“I heard the Young Duke of Arachrene will be attending the party today?”
Nobles draped in their finest finery had gathered in clusters, murmuring among themselves.
“What made him suddenly announce his attendance? He’s never done anything like this before.”
“I know. Could it have something to do with Risideon Arachrene?”
That seemed the most likely explanation.
It was already well-known gossip that the Empress had taken him in specifically to use him against the Arachrene family.
“Apparently the Duke of Arachrene and the Young Duke clashed over a difference of opinion.”
“And as a result, the Young Duke fell out of favor and was driven away.”
It was an event from four years ago now, its edges worn soft by time.
The nobles sifted through their memories, each drawing out what little they knew and laying it before the others.
“But is any of that actually true?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Haven’t you heard the rumor?”
A noblewoman snapped her fan open with a flourish, glanced around, and lowered her voice.
“Apparently the Young Duke of Arachrene has a daughter.”
“…A daughter?”
Until now, it had been understood that the Arachrene ducal house had three heirs.
Information about the heirs was treated as classified, but it was common knowledge that all three were boys, along with their approximate ages.
“Are you saying one of the three is actually a girl?”
“No!”
“…Then you’re saying there are four children?”
Everyone’s eyes went wide with surprise.
Yet every noble present already knew one thing — that the mistress of the Arachrene household had breathed her last while giving birth.
At the time, there had been no news of the child, and everyone had quietly let the matter lie, but…
“So the child survived after all?”
“It seems so. Yesterday, the Young Duke of Arachrene apparently stopped by a toy shop with his eldest son and a daughter in tow.”
“…That can’t be right.”
“It’s true. He even bought every single item the shop had in stock.”
The noblewoman stamped her feet in frustration as the skepticism around her thickened.
“Oh, come now. Surely not. If a child was born under such miraculous circumstances, why would they keep it secret?”
“Because it’s a girl!”
“Pardon?”
“Everyone knows the Arachrene family and the Imperial House don’t get along. And the Imperial House has always wanted to bring the Arachrene family to heel.”
The nobles exchanged uneasy glances, not quite willing to believe it but not quite willing to dismiss it either.
The Arachrene family had swept across countless battlefields — their power was beyond question.
But the wars were over now. A peaceful era had arrived.
From the Imperial House’s perspective, the Arachrene family, with their private army still intact, was nothing short of a thorn in their side.
And so, time and again, attempts had been made to swallow the Arachrene house whole.
If a daughter had been born into that family during all of this —
“They might try to push for a betrothal to the Crown Prince.”
“Then could it be that the Young Duke’s departure for the front lines was…deliberate?”
Perhaps he had left for the battlefield on purpose, to draw attention away from the daughter.
Some might call it madness, but this was the Arachrene family. They were more than capable of it.
After all, they were immortal on the field of war.
At that very moment, a lavish carriage bearing the Arachrene family crest rolled to a stop before the venue.
The nobles held their breath, eyes fixed on the firmly shut carriage door.
The coachman stepped forward and opened it, and—
“…Good Lord. It was true.”
The nobles froze, struck speechless.
And no wonder.
“Who on earth is that child?”
Pernoa Arachrene had stepped down from the carriage with a small child cradled in his arms.
“But the child’s hair — it’s pink.”
“It’s the same color as the late Duchess of Arachrene’s hair.”
“…Weren’t all of them silver-haired with red eyes?”
The Arachrene ducal line had, for generations, been born with silver hair and crimson eyes as their defining mark.
And yet this child had pink hair.
“Oh my, but doesn’t she look just like a little angel while she sleeps?”
One of the nobles pointed eagerly, drawing attention to the child resting her cheek against Pernoa’s shoulder, fast asleep.
With her delicate, perfectly arranged features, she was so endearing one could hardly resist the urge to pinch her cheeks.
Perhaps sensing the lively atmosphere around her, the bridge of her small nose gave a tiny twitch.
Pernoa gazed down at the child with an expression of quiet tenderness.
“Good heavens. I must be losing my mind. What am I looking at right now?”
It was a shock in its own right, and the nobles reacted as though the breath had been knocked clean out of them.
To think that the Young Duke of Arachrene was capable of an expression like that.
Having only ever seen his face set in a frost so deep it could draw ice from the air, they all stood staring, utterly blank.
