“Did you come here for a walk as well? You hardly look like the type to visit a place like this.”
“I come often. Spending all my time cooped up in camp tends to make me feel stifled.”
I shouldn’t have asked. Idiot. The lake wasn't reserved for me, yet having my solitary time disturbed must have made my mouth slip. Immediately adopting an apologetic look, I lifted the hem of my dress and bowed.
“Pardon my rudeness.”
When I raised my head again, he was wearing the same strange, unreadable expression as before. In an instant, silence settled between us.
As the bizarre quiet dragged on, I writhed inwardly from the awkwardness. What is this? What is with this silence? Seriously, what is going on? It felt like a couple who had just fought and run out of things to say while trying to make up! Ah, I hate silence. Say something. Someone, please, just say something.
No matter what war raged inside my chest, I kept my face utterly serene, desperately trying to break the quiet. That’s right: I loathed silence to my core. By nature, I was a chatterbox. The reason I had majored in law and political science at the Academy—and the reason I had entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—was purely because both let me speak my mind with utter clarity.
Granted, I didn’t care for mindless babble, but silence was far worse. Racking my brain to escape this awkward situation, a topic sprang to mind, and I opened my mouth at once. But in that exact second—or perhaps a fraction of a second faster—Duke Prodiad spoke.
“Once you arrive at Sorel Castle…”
…What is this? This is even more awkward.
I choked back tears. Life truly never goes the way one wants. If I’d known it would come to this, I would have just gone to sleep. What is wrong with me? Erasing every trace of awkwardness as best I could, I offered a bright smile and spoke again.
“Please, go ahead.”
“No, Lady Dirnant, please speak first.”
“Ah, yes. Then I shall go first.”
Thank goodness I cut off the endless loop of ‘After you,’ ‘No, after you,’ ‘You first,’ ‘No, you.’ Now I had two topics to talk about.
“I heard the negotiations have been set for three days from now, and that the prince of Sierra will be attending. Have you ever seen him?”
“I have seen him, but he left no impression.”
“Ah, then what about the others?”
“Grand Duke Closer, who will sit in the first seat, is a cunning man. What meets the eye is not the whole truth. Count Roller in the second seat is relatively blunt, but he will not be an easy opponent either.”
“They act awfully bold for the side that lost the war.”
Having blurted out my honest thoughts without thinking, I was immediately seized by the urge to sew my mouth shut. Keep that to your thoughts, you reckless mouth!
Yet despite my borderline vulgar remark, Duke Prodiad merely looked at me without any notable reaction. I offered silent thanks for his indifference. He truly was an uncomfortable man in so many ways. In an official negotiation, there was at least an objective to chase, but making casual small talk with someone unfamiliar was far too difficult an ordeal for me.
I cast my gaze back toward the lake.
“Once you reach Sorel Castle, I will be the one escorting you.”
“Oh, yes—pardon?”
I nodded unthinkingly, only to snap back with a question. Why? Wasn’t the 4th Knight Order supposed to handle that? Why would someone of the Commander-in-Chief's stature do it?
“It is an order from His Majesty the King. To ensure Lady Dirnant is thoroughly protected.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you.”
Thank you, Uncle. I appreciate it. I pledge my undying loyalty to the royal family.
“Shall we head back? The wind is growing rather chilly.”
“Yes. I will escort you.”
“Thank you.”
He spoke flatly, without a shred of emotion on his face. My assessment of him had been that he lacked passion, but that didn’t make him a bad person. It was an obvious truth, and perhaps he was simply well-practiced at keeping his passions hidden.
Exchanging a mere handful of words was hardly enough to suddenly foster fond feelings, but feeling somewhat more at ease than I had at our first meeting, I followed him.
Sorel Castle was closer than I had expected. Thanks to that, contrary to my prediction that we would spend all day in a carriage, our party managed to arrive at Sorel Castle in just half a day.
When the door opened, Duke Prodiad held out a hand to escort me. With a strange flutter in my chest, I took his hand. Standing in the distance, the lord of Sorel Castle greeted me with a tense expression.
For a provincial noble, meeting someone with such close blood ties to the royal family must have been quite intimidating. Looking at his sleek, neatly combed hair,
“Pardon the intrusion. I will be relying on your assistance during the negotiations.”
