“I finally meet you.”
Oberon's King, Valquiterre, was quite tall. Irena was not short for a woman, so up close she had to raise her head to see his face.
He had a face that looked like he had taken out Queen Sylvia.
For a man, he has a fair face, blue eyes, a dainty mouth, and light lemon-blond hair that is a symbol of the royal family.
Although Irena had never actually seen the late Queen Silvia, as she was not active in the capital's social circles, she had seen her portrait.
The Duchess of Vermont, who was strict about home education, invited prominent figures in the capital to be her daughter's etiquette teacher.
The etiquette teacher had brought along several small portraits of the leading figures in the capital's society, and Irena had seen the Queen's portrait several times and became familiar with her face.
She now understands why people say that the young King is like the Queen coming back to life.
And...
'They definitely look alike.'
Perhaps because they had the twin sister, the Queen, and the Princess as their mothers, there was a part of him that seemed similar in appearance to Kaian.
Tall, with a sturdy and solid-looking physique that seems intimidating.
In particular, Irena automatically felt that the hidden man's body must have been perfectly trained, even though he had grown up and was wearing a sable-fur quilted outerwear, possibly to greet guests.
'The day is coming when Vermont will set her foot in my castle.'
However, he was definitely different from Kaian.
'That too as my guest.'
Unlike her brother-in-law, who greeted her with a wrinkle between his eyebrows at the time of their first greeting, as if he were speaking rudely to an invader from an enemy family, King Valquiterre, with a smile on his handsome face, was a person more radiant than the person sitting on his head.
Irena calmly bent her knees and lowered her body, lowering her head.
“Greetings to His Majesty the King. This is Irena from Vermont.”
“You had a hard time coming this far.”
"No. Wouldn’t it be an honor to be able to take a break on the long journey from Roewen to Valmonde with a precious invitation?”
Valquiterre taught Irena.
There was nothing wrong with a man of high status, the so-called Duke, Kaian, treating the Princess, Irena, poorly.
The very fact that a man of noble status, such as Valquiterre, spoke to a woman of lower status than himself using respectful expressions was taken to mean that he was particularly interested in her as a member of the opposite sex.
Irena was a little taken aback, but she behaved politely with a smile on her face, as Valquiterre's beauty was so incredible and she could not have disliked being respected by such a man.
“I can’t believe you suddenly provided such an opportunity. I had a bit of trouble coming from the north in a hurry.”
As the Duke of Vermont gestured to his servants, his men carrying a large box placed it in front of Valquiterre.
“What is this?”
“This is a gift to the King of Oberon.”
The time has finally come to unleash Valmonde's overflowing wealth.
If the little guy from Temnes hadn't messed up the food chain, the price of diamonds wouldn't have fallen. Just thinking about that made the Duke of Vermont so angry that he was ready to shed bloody tears.
However, in Valmonde, a gem-producing area, many incredible treasures were made from items found by digging in the ground.
It is a treasure that cannot be bought with money and would be impossible to buy by buying one or two pieces of jewelry.
Today, the Duke of Vermont decided to bring back armor made of platinum from the Duke's treasure trove.
The dazzlingly shiny armor looked more like a work of art than a piece of armor.
Diamonds were embedded throughout the seams, making the whole thing sparkle.
“Hoo. This is my first time seeing something like this.”
Valquiterre's eyes were filled with admiration as he examined it.
The reason Vermont is not active in the capital is because of the special characteristics of the Valmonde estate.
Therefore, even though he enjoyed the throne of the Kingdom of Oberon, the Duke of Vermont was not very willing to give in to Valquiterre, who was almost as old as his child.
When Valquiterre did not treat him as well as Irena, the Duke was already planning the wedding day alone, wondering whether the wedding should be held in the royal castle or in the castle of Valmonde.
“We will have our meal in the public garden.”
The Hanging Garden was one of the famous places in the royal castle.
It is an artificial garden created by digging up dirt inside the royal castle, which was built at the top of a high hill as if commanding the world from the peak of a wide plain, and is known as the garden located at the highest point on the continent.
The Hanging Gardens could only be entered with the King's permission. Only two keys were made to open the entrance to the garden, and they were usually given as a gift to the Queen when she entered the palace.
