Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Queen of the Night (2)
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“Sir Veil, I’ll come visit your western territory with my merchant caravan soon.”
“You’re welcome anytime.”
Arieta promised to visit my territory along with her merchant group.
I expressed my thanks as well, satisfied with having secured my first trading partner.
“A garrison knight, so I was worried, but you’ve steadily built up some wealth.”
The Grand Duke grinned widely as he gazed at me fondly.
“It just sort of happened. I got lucky.”
“Knowing how to seize luck is a skill in itself.”
Lydia’s relatives nodded in agreement.
They no longer watched me warily.
‘Well, at least it all worked out somehow….’
I let the corners of my own mouth lift as well.
The royals I’d figured would be uneasy around me had unexpectedly become connections.
And I’d helped out a comrade struggling far from home.
“By the way… didn’t you say you’re living up north now, Sir Veil?”
With the mood so cordial, the Grand Duke started digging into my background.
“Yes, around Nostun.”
“Hmm… I see. ‘Naturally,’ you’re living alone, right?”
In that instant, the Grand Duke’s red eyes gleamed sharply.
“Yes, I live alone, but…”
I swallowed hard under his intimidating stare.
Why was he suddenly asking about that…?
“You’re twenty now—old enough for marriage proposals to start flying back and forth. Why are you still living alone?”
“I haven’t settled down in one place yet, and I’ve never even gotten any proposals.”
I forced a smile as I answered his relentless questions.
But there was no sign of the former eastern overlord letting up.
“A man ought to start a family and put down roots.”
“I’ll do that once I have some leeway.”
I gulped down the now-cold tea as I replied.
“Once you have some leeway, you say… Are you holding out for a particular kind of woman?”
“Haha… nothing specific yet.”
I swallowed deeply at the Grand Duke’s words.
Racking my brain, I came up with something plausible.
“Well, someone healthy… and family-oriented would be nice, wouldn’t she?”
The Grand Duke had been sly and relaxed up to that point.
But at my answer, he flinched for the first time.
“Healthy… and family-oriented…”
The old noble fiddled with his beard, looking troubled.
Then he glanced sidelong at his granddaughter.
“Tsk…”
Sharp, seductive eyes full of firm convictions.
Her conduct as a conquering ruler so far proved it.
And at the meeting, she’d even intimidated the adults with her fierce aura.
No matter how I looked at it, she didn’t fit the “family-oriented” mold.
“Tsk, tsk… Of all things, she takes after her father more than her mother…”
The Grand Duke cleared his throat.
Then he muttered cautiously.
“If it’s about being healthy, our Lydia’s confident she…”
“Grand Duke, what are you saying!”
His granddaughter—who’d been listening anxiously—bared her teeth at her grandfather’s teasing remark.
“Why the fuss…? When she was little, she was lively enough to dance for me.”
The Grand Duke’s gaze turned wistful, lost in memories of his young granddaughter.
“That dance of hers was so lovely… I was sure she’d grow into a fine lady.”
He seemed regretful that she’d turned out so differently from what he’d envisioned.
“…!”
Lydia’s face flushed bright red at the sight.
“V-Veil…! Let’s go. It’s late!”
The princess seized one of my arms.
She tried to drag me right out of there.
“That graceful, swaying dance…”
“Stop listening to that doddering old man and let’s go already!”
Lydia hauled me out of the dining hall.
The Grand Duke watched us go with a pleased expression.
“Safe travels, Sir Veil. It was a pleasure.”
Even as I followed after Lydia, I bowed politely.
Smiling, the Grand Duke waved me on, urging me to hurry.
“Take care, Veil.”
His blood kin did the same.
Unlike when we’d first met, they now saw me off with easy, familial smiles.
“….”
By the time we stepped outside,
it was already past nine in the evening.
Deep into the night.
The Third Imperial Princess and I strolled down the corridor of the elegant Eastern-style annex.
―――.
Crickets chirped softly.
Faint echoes of the party drifted from the grand central palace in the distance.
“The Grand Duke wasn’t always like that… He’s gotten slyer with age!”
Lydia referred to her grandfather by his title.
She clearly wanted some distance from him right now.
“What ancient history!”
The nineteen-year-old strode ahead, cheeks puffed in irritation.