“Not at all, not at all!”
Shaking his head with an exaggerated expression, the lord bowed so low his head practically touched the floor as he guided me inside. I worried his forehead might actually plant itself into the flagstones, but the steady pull of Duke Prodiad’s hand drew me forward into the castle interior.
“This way to the negotiation chamber.”
Sorel Castle was steeped in history. Back during my academy days, I had taken a course called ‘History and Architecture’ just for fun, and among the countless castles covered in that lecture, Sorel Castle had been included. The interior of this supposedly beautiful castle, however, was a little more dilapidated than I had pictured. I felt an inward pang of disappointment when the various artifacts mentioned in the textbooks were nowhere to be found, but the sheer scale of Sorel Castle’s negotiation chamber offered a bit of comfort.
“I heard there was a bronze candelabra here, but I don’t see it?”
At my muttered remark, the lord started in surprise and waved his hands frantically.
“Goodness, that was ages ago! It’s no longer here.”
“Ah, is that so?”
If I ever went back to the Academy, I would have to be sure to inform Professor Smith. Whether voluntarily or not, the relics of Sorel Castle had completely vanished. Selling something like that would fetch an astronomical sum. I gave the lord a briefly suspicious sidelong glance. Completely unaware that my hopes of seeing ancient artifacts had been shattered, Duke Prodiad spoke up.
“The negotiations are in two days. I instructed the lord to clear out the office right next to the negotiation chamber, so it would be best to prepare there.”
“Ah, yes, yes, the office has been prepared!”
“The first round of negotiations isn't that complicated anyway. We just have to state our demands. But where are the rooms for me and my colleagues—”
“On the third—”
Cutting off Duke Prodiad just as he was about to answer me, the lord interjected hastily.
“W-Well, the castle is quite aged, so the third floor felt unfit to host Lady Dirnant… I arranged the guest rooms on the second floor instead.”
“I believe I instructed you to clear the third-floor rooms?”
“Yes, yes, but, well… the room Your Grace specified was rather shabby—”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all.”
Under the frowning gaze Duke Prodiad cast down at him, the lord bowed so low his head seemed ready to drill into the floor again as he apologized. Watching him grovel before a figure of power wasn’t particularly pleasant to look at, so I smiled at the lord. I didn’t especially need a large room anyway.
“As long as there’s a bed, that’s plenty. Honestly, as long as I have a place to lie down, I wouldn't mind sleeping out on the street.”
I said this remembering the brutal hardships of touring ancient ruins with my professor during my academy days. At my words, Duke Prodiad wore a strange look, then closed his mouth.
The lord scurried ahead to guide us. Once rooms were assigned one by one to me and the colleagues behind me, I entered my room with a beaming smile.
“This is much nicer than I expected.”
“If it is uncomfortable, I shall have your room changed immediately.”
“I’m sure countless knights, including Your Grace, will be staying in Sorel Castle. Compared to that, this is practically luxury. It doesn’t bother me at all.”
The room really was better than I’d anticipated. Naturally, it was laughably shabby compared to the Dirnant ducal estate or my townhouse in the capital, but considering this was a castle in Sorel that had been thoroughly battered by war, it was undeniably fine. The large bed had a canopy draped over it, and the wardrobe beside it looked quite antique, which I rather liked.
“There’s a wardrobe, a wide bed, large windows—it’s wonderful.”
“I-I’m so glad it is to your liking.”
Looking at the lord, who was beaming with a flushed face, I smiled elegantly. Standing by the door, Duke Prodiad looked at the lord before turning away. Returning his gaze with a light smile, I threw open the window.
“Um, what about a maidservant…?”
“No need. I can handle meals, bathing, and changing my clothes all on my own. Ah! But I have a habit of taking late-night walks. Would it be all right if I wandered around the castle?”
“Yes, of course, absolutely.”
Meeting the cool breeze, I gave a pleased reply, and the lord nodded. Just then, Celine, who had been assigned the room right next door, stepped into mine.
“Lady Scarlett, Pello asked to hold a meeting.”
“All right, I’ll be right there. Don’t forget to bring the list we prepared.”
Celine nodded at my words and quickly turned back. I shut the window and saw the lord watching me, but I stepped past him, offered a smile to Duke Prodiad, and made my way toward the negotiation chamber.
