“I do.”

It was an impulsive remark.

“Can I go to the Northland with you?”

Isaac widened his eyes and turned to Ariana.

“Is the Crown Prince going too? To the Northland? When I go?”

“Yes.”

After saying it, it seemed like a good idea.

“When Isaac goes, I want to go together.”

There wasn’t much to do in Dongryeong for a while. Since Ariana had received significant help from Cyrus, she wanted to do something for him if there was anything she could do.

“Going with me might not be very useful, but maybe I can find something to do?”

Isaac blinked his eyes.

“Would it be inconvenient for me to go?”

“N-no, not at all! It’s great. It’s really great, Crown Princess. Everyone will welcome you. They’ll be really excited!”

Ariana burst into laughter at Isaac’s excessive enthusiasm.

Isaac, who had been staring blankly while Ariana laughed, suddenly regained his composure and said.

“But… should the Crown Princess be sent to the Northland by the Crown Princess? The Northland is not as good as Dongryeong in terms of weather, and it’s a dangerous place… Oh, of course, if the Crown Princess comes, we’ll send elite knights to escort her, but…”

“My father will allow it if I really want to.”

“Then it’s really good. We should inform the Northland.”

“No, we shouldn’t inform them…”

“We have to inform them. We need to prepare to welcome the Crown Princess. You mustn’t change your mind. Got it? You’re definitely going together!”

“Yes, I’ll do that. But, um, being overly welcomed is a bit…”

“Don’t worry about that part. I’ll take care of it, Crown Princess.”

That part was worrying. Isaac liked Ariana too much.

“By the time we arrive in the Northland, it will be really cold, so you should prepare a lot of warm clothes. Shoes too. No, I’ll prepare the shoes. Just bring yourself. We’ll take care of everything.”

Ariana didn’t know who ‘we’ was when Isaac said it, but she slowly started to regret it. She just thought of quietly going and coming back, but it seemed like things were getting too big.

+++

Knock-knock [Dash] Knock-knock-knock [Dash]

Only after the knocking sound rang several times did Ariana wake up from her sleep. Rubbing her sleepy eyes and checking the time, she heard the voice of her maid, Katerina.

“Princess, are you okay? Viscount Houzay came to say that you’re running late for the lesson.”

Ariana quickly got up.

The swordsmanship lesson with Geor begins early in the morning, and Ariana has never been late.

“It’s already 9 o’clock!”

Since the class starts at 7, it means that Geor waited for 2 hours before coming to find her.

“Tell him I’ll be out soon.”

“Yes, Princess.”

Ariana quickly prepared to go out.

She had talked with Isaac until late last night. However, because she has never overslept, she felt bewildered.
‘Come to think of it, I didn’t have a nightmare today.’

Why did I sleep so deeply, having thoughts before falling asleep?

‘I was thinking about going to the Northland. Isaac talked about it so much.’

Thoughts about the Northland and Cyrus crossed her mind. She thought about the lonely young lord who had to wander alone after losing his parents, the lonely little boy whose heart was broken by betrayal from those he trusted, thinking about the frigid country and its ruler with an equally cold body temperature.

Ariana rubbed her face with both hands.

‘Is it because of the tension about going to the Northland?’

Since she told Isaac about going to the Northland together, a strange sensation intermittently overwhelmed her, compressing her heart.

After taking a deep breath, Ariana opened the bedroom door.

Geor was sitting on the living room sofa, crossing his legs. Leaning back comfortably, he smiled as he saw Ariana.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Sorry, I overslept.”

“You’re at a good age, so you should sleep a lot. Should I say a prayer of thanks to the gods who granted deep sleep to the princess who suffered from insomnia?”

Geor raised his hands slightly and teased. Ariana was now accustomed to his playful attitude. Saying, “Later,” she sat across from Geor.

“Did you wait long?”

“I enjoyed the time waiting because the weather was good.”

Ariana looked out the window.

The sky was covered with dark clouds.

“It seems like it’s going to rain.”

“Yeah. I like rainy days.”

The conversation paused for a moment.

While fixedly looking at the sky outside, Ariana felt Geor’s gaze. Geor sometimes observed Ariana so persistently.

The sharp amethyst-like eyes within the slightly slanted elegant eyes were extremely keen. So whenever he stared, she felt as if those eyes were digging through and stirring up various thoughts in her mind.

‘Does Donghoje still doubt me?’

During this time, Ariana didn’t attend parties hosted by various nobles and spent her time studying quietly, showing that she had no intention of making connections to strengthen her position.

However, Geor still sent such persistent glances.

“It seems like you enjoyed the conversation with Isaac. You slept well last night.”

At Geor’s words, Ariana slowly turned her head to gaze at him.