Chapter 10

“This is the right road. At least we’ll arrive by tonight.”

“Mm, okay.”

“Should I go to the restaurant and get some iced soda water or something?”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you.”

“Once we enter the forest path, the sun won’t be as strong. Just bear with it a bit longer.”

“Alright, thank you.”

At Avgenia’s reply, Alexei raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced at the maid with reddish-brown hair sitting across from her. The short, boyish haircut and unusually stiff posture struck Alexei as unfamiliar.

“Since Her Highness suffers from the heat, you’ll have to work a bit harder.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The maid answered gently and began fanning Avgenia. Watching to make sure she was being properly cared for, Alexei finally closed the carriage door.

“Hyah!” The sound of the coachman starting the horses rang out. Clop-clop, the horseshoes hit the stone road and the scenery outside the window began to flow slowly.

“Wow, he’s overflowing with kindness. Not even riding in the same carriage so he can reduce your discomfort by one person’s body heat, Your Highness.”

“Shut up, please.”

“Oh dear, if you are  not only wanton but also foul-mouthed, Your Highness, what will Lexie think…”

“Would you just be quiet, Rozie?”

Avgenia gritted her teeth, and Rozie giggled.

The Mage Tower trip had arrived. Because the distance was great and the project secret, Avgenia couldn’t bring her usual maids, so Rozie disguised herself as a maid and came along.

Alexei, who had taken care of Avgenia’s public and private matters for years, looked puzzled at the unfamiliar maid, but that was all.

It was proof that he felt no lingering attachment to the aide position he was about to leave, and that made Avgenia feel frustrated inside.

“If you keep complaining about the heat and flapping your collar, Your Highness, he should at least blush, but his face doesn’t change at all. He really is a capable aide.”

Rozie was delighted to finally get to banter with Avgenia in front of others. As the only one who knew how much Avgenia had been suffering over Alexei’s recent behavior, she enjoyed it all the more.

Avgenia couldn’t reply and just scowled, throwing her gaze out the window.

The chiffon curtains fluttered to block the sun, and Alexei’s back on horseback flickered in the distance.

Yes, whenever they went on outside inspections, Alexei always rode in the carriage and talked her ear off about work, but this time he refused to ride with her.

〈It’s hot. For the long trip, it’ll be more comfortable if I’m not there.〉

He mumbled that excuse and said he’d ride separately with the escort knights.

Avgenia’s eyes narrowed as if it was because of the sunlight. Under his roughly styled light brown hair, beads of sweat dotted Alexei’s neck.

‘…If you’re going to leave me alone, at least don’t act like you care.’

What does it matter to him if she suffers from the heat?

What’s with the ice, the fan?

“By the way, this fan is really nice. Is it new? The ribs are so light, it makes a strong breeze with just a little effort.”

As if reading Avgenia’s mind, Rozie paused her fanning to inspect the fan.

Whenever Avgenia had to endure summer outdoor appointments, Alexei always found the best fan of the year. The palace had magic devices so the maids didn’t know, but Alexei, who had spent years traveling with her to the summer palace or Ramantus estate, knew better than anyone how much she hated summer carriage rides.

〈Where’s last year’s fan? The roses on it were pretty.〉

〈I ordered a new, lighter one because my arm hurt from fanning you.〉

But now, the fan Rozie held had the same rose pattern as before. A wrinkle formed on Avgenia’s pale brow.

“And those slippers…”

Rozie’s yellow eyes glanced down, perhaps disappointed by Avgenia’s silence. The slippers with wool insoles on her uncalloused feet had also been placed in the carriage by Alexei.

“Ramantus wool is famous, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. My adorable and capable aide Lexie made those slippers so my feet would stay dry even in this heat.”

Avgenia spoke in a sweet, deliberately gentle voice.

Rozie, who had lived as Avgenia’s shadow for over ten years, knew exactly what that look meant. She replied with a bright smile.

“Why are you annoyed at me?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve served you  very well, my liege.”

