The Imperial Princess's Visit

The news of the Imperial Princess’s visit suddenly threw Hestia Town into an uproar.

When the day finally arrived, everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded into the streets.

“Wouldn’t this be a chance to see the flower of the Empire?”

“Do you think she’d show her face to people like us? I’ve never seen her, even though I live right under her nose.”

“Still, if not now, when will we ever get the chance?”

Most people praised her beauty, but very few had ever seen her in person.

Since most people living in the Empire had never even seen Olivia’s face, they had flocked there feeling that this was their first and last chance.

While the streets were abuzz with excitement, Ruri was more on edge than usual.

That was because she had prepared more thoroughly than ever for the arrival of such an important guest.

‘No, that’s not it.’

If she wanted to, she could break through the Empire’s defensive barrier and enter the interior, so there was no way she would be this tense.

Those sharp eyes were directed at Ferda, as expected.

Ferda more or less knew the reason.

That was why he said to her,

“The only person I’m interested in is His Highness Waldrova.”

“Who said anything?”

With those words, Ruri abruptly turned her head and walked away, leaving Ferda wondering what that had been about.

A short while later, a pair of mounted guards riding white horses appeared from the forest.

A long procession followed behind them, and it took another four minutes before a large carriage finally came into view.

Olivia Arken must be riding in that splendid carriage.

Just as Ferda was thinking that he only needed to make some rough preparations, an unexpected situation arose.

The carriage came to a stop at the unfinished outer wall.

“Why have those people suddenly stopped and started making such a commotion?”

“I don’t know.”

Ferda was faced with an unexpected situation.

At the same time, soldiers began laying a red carpet in a straight line from the outer castle gate.

Meanwhile, the guards took up positions at regular intervals on both sides of the red carpet and began controlling the residents.

Ferda felt a sense of familiarity at the sight.

‘Are they planning a parade?’

Ferda’s guess was correct.

Olivia Arken was attempting to transfer from the carriage wrapped up like a tightly sealed shell to one used in victory parades.

Ferda frowned as he watched.

“What a troublesome thing to do……”

Ferda muttered that under his breath, then said to Ruri,

“Ruri. We’ll have to change the schedule a little.”

“What do you mean?”

“Could you take me to the outer castle gate?”

“Are you planning to rush over to the Imperial Princess’s side?”

“I don’t want any trouble to break out in Hestia Town.”

She glared at him sullenly, but what could she do?

In the end, Ruri granted Ferda’s request.

From a certain height, Ferda descended directly using Heaven Stair and reached Olivia’s side.

“I pay my respects to the Imperial Princess.”

“I pay my respects to the Regent of the Grand Duchy. Did you come all this way for me?”

“What is the meaning of this?”

Without being swept up in Olivia’s atmosphere, Ferda asked the question directly.

Olivia answered while checking her face in a mirror.

“What else would it be? I’m trying to help the Regent, of course.”

“How is this helping?”

“I’m merely trying to draw out rumors about Hestia Town.”

“What rumors?”

“The flower of the Empire entered Waldrova Castle displaying her beautiful figure…… Wouldn’t that be more than enough to get people gossiping?”

She cast a sidelong glance at him with her sapphire eyes and smiled.

“If you intend to destroy Hestia Town, then this is certainly a fine thing to do. I thought you would understand well enough why I don’t show myself to onlookers.”

“I know. If people said that an Imperial Princess had been struck by a stone or tomato thrown by a spectator, that family would be wiped out.”

In fact, something like that had happened during the First Prince’s visit, and the noble family had vanished without a trace.

Olivia, whom everyone admired for her beauty, would surely face even more severe consequences.

“Don’t worry. I’m conducting this entirely on my own, and I’ll hold the knights accountable for failing to stop me. Wouldn’t that settle the matter?”

“It wouldn’t matter if everything in the world worked out that easily.”

“You don’t seem convinced.”

“No.”

“As candid as ever.”

Olivia covered her mouth and giggled.

“Then let me suggest a compromise. Would you ride with me?”

“……”

“If someone throws a stone or a tomato, please stop it for me, Regent. Wouldn’t that be enough?”

“……”

Olivia touched her glossy lips with the fan she held.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were rumors that the Regent of Waldrova threw himself in front of the Imperial Princess? That chivalry for the sake of a princess still exists?”

He wanted to say, Stop talking nonsense and send that carriage back. Get inside your shell at once.

But she showed no sign of backing down.

Ferda disliked her unyielding attitude, but he could not afford to be stubborn either.

