Princess Lara’s eyes sparkled.
“Your Majesty knows about him?”
“The rumors about him spread widely.”
“I see. But first, please address him by his proper title. He’s Baron Griffon.”
The emperor narrowed his eyes.
“But I heard he’s a foreigner and doesn’t have a title.”
“He was, but now he’s a baron. My father gave him that title not too long ago. It only gives him honor in name.”
The emperor opened his eyes wide.
Status ranking is strict in the Kingdom of Axion. They distinguished the aristocracy from the common people much more strictly than the empire does.
But their king granted him a title.
It must’ve been more than a simple favor.
The princess went on with a soft smile.
“Baron Griffon is a wonderful man. He has great knowledge in politics, history, war, art, and many other subjects. And he’s well spoken, I never know how much time flies whenever I converse with him.”
Her words were full of affection for Griffon.
“He’s also really pretty, especially his pretty eyes. It is bright red, red like a fresh drop of blood of a young child.”
The princess pointed to Lucian standing behind the emperor with her long finger.
“Just like his.”
At that moment, everyone in the banquet hall looked at Lucian with their eyes wide open.
Lucian’s eyebrows rose slightly.
It was a sign of displeasure.
But Princess Lara said she didn’t seem to mind his reaction.
“Upon a closer look, not just your eyes, but your features and overall appearance is similar to his. Do you, by any chance, know Baron Griffon?”
“…..”
Lucian looked at her coldly and then turned his head.
He clearly ignored her.
Even if he was the emperor’s favorite knight, what he did was outrageous.
Princess Lara, who had been smiling ever since entering the banquet hall, had a serious expression.
“What is this? How dare a mere knight ignore me?”
She raised her red lips with her eyes wide open.
“I love it!”
Her shocking words widened my eyes.
The princess turned to the emperor. She said with an ecstatic look.
“Your Majesty, I have heard about Lord Kardien, but I didn’t expect him to be this perfect. He’s truly beautiful!”
“…Is that so?”
The princess nodded excitedly.
“Yes, I would have come to see him earlier if I had known that.”
Then the princess approached the emperor and knelt down. The emperor was flustered by the sudden action by the princess.
Before the emperor could say anything, the princess held her hands together as if praying.
“Your Majesty, please give me Lord Kardien.”
As if time had stopped, everyone in the banquet hall hardened like stone.
Lucian and I had the same reaction as them.
It was after I heard the emperor’s voice that I came to my senses.
The emperor, who had always been calm, looked very overwhelmed.
“I’ve always known you were a mischievous person, but this time, you’ve gone too far with this joke.”
“Joke? I’m being serious.”
She looked up at the emperor and said,
“You always give me a present whenever I come with the delegation. Now there’s something I really want as a present from you. I want Lord Kardien.”
“…..”
“So?”
Princess Lara’s eyes sparkled brightly.
She looked like an innocent child begging him to buy her a pretty doll. She didn’t seem to have a clue what awful things she was saying.
‘How dare you say you want Lucian, you crazy woman?!’
I wanted to run out immediately and slap the immature princess on the face.
But what I did not expect was that the emperor would warn the princess that she’d crossed the line.
The emperor, who was looking at Princess Lara, spoke.
“Princess Lara.”
“Yes.”
“Kardien is my favorite knight. To ask for him is to take away the most precious treasure from the Emperor of the Empire.”
“….”
“Is that so?”
Before I knew it, the smile was gone on the emperor’s face.
The only emotion left on his cold face was pure anger.
Directed at the thief who dares to covet the emperor’s things.
Princess Lara turned pale from the emperor’s terrifying aura.
Her shoulders began to tremble.
After a while, tears began to form in her big eyes, and she burst into tears.
“You were too harsh, Your Majesty. I was just asking for Lord Kardien since he was so pretty.”
The emperor sighed deeply. He said, calming himself.
“Princess, this is not the Kingdom of Axion.”
In the Kingdom of Axion, all power is held by the royal family and some nobles.
Everything and everyone else were considered their property.
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But the empire isn’t like that.
Of course, the poor would sell themselves for money, but they were not traded like goods like this.
Especially if it’s the emperor’s favorite knight.
The emperor said.
