CH 28

Crash!

The crackling of the glass rang out in the distance of the banquet hall. Everyone’s eyes were on it. Among the tangled people, she saw those in military uniforms. Karnov’s eyes narrowed as if he recognized their faces.

Karnov needed to leave it seemed. Asha nodded quickly, meaning that he could go.

“…I’ll tell you again when I get back.”

“Goodbye~!”

Asha smiled and waved. As Karnov moved, people made way as if the tide was ebbing again. And the moment when Asha barely breathed a sigh of relief without anyone noticing.

“Oh no, this ball doesn’t seem to be very interesting to my youngest niece.”

At the voice heard from behind, Asha turned quickly. He was a man who had seen her face once in the palace. He bent one knee with a gentle smile and looked at her.

“It’s my first time saying hello formally, right? My name is Maxim, the older brother of your father, Yuriev.” 

It was Maxim, whom her spirit had told her to be a “little bird,” and who had often helped out whenever the family was in trouble for the past ten years.

“Ah… Your Excellency the Marquis.”

“No, it’s just uncle… No, you can say uncle.”

Maxim laughed loudly and tore her hair into a mess.

“Oh sorry. There is only one son in our house. Let’s see, can we sort this out?”

Maxim said so and took something out of his arms. It was a hairband made of light pink silk. A large ribbon was hanging, surrounding a white pearl in the center, and small, transparent jewels were attached.

When Asha was curious about the shiny stones, Maxim suddenly put the headband on her.

“Uh uh.”

“Oops. It really suits our little princess. It’s an apology for messing with your hair, so you’re sure to accept it, okay?”

Asha was fiddling with the headband and ended up laughing a little. If there was only a son at home, it meant that he bought this headband for Asha on purpose.

“Hey, didn’t Dimitri come?”

“Ah, my son. He didn’t come. He said he had a stomachache.”

Maxim said so and rubbed his chin. It was a delicate expression.

“It was like a trick. I couldn’t even grab him by the hair and drag him here.”

“…”

‘It’s not because I bothered you, is it?’ Asha thought to herself.

“Asha, how’s life in the palace? Have you gotten used to it?”

Maxim asked in a cheerful voice. Asha nodded with a slightly relaxed face.

“Alyosha is nice to me too… There are many fun things, too!”

“Anything fun?”

“Oh… This and that?”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that she was baking snacks in the kitchen. Maxim immediately burst into laughter as if he was curious about the details.

“By the way, is the Crown Prince nice to you? He was always like the cool wind. Without a single cuteness.”

“No, he’s cute!”

“…Who? Are you talking about Prince Alexei?”

“That’s right… Alyosha is cute.”

“Do you call His Highness the Crown Prince Alyosha?”

“Ah, yes… I was scolded for that last time. Please keep it a secret.”

“You got in trouble? With whom?”

Asha was about to say something, but she stopped. There was a glaring gaze from afar. One belonged to Karnov and the other to Valery. The black flesh and the disgusting green emotion leaking out from Valery’s feet was terrifying jealousy.

‘I think I’m going to choke to death from the left, and I think I’m going to die from the right.’

“Oh, that bastard? You don’t have to worry about him. Don’t take it to heart.”

It was a radical term to refer to a person who was his own brother and Asha’s uncle, but no one around him could point that out.

“But…”

“Hmm, the one who you should be more mindful of than that bastard is our deputy commander.”

Asha briefly admired Maxim’s eye for seeing through the situation exactly.

“T, that’s right.”

“But the Crown Prince will take care of that, too.”

“Will he?”

“…Did the Princess become so sullen because I didn’t choose the right topic?”

Asha shook her head and looked up at Maxim quietly. There was one thing she always wondered about Maxim.

“Hey, uncle.”

“Yes? What’s wrong?”

Maxim looked down at her with a smile. Asha asked carefully.

“I’ve been curious about something. Can I ask you?”

“As much as you want!”

“Didn’t you say that the spirit contracted with uncle is the ‘Spirit of Discernment’?”

“Oh, I did.”

“Does that mean that you know exactly what spirits people are contracted with?”

Maxim raised his eyebrows as if he was surprised by the question, then rubbed Asha’s cheek with the back of his hand.

“No, the power is not like that.”

“Then?”

“It means to think or judge correctly about the world. Even if it is not the right answer.”