She seemed eager to put as much space between herself and her kin as possible.
“Ha…”
Once she’d calmed down a bit, Lydia glanced back at me.
In an embarrassed mutter, she said,
“I apologize for everything that happened today.”
She was back to being the ruler of the East.
Yet the dinner’s afterglow lingered—her twin tails quivered faintly.
“I don’t know many people, so… they took an interest in you.”
I flashed the princess a grin.
With a light bow, I showed my respect.
“It’s fine. I gained quite a bit myself, in all sorts of ways.”
To my old comrade-in-arms, a patron from the eastern royals.
To my western territory—and the Thorrman clansmen working there—their first major trading partner.
My path to a splendid retirement had come one step closer.
“If anything, thank you for the dinner invitation.”
We walked the moonlit corridor together.
The passage that led toward the central palace.
There, we gazed up at the night sky.
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣.
Fireworks burst into brilliant bloom overhead.
The skyrockets lit up the dark heavens.
The central palace’s ornate roofs gleamed all the brighter for it.
“You’re not going to the central party, Your Highness?”
I watched the display and asked Lydia.
“I have to. I planned to join once the meeting wrapped up.”
Hands clasped behind her back, the princess gazed at the splendid bursts.
Her red eyes sparkled in the reflected light.
“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
“Yes, first time I’ve seen anything like it. They’re shooting explosives?”
The youngest princess giggled as she looked my way.
“Those are fireworks. A congratulatory gift from our East.”
Lydia’s lips curved up.
With pure, childlike eyes, she added,
“Back home, we’d set them off to get the festival going.”
“Dancing along with them?”
I asked ever so casually.
The eastern ruler faltered.
She peered up at me—ever the one inching higher in her estimation lately.
“You want a dance too?”
“Hard to picture you—the epitome of stiff—dancing.”
I chuckled.
Somehow, the Grand Duke’s laughter had rubbed off on me.
“Hah, think I’d dance for some childish taunt like that?”
Lydia crossed her arms.
One hand covered her mouth as she giggled.
“You’re a long way off.”
The princess turned away coolly.
She strode ahead of me.
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣.
The fireworks soared high.
They twisted and tangled, then unfurled into flowers and butterflies that embroidered the night sky.
“I heard you were at the ballroom today…”
Lydia glanced back at me.
Shadows from the fireworks played across her face.
“How’d you know?”
Her lips turned down at my question.
“That’s not the point.”
Lydia’s gaze sharpened.
She drew slowly closer and said,
“Is it fine for a man to get so intimate with a woman that easily?”
‘She must’ve seen me dancing with Lea…’
“Intimate? It was just a dance…”
The princess stepped right up to me.
Her gleaming red eyes fixed on mine as she asked,
“So dances are open to anyone?”
Her eyes brimmed with fireworks.
I stared blankly and murmured,
“Yes…?”
The princess smirked.
And then…
She began to gently loosen the cloak draped around her.
“…!”
It was academy-style attire, but it clung so perfectly to her form.
In the shadows, her figure stood revealed.
“If you want it that badly, I suppose I could show you a little…”
The princess laid a soft hand on my shoulder.
Slowly, she began to circle me.
“….”
I stared, mesmerized, at her exquisite silhouette.
An enchanting eastern dance—it was a first for me.
She’d looked embarrassed right up until she started moving.
But soon the princess danced like a butterfly alighting on a necktie—graceful and beautiful.
With the fireworks as her music, she swayed her hips.
Alluring curves accompanied the flutter of her skirt.
She landed lightly.
Like a cat, she brushed past my leg and glided silently onward.
“….”
The princess left me behind just like that.
As if she didn’t want me to see her face.
“That’s it for today.”
Face half-hidden, she spoke to me.
Glancing softly back, she murmured,
“The real dance calls for traditional garb—this was nothing.”
Eastern traditional dress.
I remembered seeing it on the streets: form-fitting cheongsam with daring thigh slits in the skirt.
The fierce princess before me in that? Impossible to picture.
Lydia retrieved her cloak from the railing.
She didn’t put it on—just draped it over her elbow.
“And that’s something shown only to one’s betrothed, traditionally…”
The youngest princess shot me a sidelong glance.
