Chapter 2.3

The crimson glow of the setting sun poured down. In the late afternoon, as evening approached, Servante, who had sent the aides home and was returning to the Crown Prince’s palace with his knights, suddenly stopped in his tracks.  

Ahead, walking leisurely, was a figure he found unmistakably familiar.  

“Your Highness.”  

As if it were a chance encounter, she came to a halt. Her graceful bow was picture-perfect, and under the brim of her wide hat, her lips curved gently into a kind smile.  

“You’re finally returning. You’ve worked hard today.”  

“…”  

Servante, narrowing his eyes, raised a hand. At his gesture, the knights following him stepped back more than ten paces. The maid accompanying Carnier also tactfully withdrew.  

Servante closed the distance between them in an instant. In the beautifully crimson-tinted garden, the two, soon to be wed, stood face to face.  

“What are you trying to do?”  

“What do you mean?”  

“I asked why you’re suddenly doing something you’ve never done before.”  

“Ah… Are you referring to waiting for you on the road because I knew you wouldn’t return unless you heard I was here?”  

Carnier let out a small sigh.  

“What’s so strange about waiting like this between people in a relationship?”  

“Lady Raymore.”  

“If you agreed to play along, you should take responsibility.”  

“Responsibility? Did I have any other choice when you made such an unreasonable proposal?”  

What could he have said to his fiancée, who came to him proposing a relationship? Especially when their royal wedding was just around the corner. 

“I had no other choice in the first place.”

“That’s why I accepted the conditions you offered.”

Carnier replied flatly.  

“A relationship that maintains decorum, without interfering with each other’s schedules or official duties. Have you ever seen anyone else conduct a relationship like this?”  

“…”  

“I’m sure you didn’t propose such terms without knowing that this doesn’t qualify as what society calls ‘dating.’”

Her eyes, dark as the deep ocean, looked up at him.  

“You never intended to date like others do, did you?”

“…”  

“Will you still claim you had no other choice?”  

Words alone couldn’t win against her.  

Servante recalled the time when the Duke of Raymore had described his younger sister. He had laughed it off back then, telling the upright knight that it was probably because he lacked the gift of gab…

“…Lady Raymore.”  

“Yes?”  

“I don’t know what Katrina Eseth said to provoke you, but…”  

When faced with someone who couldn’t be defeated with words, the only way forward was direct confrontation.  

“But what we need for our marriage is not ‘dating,’ but ‘boundaries.’”

“…”  

“We’re not ordinary people, after all. Neither you nor I.”  

Their union had been orchestrated for political purposes and grounded in conservative traditions. From the beginning, their engagement had been for such reasons.  

Servante took a step closer to her. Lowering his head, he whispered into her ear.  

“Keep the boundaries as you’ve done so far.”  

“…”  

“I believe I’ve explained enough that this is how we protect each other.”  

His slightly shortened speech caused Carnier’s eyelashes to tremble faintly. A subtle floral scent lingered in her shallow breaths.  

Servante decided to leave the warning at that. Though she was his future partner, he didn’t want to frighten her, as she was someone he had watched grow up like a younger sister. Just as he was about to step away—  

Her delicate fingers grabbed his collar. His attempt to retreat failed as her cool voice reached his ear.  

“You’re well aware, aren’t you? That I’m no longer at an age where I know nothing.”  

The faint floral scent that had always been subtle now seeped in strongly.  

She had never confronted him like this before. But hearing his words, something seemed to crack.  

The boundary he had drawn, which she had accepted, was breaking.  

“Yes, we’re not ordinary people.”  

She pulled harder on his collar as he tried to step back. Her toes, which had crossed the line once, pressed forward with determination. She didn’t want to stop here.  

“That’s why I told you, didn’t I? That I wanted to date ‘until the royal wedding.’ Do you not understand what that means?”  

“…!”  

“I stood right in front of the line you drew.”  

With those words, Carnier finally let go of his collar. Of course, she didn’t just let go; her hands carefully adjusted his disheveled cravat and collar with meticulous care.  

“I’ve never crossed the line, not even once. Even though it was a line that you unilaterally set, Your Highness.”  

“…”  

“But if you continue to treat me like a child and scold me… wouldn’t that child feel rebellious and want to cross the line?”  

“…Carnier.”  

He called her name. It was a name he hadn’t spoken in a very long time. At some point, he had begun treating her with formal courtesy, as if forgetting the personal bond they had shared in their childhood.  

That was the line he had drawn.  

Carnier moistened her dry lips and smiled again.  

“It’s only eight days, Your Highness. After that, everything will be over.”  

