Chapter 32

In the corner of the grand ballroom, the lights were dimmed. On top of the circular tables were several bottles of wine and simple snacks. There were two people sitting there. There were two guards and other bystanders surrounding them. No one dared to look in their direction.

The two women were wearing the Hanuem. They sat leaning back into their chairs and looked severely disturbed. Under the veil was a sleek light purple head of hair. Suddenly, her eyes seemed to spark with a dim light.

“Sister.”

The woman who spoke had hair like silk. It was slightly curly and purple in color. Her eyes were a brilliant gold. She, too, did not look particularly pleased.

“I know.”

Her voice cracked a bit. Baayeme let out a short sigh.

Elbloara tipped her glass several times, gulping the wine like someone who could not quench their thirst. Her lips were dyed red.

She soon emptied the sweet-smelling wine. Elbloara waved her hand lightly and a waiter came over to fill her glass. It was a bitter wine. The ruby liquid shook in the glass, just like her wavering feeling.

Baayeme looked around her surroundings. The banquet was reaching its end.

***

“…I think we can go.”

The first day of Theheras was coming to an end. Theheras

Elbloara sneered. It was the first day she had fully realized that Skara was the losing nation. It became perfectly clear: it was horrific and it was wretched. They would feel it tomorrow and the next day. All throughout Theheras, they would be reminded of it. They weren’t allowed to forget it. It was terrible. It had been a long time since she had felt so annoyed.

<>

It was exactly how Ashite must have felt having lost Lotte Bishel and her free spirit mother at a young age. The name of such a feeling was nothing short of a mess. It was an embarrassment they couldn’t shake off. They felt pathetic.

“…She looked very friendly with him.”

Her voice came out very low and quiet. All Baayeme did was sigh. Elbloara threw out the words then bit her lips.

“Thanks to his majesty’s generosity. His majesty gave me permission to do so.”

<>

She slammed the glass down. Then she lifted it back up again. Elbloara drank another sip. Baayeme looked blankly at the canape with the piece of orange on top then lifted her glass, too. The wine reflected the light and emanated a red glow. Red, violet, purple, orange. All the colors in front of them bothered them. To quench her thirst, she drank two gulps. Baayeme slowly lowered her head then buried her face into her two hands. She let out a long sigh. Hot, bitter breath flowed out.

The wineglass landed on the table roughly and clattered. Elbloara got up elegantly.

“Let’s go.”

***

Theheras continued on. Ashite had conversations with many kings from different lands. Khan was one of the nations with the most advancement in dance and was also home to the famous dancer Helena. Limne had a more relaxed atmosphere in comparison to Khan, and Saffold was a nation that loved art. Plus, the fact that she was a princess born from a free spirit mother had nothing to do with their royal family, so they didn’t cause any issues about her birth status.

Instead, some even showed her interest. Ashite felt it the moment she had first met them. When she had greeted them according to Skara’s customs, they greeted her back welcomingly. They asked her a couple of things about Wroclaw in a pleasant tone of voice so that she gladly and respectfully responded to their questions. No issues arose from their conversation.

Limne’s general even complimented her.

“Princess, you are quite fluent in Moniten.”

“You are too kind.”

“Can you speak Monvixo as well?”

“Yes. It’s embarrassing to say, but I do speak it a little.”

Pastoca laughed jovially. Lu Havre smiled lightly then added, “A little? Didn’t you only hear it once and proceed to pronounce the phrases exactly?”

“Oh, ho. Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. It was quite surprising.”

“Isn’t it a difficult language for foreigners to learn?”

“The princess is an intelligent woman.”

“Oh, ho.”

“We’ll see.”

Yurim’s eyes shimmered like that of a black knight and he asked more questions about the book.

“Did you happen to read <>”

That was a unique book. It portrayed the main character as a legendary Saffold hero but the writing style was closer to that of Skara’s and the author was unknown. The original work was only at Wroclaw. Well-known authors called the piece fodder but to those who read it, it was practically godlike. It sometimes read like history and sometimes like mythology, but the realistic stories were both spiritual and novel-like. There wasn’t anyone who could categorize the genre of the book.

