The next day, once again in the corridors of the Royal Palace.
A single figure walked along, light footsteps trailing behind her.
"...I have to admit, I'm nervous."
It was Katia.
Due to various circumstances, she too had arrived a day late and was on her way to meet the third princess—the candidate put forward by the Trachia family.
She had heard the general rumors from her father, Yurugen.
The transparent royal. A princess with a... questionable reputation. Everything she'd heard was far from flattering—but still, if her father had decided to back her, there had to be a reason.
"Well, Ermes already met her yesterday. ...I wonder if they hit it off."
That was her foremost worry at the moment.
After all, royals occupied the very apex of this nation's structure—one built on the supremacy of Bloodline Magic. Ermes had butted heads so badly with Aster, who was in many ways the very picture of royalty, so there was every chance he could end up in a dispute with the princess, who was royalty herself.
If it came to that, she would have to mediate personally.
Clinging to that resolve, Katia took one deep breath before the princess's chambers, then swung open the grand door—
"
Master!
I've finished every single one of the rune language problems you gave me!"
"Oh, already? Let me take a quick look."
"Here you go! ...Well? How is it? How is it?"
"—I'm surprised. Almost all correct. What remarkable comprehension."
"—Hee hee, naturally! ...You can praise me some more, you know?"
"Oh my. From the moment we met, I thought your magical abilities were remarkable, but your ability to grasp structure is also exceptionally excellent. I was rather proud of my own skill in this area, but to match my speed upon first sight... It's enough to shake one's confidence a little."
"Oh—! To be told that so directly... it's embarrassing! But please don't worry, I'm not that conceited. For me, my master is the most wonderful mage in the world!"
"............"
...Yeah. I'm fine. I'm calm.
I feel like something similar happened back at the academy, so I'll draw on that experience and not lose my composure.
Even if the girl who seems to be the princess in question looks like someone Katia knows—an impossibly cute girl—and even if she's receiving instruction practically shoulder-to-shoulder with Ermes, and even if the girl is clearly delighted by that proximity and Ermes isn't rebuffing it at all, and even if I desperately want to retort with something like "How could you become so close in just one day, no, you're way too close"—I am calm.
So she took a breath and asked in her usual tone.
"...El?"
Ermes stiffened her shoulders and turned toward me with a hesitant look.
Hm? What's wrong? She reacted as if she'd heard something terrifying. I'm speaking in an extremely normal voice, my expression isn't passionate at all—in fact, I'm wearing a gentle smile—as I softly pose the question.
It's fine. I'm calm.
And Ermes, her voice still placid.
Said, entirely calm, with just a hint, just the tiniest hint, of added emphasis:
"—First of all, could I... hear your side of the story?"
◆
And so, the whole story of what happened yesterday was recounted from Ermes' mouth.
"...I see."
Katia managed, somehow, to squeeze that much out of her voice.
It was a story that far exceeded expectations in many ways.
—And yet, it was a story she found utterly, completely convincing.
More like, what even is that? A spitting image of Rose shrunk down to a smaller size, with a personality that shares some of the same qualities, a genius at magic, and to top it all off, the exact same Incompatibility as Ermes?
Just how many elements designed to sting Ermes has this princess packed into herself?
On top of that, the fact that such a dramatic event happened yesterday — of course she'd cling to him. Even if it was just a single day, it was perfectly understandable to place trust in someone at the level she'd witnessed today.
From Ermes's side as well, he would accept it. With that many factors in play, there was no way his judgment of those close to him — the man who was so careful to keep his attitudes divided — wouldn't pass in an instant.
With that understood, Katia thought.
...How unfair.
No, seriously, what even is that?
A girl who had studied under Ermes, who was the absolute ideal candidate to stand at his side — even she couldn't help but think so herself. And the fact that such a girl was currently sitting right there, pressed tightly against him... a faint sense of unease welled up within her.
On top of that, the girl in question hadn't moved away from Ermes either — no, she was practically clinging to his arm at this point, and was directing a wary gaze toward Katia.
...If you're going to come at me like that, then— With that thought stirring inside her, Katia opened her mouth to speak — but before she could, the other girl cut in first.
"So... Master. Who on earth is this beautiful woman? From the looks of it, you two seem remarkably close..."
Narrowing her lovely eyes to half-slits, she turned the question to Ermes. He tilted his head with a soft "Oh?" and answered straightforwardly.
"Hm? This is Lady Katia. She's the daughter of Duke Traukia, and beyond that — she's been my childhood friend for a long time. She's currently serving as this person's attendant."
The moment those words registered, the princess's eyes flew wide open.
Now that she thought about it, it was only natural — her thinking had fixated on the idea that this was a woman who had suddenly appeared and was on intimate terms with her master, and she hadn't caught on.
And at the same time... the perceptive girl pieced together various things from what she'd been told.
"Katia... Ane-ue Aster's, former fiancée..."
"!"
"Now that you mention it... I believe I've seen her before."
After murmuring those words, she lowered her gaze and continued.
"You must have been the one who suffered the most because of my brother Aster. And if you were childhood friends... could it be that when Master was expelled by my brother, you were torn apart from each other?"