As he had said, he was in a situation where he had to chew even a shiny but hollow fruit.

“Very well.”

“Heehee. Then climb in beside me.”

And so Ferda climbed into the Imperial Princess’s carriage.

The guards and knights seemed unable to hide their astonishment at the situation, but not one of them said a word.

Thus, the carriage procession began.

It crossed the long open stretch of land with nothing but a road on it and entered the heart of Hestia Town.

“Gasp!”

“It’s the Imperial Princess!”

“The flower of the Empire!”

The residents, who had never imagined that there would be a public procession, were stunned.

The residents made breathless sounds and cried out in admiration.

Men and women alike looked at her with eyes full of longing.

“Your hand.”

“Pardon?”

“Wave your hand. Even if you can’t smile, you should at least do that much, shouldn’t you?”

Olivia skillfully waved at the people around her.

She greeted the children whose eyes sparkled with an even brighter smile.

‘Impressive.’

Watching her from beside her, Ferda thought Olivia really seemed to shine.

Blond hair and blue eyes.

She wore a dress that revealed her glamorous, voluptuous figure, making it all too easy to be swept away by lust, but the smile on her face created an atmosphere that overwhelmed everything else.

She was a beautiful rose kept beneath a glass dome, a goddess of beauty.

Everyone loved and worshiped her, showering her with endless praise.

It was immediately obvious that she was loved by everyone.

While he was lost in such thoughts, his eyes met Olivia’s.

She smiled.

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but that artificial radiance seemed somehow brighter than before.

He almost felt as though she loved him.

‘So that’s how much you have to smile.’

It was an expression Ferda might never be capable of producing.

He turned his eyes away again, checking whether vermin had begun swarming around her.

And as expected, no one showed any hatred toward her, and the procession safely ended upon reaching the inner castle.

“Show proper respect!”

Inside the inner castle, the knights of Count Concilius’s domain, who had been dispatched for the ceremony, knelt before the Imperial Princess and paid their respects.

Ferda got down from the carriage first.

He extended a hand toward Olivia to assist her with the formalities.

“Allow me to escort you.”

“I’m sorry, Regent. Her Highness does not take the hands of unrelated men—”

The words were cut off.

Because Olivia had taken Ferda’s hand before the explanation could even be finished.

Since she was a woman who had always avoided the hands of men escorting her under the pretext of preserving her chastity, everyone had assumed she would do the same this time.

She took his hand naturally and spoke to him in a friendly manner.

“Could you introduce me to the people in the castle?”

“Of course.”

Ferda introduced not only the knights, but also the people closest to him.

Burnell was among them.

Even Burnell, who usually shut himself away in his laboratory, had abandoned everything and rushed out.

True to his nature as a researcher who had never even held a woman’s hand, his face turned bright red the moment he saw Olivia.

Olivia pretended familiarity with an admiring look in her eyes.

“Marquis Burnell. I know of you. I heard that you accomplished remarkable things in Halim?”

“Y-Yes, yes. Th-That’s right!”

“The Empire has been keeping an eye on you. We would like to request close cooperation in matters of national security, but…… securing the safety of the Far East should come first, shouldn’t it?”

“Of course, but when the time comes, I’ll be of great help to the Empire as well!”

“Heehee, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

What nerve this woman had.

Burnell was utterly captivated by the sight of the Imperial Princess smiling.

It was not only Burnell.

She was the Golden Rose of the Empire, someone every man had wanted to see in person at least once.

Who wouldn’t be thrilled at the moment they came face-to-face with her?

Perhaps that was why Ferda suddenly thought of a certain ‘being’ obsessed with women and quietly whispered to Jed,

“Where is Penelope?”

“I had her tied up and locked away.”

“Why?”

“The moment she saw Her Highness, she said, ‘Just one bite.’ What else could I do?”

Ferda paid a small tribute to Jed’s lightning-fast judgment, then took his place beside Olivia.

Thus, while managing her image, she entered the castle without a hitch.

Ruri’s gaze was more piercing than ever.

Her face openly expressed that she disliked this even more than usual, and hostility radiated from her.

An ordinary person would have been crushed beneath that aura, but Olivia spoke to her without showing the slightest sign of tension.

“Ruri…… You’re Lady Silverwind, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“I’m sometimes confused. Whenever I hear that a servant so loyal to Lord Waldrova is descended from the Silverwinds, I find it difficult to believe.”

Olivia smiled brightly, while Ruri answered in her usual blunt manner.