It was definitely a book used to pique interest and she had also read the book before.

“Yes. I have. I read it many years ago.”

Saffold’s king smiled sweetly. With a calm demeanor, he continued to converse with her actively.

“I heard that you dance.”

“Yes. I started learning from a young age.”

Khan’s king laughed out loud. Then he gently wrapped his arms around his daughter’s shoulder and told her.

“My daughter is also interested in the arts. She paints.”

Pinetellia and Ashite naturally started to talk to each other. They were the same age and were both respectable young ladies. They had no problems while talking with each other.

Ashite felt that Pinetellia was like a young girl. Her eyes sparkled like the ocean as she talked about art. She spoke truthfully about the things she enjoyed and liked. She laughed brightly as she said that she would like to see Skara’s winter snow. From what she’s heard, Khan’s king and queen were deeply affectionate to each other. To see a daughter that was born from both of them felt surreal. She had grown up receiving nothing but love and she felt that she was the model of what a princess should be. This didn’t mean that Khan’s princess was like an immature child. She knew how to respect others with sincerity and her thoughts were deep. She didn’t speak without thinking. There was no way that she could not feel an attachment towards her.

Soon, Ashite met up with Saffold’s princess as well. She had dark hair like obsidian which was braided neatly. Her name was Yuhansam. She was like a calm lake under the moonlight. So she was able to greet her with a lovely smile.

Yuhansam was busy looking around, having come to Theheras for the first time. She laughed like a little girl. Ashite instinctively knew this woman was raised receiving lots of love, too. She had no trace of sarcasm or hypocrisy about her.

After about two days passed, the three of them started to talk more comfortably with each other.

“You mastered Helena’s basic routine when you were nine?”

“Yes. I learned it from my mother when I was young.”

“That’s phenomenal.”

Ashite smiled beautifully. “Your compliments embarrass me. Pinetellia, did you learn art as a child?”

“Yes. One of the artists in Pinete was my teacher. Father gave me the opportunity to learn from him.”

“Pinete? That person must have been a great painter as well.”

Pinetellia smiled shyly. My skills are not so great, her expression seemed to say.

Yuhansam liked to write poetry and sing songs. Once Ashite told her that she wanted to see it one day, she, too, smiled shyly.

They were both two women who had grown up receiving lots of love from their fathers. Ashite smiled elegantly.

She couldn’t help but think that way. <> Even if they were all princesses, depending on the environment they grew up in, they could end up being so different. She felt slightly envious on one hand, and also felt a range of complicated emotions on the other. But she had no hard feelings towards them. They were good people.

She knew that just because she talked a lot to these members of the royal families that she could be friends with them. She had never given her affection to anyone that easily. However, she could not react coldly to these women who were treating her with such respect and admiration. Most importantly, they didn’t look down on her.

The princess of Khan and Saffold had a lot of interest in the arts and Saffold’s princess liked books. Khan’s king laughed joyfully as he saw the three princesses talking adamantly among themselves. Limne’s general smiled as he watched them also. Ashite smiled often while talking with them. This was nice.

Ashite met with other nobilities and spoke with them. Of course, a majority of the topics were general greetings but there were some people who showed interest in her. She had not seen Count Guillaume since the time they met in Terre Sund, so they exchanged greetings with each other with a smile. He approached her and handed her a glass of sweet wine. She also greeted Duke Moncheta. His daughter was dancing with a man. Seeing that, they smiled lightly. With the Duke and Marquis Monhaine, she talked to them about Ramon Moncheta. There was a slight mention of Skara’s prince, too. Yeref stayed by them. This also felt nice.

The deep red cloak caught her eyes at times. The king spoke mainly to guests from other countries. The king moved around from place to place supervising the events of the banquet. In those instances, he was surrounded by many beautiful women. Seeing that as time passed, the women around him changed, she assumed they got tired of his apathy towards them and left.

