CH 54

Asha shook off a short time of agony and grumbled with a sigh.

“What has that got to do with it? The problem is that Karnov is too close with Alyosha.”

“…So, you didn’t go because of that?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s your maternal grandfather.”

Karnov didn’t think that she was aware of her family relationship with the knight commander, but when he realized that she really knew, he felt a lump in his throat.

“I’m saying that I didn’t go because he’s my maternal grandfather. Karnov, what are you trying to say?”

Asha courageously closed the book and glared at Karnov. Karnov was still making an expression that was incomprehensible.

“Don’t you miss him?”

“Who?”

“Sir Tarjei Nellin.”

Asha stared at Karnov. She wanted to know if he was trying to figure her out or if he was genuinely curious.

However, the dark blue air current, which had been wavy as if it were emotional from him a while ago, had hardened. It was hard to figure out what he was thinking now. Asha, who was thinking hard about how to answer, decided to counterattack.

“What about Karnov?”

“Me?”

“Do you have grandparents?”

“…There’s one grandmother.”

“Do you live together?”

“No, she’s at the estate.”

“Are you close?”

When asked if they were close, Karnov seemed a little puzzled. Asha urged an answer.

“Are you close to your grandmother?”

“…I guess so.”

“I see. If you’re close, then you must miss Grandmother Karnov.”

In other words, it meant that it was too much to discuss the longing for her maternal grandfather who she had never met. As Karnov closed his lips, Asha clapped her hands.

“Oh, then tell Grandmother Karnov to come too!”

“…Why?”

“Why? You just told me. You miss her.”

“To ask grandmother by saying I miss her…”

“What other reasons do you need other than that?”

Asha looked up at Karnov and shrugged her shoulders.

“Karnov is sometimes stupid.”

“This pea.”

Asha swung her left hand, right hand, and forehead one after another. Although none of them exerted physical force on Karnov.

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

When the peace mission of the Noctis Elves arrived on the islands, Asha thought she had seen all the flowers to see in a lifetime.

<Why do humans like throwing flowers so much?>

Phoebe, who sat on Asha’s shoulder leaning against the window overlooking the garden, bleated.

Asha was wearing a dazzling dress. The hem of the skirt was adorned with Remschite lace, indicating that time, not money, was the problem. The light lime cream-colored silk was a luxury from the famous Dalarneze Mountains in the south.

In addition, the dress was adorned with exquisite floral embroidery by a renowned artisan. It was a gift from Alexei, demonstrating how much the crown prince valued his sister*. Passing courtiers couldn’t help but remark on how dearly the crown prince cherished his sister.

[*TN: He calls her 누이 which means sister but they are in fact cousins.]

“You don’t like it, Phoebe? To celebrate something, we spread out pretty things and eat delicious things.”

<Hmm…>

“Well, then it’s even more delightful. It may seem a bit overly extravagant, but it brings even more joy.”

Phoebe didn’t seem to understand at all.

<Meeting sinners is not something to celebrate.>

“Well… maybe they have paid their dues, so they were able to come out?”

According to Phoebe, the Noctis Elves could not escape from the north until all the darkness was purified, but seeing that the peace mission had come so far, the problem seemed to have been solved to some extent.

“But can we really say that those who have paid their dues have been absolved of their past sins? And can we assert that there is still no one among them with sinister intentions?”

“Well, that’s true too.”

<…But you have a point. It seems that the darkness in the North has been cleansed to a great extent.>

Asha, who had glanced at Phoebe’s chirping a little curtly, tilted her head against the window frame.

“…But certainly, it was similar to Ivan. That’s right.”

As soon as they arrived at the palace, the Noctis Elves went straight to the venue of the agreement, where only the emperor, Alexei, and two members of Noctis Elves entered. In the meantime, Asha could briefly see elves passing by.

<It’s a mixed blood with an Elf. So, do you want to return it?>

‘What?’

Asha looked at Phoebe with a puzzled face. A chick lying leisurely on the window sill collided with its beaks.

<You are right. they are similar. Even if you were born of mixed blood between a human and an Elf, since you inherited the abilities of an Elf, you would feel closer to the Noctis Elves. So, when it finally breaks its feelings, it will try to go back to them.>

What Phoebe calls “it” is Ivan. Asha looked stunned because it was a problem she had never thought about.

‘Maybe it’s possible… Can it really be?’

After awakening all emotions and removing Prasti, she would send Ivan north to the Elves… Asha thought it was a perfect plan for two seconds, but she frowned before long.

