Episode 25. An Inconvenient Invitation
Gerard sucked in a breath of air between his teeth, watching the attendants scatter like cockroaches.
Despite having an Empress, the Emperor always prioritized his government.
Gerard even had his mistress, Leone, by his side when selecting candidates for Empress.
Rumors about Leone were rife in the imperial court, with rumors that she had seduced the Emperor and caused the deaths of his father and brothers.
Ultimately, Leone was the master of the palace, and Gerard was her sidekick.
While rumors were rumors, most believed them to be true.
Fortunately, the Empress was so kind and gentle, without a trace of trouble. If not, the imperial court would still be rife with bloodshed.
The people loved the kind and gentle Empress more than the self-willed Emperor.
"Your Majesty. Shall I go to the north myself?"
Just then, the knight spoke.
"You?"
"If you're worried, you can use me."
Gerard thought quietly.
Using an escort knight didn't seem like it would get him much of a scolding from Leone, and there didn't seem to be any major issues.
"Then go to the prime minister and ask if he has a portal permit. Ask how many people have already departed for the north. I'm sure there's plenty."
The portal had a maximum number of people.
After that, it took a fortnight for the mana to recharge enough to allow reuse.
The Periat Empire was so vast that even if portals weren't possible, the journey north by carriage would take nearly two months.
"If you just go there, you can come back with Kelita."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Gerard watched the escort knight leave the audience room first, then his legs trembled again, and he chewed his fingernails.
Five teacups were placed in front of Rosie.
She was choosing which ones would be appropriate for tea time this morning.
“That’s brewed with Ulgaria tea leaves. The aroma lingers in your mouth for a long time after you drink it.”
“Mmm. Good.”
Although she was Kelita’s maid, Rosie was still a Countess in her own right.
She could easily have asked her servants to select a good tea, no matter where she went.
“Then let’s do this.”
“Yes.”
Rosie stood up and left the dining room.
Next, she would go to the blonde woman and inform her of the tea time with Princess Kelita.
She lifted her chin and walked across the hallway.
Lacrahan’s castle, though less ornate than the imperial palace, possessed a grandeur of its own.
If she had to define it, it looked as stern and neat as its master.
The servants were also quite diligent, as every nook and cranny was spotless despite the cold and damp weather.
“This is not bad for a Princess to live in.”
Rosie carefully inspected the space where she might one day stay, and climbed the stairs to the second floor, where Bercheria’s room was.
As she walked lightly up the curved stairs, holding her skirt, a man leaned against the railing, lost in thought.
Rosie's steps came to a slow halt.
"Oh my goodness."
Red hair swayed gently against his shoulders, eyelashes drooped, and red eyes dipped beneath them.
The man was the most mysterious person Rosie had ever seen in her life.
She wondered if anyone like him existed in the North, and then their eyes met.
"Oh my goodness."
Rosie stumbled and fell, but Laurent was even more surprised.
"Are you okay?"
In Der'Ansis, whenever Laurent showed such kindness, no matter who it was, she would fall for him.
The North was no different.
"Want to hold onto Laurent's hand?"
Gerard sucked in a breath of air between his teeth, watching the attendants scatter like cockroaches.
Despite having an Empress, the Emperor always prioritized his government.
Gerard even had his mistress, Leone, by his side when selecting candidates for Empress.
Rumors about Leone were rife in the imperial court, with rumors that she had seduced the Emperor and caused the deaths of his father and brothers.
Ultimately, Leone was the master of the palace, and Gerard was her sidekick.
While rumors were rumors, most believed them to be true.
Fortunately, the Empress was so kind and gentle, without a trace of trouble. If not, the imperial court would still be rife with bloodshed.
The people loved the kind and gentle Empress more than the self-willed Emperor.
"Your Majesty. Shall I go to the north myself?"
Just then, the knight spoke.
"You?"
"If you're worried, you can use me."
Gerard thought quietly.
Using an escort knight didn't seem like it would get him much of a scolding from Leone, and there didn't seem to be any major issues.
"Then go to the prime minister and ask if he has a portal permit. Ask how many people have already departed for the north. I'm sure there's plenty."
The portal had a maximum number of people.
After that, it took a fortnight for the mana to recharge enough to allow reuse.
The Periat Empire was so vast that even if portals weren't possible, the journey north by carriage would take nearly two months.
"If you just go there, you can come back with Kelita."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Gerard watched the escort knight leave the audience room first, then his legs trembled again, and he chewed his fingernails.
***
Five teacups were placed in front of Rosie.
She was choosing which ones would be appropriate for tea time this morning.
