Ariana grabbed the end of her hair and brought it under her nose. Jeor couldn’t understand why he wanted to grab that hair end and pull it.

“Are you enjoying the party?”

“Thanks to you. I like the shoes. They’re comfortable, and my feet feel good.”

“That’s a relief. Should I say a prayer to the gods who helped you choose such wonderful shoes?”

Ariana smiled brightly. It was pleasing.

“Later. The Crown Prince doesn’t seem to be enjoying the party today.”

“I don’t like parties. Grandma asked to choose a swordsmanship teacher for the princess. Why does she want to learn swordsmanship?”
“Someday, when the Crown Prince’s sword shines before me, I might attempt to block it.”

Jeor laughed cheerfully.

People nearby turned around at the sound of his refreshing laughter.

“That’s a splendid determination.”

“Do you have a good teacher?”

In response to Ariana’s question, Jeor pointed at himself with his sword finger.

It was an impulsive action even he couldn’t understand.

“The Crown Prince?”

“There’s no one in Dongryeong with better swordsmanship than me. And wouldn’t it be better for you to learn from me to block my sword?”

“But the Crown Prince is busy, isn’t he?”

“The time for the princess is the most important.”

While Ariana was contemplating whether making Jeor her swordsmanship teacher was the right thing to do, she lowered her gaze.

While Ariana was pondering, Jeor, for some reason, stared at her long eyelashes with tension.

Eventually, Ariana met his gaze and said, “I’ll count on you, teacher.”

Teacher.

That word stung.

+++

There was a white table by the window of the study. In a large glass bowl on top of it, there were plenty of bright red cherries.

These cherries, collected as the thickest and juiciest among cherries grown in Beon City, famous for its fruits, didn’t seem to please Cyrus when he ate them.

Cyrus mechanically put one cherry at a time into his mouth, looking out of the window.

Beyond the Maho Castle in Northland, the top of the Gratin Mountain was covered with perennial snow, shining white. However, as it descended, the snow melted, and fresh buds were sprouting from every branch.

Northland had a low climate, so the snow started melting from May, and it wasn’t until July that spring began in earnest. Soon, the area around Maho Castle would be full of spring flowers.

While everyone was happily preparing for spring as the long winter ended, Cyrus didn’t look pleased.

Viscount Tessio Hern and Marquis Hyemel Brown, who came to discuss the festival scheduled for early July, couldn’t bring up the main topic because they were busy watching Cyrus’s mood.

Viscount Hern, a longtime friend of Duke Brown, asked in a low voice, “Your Excellency seems to be in a bad mood lately. Is it because of the attack by the Pagannus bastards when you came to Northland?”

“Well, that too…”

Duke Brown didn’t think Cyrus looked so uncomfortable just because of that issue. Cyrus was not someone who outwardly expressed his bad mood due to such incidents.

“Could it be because of your future wife?”

“Ah… I heard it from Noah, but Your Excellency seems to have fallen deeply for the princess of Dongryeong?”

“It’s not just a normal infatuation.”

Duke Brown recalled when Cyrus’s expression changed when Ariana sent a message only to Isaac.

Viscount Hern smiled pleasantly.

“Is our lord finally in love?”

“What’s the point if he is? He seems completely unaware of it himself.”
“Since you’ve lived such a difficult life, there hasn’t been time to delve into such feelings. If my future wife comes to Northland, then finally, spring will come to Northland as well.”

“Well, that would be nice, but…”

Duke Hern recalled what he heard from Noah.

[Dash]”Even if our lord’s feelings are vividly visible without hearing them… I don’t understand the feelings of my future wife. Of course, there’s no woman who wouldn’t like someone like our lord, but when I see my future wife, it seems like she’s extremely captivated by our lord.”

Even if there might be no woman who wouldn’t remember our lord, as beautiful as an ice flower, now that Ariana has become the princess of Dongryeong, her actions troubled him.

“If our lord likes her to that extent, she must be more than an ordinary woman…”

If she’s not an ordinary woman, then the way men look at her might not be ordinary either.

“Ugh. But even if you look at her with extraordinary eyes, our lord isn’t perfect.”

While Duke Hern was preoccupied with worries, Marquis Brown spoke.

“If the body drifts away, so does the heart. If you’re worried, how about suggesting to our lord to visit Dongryeong? It’s Northland, and you and I are here, so we can manage for a while.”

It was a good idea, but it was unclear whether Cyrus, who was a workaholic, would accept the suggestion to go to Dongryeong.

As if understanding Duke Hern’s concerns, Marquis Brown added.

“If helping the Princess of Dongryeong improved our relationship with the Crown Prince, it might be good to discuss the matter of the future Empress of the North together.”

That was it.

Duke Hern tapped Marquis Brown’s shoulder and approached Cyrus. Cyrus, with his red eyes still fixed on the window, was picking up cherries one by one and putting them in his mouth.

“Your Excellency.”

Cyrus, who was about to aim for another cherry, stopped and turned to look at Duke Hern. It seemed he just realized that Duke Hern was here.

“Visit Dongryeong.”

“Why should I do that?”

“Don’t you have something to discuss with the Crown Prince when you visit Dongryeong?”

Cyrus narrowed his eyes slightly and then picked up a cherry. Watching Cyrus roll the red cherry in his hand, Duke Hern continued speaking.

“Since Your Excellency didn’t have a problem leaving Maho Castle empty for 2 or 3 months during the war, there won’t be a significant change if you visit Dongryeong for a while. Improving the relationship with the Crown Prince is also an important issue.”

“Hmm.”

Cyrus put the cherry he had been rolling in his palm back on the tray. Duke Hern politely stood, waiting for Cyrus to make a decision.

Finally, Cyrus spoke.

“I will depart tomorrow.”