Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Silver Wolf (1)
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Lydia's symbol is the leopard.
That's why her carriage also bore a leopard seal and flag.
Thanks to that, anyone could tell from afar that royalty was riding inside.
Such a carriage headed toward the capital village where Irina's mansion was located.
The Third Imperial Princess and I sat side by side on the seat.
She crossed her legs and, as the village drew near, called out to the coachman.
"Since we've arrived in the city, take down all the flags."
"Understood, Your Highness."
The carriage came to a brief stop.
The coachman stepped out and removed the ornate flags attached to the exterior.
I looked at Lydia, who had given the order, and she smiled brightly as she spoke.
"You're wondering why I told them to lower the flags?"
"Yes."
Lydia brushed her abundant black hair behind her ear.
Then, as she tied it back into twin tails, she said,
"When a carriage of the imperial family passes by, don't the citizens of the city ordinarily have to bow their heads?"
I gazed out the window.
Sure enough, as expected, the citizens paid less attention to the carriage.
They glanced at the splendid exterior, but none bowed their heads.
"I took note of what you said last time in Norton, about leaving the carriage at the entrance."
Lydia spoke proudly, a smile playing on her lips.
Then, suddenly sensing my gaze, she furrowed her brows.
"What is it? Why are you looking at me with such a strange expression?"
I looked down at her fondly and said,
"It's because you're commendable."
"What-?"
Commendable.
At words typically said by an elder to a child, the Third Imperial Princess made a sullen face.
"Are you treating me like a kid right now? Calling your superior commendable."
"If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize."
Lydia crossed her arms alone.
Then, turning her head away, she muttered,
"Hmm... We're only a year apart at most...."
A brief silence followed.
Breaking it, the carriage came to a stop in front of a smithy.
The back of a woman standing amid the racks of long weapons.
Seeing her, I lifted the corner of my mouth.
She was Irina, who had always worked tirelessly to protect her empire.
A gleaming longsword was in her hand.
The Second Imperial Princess held the sword out to the blacksmith and asked,
"Is this the sword made from the mithril I provided?"
"Yes, it is, My Lady."
Irina lowered her robe.
Revealed were her silver hair and emerald eyes.
Her refined profile looked every bit the noble young lady of a prestigious house.
Yet it also carried a decadent sense of loneliness.
"Indeed, the quality is excellent. You've worked hard."
The princess gently stroked the longsword, a faint smile on her lips.
The blacksmith, encountering such a beautiful young lady, grinned awkwardly, at a loss for how to respond to the praise.
"It'll be tough right now, but with sufficient materials, mass production should be possible soon."
"Don't worry about money or materials. I can cover plenty."
She ordered 300 longswords with her intellectual gaze.
The blacksmith bowed politely and accepted the command.
"Haa-."
Having resolved an important matter, Irina let out a deep breath.
She fiddled with the scabbard with a relieved expression.
"...?"
But soon, her face turned awkward.
The blacksmith had suddenly stared behind her in panic.
"What's the matter?"
The Second Imperial Princess turned her head as well.
She looked at the ornate carriage that had arrived behind her.
A portable staircase descended from the carriage.
A sleek dress shoe stepped lightly onto it.
Black stockings and a short skirt.
Above them, a neat white blouse and the Eastern symbol, a red necktie, worn by the Third Imperial Princess.
"Hello, Irina?"
Unlike her usual flashy attire, Lydia looked prim in her academy uniform.
Irina furrowed her brows at the sight.
"What are you doing here? And what's with that outfit?"
"What's wrong with how I look-?"
Lydia shrugged at Irina's words.
"You're not even a student, you look totally like a kid."
"Really-?"
As Irina spoke coldly, Lydia placed a finger to her lips.
She tilted her head and smiled with her eyes.
"That's weird. The person who picked this outfit for me loved it."
"Cut the nonsense. Why are you here?"
The two princesses faced each other, arms crossed.
They shot each other fierce glares.
"No need to get mad. I didn't come here just to see you."
"Then?"
"The person who picked this outfit asked me to bring him to you."
Lydia proudly straightened her blouse collar.
She stepped aside to let the next person descend from the carriage.
"Who did you bring here?"
Lydia was famous for never showing kindness to just anyone.
At her claim of escorting someone, Irina eyed the carriage.
Soon, all life drained from her emerald eyes.
The one stepping out was someone she had never imagined.
"V-Veil...?"
I descended from the carriage in the emperor's white blouse attire.
Around my chest was the red necktie Lydia had given me.
"I greet you, Lady Irina."
I gave her a light bow.
But she, in shock, didn't even return the greeting.
"Why are you getting out of there...?"
Instead, she asked me in a trembling voice.
"Ah, on my way back after meeting Lady Lydia, she kindly escorted me."
"S-So... how did you end up meeting her?"
"Well..."
I fell silent for a moment.
Explaining how I connected the Southern Duke to the Third Imperial Princess,
and how I drew Lydia into the alliance,
would take quite some time.
Then, the Third Imperial Princess approached my side.
She lightly bumped my shoulder and said leisurely,
"It's a secret."
Lydia narrowed her eyes at the Second Imperial Princess.
