Chapter 60

Well, while Sais was thinking about such things, Her Royal Highness was looking around with a delighted expression. Suddenly, it seemed as if she had an idea, and her gaze turned towards Sais.

Sais, who had a very bad feeling, tried to casually avert his eyes, but of course, Her Royal Highness was not one to give up so easily. She smiled brightly and spoke to Sais.

"Ebeck, could you please go and buy that food? I want to have a strawberry kapita."

Sais moved his neck with a creak and looked at Her Royal Highness. "I want to have it" meant she wanted to eat it here.

Looking around, many commoners were walking and eating kapita near the stall. The pleasant aroma wafted through the air, and it did indeed look delicious, but Her Royal Highness eating street food in the lower town...?

Sais gave up thinking about it. His duty now was to follow Her Royal Highness's command. It was unnecessary to consider whether the action was right or why it had to be done.

Thus, Sais headed towards the stall, somewhat nervously. After all, this was his first time shopping at a stall. His determined expression made the stall owner look at him suspiciously, but this time, he managed to complete his mission without being overcharged.

With his heart pounding with excitement, Sais handed the kapita to Her Royal Highness. The moment she received it, she suddenly split it in half.

"Try it."

"Me?"

Ah, Sais thought he had said the same line just a moment ago.

"It's a poison test. Just eat it."

Sais hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was proper for a noble to eat standing among commoners. But he quickly reminded himself that they were on a march.

He had eaten while standing during training, and he remembered almost vomiting while chewing on the awful-tasting dry bread. It was a terrible taste. His roommate had suffered from diarrhea afterward and didn't come out of the bushes during the training for a while.

Putting that aside, the kapita, which he was trying for the first time, was quite delicious. The strawberry's tartness added a nice accent.

Her Royal Highness watched Sais bite into the kapita with a delighted look. After confirming that he had swallowed it, she took a small bite of the kapita she was holding.

Her small white teeth were visible, and Sais couldn't help but look away. His heart had skipped a beat for some reason.

Although it was generally frowned upon for a lady to eat standing in the street, Sais didn't find it unpleasant in Her Royal Highness's case.

He wasn't sure if "putting on airs" was the right term, but he had seen enough of the pretentious, smiling noblewomen who spoke venomously since he was a child. In the noble society, where arrogance was considered a virtue and one was often bound by etiquette, people would casually belittle those they disliked behind their backs with sweet words.

One had to be skilled in such wordplay to survive as a noble, and Sais didn't intend to condemn all such behavior as evil. However, deep down, he had always yearned for the natural and carefree manner that was free from superficial smiles and games.

Seeing Her Royal Highness stroll and enjoy herself naturally, Sais couldn't help but find it appealing.

Her Royal Highness continued to look around the stalls with delight, tasting other sweets, and Sais had the pleasure of conversing with her.

As they were doing this, Prince Alec, who had been touring the market with his attendants, came to Her Royal Highness. It seemed he couldn't stand to see her eating on her own.

Just as Prince Alec was about to tell her not to eat in such a place, Her Royal Highness stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth. While he was blinking in confusion, she quickly said, "It's already been tested for poison."

When Prince Alec was asked if he liked it, he couldn't help but answer, "It's good," and couldn't scold her anymore. Carried away by Her Royal Highness's enthusiasm, he started enjoying the street food with her.

Once this happened, the attendants couldn't say anything. They watched the two of them stroll like a couple in the city for a while, but eventually, one of the subordinates muttered, "We might as well enjoy ourselves too," and the four men ended up touring the city.

Thanks to this, Sais, who had been a distant figure to the attendants, became more than just an acquaintance.

Not long after, Her Royal Highness entered the Crystal Palace, where Prince Alec resided, and was granted the title of Consort. As a result, Sais was given a room in a corner of the Crystal Palace. A few days later, his brother, who lived in a distant territory from the capital, suddenly visited Sais.

Sais was surprised but happy. He and his brother, who was thirteen years older, had a close relationship since his brother had taken care of him a lot after becoming a full knight and returning to the territory when Sais was four.

