Chapter 24

If fairies did exist, he assumed that they would look as she did now. When that thought suddenly popped into his head, he laughed but didn’t deny it.

Exactly as that dancing woman in front of his eyes.

She stepped with her long hair flying behind her. The pink-tinted purple threads spread elegantly, like a bird catching flight off of a cliff. The ends of her dress fluttered like a butterfly’s wings gently sitting down, then her hair flailed upwards again.

Her forehead was beaded with sweat that caught the sunlight and shimmered gold. Because she had spent most of her childhood inside the palace, her skin was white like pearls, and the deep sunlight made her glow like pumpkin-colored snow.

To perform at a banquet, she combined various dance moves she had learned before. The soft steps of a waltz could be seen. Other times, she would swing her hips with gusto, then she would stomp vigorously with her feet while reaching out with her hands with a remorseful expression. Her arms would wrap around her body, then she would move her head to the beat like a tango.

Her feet stepped lightly over the brown carpet as she jumped and landed gently, then spun around.

The white dress remained engraved in his mind. The ivory-colored dress the woman enjoyed wearing flowed outward like wind, and her long hair flew up and down like wings as it covered her waist like a purple waterfall. The pinkish purple looked like sweet cotton candy.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her for a second, so he couldn’t tell how long the dance had lasted.

Then suddenly, a gust of wind had come in through the window and made the curtains sway. As if keeping rhythm to it, her dress, which had bloomed outward, fell abruptly and became neat as the calm purple streams flow stopped.

The dance ended.

Lu Harve was the type of person to give recognition to those who deserved it.

Like a fairy, she shimmered and exploded–this beautiful woman.

Ashtie-Ploca. He rolled his tongue over her name. She was the first woman to have instilled the sense that dance was beautiful. He had never had any interest in dance, previously. But had dance always been such an amazing artistry? Her dance was so spectacular that it made him wonder how he could have never realized it before. Even when he had danced the waltz with another person at the banquets, or when another dancer would perform something in front of him, he had never once thought that it had looked beautiful.

But that woman…

Like a light feather, her hair fluttered–her purple hair, her sparkling face, her bright sunlight like eyes, her blushing cheeks, her shining smile, her eyes which looked like they were about to cry, her closed lips, her frail but lovely arms, her pearl-like, white hands, her fingers which moved in detail as if playing an instrument, her detailed footwork, small feet, white-and-yellow dress…

She was no longer simply a hostage of a hostile nation or the sacrifice of war. Already, she no longer was.

She was a beautiful dancer from the elegant land of Skara.

He wasn’t sure if he could appreciate the beauty of dance because he had the time to enjoy it, or if this woman’s dance was so beautiful that it caught his eyes specifically. What difference did it make? The dances that he had seen at banquets, which he thought were mundane, were washed out of his mind as he sent his applause in her direction.

But why did her expression suddenly change, as if the world was collapsing around her?

Lu Harve strutted into the room. Wearing her ivory-colored dress, she bore an expression that looked like she was on the verge of crying. He bent down to examine the princess’s face. Truthfully, he had thought that this was the right thing to do, but either way, he moved to do it.

“Princess. Answer me. What has happened?”

“…Uh.”

She hesitated in answering. She had opened her mouth, but then she started to tremble–her small body, frail shoulders, and thin arms. That was when Lu Harve felt that he should say something.

“Your Majesty, Count Guillaume has requested to meet with you.”

“Tell him to wait.”

The chambermaid stood at the door not knowing what to do. Lu Harve answered her abruptly, cutting her off. By the looks of it, she must have been looking for him and had come all this way. It wasn’t even something important. Without being taken aback, the head chambermaid spoke.

“Excuse us your majesty, but it seems the Duke has sent him.

Lu Harve only lifted up his head at the mention of the Duke.

“The Duke?”

“Yes. He said he has brought over the documents you were discussing with him earlier.”

Well, he couldn’t do anything about that. Lu Harve walked quickly and headed to the door. Behind him, several chambermaids and the head chambermaid followed him. Lu Harve lowered his head slightly for just a moment as if mulling over what he should say. He spoke soon after. Not looking at the other person, he spoke in a clear voice that could be heard by all.

“Princess. After dinner, would you like to…”

There was a slight silence as they both held their breath.

“Come to my office?”

Ashtie breathed in quickly.

Remembering how she had ever thought of her dance as frivolous made her head hurt. But why, at this moment, was the king calling her to his office?

She slowly stood up. Her hair fluttered like pink-tinted purple wings. She rearranged her dress, which had become messy after collapsing to the floor. She swept back her hair that was stuck to her forehead behind her ear, then Ashtie calmly exhaled.

Maybe. Ashtie narrowed her eyes at her suddenly occurring thought. Then she suddenly burst out laughing. No way. But that was the only reason she could think of.

His office was not a place where anyone could enter. Ever since she came here, she hadn’t once gone even near his office before. It seemed unlikely for him to invite her there just to share a conversation with her. Of course, even going to the interview room to share a personal conversation with the king was ridiculous. He probably thought that was just an appropriate location for the conversation.

Then what did he want to talk about at this hour? Maybe… would he really?

Ashtie smiled at the sudden thought that popped into her head. But the king had started that kind of conversation after seeing her dance, so it was obvious that she would think that.

Did the king really enjoy dance?

Well, as king, it was not too strange for him to enjoy such cultural attributes. But did he really think the dance she performed was beautiful?

He had never portrayed such interest before. But if he wasn’t interested in dance, why else would he ask her such a question?

No, it can’t be. The king never had any interest in me.

She could not get an understanding of the king. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t predict anything about him, but she knew they were just her assumptions. She started to realize that her assumptions were not turning out to be the truth. Had she thought wrong about him?

