Chapter 48
Whoosh—the sound of wind cutting through the air never ceased at Lua Palace’s training grounds.
The sky already hung a moon, and only a thin breeze blew to lull people to sleep.
The scent of spring in full bloom swept across the sandy dust.
Despite the pungent air stinging the young man standing there, Aryan, he silently swung his heavy wooden sword, relying on the faint moonlight.
Beads of sweat ran down his pale skin.
At that moment, when only the faint sound of his breathing mingled with the wind in the otherwise silent space…
Thump—a small foot rolled across the sand. Aryan twisted his body mid-swing and reached backward.
Shhhik—
Stopping at the sound slicing through the air, Aryan’s cold blue eyes glared fiercely at the source of the presence behind him.
And there, at the spot where his sword had paused, he spotted a figure.
“Ah, sorry.”
He apologized and gently lowered the sword aimed at the other’s neck.
For an ordinary person, this would have been a moment to scream or fall backward in shock—but Adria seemed unconcerned, shrugging as if it were nothing, accepting Aryan’s rudeness.
“Well, you did come up without thinking.”
Even at Adria’s words, Aryan scratched the back of his head awkwardly, giving a sheepish smile.
Adria swallowed a nervous laugh, still recalling the chill lingering around his neck.
“I appreciate your effort. But…”
Who would have guessed that the puppy entrusted to him by the Lisette family’s delinquent wasn’t actually a puppy?
Adria addressed the foolish beast still unwilling to release the sword.
“Putting too much strength into it doesn’t make it better. You know that, right? If something goes wrong, it’ll be worse than doing nothing.”
“I know.”
“Hah.”
Despite Adria’s scolding, Aryan didn’t frown, instead smiling gently.
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For worrying about me.”
At Aryan’s words of gratitude, Adria’s expression twisted into something strange.
“Get it out of here.”
Disgusted.
Adria flicked his arm, as if something akin to animal fur had grown on it.
He also recognized Aryan’s subtle intention behind the soft words: it translated roughly as, “I’ll handle it myself.”
Adria didn’t feel like lecturing further, only to hear another awkward reply.
“Do as you like. Since when did you ever follow my words?”
In the end, Adria swallowed the words he truly wanted to say and raised both hands in surrender.
Yet, without losing face, he added one final remark:
“Just… make sure it doesn’t get noisy.”
Aryan’s eyes widened.
Even without further explanation, it was clear what “that” referred to.
“Because it’s annoying.”
“Haha.”
Despite his teasing, Aryan laughed heartily at the concerned, kind-hearted Crown Prince.
Even though he kept saying no, no, after spending the past several years nearly always together, he had clearly grown fond—even if unwillingly.
Instead of dwelling on that fact, he looked up at the sky, thinking of the small woman who always brought sweet fragrance.
The round, beautiful moon greeted Aryan.
He readjusted his grip on the wooden sword he had been loosely holding.
And at that moment, he thought of the person he always longed for.
He hoped she was looking at the moon, too.
“What’s this?”
Clarisse tilted the small piece of paper waved in front of her.
Marie, the one who had just handed it to her, stayed bent forward with sparkling eyes.
“It’s the admission ticket for today’s swordsmanship competition!”
If Marie had a tail, it would probably be wagging wildly. Clarisse, with a somewhat indifferent thought, glanced at Marie, whose face silently pleaded, “Praise me!”
“…I can read, you know.”
“Then why ask?”
These days, her sole maid had become far less timid.
Clarisse restrained her urge to be mischievous once more and decided to focus on understanding what she was missing.
“So, you’re asking why you’re giving this to me, right?”
“Ah!”
Marie clapped her hands together like someone who had just had an epiphany.
Could this girl ever be married off?
“Well, you seemed a bit down lately, so I thought maybe a change of mood…?”
Putting aside the worry, her next words were surprisingly heartfelt and admirable.
“It was hard to get, but I worked hard for you, Clarisse! And since there are two tickets, you could go with Aryan…”
But Clarisse couldn’t accept that kindness for other reasons.
Since morning, she had been examining the object in question and lightly waved it toward Marie.
“Oh, you already had one?”
Although the color differed slightly, the emblem in the corner and the date and seat markings matched exactly with the paper Marie had offered.
Marie snatched it from Clarisse’s hands and began examining it carefully.
“Wow, it’s even first-class seats!”
Impossible on Marie’s salary.
First-class seats with even a simple table service included.
“If you’d intended to go, you should have said so… No need to go to such trouble.”
Marie’s disappointment was evident as she drooped.
Even the maid could accompany the seat.
So Marie imagined a story: Clearly, she didn’t want me to go, and asked what she could do.
“You’ll need to leave soon… Shall I get you ready now?”
“No.”
But Clarisse’s answer differed greatly from what Marie expected.
“I’m not going.”
“Why? You went through all that trouble for a good ticket.”
Marie, thinking it was another whim, pouted instead of opening her eyes wide.
“I didn’t get it myself.”
“…Huh?”
“I received it.”
“From whom?”
Even now, Marie thought Clarisse was making an excuse.
Yet, Clarisse’s voice was serious and weighty.
“You don’t know.”
Marie instinctively tensed at Clarisse’s heavy words.
The surprising story didn’t end there.
“It was already on my desk before I realized it.”
Marie widened her eyes, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.
The only people in the room that morning had been Marie and Clarisse.
If Clarisse wasn’t lying…
Who, and why?
“See? Strange, isn’t it? I had no intention of going…”
Swallowing hard, Marie listened as Clarisse confirmed her unease.
Now Marie fully understood why Clarisse refused even a good seat.
Her suspicion that it was to exclude her vanished entirely.
Marie’s shoulders trembled.
Clarisse, appearing deep in thought, lifted her head.
“All right, let’s go.”
“Huh? But…”
Marie still shook, but Clarisse had already made her decision.
“I want to see the face of whoever thinks they can play tricks with me.”
Clarisse, dressed elegantly but simply, slipped into the crowd.
“Slipped” wasn’t quite the right word—her hands were already full with a round, buttered potato and some chewy jerky.
“Clarisse, are you sure this is okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have such a good ticket… and yet you’re watching from here?”
Marie seated herself near the spot she had prepared, glancing at Clarisse.
The confident air she had before stepping out was gone.
Clarisse’s face, usually expressive while enjoying herself, had stiffened.
Fortunately, she hadn’t lost sight of her true goal.
“Our Marie, that beautiful head of yours is just decoration, huh?”
“Ah, th-thank you.”
Yet, her loyal maid seemed to have lost sight of the purpose entirely.