At that time, Irena was also surprised by Valquiterre's words.
She was very interested in flowers, so naturally, she didn't know about the hanging gardens of Oberon Castle.
"Come this way."
As he moved to his feet as if King would personally guide her, the Duke of Vermont could not hide his glee as he looked at her.
However, Irena felt like she was being burdened and pretended not to see her father's expression. She quickly followed the King.
The day before the Territory Autumn Festival, Claudel was hectic.
It was the first time in Rowen that she was outside the castle as the southern sun slowly set.
When she dances in front of the Lord and his subjects, she must wear a festive dress.
Because the territory festival was the biggest event of the year, the flock of residents of the territory wore wide puffy skirts so that they could be seen from afar.
Claudel was practicing her last dance in the town square at the gate of the Castle, wearing a wide skirt wrapped around her waist.
‘It’s heavy. It's hard to even walk properly.'
She was told that the skirt she would actually have to wear tomorrow had more layers than this, but she was embarrassed.
In the meantime, she practiced dancing hard.
Originally, she should have attended the banquet on the third day after getting married and met the Duke, his vassals, and his relatives, but she couldn't.
Claudel did not know that there were rumors about the Madam who had married Valmonde in the castle.
'Why is there a rumor that she is a beauty?'
At first, they said she was a 'flower withered by the rain'.
The rumors circulating about Claudel's appearance were polar opposites.
So, to avoid making mistakes in front of people, she practiced a lot and tried to put everything she could remember into her head, but because of the festive skirt, it seemed like no one would notice if she didn't dance at all and just pretended to move her body up and down.
'Could it be the clothes for a flawless festival?'
It was to the point where she had that question.
She wondered if anyone would notice whether Claudel was dancing or not, so she pretended to dance. It was hilarious and it was time for her to take a break.
'No one really knows.'
Although her doubts were answered, she felt empty because her efforts seemed to have been in vain.
Then she was approached by one of the men carrying the large basket.
"Lady. This is my first time greeting you.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Burbrook Kanden, and I am in charge of managing the orchards in the Rowen estate.”
He was a tall, thin, middle-aged man. He was wearing a hat and a beard, and the basket he was carrying was full of shiny red apples.
“I was on my way up to the castle with the first apple harvest of the year, and I heard that Madame was in the square, so I came to say hello.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like to try one?”
The freshly picked apples looked fresh and refreshing.
Claudel reached out and picked up one of the apples, and Hannah next to her immediately wiped it with her handkerchief, splitting it in half with her hand and holding it out.
“Let me have a taste.”
Claudel smiled at the sour apple scent and bit into it.
“It tastes good.”
“I will do my best to provide you with the best fruit.”
When Claudel came to the estate, she never encountered any other vassals other than the butler.
She was bitten by a crocodile and had to spend almost two months in her bedroom recovering from herpes.
Claudel gratefully ate all the apples he offered her, as no one had ever approached her so politely.
It never occurred to her that the man wearing the hat was looking at her with longing eyes.
“Is dance practice going well?”
As Kaian approached, Burbrook quickly bowed his head and stepped behind him.
“What’s going on with you?”
“I said hello to the Madame for the first time because she was resting.”
“I see. Is this your first harvest this year?”
He asked while looking at the basket of apples, and Burbrook answered.
"Yes, My Lord.”
“The quality is good. There will be quite a bit of alcohol.”
“Ripe cider is medicine. Then I’ll just leave.”
As Burbrook naturally disappeared, Kaian asked her,
“How about dance practice? Don’t you think you’ll make a mistake?”
“This is a secret. No one will know how to dance because of this skirt.”
Kaian's eyebrows rose.
"Really. I tried pretending to run by only bending and straightening my knees. No one ever told me I was wrong.”
"Haha."
Her strange curiosity made Kaian laugh again today.
Claudel looked blankly at the face he only showed her briefly.
“But you can’t fool me."
Claudel's cheeks turned a beautiful pink as she stood up holding his outstretched hand.
In the public garden, Irena was able to realize the reason why she was invited to dinner at such a late hour.
What can replace the experience of tasting rare food while looking down on the brightly lit night view of the capital from a high place?
