Chapter 101: Metaphor

“Heyrad, you’re on escort duty again today, right?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“…….”

Today was the day of the banquet.

Yesterday, Princess Clarice spent time attending a musical performance with Prince Raphael.

It wasn’t a bad atmosphere.

Prince Raphael had clearly become fond of Princess Clarice.

Everything was going according to Isaac’s plan, and it seemed to be progressing smoothly.

Yet Clarice, staring blankly out the window, felt a strange emptiness in her heart.

“Princess, it’s time to get dressed.”

“Oh, right. I should do that.”

She was about to prepare for the banquet, but Heyrad stayed in the room, silently watching Clarice.

“What’s the matter?”

“As you know, Princess, I oppose your marriage to Prince Raphael.”

“I know. You’ve said it many times.”

“Yes. I truly want the Princess to find genuine happiness, rather than go through a political marriage.”

“A political marriage that strengthens the kingdom is my happiness, Heyrad.”

At that calm statement, Heyrad nodded.

“I understand. I’ll accept it.”

“…….”

“I hear most of the nobility of Brentarion have been invited to tonight’s banquet. Some have even traveled from far away just to attend.”

“Yes, that makes sense.”

After all, it’s a grand banquet to confirm the marriage alliance between a prince and a princess of two kingdoms.

“There will be so many people there that I may lose sight of you at some point, Princess.”

“……What?”

Just as Clarice was about to retort sharply—wondering how that could possibly happen to her own escort knight—

“If that moment does come.”

With a gentle smile, Heyrad bowed his head.

“Please step out into the garden, outside the banquet hall. Baron Logan will be on duty there. You could temporarily entrust your safety to him.”

“……!”

Princess Clarice’s eyes went wide.

“Heyrad—.”

She called his name slowly, but Heyrad simply added a few more words before leaving:

“The choice is yours, Princess. But I truly wish for your happiness.”

As he stepped outside, the ladies in charge of dressing the Princess passed by Heyrad and entered.

Clarice could only stand there, speechless.

****

A late night under the rising moon.

Yet the royal palace of Brentarion remained brightly illuminated.

Nobles, lavishly dressed, laughed and conversed among themselves, bringing the gathering to life.

The banquet was truly splendid.

Of course it was: everyone had come to celebrate the marriage that would act as a bridge between two kingdoms.

Outside the banquet hall, people could also be seen strolling here and there in the beautifully decorated garden—perhaps taking a break to sober up, enjoying a romantic moment with a partner, or stepping aside for a secret conversation.

In a secluded corner stood Isaac, supposedly keeping watch, swaying slightly as if following the rhythm of the music drifting out from the banquet hall.

He was humming along, clearly enjoying the tune, when—

“What are you doing?”

“……?!”

Startled by a familiar voice, he whipped around.

There stood Princess Clarice, dressed in a black gown.

“Princess?”

“You’re on guard duty, and yet you didn’t even notice someone approaching you from behind?”

When Clarice asked sharply, Isaac answered in confusion,

“Your footsteps sounded like any other guest’s. If you’d been a suspicious person or an assassin, I would have noticed immediately.”

“Hmph, that’s quite a claim.”

“But why are you here, Princess? What happened to Heyrad?”

“I don’t know. I lost him in the crowd.”

“…….”

Isaac’s expression darkened.

A skilled knight like Heyrad wouldn’t lose the Princess in a crowd, and even if he had, how would she know Isaac was out here?

‘Heyrad…’

It seemed that the knight who wished for the Princess’s happiness had arranged something behind the scenes.

Isaac sighed and gestured.

“I’ll find Heyrad for you. Let’s go.”

“Hold on.”

Clarice stopped Isaac before he could move forward and crossed her arms, questioning him almost accusingly.

“Why didn’t you come to me yesterday? Because of that, we didn’t get to rehearse anything.”

“It was a concert, after all. I didn’t think you had anything in particular to rehearse.”

“You left without a word? And not only that—you swapped roles with Heyrad, who’s practically your partner on this operation, without asking for any approval from me, the one in charge?”

“……My apologies.”

At Isaac’s polite apology, Clarice snorted.

“Hmph! Seriously, what’s your deal? It felt like you were avoiding me all of a sudden, and it really upset me.”

“…….”

He had, in fact, been avoiding her, leaving him with no excuse to offer.

Of course, Clarice already knew his behavior had been intentional and was saying this on purpose.

A brief silence fell between them.

In that delicate moment, Clarice gave Isaac a little shrug, showing off her black gown.

“Look at this. It’s the same dress I wore at the previous banquet when I was your partner, Isaac.”

“Why wear the same dress?”

