18. Why Don't They Use the Metric System??? (1)
After the suffocating book club with Chloe ended, I trudged back to my quarters with heavy steps.
"…Lady White, could you support me just a bit?"
"Of course, Your Highness."
With Amber's sturdy arm propping up one side of my body, I finally felt like I could breathe.
As my body relaxed, other thoughts immediately bubbled up.
'There's exactly one bad person. My sister is a truly bad person.'
Chloe, who had just trashed her sister right to my face at our meeting.
Even though we'd parted ways a while ago, her chilling voice lingered in my mind.
That tone didn't match the bright, cheerful girl who'd been laughing moments before, insisting that everyone in the imperial family was just wonderful.
The thick malice and disgust in her eyes weren't the kind you'd see in a typical sibling rivalry.
It was the gaze of someone who genuinely, bone-deep hated the other person.
"…Lady White."
I glanced at my escort knight, Amber, who was walking beside me, supporting my weight, and opened my mouth.
"Just to be sure, is there some kind of problem between Her Highness the First Imperial Princess and Her Highness the Second Imperial Princess?"
"…Why do you ask that, Your Highness?"
"Well, during our talk just now, Princess Chloe brought up her family, and when she mentioned Princess Victoria… it seemed like they don't get along."
"…"
"What I mean is, if they've never gotten along from the start, I should know why so I don't accidentally upset either of them when I meet them separately later."
My question made Amber's steps falter ever so slightly.
I clearly saw her brown eyes waver.
She definitely knew something.
As a high-ranking knight who reported directly to the Emperor and Victoria's closest confidante from the battlefield, there was no way she wouldn't know about this conflict.
After pursing her lips for a moment, Amber hardened her expression and drew a firm line.
"Prince Ian."
"Yes."
"I am a knight who serves the Empire and the imperial family, and my current duty is to monitor and protect you, the hostage prince from a defeated nation."
"…Right."
"I cannot casually divulge private relationships or conflicts within the Empire's noble imperial family to a foreign hostage. Please understand."
It was a crisp, soldierly response.
It was obvious she wouldn't open up no matter how much I pressed.
I let out a light sigh and nodded.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"No need to apologize. It was a perfectly reasonable question, and I understand why you asked it. It's just a topic I can't discuss from my position."
'Well, yeah. It'd be ridiculous for a mere hostage like me to stick my nose into the enemy family's drama.'
But I couldn't help my curiosity.
I could hold back on most things, but not when something piqued my real interest.
Besides, Amber—my bodyguard—was directly under that First Princess Victoria.
If the ropes tied to my lifeline were pulling taut against each other in a fight, I needed to at least know why to survive.
In the end, after agonizing over it, I decided to subtly ask someone high-ranking enough to give me an answer.
"Gahhhh!"
"Keep that elbow locked! No momentum! This is back training—using other muscles defeats the purpose!"
"Th-this… ugh… sob…!"
"That last one was all hip recoil! Penalty: three more! Fail again, and it's five extra!"
'What the fuck? Why does a romance fantasy world have a lat pulldown machine!?'
After gritting my teeth and powering through three more in perfect form, the Second Imperial Prince Arthur finally declared the session over with a satisfied grin.
"Huff… huff… huff…."
"Excellent work. Back muscles are the core of upper-body training. There's a saying: you can skip anything else, but never back day."
I lay sprawled on the floor, panting raggedly, as I watched the bear-like prince smile in contentment.
"By the way, I really like how diligently you keep up with the workouts. You're the perfect training partner. There was this prince named Jason who used to train with me before—you're second only to him."
"Hah… hah… What happened to that prince?"
"Hm? Oh, a few years back, his brother died, so he became the heir and returned home. I sent him the latest imperial gym equipment as a gift—he's still hardcore into training. Very satisfying. Almost makes me wish he hadn't left… but I can't overrule Father's decisions."
Arthur took a swig of water and grumbled slightly.
"It's such a shame my family hates exercise. Father only cares about swordsmanship and riding, my brother claims he's too busy with work to train, Chloe skips it because she's 'delicate,' and Victoria likes moving her body but prefers killing people on the battlefield…"
The second prince brought up his family first.
Seizing the rare chance, I propped myself up on trembling arms and carefully broached the subject.
"Your Highness. Hah… I haven't been at the palace long, but from what I've seen… huff… the imperial family members each have such… distinct personalities."
"Hm? Personalities, eh? Well, yeah—none of us siblings are your typical meek types."
"Yes. Especially Her Highness the First Princess and Her Highness the Second Princess. After meeting both… their temperaments are so starkly opposite that I can't even imagine them crossing paths. Are they… not on good terms?"
Arthur paused mid-swipe with his towel and glanced down at me.
I braced for anger at my audacity to pry into imperial affairs, but this muscle-obsessed guy was simpler and cooler than expected.
"'Not on good terms' is putting it mildly. They snarl at each other like wild dogs every time they meet."
"…May I ask why?"
"Beats me. I have no idea why those two are so desperate to devour each other."
Arthur plopped down on a bench, saying it like it was no big deal.
"As you know, Father has three wives. My brother and I are from the Empress, while Victoria and Chloe come from different concubines. So those two are half-sisters."
"Ah…."
"But they wouldn't hate each other that much just over different mothers. Take me—I get along fine with both Chloe and Victoria. Our personalities clash, so we don't go out of our way to be close, but we don't trash-talk either. My brother's the next Emperor anyway, so no power struggles."
Arthur fondly stroked his pumped-up massive biceps as he continued.
"Chloe loves reading, Victoria loves martial arts and war, and I love lifting iron. Different domains—no reason to clash. But those two have despised each other like vermin since they were kids. Whatever the reason, it's their business, not mine."
Arthur's answer confirmed something crucial for me.
The grudge between them stemmed from something deep and intensely personal.
Clearly, a reverse scale I shouldn't touch lightly, no matter the side.
I vowed inwardly to stay strictly neutral in their feud.
"Anyway."
Shattering my thoughts, Arthur suddenly grabbed my arm in a vise grip.
"Ow!"
"Hm. You've neglected training till now, but you've got a great muscle-building constitution. Recovery's solid too."
Arthur flashed a deeply satisfied smile and declared,
"Next chest or arm day, we'll bump the weight up by about 10 pounds."
"……Pardon?"
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
The shock drowned out the agony in my nearly severed arm.
One word pierced my ears.
"…Did you just say pounds?"
"Yeah. 10 pounds. Too light? We can do 20…"
"No, not that! You don't mean… the Empire uses the imperial system!?"
Arthur tilted his head at my horrified expression, puzzled.
"Isn't that standard? Did Sterling use something else?"
"……We used the metric system."
"Hm. Guess you'll be switching to imperial units now! The Empire standardizes measurements across the continent."
My head spun.
Fine, whatever—romance fantasy logic, I could force myself to accept it. But the Empire unifying the continent and still using imperial units instead of metric?
That crossed the line.
'…Barbarians. Even our fragile little Sterling Kingdom used metric!'
An inexplicable rage and sense of mission ignited deep in my chest.
This, at least, I had to stop. No matter what.