Chapter 5
—
‘If I’d known it would come to this, I would’ve gone back home!’
It was clear that Kaiden had deliberately withheld that information from me.
It must be uncomfortable for Kaiden to have a private meeting with the Fourth Princess, and since I, a Swordmaster, happened to be nearby, he probably thought it was a perfect opportunity to suggest a rest at the Grand Duchy to avoid this awkward situation.
Because Swordmasters have to make an appearance whenever royalty is nearby! And to top it off, the even more troublesome Second Prince is tagging along!
“Damn it, that jerk…!”
“That ‘jerk’ doesn’t refer to our Grand Duke, does it?”
“…Haha, of course not.”
Lady Marchi leaned in with a smiling face, putting pressure on me.
I had seen the Second Prince, Lucas Gratia, every year at the Emperor’s birthday banquet.
As the male protagonist of the original story, he was a pitiful figure constantly targeted by assassination attempts due to the Empress and the Crown Prince’s hostility.
The Fourth Princess, Serena Gratia, is Lucas’s full-blooded sibling, making her and Lucas half-siblings to the Crown Prince.
In other words, ‘the Emperor’s multiple consorts have led to his children engaging in a power struggle over the throne’ is the main premise of the original story.
Along the way, they fall in love, experience various events… It was a moderately entertaining romance fantasy novel.
It would’ve been more entertaining if I weren’t caught up in that whirlwind.
…I want to escape.
“You can’t escape.”
It’s as if Lady Marchi can now read minds. Feeling an oncoming headache, I asked,
“When are they arriving?”
“Three…”
“Three hours from now?”
“You slept in and now you’re saying that? Thirty minutes from now.”
Ugh, seriously!
—
Kaiden had a headache.
After rejecting a barrage of matchmaking attempts for a year, his grandfather’s insistence—“Is the only person good enough for you royalty?!”—had led to an actual arrangement with a princess.
The two royal siblings coming all the way to the Grand Duchy for this matchmaking were just as much of a headache.
Normally, matchmaking with royalty is arranged by the Emperor or Empress and takes place within the imperial palace.
In other words, it’s expected to visit the palace to meet royalty, no matter who they are.
Yet, the Fourth Princess insisted on coming to the Grand Duchy herself. And she was bringing her older brother, the Second Prince, no less.
No, in this case, it was the Second Prince trying to push the Fourth Princess onto him.
‘That must mean their position is that precarious.’
You could feel their determination to secure the support of the Valtstein family, even if it meant setting aside royal dignity.
‘It’s burdensome.’
Kaiden was pondering how to refuse when—
“Grand Duke Kai, are you seriously doing this?!”
Marion, who had hurriedly prepared, was rushing down the stairs. She was dressed in formal attire.
“Sir Marion! How can a lady run like that?! And calling the Grand Duke ‘Grand Duke Kai’!”
Lady Marchi, power-walking behind her, was quite a sight.
“Have you ever seen a lady wearing pants? And ‘Grand Duke Kai’ is just a nickname for Grand Duke Kaiden! It’s a trendy abbreviation among young people these days!”
“A true knight doesn’t care about trends!”
The aide and butler standing a little ways off glanced at Kaiden.
Anyone could see that Marion’s words were excessive and inappropriately disruptive for an important guest reception.
But Kaiden couldn’t help but chuckle at the bickering between Marion and Lady Marchi.
His chaotic mind felt clearer.
Marion, storming over angrily, definitely didn’t look like a lady.
‘After stressing me out so much yesterday, it feels good to get some revenge.’
Kaiden spoke up.
“You’re late.”
“I got ready in a flash!”
Marion huffed as she stood beside him. Kaiden, staring straight ahead, said,
“You must’ve heard from Lady Marchi, but the Second Prince and the Fourth Princess will arrive soon. When they do, behave with proper etiquette.”
“You deliberately told me to stay yesterday, didn’t you?”
Marion gritted her teeth and pressed him. Kaiden, secretly amused but keeping a straight face, feigned ignorance.