In places where flowers bloomed, that never sleep at night, even small butterflies and birds were fluttering around, showing off their beauty.
Luxury was not just about wearing gold jewelry.
The value of the Hanging Garden was indescribable.
It made Irena think that something no one could even imagine or enjoy existed.
Irena, who had grown up without feeling a lack of anything in her life, thought so, so she could understand that rumors of this were sometimes spread among those who visited the Hanging Gardens at the invitation of the King and Queen.
Valquiterre's gentle demeanor continued throughout the meal, and the Duke of Vermont and Irena continued their conversation using their familiar social manners.
He even personally escorted the Duke of Vermont and Irena to their carriage.
“I had a lot of fun today.”
Irena politely responded to Valquiterre’s words.
"Thank you for the invitation."
“I was glad to be able to see the famous Princess in person.”
The Duke of Vermont noticed him and intervened.
“Will there be a chance to see you again?”
"Maybe."
The Duke of Vermont's eyes widened at his open-ended answer.
Although he was the Duke of Vermont, whom Kaian always criticized as a cunning old fox, Valquiterre was an unusual person even in his eyes.
Kaian and his younger brother, the twenty-five-year-old King, somehow made him feel the pressure of sitting on top of everyone's heads.
The Duke of Vermont had a strange feeling of what to say about it, but he just couldn't define for himself that it was in fact more of a check on his peers.
Irena had been deeply troubled since she lost her husband and was alone, so Valquiterre's friendly attitude was so good that the Duke of Vermont was just happy.
'The King freely leaves room for this.'
Considering Irena's future, it couldn't be better.
She could have tried eating a few more times, or planned for later!
The Duke of Vermont's excitement showed no signs of subsiding, and Irena withdrew with a sense of burden and anticipation for the King she would face today.
Valquiterre stood silently and watched as the carriage carrying Valmonde's noblewoman slowly ran down the hill and disappeared.
However, when he turned his body to face inside, the beautiful smile that seemed like an angel who had come down to earth wielding light with God's favor just moments ago disappeared in an instant and became expressionless.
“She’s not that girl. She couldn't have been the woman I saw at the lake...”
He had a face that looked like he had taken out Queen Sylvia.
For a man, he has a fair face, blue eyes, a dainty mouth, and light lemon-blond hair that is a symbol of the royal family.
Although Irena had never actually seen the late Queen Silvia, as she was not active in the capital's social circles, she had seen her portrait.
The Duchess of Vermont, who was strict about home education, invited prominent figures in the capital to be her daughter's etiquette teacher.
The etiquette teacher had brought along several small portraits of the leading figures in the capital's society, and Irena had seen the Queen's portrait several times and became familiar with her face.
She now understands why people say that the young King is like the Queen coming back to life.
And...
'They definitely look alike.'
Perhaps because they had the twin sister, the Queen, and the Princess as their mothers, there was a part of him that seemed similar in appearance to Kaian.
Tall, with a sturdy and solid-looking physique that seems intimidating.
In particular, Irena automatically felt that the hidden man's body must have been perfectly trained, even though he had grown up and was wearing a sable-fur quilted outerwear, possibly to greet guests.
'The day is coming when Vermont will set her foot in my castle.'
However, he was definitely different from Kaian.
'That too as my guest.'
Unlike her brother-in-law, who greeted her with a wrinkle between his eyebrows at the time of their first greeting, as if he were speaking rudely to an invader from an enemy family, King Valquiterre, with a smile on his handsome face, was a person more radiant than the person sitting on his head.
Irena calmly bent her knees and lowered her body, lowering her head.
“Greetings to His Majesty the King. This is Irena from Vermont.”
“You had a hard time coming this far.”
"No. Wouldn’t it be an honor to be able to take a break on the long journey from Roewen to Valmonde with a precious invitation?”
Valquiterre taught Irena.
There was nothing wrong with a man of high status, the so-called Duke, Kaian, treating the Princess, Irena, poorly.
The very fact that a man of noble status, such as Valquiterre, spoke to a woman of lower status than himself using respectful expressions was taken to mean that he was particularly interested in her as a member of the opposite sex.
