It was the afternoon, and in one of the wide halls of the royal palace, a banquet was taking place. A welcome to the guests from the Empire. Nobles from all over the nearby domains have been called to join in and greet the guests. Gentle music echoed throughout the room as people murmured and chatted.

Alistor was drinking a small glass of wine as a noble greeted him. Normally he would have more than this, but he was in a formal setting, so he had to hold back. Besides, he was planning on doing something later that required his proper mind.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Count.” Alistor said to one Wisterian noble. He wondered whether there were nobles under the Empire’s paycheck around here. But considering what had occurred recently with them, he doubted any would try to connect. The Empire had basically discontinued that part of the plan, anyway.

A wasteful thing, but it couldn’t be helped.

Alistor glanced towards his brother, who was busy eating at a corner. However, a couple of young ladies approached and talked with him. Cilas appeared to be shy, he was not exactly the type to mingle. And, just like his younger brother, a couple of young ladies approached Alistor with their beautiful and endearing smiles.

“Greetings, imperial prince.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, your imperial highness.”

Alistor smiled. “Hello, ladies. What are your names?” he said softly.

As the ladies introduced their names and their family household, Alistor couldn’t help but look behind them, towards a distant table. For his interest laid somewhere. It was the princess of Wisteria. She was sitting by a table along with a few noble ladies, who must be her friends.

Although from observing, she seemed to be mostly quiet. Only responding when being asked or talked to. Anyhow, she looked so tender and timid, but she was absolutely gorgeous. As Alistor kept staring, he caught the princess glance towards him, but instantly looked away when realizing that he was staring back.

He smirked. Urging the ladies in front of him to stop, he held out his hand. “Would you mind if I ask you about something?”

The two young ladies looked at each other before one responded. “We don’t mind. Feel free to ask what you want, your highness.”

“What kind of person is your princess?”

“Hm? Her highness? She is an amazingly kind person.”

“I heard she is almost like a saint to us. My brother, a knight, always praises her. Holds her in high regard.”

“She is the treasure of the kingdom.”

Alistor sensed some excitement from the ladies.

“Although… She is very gentle, so we must also treat the same.”

“Gentle?”

“She has a soft heart and must be handled with care.”

“Is that so?”

“We didn’t know much about her at first. She was a mystery in the kingdom. I only got to see her first during her birthday party.”

“Right? She was so pretty~. Well, even now. She truly is blessed by the gods.”

The ladies blushed as they recalled the princess during her birthday party. That intrigued Alistor. “Any advice on how to talk with her? I want to be careful. As you said, she is gentle.”

The two hesitated until one answered. “... We, um, don’t know what to advise exactly.”

“Really?”

“We never get to talk at length with her. Mostly just greetings.”

“Why is that? Isn’t she your princess?”

“Y-Yes, but… she is beyond us.”

Alistor blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“She is above us.”

“We cannot walk the same level as her.”

“To talk so casually with the Pure Princess, persons as us, are unworthy.”

“We cannot hope to be close to her.”

Alistor awkwardly smiled. “Aren’t you just exaggerating? Isn’t there a chance? She is kind, isn’t she?”

“But even so, doesn’t mean because she is so kind we’ll take advantage of it.”

“We… know our place.”

“H-Huh…”

“But, prince, I know you could not understand our feelings. But when we saw her during her debut…” The lady clasped her hands together and looked skyward. “We witnessed the true form of someone at the pinnacle of beauty.”

The other pressed a hand on her cheek and blushed. “I, we, saw true purity… and divine being.”

“Truly graced by the gods.”

“To be so kind, and to be so beautiful… We can only dream of becoming her.”

“But if you wish to learn how to talk to her, I think you should ask one of her friends for advice.”

“Or you could directly talk to her. I don’t think she would mind if it’s you.”

“Really?” He nodded. After pondering for a moment, it would be better to just directly speak with her. At least, he now had an idea of what kind of person she was or how the people saw her.

