Lumentium.
It was a huge city that has been the capital of the empire for over a thousand years, symbolizing the empire’s grand majesty.
Despite the fact that it had a population of well over one million, including the people that visited the place for various reason, its size was huge enough to handle it. It was a city of wealth. They say that it was the final destination for all the wealth that existed on the continent.
And now, I once again set foot in this city, built on the grounds which was directly blessed by the dragons from legends, and the dwarves who were said to have helped build it.
“…Ha, da*mn it…”
Involuntarily, I looked up at the sky and let out a sigh.
But the sky remained annoyingly clear blue as if it were making fun of me. It seemed to be declaring that it didn’t care about my feelings, so I couldn’t even sigh anymore.
Anyway, how the sky looked didn’t matter anymore.
I had hoped that something would happen during the journey to this place, and that we would be forced return to the Duchy of Estel in failure, but unfortunately, what I wanted didn’t happen at all.
Instead, the journey to this place just felt really comfortable and pleasant.
Yes, the weather seemed strangely cool and calm, akin to how it seems before a storm.
The storm being the metaphor of me coming face to face with Iris el Devhart.
“I don’t think it’s too late. Shouldn’t I go back to the duchy?”
When I recited lines I had said over a hundred times throughout the trip, my father gave me a bored look.
“There you go again. Why on earth do you hate coming to the capital so much? It’s clearly a place you have never been to before.”
“Since I was born and grew up only in the Duchy of Estel, I don’t think there’s a need for me to come here. And honestly…”
“Honestly?”
“No. Nothing.”
I was about to say something to my father, but then I kept my mouth shut. Honestly, the reason I didn’t want to confront Iris el Devhardt was partly because I kept feeling uneasy, and also partly because of the risk that she might notice something about me.
‘I just hope, there won’t be any unfortunate incidents where I would have to pull out my sword within the capital. Especially in front of the Princess…’
Of course, my father, who didn’t know anything about the anxiety I was suffering from, looked at me as if he really didn’t understand, then clicked his tongue at me.
“Even though you are my son, you really are quite amusing. There are cases where some nobles even go as far as abandoning their territory to stay in the capital, but you are acting restless like a cow brought to a slaughterhouse.”
It was then.
Deng! Deng! Deng!
In the distance, from the huge clock tower built in front of the imperial palace, the bell announcing the current time echoed softly throughout the capital. It was an indicator that the current time was 3:00 PM.
“Well, it seems that time is up. Now, we must prepare to enter the palace. The allotted time to meet with His Majesty is not far away.”
“Already? Are you saying that we would be able to meet Your Majesty soon? It hasn’t even been several hours since we entered the capital!”
“Well, I’ve already prepared a schedule to meet with His Majesty on another business. So let’s go. Isn’t it just a matter of entering the imperial palace?”
“…If it’s a business between you and His Majesty, shouldn’t I be excused from the matter?”
At my earnest words, my father swung his face from side to side with a determined expression.
“Don’t talk nonsense. If the person who is directly connected to the matter is not present at the place where the report is being submitted, then who the hell should be? Don’t bother giving pointless excuses.”
“…..”
And so, I relented, judging that it was next to impossible for me to retreat now.
“Don’t look like the sky has collapsed. There is also one piece of good news for you.”
“Good news?”
At those words, my face lit up with the light of hope.
‘Good news, what is it? Could it be that I can leave the palace right away after just looking at the Emperor’s face?’
“Of course it it. Since you will also be having an audience with Her Majesty, the Princess. who will also be present at the meeting. You are a very lucky guy. To get a chance to see the Princess, who is said to be one of the most beautiful women in the empire, hee hee.”
“…..”
****
“I greet the sun of the Empire.”
“I greet the sun of the Empire.”
“Rise. The sword of the north that protects the Empire. We welcome you.”
After going through the usual ceremonial greetings, I looked at the Emperor sitting on the throne. He didn’t look much different from what I remembered from the previous timeline. However, I wasn’t interested in what the Emperor thought of me, and I couldn’t afford to focus my attention to that.
Right now, all my attention was focused on figuring out the movement of a woman who was staring at me without any expression beside the Emperor.
Brilliant blond hair that symbolized the royal family, sea-blue eyes that looked like sapphires, and a face that looked as if it was carefully crafted by an artist. Her beauty was beyond the realms of men.
That woman…was indeed my swordsmanship teacher and the culprit who carved the art of sword into my body with pure violence, Princess Iris el Devhart.
‘Sh1t!’
I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would find myself face-to-face with that woman so soon.
