Rogero muttered, but Mary Anne was adamant that she would not take a single step back. A large glass was full of milk, which he found difficult to lift with one hand. Underneath, of course, was a pile of honey-pickled peaches, scooped up generously with a wooden spoon.
“They say you have to eat it even if you don’t like it. You need to eat this to sober up.”
“What on earth do Rotair make with plums? I’ve never had such a terrible hangover in my life.”
“So, you have to eat all of this. Come on, Your Highness the Prince. Your Highness the Prince has to eat all of this before I can go see the Festival!”
Mary Anne pretended to stamp her foot. Then, Rogero, who had been refusing to eat, glanced up.
“Oh my, is it because of me that you can’t even go out to play?”
“Of course. I heard that Princess Judith asked me to take good care of you, Prince.”
Despite what she said, Mary Anne wasn't really sulky like Nadine. However, Rogero seemed to have taken her words seriously, so he threw away his stubborn attitude and drank the full glass of milk without even taking a breath. He couldn't just drink the pickled peaches in honey, so he had to eat them little by little with a spoon.
“Are you from the Tien Kingdom too?”
Rogero asked. Mary Ann, who was drawing the curtains, nodded her head and looked at him.
“That’s right, my lord.”
“Have you served the Crown Princess for a long time?”
"Yes. It has been a long time since I have served Princess Judith as an apprentice maid since she was ten years old.”
“What kind of person was the Crown Princess when she was young?”
Mary Anne sighed heavily.
“If I were to tell you about Princess Judith's childhood, it wouldn’t be enough to talk about it for three days and nights. I can tell you how hard she worked.”
“As far as I know, the King of Tien... His name was Eland, right? I don't think he has any other brothers. He didn’t even take care of his only sister?”
“Does he take care of Princess? It’s impossible to say.”
It was a sharp response that was not typical of Mary Anne. She consistently disliked Eland even when she was in Tien, but after Judith came to Rotair, whenever she went through a hard time, she started to hate him with a fire in her eyes.
“Instead of taking care of her, he was the one who harassed Princess the most. It would have been better when His Majesty the late King, who had no interest in the Princess, was still alive.”
“There are already widespread rumors even among us that the King of Tien is not a good man.”
“That’s right! Really, I'm embarrassed to even go anywhere and say I'm from Tien. Fortunately, Princesa Judith brought my entire family to Rotair two years ago, otherwise I would still be anxious and hearing about the war.”
Judith had not forgotten her promise to bring Mary Anne's family. Moving across the border required complex procedures and was difficult to obtain, but upon learning of her situation, King Jedercayer arranged for Mary Anne's entire family to come to Rotair.
“I thought he was an extraordinary person, but is it because he went through so much trouble? By the way, how blind is the King of Eland of Tien? If it were me, even if you were given an entire country, I wouldn’t have given you a younger sister as smart as the Crown Princess.”
“I think so too, but His Majesty Eland probably can’t even imagine Princess Judith looking like she does now.”
“Why is that?”
A look of interest was visible in Rogero's expression. Before he knew it, the honey-pickled peaches were running out. Mary Ann shrugged her shoulders, collecting the empty glass and spoon.
“Our Princess, she’s so brave now... Well, she's someone no one can treat badly, but she wasn't like that in the old days. She had a hard time even talking in front of other people.”
"No way."
“It’s true! But one day, she suddenly turned into a different person. Of course, her kind heart hasn’t changed at all.”
“She had a hard time even talking to other people... What, like the second Princess?”
Mary Anne's mouth twisted in disapproval.
“Something similar... It might be a bit similar, but I feel really bad when I compare the Second Princess and our Prince's.”
Rogero laughed and let out a giggling sound. He knew that Mary Anne followed Judith as well as Cheraan and Bartholomew, if not more. So he deliberately mentioned the second Princess, but when he got the exact reaction he expected, he couldn't help but laugh.
“Okay then.”
Rogero stretched out his arms and stood up.
“I’m going to leave now. The pace has slowed down a bit.”
“Be careful of plum liquor, Your Highness the Prince.”
“You should go out and play too. Are you saying that the founding festival is the biggest festival in Rotair? It would be a shame to miss it.”
Mary Anne could be heard muttering something behind her, but it did not reach Rogero's ears as he had already left the bed. He washed his face, smoothed his hair, and changed his clothes with his own hands. Considering that there were many cases where ordinary royal family members were unable to even tie their own shoelaces, his dexterity was very skillful.
As they left Astel Palace, several nobles passing by recognized Rogero and greeted him warmly. He responded appropriately and exchanged a few words.