And stated firmly,
"Whatever Veil and I did, it's none of your business, right?"
"...."
The scabbard in Irina's grip trembled.
She took a deep breath and maintained a blank expression.
"Nothing happened. So no need to worry."
I inserted myself between them to defuse the heated situation.
I humbly set a farewell mood.
"Lady Lydia has a long way to go, so it might be best to head back now."
In the past, she might have scolded me for daring to order a princess around.
But now that we were somewhat close, Lydia patted my shoulder familiarly.
"Right, Veil. Let's have a meal with my mother next time."
"You even had a meal with the Imperial Consort...?"
Irina's pupils quivered.
As she boarded the carriage, Lydia smirked at her.
"Of course. Mother really took a liking to Veil."
Not only had he brought a commoner knight before the Imperial Consort,
but he'd even won her favor.
At those words, Irina nearly dropped the sword she held.
"Well then, see you later, 'sister'."
Lydia had never once called Irina 'sister' in her life.
But confident in her victory, she had the leisure to address the Second Imperial Princess loftily.
"...."
Irina stared rigidly at the departing Third Imperial Princess's carriage.
As if she were utterly unbothered.
"You've grown a lot, Lydia...?"
At the appointment ceremony, she'd thought she'd properly dunked on her once.
But this time, she'd been drenched by a water bomb several times worse.
Her expression said she'd been so focused on the knights that she'd forgotten something important.
With that look, she gazed at me vacantly.
"Are you alright, Your Highness?"
Only then did Irina snap back to attention at my question.
Listening to the fading sound of the Third Imperial Princess's wheels, she approached me with a lonely air.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Veil. Must have been tough escorting that immature little sister here."
"No, what hardship could I have had?"
"No... It looks like Lydia must have been a handful."
Irina smiled warmly, as if reuniting with an old friend.
As if she alone could claim such intimacy.
But even that gaze shattered at my next words.
"A handful? Quite the opposite. I got to see her again."
"See her again...?"
"Yes. I realized she loves the people more than I thought and is truly upright."
To unite the princesses, I needed to improve their images by sharing each other's strengths.
So I enthusiastically explained Lydia's merits to Irina.
"Earlier, she hid the carriage flags because she worried the people would have to bow because of her."
But despite my efforts, Irina remained unimpressed.
"Ah... Really...? That's good."
She even seemed in worse spirits than before.
Irina glanced around listlessly.
Her eyes landed on a nearby café.
"Shall we sit and rest somewhere for a bit? I'm feeling a little dizzy...."
"Understood."
The boldness from her staring contest with Lydia earlier was long gone.
She staggered toward the café.
It was the middle of working hours, so there were hardly any customers.
Quiet enough for a major discussion.
"Veil."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Wait here just a moment? I'll be right back."
Irina stood up.
With a downcast face, she made a request of me.
"Please take your time."
Irina headed to the back of the shop.
It didn't look like she was going to the bathroom.
In the meantime, I absently stared at the mithril longsword Irina had left behind.
￣￣￣.
The Second Imperial Princess entered a secluded shadow.
She looked around and quietly called someone.
"Dasha, are you nearby...?"
There was a rustle from the rooftop.
Soon, a black silhouette dropped from the sky before Irina.
"Yes, Your Highness. You called?"
Today, the silver-haired woman wore the black uniform symbolizing the Black Moon.
She humbly bowed her head to greet Irina.
"...."
But the summoner said nothing after calling her.
Finding it odd, Dasha lifted her head to look at Irina.
And in that moment,
she faced Irina's flushed red face.
"I think something big has happened."
The Second Imperial Princess sighed deeply.
She looked more fatigued, as if burdened with more thoughts than usual.
"Other princesses are starting to take interest in Veil."
"Other princesses? You mean Lady Lydia?"
"Yeah. The way she looked at Veil wasn't normal."
Lydia of the East had always been selfish, cold, and self-centered.
Yet today, her expressions were rich, and she seemed much softer.
As if she'd developed interest in something besides ruling.
"Come to think of it, it bothers me that Lydia has twin tails like Mago."
Irina grabbed her own abundant silver hair on both sides.
She seriously pondered if she should do twin tails too.
"Maybe I should pay more attention to my appearance...."
Irina, who had no prior experience with men.
Instead of men, she'd spent her life buried in books, and now she stared intently at her maid.
"You know about men, right, Dasha?"
The silver-haired beauty three years her senior.
She figured her life experience must be richer.
"Like... ways to get closer to them."
Dasha raised her head.
She stared straight into Irina's resolute emerald eyes.
The Second Imperial Princess, who had always focused solely on growing her knight order and handling practical matters.
Now, to claim the final puzzle piece, Veil, she was even tending to her looks, which she'd ignored before.
"Understood."
Dasha accepted the command for her princess's ambition.
"I'll teach you everything so you can definitely win Sir Veil."
From date courses to capture a man to coordination.
As a former spy, Dasha resolved to impart all her skills to the princess.
"But you must follow without hesitation."
"Of course. I'm ready."
Irina shed the plain robe that had always cloaked her.
And she listened intently to Dasha's advice.