One by one, they began rubbing their eyes, as if to confirm they hadn’t imagined it.
“Mmn…”
Whether her position had grown uncomfortable, the child whimpered softly and nuzzled her forehead against Pernoa’s shoulder.
Her pink hair went staticky and fluffy from the motion, and at the sight of it, the corner of Pernoa’s mouth curved even further upward.
The hand that swept over her small, steadily rising and falling back moved with the ease of long habit.
After wriggling drowsily for some time, the child lifted her head.
One small hand reached up to brush the hair tickling her face aside, and then—
Her eyes opened.
Clear, round, brilliant eyes caught the light.
Crimson.
They were unmistakably crimson.
It was nothing more than a child waking from sleep, and yet.
As if by agreement, every person watching fell silent.
The child hadn’t quite sorted out where she was yet. She turned her little head this way and that, taking in her surroundings.
“…She looks exactly like her father.”
Not a single soul raised any objection.
⁂
How long was I asleep?
Riersha stirred, and immediately caught the edge of something sharp in the air around her.
If she had to describe it in words — it was as though she could feel a hundred eyes pressing against her skin all at once.
But the arms holding her were so warm and soft, and the familiar scent drifting around her was so comforting, that she lingered on purpose, unwilling to let go of it just yet.
Then, belatedly, the realization arrived.
Why is Papa holding me?
Where was Risideon?
The moment that thought surfaced, Riersha’s eyes flew open.
“So you’re awake.”
“Where’s Oppa?”
“Risideon should be at the Crown Prince’s palace by now.”
“But Oppa said he’d wake me up.”
Riersha couldn’t hide her disappointment.
“Dear me. It seems Risideon didn’t keep his promise.”
Duke Marcella spoke nearby, laughter threaded through his voice.
Both families had arrived at the party venue at the same time, each in their own carriages.
“We hooked pinkies.”
“That means absolutely nothing, Riersha. What a shame you’re learning about the ways of the world so early.”
“…Hmph.”
Riersha had been watching Duke Marcella with a distinctly put-out expression, but now she whipped her head away from him. Her cheeks puffed up in a visible pout.
“Stop teasing her, Kaisen.”
“She’s just too adorable when she reacts like that. How am I supposed to resist?”
“Papa…”
Riersha turned her gaze up to Pernoa with a look halfway between a scowl and a plea, as if tattling on a sibling.
“Yikes.”
The moment that razor-edged look landed on him, Marquess Kaisen Marcella took a swift step back.
Pernoa arrived at the entrance to the party hall with Riersha still in his arms and gave a brief nod.
The knight checking the guest register snapped to attention immediately.
“Announce us.”
At Pernoa’s command, the knight spoke in a voice loud enough to fill the entire hall.
“Young Duke Pernoa Arachrene and Lady Riersha Arachrene have arrived!”
The doors to the ballroom swung open, and a dazzling blaze of light swept over the two of them.
It was the moment Riersha’s existence was made known to the Declair Empire for the very first time.
⁂
Adrian had been in a wonderful mood all day.
The Young Duke of Arachrene had announced his intention to attend Adrian’s birthday party.
It was an event without precedent in the history of the Empire.
And on top of that, Risideon Arachrene was standing at his side.
What would he have done if he hadn’t come back? He was going to be cast off by his own family sooner or later anyway.
Adrian found every aspect of the situation deeply satisfying.
He felt as though he had become the most singular, most extraordinary person in all the world.
Even Father has never had a day like this.
Without question, this would be the finest birthday party ever held.
When the hour came to depart for the ballroom, Adrian rose from his seat.
The Crown Prince reflected in the mirror wore a pristine white uniform and a gaze full of arrogance.
“Are you ready? I have come to escort the Crown Prince.”
“Mother!”
The moment Empress Karla appeared, Adrian broke into a bright smile and reached out his arms toward her.
Karla stepped back and shook her head with quiet severity.
“No, Crown Prince. How long do you intend to behave like a child?”
“…But today is my birthday, Mother.”
“What will people think if you carry on this way?”
Karla’s voice was firm as she set him straight.
Whenever Adrian acted his age — or younger — the Empress drew the line without hesitation.
Adrian felt the sting of it, but he swallowed the feeling whole and said nothing.
