Chapter 67

As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

---

With a polite denial of the words thrown at her with Aleysha's dark smile, the verbal attack seemed to subside as if she had finally understood.

Just as I heaved a sigh of relief,

The music from the orchestra that colored the venue grew louder.

After the wooden string instruments played a pleasant tune, a voice was thrown from the entrance door.

"Princess Cudelia's entrance!"

With that voice, the door was opened by two attendants, and a young girl entered.

Her golden hair reached down to her waist, curling at the ends.

The long, silk-like golden hair swayed with each step, drawing several trails in the air.

Her eyes were a clear blue like the sky. Her face seemed to be between that of a girl and a woman, more cute than beautiful.

She wore a dress primarily in red, with frills in pink. The embroidery and ribbons of roses added to her elegance.

Her movements were different from Aleysha's, exuding grace and dignity.

Is this the second princess, Cudelia, that Father Nord mentioned? She doesn't seem like a tomboy at all.

As I thought this and watched, Princess Cudelia turned her head around and, upon spotting someone, her face lit up.

The princess suddenly dashed forward, but the female knight guarding her followed as if she had anticipated it.

So, she's the type to suddenly do such things.

"Lord Nord!"

"Princess Cudelia. It is a pleasure to see you—"

"Stop it with the formalities. If you treat me so formally, even I will get tired."

Father Nord, who was about to greet her formally, was interrupted by Princess Cudelia's exasperated voice.

"Well, that's what you say—"

"Ugh!"

"Then, in this setting, I will call you Princess Cudelia—"

"Hmm, actually, just Cudelia is fine—"

"Princess—"

Placing her hands on her hips, she muttered, and the knight standing behind her scolded her.

"Since I get scolded like this, it's fine."

She seemed to be somewhat reasonable despite her casual attitude.

Still, for a princess, she's too light-hearted.

"Anyway, Nord! Tell me more stories! I heard your territory is doing well lately."

"Princess, you should greet the other nobles—"

"Ah! I know! I'll do it later."

Princess Cudelia waved her hand dismissively at the knight's words.

Aleysha, who was still near us, was smiling wryly.

It seems this is a common occurrence.

"Move aside, you two."

Princess Cudelia glared at us, and the noble children around Father Nord hurriedly moved away. It was like the village men who frequented the Seria Inn being chased away by Seria.

What a queen. Or rather, princess.

Even the nobles couldn't intrude on the princess, and they either watched from a distance or gave up and dispersed.

Then, Princess Cudelia started chatting happily with Father Nord.

"That's the second princess, huh?"

"Well, she's as usual."

"Is she always like that?"

As Eric and I chatted casually, Aleysha interjected.

"Today, she's much better because Father Nord is here. Usually, she's more self-centered and bored."

"Really, you know her well."

"Well, I'm from a dukedom and we're close in age, so we often have tea together."

I see. As a daughter of a dukedom, it makes sense that she can talk to the princess casually.

"Still, she doesn't look that happy even when she's with me."

Aleysha chuckled, as if adding to my thoughts.

Indeed, she looked genuinely happy. In fact, they seemed a bit too close, almost leaning on each other.

Would Mother Elna be angry about this?

Sure enough, when I looked at Mother Elna, she was watching them with a cold gaze.

Oh, Father Nord will have to do some damage control when he gets back to the inn. She doesn't seem to like Princess Cudelia because she touches Father Nord so much.

While I was watching this, a bomb was dropped.

"Nord! If that's the case, why don't you switch to me as a wife? I'm younger, you know?"

Crack.

"Are you hurt!?"

The sound of something breaking and a maid's panicked voice came from Mother Elna's direction.

"It's fine, it's fine. It's still new."

Mother Elna held the broken glass and muttered.

That glass had a thick handle, didn't it? To crush it with a pinch (which a normal woman couldn't do)...

It seems Sister Elinora's Iron Claw is inherited from Mother Elna.

I have to be careful not to end up like that.

After a while, when Princess Cudelia went to greet other nobles, Father Nord was desperately trying to explain to Mother Elna.

What kind of conversation leads to such words? Well, I had a similar experience yesterday... Was I like that yesterday?

I couldn't bear to watch any longer and averted my gaze.

---

After a while, Eric was suddenly called out. Not me, but Eric.

"Hey! You, the dumb-looking country noble!"

"Hey, Eric (you), you're being called."

"..."

Eric and I glared at each other silently.

"Hey, Eric, you're being called dumb. It must be you."

"No way, there's no one in this room who looks dumber than you, Alfrid."

Eric and I glared at each other from a very close distance.

"Hey! Don't ignore me! Alfrid or something!"

"Did you get the name wrong!? Fix it quickly! It's Eric, right?"

Only then did I finally look at the person who called us.

Who is this arrogant guy? That was my first impression of the boy looking down at me. He had brown hair and a black suit, and he looked to be around ten years old. His eyes seemed full of pride.

"Hah, of course. My face isn't dumb at all," Eric said with a smirk.

Aleysha was also shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Hey, you! Who are you! Calling someone dumb is rude!"

"Listen up. My name is Bram Baumral. I am of the proud Baumral family!"

"Who's that?"

Despite his grand introduction, I had no memory of such a noble. He wasn't there during the greetings yesterday either.

"I don't know him."

I looked at Eric, who had the same reaction.

On the other hand, Aleysha, who seemed to know, was still shaking with laughter. I could hear "dumb" here and there. That's harsh, isn't it?

Bram shrugged at our words.

"That's why country nobles are a problem. Not knowing the Baumral family, who govern the towns near the capital—"

You should have said "Baron" from the start. I still don't know them, though.

"So, what brings the Baron of Baumral here?"

I tried to move the conversation along to get rid of this annoying, noble-like guy.

From yesterday's experience, I knew that if you leave these types alone, they'll start boasting about their territories.

"Do you really not know!?"

"I don't."

Seeing my firm attitude, Bram seemed to panic for some reason. But I really didn't know, so I answered firmly.

"Haven't you heard anything from Elinora?"

Bram asked, seemingly flustered by the unexpected situation. I almost wanted to hold my head. Why would this guy mention Sister Elinora?

—I have a really bad feeling about this.

"Well, I haven't heard anything from my sister."

When I answered, Bram muttered, "What? Really!?"

Then, Bram cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes even more before declaring,

"Let's be honest. I challenge you to a duel."

"No thanks."

"Okay, then—Why! Elinora accepted immediately!"

"Why? I have no reason to duel with you!"

"You may not, but I do. I can't challenge Elinora until I defeat you! If I can't do that, I can't propose to her!"

I didn't understand the first part, but the last words made me realize.

"Ah! I remember! You're the guy who was rejected by Sister Elinora!"

"Don't say it like that, aaaaaah!"