The First Stirrings of Emotion
The next morning arrived without incident after they reached the imperial palace. As expected of the annex reserved for special occasions, the room where they stayed was extravagantly luxurious. Edgar wondered if this was what it felt like to sleep under silk blankets. Still not fully accustomed to it all, he finished grooming himself, scratched the back of his head, and stepped out of the room.
Before properly attending the debutante ball, there was an event he had to accompany Ariel to.
“You’re here? If you’re ready, let’s go.”
Ariel, who usually dragged her feet with morning schedules, was already waiting in the hall. Given her personality—one that preferred to dispatch annoying tasks as quickly as possible—she had likely chosen to finish things early rather than cling to a bit more sleep. The fact that she said nothing about Edgar arriving slightly later was proof that she had come out absurdly early to wait for him.
“Sorry I’m late. We’re going straight to meet her, right?”
“Yes. The ball doesn’t have a fixed time slot anyway. We can rest a little after or head straight in.”
The reason the group had gathered so early that morning was to pay their respects to the Empress. Before the debutante ball, every young noble lady had to meet the Empress in person, receive her congratulations on entering high society, and be granted a small pendant.
This pendant, also known as Viriditas, symbolized that even if the lady had not yet come of age, she had officially become a woman through the debutante ball.
Some young ladies considered it an immense honor simply to be granted an audience with the Empress and receive the Viriditas, but to Ariel it was nothing more than another tiresome formality.
“I heard about it beforehand, but the schedule really is tight.”
“Tell me about it. What’s the point of all this empty etiquette anyway?”
Ariel nodded at Edgar’s words and sharply criticized the day’s schedule in a deeply dissatisfied tone. While she approved of creating a space to mark one’s entry into high society, she found the pointless ceremonies sprinkled throughout utterly unnecessary. As a pragmatist, she probably hated these mutual inconveniences even more.
“M-Milady… Even so, there are other people around…”
“Hmph. Let them listen if they want to.”
Shuri, who had been quietly listening, hurriedly tried to restrain her mistress as she noticed the gazes gathering around them. But of course Ariel was not the type to care about such things. She snorted, swept her sharp eyes across the surroundings, and strode out of the annex.
The warm spring air greeted her—buds swelling on branches, fresh green sprouting everywhere—but she didn’t seem pleased at all.
“Edgar, once I enter the audience chamber, you and Shuri can tour the palace.”
During the debutante ball season, most areas of the imperial palace were opened to the public except for certain restricted zones. Surprisingly, many young ladies attended not for the ball itself but simply to see the palace at least once in their lifetime, and this was meant to accommodate them.
“Will it take that long?”
“It’s my first time too, so I don’t know exactly. Still, it’s better than standing around doing nothing, right?”
“Hmm.”
Edgar had no particular interest in the imperial palace. He wasn’t the sentimental type to be enchanted by such grand architecture anyway. He was willing to accompany Shuri if she wanted to look around, but he had no desire to wander around from early morning.
“Shuri, what do you want to do?”
“I’m fine either way. Besides, we might miss each other if we wander off, so it would be better to stay in one place.”
“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”
Despite her words, Ariel felt a strange sense of satisfaction. She had expected Shuri to refuse, but she had worried that Edgar might simply abandon her and wander off on his own. It seemed he at least had some awareness of his role as an attendant. Her shoulders squared with quiet pride.
After arriving at the palace, Ariel left the other two outside and entered the audience chamber alone. She knelt on one knee in greeting, and the middle-aged woman seated on the elevated throne opposite her smiled warmly in return.
She was Beatria Helvenia, the current Empress of the Helvenia Empire. Despite the dignity her title carried, she appeared to be nothing more than a kind-looking, graceful lady.
“So you are the young lady of House Robeheim. I remember seeing you a few times when you barely reached my waist. Do you recall?”
Having frequently encountered members of the Grand Duchy in her role as Empress, Ariel’s face was quite familiar to her. She remembered the girl once having the pure, innocent eyes of a child. How quickly she had grown into a proper young woman. Time truly flew.
“I remember it faintly, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“I’m glad you do. I would love to chat more, but there are other children waiting, so let’s arrange a separate meeting another time.”
For an Empress to set aside a private meeting with someone who was neither the head of a noble house nor even a formal representative, but merely a daughter? Others might call it absurd, but it was possible precisely because the other party was the heir to House Robeheim.