The king never changed. She was struck by the thought all of a sudden.

Theheras was halfway finished. Ashite drank several glasses of wine with Pinetallia and Yuhansam. She felt happy. She excused herself to cool off her reddening cheeks and headed to the balcony.

A cool wind was blowing and the scent of flowers was in the air. Inside, he could hear the sound of music, dance, and voices in conversations. Inside, the chandelier and decorations were luxurious, the smell of food was savory and sweet, but outside it was quiet and dark. Her heart felt at peace. Ashite leaned comfortably on the edge of the balcony. The sound of wind whistled in her ear.

“…Your wife has also…”

“…So that’s what happened…”

Then she suddenly heard a rustling sound. It was the upstairs balcony. For Theheras, they used the entire three floors of the grand ballroom. If the 1st and 2nd floor were reserved for the banquet, the 3rd floor was meant as a lounge to rest. It seemed that there were woman conversing with each other at the place. Their voices could be heard at times, and not at others.

“Yes. Truthfully, I deserved the punishment I received that night.”

“Your Majesty, on the other hand, has not left anything unthought of.”

Her ears heard those words clearly. Punishment? Your Majesty?

“…I pray your husband may rest in peace…”

Was she a wife who had lost her husband?

“…Is what I heard true?”

“That rumor?”

“To tell you the truth, neither of us easily believes something like….”

“The chaos in the morning―”

The dialogue abruptly stopped. Ashite pressed her ears in closer. This was not an elegant action but it wasn’t a conversation she could pass up easily. She also felt that she recognized one of the voices. <>

“From what I found out yesterday, the rumors about the wife of Count Hamern were found to be true.”

“Yes… The wife had lost troops to the war and ended up in a tough spot for a few days…”

“…How does Your Majesty… Find out about these details of those other families…”

“…Now that you mention it, Viola’s baron is also…”

“Probably through the minister of finance…”

“I’ve also received a letter from the Count.”

Their speech swayed between quiet and loud.

“Yerv….No, I guess he is a baron now.”

“It’s all because Your Majesty has granted me permission to do so.”

Laughter rang out.

“That’s fortunate. How have you been faring since that time?”

“A friend of my husband has been helping us out.”

“Then the reason you didn’t attend the social was…”

“Yes… I had to take care of some business at home…”

The voices suddenly became quiet. Ashite fanned her face with her hands. She pieced together the few words she was able to pick up. That day, chaos, punishment, the king’s secret sponsor, talking care of the family, the finance minister. The rumor that he was violent, a carefully executed plan. She didn’t know what exactly the reason was but this woman must have done something wrong. Her husband had lost his life in the war. The king had been supporting the family members of those soldiers who had lost their lives in the war. Punishment was punishment, but help was help. There was more than just violence to this king.

She now thought that she had figured out the truth. Ashite was certain that the king was not the type of person to treat women thoughtlessly. From that point on, she had not thought much about that woman. But right now, there was only one thought that popped into her head. Obviously, he’s not that kind of king. She smiled ambiguously.

Ashite was continuously in a peaceful mood. At some point, she had remained in that state. Of course, she did at times have moments of severe swings of emotions but for the most part, her life now felt secure and safe. It was all thanks to this country’s king.

Was there anything else she could be more grateful for? Meeting him was the luckiest thing that could have happened to her after her mother died.

It was already autumn. The king’s generosity continued. However, she could never know if someone would mark her as an enemy. Perhaps a daughter of a Monterobis Duke. However, she didn’t think much about it.

From the beginning, it had been her misinterpretation. The king’s generosity was just that, nothing more. Why would he ever take a princess in such low standing to be his queen?

However, this thought did occur to her. Having well passed the age for marriage, the king and the servants must have been worried about the open position of queen, although the king’s marriage had nothing to do with her. She had seen this at Terra Sund and during Theheras, but there were many women in fancy dresses who surrounded the king flashing their beautiful smiles at him.

On the last day, the king, with a voice that emphasized his good mood, called for Ashite.