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Was she saying that when a swarm of bees gathers around a flower, one eventually sucks out all the nectar? I was the type of person who didn't easily allow others to touch my things. Perhaps that was why Tatyana's example resonated with me so deeply.
“Second. Your personalities don't mesh.”
There was no need to dig deeper into this reason.
“I'll admit it. I do have a bad personality.”
“Oh my,” Tatyana giggled softly, stroking my chin with a satisfied smile.
“No, no. My little kitten's personality is cute anytime, anywhere. The problem is him. Don't ask which part is the problem. These things are felt by intuition, so they're hard to explain. What I mean is, unless you're friends, there's no need to be close to him.”
At those words, I recalled the face of that damn Valentin, who had pulled back the curtains without a hint of hesitation. That look in his eyes—far from a shred of guilt, it was as if he were brushing away a bothersome leech! Even after two days, the treatment was not easily forgotten.
“It's not like I'm interested anyway. I asked purely out of curiosity.”
“Yes, yes.”
But what could I do now? It wasn't as if I could summon him back to the Imperial Palace and challenge him to a duel, shouting, 'Pay for your sins that day!' Even if I tried acting crazy, my father and mother would never permit it.
Furthermore, if I thought about it a bit more maturely and altruistically, summoning someone just because they honestly reported the whereabouts of a princess who had skipped class was a ridiculous act.
‘That's exactly the kind of thing a thirteen-year-old brat would do. It's not like he committed some grand crime.’
Since I am a warm-hearted princess, I shall mercifully let it slide. This was surely all part of the process of becoming an adult.
The afternoon of the following day, after I had made up my mind and completely erased the existence of that damn Valentin from my mind.
I ended up crossing paths with the silver-haired beauty at the Imperial Palace once again.
And of all places, right in front of the second-floor bay window where we first met!
We are not fated enemies. Just a brief, passing acquaintance.
I intended to accept his greeting casually and pass by, but contrary to my expectations, Valentin ignored me completely and just walked away. I was speechless.
“You... no, you!”
Fortunately, it seemed that while that damn Valentin's eyes were broken, his ears were perfectly fine. He turned back to look at me.
Heaven is unfair. Seeing Valentin up close again, he looked like a prince stepped out of a fairy tale.
His silver hair, as soft as if woven from a summer river, and his healthy fair skin were stunning, as were the elegant eyebrows arching over the bridge of his high nose. Moreover, his turquoise eyes were as vivid and clear as if crushed pistachios had been painted on.
But what use was an appearance so outstanding it drew gasps of admiration? The owner of that beauty was wearing an expression that said, ‘Who is this and why are they acting like they know me!’ Thanks to that, my pride crumbled like a stone tower hit by lightning.
“To think you dare set foot in the Imperial Palace again, after selling me out to the enemy that day.”
Only then did a flicker of interest appear in that damn Valentin's eyes.
His expression shifted to that of someone who had encountered a trivial leech—someone he had not expected to see again in the slightest.
“My apologies. It was my mistake. I shall vanish from Your Highness's sight immediately.”
A man who was only handsome—no, wealthy—no, highly honored... Yes! That damn Valentin, who possessed everything except personality and tact, took a couple of polite steps backward, turned around, and strolled away.
‘Is he really just leaving like this?’
The shock and absurdity I felt that day were so immense that for the first time, a great spark ignited the firewood of ‘revenge to heal a wounded pride’—a feeling I hadn't even known existed until now.
I could endure it once, but not twice.
I made up my mind.
Starting today, I would become a real leech, just as Valentin Vladimirovich Dmitriev deserved.
I knew. From my perspective, it was a matter of punishing an ignorant young noble who had bruised the pride of a noble member of the Imperial Family, but from Valentin's perspective, it was simply a case of bad luck, having been caught by a princess with a bad personality.
But no matter how hard I tried, I could not forgive the fact that that damn Valentin had looked down on me! This was especially true after obtaining information from Tatyana that Valentin was receiving love calls and being treated as a VIP all across the Nost continent.
‘How ridiculous must I have looked to him?’
As it turned out, the prophet of gabrielism was a being who wielded far more influence than I had anticipated.
‘Exactly what is a prophet?’
I sought to resolve this question through Parben, who was both the professor of the theology classes I spent most of my time dozing through and a bishop.
Unable to hide his surprise at my sudden academic passion, he had explained as follows:
[My, my. It seems Her Highness the Princess has developed a great interest in the great apostle of God, the prophet, after meeting His Eminence Valentin.
Our Eminence Valentin is a prophet born for the first time in 120 years, and he is one who will benefit the world widely using the oracle, the eye of God.
According to the records, prophets usually awaken the oracle after the age of forty, but our Eminence Valentin manifested his power exactly at Her Highness's age, making a great contribution to world peace...]
Recalling that moment didn't make me feel very good.
Parben had introduced Valentin as ‘our Eminence Valentin’ in a tone full of familiarity and pride. It was as if Valentin, an imperial citizen of Ohala born in Ohala, had become a rootless believer belonging to the Holy See.
‘Well, it probably wasn't just the Holy See.’
The royal families of Cherensko and Oblonsky, who had granted him a life peerage, likely competed to praise him even more in hopes that Valentin would become one of their own.
I believed that this immense popularity was the real reason Valentin viewed me as a speck of dust. Since he was being flattered everywhere as if he were an emperor himself, he might have judged that he could ignore a thirteen-year-old princess like me. What a pathetic, petty man.
The day after suffering my second humiliation from Valentin.
Just as breakfast had ended, I clung tightly to the leg of Vasily, who was sitting at the table with my siblings for the first time in a while. Vasily, who was receiving the daily schedule from the chamberlain on behalf of our father—whose left leg had been injured in a fall ten days ago—habitly slid his hands under my armpits and lifted me up.
“Lara, what is this little prankster plotting now, coming to cling to me of her own accord?”
Since he might put me down if I confessed honestly, I kept my mouth shut and pretended not to hear.
“Look at this. She's even staying silent? Tanya, you didn't put some strange idea in her head again, did you?”
“Who knows.”
Tatyana, who was opening the envelopes of letters that had arrived in the morning, smiled with narrowed eyes.
“My kitten might have hit an early puberty.”
“So she's protesting?”
“If that were the case, she wouldn't be making such a cute, silly face. Just leave her be. I'm curious as to what she's thinking, clinging to you like a koala.”
Vasily, observing me with searching eyes, gently rubbed my cheek.
“Fortunately, today's schedule is a bit light. I'll keep an eye on you, Lara. To see what terrifying plot you're harboring.”
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