The gates opened as noble knights stood guard at the gate flanks, their backs straight and personal weapons on their side. Their armors reflected the sunlight of the mid-morning, and their stern faces were hidden under their helms.

The gates completely opened with a loud thud and a few minutes later, as expected, a luxurious almost golden carriage brandishing a single flag of the kingdom of Wisteria arrived. The coachman pulled the reigns and made the horses slowly come to a stop.

The horses neighed and snorted as a pair of knights approached the coachman and gave a brief greeting. The curtains of the carriage window promptly opened, followed by a mutual formal greeting, and the man inside presented the letter he had received from the King. The knight made sure it was the person they were expecting, one of the many.

“Confirmed, welcome Marquis Yveno, you may proceed.”

“My thanks.”

The coachman snapped the reins and proceeded forward. The knights returned to the side of the road and waited for the next guest. A few minutes later, another fancy bluish carriage arrived. The knight in charge nodded his head as he received the letter and affirmed the guest’s identity.

“Confirmed, welcome Marquis Natarel, you may enter.”

After that, a few more carriages arrived, until eventually, a particular one arrived. The carriage sported the color of gold and silver, and a pair of Wisterian flags waving in the wind on each side. A small group of knights was positioned at the front and back, protecting the convoy.

The knights waited eagerly since they had already recognized who this one should be. A relative of the Queen. To be precise, it should be her elder brother. That was why they had to show the utmost respect, they do not directly and heartedly respect the brother, but they intend to respect him for the deep respect they had for the Queen.

When the carriage stopped before the knight guarding the gate, the curtains opened and they were greeted by a pair of bluish eyes. The man in his thirties had short crimson hair totally in contrast to his younger sister who had silver hair.

“Good morning, Marquis Teristro.”

“Good morning, we are just in time I assume?”

“A little ahead of schedule.”

“I see.”

“A-Ahem. The invitation please.”

“Ah yes sorry. Mizia, the invitation.”

“Here,” another person, a young woman, handed the invitation. “Hey, can I see Estelia?” he asked the knight.

The knight had heard of their daughter but never seen her before, so this one here should be her. The knight smiled at the mention of the princess.

“You ought to ask the palace servants, my lady. If you wish, they can lead you to the princess.”

“Great! I want to surprise her. It’s been a while since I’ve last seen her.”

The girl smiled so widely and eyes bright in excitement.

“I wonder how she’ll react. Father, how do you think she’ll react? I imagine she’ll just raise both her eyebrows but still remain silent in the end. Which would be lackluster…” she shrugged her shoulders.

“I suppose her reaction would be that simple.”

“...Mm… It may be like that on the surface. But believe me, inside, she would be jumping in joy about seeing me, how subtle her outward reactions may be, a lot of things happen inside her. Heh, she’s that easy to read.”

“When you meet her, go easy.”

“I’m always easy when it comes to her. I even brought her some clothes to try out!” she patted on a sizable case.

“Pardon me,” the knight intervened after checking the invitation. “Invitation confirmed, you are allowed entry, Marquis. Welcome.”

Then the convoy continued on.

“So, who else are we waiting for?”  A knight asked his colleague.

“The Marquis of house Vekenas. He always comes almost at the exact time.”

“Oh, I was worried he would be late… So that one, the girl, is the child of the Marquis, right?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s pretty. And she seems fun. I’m a bit jealous Rogan, honestly.”

The knight sighed, the topic suddenly jumped. “What now?”

“I mean he got to personally guard the princess! Who wouldn’t be jealous? If it was me, I wouldn’t lose any motivation, at all!”

The knight snorted after hearing his fellow knight.

“Really?”

“Of course, serving a beautiful woman! That’s wonderful. And the princess? I have never seen anyone could match her, not even other noble women could begin to compare. And ultimately, she’s so nice. Rogan’s one lucky bastard.”

“Dude, you should really be careful on where you’re saying those things.”

He warned, but the moment he did so, they heard loud clanging footsteps from behind them.

“What the hell are you two talking about?”

The two flinched and immediately turned around, the other knights present averted their eyes away.

“A-Ayana! Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“What do you mean you didn’t expect? I’m making sure everything’s secure. And here I managed to hear about your topic of discussion.”

“He-he-he, just a casual conversation, nothing more.”

“Well? Do it later after there are no more arrivals. Else…” she brandished her fist.

“Alright!”

“We get it, Madam, we’ll be quiet.”

***

A young woman exited the luxurious carriage with a smile, her bright crimson hair reached past her shoulders, her blue eyes peered at the surroundings as though looking for someone. She wore a beautiful green and blue dress and heeled shoes.

