Chapter 9 – Spring Waltz

A month passed by helplessly. After Adrian’s visit, Eileen was unable to leave the gardens of Ruby Palace at all.

The palace guards were replaced entirely by female knights, and even attendants were banned from entering, so the maids had to pull carts loaded with heavy supplies and groceries themselves. Watching the maids struggle because of her, Eileen could not hide her lonely heart.

Watching the bustling movements of the maids on the back path of Ruby Palace, her face grew dark as if covered by clouds. She had never been one to host lively salons or invite guests into Ruby Palace often, and it was even rarer for her to go outside herself, so her daily life hadn’t changed much.

Still, being unable to go out by her own will was distinctly more suffocating than simply choosing not to.

‘It’s a month. Whoever that man was, forget him. Eileen, maintain your dignity as a Princess.’

Perhaps Adrian had guessed who Eileen’s first partner was. In all the years they’d spent together, there were only a handful of men with whom Eileen was close enough to give herself.

‘Brother, still, this is too much. Others will find it strange.’

‘It’s better than having men wandering the palace of a Princess about to be wed.’

Leaving those words behind, Adrian departed from Ruby Palace and refused even Eileen’s requests for a private audience. His firm resolve not to accept any more of her wishes left her no choice but to surrender.

Fortunately, the punishment for Eileen’s six maids was reduced to a pay cut, thanks to Adrian’s last act of consideration, but that was all.

For the first time in her life, Ruby Palace felt like a tedious prison to Eileen.

If not for ‘this’, her feelings of frustration and helplessness would never have faded, tormenting her endlessly.

“Princess, please come inside now. The sun is strong today. I’m worried about your skin.”

“A little longer. I just feel so cooped up.”

“……Would you like some cool iced tea?”

“Yes, that sounds nice.”

Despite Stella’s protests, Eileen sat at the small tea table set up in front of the garden, gazing intently at the single rose blooming among the already wilted peonies.

A single rose in a garden full of peonies—there was nothing more out of place. Yet to Eileen, it was her only refuge. That rose had entered her garden about a month ago.

On that day, a knight approached Eileen cautiously.

‘Princess.’

‘……Yes?’

‘I am Dane Kratie of the Royal First Knight Order. I came to deliver this.’

The knight, with short hair the color of honey and pale green eyes, glanced around nervously before handing her the rose. Seeing that it was alive, roots and all, Eileen looked puzzled, but Dane added quietly,

‘The Captain asked me to deliver it.’

Captain.

Eileen’s heart raced, knowing that meant Leios. Since the palace had been closed, she hadn’t received even a single letter from him. Whenever she thought of Leios’s dark hair, her fluttering heart was on the verge of shattering from disappointment.

The rose Dane handed her was just budding, its leaves green and thorns carefully removed so no one would get hurt. It looked fresh, ready to bloom soon.

Usually, flowers were gifted as cut bouquets, but giving one with roots was surely intentional.

After staring at the rose in Dane’s hand for a while, Eileen spoke.

‘Where is the Duke?’

‘He left for the border last night on royal orders. He will return after settling things there and escorting the Imperial delegation.’

Dane handed the rose, wrapped in several layers of white cloth, to Eileen as if his task was done.

That rose was planted in Ruby Palace’s garden by Ellie, the palace gardener, and after a month, the once budding flower now bloomed in a vivid, deep red.

“Didn’t you like peonies? Do you want to change the garden to roses?”

Stella, having just brought the iced tea, set down the cup and asked.

“No, just that one rose is enough.”

“But it’s only one. It stands out so much among the peonies, and its color is so deep and red.”

“All the buds have opened. Look, Stella.”

Leios, the Royal Knight Captain, had been sent to the border partly to honor the prince, but Eileen suspected it was also Adrian’s calculated plan to keep them apart.

According to Dane, Leios had left urgently at night. Sending them off at night, when even midday would have been fine, meant Adrian was determined to give Leios no chance. Yet even so, Leios sent her a sign of his feelings.

“That flower makes me feel strange.”

“……The rose?”

“Yes, it bloomed so beautifully. The peonies are almost all withered now.”

Under the hot sun, Eileen watched the red flower bloom, wondering when it would reach full glory. That was what had kept her going for the past month. She came to see it every day, longing for Leios, whom she hadn’t seen again.

