Chapter 46

Are You Listening to Me? (1)

The incident where crows covered the Imperial Palace sent the capital into an uproar. Not long after, Imperial Princess Legina’s annulment was officially announced. The focus of those who, until yesterday, had been wondering if something bad was happening due to the flock of crows, instantly shifted to the news of Legina’s annulment. Legina, who unintentionally contributed to calming the capital’s turbulent atmosphere, was now preparing for her own birthday banquet, which was just a few days away.

Normally, she would have had to determine the scale of the banquet, choose the invitation design, write the invitation wording, and send them out. After that, she would decide on the music and food to be served, and then the interior decorations for the hall. It sounds simple when written, but it was incredibly complex and difficult work. Furthermore, alongside the banquet preparations, Legina also had to choose her own attire, accessories, and hairstyle in advance, and even help with the banquet preparations for her still-young brother.

“That’s how it should have been, you know.”

Legina, unlike last year, was enjoying a leisurely tea time, her eyes scanning the various dresses prepared for the banquet. She looked somewhat bored. From the dresses the designer had brought, Legina chose a white dress with a deepening red gradient from top to bottom, then stretched grandly and rose from her seat. It might have seemed like a simple dress, but tiny pearls scattered across the red-tinged hem gave it a very opulent feel, so Selma nodded without a word and cleared away the unchosen dresses.

“Did you deliver it well to Sir Aaron?”

“Yes. I delivered it. But, Your Highness… will it be alright?”

“What?”

“The cufflinks you gifted to Sir Aaron… Perhaps it would have been better to gift him the red diamonds again, as you did before…”

“Give him the same gift again? Selma, that goes against a troublemaker’s code of ethics.”

…If she was going to talk about a troublemaker’s code of ethics, shouldn’t she not be giving gifts at all? Selma pondered for a moment, but then quickly snapped out of it and retorted to Legina, who was smiling.

“B-But purple is…”

“It’s merely amethyst.”

“Amethysts of such high purity are more precious than gold. You know that.”

“I know that, and I still gifted it. But will that be a problem? It’s not like I plundered the nation’s treasures like other tyrants.”

“No, I mean, doesn’t it strike you as odd that your point of comparison is a tyrant?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Aaron was also her partner for this banquet. Legina, who somehow felt he had grown even stiffer lately, gifted him cufflinks made of amethyst as a token of her gratitude. She also calculated that they would pair very well with the black uniform he would wear to the banquet, and her purpose was also to show off that he was her person. Although not officially forbidden, purple belonged to the Imperial Family. From the First Emperor onwards, his descendants had traditionally had violet eyes. Occasionally, those with other eye colors were born, but most of them died young or did not inherit the throne. For this reason, the people of Ellias considered purple to belong to the Imperial Family and refrained from using it in daily life or special situations, treating it with reverence.

However, despite knowing this, Legina gifted Aaron a deep purple amethyst. Selma, knowing that Legina intended to become a troublemaker, couldn’t help but worry about her getting caught up in unnecessary gossip.

“I have to do what I couldn’t do at Sir Aaron’s birthday, after all. Is the location well-prepared?”

“…As you said, it’s a discreet yet not-so-discreet terrace, and preparations are complete for discreet peeking.”

When Legina first said this, Selma had pondered if it was some kind of wordplay. However, realizing it was sincere, she personally set up the location where the Imperial Princess she served would make the confession of a lifetime. Thanks to that, she had to go to Derain and get a stronger stomach medicine prescribed, but what could she do? It was Legina’s command and request, and Legina had never lost a battle of stubbornness.

“If I successfully complete what I intend to do tonight, I’ll prepare for our engagement right away.”

“Will His Majesty permit it?”

“It’s fine if he doesn’t permit it in the end. That alone is reason enough for me to become a troublemaker. Going crazy from unrequited love seems quite suitable too.”

The annulment of the engagement was an important step to reclaim the piece of power she had yielded to Slyveig, but even more important was Legina’s own transformation. Legina slowly walked to a large window and opened the tightly closed window. The wind, growing colder day by day, signaled the passage of time. Her birthday would pass, and then winter would soon arrive. What else would change then?

“Whatever happens, it must be in a way that benefits me.”

Legina fell into deep thought, facing the wind that felt colder today than yesterday.