As if on cue, Princess Estelia rose from her seat and walked towards a table where the sweets were. It was a chance.

“Thank you, ladies. But if you would excuse me.” With a charming smile, he left the two ladies and headed straight for the princess who was filling her plate with some cookies.

As he got closer, he widened his smile to be more amiable. “Hello.”

The princess adorably flinched and slowly turned her head. Her wide captivating crimson eyes pointed at him. She seemed to hesitate. “I-Imperial Prince Alistor… G-Greetings.”

“There’s no need to be formal. You could call me by my name alone.”

She lowered her gaze. “N-No, that would be rude.”

So polite.

“We’re both royals of our own respective nations, you can afford to be less formal.”

“... I’ll just call you Prince Alistor…”

“Very well.” He stepped close to the table. “Which sweets do you recommend, princess?”

“Um, well.” She pointed at a plate of small, round bread. “These.”

“Oh, why?”

“They have delicious chocolate fillings. It’s best while it's still warm.”

“Really? Then I’m giving it a taste.” He grabbed one chocolate filled bread and threw it into his mouth. “Hm. You’re right, it is delicious. Is this your favorite?”

She shook her head, her hair waving. “I… My favorite is hot chocolate.”

“Oh, that. I think I have heard that before.”

“You have that in your empire?”

“Yeah, my sis… I think my sister drinks that often.”

“What about you?”

“It’s too much sweet. But I wonder, though, is it delicious?”

“I don’t know what kind of hot chocolate you have, but here I find it delightful.” For the first time, the princess formed a smile as if she was enjoying the talk.

That made Alistor feel happy. “I hope you don’t mind me having one some time in the near future?”

“I can have it prepared for you.”

“Nice. You love sweets, huh?”

She adorably nodded. “Yes. I love eating them. Especially chocolates. Although, I tend to control myself from eating too much. It isn’t healthy.”

“I realized that. That’s one reason I rarely eat very sweet foods.”

“What kind of food do you like, Prince Alistor?”

“Mostly any kind of meat. But I like this one particular dish with lamb meat.”

“Is it a dish only found in your empire?”

“I think so…? I never heard about it anywhere. I believe it’s originally created in the castle.”

“I see.” She glanced towards her table.

“Oh, if you want to go back to your friends, go ahead. Don’t let me hold you back.”

Her eyes shifted back to him, and immediately lowered them, as though she was being bashful. “N-No, it’s fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He expected she would go ahead and back to her friends, that would be a sign she wasn’t interested. However, she didn’t, and that was good. Also, she didn’t even seem particularly burdened or anything. In fact, judging from how shy she was acting, she found Alistor’s company enjoyable. That put a pleased smile on his face.

“In that case, let us maybe grab some food and find a table?”

She smiled a little. “Okay.”

After putting food on their plates, which were all snacks, they went on to find a table. It was only the two of them, and they spoke a range of things, likes, dislikes, hobbies. During this conversation, Alistor noticed that Princess Estelia still seemed a little restrained. Just how everyone would act around a stranger or people they just met. But that was to be expected. Considering her personality, it will take some time before she opens herself up more.

In the end, this was good progress.

Alistor wanted to complement her outright, but he feared that might drive her away. So instead, he had to take the slow steps and be more subtle. It won’t be exactly like how he won the heart of his sister, but almost like that. Although, the closer he was with Princess Estelia, he couldn’t help but get lost staring at her. Especially when she talks so sweetly and softly.

How could he have not known a girl like her ever existed?

The music changed tune, and both ladies and gentlemen slowly gathered at the center floor. Starting to dance. Alistor observed their dancing, it was basically the same thing they did back in the Empire. Then that meant…

“Would you do me the honor of joining me for a dance, Princess Estelia?”

The princess flinched and became flustered. “B-But… I’m not a good dancer.”

Alistor raised from his seat and moved right next to her. With a charming smile, he extended his hand. “We can take it slow.”

