Dana Rowen nodded and introduced the next topic.

“And please don’t misunderstand what I’m about to say. It’s about how you interact with others.”

Ah, as expected.

Kaiden found himself frowning slightly.

“Earlier, Sir Connors misspoke.”

Since Kaiden had been rude by interrupting, Dana mirrored his behavior by cutting him off.

“No, I’m not in a position to comment on how you, as a lord, treat your knights.”

Just as Kaiden couldn’t comment on how Dana, as the lady of the house, treated the castle’s servants, she felt the same. She wanted to address a different issue.

“At least I can see you’re being cautious. But I think that’s not enough. It’s not just about your words, but other manners as well. Of course, you’re already an excellent knight, but it’s also important to have the appropriate etiquette and dignity as the Duke of Khalid. Especially if you ever enter a ‘real marriage’ and become someone’s husband or father.”

Kaiden looked at Dana silently. The princess was already discussing events three years into the future, suggesting the improbable notion of him being with another woman. Throughout her words, she appeared to have no personal feelings about the matter.

A real marriage… The implication that this marriage was the opposite made his expression harden even more. From Dana’s perspective, it was hard to tell if he agreed or not.

“You know how to dance, right? Can you write poetry?”

Kaiden responded to Dana’s question.

“No.”

“Do you play any instruments?”

“No.”

“Do you sing?”

“I don’t.”

Is he really a knight from the Rowen Kingdom? These were all skills that should have been learned during his time as a squire. Is the culture of knighthood so different between the south and the north? She couldn’t tell. Dana was genuinely curious.

“How did you learn to dance?”

“…I didn’t learn it properly. I once saw a fellow knight dancing and just memorized it.”

Of course, he had replayed it countless times in his mind, and in those imaginings, it was always the princess whose hand he held.

Unaware of this, Dana thought he must have found it easy to move as he had memorized because he was such a skilled knight.

“Perhaps you never had the opportunity to learn those other things properly. Am I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong.”

Kaiden had never had such opportunities. If he had gone through a proper squire period and followed the steps to become a knight formally, he might have had the chance to learn. But that wasn’t the case for him. Upon arriving in the north, he had a very brief squire period before distinguishing himself in subjugating monsters and becoming a knight.

Dana nodded and said,

“But just like with dancing, learning those other things could be helpful to you someday. Try to learn them little by little before you get really busy. Typically, these things improve with consistent daily practice.”

Dana pondered what he should learn first and decided to ask for the opinion of the most important person involved.

“When you decide what you’d like to learn, I’ll arrange for the necessary teacher.”

Kaiden didn’t know what etiquette and manners were needed for a duke, nor was he particularly interested. He still didn’t think they were necessary, so he didn’t know how to respond. However, since Dana mentioned it was important, he was curious about her opinion. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice,

“What do you think would be good, Princess? If your man were to do something for you?”

Kaiden’s words caused Dana Rowen to blink her sky-blue eyes repeatedly. For a moment, it seemed as though Kaiden was willing to learn something just for her. However, she quickly realized that, given his unfamiliarity with women and cultural activities, he might struggle to make a decision, and her suggestions could guide him.

She gazed at the ceiling, pondering. If Kaiden were to learn something for her, what would she want? Of course, it was more likely that whatever he learned wouldn’t be for her. But just imagining…

Dana’s eyes sparkled as she spoke to Kaiden.

“I would love it if you wrote a poem about me.”

“A poem?”

“Yes. It’s romantic, isn’t it? A knight composing a poem to sing of his love for a lady.”

Dana added with a smile, “It’s a dream for many women, you know.” Of course, Kaiden wouldn’t just be a knight serving a lady; he would be the lady’s husband. Still, isn’t it romantic for a husband to write a poem for his wife? It would be perfect if he could even sing it.

“And, well, I would like it if you played the piano with me.”

As she spoke, she found herself growing a bit excited.

In the past, Dana had never had the opportunity to think like this. She was supposed to marry a man from the Heinz Kingdom, not one from Rowen. She had heard that people from Heinz didn’t enjoy music and instruments as much as those from Rowen did. It was unlikely that the stoic prince of Heinz would play an instrument with his wife like the men of Rowen.

Kaiden nodded slowly at Dana’s words. He looked down, seemingly deep in thought, and then replied.