Ashtie let out a long sigh. However deeply she thought about it, there was nothing she could do about it. It’s not like she could read the king’s mind. When she goes to the king’s office that night and speaks with him, she will figure it out. She will be able to decipher a little of what he may be thinking. Ashtie smiled slightly.

Lu Harve looked down at his documents. The results of the treaty were to share a third of Salamanca Osensei’s product yields. It made it difficult for Skara, but for Monterobis, it was a very good deal. For the time being, the northern nations will have very little problems to deal with. However, to make sure there weren’t disputes regarding the splitting of resources, after a meeting with the two nations, they decided to create a law to enforce it. It seemed to have been created well, so he didn’t worry much about it. After perusing over a few more documents, he leaned back against his chair.

My office…

The king’s office was not a place that anyone could come in. Even the nobility who visited met with him in the interview room. However, it wasn’t the first time he had invited someone into his office just to make casual conversation. That was why he had invited her here. Truthfully, it was because he didn’t really have another place to meet up with her. He wanted to ask the princess something, but using the interview room seemed funny, and inviting her to his personal bedroom didn’t make sense either. He had only visited the princess’s room when he had stopped by briefly to pick up a book from her.

But what would be the chance that he would happen to see her dancing there? It was the first time he had witnessed such a dance. He couldn’t help but be in awe. It was practically an art piece. And he could definitely see that she had great skill in dance.

This must be why friends reference each other without honorifics. Had he ever talked so naturally with anyone before? There were not many. But just a moment ago, with the princess, he found himself acting and talking naturally in front of her.

Lu Harve let out a long exhale. It’s not as if he had never had friends before, but this was different. There was something else that was more important. Why had she acted like that suddenly?

The sun went down.

After dinner, Lu Harve circled around his office. He organized the rest of the documents that the princess shouldn’t see, then sat back in his chair. He lifted up his pen. The clock ticked in the background. On the desk were two books, several pages of important documents, and a thick stack of documents.

Outside the window, the darkness had completely set in. Suddenly, the guard announced the arrival of the princess.

“Please eat.”

“Yes. Please eat, your highness.”

Ashtie bowed respectfully. The king waved his hand. She lifted up her head. The king was staring at her.

“Sit comfortably there.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Ashtie sat at the sofa that was a little ways away from the desk. The room was designed with two sofas facing each other, and just a small square table in between them. On the table sat two teacups. Steam was rising from them. The maid had probably prepared them. Soon, the king came to sit in the sofa across from her.

“Princess.”

“Yes, Your majesty.”

“I’ve asked you to come here because I would like to ask you something.”

“Please go ahead.”

Lu Harve took a sip of his tea. Soon, he put down his teacup and stared at her. There was a short moment of silence.

“I will not force you to answer.”

Ashtie clutched hard at the ends of her dress without noticing.

“…I am so grateful.”

Her lips became dry. Ashtie lifted up her teacup. She drank from it lightly to quench her thirst.

“Why did you do that this afternoon?”

Ashtie understood why he asked her this question. For the first time, the king was trying to start a dialogue with her.

Not about books, not about Wroclaw, not something as frivolous as what she liked to eat. He was asking what she was thinking and why she had acted a certain way. She wondered if he was the same king that had let her do whatever she wanted without question.

She swallowed. She examined the expression on the face sitting in front of her. She could sense his interest. He was curious. It was surprising.

She had never received such a question like this from anyone before. It was a situation she was not familiar with.

Ashtie breathed in slowed. She fiddled for a moment with the teacup handle.

“Your Highness. As you can see, I am fairly familiar with dance.”

She wore a feminine expression and spoke in a calm voice. The king smiled slightly.

“You are humble.”

It was an expressionless voice. However, he didn’t sound sarcastic at all. If she thought about it a different way, it could have been a compliment. Realizing this, Ashtie was hit by the epiphany that he had never once laughed or looked down on her. That had actually been the reason that she didn’t think much of it when he suddenly became interested in her dance. He was not scoffing at her this time either. And so, Ashtie responded to him truthfully.

“Dance.”

She smiled with her eyes. Her lips curved upwards. It was a smile like a summer breeze.

“I love it very much.”

“Do you?”

“Yes. I learned it when I was very young.”

Lu Harve suddenly got the feeling that she might start crying. She was definitely smiling, but he wondered what she was truly feeling behind her calm voice. A woman’s tears. He had rarely seen it, but how could he sense it so powerfully? He examined her expression. His gaze had already been locked onto her face, so it was easy.

She lowered her eyes and closed her mouth shut as if she was determined not to say anymore. He didn’t want to force her to speak, but it was a lie to say he wasn’t curious about what she was going to say. Having not answered his question, the conversation had stopped and had been circling around one topic.

But why doesn’t he want to force an answer out of me? Why?

He has the most powerful seat in the land. If he wanted something, the palace workers would move to get it done. At his beck and call were hundreds of soldiers ready to give up their lives for his cause. He had other royal families under his power. That was the king’s position. What’s more, he was the victor of the Hias War and was the owner of not only the castle, but the palace, and the entire country. He could kill anyone with the swing of a sword, or make them cry tears of gratitude. All he had to do was order it.

But that would make him the same as the previous king.

He too had killed many people in war and granted no one mercy. But he had no intention of becoming like the previous king. For example…

Nantes had continued the bloodline of the dragon and had a special skill that others didn’t. And so, Lu Harve remembered specifically all the curses and violence his mother endured. It was not a fun experience. No, it was nothing short of the worst memory of his life. After thinking thus far, he cut short his thoughts.

Lu Harve got up without speaking. Ashtie thought it strange but followed him.