The Blue Hawk's Secrets
The Blue Hawk tended not to share sensitive information with Beth, just in case something went wrong.
Beth herself knew she had a habit of letting things slip, so she didn’t mind. It was far more comfortable to endure a bit of isolation and curiosity than to accidentally blurt out something important.
Still, there were times when she naturally learned about secrets that weren’t important enough for the Blue Hawk to guard too closely.
Things like the list of candidates for the crown princess’s royal consort, for example.
Even when she happened to find out who those candidates were, Beth hadn’t thought much of it. It was information that high-ranking nobles already knew through their own channels, and it fell well outside her range of interest, so she expected it to evaporate from the back of her mind in no time.
But the moment she heard that Lina’s lover was “Everett Rohas,” it was only natural that the list of Belotte’s royal consort candidates popped into her head.
Beth decided to stay silent for now.
All she knew was that Everett Rohas had been added to that list.
‘Maybe Sir Rohas turned it down.’
That a former serf from the east like Everett Rohas had even made it onto the crown princess’s consort list was surely an act of imperial favor. And the emperor wasn’t the kind of tyrant who would throw a tantrum just because someone declined his goodwill for personal reasons.
Very unusually for her, Beth resolved to look into the details and take action.
The next day, Beth visited Sophia’s house early in the morning.
“Beth?”
Sophia, who had just been about to leave for work, looked startled to see her.
“Is something wrong?”
Seeing Beth appear in front of her house without any prior notice at this hour, Sophia asked with clear concern.
“Y… yes.”
Beth had been about to bluntly ask whether the crown princess’s marriage candidates had been decided, but she caught herself.
Sophia was the type to keep her mouth shut. While the matter of the crown princess’s consort candidates wasn’t exactly top-secret information that Beth was forbidden from knowing, if she looked suspicious, Sophia probably wouldn’t give her the full story.
Showing up unannounced at someone’s doorstep was suspicious enough.
Although Beth had a rather impulsive streak, she wasn’t foolish. Her mind spun rapidly.
“I have something I wanted to ask you.”
Beth smiled brightly and linked arms with Sophia.
“You could have just asked at the office.”
Beth, who had grown a bit curt lately now that she was older, was suddenly acting cute. The corner of Sophia’s mouth twitched upward.
Beth secretly let out a sigh of relief.
“I wanted to ask right now.”
“This girl, honestly.”
Knowing how impulsive Beth could be, Sophia simply let it slide.
“What was the name of that fish restaurant we went to together four years ago?”
Beth fired off questions one after another as they came to mind.
It was a barrage of question marks.
From restaurants to work matters, the endless stream of inquiries gradually made Sophia’s answers grow more half-hearted.
That was exactly the moment Beth had been waiting for.
With the eyes of a cat about to raid a fish shop, Beth casually slipped in her real question.
“Oh, by the way, how are things going with the crown princess’s marriage?”
“You should use the proper title.”
Sophia gave her a stern look.
“Yes, I meant Her Highness the Crown Princess’s marriage.”
The strict expression lasted only a moment. Once Beth obediently corrected herself, Sophia’s face shifted back to one of mild exasperation as she answered casually.
“Well… it seems none of the candidates have caught Her Highness’s fancy.”
Just enough for Beth to know.
But that was plenty for Beth.
“I see. By the way, Sophia, what are you doing this weekend?”
As if the question had just occurred to her, Beth smoothly moved on to the next topic.
While her mouth kept chattering away, Beth’s mind began spinning busily again.
‘Then it doesn’t look like Sir Rohas will become the royal consort. Should I tell Lina?’
Beth, who had grown considerably more cautious after meeting Ivetta, ultimately decided to put it on hold.
‘Let’s watch a little longer.’
As it happened, there was someone in the detached palace where the crown princess was staying who was close to Beth.
The Blue Hawk’s gaze had now turned toward the crown princess.
As Ivetta’s debutante approached, she gained one more class on her schedule.
The decision had come suddenly while they were enjoying tea time with a chocolate cake piled high with chocolate mousse.