“Today you will officially enter high society through the ball. There will be many hardships, but also many meaningful encounters. I pray that your future is filled with good meetings.”
High society was not merely a place for socializing. Sometimes it was for discussing politics, sometimes for solidifying one’s faction. The burden on this girl, the sole heir of a Grand Duchy, must be immeasurable. That was why Beatria both blessed Ariel’s path ahead and offered gentle comfort for the trials to come.
Ariel was not so stubborn as to completely ignore advice from others. She bowed deeply, taking the Empress’s words to heart. Perhaps she listened even more closely because Beatria reminded her somewhat of her own mother, Helene.
“Would you come closer?”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”
At her summons, Ariel rose. A lady-in-waiting who had been standing nearby approached and guided her directly before the Empress. She then presented a pendant wrapped in soft cloth, carefully offering it to Beatria.
Beatria took it, slowly descended from her throne, and placed the pendant around Ariel’s neck.
“I hope you spend today in joy. May you meet many people, gain many experiences, and learn much.”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Ariel kissed the back of the Empress’s hand, offered her farewell, and retreated backward toward the entrance. Finally, she rose to her full height, struck her left shoulder once with her right hand, placed a fist over her heart, and bowed.
This was a salute passed down only within House Robeheim, not practiced elsewhere in the empire. It was the highest form of respect reserved solely for the two supreme rulers of the realm.
Seeing a gentle smile bloom on Beatria’s lips as she watched, Ariel silently left the audience chamber.
As expected, a considerable number of young ladies waited in the corridor for their turn, chatting quietly with familiar faces. Since they couldn’t make too much noise right outside the audience chamber, they covered their mouths and whispered. To Ariel, the sight was incredibly irritating.
They’re staring at me and whispering. It feels like they’re gossiping behind my back.
She needed to find Edgar quickly to shake off this unpleasant feeling. Of course, seeing his face wouldn’t necessarily improve her mood, but it was still better than sulking alone.
Where is he?
Yet no matter how she looked around, she couldn’t spot Edgar. His red hair usually made him stand out so easily, but he was nowhere to be seen. Had he gone off to explore the palace with Shuri? He had said it was fine for them to wander, so it shouldn’t matter, but if that was the case, she felt strangely disappointed.
Don’t be ridiculous.
Ariel shook her head, brushing away the negative thoughts. Though he had come as her attendant, she had essentially brought him here to show him a place he would rarely get to see. To begrudge a friend for enjoying that opportunity? No matter how narrow-minded she was, that would be downright petty.
I should take a look around the palace myself since it’s been a while.
It had been about three years since Ariel last visited the imperial palace. The layout remained fairly clear in her mind, and since she had nothing better to do, exploring wouldn’t be a bad idea. There was plenty to see no matter which way she went.
Just as she turned to change direction, a familiar male voice reached her ears.
“Ariel!”
As expected.
He had been waiting after all. She simply hadn’t spotted him. Well, the guy who couldn’t do anything without her probably wouldn’t wander off alone through this vast palace. A smile almost formed from the relief, but she deliberately hid it as she spun toward the source of the voice.
And there he was—
“Huh?”
—surrounded by young ladies from families she didn’t even know, waving at her with a bright smile. Her childhood friend, caught in the middle of strangers.
Thump.
Ariel’s heart suddenly lurched violently. Confusion spread across her face at this completely new sensation.
What is this?
Her fingertips began to tremble. An unpleasant, tangled knot slowly rose within her chest. Anger? No, it was something thicker and stranger than that. It felt as if a pitch-black hand had risen from the darkness and was dragging her down into the abyss.
It was similar to what she had felt when Edgar spoke with Shuri before, yet different. If that earlier feeling had been closer to alienation and loneliness, what was this?
It was the urge to ask why he was there. She wanted to tear those girls away from him and put him back where he belonged.
Click. Click.
Before she could even identify the emotion, her feet moved of their own accord, carrying her straight toward Edgar.
“I-Isn’t that the Robeheim princess?”
“She looks really angry… Did we do something wrong?”
The two girls paled in fear as Ariel approached with burning red eyes. In stark contrast, Edgar wore a relieved smile, clearly thinking he could finally escape from between them.
As he walked toward her with a glad expression, Ariel suddenly grabbed his hand, her eyes flashing as she spoke in a cold voice.
“What are you doing here? You’re mine, so you should only stay by my side.”
Unable to find the words to describe this emotion she was feeling for the first time in her life.