“The right answer, or not?”

Maxim winked one eye.

“Yes. It must be a huge force, but if the identity is unknown, it is my discretion to say that it is a small bird spirit.”

“…!”

“So…”

Maxim said so, straightening his back and looking around. Wonderful chandeliers, wonderful music, dancers, fancy clothes, shoes, and trinkets.

“I wanted to buy you some time, but I don’t think my words meant much.”

Maxim could not confirm Asha’s spirit, but he gave her a head start so that Asha wouldn’t suffer from meaningless attention in the Imperial Palace. Her imperial spirit was only a bird spirit, before the elders of the imperial family had any vain hopes or doubts.

“– Uncle Maxim, were you bothering Asha?”

Then a voice burst out from behind. Even though it was a friendly voice, the icy airflow brushed the back of her neck. The murmur in the hall also subsided as if it were dead again.

It was Alexei who stood behind her.

“Ah… Alyosha, are you here?”

Asha looked back with joy. But Alexei’s reaction went beyond her imagination.

He lifted her up with a big hug.

“W, whoa!”

She was much smaller than her age, and Alexei was only five years older than her age, but the difference in physique between the two was significant. The eye level rose in an instant. Asha hurriedly embraced Alexei’s neck.

“I’ve been busy for a while.”

“That’s not it…”

His eyes closed and he smiled, holding her with one arm and playfully stroking her cheek with the other, Asha’s eyes were about to roll.

“Uncle Maxim.”

“I didn’t bother her!”

Maxim, who had been bending on his knees to make eye contact with Asha, stood up and quickly raised his hands.

“No, indeed, Your Highness Crown Prince is such a spring breeze on our princess. But you’re so cold to your uncle.”

“My uncle.”

“If I tease you any more here, I won’t be able to go home today. Right, Asha?”

As Maxim said so and swept Asha’s cheek, Alexei struck out the hand. At the same time as the excited sound, Maxim, who became a little confused, burst into laughter.

“I was really scolded like this.”

“I was surprised, uncle. Forgive this nephew’s rudeness.”

“No, the Crown Prince should forgive me. More than that, I have something to give to Asha, and I will give it later.”

As Asha blinked and tilted her head because she didn’t know what, Maxim smiled with a slightly bitter expression that she had never seen before.

“It’s from Yuriev. Please bring Asha’s items from home and deliver them…”

“Oh.”

“He also asked me to say sorry for not being able to come to the palace, Asha. You may be upset, but the reason why he can’t come to his father…”

Maxim blurred out his words. At the moment when Alexei couldn’t speak, Asha smiled brightly.

“It’s okay! How’s my mom and dad?”

“What?”

“It’s okay if they can’t come. Because I understand… I miss them. Mom and Dad are not crying, are they doing well? That’s it.”

“…They’re both adults, so of course they’re doing well without crying. Well then, be well. If you don’t, this uncle will come and scold you!”

Maxim cried out in a loud voice. Asha smiled again.

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

Alexei dropped her off after coming out of the terrace and locking the door.

“Aly…”

“I was a little late because I was called by grandfather, so you were caught by uncle.”

Alexei pressed her forehead with his index finger.

“Even if he says uncle, if you think he’s bothering you, you should leave, huh? Are you waiting for me to save you?”

“I never asked you to save me, well.”

Asha pouted her lips. Alexei looked down at Asha and smiled quietly.

“Did anyone really bother you?”

“There wasn’t. Valery… The Marquis of Shapiroqin glared very scarily from behind.”

Alexei’s eyes narrowed at the coldness of Asha’s words, then widened again.

“Really?”

“Right, if you think about it, he didn’t say anything wrong, did he? Because I call you Alyosha…”

“Even if he said that, you don’t need to listen to that.”

“I’m sure Alyosha didn’t like me calling you that either, so in the future, I’ll be sure to call you Crown Prince Alyosha…”

She turned her head to look at him, and then she felt the heat again. Asha staggered back, leaning against the railing of the first-floor terrace.

“Alyosha!”

“Why don’t you just call me His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Wasn’t it Alyosha who just glared at me like you’re going to eat me when I called you that?!”

Asha shouted, moving her eyebrows up, and eventually drooped her shoulders.

There was a warm air current that had never been seen before around Alexei, who sat her on the terrace and looked up.