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In truth, I didn't have much of a hidden agenda. To cling to Valentin like a leech, there was a prerequisite step: I first had to cling to Vasily like a leech.
It might have been somewhat bothersome for Vasily, but for me, it was an inevitable choice. Since four out of five times the damn Valentin was invited to the Imperial Palace was because of Vasily, it was only right to move with Vasily to pounce on opportunities that could arise at any moment.
‘Sigh. This is going to be exhausting for a while.’
To be honest, it wasn't a particularly pleasant option from my perspective either. Moving with Vasily meant I had to endure various annoying situations.
“That’s my daughter.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, she’s my daughter.”
That was what he said as he approached a gardener who was busy pruning in preparation for spring.
“What do you think? My daughter.”
Perhaps lacking the courage to look at Vasily with strange eyes, the gardener bowed his head with an absurd blessing: “Yes, indeed, you have a most beautiful and intelligent daughter. Congratulations.”
After the gardener came the familiar old nobles who had come to console the fallen Emperor. Having spotted Vasily first, they had been waiting patiently at the garden entrance, and as soon as Vasily acknowledged them, they warmly offered their regards to me as well.
“It has been a long time, Princess Larisa. Rumors are widespread in Makhachkala that Your Highness is applying herself very diligently to her studies.”
As if waiting for the cue, Vasily answered on my behalf.
“Those rumors are based entirely on fact. In Makhachkala—no, in the entire Ohala Empire—it would be hard to find a thirteen-year-old as smart and lovely as Lara.”
“Haha, indeed. I heard the pace of her lessons is quite fast.”
“Quite fast. And she likes me very much.”
“Ah, yes. Her Highness always does.”
“Even more than she likes His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Yes.”
The responses were getting shorter.
On behalf of the exhausted old nobles, I lured the tactless Vasily—who was busy rambling—back into the castle. Coincidentally, having endured this for thirteen years, I no longer possessed any human traits like shyness or embarrassment.
‘Vasily is likely a huge reason why I grew up to be this arrogant. No doubt about it.’
Did he decide today was the day?
To show me off (or more accurately, to show off the fact that I followed him around), Vasily filled his schedule with activities that weren't even there. Suddenly boarding a carriage, he left the Imperial Palace for a nearby townhouse, exchanged greetings with a dozen or so gentlemen, sat me in a chair by the window, and then set out to torment the members of the gentlemen's club.
“Stop the gambling and games that are merely hedonistic and wasteful for today. Instead, it would be better to engage in a forward-looking discussion.”
Sorry, gentlemen. It's my fault for being dragged into a gentlemen's club—a domain for adults—just because I'm only thirteen.
Vasily eventually spent nearly two hours discussing "Ways to Support Young Artists" with his friends before hugging me and returning to the Imperial Palace.
Do they say pleasure comes after hardship?
When I returned home, carried like a sack of potatoes over Vasily's shoulder, the person I had longed to see more than anyone was waiting for us.
“Your Highness, Valentin Vladimirovich Dmitriev has just arrived and is waiting for—”
“Valentin!”
My shout was faster than Vasily approaching him to offer afternoon greetings. Quickly finding my footing, I dashed toward Valentin and executed my plan to cling to him like a leech.
Valentin looked down at me as I leaped toward him, not appearing particularly surprised. He simply had a look on his face as if wondering what I was up to now. His eyes were filled with suspicion and bewilderment, but at least the moment I stuck to his leg, he didn't wear that infinitely annoyed expression I had seen until now.
And he still didn't greet me. That arrogant bastard! My gaze, pressuring him to acknowledge me, collided in mid-air with Valentin's slightly troubled gaze.
“Lara.”
The subtle silence between us was broken by Vasily. Only then did Valentin look at Vasily and speak.
“It seems I have offended Her Highness again. I shall disappear as quickly as possible.”
“No, stay right there. Vasily invited you today too, right? Ignore me and go about your business together.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, like this.”
With a determination never to let go, I pressed myself tightly against Valentin's side. Unlike Vasily, whose warmth was like hot spring water, the warmth emanating from him was cool like a mountain breeze.
“Lara, surely the reason you followed me today was...”
“It was because I like Vasily. But Vasily's hands are too hot, so I'm starting to feel warm. Valentin's hands are cool, so I plan to rely on him for a bit.”
As if to make a point, I pulled and grabbed Valentin's right hand. His hand, which followed without much resistance, was so cold it made the back of my head tingle. But why is he so docile? Glancing up, he didn't seem to care about me at all.
I felt like I was losing.
‘Why is he so uninterested in me?’
It might be too early to judge him based on only three meetings, but Valentin seemed to have a side of him like an old man indifferent to all the affairs of the world. Otherwise, how could he treat me, the Princess, like a livestock horse in a stable?
“By the way, why do you always fail to greet me?”
After a short silence, Valentin's face took on a sly impression for the first time since I'd known him.
“Did you wish to receive a greeting from me?”
Unconsciously, my breathing became heavy and sharp.
“As if! Don't think you can slip away like an eel. I'm demanding to know why you're ignoring me.”
“I do not know if I should say this, but...”
“Then don't. No, do it. I want to hear what you have to say.”
“It is proper etiquette for the superior to greet first.”
He spoke in a tone one would use to explain something to a complete idiot.
“Do you take me for a moron? There's such a thing as a look! Normally, when eyes meet, one looks with a face that says, 'Now, I shall be waiting for Your Highness here, so please come and greet me.'”
“How could I dare cast such a look upon the person who warned me that she would make me fear for my future? I believe that acknowledging you while ignoring Your Highness's threat would be an act deserving of condemnation.”
“But...”
“If that is what Your Highness desires, I shall act willfully from now on, without considering Your Highness's mood or demands.”
I shut my mouth tight and glared at Valentin.
It was humiliating. To lose an argument to a mere seventeen-year-old. Moreover, Valentin had an expression that said, 'Do I really have to explain it this far for you to understand,' which wounded my pride even more.
While I was debating whether or not to bite the hand I was holding, Vasily admonished me with a slightly stern look.
“Lara, return to your room now. The extent to which you can act willfully is limited to when you are by my side. Do not make Valentin uncomfortable.”
Vasily was cold. Despite the fact that he had just spent the day bragging about me in front of the old nobles and his friends without a shred of shame.
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