Her fair-colored shoulders drooped ever so slightly that she didn’t find the one she was looking for. But she supposed that it was to be expected, that girl wouldn’t leave to go outside for any reason, no less meeting other people. Still, she did carry a little expectation.

She noticed that the royal family was not present as well but only a number of servants waiting for their arrival.

“Where are the royals?” she asked, and her father emerged from the carriage, wearing his formal and luxurious coat.

“The royal family do not greet us here. We are here for business purposes, not for a formal gathering, we are not here to play.”

“I see…”

“And they’re royals, they have no need to greet every guest here in this meeting. They need to prepare themselves.”

“I understand.”

“You’re looking for Princess Estelia, aren’t you? Speak with the servants.”

The marquis faced the servants present and he looked around at each of their faces. Someone was missing, normally an old manservant would be leading the servants here.

“Greetings Marquis, we are pleased that you have arrived.”

A man in his early thirties wearing a servant’s outfit spoke to the Marquis.

“Hm, old man Vernon isn’t around?” he asked.

“He is no longer at the service of his Majesty.”

“Why? Did he kick the bucket already?”

The servant chuckled for a moment.

“No, he is now under the princess of the kingdom.”

“Huh? He was transferred?”

The marquis never expected something like that would happen. To his recollection, the king valued the old man as a servant and friend.

“Yes.”

“I see… Alright, please guide my daughter, Mizia, to a reception room and also bring her case. As for me, I’ll be heading straight to the meeting hall.”

“Understood.”

The Marquis’s daughter, Mizia nodded at the servant about to grab the case from within the carriage and gave a grief goodbye to her father as he left with a guide.

“Lady Mizia, please follow me.”

Another servant came and asked her to follow. She followed the servant and watched the other one carrying her case as they walked in the palace halls to the waiting room.

“Ah, after this, can you call for Estelia to meet me?”

“The princess? Of course, she never joined the meeting with the nobles, so I suppose it will be fine to call for her.”

“Of course she doesn’t…”

Well, Estelia never talk to any stranger in the first place, and she would dislike the professional atmosphere during the serious meeting regarding the festival. Mizia had no problem with that, she was just worried for her cousin when she approaches true adulthood. As the princess, would she be able to handle the pressure?

… She’s the princess of the country, and the youngest child, I guess she wouldn’t have much any pressure to feel? The way she is, no way she’s going to inherit the crown in the future.

In short, she can be as she wants to be. As for marriage, that would be another matter entirely.

She’s complicated… But don’t worry! I’ll be supporting you, my cousin!

Eventually they arrived at their destination and Mizia immediately plopped down on the sofa. The servant put down the case beside her.

“Then go get Estelia.”

And she was left alone. With nothing else to do, all she could do was sit down and tap her hands on her lap. A minute later she already found herself bored.

“Tut tut tut.”

She made random melodic noises as moments went by.

Being alone is lackluster…

She ended up losing her lady-like sit in this lonely air. Mind you that it was only three minutes since she had arrived in this room.

“I need to do something.”

She was impatient, and thus she needed to distract herself at least. She laid her case down on the floor and opened it, revealing an assortment of neatly folded outfits.

“Let’s see, maybe I should have her wear this one first? No, this one’s better, yes yes.”

She arranged the dresses in order of what she should have Estelia wear first. She was enthusiastically moving the folded clothes all around until there came a couple of knocks from the door.

Mizia closed the case and stood up.

“Come in.”

One of the servants from earlier entered.

“My lady, I regret to inform you that Princess Estelia is unavailable at the moment.”

“Huh? What? Why?” she was in disbelief.

“She is said to be joining the meeting today.”

Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock.

“You never mentioned it before!”

“My apologies, but the princess never mentioned anything.”

“That’s… That is going to take hours!’

“My sincerest apologies. If you wish, we can bring you refreshments as you wait.”

Mizia pouted.

“Why is she even attending? There is no way she is interested in the discussion, that boring meeting…” she returned her gaze to the servant. “Fine… bring me sweets. I suppose I will have to wait.”

***

At one of the grand halls in the palace, this one was one of the smaller ones, walls of ivory, fine wood, and embedded gold. Shiny chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, fine arts and tapestries on the walls. At the corners, knights in flashy full sets of armor stood guard, with swords sheathed on their waist.

Maids on standby waiting for any requests made by the guests. At the center of the room was a long table, the nobles sitting on equal sides. And a little further up away from the table were a group of thrones.

