I watched Elias’s back for a long time.
I kept staring at him until his figure—once big enough to fill my vision—shrank to something no larger than a fingernail.
Even Elias wouldn’t be able to hear a conversation from this far away.
And there wasn’t a single person around.
I tightened my grip on Camilla’s hand—the one Elias had left behind—and stood close beside her.
“Camilla.”
As Princess Violeta, I called my knight, Camilla.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Camilla answered with a light bow.
“That guy from earlier. Dmitri from the 9th Knight Order.”
Camilla, who had been with me for a long time, immediately understood what I meant.
“I will take care of it.”
“Mm.”
Soon enough, Dmitri would face the appropriate misfortune.
I smiled at Camilla with a face that felt as refreshed as after washing off a summer heat sweat with cold water.
The first time I met Elias was when I was six years old.
“Princess Violeta. His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”
I had just woken from a nap, still blinking away sleep, when my nanny urged me on with a smile.
“My brother?”
Even then, my older brother—the Crown Prince—was a very busy child.
So busy that even visiting his little sister required scheduling in advance.
I wasn’t always fond of his playful personality, but that day was different for some reason.
Strangely enough, I was glad he was coming.
“What’s going on?”
I smiled faintly and stretched my arms toward my nanny.
“I’ll carry you down.”
The bed was a little high, but not so high that I couldn’t get down myself.
Still, my nanny indulged me without hesitation.
Carried in her arms, I was placed on the floor and straightened my expression as I prepared to receive a guest.
“Let’s have cookies… and, um, milk too, to eat with my brother.”
It was my imitation of how my mother and older sister spoke.
My nanny immediately understood I was “playing lady,” and replied in a perfect courtly accent.
“I shall prepare them.”
I nodded in satisfaction.
“Good!”
I had already eaten snacks in the morning, and now I’d get cookies again!
Excited, I bounced around as my nanny led me to the dressing room.
She looked through my clothes and picked a few suitable for the weather and time of day.
After carefully considering between two options, I made my decision.
“I’ll wear that one.”
Last time I wore yellow, my brother said I looked like a chick.
So this time, I chose a pale sky-blue dress.
I liked yellow a little more than blue, but I could just wear yellow when my brother wasn’t around.
Satisfied with my brilliant plan, I nodded to myself.
After changing clothes, a maid who had been dealing with my brother while I was getting ready quietly came in and whispered something to my nanny.
After listening, my nanny thought for a moment, then smiled as if it was nothing important and gave a subtle nod to the maid.
“Oh my, our princess is so beautiful. Shall we go meet the guest?”
While talking briefly with the maid, she naturally praised me and held out her hand, as if nothing had happened.
I took her hand as usual.
“Yes.”
As we headed to the reception room, my nanny spoke casually.
“By the way, Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
Looking up at her, I asked, and she smiled gently with narrowed eyes.
“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince brought a friend with him.”
I was shocked.
“My brother has friends?”
It was an innocent remark only a child could make.
My nanny smiled awkwardly.
“Of course he does. Just like how Princess Violeta is friends with the younger lady of House Baltarion, and Princess Claudia is friends with the older lady of House Baltarion.”
But her explanation didn’t clear my confusion.
“But Camilla doesn’t have a brother.”
It was a comparison based on the fact that both my sister and I were friends with daughters of the Duke of Baltarion.
My nanny laughed again, eyes curved.
“His Highness is not from House Baltarion. Why don’t you see for yourself what kind of person he brought?”
“Okay.”
I nodded and entered the reception room as gracefully as I could.
“Bibi, did you sleep well?”
My brother, who had been talking with a boy, turned toward the entrance.
“Mm-hm.”
I answered his greeting half-heartedly.
My response was directed at my brother, but my eyes were fixed not on him, but on the unfamiliar boy with pale blonde hair.
My brother followed my gaze and introduced him.
“This is someone you’ve met before, right? His name is Elias. He’s my friend, so I brought him to introduce him to you.”
It was real.
My brother actually had a friend.
At that moment, I was so surprised by the existence of my brother’s “friend” that I didn’t even care when I had met him before.
Elias, unaware of my thoughts, jumped up as soon as his name was called, as if he had been waiting for it.
My brother warned him, carefully observing him.
“Bibi is shy around strangers, so be careful.”
At the warning, Elias nodded, then flinched slightly and answered.
“I will be careful.”
Elias spoke like a child just learning to talk, carefully enunciating each syllable.
His youthful voice stood out first; his rough hair and thin body barely registered in my eyes.
What truly caught my attention was his beautiful face.
He looked slightly unwell, as if malnourished, but even that couldn’t hide how beautiful he was.
I had always liked pretty things.
As I stared at him almost spellbound, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Don’t I look completely different from last time?”
“Last time? When?”
“When we went to inspect the territory… don’t you remember?”
“Huh?”
Only then did I realize the slave boy I had seen months ago and Elias were the same person.
“Oh… oh?”
Seeing that I had recognized him, his expression brightened.
“Nice to meet you again, Your Highness.”
Elias greeted me politely and carefully stepped closer.
He came right up to me, then knelt on one knee with a serious expression, like a knight offering his sword to a lady.
This… this is that.
The posture from fairy tales where knights and princesses appear!
Trying to hide my racing heart, I carefully extended my hand.
Elias gently supported my small hand and kissed the back of it.
The feeling of his lips was soft and warm, unlike my mother’s or sister’s—but I didn’t mind.
Because unlike everyone else who treated me like a child just because I was the youngest, Elias was treating me like a “lady.”
My impression of Elias—my brother’s friend—immediately rose.
“I’m Violeta.”
I smiled brightly and introduced myself.
That was our second meeting.
After Camilla left to deliver misfortune to Dmitri, I headed to the dining hall a bit late.
I took my meal tray and sat at an empty table, where senior members of the 10th Knight Order spoke to me one by one.
“Did you get scolded a lot by the captain?”
“You okay?”
“You didn’t cry, did you?”
Was it true that having a common enemy strengthens unity?
The voices of the senior knights who usually treated me like a troublemaker now carried a surprising amount of concern and affection.
“No! I’m fine!”
I declared cheerfully.
But they didn’t seem to believe me.
They patted my shoulders and nagged me like they were encouraging me.
“You’ve got a bit of a temper. If you want to live long, you’d better fix that.”
“And don’t go around alone for a while. Those guys hold grudges.”
“But you’re energetic, so that’s good.”
I ate while taking in their advice like side dishes.
The knight order’s food was rough, but surprisingly decent.
“Isn’t the salmon steak a bit salty?”
“Maybe it was caught at sea.”
“Ah!”
Sometimes the seasoning was off…
As I listened to their chatter and neared the end of my meal, Dmitri—who had been eating on the other side of the dining hall—entered with his companions.
Looking completely confident, as if he had no idea what misfortune was about to befall him.
“Huh. Even with backup, he’s still picking fights?”