Rozie giggled again, and Avgenia’s rosy eyes swept her face, full of displeasure.

“But, is Lexie really going down to the Ramantus estate?”

“So he says.”

“Then he’s going to find a match there? That’s the Ramantus tradition, isn’t it?”

Since the head of Ramantus always stayed in the Imperial City to control the Senate, the tradition of heirs spending their newlywed days at the estate had political meaning.

Avgenia couldn’t stop thinking about that tradition when Alexei said he was resigning to go to the estate. But there were no rumors about any young lady who might go with him, not among the aides or maids.

So, there wasn’t even gossip about the lucky young lady who would go down to the estate with Alexei.

‘…Well, what does it matter.’

Whether he had children in the estate’s bridal chamber with the woman who stole his heart so much he asked his liege how to satisfy her, or enjoyed a sweet honeymoon, it was all irrelevant to her now.

Avgenia’s cute lips pouted.

“He must be going down with that young lady.”

“If that were the case, it would already be all over the social circles. It’s the Ramantus Young Master’s marriage, and it’s a love match, not a political one. But there’s no young lady rumored to be marrying him.”

“…Maybe it’s a secret wedding.”

Avgenia decided not to concern herself with it.

Rozie knew exactly what Avgenia’s pursed lips meant. She smacked her lips and resumed fanning.

A cool breeze, and Avgenia’s eyes slowly closed. Her vivid pink eyes, shining coral under the sunlight, disappeared beneath her lids. The carriage had entered a forest path. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting delicate shadows on Avgenia’s pale face.

‘Yes. Whether Lexie marries someone or not… If he’s following his destined happiness, what does that matter to me?’

The sunlight through the window was harsh. The summer forest should have been shady, but the trees’ leaves were sparse from drought, letting the sun shine right through.

Even with her eyes closed, the sunlight stabbed at her.

Pretending otherwise, she kept thinking about Alexei.

* * *

“Welcome! Thank you for coming all this way.”

“To have yourself visit the Mage Tower, Your Highness, it feels like this dreary tower is coming to life.”

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

When Avgenia’s party arrived at the Mage Tower’s reception room, the tower’s executives greeted them. This was the real Mage Tower, located in the center of the Gron Mountains, reached by teleportation from the outer tower known to the public.

While the executives talked, the Mage Tower master stepped forward to greet them.

“Welcome, Second Princess. And Young Master Ramantus. And next to you…?”

“My maid.”

“Ah, I see.”

The Mage Tower master’s red eyes behind a monocle glanced at Rozie.

“Should I assign three rooms, then?”

It was an unusual courtesy to offer a guest room for a maid, so Avgenia was sure the master had noticed Rozie wasn’t an ordinary maid. Armed guards weren’t allowed in the Mage Tower, so Avgenia’s official escorts had been left at the outer tower.

“…Thank you.”

As Avgenia replied, hiding her embarrassment, the master’s pale face curved into a charming smile.

With long black hair falling over his shoulders, a slender jawline, delicate features, red eyes, and red lips, the Mage Tower master had a husky voice and a gender-neutral beauty that could only be described as ‘stunning.’

The master stepped closer, bowed, and lifted Avgenia’s hand in greeting.

“If it’s alright with you, may I assign you a room close to my own quarters?”

As the Mage Tower Master spoke, looking up at Avgenia, his gaze sparkled in a peculiar way.

Alexei, who had been watching everything, instinctively tried to interject with a frozen expression.

“Right now, that’s rather rude…”

“Oh my…”

Avgenia smiled sweetly back at the Mage Tower Master.

“It sounds as if you’re making me a secret proposal, Master.”

Her flirtatious words, delivered with deeply dimpled cheeks, brought a brief silence to the Mage Tower’s reception room. The tower executives, who seemed to have lived their whole lives without knowing anything about romance, just wore awkward expressions…

So, this situation…? Rozie’s eyes rolled toward Alexei.