“Now that we’ve chosen the dress, next is accessories and shoes.”
Lady Harper, who had taken charge of Ivetta’s schedule with her meticulous personality, said while looking at a notebook filled with tiny handwriting.
“Ah, I know a craftsman who makes shoes so comfortable you can barely feel your feet hurting even when dancing.”
Lady Rosina recommended a particular shoemaker.
“That sounds good. I’ll tell the maids at the detached palace to arrange a schedule.”
Then, a beat too late, they all realized they had forgotten something far more important than comfortable shoes right before a debutante ball.
“Before that, we’ll need to learn social dancing.”
Lady Regia spoke in a small voice, looking slightly flustered.
The other two also looked momentarily panicked. But they quickly composed themselves and spoke brightly.
“Learning just one or two basic dance pieces should be enough.”
Lady Rosina tried to boost Ivetta’s confidence.
Since Saintess Ivetta wasn’t the type to attend every ball held in the capital like some young ladies who were serious about high society, they said it would be fine to keep it moderate.
“We’ll teach you ourselves!”
Lady Harper volunteered to be the social dance instructor.
“I’ll do my best.”
Ivetta also seemed to think she could manage that much and burned with determination.
Unfortunately, some of the sparks from that determination flew straight at me.
“Beth and Lina should learn with us too!”
Lady Regia suggested.
“Me too?”
“Beth’s birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
“Wouldn’t it be more fun to learn together with the Saintess?”
“Then I’ll do it.”
When they pointed out that she would otherwise have to learn separately later, Beth agreed to join the class.
‘Beth joining makes sense, but…’
“Why me?”
“You’ll be attending Ivetta’s debutante ball too, won’t you, Lina?”
“Exactly. The young lords will all line up to dance with you, so it’s better if you know the steps.”
Lady Rosina and Lady Harper offered their reasons as if they had rehearsed them in advance.
The thoughtful young ladies serving as maids seemed worried that I, who wasn’t familiar with high society, would end up as a wallflower at Ivetta’s debutante ball.
Besides, it was considered proper etiquette for everyone attending a ball to dance at least once.
I smiled and politely declined the young ladies’ kindness.
“I’ve already learned the basic dance pieces.”
Directly from my mother, who had once been the flower of high society.
I had only learned them briefly as a child and hadn’t danced since growing up, but I could manage one or two pieces for the sake of courtesy.
But the young ladies refused to give up on me so easily.
“Still, come learn with us.”
“You’ll pick it up much faster if you learn with someone who’s a little ahead.”
“It’ll be fun!”
The way their eyes sparkled made it obvious that their ultimate goal was to create an excuse to play together under the guise of a lesson.
“Alright, then.”
This time, I gave in gracefully.
“Then let’s start today!”
It just so happened that none of them had any other plans that day.
Everyone got excited and immediately sprang into action.
The small banquet hall was cleared, and a magic tool that played music was set up.
“The knights outside said they can’t do it.”
Lady Rosina, who had gone to ask the knights guarding the detached palace to be practice partners while the small hall was being tidied, returned dejectedly with the news of failure.
“It seems they can’t leave their posts because they’re on duty.”
Lady Regia made excuses on the knights’ behalf.
“That’s true. When I asked who was inside, they made extremely troubled faces and said it probably wouldn’t work. But it’s fine. We all know how to do the male steps. Right?”
Rosina, who had been down for only a brief moment, quickly regained her energy.
She then demonstrated a gentlemanly noble bow, offering to be their practice partners.
“Beautiful lady, would you grant me the honor of dancing with you?”
When she deliberately lowered her voice and spoke in a sleazy tone, playful shrieks of “Kyaa!” burst out.
“I got goosebumps. I think five different faces just flashed through my mind.”
Lady Regia exaggeratedly shivered.
“My older brother wasn’t one of them, right? That was an impression of him, you know.”
Lady Regia laughed as she played along with Rosina’s joke.
“I think he might have been.”
Laughter erupted once again.
It was a warm and cheerful class.
Except for one small incident.