She wagged a finger in warning.
“Be content with this much for today.”
I gazed steadily at her.
Then, with a grin, I replied,
“Yes. It was an honor to glimpse even that.”
She pouted, clearly deeming my smile brazen.
As if it wasn’t the reaction she’d hoped for.
“I’m off to the party now. What about you?”
“It’s for the highborn. I’ll take my leave.”
Lydia nodded matter-of-factly.
She granted my withdrawal.
“Very well. See yourself out.”
“Yes. You’ve had a long day—thank you.”
I bowed.
Then I watched the princess depart, hands behind her back.
‘When else in life would I see the fierce Third Imperial Princess dance?’
The moment lingered like a dream.
Yet she vanished as if it were nothing.
Off alone to the warlord-packed party.
I only turned away once her silhouette had shrunk to nothing.
Relieved at last to finally escape the palace.
「――――――.」
Parted from the garrison knight, the Third Imperial Princess strolled the corridor at leisure, hands behind her back.
Satisfied with what had just transpired, her lips curved up.
The man who’d stared at her dancing, utterly entranced.
His dazed look was adorable—she giggled.
“Cute.”
The princess muttered to herself as she rounded the corner.
And then…
「You’ve arrived, Your Highness.」
She encountered her retainers, waiting to escort her into the party.
“Yes, I’m a touch late.”
She addressed the long line of servants and knights in a stern voice.
They bowed even lower, their tones deferential.
「Not at all, Your Highness.」
Lydia, hands behind her back, cut an imposing figure.
She swept past her retainers without a glance, and they fell in behind her in orderly procession.
“Veil’s left the palace?”
“Yes, we confirmed just now.”
Lydia nodded curtly at the news of the garrison knight’s departure.
Her eyes hardened into those of a cold sovereign.
“And Tilda?”
“She slipped out of the capital moments ago.”
The princess scowled at word the rival faction had returned home.
“Contact our intelligence network back home. Put them on that woman’s tail.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
The guard knight melted into the shadows alone upon hearing her command.
“Whew… I’m worn out.”
The youngest imperial princess let out a deep sigh as she eyed the central palace where the party raged.
“We’ve prepared your seat in the hall.”
“Very well. Let’s go. It’s time for some leisurely ‘chats’ with the vassals.”
The eastern hegemon—who’d shored up her power base—headed for the palace.
The moment she stepped boldly into the midst of the empire’s elite.
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣.
Lydia’s confident entrance flipped the party’s atmosphere.
A petite princess, small in stature.
Yet her mere arrival drew every warlord and noble’s focus.
“….”
Lydia silently accepted her vassals’ greetings.
As she made her way to the hall’s center,
she came upon Lea and Irina, deep in talk with the warlords.
Especially today’s star: the Second Imperial Princess, honored by the emperor.
“Hah, everyone looks ridiculous.”
Lydia snorted at her two sisters.
Lea’s daring dress—shoulders bare—suited her, sure enough.
She knew her figure was her best asset.
But this time, Irina was no slouch either.
The one who usually dressed plainly, like the commoner half-blood she was, had come in a dress that accentuated her curves.
“What, are you all off to weddings or something?”
The conqueror king’s bloodlines converged at one table.
Cold stares, none yielding an inch.
“Got some confidence today, Lydia?”
Irina asked, arms crossed by herself.
It made the contours of her beautiful white dress stand out.
“Yeah, looks like something good happened.”
Lea piled on.
Her black silk dress showcased an hourglass figure of raw sensuality.
The two clearly had plenty to say to each other.
Lydia flashed her signature impish, seductive smile.
She lifted her necktie gently to cover her mouth.
“Oh? Well… I was with Veil until just now.”
The necktie—perfectly veiling the princess’s lips—bore a gift all three women knew well.
A red butterfly, just like Lydia.
“….”
Irina and Lea grasped the butterfly’s significance.
Yet both remained utterly composed.
If anything, their lips itched to speak.
“Wonder what fun tale our little sister’s cooked up? Let’s hear it.”
Lea grinned at Lydia.
With mature eyes, she adjusted her monocle.
“Yeah, I’m dying to know.”
Irina grinned too.
Her finger softly traced her lips as she spoke.