“That’s brewed with Ulgaria tea leaves. The aroma lingers in your mouth for a long time after you drink it.”
“Mmm. Good.”
Although she was Kelita’s maid, Rosie was still a Countess in her own right.
She could easily have asked her servants to select a good tea, no matter where she went.
“Then let’s do this.”
“Yes.”
Rosie stood up and left the dining room.
Next, she would go to the blonde woman and inform her of the tea time with Princess Kelita.
She lifted her chin and walked across the hallway.
Lacrahan’s castle, though less ornate than the imperial palace, possessed a grandeur of its own.
If she had to define it, it looked as stern and neat as its master.
The servants were also quite diligent, as every nook and cranny was spotless despite the cold and damp weather.
“This is not bad for a Princess to live in.”
Rosie carefully inspected the space where she might one day stay, and climbed the stairs to the second floor, where Bercheria’s room was.
As she walked lightly up the curved stairs, holding her skirt, a man leaned against the railing, lost in thought.
Rosie's steps came to a slow halt.
"Oh my goodness."
Red hair swayed gently against his shoulders, eyelashes drooped, and red eyes dipped beneath them.
The man was the most mysterious person Rosie had ever seen in her life.
She wondered if anyone like him existed in the North, and then their eyes met.
"Oh my goodness."
Rosie stumbled and fell, but Laurent was even more surprised.
"Are you okay?"
In Der'Ansis, whenever Laurent showed such kindness, no matter who it was, she would fall for him.
The North was no different.
"Want to hold onto Laurent's hand?"
Rosie bashfully took Laurent's hand and stood.
She thanked him and began walking with him naturally.
Her heart had been opened by Laurent's kindness, and she found herself answering his questions without even realizing it.
“Ah. You followed the Princess. But where are you going now? I thought this wasn’t where the Princess was staying.”
“Oh my. You even know where our Princess is staying. Haha. Well, it might be strange not to know. I’m on my way to the blond guest right now.”
“Ah! The blond guest.”
“Yes, our Princess is planning to have tea time with her.”
“Aha.”
Rosie arrived in front of Bercheria’s room.
She greeted Laurent as if to bid her farewell and knocked on the door.
Yet, Laurent didn't leave, standing behind her.
Rosier questioned him with her eyes, but Laurent simply smiled at her without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Bercheria opened the door and came out.
"Hello. Prince Laurent of Der'Ansis."
Laurent smiled softly and bowed his head, secretly pleased that she had remembered hia name.
"Beautiful lady. How was your night?"
He was a foreign Prince, but he spoke Periat quite fluently.
Nevertheless, Bercheria, still unfamiliar with Laurent's manner of speaking, smiled awkwardly and nodded. She had promised to take a morning walk with him, so Lauren's visit was expected and not surprising.
However, the woman standing before them was unfamiliar.
"Who are you?"
Rosie, who had been watching the two, closed her mouth and hardened her expression.
She had belatedly remembered her duty.
“I’m Rosie, Princess Kelita’s maid. I’ve come to tell you that the Princess has invited you to tea this morning.”
Bercheria recalled Kelita’s smiling face.
At the same time, Lacrahan’s face also appeared.
“Oh, actually, I have somewhere to go.”
“Will it take long? Do you wish to change the time?”
“No.”
The Prince of Der'Ansis had been a nuisance until just now, but she was grateful to be able to use him so usefully. She also had to ask how he knew she was Bercheria.
She hadn’t had a chance to ask since meeting him at the window, but it was a matter of life and death for her.
“I’m sorry, but I decline tea time...”
“Excuse me.”
Laurent quickly interrupted Bercheria.
He stretched out his long legs and squeezed between Bercheria and Rosie.
“May I answer for you?”
“No.”
“Thank you for your permission, my lady.”
“...?”
Laurent, who had smiled at Bercheria, looked down at Rosie and spoke again.
“How about this? I’ll join you for tea time.”
Rozier’s lips parted.
“Yew?”
“The three of us. How is that? Don’t you think it’s a pretty good combination?”
Laurent smiled charmingly at Rosie.
In Periat, tea time requests from someone higher in rank cannot be refused.
Bercheria likely didn’t know this, and Princess Kelita had likely taken advantage of it.
However, by that rule, Princess Kelita couldn’t refuse Laurent’s offer, who was also the Prince of a neighboring empire.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, was the answer.
Then, out of nowhere, a low, deep voice cut in.
“I’ll join you, too.”
Both Laurent and Bercheria looked towards the source of the voice.
The Northern Grand Duke Lacrahan, who would become the most powerful figure in the game, was standing askew in the hallway, watching them.
Behind him stood Wyatt and Timothy, perhaps watching the morning's proceedings.