The current Princess and I were just strangers with no relationship. Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. It wasn’t for some funny reason like I had fallen in love with her. It was just because of the fact that I was feeling extremely uncomfortable with the really that I was in the same place as that woman.
“…..”
The Princess just quietly sat on the right side of the Emperor without saying a word. And she was looking directly at my face with a calm expression on her face. It was as if she was telling me that the purpose of her coming here from the beginning was to face me.
And that attitude was making me even more uncomfortable.
She was looking right at me, and I was also stealthily looking at her, so didn’t that really imply that there was something going on between the two of us?
“Hmm, so you are the rumored heir to the Duchy of Estel. Looking closely, you don’t look much like Franz. Do you resemble Emily?”
“That’s right. Even the color of his hair and eyes resembles Emily’s. Thanks to that, there are many suspicions that he’s not my real son.”
At my father’s explanation, the Emperor looked at my face even more carefully.
The Emperor’s gaze seemed as if he were trying to see through me, and it made me feel extremely burdened.
“Hmmm, yes. He definitely inherited Emily’s face. Not bad at all…it looks like he is going to make a lot of women cry. Isn’t it, Iris?”
At the Emperor’s words, the Princess, who had been sitting quietly next to him, answered quietly while maintaining an expression that did not change at all.
“I wonder, Your Majesty. However, it seems certain that the heir to Estel is a scholarly man who has not trained his sword very much.”
As she said that, the Princess’s eyes looked at my smooth spotless hands.
It was as she said. At this point in time, you could say that I was a typical scholar who had only learned the sword as a part of tradition. My family’s swordsmanship was a thousand-year tradition, so if I hadn’t been obliged to learn it, I wouldn’t have even held a sword in my hand at all.
“Well, there is no law that says you have to wield a sword just because you are one of the four a dukes. I’ve heard that the duke of the Crusell is also a typical scholarly man.”
When the Emperor answered with a big smile, the Princess nodded as if she understood something. But her eyes still remained glued to me as if she was trying to figure something out.
“Okay, let’s get to the main point now. Duke Estel. You are here because you wanted to break off the engagement between the Duke of Estel and the daughter of Count Cernard?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At that moment, I didn’t miss the eyes of the Princess who was sitting next to the Emperor, emitting a very slight light.
“I think it’s natural for young people to break off engagements because of various disagreements. However, as adults, we shouldn’t agree without a valid reason. Therefore, do you have something to say?”
At the Emperor’s words, my father nodded his head calmly as if he was agreeing to something.
“I see. There are many reasons, but if I have to give one, there is only one thing. They have insulted the Duke of Estel.”
“…an insult?”
At my father’s words, the Emperor frowned, and slightly lifted his brows.
From his expression, it seemed that the matter was more troublesome than I had thought.
My father nodded and opened his mouth to say, “Yes. I shall begin with how things started. There was a very slight misunderstanding between Cain and Count Cernard’s daughter, and I believe it was a problem that we could resolve through conversation. As your Majesty said, it is really common for disagreements to happen between young people.”
My father stopped to take a breath, then continued, “However, Count Cernard did not act that way. Rather, he took the opportunity to break off the engagement. He even sent us a document that was no different from a threat. He used the matter to intimidate us. No matter how we look at it, I think this is an act that can only be thought of as a kind of insult to take the duchy lightly or oppress us in other forms.”
“…..”
At my father’s words, the Emperor took on the look of pondering something. Then, he asked a question to the Princess sitting to his right.
“Iris. What do you think? What do you think we should do about this?”
At the same time as he said that, the Princess looked straight at my face.
And at that moment, I was shocked and my heart thumped, then sank. The face she made just now was very similar to the one she would make in the previous timeline.
“I’m not sure if I should intervene, but if you ask me for my opinion, my answer is only one.”
The Princess spoke to us in a quiet but firm tone.
“I think it is right to decisively cancel the engagement between Duke Estel and Count Cernard’s daughter. And…” The Princess paused, then continued, “I think it would be good to find another woman. This time, a woman who would not betray the expectations of the Duke.”
“…..”
I didn’t miss the expression that had appeared on the Princess’s face for a moment.
She was obviously looking at me…and, she was laughing.
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Thank you for picking up this series! I’ve been looking forward to seeing another Lemon Mint story for a long time. their other work was great; it’s a shame they slapped a completed label on the webnovel since they had writer’s block.
I have high expectations for this novel but even if it disappoints, I’ll still stick around for a while.
the author always knows how to make good character interactions and romance. plus the last MC has some character traits I personally like
I am reading as I am translating, so glad to hear that. Thanks for reading!