There were fancy thrones for the King and Queen and three for their children. However, only four of the thrones were occupied. The King wore his purple and golden formal outfit, and the Queen wore a beautiful dress as beautiful as a flower garden in the morning.

Two of the handsome young princes were as dashing as their father with their luxurious clothes and combed hair. The only missing person was the ever so enigmatic princess of the kingdom.

As always, she has no interest in showing up.

Marquis Teristro thought.

The absence of the princess had no massive consequences in the current meeting. Besides, she had never joined any formal meetings of any kind, thus she had no political influence whatsoever.

That said, not many nobles present here have seen the princess personally. Thus, she was a mystifying person with only rumors about her unmatched beauty only heard. The marquis often saw the princess, but only when he comes with his daughter that wanted to see her cousin.

And truth be told, the rumors could not make justice to the uniqueness of her appearance.

In any case, they were waiting for the designated time to start the meeting, they always follow the schedule. A minute before the meeting starts, the once quietly sealed doors loudly creaked open.

Surprising as this was, everyone turned to see who else would be coming in, there should be no one else to arrive. No, that was wrong, there should be another one.

Everyone’s eyes widened at the new arrival. It was a beautiful young woman with a hypnotizing crimson gaze and long braided hair of platinum that was seemingly more valuable than any jewels they could afford. Then her skin was pale as snow, so flawless.

One of the nobles gasped involuntarily.

This young woman was the princess of the kingdom. She was intensely fitting and beautiful in her purple and golden colored dress, sleeves reaching her wrists, expensive heeled boots, and skirt just above the ankles. Diamond earrings on her ears, and a crimson necklace hanging from her neck.

She was a peerless existence.

The marquis turned to look at the royal family, but they were equally surprised as he was.

The princess arrived… Why? Why now of all times? And… what about my daughter?

He was worried for his daughter, with the princess here, which meant that Mizia was left alone somewhere.

I hope she’s going to be alright being left alone…

Then a sweet voice gently echoed in the room.

“I apologize for my late arrival. Although I believe I am right on schedule.”

Her smile was almost bewitching, but it did not drive men’s lust, but rather stimulated men’s drive to protect that smile full of innocence.

Then on her side behind was a knight with a fit stature and light brown hair. The marquis knew this man, he was the one who went against his family’s wishes and left for the knight’s order without permission, he was an infamous one. A rebellious man.

What is he doing with her?

“I think this should be our first meeting. I am Estelia Vernisia Wisteria, princess of the Wisteria Kingdom. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”

She elegantly curtsied as she introduced herself, but everyone was left speechless by her sudden arrival.

“Pardon me.”

She walked in, her steps faintly echoed, her back straight, and movement elegantly smooth, she was full of confidence. While the knight followed behind her with a grin. The marquis was baffled. The confidence the princess was showing, this was not the way he knew her.

The princess stopped before the empty throne, while her family stared at her with wide eyes. The knight left her side and stood guard at the wall in line with the princess.

“... This is my seat, right?” she reluctantly asked.

“Yes.”

The king replied.

And thus the princess gracefully sat down on her throne right beside the king. The queen and the two princes beside her stared with wide eyes at how she handled herself.

She crossed her legs and leaned a little to the side, elbows on the armrest. The marquis had to hold his breath for a moment as he beholden a royal image with both his eyes. Unlike the two princes, that only showed a normal level of professionalism, and gentle eyes, the princess’s gaze was something more.

The marquis could feel the intensity of her eyes from her kind and innocently smiling face, it was as if she was she was scrutinizing them. Like a person who observes whether a subordinate was worth her time.

Why is she showing up now? And to give off this impression, what is she intending to do?

Was that how she truly was? The marquis had encountered a variety of people, and talked with the king many times, he did not know if the others felt the same as he was, but that was the impression he felt upon seeing her. The others may only see a plain beautiful princess, but for the marquis’s instinct, she was deeply observing and measuring, the way she stared at everyone’s faces for a couple of seconds, and to himself, he could tell.

But why now?

It was then he remembered that the princess’s debut would be next year.

So that’s it.

The princess never had any influence in the politics of the kingdom, no power, no connections whatsoever. And now her debut was due next year, she needed influence. Showing herself now to the noble household leaders was a good opportunity.

Should he see it funny knowing that the princess was always meek and now she was showing confidence? It was almost funny to think about but to make this bold decision, this was serious.

She turned to her father.

“I will only be observing, father. You can treat me as if I am never here. So, can we start?”

“O-Oh, okay. Of course.”