Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book

I had two options.

Either way, my image in Rebecca’s eyes was completely ruined and I did not think any I did would have any further impact on our relationship.

“This dress had been gifted to you by the 7th Prince the year before last. And that one was his gift for your birthday last year. Which one would you like to wear?”

“Well…”

I was not sure.

“I think Rebecca is going to ask me to throw both away.”

In the eyes of the lady of the Duchy who was used to luxuries and pleasures, these would only look plain. I could not help it though. The problem was that I was an outsider when it came to fashion and I could never dress according to her aesthetic standards. The maids were seriously pondering over my clothes for me.

“What should we do? It does not fit.”

“Just pin it in.”

“Princess, then the lady-in-waiting will make a scene.”

“… Urgh, did we not buy a lot of them?”

“We can just go out and buy some more…”

I mean, even if we went out to buy dresses, neither me nor my maids had the eye for fashion.

The maids put their heads together and wrecked their brains. How flustered were they to see their princess who had never cared about what she had worn before being forced to care about fashion for the first time in her 16 years of life? It was a struggle.

A moment later, Hannah brought another maid.

“Alright! Haina is a Templar of Arachne! She can weave any fabric freely!”

“Fabric?”

“Show the Princess.”

The calm young lady barely nodded as she dyed her cheeks red shyly.

“Haina is unrivalled when it comes to sewing and embroidery so don’t worry!”

No wonder Haina whom I usually see gripping the curtains she hid behind in the sewing room was here. Come to think of it, when Rebecca was changing everything in the parlour., she did not touch the curtains and the tablecloth. Was that her skill?

“Right, I’ll be in your care.”

I only nodded since she was a maid I had barely talked to before.

“What about your hair? The Princess had not undergone the ceremony yet so she has yet to be crowned.”

“What about only tying up half her hair?”

“Alright, Haina, would you like to help?”

“Yeah! Let’s do anything we can for now. The Princess cannot be scolded by the lady-in-waiting.”

“How troubling…”

I could barely tell who their mistress was.

“By the way, I did not know we had a templar in our palace.”

“Aha, you’re talking about Haina, right? There’s also Thebe from the gardens.”

“Thebe is extremely strong! She can lift a table with one hand!”

“Gain’s maternal grandfather was a Templar of Strength! Those people are what they call the ‘Templar Candidates’. Children who have yet to awaken!”

I tilted my head.

“Awakening? You mean they have yet to be formally acknowledged by the Palace?”

“Yes! Those who have not been ordained. Girls are rarely ordained so I think there’s quite a few of them around.”

“Right. Right. You have to be ordained to be able to earn money from your skills. But it costs money even to be ordained. Such money usually goes to the son since it was difficult for women to be templars.”

So it was like a driver’s license. It took money just to obtain one, right? Some people could already drive without the license. However, only officially recognised templars are allowed to make money with their abilities. So, it seemed that people would always remain the same. I looked at my maids again.

‘It’s a big deal to have so many ‘Templar Candidates’ in my palace.’

Talent in a specific field could be found buried everywhere in my previous world. It must be the same here.

When the maids finished dolling me up, the brighter-looking me sat in front of the mirror for a while. At least once, I wanted to say ‘Oh gosh, that’s me?’ but nothing much changed so I stayed calm.

“I think I’ve done everything i could…”

“Will it be alright this time? I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry. I look pretty this time, Hannah.”

I placed their anxiety to rest.

“Still, Princess.”

Hannah said with her voice throbbing.

“You said that the last time too…”

Bess who had been arranging the blooming flowers nodded this way at Hannah’s words. Everyone looked so pitiful. Haina nodded as if she sympathised. This was how my lady-in-waiting had turned my palace upside down despite being here for only a week.

“Let’s get a 3rd party opinion!”

“Right but not like this. Why don’t you ask your escort for his opinion? Was he not a nobleman before?”

No, stop it.

‘I don’t think that’s going to help at all.’

Hannah ran off before opening the door and bringing in Lord Ray. But Lord Ray was not the only one who entered.

“Dane?”

Standing in front of the sun, Dane smiled brightly.

“Yeah.”

He came up to me, smiling, before grabbing my hands tightly.

“It’s been a long time, Ashley. Have you been well?”

His eyes that were bright red looked as fresh as a blooming flower.

“Yes, of course. It has been a week, right? How did you come in? I was sure Rebecca was…”

“I came in secretly.”

The way we were conversing felt so refreshing and it felt as if we were both on a picnic. It really was nice to meet him.

“Even though he was your brother, how can a man enter the room of an adult princess so easily?”

A week ago, when Rebecca came, she had banned Dane and Fleon from visiting until the upcoming Founding Festival.

“Moreover, you’re right on time. Dane, look at me. Do I look pretty today?”

“Well, so-so? I don’t really know.”

Dane said as he lightly rubbed my cheeks so that he would not wipe my make-up away.

