Chapter 52

Lirika was taken aback.

'Does it come from the pendant?'

When she opened her palm, the pendant shimmered and floated up into the air, spinning and scattering particles of light.

'It’s, it’s blinding.'

Without realizing it, she shielded her forehead with the back of her hand, and a crescent moon-shaped light was clearly imprinted on her palm.

Lirika couldn’t see it, but everyone else could, so they all exclaimed, "Wow!"

Then, a small magic circle formed from the pendant, passed through Lirika’s head, and etched a large, clear magic circle on the floor beneath her.

Ding—dong—ding-dong—

The song was reaching its climax.

At that moment, the pendant’s rotation stopped. It began to slowly descend, and Lirika extended her hand.

When she grabbed the pendant, the song ended with a ding-dong-ding, and the light and magic circle vanished with a flash. Lirika looked at the pendant, then at Altears.

Altears nodded.

'I don’t understand what it means.'

Lirika looked down at the pendant again. It no longer glowed or made strange sounds.

"Your Partha, right?"

Altears handed her the orange juice he had brought.

"Are the snacks good?"

"Ah, thanks."

She was feeling a bit hungry, and when she turned around, it was Fjord.

"Fjord, where were you?"

"I was looking at the gifts."

"That shoddy wooden doll?"

"It’s better than nothing."

"I’ll give you a separate gift."

"A gift so embarrassing you can’t even see it?"

"Better than a useless birdcage by a hundredfold, so don’t worry."

As the conversation progressed, the children around them gradually widened their distance. It was too far to hear the interesting story, but they didn’t want to get too close and risk being caught in the crossfire.

"Both of you, stop it."

Lirika reached for the potato chips Fjord had brought.

"It’s my Partha, right?"

Altears and Fjord looked at each other and seemed to reach a temporary agreement.

The crispy, salted potato chips were delicious. They went perfectly with the sweet orange juice, making her feel like she could eat them endlessly.

"Shall we take a walk?"

At Lirika’s suggestion, the two nodded. The children, who had been eavesdropping, felt a bit disappointed.

They couldn’t follow the three and listen to their conversation, could they?

The three began walking along the edge of the garden.

Fjord spoke gently.

"Princess, congratulations on obtaining Laub. I thought such stories only happened in heroic tales."

Lirika shrugged her shoulders.

"I’m not sure if I can handle Laub well. I don’t know what he saw in me, but since I’ve decided to take responsibility, I’ll do my best."

'Maybe when I leave the palace, I’ll have a more relaxed relationship with Laub.'

At that time, Laub would still be a knight, but it was fortunate that His Majesty had granted him a permanent knighthood. It wasn’t important to Lirika and Laub, but it mattered to others.

"You’ll do well, Princess."

Fjord sighed with envy.

Altears shrugged.

"Since you’re to his liking now, he probably chose you. You don’t need to do anything special, right? By the way, how was it? Did you find anyone you liked?"

Altears asked, and Lirika tilted her head.

"Someone I liked?"

"This is your first time seeing children your age. Take a good look. If you find someone you like, you can get to know them and build a relationship."

Altears recalled his own embarrassing past. During his Partha, he had been isolated from the other children.

'Everyone is just flatterers or enemies.'

That’s what he thought.

So he had no chance to interact with children his age. Reflecting on it now, it was a childish act, and he hoped his sister wouldn’t follow the same path.

Lirika’s Partha was also a second chance for Altears. It was well-known that he would attend, so children of the same age also came.

It was good to catch the eye of the princess, and even better to catch the eye of the crown prince.

Thanks to this, Altears was building a much smoother social relationship than before.

"I see. That’s true. They all seemed nice."

At Lirika’s words, Altears sighed.

Fjord said,

"Still, it’s good to be cautious about certain people."

"Like Barat."

At Altears’ words, Fjord smiled.

"Yes, like Barat."

"..."

Altears felt like he had become petty. He wanted to say something but held back.

'Hold it. Hold it. Be generous. Be calm.'

Altears took a few deep breaths and smiled.

"Thanks for the warning."

"You’re welcome."

"Since you’re giving a warning, how about giving more?"

"Like what?"

"Like what Barat will do next."

Fjord hesitated. He smiled wryly.

"If I knew, I’d tell you."

"You’re making excuses."

"Altears."

Lirika tugged at his sleeve, puffed out her cheeks, and frowned. His face broke into a smile.

"Hehe."

Swallowing his laughter, Altears said,

"Okay, okay. I get it. I get it."