“Because I really liked it.”

“…….”

“I even styled my hair the same way as last time. You said it made me look like a true princess, remember?”

“I did.”

Isaac nodded awkwardly.

At the same time, he glanced anxiously at the banquet hall, worried that someone might be looking for Clarice.

Strictly speaking, she was the main star of this banquet.

“Princess, it’s about time you headed back—”

“Doesn’t it bother you at all, Isaac?”

“What?”

Princess Clarice puffed out her cheeks slightly, as if sulking.

“I’m wearing exactly what I wore when I was your partner at the last banquet—same dress, same hairstyle. But this time, my partner is someone else. It’s Prince Raphael.”

“…….”

“And it really doesn’t bother you at all?”

“No.”

With that rather heartless response, Isaac nodded, causing Clarice to bite her lip hard.

“How can someone be so cruel?! You toyed with me, then just let me go off with another man like it’s nothing?!”

“Princess… haah.”

He let out a sigh.

First it was the grandmaster and Sharen yesterday, and now today, Princess Clarice was saying something similar. He’d already explained it multiple times:

“I never tried to ‘seduce’ you. I merely showed you how to capture a man’s heart.”

“S-Seduce? You’re saying you didn’t do that?”

“Yes. To be absolutely clear: I swear to you, Princess, I have never once tried any sort of trick on you.”

“Huh, unbelievable!”

Clarice fanned herself with her hand as if she were overheated, then jabbed her finger at Isaac.

“And that wasn’t seduction? We held hands until late at night, hugged each other, whispered sweet words—and you claim it wasn’t?”

“We were practicing. You know that, Princess.”

Yes, Clarice knew.

She knew she was being stubborn.

But she didn’t want to admit it.

She wanted to believe that the reason she’d started to have feelings for Isaac was because he’d actually seduced her.

If it had all just been practice…and she still fell for him…

‘That’s so embarrassing!’

All her late-night ponderings about the nature of love, asking him to teach her what love was… She felt like a complete fool.

Especially since she’d been so easily swayed!

That was why Clarice wanted to hear it directly:

That, in truth, Isaac had been quietly working his charms on her.

If a man this attractive had made a move, then it was only natural she’d succumb. She wanted some sort of mental victory to preserve her pride.

But Isaac remained firm, to the point of disappointment.

“I did not try to seduce you.”

“Grrr!”

Seething with frustration, she wondered what to do with this dense man. Then, the resourceful strategist in her came up with an idea.

“Let’s do the opposite, then.”

“Huh? The opposite? More importantly, Princess, don’t you need to—”

“Isaac, just once, really try seducing me.”

“…What?”

He looked at her as though she’d just said something absurd, and Clarice shrugged with a mischievous grin.

“If you really didn’t try to seduce me before, then it’s bound to feel very different if you truly put the moves on me now.”

“…….”

“If I can sense that difference, then I’ll acknowledge it and accept it.”

“…Is it typical for princesses to be this brazen?”

“Somewhat. Everyone’s always fussing around me, you see.”

Clarice flashed a playful smile.

“Just once. Do it. Honestly, I’m curious about your real feelings, Isaac.”

“…….”

“Hurry up. Otherwise, I just won’t go back to the prince.”

“That’s… a very odd threat…”

Isaac let out a sigh.

Seeing his troubled expression, Clarice only laughed slyly behind her hand.

“What? Even a handsome man can’t just seduce someone with a few words, can he? Of course not.”

“Princess, let me be absolutely clear. I don’t have romantic feelings for you.”

“I-I know that!”

Clarice jumped in surprise at his sudden confession, hurriedly blurting out her own response. Isaac looked straight at her, speaking as if issuing a warning label.

“I’m only going to do this because you insist. Understood? Once it’s over, you’ll walk away?”

“Yes, yes. What grand words are you going to use, anyway?”

They only had time for a sentence or two, at most.

Not even Isaac could completely sweep her off her feet with such limited time… or so Clarice thought, crossing her arms.

“Go on, then.”

“Haah.”

What a situation.

Though he couldn’t fully grasp what was happening, Isaac locked eyes with Clarice and spoke, this time with a touch of sincerity.

“You are truly stunning tonight.”

“That’s it? That’s so ordinary—”

“Like a rose.”

“…….”

A rose.

In truth, a rather common comparison.

Yet to Isaac, what did a rose signify?

The one person he had truly loved:

Rihanna Helmut, known as the “Blood Rose of Helmut.”

Clarice knew all too well how much weight the “rose” analogy carried for Isaac, of all people.

“……!”

Her lips clamped shut, her eyes grew wide—

And her face turned bright red.

– – The End of The Chapter ––

 

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