They say it's impolite to go to someone's house empty-handed, so I can ask for that much...'

Even though Tarcan and Irlugo had an alliance, it wasn't good to be too generous with resources.

So she always ate whatever was provided.

'Somehow, the portions have been increasing recently, which is nice.'

Especially when Tarcan came, there was always a tea time, and he didn't touch the desserts, which she liked.

"Scones, you say?"

"Yes, the scones here are really delicious. They're good even when cold. Try one."

Mukali looked at the scones on the table with a doubtful eye.

'Certainly, my lord...'

He had heard that Tarcan ordered a pastry chef to be hired at a meeting he didn't attend.

A pastry chef who could bake good scones.

There was a lot of talk about developing new battle rations.

But.

'No way.'

Suddenly, Mukali shook his head.

'It can't be. No, it's definitely not.'

He had served his lord for years; it would never happen.

'Soon, he'll bring scones as new battle rations! He's using the princess as a test subject! Hmm!'

Mukali thought this and ate the scone Aristine offered.

It was delicious.

Chapter 8. A sweet love story between these two, who asked?

"Hehe, how does the princess feel?"

"I'm all flustered and excited. Ah."

The palace attendants, while fitting clothes on Aristine, had a dazed look on their faces.

"You left Silvanus over a month ago, planning to get married. There's nothing new about it now."

Aristine's indifferent answer made the attendants excitedly chatter.

"Nothing new? Today is the wedding day!"

"Even if you say that, today is different!"

"Especially when you're wearing a wedding dress! Just putting it on is exciting."

"But I've already tried it on before..."

She had tried it on several times for fittings.

The formal attire brought from Silvanus was so wrinkled that it couldn't be worn again, so a new dress was made.

"Wearing it for a fitting and wearing it on the wedding day are completely different!"

"You're right! How can they be the same?"

"Maybe..."

Murmuring, Aristine looked at her reflection in the mirror.

The wedding dress was made using Silvanus silk in the traditional Irlugo style.

It was inspired by the dress Aristine wore during official audiences.

It was the perfect attire for a marriage symbolizing the harmony between the two countries.

Royal weddings are naturally a topic of conversation.

Bouquets, decorations, gifts, scale, procession, invited guests, etc.

Among these, the most attention is given to the bride's dress.

The fact that the wedding dress combines the cultural elements of two countries into one will be a significant symbol.

'And I, wearing this dress, will be a symbol of peace, etched in the minds of the people.'

Politics is all about image.

How strongly an image is imprinted on people's minds is very important.

'And there's a backstory to it.'

It will be quite interesting if it's known that this was Aristine's idea and that it was initially mocked.

'This will be quite useful for the royal succession propaganda.'

As an equal business partner, she had agreed to help with Tarcan's royal succession, so she needed to work hard.

'I want to make Tarcan king as soon as possible and regain my freedom.'

Well, first, she needed to save a lot of money.

'Enough to live a life of leisure and luxury!'

As Aristine carefully examined the wedding dress, the attendants smiled contentedly.

They were pleased that the princess, who had been indifferent, seemed to show interest.

'Indeed, a new bride should be like this.'

'How excited she must be.'

'Hehe, I'm getting excited myself.'

They never imagined that Aristine was thinking about political propaganda, the royal succession battle, and even divorce.

Sometimes, not knowing is better.

While being attended to, Aristine looked at the Silvanus maids reflected in the mirror.

As the day approached, the maids were unusually quiet and didn't cause trouble.

A failed marriage would be a problem for Silvanus, which needed to buy time.

Still, the reason they made Aristine look ugly and mocked Irlugo was clear.

'Irlugo is more desperate for the peace agreement.'

Irlugo, unsure when the monsters would attack, needed to end the war and solidify the peace agreement quickly.

So, despite winning the war, they wanted peace more than Silvanus.

'My father is truly despicable and cowardly.'

He invaded first, then, when losing the war, proposed a peace agreement and sent his daughter.

While planning to betray, he also mocked the other side, which was even more despicable.

'In that sense, are these maids better than the emperor?'

Thinking this, Rosaline and the other maids started fighting.

'No, they weren't restraining themselves because of the wedding?'

The maids weren't causing trouble for Aristine because they were too busy bickering among themselves.

It seemed they were more annoyed by Rosaline, who suddenly started contradicting them like a tongue in Aristine's mouth.

'Hmm.'

Aristine watched them with interest.

The long preparation for the wedding was boring, and now there was something to watch.

Indeed, watching a fight is the most entertaining.

Rosaline's personality was the strongest, but the other maids were in greater numbers.

It was an exciting match.

'Oh, they might even pull each other's hair?'

While the attendants were excited about the wedding and Aristine was excited about the fight, the preparation was completed.

Sometimes, being too impressed leaves you speechless.

The attendants, forgetting to speak, stared at Aristine in a daze.

They didn't think she was just pretty or beautiful.

They just felt as if they were floating and couldn't take their eyes off her.

Indeed, beauty is something that makes time fly by just by looking at it.

"Is it all done?"

At Aristine's words, the attendants snapped out of it and hurriedly nodded.

"Yes, yes!"

"Princess, you are truly, truly beautiful!"

"Words can't describe your beauty."

"Truly, truly, it's an honor to help with your preparation..."

If it weren't for the Irlugo wedding dress, her own maids would have done the preparation.

The noisy attendants' admiration made the fighting maids frown.

"What's the big deal about being pretty?"

"Making such a fuss over it is ridiculous."

"Princess, that kind of beauty is quite common in our country, after all, Irlugo people—"

The maids' mouths, which had been open, suddenly closed.

'Forget the husband, I just want to make money.'