With a chilling expression, Lacrahan pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time.
"Thirty minutes from now, in the greenhouse."
With that, Lacrahan turned away. As he walked, his long legs stretched out, Wyatt and Timothy huddled close beside him.
Lacrahan, walking with precise intervals, said to them,
"We're not going to have any guests for the time being."
His mink fur cloak fluttered in the wind.
"This is a real headache."
White snowflakes fell from the corners of his eyes, then melted on his broad shoulders.
"The Northern Portal?"
The Periat prime minister pulled his coin-sized glasses tightly on and scanned the ledger.
"The North, the North. A lot of people are looking for the North these days."
The Emperor's bodyguard was unusually large, and even standing beside him was intimidating.
It felt like facing a wall, and the shadows on the ledger made it twice as hard to read the writing.
"Who else went there besides Princess Kelita?"
The Prime Minister raised his eyes over his glasses, then lowered them back to the ledger.
"The Prince of the Der'Ansis Empire."
"His Majesty the Emperor said there might be a spot left."
"Yes. I think there might be one too..."
The prime minister, who had been scanning the list without even looking up, clicked his tongue.
“Oh no. A lizard has taken the last spot.”
The escort knight’s forehead twitched.
“A lizard?”
“There should have been an empty spot, but judging by the fact that there isn’t, it seems the lizard in the blank here is the problem. Portals are incredibly sensitive, and they have to pay attention to even the smallest details.”
“Then, when should we depart? Tomorrow? The day after?”
“Impossible. The north will have to wait another eight days.”
Straightening his hunched back, but receiving no response, the prime minister raised his wrinkled brow and widened his eyes.
The escort knight’s grim expression softened, and he looked at the prime minister with cool eyes.
“Then eight days later, please.”
“Yes, please.”
The escort knight turned around and disappeared from the office.
“Huh. It’s amazing how someone so large can’t even hear a single footstep.”
The prime minister adjusted his glasses and reorganized the scattered ledgers.
Kelita, who always had a bright smile, looked uneasy today.
She had been the one who had arranged the tea time, but once the table was set, she looked uneasy, as if she had come to a place she shouldn't have been.
Laurent looked back and forth between Lacrahan and Kelita, then lifted the teacup in front of him. She wasn't moving around frantically, but if you watched her closely, she looked like a puppy needing to use the bathroom...
"Princess Kelita. Do you have an urgent matter? "
"Yes?"
"Then you can go now."
"Oh, no."
Kelita's face flushed.
Laurent, brushing back his red hair, looked at Kelita with an innocent expression.
Hia smile, as if asking if something was wrong, was strangely not annoying.
Kelita looked from Bercheria to Laurent to Lacrahan, then down at them, before lowering her head slightly.
"Still, thank you for asking."
The hand that clutched the hem of her dress was pale.
"Prince Laurent."
Lacrahan gently pushed Laurent's teacup toward him.
It was a polite invitation for him to drink and briefly keep quiet about his surroundings.
Kelita's cheeks flushed at the sight, but Lacrahan tried to ignore it.
She thanked him and began walking with him naturally.
Her heart had been opened by Laurent's kindness, and she found herself answering his questions without even realizing it.
“Ah. You followed the Princess. But where are you going now? I thought this wasn’t where the Princess was staying.”
“Oh my. You even know where our Princess is staying. Haha. Well, it might be strange not to know. I’m on my way to the blond guest right now.”
“Ah! The blond guest.”
“Yes, our Princess is planning to have tea time with her.”
“Aha.”
Rosie arrived in front of Bercheria’s room.
She greeted Laurent as if to bid her farewell and knocked on the door.
Yet, Laurent didn't leave, standing behind her.
Rosier questioned him with her eyes, but Laurent simply smiled at her without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Bercheria opened the door and came out.
"Hello. Prince Laurent of Der'Ansis."
Laurent smiled softly and bowed his head, secretly pleased that she had remembered hia name.
"Beautiful lady. How was your night?"
He was a foreign Prince, but he spoke Periat quite fluently.
Nevertheless, Bercheria, still unfamiliar with Laurent's manner of speaking, smiled awkwardly and nodded. She had promised to take a morning walk with him, so Lauren's visit was expected and not surprising.
However, the woman standing before them was unfamiliar.
"Who are you?"
Rosie, who had been watching the two, closed her mouth and hardened her expression.
She had belatedly remembered her duty.
“I’m Rosie, Princess Kelita’s maid. I’ve come to tell you that the Princess has invited you to tea this morning.”
Bercheria recalled Kelita’s smiling face.
At the same time, Lacrahan’s face also appeared.
