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“……”
“……No. Whatever I say, it will be nothing more than an excuse.”
A self-deprecating smile drew closer, like a shadow eclipsing the sun.
The thunder crashing above my head failed to penetrate my mind. That was because the beating of my heart in my chest was louder and more violent.
His shaded, brilliant features descended toward me. I wondered what on earth was happening, yet my body remained motionless, as if rooted to the floor. His reddish lips parted slightly, and Valentin's short breath drew closer.
At some point, as Valentin's eyelids slowly lowered and the fist I had clenched against his chest began to tremble minutely.
My body was lifted into the air.
“Since you seem to have stabilized, I shall escort you to your bedroom, Your Highness.”
Quite lightly.
‘……Ugh.’
Oh my god.
Oh, my god. My god! My goooood!
‘What kind of delusion did I just have?’
Cradled in Valentin's arms, I covered my burning, exploding face with my palms. I just, wh-whose lips did I…….
I have to run away…… an ant hole…… where is an ant hole?
“Do, do you know where my room is?”
Valentin, who had shaken out his jacket to cover my face, answered nonchalantly.
“I do. Provided it is as it was before.”
Uh, yeah, r-right. Since it's as it was before, he should know. As I swallowed my response, my heart felt ticklish.
Valentin gave some order to the attendant staying by his side and continued walking. His stride was so wide that I felt as if I were being carried by a giant.
I felt as though Valentin limped occasionally, but I didn't mind much. Valentin's gait had often been unsteady four years ago as well. I couldn't bring myself to ask the reason why, but it relieved me to see that he was the same now as he was then.
Even in my hazy, alcohol-induced state, I could feel that he was conscious of me and mindful of every small action. If Princess Larisa, who had just come of age this year, were seen being carried by a foreign man while soaking wet from the rain, what kind of rumors would spread? Surely, they would be scandalous conjectures too embarrassing to put into words.
‘But I'm okay.’
Yes, everything is okay.
Even while recognizing that Valentin was moving sensitively and warily of his surroundings, the feeling of being held in his arms was like floating on a cloud. The scandalous imagination I had spun regarding him had already vanished into the distance.
‘Valentin definitely said he regrets it.’
The expression he showed while saying so was absolutely not a fabricated face.
How should I put it? Although it wasn't resolved completely, I felt as though I had received some level of compensation. I don't know how it was back then, but the fact that he didn't mean it now felt as if it had rescued my cradle from that fire demon.
“Princess Larisa.”
Perhaps because I was so deeply relieved. Beyond the sudden wave of drowsiness, I heard Valentin's gentle call.
“Mm…….”
“Actually, I am quite a coward.”
“Liar.”
“It is no lie. Because I am cowardly and my fears are great, I have never shared my story with anyone until now. Not even with my own kin.”
“…….”
“However, after hearing Your Highness's story today, I decided that I must clear up the misunderstanding somehow…… no, I suppose I cannot even call it a misunderstanding. I determined that I must let you know the intent behind those words, but now that I try to put it into words, I am at a loss as to where to start and where to end.”
“…….”
“This is the first time I've been lost over such a matter. Honestly, in this moment, I feel like the world's biggest idiot. Still, if you could wait just a little longer, I will organize my thoughts and tell you…….”
“It's okay, Valentin. You don't have to tell me.”
I let out a long yawn and slipped out of his arms.
As I gathered the jacket and returned it to Valentin, the familiar corridor came into view. Staring at Valentin as he stood before my bedroom made me feel strange, but I made sure not to show it.
“I told you, didn't I? I'm not an ignorant child. Because Valentin is a Prophet—because he is a Prophet—I know the sense of duty and debt he must endure for a lifetime. That he lives while calculating countless future variables that I could never dare to understand. ……Actually, the one who is truly bad isn't you, but me. Because I asked you specifically, knowing that Valentin would feel sorry.”
Perhaps the alcohol was wearing off, as I felt my mind becoming clearer as I spoke.
“But I just blurted it out because of the drink. I guess this is why people should be careful with alcohol.”
Only then did the corners of Valentin's lips, which had been stiff the whole time, curve slightly—very slightly.
“I don't mind it. It reminds me of the old days.”
Valentin leaned his long arm against the bedroom door and smiled. As his weight shifted, the tightly closed gap of the door slowly opened. After tapping the door with his fingertips as if lost in thought, he returned to his usual impassive face and spoke to me.
“And because of what you just told me, my resolve has become firmer. I will organize it somehow, so please wait a little longer.”
“……Okay, I'll wait. Thank you for saying that.”
As if praising me for doing well, his large hand stroked my head. As I squeezed myself through the gap in the door Valentin had opened, a sudden question occurred to me, and I turned my head to ask.
“Hey. Can I ask just one more thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why didn't you look at me even once at the banquet?”
The moment I finished the question, something very strange happened.
His eyebrows and face, which had twitched slightly as if he had heard nonsense, quickly regained their composure, then shifted into a look of embarrassment, and soon after, his eyes squeezed shut as if overcome by self-loathing.
“……It is a secret.”
“What? Why?”
“The reason is also a secret. Since it is the night of your coming-of-age ceremony, which happens only once in a lifetime, please finish the night comfortably.”
“Wait a minute!”
There was no time to catch the receding Valentin.
With my face still poking through the door gap, I glared blearily at the back of the man walking away leisurely. What on earth was that reaction just now? I naturally expected him to answer that there was no particular reason. Anyway, Valentin's problem is that he thinks too much.
“Problematic, truly problematic…….”
Collapsing onto the bed, I pressed down firmly on the corners of my mouth that were trying to rise obliviously and slowly accepted the embrace of sleep.
So, what kind of story is the one he says he will tell me about himself?
I couldn't gauge it at all.
The coming-of-age ceremony.
In families that value honor, land, and wealth, no event is more momentous than this.
A child becoming an adult signified the union of two families. For high-ranking nobles of great prestige, the coming-of-age ceremony was the perfect opportunity to double their wealth and fame; for the majority of nobles below them, it was a golden opportunity to climb the ladder toward becoming high nobility.
Even if a betrothed existed in the womb, the social circles of the Ohala Empire were such that the partner often changed several times during the growth process. In particular, the first social debut immediately following the coming-of-age ceremony was regarded as the biggest event that determined a person's future and reputation. In any case, no one could deny that the coming-of-age ceremony was a turning point in the lives of most men and women.
Would it be any different for royalty? Not only did they have to cross mountains and rivers, but they had to cross borders to become members of foreign nations with different cultures and languages. It was truly a period of earth-shattering change.
Me, Larisa.
A member of the Novarov Imperial Family, the daughter of Emperor Nikolai, and the Second Princess of the Ohala Empire.
As the youngest of the Imperial Family, there was no way the opportunity for imperial succession would reach me. Therefore, the future laid out for me was to be paired with the Crown Prince of an allied nation and live as that nation's Queen Consort.
However, this obvious ending is expected to fizzle out due to Tatyana's strong opposition and initiative. This was also the pretext that allowed me to receive my father's permission to attend the Nikitin family ball tonight.
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