“Congratulations on winning the second competition.”
Veronica didn't seem to expect me to bring up this topic first. The look of surprise on her face was obvious.
But if I lost the competition, I lost, and if she did well, she did well. If I hadn't been watching, I would have been the first to applaud.
Veronica soon nodded calmly in return for the greeting.
"...Thank you."
Veronica couldn't speak easily after that. It wasn't that she had forgotten why she had come, but rather that she didn't know how to apologize.
Veronica looked at the back of my neck, my shoulders, and my wrists for a long time. Then she opened her mouth in a hoarse voice.
“...You’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“I’ve been sick for a while.”
“...”
I saw shame in Veronica's eyes. That look gave me confidence. At least, the confidence that Veronica was not an accomplice in this incident.
Perhaps Duke Kairak had hidden this plan from his daughter even more thoroughly, since during the first competition, she had ignored her father's wishes and spared me.
Veronica let out a short sigh and let out a sob.
"I am..."
Her thin throat vibrated like a wind instrument, producing a muffled sound.
“I know it is hard for Your Highness to believe, but I never wanted to win in this way.”
“...”
“Not even once.”
Her voice sounded almost like a whisper.
Only then did I realize the root of her shame. Her long-standing anger toward her father, who had no confidence in her abilities, was more than anyone else's.
I suddenly realized that Veronica was wearing a dress that covered her neck and the back of her hands.
Although the summers in the empire were not that hot, it was already close to midsummer. As if she had mistaken the season, even her clothes were thick, but people didn't notice anything strange, thanks to her exceptionally elegant demeanor.
I vividly recall the time I discovered signs of abuse on Veronica's wrists.
Veronica felt my gaze and reflexively covered her wrist.
“...”
The thought that I should draw a sharp line against someone who was somewhat responsible for my death had disappeared at some point.
At least, yes, I believed her words. Not so much in her innocence as in her pride. I believed in her past years.
If I had the personality to solve problems by clearing away the troublemakers, at least I wouldn't have worked so hard that those beautiful hands would have been covered in calluses.
I moved my stiff lips.
“I believe what you say.”
“...”
“If you were trying to get rid of me, there must have been a less noticeable moment than now.”
“I, Your Highness..."
“Young Lady.”
I raised one hand and gently stopped Veronica from opening her mouth to say something.
“You didn’t ask for an audience to say you were sorry, did you?”
In fact, apologies were meaningless between us.
No matter how ashamed she is and how sorry she is to me, her father will try to kill me whenever he gets the chance. And every time he does, Veronica will try to apologize to me.
That wasn't a positive thing at all. Weak words don't help at all.
“It is an undeniable fact that Young Lady’s father tried to take my life, and that Young Lady was the cause.”
“...”
“But there is no need for the Young Lady to apologize for the decision and the arbitrary decision of your blood relatives.”
“...”
“Now tell me why you came to see me.”
I placed the fan I was holding in my hand on the table with a loud thud as if to ventilate the surroundings.
“The longer the audience lasts, the more likely it is that your father will find out about this meeting. And Young Lady isn’t the type of person to come to me just to make a meaningless apology.”
Veronica stared at me with unreadable eyes. She seemed wary of me again, and a little surprised.
She let out a long sigh, as if brushing away the emotional language, and got straight to the point.
“...It is said that the third competition topic has been roughly decided.”
It was no surprise. There were still more than ten days left until the third competition officially began, but usually, a few examiners were given the topic a little earlier than we were. Naturally, the Duke of Kairak was one of them.
But it was dangerous to talk about the subject of competition now.
“It is taboo to talk about a contested topic before it is officially announced.”
“I didn’t mean to talk about the topic. There’s no set topic yet, and it might be changing even at this moment, so even if I know the information, it’s too early to share it.”
“...”
“However, I would like to give ‘this’ to Your Highness.”
Veronica carefully placed the documents she had been holding in her hand on the table.
The volume was quite heavy. I stretched out my hand and flipped through a few pages from the top of the stack.
