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<To Her Imperial Highness, Princess Larisa.>
Dry as a bone right from the start.
<The final chill has faded, and the season has arrived where the early breath of spring softly awakens. I was quite surprised to receive your letter, Your Highness. At first, I thought the sender's name had been written in error. After the surprise came bewilderment, as I wondered if I had committed another grave mistake.
I do not know if Your Highness is aware, but earlier today, His Imperial Highness Vasily visited me and urged that I write and send this reply promptly. To think he went so far as to urge me. Is that all the trust he has in me? I can almost picture Your Highness's expression as you read this letter.
To answer a few of your questions first, I have no particular preference for any season. Spring is bothersome due to pollen, summer is exhausting because of the flying insects, autumn is the one I distance myself from most as it brings trivial contemplations, and winter, as is obvious, I dislike because it is cold. Regrettably, I also have no favorite color. A truly unfortunate thing, indeed.>
Letters are truly a remarkable means of communication. It felt as if Valentin were mocking me right in front of my face.
I took my eyes off the stationery for a moment and looked into the vanity mirror. My face, grinning foolishly and forgetting the dignity of a princess, looked so unsightly that I forced myself to straighten my expression. I didn't feel like smiling like this in front of Valentin. I wonder why?
What followed were answers to a few questions regarding prophecies.
<All matters related to prophecies are treated as top-secret by the Holy See, so I cannot inform you. At least, not in writing. To give a rough answer, the future I see can be more detailed and precise than Your Highness expects, but conversely, it can be as vague as the sky reflected in an opaque lake.>
What a vague answer. Is this the recommended way of responding by the Holy See?
According to the reply, it seemed he refused all questions regarding prophecies if a record of them would remain. That likely meant I should ask him in person. However, since I had only mixed in questions about prophecies as a way to fill up a single sheet of paper, I wasn't sure if the time would come to ask again.
<Have all of Your Highness's doubts been resolved? Replying to a letter full of questions was a very beneficial time for me as well. Until we meet again, I wish you good health.
From Valentin Vladimirovich Dmitriev, Count of Nariyan, Baron of Mahikop, and Viscount of Salezar.>
He certainly has a lot of titles.
...So, what now?
"How do I follow this up?"
No, is it even possible to follow up? He cut off the communication too perfectly. Doesn't this mean I shouldn't send any more letters?
As I wandered, unable to find a suitable answer, I felt something rough on the back of the folded stationery. It was a small memo attached with adhesive. Peeling it off gently, I saw small writing in a handwriting that clearly belonged to Valentin.
<Top Secret Mission requested of Her Imperial Highness, Princess Larisa.
This mission is a special measure to calibrate the future of His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Vasily, and is a mission to be conducted secretly only between Princess Larisa and myself.
Please plan and execute a future supplementation mission that will act usefully for Prince Vasily's future. Any plan is fine. If you send me a short record once every three days, it will serve as a helpful reference. I leave it in your hands.>
Vasily's future... he must be talking about that terrible future where he ends his life as a tyrant. Looking at the nuance of the memo, it seemed he wanted me, as family, to provide even a small amount of help so that Vasily would not head toward that nightmare of a future.
Honestly, I was quite surprised. I had only mentioned it in passing regarding the prophecy, and I thought he had completely excluded me since that day. To think he had been considering this so thoughtfully.
"Mm-hmm. Then I... just have to send another letter in three days, right?"
A secret mission.
At such a trivial phrase, my heart began to thumping as if I had become a young child. Though, I am a child!
I read the small sentences written on the memo several times over.
I read them again and again, then opened a new notebook. Alright, shall I organize what secret missions I will carry out for Vasily's smooth road ahead? The first letter to be sent in three days... no, the report disguised as a letter should focus on narrowing down suitable missions and getting them confirmed.
After spending several days pondering <Plans to Support Vasily as a Sage King>, I finally narrowed it down to five missions and sent them to Valentin in a letter three days later.
However, the reply came much later than expected.
Despite having sent only two letters, the social season of the year had already begun.
The social season.
The period when Mahachikala shines most brilliantly, beginning immediately after the winter social season of February ends. And the season when the Imperial Palace, its center, becomes a bustling hive of gentlemen and ladies who have come up from all over the Ohala Empire.
In March, when spring surges, the already bustling Mahachikala becomes packed with even more people. There was no marriage market as perfectly prepared as Mahachikala in March within all of Ohala.
The ladies who gathered to greet the Empress in competition were all seventeen-year-old women who were to have their coming-of-age ceremonies starting this spring. Similarly, the gentlemen having their seventeenth coming-of-age ceremonies stood before the Emperor to declare their first ambitions.
As soon as they became adults, they were thrown into the social fishing hole to snag the finest marriage partner. Since they were both the fishers and the prey, there could be no time more exciting and boisterous than this.
Of course, for others, not for me.
"Navy is the worst. It makes cute Lara's face look dull, doesn't it? Pink, pale yellow, or even white would be good. Use bright colors no matter what."
At the clear and firm command, the maid moved her body more busily. Simultaneously, the navy morning glory pinned to my head was replaced by a white apple blossom. Only then did Tatyana nod with a satisfied look in her eyes.
Today was the grand first day of the Ohala Empire's social season.
It was the day when the children of the upper class and their parents, who had gathered from all over the empire for their coming-of-age ceremonies, met to have an audience with the Emperor and Empress.
As it was an important event signaling the start of the social season, I, along with Tatyana, had woken up early in the morning to prepare to welcome the guests.
We were in a position where we had to sit side-by-side next to our mother, the Empress, receive the greetings of the women, and maintain the dignity of the Imperial Family.
'I don't see what sitting still like a doll has to do with dignity.'
I let out a sigh, already feeling exhausted.
"I could just dress casually."
"As you know, the word I hate most is 'casually,' Lara. 'Casually' does not exist in our dictionary. Just stand still and let it happen. Your sister will take care of everything."
"Isn't Tanya the one who should be worrying about her clothes? The men who've had their eyes on you will probably be stealing glances. You'll be an adult next year."
"My cute little kitten. This sister has already decided on a pool of husband candidates long ago, so there's no need to worry. What's important right now is you, Lara. It's about time we decided on your pool of husband candidates. We must start exploring them step by step starting today."
That damn husband. For Tatyana, choosing my husband was undoubtedly one of the lifelong goals of her existence.
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