“Thank you for saying so, but I already know what the Empire thinks of my master. I have ears, after all.”

“Yes, it is unfortunate. I promise, on behalf of the Arken family, that I will work to improve the situation.”

A promise from the Imperial Princess herself.

Ruri scoffed inwardly.

“I’ve wanted to give you this for some time. It’s a small gift, meager though it may be.”

When Olivia gestured behind her,

one of the accompanying knights brought out a box he had been carrying and displayed it.

It was wagashi.

Wagashi made by the finest pâtissier in the Empire.

It was sweet without looking cheap, with an appropriately refined and mature appearance.

“Oh.”

Ruri’s eyes sparkled so brightly that the wariness she had shown only moments before seemed to vanish.

“I thought it would be discourteous to bring only one, so I prepared three boxes.”

“Hmm. I’ll gladly accept your kindness. Since I can’t very well eat it alone, I’ll serve it when we entertain you.”

“That is a very considerate decision, worthy of Lord Waldrova’s loyal servant.”

Ruri responded deftly, while Olivia’s skill at sugarcoating things was anything but ordinary.

But Ferda, who knew Ruri well, saw things differently.

‘She’s dying to taste it.’

She probably just wanted to try it right away while preparing, rather than wait until the day’s work was over.

Besides, there were two more boxes left. She could simply eat more afterward.

‘What an incredible woman.’

She had even lured a child with food.

Ferda was secretly impressed as he escorted her to the reception room.

* * *

“This is called Hestia Town, correct?”

After sipping tea and eating a piece of wagashi in the quiet atmosphere, Olivia brought up a topic of conversation.

“Hestia Town. Was that the name of the woman who guarded the hearth?”

“Yes. It must be a difficult name to come across, yet you know it.”

“I only know because I heard it from someone else. I can only marvel at your erudition in knowing such names.”

“I wouldn’t have known about it either if I hadn’t happened to hear it.”

“Most people can’t even remember something they happened to hear. Thanks to that, I developed a taste for books about ancient mythology. What books have you been reading lately, Regent?”

“I……”

Under Olivia’s lead, the conversation continued without pause.

Ferda found it strange as he watched her.

‘She feels different from usual.’

Until then, whenever Ferda spoke with Olivia, he had strongly felt as though he were talking to someone wearing a mask.

But now, that mask was not as apparent.

‘Has she simply gotten much better at acting in the meantime?’

After exchanging trivialities, Olivia shifted the conversation to a more constructive subject.

“I’d like to talk about Marquis Burnell.”

There it was.

Olivia had revealed her true colors.

“Please, go ahead.”

“To put it bluntly, I’d like to recruit him as an Imperial engineer. I’ll make certain that he receives proper compensation, so couldn’t you let him go?”

Was this woman playing games?

Ferda was about to lose his temper, but then he glanced toward the knights.

Since there were ears listening, Ferda politely refused.

“He is a precious asset of the Grand Duchy.”

“So you were planning to take that position after all……”

Olivia nodded while maintaining her smile, then turned her head.

“Captain of the Guard.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Would you leave us for a moment? We have something to discuss between the two of us.”

“……Very well.”

It was a clear indication that a serious conversation was about to take place, and the captain of the knights left the room.

Though he had left, Olivia merely sipped her tea without starting any serious conversation.

Ferda had no choice but to ask her,

“What did you want to discuss?”

“What discussion?”

Olivia fluttered her eyebrows with an innocent expression.

“Ah, are you talking about that atmosphere? I only needed an excuse to send the captain of the knights away.”

“Why?”

“Because he keeps trying to monitor my every move. If I tell him that I’m having a discussion among the upper ranks, he’ll understand and withdraw.”

“Then what you said earlier was……”

“An act. Of course.”

She spoke as she savored the fragrance of the tea.

“The Imperial capital is currently discussing how to suppress the growth of the Grand Duchy.”

“I’ve heard roughly what the situation is.”

“Under those circumstances, wouldn’t it look favorable if an Imperial Princess had moved to recruit the Grand Duchy’s chief engineer?”

Of course it would, but Ferda did not trust Olivia completely.

“Are you certain you have no ulterior motive on behalf of the Empire?”

“Of course. What reason would I have to do something those people would like?”

Her eyes blazed with ambition.

She was neither the flower of the Empire, the jewel of the auction house, nor a free butterfly.

She wore the face of a politician.

“You said you were going to turn Hestia Town into a capital so vast that it could replace the Empire, didn’t you?”