Irena was a little taken aback, but she behaved politely with a smile on her face, as Valquiterre's beauty was so incredible and she could not have disliked being respected by such a man.
“I can’t believe you suddenly provided such an opportunity. I had a bit of trouble coming from the north in a hurry.”
As the Duke of Vermont gestured to his servants, his men carrying a large box placed it in front of Valquiterre.
“What is this?”
“This is a gift to the King of Oberon.”
The time has finally come to unleash Valmonde's overflowing wealth.
If the little guy from Temnes hadn't messed up the food chain, the price of diamonds wouldn't have fallen. Just thinking about that made the Duke of Vermont so angry that he was ready to shed bloody tears.
However, in Valmonde, a gem-producing area, many incredible treasures were made from items found by digging in the ground.
It is a treasure that cannot be bought with money and would be impossible to buy by buying one or two pieces of jewelry.
Today, the Duke of Vermont decided to bring back armor made of platinum from the Duke's treasure trove.
The dazzlingly shiny armor looked more like a work of art than a piece of armor.
Diamonds were embedded throughout the seams, making the whole thing sparkle.
“Hoo. This is my first time seeing something like this.”
Valquiterre's eyes were filled with admiration as he examined it.
The reason Vermont is not active in the capital is because of the special characteristics of the Valmonde estate.
Therefore, even though he enjoyed the throne of the Kingdom of Oberon, the Duke of Vermont was not very willing to give in to Valquiterre, who was almost as old as his child.
When Valquiterre did not treat him as well as Irena, the Duke was already planning the wedding day alone, wondering whether the wedding should be held in the royal castle or in the castle of Valmonde.
“We will have our meal in the public garden.”
The Hanging Garden was one of the famous places in the royal castle.
It is an artificial garden created by digging up dirt inside the royal castle, which was built at the top of a high hill as if commanding the world from the peak of a wide plain, and is known as the garden located at the highest point on the continent.
The Hanging Gardens could only be entered with the King's permission. Only two keys were made to open the entrance to the garden, and they were usually given as a gift to the Queen when she entered the palace.
At that time, Irena was also surprised by Valquiterre's words.
She was very interested in flowers, so naturally, she didn't know about the hanging gardens of Oberon Castle.
"Come this way."
As he moved to his feet as if King would personally guide her, the Duke of Vermont could not hide his glee as he looked at her.
However, Irena felt like she was being burdened and pretended not to see her father's expression. She quickly followed the King.
***
The day before the Territory Autumn Festival, Claudel was hectic.
It was the first time in Rowen that she was outside the castle as the southern sun slowly set.
When she dances in front of the Lord and his subjects, she must wear a festive dress.
Because the territory festival was the biggest event of the year, the flock of residents of the territory wore wide puffy skirts so that they could be seen from afar.
Claudel was practicing her last dance in the town square at the gate of the Castle, wearing a wide skirt wrapped around her waist.
‘It’s heavy. It's hard to even walk properly.'
She was told that the skirt she would actually have to wear tomorrow had more layers than this, but she was embarrassed.
In the meantime, she practiced dancing hard.
Originally, she should have attended the banquet on the third day after getting married and met the Duke, his vassals, and his relatives, but she couldn't.
Claudel did not know that there were rumors about the Madam who had married Valmonde in the castle.
'Why is there a rumor that she is a beauty?'
At first, they said she was a 'flower withered by the rain'.
The rumors circulating about Claudel's appearance were polar opposites.
So, to avoid making mistakes in front of people, she practiced a lot and tried to put everything she could remember into her head, but because of the festive skirt, it seemed like no one would notice if she didn't dance at all and just pretended to move her body up and down.
'Could it be the clothes for a flawless festival?'
It was to the point where she had that question.
She wondered if anyone would notice whether Claudel was dancing or not, so she pretended to dance. It was hilarious and it was time for her to take a break.
'No one really knows.'
Although her doubts were answered, she felt empty because her efforts seemed to have been in vain.
Then she was approached by one of the men carrying the large basket.
"Lady. This is my first time greeting you.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Burbrook Kanden, and I am in charge of managing the orchards in the Rowen estate.”