She looked up at him with her wide red eyes. “... Okay.” She accepted his hand.

Alistor gently led her to the center floor. On the way, he noticed his younger brother, Cilas, looking at him with a frown, as though he was displeased by it. Alistor smirked back. He shifted his eyes towards the royal monarchs, and they wore neutral expressions while staring at him and the princess. At least they didn’t seem to disapprove of taking their dear fragile daughter for a dance.

Upon reaching the dance floor, Alistor intertwined his fingers with the princess’s. Her hand was so smooth and soft that it almost blew him away. He placed a hand on her waist and they stepped closer to each other. Their faces were so close. She smelled so pleasant that it almost hypnotized him. He couldn’t help but feel nervous, to his own surprise.

But he shoved it down and softly looked at her, as the princess herself smiled bashfully. And thus they danced.

***

Alistor brought the princess back to her table, to her friends. The group of ladies, which were apparently children of capital nobles, people of high status. And thus, Alistor greeted them all one by one and as respectful as he could. Ultimately, because they were friends of the princess, he had to be more careful. Her friends were quite sweet.

The princess appeared to have enjoyed their moment together, and thus, Alistor left her and them with a pleased smile and proud heart. With nothing else important to do, he approached the two monarchs.

“This is a fun party, your royal majesty. I am grateful.”

“Prince, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Have a drink of this wine I’m having, it’s delicious.”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

One servant poured him a glass of red wine. Alistor promptly took a sip and nodded. “Hm! This truly is delightful.”

“We pride ourselves with our high value wines.”

“Incredible. Is this only accessible to royals?”

“It’s accessible to anyone who can afford it.”

“I never had something like this back home.”

The king smiled and suddenly shifted to another topic. “You danced with my daughter.”

Upon hearing that, Alistor slowly put down his wineglass. “Yes. Your daughter is an extraordinary one.”

“That we all are well aware.”

“Everyone respects her.”

“Respect, with some others I noticed almost worship.”

“Huh. Are you displeased, your majesty? That I danced with your daughter? Is it not a normal occurrence to dance with a lady at a party?”

“Our culture is not too different, so it is fine to ask a lady to a dance.”

“Oh, that is a relief.”

The king still wore a neutral expression, showing neither delight nor displeasure. That made Alistor wonder what he truly felt when he approached his daughter.

“Prince Alistor, we love Estelia to a great degree. And so does the kingdom. However, you and I, and she, live in different spheres.”

Alistor furrowed his brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“What do you see around my daughter, prince?”

Alistor looked towards the princess. “... Uh, just her friends?”

“Indeed, her friends. And no one else. Do you know why?”

“Why…?”

“Normally in a party is where you make connections. To play the political game. However, my daughter does not play the same game.”

Alistor peered around again. People old enough, late teens to middle ages, all were trying to talk to other people. Even to the two princes of Wisteria. Trying to make connections and allies. However, there was no one as such trying with the princess. It was just her casually talking with her circle of friends.

“Do you see it, prince? Estelia has never been involved in politics.”

“I don’t understand, it’s not a choice.” If you were royalty, the moment you were born, you’re already playing the game. There was no way around it.

“It is here, for her. She had no need to. She had the rest of the family to take care of everything.”

Alistor was at a loss for words. It was so strange of a system, for a royal to be able to not be involved in politics. To rely on family to keep the gears of a nation moving, and settling any kind of conflicts. To not worry about ascending and keeping up with the ranks. He almost couldn’t believe such a thing.

“I see…” That was all he could say.

“That is her wish, and everyone is aware.”

“Everyone?”

In the kingdom?

“After talking with her, you now know her nature, yes?”

He glanced towards the princess. “Yes, I do.”

“She cannot bear the weight. She will not be dragged into anything that compromises her life. She will not be compelled by anything. Do you understand what I’m trying to say, prince?”

Alistor stared into the king’s eyes. “I understand.”

And the king smiled. “Great.”

They protect her that much? But I guess I understand why.