In the magnificent palace, before the dragon claw-shaped arch, many carriages adorned with family crests and luxurious decorations were parked.
Only the high-ranking nobles of the Kingdom of Camellia had the authority to park their carriages, marked with their family emblems, in front of the royal palace.
The lesser nobles attached themselves to the great nobles, and only they had the qualification to attend the birthday banquet of the heir to the throne.
Of course, there were exceptions. In addition to the great nobles, many lesser nobles who had attached themselves to the royal family could also attend the banquet. The king allowed them to participate as he wanted the crown prince to get to know his future subordinates, and these people would be her trusted ones in the future. It also gave the subordinates a chance to communicate with the future leader.
In many cases, trusted subordinates are often far more loyal than vassals.
This banquet was not unlike a typical noble ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) gathering, though the difference was that most of the lesser nobles couldn’t attend.
As the guest of honor of the birthday banquet, Mirecia naturally couldn’t leave the event at any point. Today, she had styled her hair into long flowing locks, tying several braids at the back, and wore a stately and luxurious court fishtail gown.
She greeted the arriving great nobles one by one, with no favoritism, and then engaged in conversation with the lesser nobles who had attached themselves to the royal family.
As the future Queen of Camellia, Mirecia’s manners and conduct were impeccable. She controlled the sense of distance perfectly, expressing friendliness toward all the great nobles who had arrived without favoring any particular one.
Many of the great nobles approached her to try and test her intentions, but she skillfully deflected them.
Some nobles asked rather pointedly whether she had any thoughts on forming alliances or what she thought of their sons.
Mirecia always responded with a polite smile, indicating that her focus was currently on academics and state affairs, and that she had no interest in such topics for the time being.
The nobles could sense her underlying message and tactfully avoided further pursuit of the matter.
She didn’t particularly enjoy speaking with these nobles who were outwardly respectful but had strong ulterior motives. However, due to her identity as a princess and the duties of the royal family, there were many things she could not act on according to her own desires.
On the long banquet table stood a massive castle-shaped cake, surrounded by exquisite dishes.
The nobles at the banquet were all cheerful, chatting away as if they were long-lost friends, exchanging trivial, unimportant matters.
But one must know that the heads of the largest families in the entire Kingdom of Camellia were gathered here, and in their eyes, the interests of their families were the most important.
Though it was called a birthday banquet, it was more of a masquerade ball, with everyone wearing a mask that was invisible, but present nonetheless.
For some reason, Mirecia suddenly thought of someone. That person never concealed their thoughts, completely different from these seasoned individuals who always hid their true intentions. He spoke whatever came to his mind, like a child.
Mirecia wasn’t sure why she thought of him, but she knew he wasn’t here today.
Had her father not sent him an invitation? No, that couldn’t be the case.
Soon, the long birthday banquet came to an end, despite lasting only one day.
As dusk fell, the magnificent palace and the dragon-scale carvings on the palace columns were shrouded in the twilight.
Mirecia sighed in relief. After the banquet, she couldn't wait to remove her ornate and luxurious royal attire, changing into her usual clothes.
She wasn’t feeling great that day. First, dealing with the nobles who were all showy yet had hidden agendas, and secondly, she didn’t like celebrating on this day.
Her mother had died giving birth to her, and the day she was born was also the day her mother passed away. For this reason, she had always disliked her own birthday. If it weren’t for necessity, she wouldn’t want to celebrate on such a day.
This wasn’t a birthday; it was her mother’s memorial day.
She decided to postpone her duties tonight and go for a walk to clear her mind. Since she wanted to be alone, she didn’t take any guards with her.
On the way, she found herself lost in thought and, without realizing it, had arrived at the banks of a small river outside the palace.
Had she unconsciously wandered here?
It made sense though, she had always come to this river whenever she had troubling thoughts. The gentle flowing water seemed to wash away all her worries.
The air was still, and the only sound she could hear was the soft murmur of the flowing water, gradually calming her mind.
"Dammit, that damn turtle managed to escape again!" From a short distance away, a young man sitting by the shore with a fishing rod, chewing on a grass stalk, cursed.
"........." His crude language caught Mirecia’s attention. That familiar voice, combined with his distinctive moon-blue hair, made Mirecia instantly recognize who it was.
"Damn it, if only I had chosen [Fishing Alone for Eternity], I'd have you flying now!" The young man cursed again, muttering something Mirecia couldn’t quite understand.
And it seemed he noticed someone beside him as well. Turning his head, he met Mirecia's gaze.
".........."
The two of them fell into silence.
After a long pause, the young man awkwardly spoke, not wanting to let the fact that he was swearing while fishing be overheard.
Well, no fish caught, but the princess was caught instead.
"Ahem, Your Highness, long time no see," he said, performing a formal bow, then returned to sitting and holding the fishing rod.
"Mm." Mirecia nodded slightly, pausing for a moment before asking, "Didn’t you attend the birthday banquet?"
"Ah, well, I got delayed by some things," he replied. Though he didn’t mean it that way, Mirecia’s question seemed to carry an undertone of grievance. He realized it was just his perception and instinctively answered, but as soon as he realized how dismissive his answer sounded, he felt awkward.
Delayed by something? So, what was he doing here fishing? Was he delayed by the fish?
The young man glanced at Mirecia’s expression and, seeing no change in her face, breathed a sigh of relief.
The silence between them thickened again.
"You’re not very happy, are you?" After a long pause, the young man sighed lightly and spoke again.
"Not really."
"Is that so? But I remember you seemed to really dislike your own birthday banquet." The young man said calmly, watching the surface of the water.
"This birthday banquet is also the Queen’s memorial day. You don’t like celebrating on this day, while those people are grinning and bringing gifts to celebrate..." Realizing he had overstepped, he suddenly stopped.
But it was too late. Mirecia’s slightly surprised gaze had already shifted from the river to him.
"Sorry, forgive my presumptuous guess. If you think I’m talking nonsense, you don’t need to lift a finger. I’ll slap myself first." With that, the young man slapped himself, and it sounded quite loud.
Seeing his comical appearance, Mirecia’s mood unexpectedly lightened, and even she didn’t notice a small smile tugging at her lips.
"I’m not angry at you. These things..."
"How would I know these things?" The young man grinned. "Don’t forget, I’ve known you since we were children. I know a bit about your matters."
"I still remember, every time the birthday banquet was mentioned when we were young, your little eyebrows would furrow like you were trying to crush a walnut. You’d be unhappy the whole day. Back then, I thought you probably didn’t like your birthday banquet."
Hearing this, Mirecia’s sapphire eyes flickered.
‘Virtue +70’
‘Current Virtue: 134’