"Th-That's—"
"...I'm right, aren't I."
Confirming her deduction from Katia's reaction, the princess lowered her voice.
"That's... it's only natural that you'd be wary of me. The sister of the one who separated you from Master — and now she's trying to take Master away from you? You'd have every reason to think that...!"
"No, it's not that far—"
She was about to say "I don't think that," but... it wouldn't be honest to claim those thoughts had never crossed her mind. As Katia fell silent, the princess raised her face.
"There's no excuse for what my brother did. I know that an apology wouldn't be enough to earn your forgiveness. But... but...!"
Her voice trembling, tears welling up in her young eyes, she clung hesitantly to Ermes.
"Master! There's nothing more I could ever wish for — I finally found—
Master—
...! I don't want to be apart, so please...!"
"..."
...Hearing that string of confessions, Katia understood.
This princess was remarkably intelligent — and, more than that, genuinely kind.
"...Lady Katia."
"I know, El."
She had all sorts of thoughts swirling in her mind.
Yet, someone who was royalty — however distant — bowing with such sincerity to a mere noblewoman, even one who happened to be a duke's daughter. And such a young child at that.
Katia was not so dense as to fail to understand the weight of that gesture.
With that, Katia rose from her seat and approached her, crouching down before the princess, whose shoulders were trembling—
—and gently placed a hand on her head.
"...Forgive the insolence, Your Highness."
"Ah—"
"Please, have no fear. I hold no ill will toward Your Highness. Naturally, I have no intention of tearing you away from Elle, either. ...Elle is my trusted retainer, after all. It's only natural that Your Highness holds her in such high regard. Besides, the incident with Aster was hardly Your Highness's fault."
Meeting the green eyes that gazed back at her even through her fear, Katia returned the look with her own amethyst pupils.
"And I would like to be Your Highness's ally as well. ...I'm certain of it now. —Would you allow me to serve you, Princess Liliana?"
For the first time, she called the princess by name and posed the question.
The princess—Liliana—stood stunned for a moment, then lowered her gaze as color rose to her cheeks.
"...Please, call me Lily."
She murmured softly, a word of affirmation.
"I want... so many people who will call me that."
"Understood. Lady Lily."
With a light smile, Katia rose to her feet.
At the very least, they now understood each other a bit better. Surely Katia would be able to support this princess.
...But, well.
"That said—"
Dropping the gentleness from her tone, Katia fixed Ermes and Liliana with a hard stare.
"Clinging to each other like that is quite unnecessary. Would you mind separating, first?"
"Wha—! S-See, I knew you didn't want to lose her!"
"No, this is simply a matter of proper judgment. ...Actually, I'm still worried about leaving El's education entirely to him."
"Huh?"
Next to voice confusion was Ermes, who had been watching their exchange until now.
"Um... Lady Katia, is there something inadequate about my instruction? If you could point it out, I'll improve..."
"No, I have no doubts about your skill when it comes to teaching magic. I received some of that instruction myself, after all. ...But still."
At Ermes's question, Katia held up a finger sharply.
"Everything else, though... Let me just ask you directly. El — can you actually discipline this girl properly, head-on?"
"............Well, uh..."
"Would you mind not looking away?"
Well, it was probably impossible. She could tell from his reaction, and she had more or less expected as much.
No, when push came to shove he would probably manage it, but in the small, everyday moments his tendency to be "extremely lenient with those close to him" would likely show through. And given that the other party was such a tiny girl, his psychological resistance would be immense.
"I'm not blaming you. Your Highness probably needs that sort of thing too, after all. So—"
With that established, Katia smiled and turned her gaze to Liliana.
"For matters of discipline outside of magic, I'll handle those properly myself. That's alright, isn't it, Lady Lilii?"
"That is NOT alright!!"
With tears of a different kind than before, Liliana clung to Ermes.
"The only one who has the right to teach me is my master! Why are you just deciding things on your own! Besides, I can sense a certain personal grudge from you!"
"............That is absolutely not the case. Right, El?"
"Please help me, Master!"
"............Lady Lilii. I am not omnipotent."
"Master!?"
──The duke and the maid had been watching the three of them from outside.
With a thoroughly amused smile, Leila opened her mouth and said:
"...Master. There's something I've been thinking about."
"I really think you shouldn't say it."
"From out here, this is completely a family affair... a mother and father talking about their daughter. Like a doting father and a no-nonsense mother."
"That's exactly why I said you shouldn't say it... especially if Katiya heard, things would probably get out of hand."
Yurugen reprimanded the increasingly eager maid while returning a wry smile of his own. ──Because he completely agreed with what she was saying.
In any case, the introductions should be done by now.
There were still lingering matters, but given their personalities, things wouldn't get as heated as they had this time.
The two had come to know their princess. The foundation for her growth was now in place. And so—
"──Now then, let's talk about what comes next. Shall we discuss the succession war?"
Timing the moment when the conversation between the Boss and the princess came to an end,
Yurugen made that proclamation with composure.
I'm sorry, as usual the Katiya chapters dragged on a bit longer than planned, so starting next time we'll dive into the succession war talk...!