He nodded and continued,

"Starting this year, there’s a new hunting festival. I hope the young Duke Barat will participate."

"A hunting festival?"

Lirika asked, and Altears nodded.

"It’s held in the royal forest. It was suspended for two years after you were injured, but it’s finally back. Now that your Partha is over, you can participate."

"Really?"

Lirika was delighted but then said,

"But I can’t hunt at all."

"The royal hunting festival is different."

At Altears’ words, Lirika tilted her head. Altears grinned.

"You’ll see. You can look forward to it."

Lirika felt her heart flutter. Did that mean she could participate too?

Lirika looked at Fjord and said,

"I hope Fjord can come too."

"If I receive an invitation."

Fjord replied.

'I see.'

Lirika thought back to the children earlier. She hadn’t realized it when she was in the White Dragon Room, but now that she was with the children, she could clearly see the factions.

The children who had gathered around her changed their expressions the moment Fjord appeared.

So, walking side by side with these two might just be a whim and a desire.

"Why are you like that?"

Altears asked, and Lirika shook her head.

"No, it’s nothing."

"Princess!!"

At that moment, Diara ran over at an incredible speed. She stopped in front of Lirika and jumped lightly.

"Did you see? Did you see me score a goal?"

"Hmm?"

Lirika turned her gaze and looked puzzled.

"Why are they all lying on the ground?"

She saw that all the children who had been playing with her had fallen over. Diara giggled.

"It’s because they tasted my sun-like blinding and lightning-fast hot pepper!"

"Sun Flash Thunder, right?"

Altears muttered. Fjord turned his face slightly, his lips trembling.

Lirika nodded.

"Right, Diara, that’s cool."

"Isn’t it?"

Diara grinned and pulled Lirika’s hand. Altears took the glass from her hand as she ran.

"Princess, have a drink. I’ll block it for you."

"Okay!"

She kicked the leather ball with all her might, and it flew quite impressively. Lirika laughed brightly and looked at the two standing there.

Altears gave her a thumbs up, and Fjord clapped.

Seeing this, Lirika decided to indulge in her whims and desires for today.

'It’s my Partha.'

* * *

The day’s elaborate and noisy schedule ended, and night fell. Following Rudia’s suggestion, everyone gathered in the living room to play games.

Rudia was shocked that she had forgotten Lirika’s birthday and had tried to make up for it every year since then.

This Partha was so splendid thanks to her efforts. In the first year she lived in the palace, she completely missed Lirika’s birthday. The following year, when she remembered to celebrate her own birthday, she was surprised to realize, "When is Lirika’s birthday?"

It was a family gathering without any servants. On long winter nights, such gatherings were rare, especially with the whole family present.

"It’s my Partha!"

Lirika protested. Altears laughed and said,

"You can’t help your bad luck."

Rudia said with a worried look,

"Lirika, it’s best not to bet on anything."

Altears agreed. It was a light dice game, and Lirika’s only problem was her bad luck.

Altears grinned.

"Then you’ll be last, ha!"

"Ah, Altears! Hahaha—"

He started tickling her side, and Lirika burst into laughter, wriggling around.

After thoroughly tormenting his sister, Altears let go. Lirika sat up, panting, with tears in her eyes. She said in a wronged voice,

"Let’s play something else."

Everyone readily agreed. It was a family-only time without any servants.

Fresh night air flowed in through the open balcony window. Everyone was dressed comfortably, and the food was piled on a tray to one side.

Lirika poured herself a cold iced tea and said,

"This time, I’m definitely going to win. Let’s play a charades game."

"Sure."

Altears nodded, cleared away the dice and board, and placed a sand timer.

Fortunately, Lirika won this game. The worst player was Altears, the self-conscious teenage boy.

Lirika ran to Altears, determined to get even, and started tickling his side. Altears laughed and pushed her away.

After her revenge, Lirika got up. Rudia smiled and said,

"It’s time to go to bed. It’s very late, and you must be tired."

"Yes, Mother."

Lirika answered obediently. Rudia smiled at her.

"Shall we sleep together?"

"Really?"

"Sure."

"Then I’ll sleep with you."

Though she wasn’t a child anymore, the thought of sleeping with her mother made her very happy. Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

Rudia took Lirika’s hand and said,

"Let’s have a ladies’ night, so the boys should go to bed on their own."

"Good night."

Lirika waved goodbye, and Altears and Altears waved back.

"Good night."

"Congratulations on your Partha."

Lirika smiled and quickly went to her mother’s bedroom.

It was a happy Partha until the end.