An Exciting First Meeting, A Reunion Known Only to One
The problem was that Raphael had already gone around blabbing to someone else. It wasn’t his family, his subordinates, or the noble ladies he usually associated with…
“…Did you come with Prince Astain?”
Cassel’s tone was polite, but his crimson eyes, quietly glaring at Raphael, were filled with frost.
Bringing him along was already unpleasant enough—now he had a companion too. And of course, it couldn’t be an ordinary person!
How could he shamelessly show up with the prince in tow?! And on the very same day, without any prior notice!
His gaze looked ready to challenge someone to a duel.
Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, Astain quickly offered an explanation.
“Sir Cassel, please don’t blame Sir Raphael. I begged him to let me see a Drakan rider, and he couldn’t refuse my request, so he simply found a way.”
“Pardon?”
The prince, who still carried the air of a boy, wore an apologetic expression.
“…If I were to request a private viewing of the Drakan rider who serves directly under the Crown Prince, it would likely cause quite a stir at the palace. Wouldn’t it?”
“……”
“I’m sorry if my request was unreasonable. Then let’s pretend this never happened…”
Cassel fought the urge to squeeze his eyes shut.
“That won’t be necessary. Since the arrangement was already made, I will escort you. However, I must report this matter to His Highness the Crown Prince afterward, so please keep that in mind.”
Everyone who knew Pay, the Drakan rider, already regarded her as someone connected to the Crown Prince. Though she hadn’t been granted any specific title or position yet…
That decision would likely be made at next year’s first ball in the spring.
Therefore, even Cassel, who privately cherished Pay, had to follow protocol and report.
“Really? Understood!”
Astain’s expression, which had braced for rejection, brightened considerably.
It resembled Raphael’s full-moon smile at a glance, even though their appearances were starkly different.
Could someone in his position—someone who must never be swayed—afford to wear such an unguarded smile? Instead of chasing perfection and flawlessness, could he endure offering others a seat beside him?
Cassel couldn’t be certain. After all, Duke Klein had never raised him to be the kind of man who could smile so carelessly.
Still, he didn’t judge a life he didn’t know.
Understanding Raphael’s behavior with his heart would forever be difficult, but that didn’t mean he would ever look down on him for it.
The only thing he didn’t know was that Raphael wore that disarmed smile only in front of Pay, whom he was about to meet.
“Let’s go.”
Prince Astain spoke with bright cheer.
“I’ve already received permission from the Empress!”
Empress Ranya.
Of course she would know her son was leaving the palace. But at this point…
‘The report has probably already gone out. The Emperor and even the Crown Prince must know by now.’
Things were getting bigger and bigger.
Cassel let out a quiet sigh and escorted the two men—now that they had asked to meet Pay privately, he saw them simply as men, status aside—toward the Mizuang Hotel.
They stepped into the top floor, but Pay, who was supposed to be waiting, was nowhere in sight.
“Lady Pay?”
The space was vast, with multiple separate rooms, all guaranteed for confidentiality. He searched the area, but she was neither in the reception room nor the adjacent lounge.
Cassel, who had completely forgotten about Raphael and Astain’s presence, raised his voice.
“Lady Pay!”
She was supposed to have arrived first—how could she have vanished?
Had word leaked that Prince Astain and Raphael were meeting her? Where had she gone? What if someone had ill intentions…!
No matter what abilities Pay possessed, one tender scene always lingered in Cassel’s heart.
A gentle girl crouched behind a bowing coachman, unable to hide her curious eyes.
A magic aspirant who, despite trembling before armed knights, bravely stepped forward and asked to be taken to the Magic Tower.
The sight of her remaining steadfast and composed even in situations that warranted fear.
No matter how splendidly she had grown, he could never forget that day’s wistful memory.
The road beneath the hill they had galloped down together, the slightly cool summer breeze, the damp air and weak sunlight, even the faint strength of the arms that had clung to his waist.
Pay!
His last thread of reason was on the verge of snapping.
Ding—
A clear, high piano note.
Realizing there was a grand piano in the large top-floor room, Cassel headed toward it.
The sound of fingers gently sweeping from the high notes down to the middle register where the player sat eased his urgency.
So this was where she had been.
The greeting that should have come easily stuck to the inside of his lips.
Disturbing her? He would rather die.
Soon, a lively tune began—one far too simple, the kind beginners usually learned: The Little Lady’s Errand Path.
Contrary to Pay’s remarkable presence, the player’s skill was rather modest. It was plain enough that there was no need to listen closely.
The fingers pressing the keys were honest, and there was not a trace of dynamic variation based on musical understanding, no matter how hard one strained to hear it.
Moreover, the rhythm was so precise that knights could have lined up in perfect formation to it.
But what did any of that matter? The person playing was what counted.
He stood silently, watching the small figure beside the piano and the fingers playfully dancing across the keys.
If she was happy with something, that was enough.
The initially slow notes gradually quickened before ending in the typical pattern of a quiet finish.