Incidentally, his brother was not a graduate of the three major knight orders. As the heir of the Ebeck family, he did not think it was good to join the three major knight orders just for prestige and chose the Lond Knight Order, which was relatively close to their territory.

Lond was one of the fifteen border knight orders in Ancheize, which were considered second only to the three major knight orders owned by the royal family. Most of the prominent noble children in the vicinity aspired to join Lond, and it was thought that his brother chose this order for networking purposes.

Sais was allowed to join the higher-ranked three major knight orders because, unless he became a son-in-law to a noble family, he would become a commoner. In Ancheize, where women were not allowed to inherit the family, it was rare for a lord to take in a non-blood-related man as a son-in-law unless there were exceptional circumstances.

Of course, there were cases where families without territories or those deeply in debt would seek alliances regardless of bloodline, either for dowry or for the prestige of the person's background, such as their knight order. In that sense, Sais could not be considered a bad prospect.

So, Sais vaguely thought it might be a marriage proposal, and indeed, that's exactly what his brother had brought.

Moreover, it was an unexpectedly good proposal. It came from a middle-class noble family with a territory in the western part of Ancheize. The daughter was fifteen and had just finished her debutante season. The family, which had received numerous marriage proposals from relatives and acquaintances, had unexpectedly proposed to Sais.

"Why me?"

Sais was more confused than pleased. There was no blood connection between the two families, and first of all, Sais had almost no dowry. He had declined further support from his family after being allowed to join the three major knight orders, so the only money he could offer as a dowry was what he had earned himself.

"You attend the balls held in the capital from time to time, don't you? You danced with the young lady at the Lyon family's ball, didn't you? Don't you remember?"

Sais thought for a moment. It was common to invite young ladies who were wallflowers to dance as a matter of etiquette. While he remembered some of the more memorable women, he had spoken to many and had no recollection of this particular young lady.

"Anyway, it seems the young lady took a liking to you. As you know, the Ebeck family has a respectable history, and you yourself are a member of the three major knight orders. After hearing various rumors about you, they thought you would make a good son-in-law. They contacted us, expressing their desire to meet you.

"We did some research on them, and it's a faultless match. We haven't heard any bad rumors about the young lady, and the family's estate management is going well. They are of good standing. Their only condition is that you leave the Antoire Knight Order upon marriage and learn estate management."

Sais looked up sharply. "Leave the knight order...?"

Currently, Sais was serving as a guard to Princess Via under a secondment from the Antoire Knight Order. If he chose to marry, he would have to resign from his guard duties and move to the other family's territory.

Intellectually, he knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He was a one-generation noble due to his membership in the Antoire Knight Order, a title he couldn't pass on to his children.

If he married, he would gain a permanent noble title and a territory. Anyone who turned down such an offer would be considered foolish. However, Sais couldn't nod in agreement with his brother's words.

"Could you give me some time to think about it?"

To marry a young lady he barely remembered for the sake of a title and territory. While it was a common choice for a noble, Sais wanted to marry only if he could truly love his wife and build a warm family.

Could he do it...? Sais wondered. He was not a particularly adaptable person. If his heart were empty, he would have jumped at the opportunity without hesitation, but he had a woman he couldn't forget.

He had never wanted to possess her. In fact, he wasn't even allowed to offer his affection.

She smiled softly beside the prince and received his nightly favors. The prince, who had been known for his numerous affairs, had become obsessed with her, much like Emperor Parisis, who had been infatuated with Consort Tsitti in the past.

He would keep her in his chambers until morning, share meals with her, and they seemed very close. While Sais felt a slight pain in his heart, he was more proud of their relationship.

It's not love... Sais whispered to himself. But if this connection were severed, he felt he would carry this indescribable feeling and continue to admire the princess until his death.

On July 30th, the first volume of the comic "The Pride of the Temporary Favorite" will be released by ZERO-SUM Comics. It is beautifully illustrated by Mr. Tamaki.