Pernoa gazed steadily down at the crystal orb sitting on his desk.
Through its clear surface, he could see Riersha’s smiling face looking back up at him.
The sheer excitement radiating from the child’s expression was enough to make him press a hand to his forehead.
“…You want to come along to the hunting festival?”
“Yes!”
“I’m not going for pleasure, Riersha. I’m only attending in case the monsters our family supplied cause any problems.”
“Then it works out even better! Wouldn’t my ability be helpful?”
If the worst came to pass, Riersha could protect everyone from the monsters.
“What’s your real reason for wanting to go?”
“…”
“I expected you to ask for this crystal orb back first. But you’re putting even that aside.”
Pernoa narrowed his eyes, silently telling her to come out with whatever she was scheming, and Riersha responded with an adorably coy little smile.
She scooted right up to the edge of the desk and deliberately tilted her eyebrows downward.
If she openly said she wanted to meet Isierd, he would never allow it — so she needed a different excuse.
“I’d love to have a friend my own age, Papa. I heard that lots of children around my age come to the hunting festival.”
“…”
“If not now, then I suppose I won’t make any friends until the debutante ball…”
Faced with that transparent ploy, Pernoa found himself with absolutely nothing to say in return.
The reason was simple — he had heard something very similar not long ago.
It was around the time Riersha had been away at the Forbidden Altar to take the succession trial.
He’d had a long conversation with Rosinante about how best to reconcile with Riersha, and one of the topics that had come up was the matter of her having friends.
“Come to think of it, Lady Riersha is at just the right age to start making friends.”
“Friends? I never had any of those.”
At Pernoa’s flat reply, Rosinante had parted his lips with a look that said, ever so impertinently, That’s your story, not hers.
“Indeed. …But most noble children in the capital enroll in the lower academies around this age. You know how fierce the competition for education has become in the capital.”
“So?”
“Haah.”
Rosinante let out a sigh and rubbed his face with both hands.
It was truly a shame that someone who could grasp ten things from being told one in every other area of life could somehow manage to grasp only one when it came to this.
“The young lords are one thing, but Lady Riersha’s situation may be somewhat different.”
“How so?”
“Since Lady Riersha isn’t enrolling in the lower academy, she won’t have any noble young ladies she’s close with until the debutante ball, will she? She might end up quite lonely…”
“…”
Thinking it over, Rosinante had a point.
After all, Pernoa’s own friendship with Duke Marcella had grown from a chance meeting in childhood and carried all the way to the present, had it not?
And beyond Duke Marcella, there was really no one else Pernoa could even call a friend…
“Besides, it’s said to be emotionally beneficial to have friends one’s own age. It says so right here in this parenting book.”
Rosinante had driven the nail in with those final words.
And now, as if on cue, Riersha had appeared wanting to make new friends — and asking to be brought along to the hunting festival.
“Papa! I want to go to the hunting festival too!”
…Even though it was plain to see that wasn’t her only purpose, that was precisely why Pernoa couldn’t refuse.
In the end, Pernoa raised the white flag.
“All right. But you’ll agree to one condition. If you break it, we return to the duchy immediately.”
“Of course.”
“You’ll bring Sona along as your escort, and you will not leave her side. Not for a moment.”
“I promise.”
Riersha held out her pinky finger, declaring she could keep it.
Whether she understood what was going on in his heart or not, Riersha was simply and wholly bright.
As he hooked his finger around that tiny little pinky, Pernoa’s expression creased into a slight frown.
“So that wasn’t the only thing you came to say, was it?”
“…Pardon?”
“Surely. This wasn’t everything you came to say, was it?”
His finger tightened.
Riersha, who had tried to uncurl her hand after the briefest moment, stared down at it in bewilderment.
Then her face crumpled.
It felt like an age since she and Pernoa had been alone together like this, just the two of them, talking.
“I missed you, Papa.”
“…I’ll walk you back to your room. Come on.”
Pernoa picked up his outer coat and rose from his seat.
Riersha held his hand — so much larger than hers — with both of her small ones.
All the way until they reached her room.
⁂
The day of the hunting festival.
The moment Riersha arrived at the forest where the event was to be held, she gaped open-mouthed at everything around her.
Nobles dressed in elaborate, dazzling finery were everywhere.
Those who appeared to be participating in the hunt itself wore armor that gleamed almost blindingly bright, fully armed and ready.
Some had quivers strapped to their backs; others wore swords at their hips.
“Lady Riersha, come this way. We can rest over here.”
“Mm.”
True to her promise to Pernoa, Riersha obediently took Sona’s hand and fell into step beside her.
Even so, her gaze kept drifting elsewhere.
Banners bearing the crests of various noble houses fluttered all around.
“There are so many people here.”
“Yes, there are. I heard it’s nearly twice the attendance of last year.”
“Because of Isierd, I’d think.”
“Yes, and also… probably because our family is attending this time. The Arachrene family hasn’t participated in imperial events in quite some time, after all.”
“I suppose so.”
For a combination of reasons, it seemed far more noble houses had expressed their intention to attend compared to the previous year.
Riersha made her way to the area marked by the Arachrene family banner and settled into a chair.
The table had been prepared with all manner of sweets and refreshments to enjoy while they waited.
Riersha picked up a fork and ate a small piece of cake, her eyes wandering curiously around her surroundings.
She wanted to find Isierd, but it seemed he hadn’t arrived yet.
Well, the main character always makes their entrance last.
That was how it worked in every book she had ever read.
The protagonist would appear at the very end, stepping in as all eyes turned to watch.
“Oh.”
“What is it, Lady Riersha? Is there something you need?”
Sona, who had been tidying things inside the pavilion, stepped out at the sound of Riersha’s voice.
Riersha shook her head with the fork still held between her lips — it was nothing.
But then Sona followed the direction of Riersha’s gaze and let out a quiet “Ah.”
There, a short distance away, a group of young noble children around Riersha’s age had gathered in clusters of two and three.
They seemed to already know one another, chatting and laughing with an easy, familiar air.
“Why don’t you go join them, Lady Riersha?”
“Mm, no, it’s fine. I… promised Papa I’d stay beside you.”
“But even Lord Pernoa wouldn’t mind if it’s a matter of making friends. And I won’t be far away at all.”
“Hmm.”
Riersha hesitated for a moment.
She was genuinely curious what it would feel like to gather and talk with children her own age.
Watching them with wide, wondering eyes, Sona’s expression grew all the more soft with sympathy.
The Arachrene estate wasn’t in the capital to begin with — if not for an occasion like this, who knew when the next opportunity might come?
“It’s all right, Lady Riersha. Go on ahead.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
The moment Sona nodded, Riersha set down her fork and walked toward the group.
Looking more closely, she could see that at the center of the gathering was a pretty girl with delicate features.
A face Riersha recognized, actually.
That girl was, if she remembered correctly…
Olivia.
The one and only daughter of the Willias ducal house, if she wasn’t mistaken.
Olivia stood at the center of the group, leading the conversation with natural ease.
“Olivia. There’s a rumor going around that you’re going to become Prince Isierd’s companion — is it true?”
Just as Riersha drew close enough to step into the group, someone addressed Olivia, and at those words, Riersha stopped short, her head lifting.
Isierd’s companion…
Olivia broke into a bright smile and nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m to be his companion this time.”
Riersha blinked at the news she was hearing for the first time.