“Oh, actually, I have somewhere to go.”
“Will it take long? Do you wish to change the time?”
“No.”
The Prince of Der'Ansis had been a nuisance until just now, but she was grateful to be able to use him so usefully. She also had to ask how he knew she was Bercheria.
She hadn’t had a chance to ask since meeting him at the window, but it was a matter of life and death for her.
“I’m sorry, but I decline tea time...”
“Excuse me.”
Laurent quickly interrupted Bercheria.
He stretched out his long legs and squeezed between Bercheria and Rosie.
“May I answer for you?”
“No.”
“Thank you for your permission, my lady.”
“...?”
Laurent, who had smiled at Bercheria, looked down at Rosie and spoke again.
“How about this? I’ll join you for tea time.”
Rozier’s lips parted.
“Yew?”
“The three of us. How is that? Don’t you think it’s a pretty good combination?”
Laurent smiled charmingly at Rosie.
In Periat, tea time requests from someone higher in rank cannot be refused.
Bercheria likely didn’t know this, and Princess Kelita had likely taken advantage of it.
However, by that rule, Princess Kelita couldn’t refuse Laurent’s offer, who was also the Prince of a neighboring empire.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, was the answer.
Then, out of nowhere, a low, deep voice cut in.
“I’ll join you, too.”
Both Laurent and Bercheria looked towards the source of the voice.
The Northern Grand Duke Lacrahan, who would become the most powerful figure in the game, was standing askew in the hallway, watching them.
Behind him stood Wyatt and Timothy, perhaps watching the morning's proceedings.
With a chilling expression, Lacrahan pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time.
"Thirty minutes from now, in the greenhouse."
With that, Lacrahan turned away. As he walked, his long legs stretched out, Wyatt and Timothy huddled close beside him.
Lacrahan, walking with precise intervals, said to them,
"We're not going to have any guests for the time being."
His mink fur cloak fluttered in the wind.
"This is a real headache."
White snowflakes fell from the corners of his eyes, then melted on his broad shoulders.
***
"The Northern Portal?"
The Periat prime minister pulled his coin-sized glasses tightly on and scanned the ledger.
"The North, the North. A lot of people are looking for the North these days."
The Emperor's bodyguard was unusually large, and even standing beside him was intimidating.
It felt like facing a wall, and the shadows on the ledger made it twice as hard to read the writing.
"Who else went there besides Princess Kelita?"
The Prime Minister raised his eyes over his glasses, then lowered them back to the ledger.
"The Prince of the Der'Ansis Empire."
"His Majesty the Emperor said there might be a spot left."
"Yes. I think there might be one too..."
The prime minister, who had been scanning the list without even looking up, clicked his tongue.
“Oh no. A lizard has taken the last spot.”
The escort knight’s forehead twitched.
“A lizard?”
“There should have been an empty spot, but judging by the fact that there isn’t, it seems the lizard in the blank here is the problem. Portals are incredibly sensitive, and they have to pay attention to even the smallest details.”
“Then, when should we depart? Tomorrow? The day after?”
“Impossible. The north will have to wait another eight days.”
Straightening his hunched back, but receiving no response, the prime minister raised his wrinkled brow and widened his eyes.
The escort knight’s grim expression softened, and he looked at the prime minister with cool eyes.
“Then eight days later, please.”
“Yes, please.”
The escort knight turned around and disappeared from the office.
“Huh. It’s amazing how someone so large can’t even hear a single footstep.”
The prime minister adjusted his glasses and reorganized the scattered ledgers.
***
Kelita, who always had a bright smile, looked uneasy today.
She had been the one who had arranged the tea time, but once the table was set, she looked uneasy, as if she had come to a place she shouldn't have been.
Laurent looked back and forth between Lacrahan and Kelita, then lifted the teacup in front of him. She wasn't moving around frantically, but if you watched her closely, she looked like a puppy needing to use the bathroom...
"Princess Kelita. Do you have an urgent matter? "
"Yes?"
"Then you can go now."
"Oh, no."
Kelita's face flushed.
Laurent, brushing back his red hair, looked at Kelita with an innocent expression.
Hia smile, as if asking if something was wrong, was strangely not annoying.
Kelita looked from Bercheria to Laurent to Lacrahan, then down at them, before lowering her head slightly.
"Still, thank you for asking."
The hand that clutched the hem of her dress was pale.
"Prince Laurent."
Lacrahan gently pushed Laurent's teacup toward him.
It was a polite invitation for him to drink and briefly keep quiet about his surroundings.
Kelita's cheeks flushed at the sight, but Lacrahan tried to ignore it.
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