When he arrived at the gazebo, Mikhail smiled once more. “Sorry for the wait. Should we get going?”
The carriages were already waiting for us under the carriage porch—two carriages.
“Ekaterina has never met the former emperor and empress, so there are things we must discuss,” Mikhail said. “I’m sorry, Lydia, but please board the second carriage.”
Lydia nodded with a smile. “Of course, Prince Mikhail.”
There was no other answer one could give the crown prince of the empire.
So, Mikhail escorted me into the first carriage, which belonged to the imperial house, while Lydia boarded the second, a carriage of the House of Selesnoa.
Mikhail and I were the two highest-ranking unmarried youths in the capital. It was unthinkable for the two of us to share such a confined space alone, so his attendant, Lucas, and my maid, Mina, rode with us. Still, we trusted them unconditionally and knew we could speak without reservations.
“Lady Florus and Lord Selesar should have arrived at the detached palace already,” Mikhail said. “I made sure they could practice in one of the theaters of the detached palace, so I assume that’s what they’re doing.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Prince Mikhail. You’ve done so much for us, from start to finish.”
Arriving at the detached palace in a carriage owned by the imperial family made things easier, so Mikhail had sent Olga and Renato in another carriage ahead of time.
I smiled at Mikhail, but deep down, I felt strangely dispirited. I wonder how Lydia’s doing all alone in the other carriage. She must be annoyed.
I’d tricked her into thinking she’d compete against me, so I supposed I was a little guilty. My status was higher than hers, and I was using that and my connections to Alexei and Mikhail to achieve an easy victory over her. I couldn’t lose, so I should have been calm and composed, but I couldn’t shake off the shame. If Lydia had ridden the same carriage as us, making sure she didn’t figure out the truth would have been a pain, so this was for the best. But tricking people or leaving them out didn’t feel good.
I’m such a pushover.
If Lydia had been in my shoes, she would have gloated, no doubt. Besides, beyond the conflict between the two of us, the battle we were fighting at the moment was part of a larger war of influence between the Yulnovas and Selesnoas. I had no business getting depressed over leaving her out during a carriage ride.
I’m so out of touch with reality, so soft. What an idiot I am.
I knew all that, but I couldn’t help the unpleasant weight in my chest. Maybe I felt this way because I was almost thirty inside, and she was a high schooler. I couldn’t shake off the sense that I was bullying a child.
“I knew you wouldn’t enjoy this situation.” Mikhail’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“I’m so sorry. You heeded my request...and you’re making your feelings known to her, and yet, I...”
As a member of the imperial family, Mikhail couldn’t directly comment on the internal matters of the marquessate, so this was a roundabout way of making Lydia understand he didn’t appreciate the way she was handling things. Once you spoke up, there was no taking back those words, so disguising statements in this way was extremely common—and important—in politics.
“I’m afraid I’ve yet to grow accustomed to the way social interactions work in the capital. How embarrassing...”
I shouldn’t have been wasting time on my naive thoughts. I had to learn, so that the next time a similar situation arose, I could take care of it myself. It was an important skill for the lady of a prominent house to master. I needed to work at it, not whine.
“That’s fine. I don’t think you need to get used to such things if they aren’t your cup of tea.”
I looked at Mikhail in shock.
“People often get better results honing their strengths instead of forcing themselves to do things they hate. Besides, the House of Yulnova is home to many talents. You can delegate these things to those who’re better suited to handle them.”
“Delegate...” I repeated pensively.
H-He’s right! I was currently an employer, not an employee. I could think of this as a business and leave the job to others! Staring at Mikhail, I processed this realization.
“You have time to figure out how you want to deal with such situations in the future,” he said with a smile. “There are many ways to be a noble. Some trial and error along the way is fine. You and I are still students, so we’re free to keep learning, right?”
Wait. I told you we were still students over the summer! Those were my own words, Prince!
“My.” I started laughing. “You’re quite correct! You’re always so impressive, Prince Mikhail. Such words could only come from someone who has thought long and hard about what it means to stand above others. I respect you immensely.”
As a former corporate drone, my first instinct was always to figure things out and implement them myself. But in my current position, that wasn’t the answer.
Oh boy. A child is teaching me so much. Mikhail was an exceptional sixteen-year-old. I could tell he’d faced the reality of his position as someone who stood above others and had to use them. I had no doubt he’d studied the art of ruling carefully. I really do respect you a lot, Prince.
“Receiving such kind words from you makes me very happy,” he said, looking pleased. “We’re still studying side by side, so I hope we can keep seeking and receiving advice from one another in the future.”
“I’d like that too.”
Alexei was overly protective of me. There might come times when I wouldn’t be able to ask him for advice. Perhaps I could rely on Mikhail.
But...is it really okay for me to be on such friendly terms with the prince?
That scared me, but I’d already failed so hard at staying away from him that I felt like worrying about it now was a tad pointless.
The detached palace was beautiful, and much larger than I’d expected.
There was some distance between the gate and the castle itself. After we passed through the gate, we advanced through a garden so green, luxuriant, and peaceful I felt as though we were in the middle of the forest. Despite how natural the garden looked, it was clearly very well maintained. In between the trees, I could see the old castle rising toward the sky, calm and majestic.
“This place is so refined!” I said.
“This has been the home of retired emperors for generations,” Mikhail told me. “It’s perfect to live out your remaining days quietly.”
Despite the way Mikhail was putting it, I figured the point was less that it was comfortable and more that it was hidden away in a forest, secluded from the center of power. It was the perfect place to ensure retired emperors lived quietly.
“The inside of the palace is a true maze,” he continued. “Retired emperors have all the time in the world to make alterations, and the successive remodels have turned it into a labyrinth. I’ve heard that new servants always lose their way at first.”
Huh, that’s something.
Building a castle to fit one’s preferences was one of the hobbies of the highborn. In my past world, Neuschwanstein Castle had been erected for that very reason, if memory served me right.
“The former emperor loves music, so he’s mostly modified the theaters. The one we’re headed to, the outside theater, has gone through the most changes. My grandfather made it into a copy of the stage of the Music Sanctuary—for his empress’s sake, of course.”
So there were theaters within the walls of the castle... Several theaters? I supposed that allowed them to call theatrical companies and singers to the palace and enjoy their performances in the best conditions. It was like rich people having a home cinema—only we were talking about emperors, so they did things on a whole other level.
Mina and Lucas couldn’t be brought in front of the retired imperial couple, so we asked them to wait in a room until we were done. I didn’t know about Lucas, but it made sense to me that Mina had to be sequestered, since she was a battle maid who could kill someone with her bare hands.
We followed an old maid down a small path in the garden until the outdoor theater came into view.
It bore a close resemblance to the amphitheaters of ancient Greece or ancient Rome, although considering the history of this world, it was most likely the ancient Astran style. It had a bowl-shaped seating area, with a semicircular stage at the bottom, and a wall behind the stage to allow the sound to echo. On the tall wall was a large, colorful relief of the God of Music.