“Yes. Why do you ask?”

The reason he asked such an abrupt question was because it was obvious that the suit had seen better days. It even had visible mending marks.

“Is there something wrong with the clothes?”

“Don’t you have any other clothes? It’s torn.”

“I couldn’t bring another training suit when I came here. As for the torn part, Lia fixed it, so it’s fine.”

Wearing only the clothes Emil initially provided for her since coming here, it was inevitable that they would wear out quickly.

She didn’t see it as a problem. It didn’t bother her.

However, Shuher couldn’t understand. He thought Emil could easily prepare a new training suit for her.

‘Come to think of it, not just the training suit.’

Since coming to Karies, Evenel didn’t even have what could be called luggage, and her usual attire didn’t suit her status as a young noble of a ducal family. It was too plain.

Considering how she was treated at the Istella Ducal House, it wasn’t surprising.

Recalling the voices of the young nobles who mocked her, Shuher spoke.

“Emil.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Prepare what the young lady needs.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Emil, grasping his intention, immediately left the scene. Evenel, however, had no idea what they were talking about.

“What do you mean, ‘what I need’?”

“Things you need while staying here. What you brought from Aodin seems grossly inadequate.”

“Are you talking about clothes or something?”

When Shuher nodded, Evenel quickly waved her hands. Such ostentatious items were not necessary for her.

“I’m fine. What I have now is enough.”

“Just accept it. It’s included in the agreed price anyway.”

“Even so, I really don’t need it. Could you please prepare a gun for me first? I can’t train without it.”

What was urgent for her was the gun that broke during the extermination.

“Another gun. If you heard what the young nobles said yesterday, you should feel some need for clothes.”

“I don’t care. I want to let them think what they want. It’s not important to me.”

Evenel still found modern-style clothes more comfortable, so the traditional attire of the young nobles she saw yesterday felt unfamiliar and burdensome. Just thinking about wearing it herself was already suffocating
Wearing such a glamorous dress was hard to imagine.

After all, I’d hear negative comments anyway, so I didn’t particularly want to bend over backward to meet their standards.

“People have different interests and values, you know. Mine just happen to be different. Besides, from what I see, what His Majesty is preparing for me isn’t something cheap. There’s a price to pay for quality.”

Evenel couldn’t shake the feeling that Shuher would use this as an excuse to take advantage of her.

“It’s easier when you understand immediately.”

“It’s all about debt in the end. Still, I’ll gratefully accept it since it might come in handy later.”

Evenel, who had finished eating first, set her utensils down. Upon seeing she had finished eating, Shuher spoke.

“You can go first.”

It wasn’t polite, but if he allowed it, there would be no issue. Yet for some reason, she remained seated.

Perhaps thinking she hadn’t heard him, Shuher repeated himself.

“I said you can go.”

“I heard you. But Your Majesty is not done eating yet.”

So that meant,

“You’ll wait for me?”

“Yes.”

“There’s no need to.”

“It may be unnecessary, but it feels, well, awkward eating alone in such a large space.”

At that, Shuher stopped moving his utensils and looked at Evenel, as if asking what she meant.

“Even the most delicious food can taste bland, you know.”

When she was a cadet, she often had late-night training sessions, which led to late meals. At those times, her younger sibling would sit across from her at the table, keeping her company.

Telling her to go sleep never worked. And now she was saying the same thing. Eating alone felt lonely, so she would stay.

In truth, she had grown so thankful for that sentiment that she naturally waited for others when eating.

“Shouldn’t that be considered a problem with your sense of taste?”

Shuher couldn’t empathize at all. He was accustomed to being alone, and besides, no one would say they would wait for him, the emperor.

“That’s just how I feel. Ah, if it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll get up.”

Not wanting to make him uncomfortable, she started to rise from her seat, but a single word from Shuher stopped her.

“…Not particularly.”

Taking his indifferent response as permission, Evenel hesitated for a moment before sitting back down.
“In fact, I had invited Emil and Lia to eat together, but they firmly declined.”

“They are strictly servants, so it’s only natural.”

“I saw their awkwardness, so I didn’t ask again. Ah, the most delicious thing I’ve eaten here was…”

While listening to Evenel’s conversation, Shuher resumed his meal. The space, usually filled with silence, was now filled with her melodic voice.

As he distanced himself from the palace without saying much, Evenel’s voice reached him from behind.

“May you have a good day today as well.”

Pausing at her words, Shuher turned around to find that Evenel was already walking in the opposite direction. All of this was new to him.

Both the fact that she had waited for him to finish his meal and the words wishing him a good day.

Shuher’s gaze lingered on her retreating figure for longer than he had expected.