In any case, I was determined to get my revenge on the lot of them for misfiring and soaking me. I got Shinki to help me, and together we dumped an entire bucket’s worth of water on Euche and each of the lindblooms.
Well, technically, the elemental spirits produced the water at Shinki’s request…
We may have overdone it a bit, though, because before I knew it, the grassy clearing was flooded. It felt interesting to walk across the boggy grass, but once the lindblooms started rolling around in it, the lawn was ruined.
This isn’t good. I won’t be able to avoid a thorough scolding for this…
“The earth spirits say they can fix this easily,” Shinki said, relaying a message from the earth spirits nearby.
Thank you, earth spirits!
I eagerly took the earth spirits up on their offer and had them fix the ruined grass.
Just as they’d finished removing the last traces of our exuberant and slightly destructive playtime, Spica came to get me, saying it was time to change for dinner.
There was still one more thing I wanted to do, so I begged Sol not to leave yet.
“That’s fine with me; if the water holy beast doesn’t have a problem with it…”
It took a bit of convincing on my part, but I persuaded Euche to agree to allow Sol to stay.
Euche leapt into a lingering puddle, using the water to transport himself back to the emperor’s side. Meanwhile, I rode back to my room on Lars’s back.
“Welcome back. I see I made the right decision in having Spica go get you early,” Paul said with more than a hint of sarcasm, but I was grateful for his accurate foresight.
He knows me so well. After playing with those guys, there’s no way I’d make it back clean!
“It can’t be helped, Paul. That’s just how Neema is,” Karna said in my defense.
Karna knew just as well as Paul how much of a tomboy I could be, but she was saying that if it made me happy, that was what mattered. I was so moved that I wanted to hug her, but I resisted the urge so I wouldn’t get mud all over her.
Instead, I settled for squealing, “I love you, Karna!”
A short while later, Karna and I were dressed in differently colored evening gowns, awaiting our escort, when Louis and Theo arrived at our suite of rooms.
I was a bit surprised since I’d figured we’d be partnered with Will, but it turned out Will had been assigned to escort Princess Eliza.
Even if this was an informal visit, Will was still the guest of honor. Fortunately, however, this “formal dinner” turned out to be a small, intimate gathering of just family.
Now that you mention it, I guess Will is technically the emperor’s nephew, isn’t he?
When we arrived in the grand dining room, the retired emperor, retired empress, emperor, and empress were already seated.
After paying our respects, we were given permission to sit, so I let Theo escort me to my assigned seat.
A moment later, Clay arrived, bringing the playboy and Daux with him, and they were followed shortly after by Eliza and Will. They all took turns politely greeting the retired and current emperors and empresses.
Looking at them side by side, I could see that Will had the blood of the imperial family in his veins. In particular, he looked quite a bit like the retired emperor.
When they caught sight of him, both Sache and Kaideetay seemed to perk up with interest.
“It’s been a long time, Sache and Kaideetay.”
Sache and Kaideetay returned Will’s greeting with a neigh and a growl, respectively, before returning to their original positions.
Perhaps the two saw Will as someone of importance. If I had to guess, I’d say it probably had more to do with being the descendant, or rather grandson, of their bonded masters than the fact that he was bonded with Lars.
Come to think of it, Will has an impressive lineage, doesn’t he?
Not only does he have the blood of the royal family of the Kingdom of Gaché, but he also has the blood of the imperial family of the Linus Empire. That makes him a real thoroughbred! People probably have very high expectations for him, that he’ll become a truly amazing king one day.
At that moment, I felt a touch of pride and respect for how hard I knew Will was always working, refusing to cave under the weight of all that pressure he must be feeling.
Normally, he’s a black-hearted, wily demon prince, though. Was that the entire title, or did I forget an adjective somewhere?
“Neema, you’re thinking something horrible right now, aren’t you?”
Gasp! How did he know?!
“It’s written all over your face.”
Crap! I let my guard down at the worst possible moment!
“Let her be, Will. She’s much cuter this way than if she became a smooth-talker like you,” the retired empress said, casually cutting Will down as she came to my defense.
“If Neema doesn’t learn this lesson now, while she’ll still be forgiven for it due to her young age, it will only cause her more difficulties in the future.”
Ouch! Direct shot to the heart! He’s got a point, though; I’m terrible at concealing my emotions and wearing a fake smile, even though it’s an essential skill for a duke’s daughter.
“It’s just family here today, so it’s fine to be a bit less formal, don’t you think?” the emperor said, trying valiantly to defend me, but Will wasn’t backing down.
“Since when are Neema and Karna considered ‘family’?”
“Hm? Well, we’re hoping one or both of them will marry into the Linus Empire in the future, so why not start treating them as family now?”
Huh? I don’t know about Karna, but I don’t have any plans to “marry into the family!”
“Ho, ho, ho, so you’re planning to steal the Osphe family’s greatest treasure? Are you prepared to make an enemy of the Osphe family?”
That sounds dangerously close to a threat…
Is our family really strong enough to be considered a threat to a country as large and powerful as the Linus Empire? If so, Papa is scarier than I thought!
“Your Majesty, if you fail to consider these sweet young ladies’ thoughts on the matter, they’re going to come to hate you, you know,” the retired empress scolded gently, and the emperor replied with a light chuckle that he certainly couldn’t have that.
He must’ve just been joking about the whole marriage thing…
After that, the conversation flowed easily, with the adults discussing politics and Karna and Eliza gossiping about the latest fads at the Hall of Advanced Studies.
As they say, time flies when you’re having fun, and before I knew it, we were finished with our after-dinner tea and dispersing for the night.
🐎🐅🐎