By now, Delacca's envoys who had come along were probably busy having a good time, soaking in the exciting atmosphere. Maybe they were rolling around, clutching their stomach after drinking too much plum liquor like Rogero. Rogero, who was imagining that scene, giggled like a bad boy.
It was clear that among the envoys sent to other countries, there was probably no one who felt as at ease as this time. Of course, it was not that they had no duties, but most of them were not urgent. Most of the purpose of sending the envoy was nothing more than a means of conveying to the Emperor that he was deeply impressed by Franz.
Rogero took a leisurely walk, enjoying the shining sunlight. Wherever he went there were people, and wherever he went there was something to see. If it was like this just inside the palace, he could well imagine how noisy and crowded it would be when he went out to the square.
'I had a strong impression that Rotair was a quiet and boring country, but that doesn't seem to be the case at this time.'
Many countries interacted with the empire, but Rotair was not a particularly impressive country. The quality of the traded goods was good and the people were polite, but that was all. It was not a place where unique culture or new technology developed spectacularly, nor was it a place with outstanding military power.
However, from the empire's perspective, it was necessary to make good use of Rotair. Rogero's father, Emperor Nereisa, had plans to gradually expand exchanges with other countries on this continent in the future, using Rotair as a bridge.
In addition, although there has been less activity in recent years, the empire continued to engage in large and small wars to expand its borders until recently. It was quite important to strengthen the relationship with Rotair for the time being in order not to lose the channel through which the empire could smoothly obtain the supplies it needed.
Rogero, who was walking lost in thought, felt something hit his toes with a clicking sound. He looked down and saw a rare serpentine ring rolling on the ground. When he looked up, he saw the back of a man leading me a few steps away.
"Hey."
When Rogero called, his steps suddenly stopped. But he didn't look back right away. Rogero walked towards the man, holding his ring in his hand.
“I think I dropped this. Isn’t it yours?”
The man had long bangs and a bushy beard. Eyes of the same color as the ring seemed to flash for a moment behind the bangs that covered almost the bridge of the nose, and then with a quick movement, he snatched the ring.
“Thank you.”
The man muttered. Then he quickly walked away and disappeared somewhere. Rogero, who was tilting his head, narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the back of the man, who had already become as small as a dot.
“Where did I see it? That man.”
***
The evening banquet on the day after the founding festival had a more subtle atmosphere compared to the first day.
The biggest reason was that Queen Gilsis, who had not even been seen since the ceremony, suddenly appeared and took her place. In the presence of the Queen she pretended to take her side, but in her absence those who had flattered Franz and Judith alike were embarrassed.
Perhaps because of the Queen's appearance, there were fewer people around Judith than on the first day. It was the same with Franz, and whenever some of them hurriedly left after only giving a brief greeting, Queen Gilsis burst out laughing with a look of disdain on her face.
However, the Queen's review was not as comfortable and enjoyable as it should have been. The reason she appeared at the banquet was to express her dissatisfaction with King Jedercayer and threaten the nobles.
The King was clearly aware of the Queen's intentions, so he deliberately ignored her. The nobles, who saw the King and Queen entering separately and sitting far away without saying a word, were busy whispering among themselves.
“If I do that, my head will burst into flames.”
Cheraan whispered. Judith looked at her as if wondering what she meant.
“I mean the Queen.”
“Shh, Cheraan. When in public, use honorifics.”
“Anyway. Look closely, Your Highness. Don’t you think so too?”
Judith then turned her head towards Queen Gilsis. As soon as she did that, her eyes met the Queen who was glaring at her with her poisonous eyes. What was the impulse at that moment?
Judith smiled brightly and bowed her head slightly towards the Queen. Queen Gilsis's black eyes widened so wide that even her shoulders could be seen trembling from afar.
“I know what you mean.”
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, and I think I just added a spark to Queen Mother’s head.”
Cheraan covered her mouth and burst into laughter. Judith poked her in the side, but she didn't seem to stop.
“So why does she come out to a place like this? I haven't even seen a snub so far. I didn’t even know how sharp the beak of Your Highness, who was like our baby bird, was.”
She thought it was a strange analogy, but Judith laughed it off. At that moment, the front of the hall became noisy.
“I know what you mean.”
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, and I think I just added a spark to Queen Mother’s head.”
Cheraan covered her mouth and burst into laughter. Judith poked her in the side, but she didn't seem to stop.
“So why does she come out to a place like this? I haven't even seen a snub so far. I didn’t even know how sharp the beak of Your Highness, who was like our baby bird, was.”
She thought it was a strange analogy, but Judith laughed it off. At that moment, the front of the hall became noisy.
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