Liliana paused, her expression unchanged. Her in-game self would no doubt have welcomed such an opportunity—she had been determined to become the crown prince’s fiancée. Her present self, however, was far less enthused.
“What do you want to know?” she asked, deliberately vague.
“Your hobbies. What you enjoy. You know, that sort of thing,” the prince answered without hesitation.
The prince’s answer caught Liliana off guard.
My only real interests are studying and practicing magic...
But did that even count? Liliana enjoyed things involving magic and hexes, but nowhere near as passionately as most people enjoyed their own hobbies. The only honest answer she could give was that she liked researching magic. Of course, she couldn’t admit to having learned it—not when, by all accepted accounts, one couldn’t use magic without a voice to utter incantations.
“I enjoy reading, I suppose,” Liliana ventured, offering the safest response she could think of. She hoped Riley would be satisfied and move on, but he pressed further.
“What kinds of books?”
Is all this talking really necessary? Even a long, awkward silence would be preferable.
Riley had excellent conversational skills—a desirable trait for a member of royalty—but Liliana remained unimpressed. Determined to maintain her distance, she wished to keep their exchanges strictly superficial.
“I don’t mind the subject matter. I enjoy reading about our country’s history as much as I do foreign cultures, for example.”
“Incredible. I shouldn’t have expected any less. What’s the most interesting book you’ve read lately?”
Enough was enough. Liliana decided to give the persistent prince no more openings, halting the conversation for good.
“Well, there was this one book on the religious rituals of Arshac Junmuryat that I found rather fascinating.”
The former country of Arshac Junmuryat never came up in standard education for nobles. It was largely unheard of even among adults, so the odds of Riley—or anyone else his age—knowing about it were practically nonexistent.
“Arshac Junmuryat? The republic ruled by numerous tribes that predates the Empire of Anatole by four thousand years?” Riley asked, eyes widening in surprise. “I don’t recall seeing much in the way of records—much less an entire book—but I’ll take your word for it. It can’t have been translated into Slivegrandian; I would remember it otherwise.”
Far to the east, beyond the neighboring Empire of Yunatian and several other countries, lay the Empire of Anatole. Most Slivegrandians didn’t even know its official name, referring to it simply as “the Far-Eastern Empire.” Its arts and crafts occasionally reached Slivegrandia, but the two nations seldom interacted otherwise. Royals and select high-ranking nobles learned brief details about the two-thousand-year-old empire, but almost nobody studied it in depth.
Liliana was stunned. She hadn’t expected Riley to know what she was talking about, let alone follow the conversation so easily. She barely managed to maintain her composure, though the shock lingered.
“My uncle had a copy in Orientam.”
Orientam was the official language of a small nation that had preceded the Empire of Anatole, buried as deeply in the annals of history as its homeland. In Slivegrandia, it was even more obscure than Arshac Junmuryat.
This time, Riley was rendered speechless. When he finally recovered, he cracked a smile and said, “I’m amazed that you even have access to such a thing. There are so few foreign books in circulation.”
“My uncle was a collector.”
Riley’s surprise was only natural, but he seemed satisfied with Liliana’s explanation. For one of the kingdom’s most prominent ducal families, acquiring rare foreign books was hardly impossible.
“So you can read Orientam? How did you learn it?”
“As I understand it, several languages are commonly used in the Empire of Anatole. One of them belongs to the same family as Orientam, so you can infer the general meaning by drawing analogies from the changes observed in the other languages. Mind you, almost all of these insights came from my uncle’s research.”
“I see. It still means you’re very talented.”
The prince’s tone carried genuine admiration, but it did little to ease Liliana’s discomfort. She was uneasy with the attention—and with the realization that she was more talented than she had ever imagined.
“So, the religious rituals you read about—were they very different from our own?”
Liliana nodded, half resigning herself to her fate. Her plan to quell Riley’s curiosity with a niche, complex topic had completely backfired. It was good that the prince was so interested, but she wished he would explore it without her.
“Arshac Junmuryat placed great importance on its rituals. The shamanistic ones were particularly prominent, and the shamans themselves held both high social status and widespread respect.”
“Shamanistic rituals, you say? Could you elaborate?”
“Primarily, shamanism is the practice of attuning one’s body to the spirits to convey their will to the living.”
Riley clapped, clearly impressed. “I see. So they believe in the cycle of transmigration.”
“Pretty much, yes.”
In Slivegrandia, belief in spirits was rare, and the cycle of transmigration wasn’t part of the common faith. A few small communities held such views, but they kept them private for fear of persecution.
Liliana’s attention shifted from her own predicament to the prince’s reaction. She was struck by his honesty and genuine thirst for knowledge. Many boys his age might have reacted with jealousy or rivalry when faced with a talented younger girl, yet Riley responded with admiration and praise. It left her with a twinge of guilt—her advantage came only from the memories of her past life.
A chill wind blew, making Liliana shiver.
“It’s gotten cold, hasn’t it? I suppose we’ve been out here long enough. Let’s head back inside.”
At the prince’s tactful suggestion, they made their way back to the manor, where Marianne was waiting. Riley entrusted Liliana to the maid’s care, and she thanked him with an elegant bow that made him blush.
“Thanks for today. I’m glad we got to spend this time together. I look forward to our next meeting at the palace.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
As the wearer of the receiving bracelet, Riley was the only one who heard Liliana’s reply. She watched him head toward his room, then returned to her own chambers with Marianne. A wave of exhaustion washed over her, and she sank into a deep slumber the moment her head touched the pillow.
Early the next morning, Liliana saw Riley off with a smile as he departed the estate.