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Tatyana slowly closed and opened her eyes, rinsed her mouth with plain water, and stood up abruptly.
‘Sorry, Tanya.’
As Tatyana turned to leave without looking back, her father offered a piece of advice.
“You should at least say goodbye.”
“……My apologies, Count Valentin. And my apologies to the other distinguished guests present here. I hope to see you all again after I have cooled my head. I wish you a pleasant dinner.”
Once she left, the atmosphere in the banquet hall grew even colder. Vasily looked down at his empty plate with his arms crossed, while Ivan shook his head beside him. With a cowed expression, I scanned my surroundings and quietly scooped up some blueberry ice cream.
In times like this, acting as if I have no thoughts in my head increases the credibility of the words I've spoken. In reality, I wasn't thinking about anything. Thinking can wait until after I've filled my stomach.
Look at that; those uncles are already speculating about what great mistake the future me will commit. Long live being thirteen.
“It seems my teachings were insufficient, Count Valentin. Tatyana’s heart for Larisa is always overflowing with love and consideration. Her words were spoken out of worry, so please do not take them to heart.”
“It is quite alright. I, too, do not believe that Her Imperial Highness Princess Tatyana’s words were wrong.”
“Then you would do well to keep this in mind. The fact that I drove my own daughter out was to save your face.”
Father took a slow sip of wine, his gaze never leaving Valentin. Valentin maintained his etiquette by bowing politely. Perhaps feeling that he needed to be defended, Gracia, who had been sitting quietly the whole time, spoke up.
“Your Imperial Majesty, if I may venture a word. His Eminence Valentin is a man who, even at the young age of fourteen, took the initiative to save thousands of disaster victims foreseen in the Kingdoms of Cherensko and Oblonsky. His judgment must have been for the sake of Her Imperial Highness Princess Larisa, so please do not worry too much.”
“An interesting point, Cardinal Gracia. The ones who most desperately wish to trust Count Valentin are not you, but our Imperial Family. Larisa is the noble and precious treasure of our Novarov Imperial Family, whom the Empress saw while at death's door. There is only one reason I am saving your face: because Larisa said it was alright. There is no other reason.”
The atmosphere grew even chillier at the simple warning. Honestly, these old men are too much. Whether it's Bishop Parben or Cardinal Gracia, I wish they'd stop with that 'His Eminence' business in the Imperial Palace. Do they not realize that chiming in further will only make things difficult for Valentin?
The one who stepped forward to break the stiff tension was my mother. With a clear voice, she scanned the crowd and smiled brightly.
“Bring out the food and begin the performance. At this rate, the guests who have graced us with their presence will get indigestion before they can even properly digest their meal. I request soft music that aids digestion.”
As the frozen air softened, small conversations began to drift among the attendees.
To better pretend that nothing was wrong, I kept my seat until the very moment the formal dinner ended. Only after all the guests had returned home and Vasily had silently escorted me back to my bedroom did I sit before the fireplace, open my book and notebook, and grip my fountain pen.
There was no time to sit around and be sad. This was a matter concerning not only my future but the future of my family.
‘There is no way Valentin would announce my death in that place for no reason.’
There must be a proper cause.
Therefore, from now on, I must investigate everything about the person named Valentin.
As much as possible, without seeing him through anyone else's eyes—exactly as Valentin appears to me.
<Valentin Vladimirovich Dmitriev.>
He is commonly called by that name, but Valentin's full name is slightly longer.
After Dmitriev, 'Nariyan Mahikop Salazar' should be added. Count Nariyan was a title inherited from his maternal side, Baron Mahikop was a life peerage granted by the Kingdom of Cherensko, and Viscount Salazar was a life peerage granted by Oblonsky.
Additionally, after the current Duke of Dmitriev passed away, there were two more titles to be inherited: Duke of Dmitriev and Count of Omstk. In the future, the titles Valentin possesses will amount to five. Of course, there is a high probability he will come to own even more.
‘To put it simply, he met the right ancestors and possesses great ability himself, so his titles and wealth are more than overflowing. He both inherits and is granted them.’
The first head of the Dmitriev family was from the Novarov Imperial Family; going back 180 years, Valentin and I share the same roots.
When I personally checked the Novarov Imperial family tree, I found a prince named Pavel Novarov, who was the first head of the Dmitriev family. This meant that, although distant, Valentin also possessed a claim to the imperial throne.
‘In reality, this is a relationship more distant than a fourth cousin twice removed. We're practically strangers.’
Valentin's mother was a princess of the Kingdom of Oblonsky, and his grandmother was a princess of the Kingdom of Cherensko.
I only realized after confirming the facts that the two nations that granted him titles were the kingdoms of his biological mother and grandmother. With bloodlines from different royal houses and titles granted by those houses, Valentin held one of the most powerful claims among the collateral branches of the royalty.
‘A claim to the imperial throne and two claims to royal thrones. In words, he's like the highest-pedigree stud horse, right? Just like our Lara.’
However, both his biological mother and grandmother passed away from pneumonia around the time I was born.
His younger brother also passed away from a similar illness to their mother when Valentin was fourteen; all these misfortunes occurred within a ten-year span. My heart ached just imagining what the young Valentin must have felt while enduring all that.
“Is that why he kept traveling abroad?”
Coincidentally, it was difficult to find records of his activities abroad within the Imperial Palace.
What should I do? After the banquet, Tatyana's mood was strangely twisted, so I felt hesitant to ask about Valentin. Vasily also seemed busy being dragged around to all sorts of appointments and balls... and Ivan is useless as always...
But, whether I should call it luck or not, Emma's letter of greeting arrived three days after the banquet.
<Dear Her Imperial Highness Princess Larisa. I wish to return the favor for your gift. Could you please visit me during the daylight hours whenever you have time, including today?>
I recalled my mother's advice.
[Lara, if gifts, returns, and invitations continue to flow between you and another person, it is a very good sign. It means the other person also wishes to become close to you. Of course, given your status as a princess, who would avoid you? But do not forget that it is your part to pick out a friend who will give you true comfort and help from among them.]
A friend!
‘Is Emma expressing her desire to be my friend right now?’
With me? Someone who is pretty, smart, and noble, but has one flaw—a strikingly small number of friends? Overwhelmed with emotion, I ran to Ivan, waving the letter.
“Ivan! Emma invited me! I have to go to her right now. The two of us, together!”
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