“Princess……. Do you love him?”

Stella, having guessed the origin of the rose, brought the parasol closer and asked.

“Love……?”

“When you said you didn’t have a lover, I was honestly shocked. I thought you’d done something with someone you barely knew.”

Stella looked serious, but smiled slightly.

“But now, it seems you do have feelings. Was I wrong, Princess?”

“…….”

Eileen thought of Leios.

She didn’t know if she loved him. After all, he was her first love, but spending one night with him didn’t mean she’d instantly fallen in love, as in a novel. That would be even more fickle and ridiculous.

But one thing was clear.

“I don’t love him.”

“Then?”

“……I miss him.”

Her first night had been intense and unforgettable, and she knew she would never forget it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leios had cleared out all the bandits in the border region and was watching a distant procession approach.

“Wow, that’s something. Sniff, is that the smell of gold? I’ve never seen a carriage so gilded. It’s practically advertising for bandits to come rob it.”

“They’ll have plenty of guards.”

Leios replied curtly to his deputy captain, Kelton, who was rambling beside him.

From the moment he arrived, Leios hadn’t forgotten Eileen for a single day. Sometimes she smiled brightly at him in his dreams, sometimes she clung to him, her pale body pressed close, making sweet sounds. His mind was so chaotic that one morning he poured cold water with ice over his head.

Eileen haunted him every night for a month, as if to make sure he never forgot.

“They’re coming.”

“Hoo, everyone line up!”

Kelton shouted to the rear instead of Leios. It was unusual for half of the Royal First Knight Order to spend a month at the border.

It showed just how much the current king cared about the prince.

‘……Right now?’

‘His Majesty ordered it. Here’s the deployment order, Your Grace.’

The chief attendant of Crystal Palace had personally come to his townhouse to deliver the order the day after Leios had held Eileen in his arms.

Leios watched the sun sinking below the horizon behind the attendant as he untied the rolled-up letter.

<There is only one mistake.>

That was all it said. Leios instantly realized Adrian knew about him and Eileen. Before leaving, he quickly prepared something to send to Eileen. It all happened in a single day.

As Leios thought of Eileen again, the carriage carrying the prince and the Imperial knights in black uniforms embroidered with gold thread reached the border. The purpose of the visit was clear, but seeing the armed foreign knights made Leios’s own men tense.

“It’s the border!”

The carriage stopped at the leader’s shout. A man who looked about forty hurried to open the door, and a man dressed very casually stepped out.

That was the prince.

Leios scrutinized him. Rumors said he was obsessed with women, but it seemed more likely countless women were obsessed with him. His face was beautifully sharp, his lips red as if painted, and his eyes, tilted at an angle, were cold like a beast. Yet all these features blended into an untouchable aura.

“Ah, it’s so far.”

The prince grumbled as he approached. Leios stepped forward to greet him, with Kelton nervously following behind.

“I greet the third sun of the Empire. I am Leios Dreikan. His Majesty Adrian von Staerfix commanded me to escort you safely to the capital, Your Highness.”

“Kallian El Salvia Hyksar. So you’re the Duke Dreikan.”

Kallian let out a short laugh as Leios bowed slightly, then rose. Kallian’s gaze swept over Leios with interest. The young, skilled Duke was often mentioned even in the Empire. He had achieved much for his age.

But somehow—

“You look more annoying than I expected.”

“Ha!”

“Ahem.”

Kallian made no effort to hide his thoughts, speaking them aloud. His rude words shocked those around him, but Leios didn’t react at all.

“From now on, I’ll serve you. Please have your knights reduce their arms as much as possible.”

“Fine.”

At Kallian’s signal, the knights began gathering their daggers and spears into one place. Leios watched, clenching his jaw. He recognized the leader at the front.

It was the First Knight Captain of the Hyksar Imperial Family. Leios had met him at the border once before and glanced at him, then at Kallian.

‘The Empress is said to favor him greatly.’

It seemed true. Sending the First Knight Captain as the head of the delegation for a marriage alliance, especially during a noisy succession contest, meant he was highly favored.

‘…….’

From that perspective, it was a match with no flaws in honor or power. His appearance was also fitting.

But Leios’s heart, longing for Eileen, felt a little empty.