“…”  

“Is it so difficult to indulge me just this once?”  

Carnier withdrew her hands from him. From a distance, it might have looked like a fiancée briefly embracing her betrothed before stepping away to straighten his collar.  

“By any chance, did my presence today cause any disruption to your official duties?”  

“…”  

“Tomorrow will be the same.”  

In other words, she intended to visit again tomorrow. Servante’s eyebrows twitched, but he refrained from issuing another warning like earlier.  

‘Well, at least he’s not outright defying me under the guise of orders.’  

Carnier took some comfort in the fact that his reaction wasn’t entirely cold. After all, they say the first step is the hardest.  

‘…Or maybe not. If he outright rejected me here, I could just give up.’  

For a moment, she almost confused her own intentions.  

‘Right, I came here to be rejected. Ugh, what am I even hoping for…’  

However, there was no trace of such inner turmoil in the graceful way she lifted her skirt and bowed lightly.  

“Well then, have a peaceful evening, Your Highness.”  

“…”  

With a graceful bow, she passed by him, her steps light as a butterfly. The maid who had been waiting at a distance quickly followed her, and Servante’s knights closed the distance between themselves and their master once more.  

Her footsteps faded away. Yet the declaration she left behind, along with the faint floral scent, lingered around him.  

— You’re well aware, aren’t you? That I’m no longer at an age where I know nothing.  

Servante let out a deep sigh.  

‘What exactly does she think she knows…’  

His mind was a mess. The knights glanced at him as he stood there, rubbing his face with his hands.  

“Until the royal wedding… what on earth… Hah…”  

“Your Highness?”  

“…It’s nothing.”  

Servante lowered his hands and straightened his posture. As if the irritation from moments ago had never existed, he returned to his usual cold and composed demeanor as the Crown Prince.  

The knights, following behind him, quickly dismissed their curiosity. Only the crimson glow of the setting sun remained in the place they had left behind.  

***

From that day on, Carnier’s visits to the Crown Prince’s palace continued.  

At first, her mere presence surprised the people of the Imperial Palace, but they soon grew accustomed to it.  

“Welcome, Lady Raymore.”  

“Welcome!”  

“Good day, Aide Aleph. Aide Guillem.”  

As soon as she entered the office, Carnier greeted each person who welcomed her with a nod.  

“It’s quite hot today.”  

“Indeed. Although the temperature control magic cast over the palace helps, the outside is…”  

Aide Guillem, who had grown quite familiar with her while handling banquet-related tasks, shook his head. He looked relieved not to be out in the scorching sun, though the mountain of paperwork on his desk suggested he wouldn’t be leaving on time today.  

Having observed the aides process a workload as daunting as the Crown Prince’s over the past few days, Carnier couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for them.  

‘If only the matters of the Inner Palace were settled, things might improve.’  

However, as someone who was not yet married into the Imperial Family, openly involving herself in Inner Palace affairs could lead to gossip.  

Hang in there a little longer.

She thought, silently offering her sympathy.  

Carnier glanced around the room.  

“By the way, where is His Highness?”  

“His Majesty summoned him, so he had to step out for a moment.”  

“Ah, His Majesty…”  

Seeing the empty seat as soon as she entered, she had briefly wondered if he had fled to avoid her. Hiding her wry smile, she sat down in the spot that had become familiar to her over the past few days.  

“Is there any particular issue?”  

“The attendant who delivered the summons didn’t seem troubled. His Highness also mentioned he would head directly to his next task afterward.”  

Even Aleph didn’t seem to know the exact details. As she helped Beth organize the documents she had brought, Carnier pondered the situation.  

‘Since His Majesty delegated full authority to His Highness, it’s rare for him to involve himself in state affairs. If he summoned him personally, could it be a matter within the Imperial Family?’  

She recalled hearing that the favored consort, Ailette, had recently given birth to a son.  

But it wasn’t an unprecedented event. The Emperor had fathered many children over the years, frequently replacing his consorts, sometimes for as long as a year, other times just a few months.  

Despite this, Servante’s position had never been shaken. Initially, the Crown Prince’s supporters among the ministers had been anxious, but after seeing the Emperor entrust everything to the Crown Prince for several years and even leave the Empress’s seat vacant, they had grown indifferent. The current Emperor seemed content to enjoy the pleasures he had restrained from indulging in during his youth, leaving the responsibilities to his capable heir.  

‘Still, I should ask him about it later, just in case.’  

If it was a matter internal to the Imperial Family, it could eventually involve her as the future Crown Princess.