ACMAR 11

Chapter: 11

“There’s no need to be surprised, my lady. If you employ someone, you ought to pay them properly.”

Henrik, who had been watching me with my eyes wide open, wore a faint smile. In his characteristically low and calm voice, he explained,

“Since you kept your promise, I’ll make one as well. As long as you don’t betray me first, I won’t have any reason to interrogate you.”

The ring was so beautifully polished that it gleamed like the black marble decorating this princely palace. It even seemed like some special historical artifact passed down through the royal family.

“Ah, Your Highness. To think you would make such a precious promise to me.”

I closed my open mouth and composed my expression, determined not to let my bewilderment show any longer.

This was exactly what an ideal exchange should look like. If I thought about it positively, all I had to do was gratefully accept it.

“It’s a ring containing the magic of Buendia. It belongs to you now.”

Buendia was the name of the legendary Black Dragon, the being who had founded this very country.

As I looked down at the black ring, I suddenly became curious about the magic that dragon was said to have used. Could it possess a different kind of power from the one my mother had passed down to me?

“As His Highness the Prince said, it is as he described. Although it is not quite as powerful as the Sacred Covenant known throughout the world, it should serve well enough as a guarantee of his promise. Please put your mind at ease, Your Highness.”

“Was that really necessary to say, Sir?”

Rather than scolding the knight who had added the extra explanation, Henrik merely gave a small chuckle and maintained his relaxed demeanor.

Watching the two of them, who seemed quite friendly with each other, I blinked several times. It wasn’t because the morning sunlight was dazzling.

As for the Sacred Covenant, I had heard about it once in passing from my mother. It was supposedly a form of magic in which two people swore a promise before the Great God that they would keep forever.

I even seemed to remember hearing that if someone broke that covenant, they would receive a terrible punishment that could never be avoided.

“Your Highness. I will gratefully accept it.”

Although I supposedly possessed magic, in reality I had nothing of value. This would be an excellent guarantee for me.

Perhaps not only the maids who were watching me here, but also the people I would meet at the banquet celebrating my marriage to Henrik, would no longer openly look down on me.

After expressing my gratitude to Henrik, I decided that I should also act more proactively.

I was just considering the various ways I could perform my role when—

“My lady. I hear the wedding will be prepared soon. My family will also attend the commemorative banquet, so I imagine it will be quite grand.”

The occasion Henrik had told me about meant more to me than simply a wedding. It was practically the stage where I would be publicly introduced to everyone here for the first time.

How I took my first step was extremely important.

I had only one goal: to safely put Henrik on the throne so that I could make use of him.

I nodded and answered,

“Yes, Your Highness. I will make every preparation as well.”

Henrik’s family consisted of the king, a prince competing for the succession, and a younger sister. There was no way any of them would show me genuine goodwill. After all, the label attached to me was hardly an ordinary one.

Still, it didn’t matter.

I steeled myself, determined to gather as much information as possible at the banquet that might be useful to me.

“Your Highness, why don’t you wear this accessory today? Since it is the wedding commemorative banquet, I think it would be best to dress as splendidly as possible.”

“I think this flower will also suit Your Highness’s hair color very well.”

“I’ll go with that.”

I placed a rose-shaped ornament in my hair, draped a large, pristine piece of lace across my chest, put on a dress with a wide skirt, and fastened a golden belt around my waist.

“Gold is something only those of noble status are privileged to enjoy.”

In the Kingdom of Francia, I had never decorated myself with a belt like this, so when I looked at it curiously, the head maid gently explained it to me.

Whatever thoughts the maids assigned to me might have harbored inside, they consistently maintained such polite attitudes toward me, which made things quite comfortable.

“Your Highness, the Prince will be waiting. It is time to go.”

Once I had been dressed entirely according to the customs of the Kingdom of Buendovska, I followed the path the maid showed me and arrived in front of the banquet hall.

Just as the maid had said, Henrik was standing before the massive and ornate doors of the banquet hall.

“My lady, you’ve prepared yourself well.”

I didn’t take his words as a simple compliment.

I felt a little awkward seeing myself dressed according to Buendovska customs, and more than anything, this place felt like a battlefield to me.

It would probably be the same for Henrik.

At first glance, he looked like a husband warmly admiring his beautifully dressed bride, but there was still a cold edge to his voice.

“His Highness Prince Henrik, the Second Prince, and Her Highness the Princess Consort will now enter.”

When the servant standing before the doors announced our arrival loudly to those inside, the sound of trumpets rang out.

It was a banquet that was magnificent and extravagant from the very moment we entered.

As soon as I stepped into the banquet hall, the first things to greet me were the overwhelming scents of flowers and fragrant oils, followed by a chandelier so dazzling it seemed capable of blinding me.

Countless fragments of light streamed down from the ceiling.

Wow…

I suppressed the exclamation that almost escaped my lips.

The banquets in Francia were certainly extravagant as well, but in truth, I had never attended many of them myself.

This country was definitely quite wealthy.

At the same time, I realized that this was also a symbol of the authority Henrik possessed here.

Even so, I was still a powerless outsider in this place.

“I should greet His Majesty first, shouldn’t I?”

When I asked quietly, Henrik tilted his head slightly toward me.

Before he could even part his lips—

“Brother. You came early?”

A woman approached with a light, lively step and spoke to him first.

Her eyes were a slightly lighter shade of purple than Henrik’s, and she smiled brightly.

“It’s our banquet, after all. Of course I came, Barsha.”

Judging by their similar eye colors and their refined air, she was clearly Henrik’s younger sister.

“Oh, but you’re always saying you’re busy.”

Princess Barsha was truly unusual.

Her appearance, with her black hair tinged almost gray and elegantly flowing down her back, was surrounded by sparkling jewels and ornaments.

But that wasn’t all.

She was holding a fluffy gray cat that looked like a ball of cotton.

She brought a cat to a banquet?

Once again, I could only marvel inwardly.

Even more surprising was the cat’s eyes. They were an incredibly mysterious shade of purple, making it look remarkably well-matched with Princess Barsha.

After greeting Henrik, Barsha finally turned her attention toward me.

“Your Highness? Hello. I’m Princess Barsha.”

Her polite manner of speaking was somewhat unexpected.

For one thing, Barsha seemed close to Henrik. And she had brought a pet to a banquet despite not even being the guest of honor.

She was clearly not an ordinary person.

I greeted her as politely as possible.

“Please feel free to speak comfortably with me, Princess. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Atillenta, and I have come from Francia.”

“Hehe. You are my brother’s wife, after all. Thank you for being considerate. I’ll try. Now, please say hello to my cat, too. Her name is Marie.”

After returning her greeting, I took another curious look at the cat.

It had a ribbon around its neck in exactly the same color as the jewels decorating Barsha’s dress. At a glance, it appeared to be made of luxurious silk.

Did cats normally wear ribbons?

I had never seen anything like this in my life, but rather than showing my surprise, I chose to greet the cat quite kindly.

“Hello, Marie. I hope we get along.”

Barsha smiled brightly without hesitation.

“She’s such a cute and elegant cat, Your Highness.”

“She likes compliments like that. Don’t you, Marie?”

Still smiling with satisfaction, Barsha led us toward the enormous dining table.

Somehow, it seemed like I had taken my first step quite successfully.

I secretly let out a sigh of relief.