IDGM 14

Chapter 14

Meanwhile, the dozen or so subordinates who had rushed to the imperial palace just to catch a glimpse of the imperial princess wore grim expressions as they mounted their horses.

Their minds were tangled, albeit for different reasons than their lord’s.

From the moment they stepped into the audience chamber, they had been boiling with fury.

‘How dare they insult our lord?’

However, the moment they saw Chloe up close, the subordinates faltered.

What was this delicate, adorable being that looked like a snow-white cat?

Her silver hair, tinged with blue, resembled the snow they’d seen at dawn.

It was the mysterious hue snow takes on just as the sun begins to rise over a freshly fallen winter field.

Even though she shared the same hair color as the emperor, Chloe’s appearance somehow gave off a dreamy, untouched aura that seemed separate from the corruption of the world.

It was truly strange.

‘I heard the royals of Arental are steeped in luxury and debauchery.’

So why did the imperial princess not give off that impression at all?

The emperor, the empress, even the crown prince—all had greed etched into their faces.

But Chloe? There wasn’t even a trace of that.

‘Is she just good at hiding her true nature?’

That could be the case.

Most Arental nobles the subordinates had encountered were people who skillfully masked their sinister thoughts and delighted in insulting others with snake-like tongues.

‘Let’s not be fooled by appearances.’

They widened their eyes and stayed alert.

But every time Chloe blinked those big, glassy eyes with her innocent face, their guard softened again.

‘Is it a spell?’

They’d thought only the empress could use magic, but perhaps the imperial princess had also enchanted them to lower their defenses.

Otherwise, no human could appear so cute and beautiful.

‘Is it true that our lord fell for her at first sight…?’

Callias liked cute things.

He had already rescued and nursed several dying snow cats in the snowy wilderness. He had a weakness for small, adorable animals.

In fact, most people of Ronhaim were the same.

No matter how hungry they were, they would never hunt small animals like snow rabbits or snow cats, especially the ones with soft white fur.

Though there were historical and environmental reasons tied to Ronhaim’s unique ecosystem, the main point was that they had a tradition of protecting small and weak life.

Because of that, the subordinates, whose hearts had begun to melt, turned icy again at the scornful whispers of the Arental nobles.

Words like “savages,” “slash-and-burn farmers,” and “bandits” could be heard everywhere.

‘Disgusting Arental scum.’

‘The princess can’t be any different. A wolf in rabbit’s clothing.’

Suddenly, Chloe no longer looked so lovely.

Come to think of it, from the moment they entered, the imperial princess hadn’t even looked them in the eye properly, casting only irritated glances.

Their emotions, already frayed by the insults of the nobles, now took even Chloe’s smallest actions as offensive.

‘Does she find us that repulsive?’

Their frustration peaked when Chloe answered Kabbalah’s question about whether she agreed to the engagement.

“Yes, I agree.”

It was a tiny, barely audible voice.

The half-hearted reply, as if forced out, enraged them further.

‘You think we’re thrilled about this either?’

They wanted to shout it out loud.

But seeing Callias silently endure the humiliation, they managed to swallow their anger.

If even they were this offended, how must Callias feel, being the one forced into this marriage?

Yet he endured it all for Ronhaim’s sake.

At least, that’s how it looked to them.

So when they saw Callias kneel before Chloe, their hearts ached.

‘Why must you bow so low to the imperial princess, my lord!’

They cried out silently.

Because of that, they didn’t notice the frail, root-thin hand that Chloe had placed atop Callias’s.

Had they calmed down even a little, they might have noticed her bony arm showing under the lifted sleeve, and realized, as Callias had, that Chloe might also be suffering.

But their prejudice against Arental was too strong to allow for such insight.

They glared disapprovingly at Chloe, who had suddenly flinched and pushed Callias’s hand away like she’d had a seizure.

All the way until the engagement ended and they left the audience chamber.

Now, they followed behind Callias with cold, hardened expressions, mounting their horses one by one.

Was there no way to stop this absurd marriage?

Just as they began to set off with such thoughts—

“Um…!”

A tiny voice, barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz, rang out from somewhere.

Callias and Brentian had already gone ahead, and Alex, who was at the rear, had just begun to ride off when he noticed the small voice.

An unwelcome face stood below his horse.

It was Chloe.

“The imperial princess? …Your Highness.”

Alex hadn’t expected to run into her again and had blurted out without an honorific, hastily correcting himself.

He frowned slightly, cursing himself for his careless mistake.

‘Is she going to make a scene?’

He’d had too many run-ins with Arental people over petty things to expect any leniency now.

Of all times, why did it have to be him—who was worst at dealing with people—to face Chloe when Callias and Brentian were gone?

Restlessly, Alex darted his eyes around.

But Chloe didn’t seem offended at all.

Her face was a little flushed, perhaps from running, and as she caught her breath, she suddenly held something out to him.

“…?”

Alex blinked at the small, white fist that looked like it belonged to a child.

‘Is she expecting me to slam my forehead into it as punishment?’

Thankfully, before he could do anything foolish, Chloe spoke.

“You dropped this.”

“Pardon? What was that?”

He’d heard her but couldn’t immediately grasp the situation.

Thinking he hadn’t heard her, Chloe repeated herself, more clearly this time.

“This. I saw you drop it in the corridor a little while ago.”

Only then did Alex see the bracelet of multicolored thread in her hand.

Frayed and dirty, it was unmistakably his.

“Ah…!”

He hurriedly dismounted and received it from her with both hands.

He felt stunned.

“You came all this way just to return this to me…?”

To his surprise, Chloe smiled.

A bright, radiant smile.

“It’s something precious, isn’t it? My friend has something similar, so I knew.”

Alex’s mouth fell open.

First, he was struck by how beautiful her smile was.

Then, shocked again when he realized it wasn’t mocking or insincere—but warm and genuine.

Even more so when he realized she seemed to know what the bracelet meant.

“Th-Thank you! Truly, thank you!”

“Don’t mention it.”

Chloe looked proud to have returned it to its owner.

Her smile truly made his heart skip a beat.

Moments later, a group of maids came rushing in, flustered, and whisked her away before Alex could properly say goodbye.

As he remounted and spurred his horse forward, he tilted his head in confusion.

‘Friend? Does she have a friend from Ronhaim…?’

The bracelet he had dropped was called a Platus.

In Ronhaim, Platus meant “a prayer for someone precious.”

It was a cultural tradition to weave bracelets from colorful threads, embedding prayers for the happiness, safety, and luck of loved ones.

It began as a superstition: if one left home wearing the bracelet and returned safely with it intact, they would be safe again next time.

Alex’s Platus was a gift from his mother.

‘No way… the imperial princess of Arental has a Ronhaim friend? Still… how does she know our culture?’

And she even went out of her way to return it personally.

Her radiant smile lingered in his mind.

‘Why could she speak so clearly now, yet mumbled so much in the audience chamber? Why didn’t she smile at our lord even once, if she’s capable of smiling like that?’

Had something suddenly changed?

‘Ugh, I don’t get it.’

Alex scratched his head.

‘Is this some sort of hidden scheme?’

He worried that Chloe might bring up this incident later and twist it.

‘Still… I owe her.’

Even as he reminded himself not to let down his guard, a small hope bloomed in a corner of his heart.

Maybe… maybe Chloe was actually a good person.

Alex stared down at the Platus bracelet in his palm, a complicated expression on his face.