“Then I’ll go with poetry and piano.”

“Will you?”

Dana nodded, imagining Kaiden sitting at a piano. It seemed much more fitting than playing the lyre or harp or even the flute.

‘Not that you have to learn an instrument just to look impressive.’

Dana suddenly remembered something and said,

“Oh, there’s a monk visiting Eluan Castle right now. Would you like to learn poetry from her? She used to be a priest, so she’s good at writing and teaching poetry. Although she won’t be staying at the castle for long, she might help you learn the basics if we ask.”

Thinking of Noah, Dana suggested this, and Kaiden replied, “Yes.”

Dana decided she would ask Noah about teaching poetry. She then asked, “There’s a music room in the castle. It has a lot of instruments, of course. Have you ever been there?”

Naturally, he hadn’t. When Kaiden shook his head, Dana said, “If you’re not too busy, would you like to go there now?”

* * *

Together, they headed to the music room. Inside, various instruments were arranged, and sunlight streamed in through the wide-open curtains of the glass windows, casting patterns of shadows and light on the floor shaped like the window frames.

Kaiden noticed the black instrument that Dana had played during the birthday banquet.

Standing in front of the small, closed instrument, Dana lowered her hand from Kaiden’s, which she had been holding as they walked. She reached out to open the instrument’s lid, but Kaiden stepped forward and opened it for her. He then pulled out a chair for her. Dana sat on one side of the chair first.

“Please, have a seat.”

Kaiden looked at the not-so-large chair with a sense of trepidation, realizing that once he sat down, he would be sitting right next to the princess. The princess sat casually, already tapping her fingers on the keys.

Swallowing hard, Kaiden sat next to Dana. The keyboard instrument, which seemed appropriately sized when Dana sat alone, suddenly looked like a small toy with Kaiden seated. They had to sit close, so their arms touched.

Dana briefly turned her head toward Kaiden, but before she made contact, she looked back at the keys. Kaiden kept his gaze slightly averted from the princess’s profile, which was close enough to see with just a slight turn of his head, and quietly looked down at the keyboard.

“It’s much smaller than the organ played in the temple, isn’t it? Of course, it’s structurally different from an organ. When you press the keys, strings inside are struck to produce sound.”

He observed the princess’s small, white hands tapping on the keys. Since she didn’t seem to intend to play properly, the bracelet she had loosened remained on her wrist as she hit the keys. On her fingers, moving over the keys, was the ring he had given her.

Kaiden felt his breath catch. Every time the princess moved her hands and lifted her arms, it seemed as if a fragrant scent wafted from her.

“Have you ever played the keys before?” Dana asked while looking down at them. Kaiden barely managed to gather himself and replied, “No.” Dana encouraged him, saying, “Try it once.” Awkwardly, Kaiden placed his hands on the keys, following Dana’s lead.

Unlike when the princess’s small fingers were on them, each key seemed very narrow. It looked like it would take considerable effort to press just one key at a time with his large, rough hands. Dana, noticing his tense hands, said, “You don’t need to press so hard. The sound’s volume is the same no matter how you play, so just press lightly.”

Next to his awkwardly placed hand, the princess’s slender fingers pressed a key. Kaiden looked at the princess’s white hand, which seemed like it would disappear if he moved his hand slightly to cover it. It wasn’t just the keys he needed to be gentle with; it was the princess’s hand. No, it was the princess herself.

Kaiden’s gaze followed her delicate fingers. They were too close. Their arms touched, and thus their bodies were right next to each other. Looking down at Dana, who was sitting close to him, his gaze followed her form.

“You see, the keys have an upper and a lower level…” Her small, smooth hand moved, revealing the bones as her fingers danced, and her slender wrist extended from there. Through the open collar, the inside of her arm was barely visible. The neckline of her dress dipped to reveal her softly rising chest. As he watched the gentle rise and fall with her breath and the shadowed cleavage, Kaiden felt his mouth go dry.

Everything was too close. It all appeared vividly in his view. Her delicate neck and small chin rose along her pale skin. Above that, her full lips moved continuously, as if to tease him…

In the past, the princess’s image, which he had admired from afar, was now right beside him…

“…Sir, are you listening to me?”

Without any time to prepare himself, the princess suddenly turned her head. In that moment, their eyes met at an uncomfortably close distance.