[“But I know too. That this is my unrequited love alone… I know that by annulling my engagement with you, I won’t gain the heart I desire. Still, I intend to do my best to remain by his side.”]

Aaron was recalling the conversation Legina and Hermann had on his birthday. Before that, it had merely been speculation. Believing it couldn’t be true, yet worrying about what if Legina truly liked him and had proposed a contract relationship to stay by his side, he had postponed sending the invitation until the very last minute, only managing to deliver it the evening before. The reason for deciding to send the invitation was simple, compared to the time he spent agonizing over it. He wanted to confirm. He wanted to meet Legina, personally confirm her feelings, and then come to a conclusion.

However, that night, before Aaron could even have a serious conversation with Legina, he saw her small shoulders heaving against Hermann’s back, and her trying to smile calmly, secretly wiping away tears. And he was certain. Ah, Her Highness truly likes me! she had approached him with a lie, but he wasn’t angry. All that filled his mind was the thought of how desperate she must have been to abandon her princely dignity and tell such a lie. Of course, this didn’t mean he felt he should accept Legina’s feelings. Though he knew her feelings, he still had no interest in romance or marriage. To become like his uncle, who dedicated his life to the border, he needed to distance himself further from such things. If Gissley or other Vesteins had heard him, they would have burst out, ‘Your uncle doesn’t have no interest in romance and marriage; he just couldn’t date, so he couldn’t marry!’ But to Aaron, who had been almost brainwashed by Egil’s self-proclaimed heroic tales since childhood, such a notion was absurd.

“I must be clear.”

Aaron didn’t rashly pity Legina. He had never learned, nor possessed, the rudeness of ignoring others’ earnestness simply because he had no interest. The problem was that Aaron had also never learned how to gently refuse another person’s feelings. No matter what he said, his face would neutralize the atmosphere. Sometimes, there were even young ladies who, upon hearing his refusal, would be so captivated by Aaron’s face that they would nod and leave, rather than feeling hurt.

[“Sometimes, I think it’s truly fortunate that you don’t show your face in high society.”]

Gissley had said that, seeing the gifts that filled the mansion every birthday, despite Aaron rarely staying in the capital and not appearing in high society. Aaron, who hadn’t understood what he meant before, could finally comprehend those words after this birthday. He had merely shown his face once at a banquet, yet gifts piled up in the mansion’s storeroom and guest rooms, and to make matters worse, for a while, the mansion’s lobby was so packed it was difficult to walk.

The problem is that about a third of those were gifts from Her Highness Legina.

Aaron, pondering how he could refuse Legina without hurting her feelings, sighed, recalling the birthday gifts she had given him. Clothes, weapons, all kinds of accessories… It was such a large quantity that even if he used something new every day, it would be impossible to use them all before he died.

And on top of that, this time it’s cufflinks made of amethyst.

Aaron, who decided to make Legina’s birthday banquet the last day of their contract, opened the gift she sent, thanking him for accepting his role as partner, and felt his brain momentarily cease function. It was a natural reaction for him, considering that even Gissley, who was considered to have a smooth tongue for a Vestein, momentarily lost his words and was dazed. The reaction of the naturally taciturn Duke Vestein was, of course, beyond words. Only Egil let out a cheerful laugh, as if he found the situation of the three men frozen intriguing, but he was soon grabbed by the ear by Duke Vestein and dragged off somewhere.

“At least it’s a relief that Her Highness successfully annulled the engagement.”

This contract relationship, to begin with? No, it wasn’t quite a relationship yet, so it was the stage right before a contract relationship? Anyway, one of the purposes of this contract was Legina’s annulment. It was unclear whether she first wanted the annulment because she liked Aaron or because she disliked Hermann, but considering her hostility towards the young Duke of Slyveig, it was certain that she had intended the annulment itself. She hadn’t succeeded in conveying her feelings to Aaron or staying by his side in that capacity, but at least the annulment had occurred, so it wasn’t entirely bad for Legina.

“Aaron. Are you still thinking?”

“Brother.”

Gissley, the only one who knew the nature of their relationship, specifically the contract, entered Aaron’s room with a face full of concern and checked on Aaron’s condition.

“No matter how you refuse, it will be difficult for you to remain in the capital afterward.”

“It’s fine. Even if this contract was initiated by Her Highness Legina’s command, I intended to leave as soon as winter began anyway. The timing has simply been moved forward.”

– Mochinuna.