“This is...”
I straightened my back from the posture I had been casually looking through, and pulled the document closer to me. The document was complicated, but the meaning was clear.
Transfer of half of Ashvital Island and five thousand gold pieces.
I immediately realized what this meant. It was exactly half of the special prize awarded to the winner of the second competition.
What did Count Osbord say then... Yes, he said it was clearly His Majesty’s arrangement that would be advantageous in the third competition.
Having figured it out, I took my hands off the documents.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
Before she could finish her sentence, I vaguely caught a glimpse of her thoughts.
She expected me to say that an empty apology is meaningless, so she tried to give me something that would directly compensate me.
Or... she’s just so fair that she can’t stand having an advantage from the start.
It was probably closer to the former, but even the latter was not pleasant.
“...It’s the price of my life.”
My voice was cold even to my own ears. I pushed the papers back towards Veronica.
“If you think this is all you can think of as the price, you’re very mistaken.”
“Your Highness, but..."
“I know Young Lady is a fair person. But this is a bit...”
I smiled, elegantly holding my chin.
“Isn’t it lacking?”
“...”
“The Princess’s life cannot be replaced by any wealth.”
I felt the air in the room sinking rapidly.
Princess Veronica, who had been silent for a long time, opened her mouth again.
“I know it’s not enough, but please don’t reject it and accept it. It’s to make the third competition even. The shortfall can be compensated later in other assets...”
“No, Young Lady.”
I shook my head. To be honest, I wasn't completely uninterested in the wealth she was handing over.
But... Right now, I needed more than the immediate benefits in front of me; I needed one more strong ally. Even if it was just a one-time thing.
“We once owed each other our lives. At that time, Young Lady saved me, and I saved Young Lady, thus settling the account.”
“...”
“I have really good memories of that time.”
Veronica's eyes blurred for a moment. Memories of the past came back to me, softening the stiff gap between us.
I waited until some softness came to life in her eyes, and then at the right moment, I opened my mouth again.
“This time I saved you, next time you take action for me.”
“...”
“I value Young Lady's abilities more than the wealth you possess.”
Frankly, it was a fallacy. It was saying that since I was alive and relieved her of her guilt, it was her debt. It was a crude argument that even a child would not be fooled by.
But I now knew Veronica well enough that she would at least pretend not to be able to resist this and take my hand.
She didn't nod or answer, but...I could feel that she had taken my words to heart.
“...I guess I should go now.”
Veronica, who had been silent for a long time, gathered up her papers and stood up from her seat. I called out to her as she was about to grab the doorknob.
"Veronica."
“...Please speak.”
“I told you that I was going into the competition with a shallow mind, didn’t I?”
I continued the conversation that had been cut off at that time.
Even though it was a remark made without context, Veronica seemed to understand it immediately. She nodded slightly, indicating that she remembered that time.
“Maybe I was like that in the past. But at least not now. I will do my best in the remaining competitions.”
“...”
“So, Young Lady, don’t think that you’ll look after me either. Like last time, offering mining rights or something... I don’t need that kind of help. I didn’t ask you to do that. It’s enough if you compete in good faith.”
“...”
“Now, can you believe that I’m serious about this?”
Veronica answered with a faint smile.
“It felt like I was determined to see it through to the end, no matter what the end was. Throughout my audience with Your Highness today.”
“...”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Your Highness’s gaze has changed a bit. In a good way.”
She gave me a brief bow and pulled her hood up over her head.
I sat quietly in my chair until Veronica's footsteps faded away. The smile that had once graced her face soon spread across my lips.
I got out of the carriage and looked at the Duke of Ashkabad's mansion with curious eyes.
When I first came here, it was the season when the tree branches were bare, but now, wherever I looked, the green of summer was vivid.
Of course, whether the tree branches were bare or green was a matter of appearance, but the numerous gardens within the Duke's residence bloomed with pretty ornamental flowers all year round, as if they were skipping the seasons.
I nodded my head and received a quick greeting from the maids as I walked down the hallway.