He was a tall, thin, middle-aged man. He was wearing a hat and a beard, and the basket he was carrying was full of shiny red apples.
“I was on my way up to the castle with the first apple harvest of the year, and I heard that Madame was in the square, so I came to say hello.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like to try one?”
The freshly picked apples looked fresh and refreshing.
Claudel reached out and picked up one of the apples, and Hannah next to her immediately wiped it with her handkerchief, splitting it in half with her hand and holding it out.
“Let me have a taste.”
Claudel smiled at the sour apple scent and bit into it.
“It tastes good.”
“I will do my best to provide you with the best fruit.”
When Claudel came to the estate, she never encountered any other vassals other than the butler.
She was bitten by a crocodile and had to spend almost two months in her bedroom recovering from herpes.
Claudel gratefully ate all the apples he offered her, as no one had ever approached her so politely.
It never occurred to her that the man wearing the hat was looking at her with longing eyes.
“Is dance practice going well?”
As Kaian approached, Burbrook quickly bowed his head and stepped behind him.
“What’s going on with you?”
“I said hello to the Madame for the first time because she was resting.”
“I see. Is this your first harvest this year?”
He asked while looking at the basket of apples, and Burbrook answered.
"Yes, My Lord.”
“The quality is good. There will be quite a bit of alcohol.”
“Ripe cider is medicine. Then I’ll just leave.”
As Burbrook naturally disappeared, Kaian asked her,
“How about dance practice? Don’t you think you’ll make a mistake?”
“This is a secret. No one will know how to dance because of this skirt.”
Kaian's eyebrows rose.
"Really. I tried pretending to run by only bending and straightening my knees. No one ever told me I was wrong.”
"Haha."
Her strange curiosity made Kaian laugh again today.
Claudel looked blankly at the face he only showed her briefly.
“But you can’t fool me."
Claudel's cheeks turned a beautiful pink as she stood up holding his outstretched hand.
***
In the public garden, Irena was able to realize the reason why she was invited to dinner at such a late hour.
What can replace the experience of tasting rare food while looking down on the brightly lit night view of the capital from a high place?
In places where flowers bloomed, that never sleep at night, even small butterflies and birds were fluttering around, showing off their beauty.
Luxury was not just about wearing gold jewelry.
The value of the Hanging Garden was indescribable.
It made Irena think that something no one could even imagine or enjoy existed.
Irena, who had grown up without feeling a lack of anything in her life, thought so, so she could understand that rumors of this were sometimes spread among those who visited the Hanging Gardens at the invitation of the King and Queen.
Valquiterre's gentle demeanor continued throughout the meal, and the Duke of Vermont and Irena continued their conversation using their familiar social manners.
He even personally escorted the Duke of Vermont and Irena to their carriage.
“I had a lot of fun today.”
Irena politely responded to Valquiterre’s words.
"Thank you for the invitation."
“I was glad to be able to see the famous Princess in person.”
The Duke of Vermont noticed him and intervened.
“Will there be a chance to see you again?”
"Maybe."
The Duke of Vermont's eyes widened at his open-ended answer.
Although he was the Duke of Vermont, whom Kaian always criticized as a cunning old fox, Valquiterre was an unusual person even in his eyes.
Kaian and his younger brother, the twenty-five-year-old King, somehow made him feel the pressure of sitting on top of everyone's heads.
The Duke of Vermont had a strange feeling of what to say about it, but he just couldn't define for himself that it was in fact more of a check on his peers.
Irena had been deeply troubled since she lost her husband and was alone, so Valquiterre's friendly attitude was so good that the Duke of Vermont was just happy.
'The King freely leaves room for this.'
Considering Irena's future, it couldn't be better.
She could have tried eating a few more times, or planned for later!
The Duke of Vermont's excitement showed no signs of subsiding, and Irena withdrew with a sense of burden and anticipation for the King she would face today.
Valquiterre stood silently and watched as the carriage carrying Valmonde's noblewoman slowly ran down the hill and disappeared.
However, when he turned his body to face inside, the beautiful smile that seemed like an angel who had come down to earth wielding light with God's favor just moments ago disappeared in an instant and became expressionless.
“She’s not that girl. She couldn't have been the woman I saw at the lake...”
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