“Haa~”
After finishing her solo performance, Pay stretched languidly and rose unsteadily.
Only then did Cassel move and speak, as though released from paralysis.
“Lady Pay.”
“Aah! Oh my, when did you arrive?”
Pay, who had just turned around from the piano bench, looked startled, her neat pink hair lightly tousled.
“Just now. I’m sorry for the intrusion—I didn’t realize you were playing.”
“…It’s all right. I didn’t even know the guests had arrived.”
Her face flushed bright red at the realization that she had unknowingly performed for an audience!
Back when she had been an Eina at the Klein ducal house, she had been pestered into trying instruments because of someone’s encouragement.
It was during the very early days, before Dot had come to the ducal residence.
The harp strings hurt her fingers too much, and the flute left her breathless. In the end, the piano—large yet beginner-friendly—had won out.
The duchess soon had it removed, complaining that the sound gave her a headache.
The only pieces she had fully mastered back then were The Little Lady’s Errand Path and one or two others.
She had no musical talent and no lingering attachment to it, yet seeing the piano after so long and thinking there was still time before the appointment had led to this result!
‘Ugh… How embarrassing.’
Of course she recognized both Raphael and Prince Astain by face and name. Pretending not to know them would have been difficult anyway, since she had seen them from afar at the harvest festival, and her conscience wouldn’t allow it.
Anyway, Pay approached Cassel with her head bowed low.
He spoke as though he had never heard her clumsy piano playing.
“Shall we move to the reception room?”
“Yes…”
Two curious men eager to learn what would happen next, one man wearing the most serious expression in the world, and one woman whose face had turned beet red sat facing one another.
They were polite enough not to spout nonsense about how wonderful the performance had been. They were doing their utmost to demonstrate that silence was golden.
Cassel introduced the men he had brought in a gentle tone.
“This is Raphael, whom we promised to meet earlier—Sir Raphael Orléans. He is a member of the Crow Knight Order and the young duke of Orléans.”
“Hello. I’m Pay, a mage from the Magic Tower.”
Raphael smiled even more brightly than usual when he noticed she showed no sign of being intimidated by him.
“I’m Raphael, as you’ve just heard. You may call me by name if you like.”
“How could I do that?”
“Making a lady feel at ease is my duty.”
Wink.
Pay did not fall for Raphael’s smile—the same one that had earned him comments even from fellow Crow Knights about excessive winking.
Back at the Acadnia Hall, when she had been left as a pitiful block of ice, how many times had he passed by, stopped, and spoken to her kindly?
The storms she had weathered were too fierce for her to be swept away by his casual winks. She had seen them too many times and grown accustomed.
The issue was…
“This is Astain Delphier Arkan, Prince Astain.”
“So you’re the prince. I’m Pay, a mage from the Magic Tower.”
Trying to pretend she didn’t recognize someone she did know made the corners of her eyes droop on their own.
Raphael, Prince Astain, and even his mother Empress Ranya were all good-natured people despite their high status.
Though she had endured the piano performance, Astain’s curiosity got the better of him and his lips parted.
“I heard Lady Pay tamed the ferocious Drakan from the books. I really wanted to attend the Drakan flight demonstration at the palace, but the people around me desperately talked me out of it.”
“I see.”
“How much does a Drakan eat in a day? I’ve heard they casually consume two cows, five sheep, and about ten deer. Is that true?”
Um… She wasn’t sure how much the Magic Tower had been feeding it. The feeding trough was certainly oversized, but it probably didn’t eat that much in a single day.
Pay smiled wryly and shook her head.
“You may not have heard, but my Drakan can shrink to a smaller size. In that form, it eats less than a person, so it’s manageable. Even when it returns to its original size, I don’t think it would devour seventeen livestock in one day.”
Well… when there was delicious meat around, it did eat an enormous amount depending on its appetite. But people would probably gloss over that much.
“Is that so? How fascinating.”
‘Ugh.’
Unlike before, Astain’s sparkling eyes felt burdensome.
The prince from their previous meeting had only treated her with polite courtesy. Was this his true personality? His lips had closed for a moment, but his wide eyes seemed brimming with questions he hadn’t yet voiced.
“Yes.”
“If another opportunity arises to demonstrate Drakan flight in the future, I would very much like to see it then.”
“Please don’t lower yourself for my sake, Your Highness.”
Astain smiled gently.
“Understood. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you, Lady Pay.”
“…Yes. Likewise.”
Raphael Orléans and Prince Astain.
These people who had come from the past had no idea who Pay truly was, and their memories had likely been completely erased.
Yet seeing them—people who had never treated her particularly badly—put her somewhat at ease. More so than when she had faced Barbara Gahel and Baroness Gahel.
“What does Lady Pay like?”
“Pardon?”
Astain’s sudden question left her mind blank.
What did she like? The question was far too abstract.
“Um… Magic, perhaps?”
“Anything is fine. I’m simply curious what mages like you usually enjoy. I once dreamed of becoming a mage myself when I was young, even though I have no talent for it.”