Veronica didn't seem to expect me to bring up this topic first. The look of surprise on her face was obvious.
But if I lost the competition, I lost, and if she did well, she did well. If I hadn't been watching, I would have been the first to applaud.
Veronica soon nodded calmly in return for the greeting.
"...Thank you."
Veronica couldn't speak easily after that. It wasn't that she had forgotten why she had come, but rather that she didn't know how to apologize.
Veronica looked at the back of my neck, my shoulders, and my wrists for a long time. Then she opened her mouth in a hoarse voice.
“...You’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“I’ve been sick for a while.”
“...”
I saw shame in Veronica's eyes. That look gave me confidence. At least, the confidence that Veronica was not an accomplice in this incident.
Perhaps Duke Kairak had hidden this plan from his daughter even more thoroughly, since during the first competition, she had ignored her father's wishes and spared me.
Veronica let out a short sigh and let out a sob.
"I am..."
Her thin throat vibrated like a wind instrument, producing a muffled sound.
“I know it is hard for Your Highness to believe, but I never wanted to win in this way.”
“...”
“Not even once.”
Her voice sounded almost like a whisper.
Only then did I realize the root of her shame. Her long-standing anger toward her father, who had no confidence in her abilities, was more than anyone else's.
I suddenly realized that Veronica was wearing a dress that covered her neck and the back of her hands.
Although the summers in the empire were not that hot, it was already close to midsummer. As if she had mistaken the season, even her clothes were thick, but people didn't notice anything strange, thanks to her exceptionally elegant demeanor.
I vividly recall the time I discovered signs of abuse on Veronica's wrists.
Veronica felt my gaze and reflexively covered her wrist.
“...”
The thought that I should draw a sharp line against someone who was somewhat responsible for my death had disappeared at some point.
At least, yes, I believed her words. Not so much in her innocence as in her pride. I believed in her past years.
If I had the personality to solve problems by clearing away the troublemakers, at least I wouldn't have worked so hard that those beautiful hands would have been covered in calluses.
I moved my stiff lips.
“I believe what you say.”
“...”
“If you were trying to get rid of me, there must have been a less noticeable moment than now.”
“I, Your Highness..."
“Young Lady.”
I raised one hand and gently stopped Veronica from opening her mouth to say something.
“You didn’t ask for an audience to say you were sorry, did you?”
In fact, apologies were meaningless between us.
No matter how ashamed she is and how sorry she is to me, her father will try to kill me whenever he gets the chance. And every time he does, Veronica will try to apologize to me.
That wasn't a positive thing at all. Weak words don't help at all.
“It is an undeniable fact that Young Lady’s father tried to take my life, and that Young Lady was the cause.”
“...”
“But there is no need for the Young Lady to apologize for the decision and the arbitrary decision of your blood relatives.”
“...”
“Now tell me why you came to see me.”
I placed the fan I was holding in my hand on the table with a loud thud as if to ventilate the surroundings.
“The longer the audience lasts, the more likely it is that your father will find out about this meeting. And Young Lady isn’t the type of person to come to me just to make a meaningless apology.”
Veronica stared at me with unreadable eyes. She seemed wary of me again, and a little surprised.
She let out a long sigh, as if brushing away the emotional language, and got straight to the point.
“...It is said that the third competition topic has been roughly decided.”
It was no surprise. There were still more than ten days left until the third competition officially began, but usually, a few examiners were given the topic a little earlier than we were. Naturally, the Duke of Kairak was one of them.
But it was dangerous to talk about the subject of competition now.
“It is taboo to talk about a contested topic before it is officially announced.”
“I didn’t mean to talk about the topic. There’s no set topic yet, and it might be changing even at this moment, so even if I know the information, it’s too early to share it.”
“...”
“However, I would like to give ‘this’ to Your Highness.”
Veronica carefully placed the documents she had been holding in her hand on the table.
The volume was quite heavy. I stretched out my hand and flipped through a few pages from the top of the stack.
“This is...”