‘But what if the Noctis elves pick on Ivan? And Ivan won’t have good memories in the north.’

The chick rolled slowly in the warm winter sun and rattled its beak. Asha later found out that it was a chick clicking its tongue.

<You have absolutely no ability to discern the subject of your worries and concerns.>

‘…’

When she heard such a harsh criticism in front of her face, she felt distant for a moment.

‘Wh… what?’

<Even if it breaks down with emotions locked up, it is a mixed blood between a Noctis Elf and a human. It is something that is incomparably stronger than you, who is simply like a soft peach, but are you afraid that it will break and get hurt?>

Asha, who had a short tantrum, pushed Phoebe out of the window with only the tip of her finger moving. Phoebe, who flipped out, was surprised and cried violently.

<You! You! You’re so soft to others!>

‘You said bad things first.’

<This body always tells the truth!>

‘And it wasn’t to the point of being overly anxious. I just paid a little more attention, that’s all.’

It was time for Asha to pout her lips.

“Even your pet bird is chattering like this?”

Karnov with black hair, which seemed to kill even the sunlight, emerged from beyond the trees in the garden. Asha sprang to her feet, snatched Phoebe with one hand, put her in a cage, and slammed the door shut.

“Peep peep! Peep peep!”

“Kar, Karnov? How did Karnov get here?”

“Can’t anyone come to the garden?”

“Then not how, but why did you come?”

“Because I was subjected to the tyranny of His Highness the crown prince.”

“Tyranny?”

“He ordered me to bring his sister to the dinner. I am.”

Asha, who belatedly recognized who he was talking about, glanced at Karnov. Karnov had mentioned the tyranny, but seemed to be indifferent to it in reality. Asha also decided not to pay much attention to it and immediately asked what she was curious about.

“The talk? Is it going well?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The peace treaty, I mean.”

“Oh? Of course, it’s going well.”

Karnov’s expression was so confident, so he didn’t seem to understand Asha’s worried question at all.

Asha pursed her lips for a moment before coming to terms with it. In an empire where a warrior who led the war to victory was living prosperously, what kind of words could one expect to hear from the other side regarding a peace treaty?

Yeah, she was sure everything went well…

“So, shall we go to dinner now, Your Highness?”

While Asha was only sighing, Karnov pointed far away from the garden. It was the place where the dinner was.

“If you’re taking me with you, you should come to the door, Lord Karnov.”

“Unfortunately, I am running a bit late. Please excuse me then.”

“Yes? What, what do you mean, argh!”

Karnov, who approached briskly, leaped lightly onto the windowsill. Startled, Asha opened her eyes wide as he swiftly embraced her and leaped back into the garden. It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Kko, did it have to be like this?!”

“I’m late.”

“You should have come so early! What are you late for?”

Karnov only smiled at Asha’s whining, but did not tell her why he was late.

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

“You already know him. Karnov Neustadter, the deputy commander of our imperial forces and the next Duke of Sedvoyer. And this person… This is… Anastasia, my sister.”

Asha greeted Alexei neatly, following his introduction, and glanced around with her eyes only. Gilhellam Elmin Shirevra, the former supreme commander of the past war, and Tarjei Nellin, the Knight Commander of Tingness, were already present.

‘Ugh.’

Among them, the murky green eyes of Tarjei Nellin, a hard faced old gentleman, stared at her.

Asha quickly averted her gaze from Alexei, thinking about where her own emerald eyes, inherited from her mother, might have come from. Meanwhile, Alexei took a step closer to the Elves.

“This is Prince Lilmari, the representative of the Noctis Elves, and Prince Ahti, his aide.”

“My name is Lilmari, Princess Anastasia. Nice to meet you you.”

The Noctis Elves said they were happy, but their expressions were calm. As Asha responded to the elegant blue-gray skinned, long-eared elves, she studied their expressions.

From Lilmari, she sensed a great tension, subtle unease, and a hint of relief. And by his side, Ahti, the aide…

‘What?’

There was more anger than tension. The sense of tension came next, followed by a feeling of searching for something. However, those complex emotions were brief, as the cool gaze and greetings towards Asha were met with a mere flicker of the head and a chilly expression toward Karnov.

Asha understood the eyes and emotions they expressed toward Karnov, but she took a step ahead for no reason. If possible, she wanted to cover Karnov from that gaze. Although Karnov, being a head taller than her, could not be completely shielded as intended.