“No. I was worried about you.”
“Don’t lie! You just didn’t want to deal with royalty alone…!”
“His Highness Prince Lucas and Her Hig have arrived!”
A servant shouted from outside the door.
Kaiden glanced down at Marion and said,
“Half a lie, half the truth. Let’s go.”
“Ughhh!”
With Marion’s frustrated groan behind him, Kaiden opened the door.
—
An awkward lunch ensued.
Kaiden sat at the head of the table, with Lucas and Serena on either side. Marion sat next to Serena.
Kaiden had told Lady Marchi in advance to cook Marion’s steak well-done.
He couldn’t risk her fainting at the sight of bloody meat.
Marion seemed to notice, her eyes widening briefly before she subtly gave a thumbs-up while holding her fork.
Kaiden barely suppressed a smirk.
“What do you think of our Serena, Grand Duke?”
“Cough!”
The Second Prince, Lucas, smiled gently at Kaiden as he asked. Marion, caught off guard by how quickly the topic came up, choked.
Kaiden signaled a servant to fill Marion’s glass with water.
“Sorry.”
Marion quickly apologized and gulped down the water. Lucas smiled at her.
“Sir Marion seems curious too.”
By openly asking, ‘What do you think of my sister?’ Lucas left Kaiden no room to firmly refuse on the spot.
Of course, even as a Grand Duke, Kaiden wasn’t the type to be harsh with a princess ten years his junior.
“I haven’t had a proper conversation with Princess Serena due to our age difference.”
It wasn’t harsh, but he made his point. Hinting that ‘the age gap makes it awkward,’ Kaiden prompted a bright smile from Lucas.
“Isn’t a younger bride better? And a ten-year age gap isn’t that big.”
Clang!
The fork Marion was holding snapped in two, the top half falling onto her plate.
“Oh, what’s wrong with this? Sorry. Servant, a new fork, please…”
Kaiden subtly covered his mouth to hide a smile.
As Marion fumbled, Serena, sitting next to her, frowned and muttered,
“This is why lowborns…”
The room fell silent in an instant. Marion, momentarily flustered, darted her eyes around.
Clank.
A sound broke the silence, drawing everyone’s attention. Their eyes widened in surprise.
Kaiden’s fork had also snapped in two, the top half lying on his plate.
In a cold voice, he said to Serena,
“Swordmasters sometimes struggle with controlling their strength. You might not know, Princess Serena, since you’re young.”
In truth, Swordmasters were masters of strength control. Their ability to wield a sword with precision was why they stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
Thus, Kaiden’s words were clearly in defense of Marion and a rebuke to Serena. Trembling with anger, Serena stood abruptly.
“I’m feeling unwell, so I’ll go rest!”
She stormed off.
An awkward silence lingered. Barely twenty minutes had passed since the meal began, but no one seemed interested in eating.
“Serena was rude. As her brother, I apologize on her behalf, Sir Marion.”
Lucas broke the awkward silence. He looked genuinely apologetic as he faced Marion. Marion shrugged once, indicating it was fine.
For some reason, watching her made Kaiden’s chest ache.
—
“You probably don’t even consider someone like me, who crawled up from the bottom, worth your attention, do you, Grand Duke? A lowborn like me should just be grateful for a knighthood and grovel, right?”
It was the first time Marion had spoken so directly about her background.
Despite knowing her for ten years, she had never brought it up, and for the past three years, they hadn’t even had a proper conversation.
‘It started when Marion left the Grand Duchy three years ago to get her own place.’
That’s when their relationship soured, though they had talked a bit yesterday.
While Kaiden was lost in thought, Lucas spoke to him.
“As you said, Grand Duke, Serena is still young. She just turned eighteen. She’s immature, not bad, so I hope you’ll talk with her more. I’ll scold her firmly.”
Kaiden stared at Lucas, then glanced at Marion. When their eyes met, she just shrugged.
Reluctantly, Kaiden spoke.
“Understood.”
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By Anna 💓