I straightened my back from the posture I had been casually looking through, and pulled the document closer to me. The document was complicated, but the meaning was clear.
Transfer of half of Ashvital Island and five thousand gold pieces.
I immediately realized what this meant. It was exactly half of the special prize awarded to the winner of the second competition.
What did Count Osbord say then... Yes, he said it was clearly His Majesty’s arrangement that would be advantageous in the third competition.
Having figured it out, I took my hands off the documents.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
Before she could finish her sentence, I vaguely caught a glimpse of her thoughts.
She expected me to say that an empty apology is meaningless, so she tried to give me something that would directly compensate me.
Or... she’s just so fair that she can’t stand having an advantage from the start.
It was probably closer to the former, but even the latter was not pleasant.
“...It’s the price of my life.”
My voice was cold even to my own ears. I pushed the papers back towards Veronica.
“If you think this is all you can think of as the price, you’re very mistaken.”
“Your Highness, but..."
“I know Young Lady is a fair person. But this is a bit...”
I smiled, elegantly holding my chin.
“Isn’t it lacking?”
“...”
“The Princess’s life cannot be replaced by any wealth.”
I felt the air in the room sinking rapidly.
Princess Veronica, who had been silent for a long time, opened her mouth again.
“I know it’s not enough, but please don’t reject it and accept it. It’s to make the third competition even. The shortfall can be compensated later in other assets...”
“No, Young Lady.”
I shook my head. To be honest, I wasn't completely uninterested in the wealth she was handing over.
But... Right now, I needed more than the immediate benefits in front of me; I needed one more strong ally. Even if it was just a one-time thing.
“We once owed each other our lives. At that time, Young Lady saved me, and I saved Young Lady, thus settling the account.”
“...”
“I have really good memories of that time.”
Veronica's eyes blurred for a moment. Memories of the past came back to me, softening the stiff gap between us.
I waited until some softness came to life in her eyes, and then at the right moment, I opened my mouth again.
“This time I saved you, next time you take action for me.”
“...”
“I value Young Lady's abilities more than the wealth you possess.”
Frankly, it was a fallacy. It was saying that since I was alive and relieved her of her guilt, it was her debt. It was a crude argument that even a child would not be fooled by.
But I now knew Veronica well enough that she would at least pretend not to be able to resist this and take my hand.
She didn't nod or answer, but...I could feel that she had taken my words to heart.
“...I guess I should go now.”
Veronica, who had been silent for a long time, gathered up her papers and stood up from her seat. I called out to her as she was about to grab the doorknob.
"Veronica."
“...Please speak.”
“I told you that I was going into the competition with a shallow mind, didn’t I?”
I continued the conversation that had been cut off at that time.
Even though it was a remark made without context, Veronica seemed to understand it immediately. She nodded slightly, indicating that she remembered that time.
“Maybe I was like that in the past. But at least not now. I will do my best in the remaining competitions.”
“...”
“So, Young Lady, don’t think that you’ll look after me either. Like last time, offering mining rights or something... I don’t need that kind of help. I didn’t ask you to do that. It’s enough if you compete in good faith.”
“...”
“Now, can you believe that I’m serious about this?”
Veronica answered with a faint smile.
“It felt like I was determined to see it through to the end, no matter what the end was. Throughout my audience with Your Highness today.”
“...”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Your Highness’s gaze has changed a bit. In a good way.”
She gave me a brief bow and pulled her hood up over her head.
I sat quietly in my chair until Veronica's footsteps faded away. The smile that had once graced her face soon spread across my lips.
***
I got out of the carriage and looked at the Duke of Ashkabad's mansion with curious eyes.
When I first came here, it was the season when the tree branches were bare, but now, wherever I looked, the green of summer was vivid.
Of course, whether the tree branches were bare or green was a matter of appearance, but the numerous gardens within the Duke's residence bloomed with pretty ornamental flowers all year round, as if they were skipping the seasons.
I nodded my head and received a quick greeting from the maids as I walked down the hallway.
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