“Even with consideration of the differences in our cultures, it is fact that the princess was rude. So apologize to me and Kardien.”
“….!”
Princess Lara’s tears continued as if she had heard shocking words.
But the emperor’s eyes remained unchanged.
Princess Lara, despite being immature, had some common sense. She realized that she couldn’t get away with this like she would be able to when the emperor was ill.
Princess Lara bowed to the emperor and sniffed.
“I’ve made a mistake. Please have mercy on me.”
The emperor nodded.
“Alright, I understand this was a mistake made due to cultural differences.”
The emperor answered briefly. But his eyes were still pressing her for something else.
He was waiting for her apology to Lucian.
Princess Lara bit her lips and hesitated like a child that was ordered to do something she didn’t want to do.
One of the nobles from the Kingdom of Axion, who was watching, rose from his seat and said,
“Your Majesty, must she apologize to a commoner knight? I understand she had offended His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire, but you were too strict to the princess.”
Another Axion nobleman next to him also rose in sympathy with his words.
“Right. This is a degradation of the authority of our Kingdom.”
Just as the aristocrats of the empire were about to counteract them, Princess Lara stepped forward.
“Everyone be quiet. I will apologize to him as His Majesty ordered.”
Princess Lara rose to her feet and approached Lucian.
Lucian stood with an expressionless face, despite being the focus of the conversation. Princess Lara said to him with a smile.
“Sorry if I offended you.”
“……”
That was the most arrogant and rude apology in the world.
Princess Lara twisted her body and continued.
“I did it because I liked you so much. You are my ideal type.”
……Haa, I’m going to go crazy.
Do I have to keep watching this?
Who cares if this is an important event where the alliance between two countries is at stake? At this point, I ought to pretend to be crazy and run to the princess and grab her hair.
It was thanks to Lucian’s response that I managed to resist such an impulse.
Lucian turned to face away from her, his face that showed he would be more interested in the buzzing of flies.
Princess Lara shouted in a sharp voice at Lucian, who showed her no response after a few minutes.
“I just apologized. Say something! Don’t tell me you’re a mute…”
For the first time, Lucian’s eyes were on her.
Princess Lara’s eyes widened at the red eyes she encountered.
Lucian said in a clear voice.
“Please, shut up.”
Princess Lara’s eyes widened. She looked like she didn’t quite understand what Lucian said.
Lucian kindly explained to her.
“I don’t care what you say, but since you made her worry, I feel differently. Ever since you spoke my name, her face has darkened.”
“W-what the hell are you saying? Who is ‘her’?”
Lucian swept his hair with an irritated expression. Instead of explaining that he was referring to me, he muttered.
“Will she be quiet if I rip her tongue out?”
“….!”
Princess Lara’s face hardened from his scary words.
I had the same reaction.
This isn’t a situation for him to be jealous.
How can he say such profane words to the princess who came with the delegation?!
The banquet hall, which had been quiet for a while, quickly burned up like a gunpowder keg on fire.
Nobles from both sides rose from their chairs.
The nobles of the Kingdom of Axion shouted first.
“W-what did the knight just say to the princess?”
“No matter if he is the Emperor’s cherished knight, that was not acceptable.”
“Cut the knight’s head off immediately, Your Majesty.”
Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the aristocrats of the Empire also stepped in to try to settle the situation.
“W-wasn’t the princess the one who was rude to Lord Kardien first? Her words were enough to hurt Lord Kardien’s soul.”
“That’s right. Lord Kardien is already not his normal self from the aftermath of being cursed by the devil.”
Meanwhile, Marquis Garthian, a die-hard Lucian anti, uttered nonsense.
“That’s why I said that we shouldn’t let him loose like this. We never know when he would turn into the devil and jump at someone.”
That jerk!
It was the emperor’s loud voice that made the banquet hall quiet.
“Everyone, stop!”
It was the first time that the emperor, who had always been gentle, shouted in such a loud, lightning-like voice.
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Those who were attacking the other with fervor stopped.
The emperor said.
“As the host of the banquet, it is very unpleasant to see all these sorts of words being said at this meaningful meeting. If anyone else says a word from now on, I’ll take it as a direct challenge to my word.”
It wasn’t just a threat.
The gleam of light coming from his black eyes signaled this was his warning.