“To me, you’re always pretty.”

My word. Did he go to an academy to learn how to shoot at a girl’s heart like that? I had, a long time ago, thought it would be dangerous for women all over the Empire if he were to continue growing up here. It seemed like my worries came into fruition.

Dane who had turned 18 and became an adult felt a little dangerous due to the conflation of his boyishness and early maturity.

“Is there anything else you can say? A more objective opinion.”

“I have nothing else to say other than the fact that I have been thinking about you everyday, Ashley.”

“… Thank you for your opinion but that did not help at all.”

I got up from my seat with a big smile. Bess alternated her gaze between Lord Ray and me as if she had wanted me to ask him of his opinion. But was his answer not obvious?

‘I could never hear something nice come out of that blunt knight.’

I held my long dress slightly before heading to the drawing room where Rebecca would be waiting.

The first meeting between a lady-in-waiting and her master involved an oath to the Gods.

A kiss to the pinky. This was a sign of promise that symbolised the river ‘Lete’ that flowed through the afterlife.

However, our relationship had been estranged from the beginning and now we were walking on an unpaved and creaking path. Perhaps it was because she did not even bother to hide her disappointment on the first day. She began to show off her notoriety in the novel by showing her contempt for me and a slight attitude.

“Mistress. I wish to see you pretty for one day. Is that so hard to do?”

The young woman donning a dark green dress smiled arrogantly making her look more like the mistress of the palace than me.

The gold-plated chairs, expensive tables and the ability to place spoons on the table without making any sound could be beautifully seen in Auresia’s antique study. Although the words that left those red lips were not very kind.

“Though you’ve improved from yesterday.”

Rebecca was not nice to me. Rather, she looked at me like I was a dress that was unsuitable to be placed on display in a showroom and maintained a distance away from me.

“That dress is old. Buy a new one. I don’t want to see any women my age despise you at the banquet.”

She spoke gracefully and kindly as if she was speaking to a newborn puppy.

But from the tip of her head to the simple brushes of her fingers, I could feel her blatant disdain. I smirked unknowingly.

“Rebecca, sit here.”

“…..”

“Standing for a long time only hurts your legs.”

I did not hate her for judging me so shallowly.

‘It’s like I’m watching an actress.’

It was like there was a long bright blue curtain hanging behind Rebecca as she looked at me as if she owned the room, looking like a lead actress in a play.

“Three months from now is the Founding Festival.”

Rebecca said as she sat down at my suggestion.

“I’m sure you were told to attend as the only flower of the Empire.”

It was a huge festival for the entire Empire and it would be held in the capital. It was an event I had seen before the novel.

‘If I was not wrong, there was an event between Castor and the main character.’

But since it was not a very prominent event, my memories of it were vague. An incident did occur but the event I knew would happen either this year or the next. I shall ponder over it quietly once I was left alone.

“What would it be like? I haven’t heard much about it till now.”

“The parade will guide you to the Central Palace where you will continue preparing for the festivities. You will have to think of our traditions and the current trends.”

“That’s difficult…”

Something trendy? Me? I had heard the saddening news that everyone in the capital was looking forward to my appearance. The title of being the one and only Princess came with its own fair share of burdens.

“What will I do at the Founding Festival?”

“You will do many things but first you will dance with your [atronus. The Founding Festival will only begin after the first dance, ‘The Primo Saltatio’ and this dance is usually performed by the most senior Imperial woman.”

… What kind of rules were these?

“Well, a patronus is very important, right?”

“Isn’t that a given?”

Rebecca looked at me as if I was an intern and asked what a printer was. She could not believe what I was saying. Well, of course I would not know what it was about when I had been busy surviving from day to day.

“Has Rebecca chosen a Patronus yet? Who is it?”

I pretended not to notice her expression and asked whilst smiling. She then furrowed her eyebrows and looked a little strange.

“I am the only daughter of the Duke. Of course, I’m going with His Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“… What?”

I placed my book down and looked at her dumbfounded. Castor was Rebecca’s Patronus?

“What are you on about?”

I quickly asked to relieve my scratching anxiety.

“Did you not know? It is only natural for the Crown Prince’s Patronus to be someone of the upper echelons of the Curules (nobles who were templars) and since I am the daughter of the Duke, he has no other choice. His Highness is only pretending to be useless in the Senate. Most of the Curules is on the 2nd Prince’s side so only the three Duke families remain. Develo is a young Duke while Solletdian is already a married woman. Of course, the only child of Aventa will be chosen.”

Rebecca stared at me in disbelief at the fact that I could not figure this out myself.

What. What was this? I did not know this. Even when I tried my best to recall the story between Castor and Rebecca. Nothing I knew could lead me to the conclusion that Rebecca was Castor’s Patronus in the Founding Festival.

“Then… are you sure you’ll be going with my brother, Castor?”

T/N:

Bruh Castor has not appeared in the story for a long time AND I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY