After what seemed like an eternal shopping trip, my carriage had finally arrived at the place where my best friend was staying.
Julius was currently staying at an old yet cozy-looking two-storied house in the middle of the Artisan's district, a few kilometers away from the poorer areas of the city.
This particular place was once the home of one of the most talented mages the Empire had produced in its long history, Arentia Mardyk.
When I arrived just a few moments ago, the whole neighborhood seemed to be in disarray.
The people who lived near the place I was going to visit were all looking around nervously, and there was even a great amount of residual mana in the area, proof that a huge fight had broken out not long ago… Which, of course, explained the presence of an order of knights in the area conducting an investigation.
Well, even if something like that did happen, that is not the reason why I came here today, and since this is not an official visit, I will leave that matter into the capable hands of our country’s knights.
After all, today is such a happy occasion that I won’t even bother investigating what happened~.
In any case, after taking an hour to buy the perfect outfit for the occasion, I was finally ready to meet my best friend face-to-face after three years of not seeing each other.
In the end, I decided on a simple white blouse, a blue long-skirt, a white hat, and a pair of comfortable brown boots. It was the perfect choice for such a joyful event! It was nothing as fancy as the dresses I usually have to wear by protocol, in fact, it was very modest compared to those dresses, which is what made it perfect for this visit~.
With this outfit, it would be far easier to relax and have a good time with my friend! It also happens to make me look more like a normal girl, instead of the future ruler of this country, so it makes meeting my friend a less troublesome matter.
"Truth be told, I didn't expect to meet you here, Neris." I said to my underclassmen as I waited for her and the other knights to open the gate for me.
Neris Shtrel, the oldest daughter of Viscount Shtrel and his current heir. I do not interact with her on a regular basis, but I have a positive opinion of her. Although she’s only a year younger than me, her skills with the sword are already on par or even above some of my classmates. From what little I have interacted with her, I can say that she’s usually a very calm and composed young lady. Her manners have always been remarkable as well. She’s an excellent knight and a noble lady in the making.
She and her cousin Alberis Nebandia will definitely be important subjects of the crown in the future, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to form a friendly relationship with her now that I can.
I remember that Julius asked me in his previous letter if I had made any new friends… It would be really embarrassing to tell him that I have not been very successful on that end…
“I could say the same thing, Your Highness. I never expected to meet the Crown Princess in such circumstances, much less here of all places…” Neris spoke with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
“You do need to act so politely with me today. I am not here as a Princess today, so please treat me as you would treat any other classmate.” I said to Neris, trying to reassure her.
“Your Highness… I’m not sure if I’d be able to do that… But if that is your wish then I will try my best.” Neris bowed to me, still trying to treat me with the utmost respect.
“Neris, I would prefer that you referred to me by my name instead of calling me Your Highness all the time… I insist on this, so you can consider that you have special permission to do it.” I smiled warmly at her.
“Your Highness, I’m afraid that would be…” Neris looked at me with her mouth agape, her face filled with disbelief.
“Disrespectful? It is fine, Neris. I’m allowing you to call me by my name from now, so if anyone has any complaints about it, I will gladly give them a piece of my mind.” I tried to reassure her again.
“No, that’s not…” For some reason, Neris looked a little pale.
Weird… This is more or less how I became friends with Mia, Liliana, and Luna… Why does she look like she has seen a ghost? Am I taking the wrong approach to this? Was I too overly familiar?
Sigh… Julius… Making friends is truly such a difficult thing… I was really blessed by the gods for having you and the others as my friends…
“Well, if you don’t mind Neris, we can continue with this once we are inside the property. I’d hate to bring a lot of attention to myself, especially today.” I said to Neris and the other knights beside her, beckoning to open the gate that lead to the patio of the property.
In that place, I could feel a very warm and familiar source of mana… Something that belonged to the person that I wanted to see so badly.
I also wanted to get off the prying eye of the citizens as I was currently out of the castle without my father’s permission. My aunt ordered the servants to prepare an unmarked carriage for me to come here and I am even wearing a cloak over my new outfit to hide my true identity from the common citizens.
Without even a single word of protest, Neris and his fellow knights opened the wooden gate of the property that once belonged to the house of the legendary witch that was once the most powerful magician in our country.
As soon as the wooden gate moved, I was able to see several familiar faces as well as a few I didn't recognize…
I could see that both the twins and Mia had grown quite a lot and had changed considerably…
Luna had seemingly cut her hair short and changed her hairstyle. There was a certain air of maturity all around her as well. Her serious gaze was completely focused on me.
Liliana, contrary to her sister, had her hair way longer than the last time we met. She still seemed to have that playful and teasing attitude which was clearly reflected in her smile while looking at me.
And Mia… Mia was now way taller than the twins. Her hair was also longer than the last time we met, but also shorter than Liliana's. She was displaying her warm and friendly demeanor by vigorously waving her hands to welcome me.
All three of them had become pretty beautiful in the three years we hadn't seen each other… I couldn't help but feel a little envious of that, but I was so happy to see them that those feelings of envy quickly disappeared from my mind.
However, as happy as I was to see my friends, I was also quite shocked… Dumbfounded even… I just couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing…
"So small…" I couldn't contain my disbelief as those words suddenly came out of my mouth.
The cause for that shock was no one other than the person I wanted to see so badly, my best friend and quite possibly a person I might have feelings for, Julius.
Other than his hair being a bit longer than last time, he looked exactly the same as he did when we last saw each other three years ago… He had barely grown in size, yet there was some intense pressure all around him, his mana was overflowing out of his body yet it was like a tranquil lake… All that was proof that he was hundreds of times stronger than he was when we last met…
He also looked more reliable somehow… Both of the twins were sitting as close as possible to him and hugging him tightly, which I couldn't deny that it made me feel envious… There was also a small being, a fairy sitting on top of his head…
I couldn't tell why, but as soon as Julius and I made eye contact, I started feeling increasingly nervous… Of course, thanks to my education as a princess, it was a piece of cake to hide what I was feeling and not let it show on my face.
"Let's take it easy, Marina… We can start by greeting each other and then some small talk… There's no reason to be nervous, it is just Julius… Your bestie." I tried to ease up my nerves, but it was futile…
My heart had started beating faster than before just by making eye contact with him…
"Your highness, please forgive my manners, but my husband and I will return outside as we are still investigating the incident that took place not so long ago. We will also handle any curious onlookers that might try to find out about your identity." The female catkin knight Martha said to me without a hint of nervousness in her voice.
Contrary to her husband, the male catkin knight Rick, who has been pale and has not spoken a word since I arrived just minutes ago, Martha has been extremely reliable.
She went as far as swearing an oath to me to keep my identity a secret after I revealed myself to her and vaguely told her the motives of my visit and why she had to stay quiet about it.
She even told me that Neris, her husband, the other girl who seems to be Neris' friend, and herself all served Ophelia Nebandia and were part of the order of the Roses of Nebandia. She swore that none of them would say a word about my visit.
I was already aware that Neris was part of that order of knights, but it really made Martha gain my trust that she said all that and put the honor of the Roses on the line.
"Very well, you may leave. Please keep up the good work." I immediately nodded to Martha and smiled. I was still trying to hide my nervousness.
Both Martha and her husband bowed to me before quickly leaving the patio and closing the wooden gate. Only Neris and her friend remained as my unofficial attendants.
Because the gates behind us were closed, I decided to finally remove the cloak I was wearing since it would only be a bother from now on.
I quietly motioned the two apprentice knights to escort me to the table where my friends were. Neris was quick to catch on, but it took a few moments for her friend to understand my meaning as she was still looking quite nervous.
And so without wasting any time, I was taken to see my friend…
During the short walk toward the table, I didn't stop making eye contact with him… My nerves started to become unbearable as he suddenly smiled at me.
He hasn't changed at all…
That was all I could think of. I couldn't believe that the person I wanted to see had changed so little in the last three years.
As soon as I reached the table where my friends were, Julius immediately rose from his seat and walked up to me, leaving his adoptive sisters and the little fairy behind.
While he stood in front of me, I couldn't help but be amazed by the fact that I was towering over him by a large margin… I am currently around 1.70 meters tall and he seemed no taller than 1.30, so the difference in size was quite noticeable…
"It has been a while, Marina." He said with a gentle smile on her face.
"Indeed, it really has been a long time, Julius." The nervousness I was feeling was only surpassed by the happiness of seeing my friend again. I quickly smiled back at my best friend.
"Would you mind crouching for a bit?" He asked for something strange, and all the while he was still smiling…
"Okay?" I was a little confused, but I still complied with his odd request, crouching so our faces would be more or less on the same level.
I really didn't expect what was going to happen next…
"You just called me small, didn't you?" Julius said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes while he started to pinch and pull my cheeks in all directions.
I couldn't help but let out a surprised yelp thanks to my best friend's sudden attack…
Naturally, what he was doing didn’t actually hurt me. Julius was clearly holding back, and even if he wasn’t, my defense is too high for something like that to hurt. It was all just a little game among us.
“It is time for me to teach this best friend of mine a lesson!” Julius said with a lot of enjoyment in his voice.
“W-W-Wait! Why!?” I asked Julius as my voice was slightly muffled thanks to him and his little game…
“I’m not small! I’m waiting for my growth spurt!” Julius suddenly started to pull my cheeks even more intensely than before… He was obviously pissed off…
Needless to say, the two knights that served as my current unofficial attendants were both pale and completely flabbergasted thanks to Julius’s little game, all the while Liliana, Luna, Mia, and even the little fairy were laughing because of the antics of my best friend…
I could not believe what my eyes were seeing… I was still in disbelief after suddenly meeting the Crown Princess, Her Highness Marina, all of a sudden on the street outside of the Mardyk household, but witnessing the scene in front of me simply left me speechless…
“Jeez… You were pulling too hard…” Her Highness Marina complained a little while rubbing her reddened cheeks.
“You pushed a button and I simply had to teach you the consequences.” Julius crossed his arms while he sat on Marina’s lap, he seemed to be proud of his actions.
“You know that you could be punished by law for what you did to me? You’re still as mean as you were when I first met you…” Marina said with a cold tone, however, she was hugging Julius quite tightly.
It was unthinkable for anyone in the Empire, both nobles and commoners alike, to do the thing that Julius had just done to the Crown Princess… If anything, what Julius had done was outrageous…
“For playing around for a bit? That’s a bit too harsh, don’t you think…?” Julius let out some words of complaint.
“I didn’t say I was going to actually punish you… You’re my best friend and my champion, I need you in top shape to spend quality time together and to participate in the tournament!” The princess nodded to herself while keeping her tight embrace on the son of the Skull Crusher. “Speaking of playing, how about we play some football like the good old times? I haven’t practiced since, so I have been dying to play with you again! We even have more people to join this time!” The princess suddenly started beaming with excitement.
Yep… What Julius was doing with the princess was definitely extremely outrageous… But I simply have no words to describe how shocking it is to witness the Crown Princess in such a manner…
Normally at the Academy, she’s the epitome of perfection… A composed young lady with perfect manners and perfect grades in all subjects, an astoundingly beautiful person who always has an almost divine smile on her face, and whose sole presence is enough to make entire rooms fall silent… She’s a person that even the sons and daughters of dukes have trouble talking to…
Even if you didn’t know her, it would be easy to tell that she was someone important thanks to the pressure around her… A person that was destined to be born at the top of the top…
Because of all that, seeing the princess act so childishly and with such excitement is just too much for me to process… In fact, even though I recently became aware that Julius was a special participant in the tournament, I did not expect them to be this close and act so casually with each other…
“I’ll pass. Winning against you would be too easy if you haven’t practiced at all.” Luna suddenly spoke up while shrugging.
As soon as she said that, I couldn’t help but look at Luna with a dumbfounded expression. The youngest twin looked as if a spark had been ignited in her eyes… She was looking at Marina quite intently, almost like there was some tension between the two.
“Oh, don’t worry! It will take me a few minutes to warm up and catch up. We need to retake our competition where we left it, don’t we?” Marina looked back at Luna and smiled from ear to ear. A strange pressure was coming from her as well…
The strange pressure between those two was a little suffocating, especially for Elissa who was definitely not used to being around a member of the Royal Family as she seemed like she was about to pass out any minute now… Julius’s aunt, Laura, also looked extremely nervous while repeatedly casting a few glances at the princess and Julius and then immediately looking away…
“Take it easy, you two… If you’re going to get as fired up as you did the last time we played, then I won’t be the goalkeeper… I don’t think my hands and my stomach can’t endure that much punishment again…” Julius frowned as he spoke to the pair.
“That’s right! As much as I want to make everyone bite the dust just like last time, today’s a very special day and I don’t want Julius to get even more stress on his birthday! Especially after what happened a while now…” Mia spoke with confidence before her expression softened after taking a peek at her loved one.
Ah! The gift! The shock of meeting the princess made me forget about it! I need to give it to him soon! I wonder what he’ll think of it! I just need to find the right time to speak up!
“Don’t get too cocky, Mia. Don’t you remember that I managed to beat you last time?” Liliana looked slightly annoyed. “But I agree with that… Let’s take it easy today…” Liliana’s annoyance suddenly turned into guilt as she looked toward Julius.
“Right…” Luna nodded with a difficult-to-read expression. There was a myriad of emotions all over her face…
“Let’s leave it for another time, I suppose.” Marina looked at both twins with worry.
“I was kidding, you know? I don’t mind if you all get fired up while playing…” Julius smiled awkwardly.
“I have some time before I have to return to the castle, so I think we can play a few matches later. How does that sound?” Marina smiled at the twins and Mia. “In the meantime, I want to catch up with you! There’s only so much you can tell in a letter!” Marina held Julius even closer to her…
Despite my initial shock because of the situation at hand, I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of the princess since she was monopolizing the attention of the boy that became so important to me in a matter of days…
“If you don’t mind me asking, what is all the commotion outside about? Liliana and Luna also seem to be forcing themselves a little… Is everything alright?” Marina tried to be tactful about the topic.
“Hmm? I thought that you already knew about it since there’s such a large number of knights outside…” Julius suddenly looked me in the eyes very intently.
I was caught off guard so I became embarrassed… That embarrassment soon turned into nervousness as the princess was also watching me…
Eeek! If she looks at me that intently, there’s no way I can’t speak up… That pressure around her is too much for me to even try to make a coherent sentence…
“Well, you don’t need to worry about it since the situation is already dealt with.” Julius reassured Marina. “But to put it briefly, I had to knock the lights out of some jackasses who severely bullied Liliana and Luna in the past.” Julius’s face became filled with anger for a moment. That anger quickly disappeared as he smiled at his sisters as a way to reassure them as well…
“I see… Where are these imbeciles? I wish to have a word with them.” Marina’s expression was cold… Extremely cold… It was the first time I had seen such an expression on her face.
“As I said before, you don’t need to worry about them. They won’t be a problem ever again. And even if they do try, neither Mom nor Dad nor myself will let that slide.” Julius turned around and looked at Marina with a serious expression. “I doubt they will try anything, especially since Dad personally went back to his former household to give a friendly warning to Lord Laurent.” Julius explained to Marina
Huh? The Skull Crusher went to visit the Laurents…? Oh, gods… This will end up badly… Really badly…
“The Laurents were also involved!?” Marina looked at Julius with a shocked expression.
“Kinda. As long as they have a good head on their shoulders, they won’t try my dad’s patience. But as I said, don’t worry about it.” Julius again tried to reassure the princess. “Still, it is quite annoying that Grandpa got himself into an indirect debt with the Laurents… Of all the people he could have asked money from, he had to ask the father of one of those idiots…” Julius became annoyed. A frown quickly replaced his usual smile…
“Is that so? Well, if you say so… Though, you know that you can ask me for anything, right? I’m your bestie, so if you need protection or want me to pay that debt in your grandfather’s place, then just say the word and I will do it. That’s what friends are for, after all.” Marina looked at Julius with an earnest expression.
“Anything huh… So even if I asked you for your hand in marriage you would agree? Do you want to rule the Empire together with me?” A teasing smile appeared on Julius’s face in response to the earnest attitude of the princess.
WHAT!? He just asked what I think he asked!?
Needless to say, I was speechless after hearing such an unexpected thing…
“That’s… Umm…” Marina was taken aback by the sudden question… Just like me, she was speechless. “Jeez! You’re so mean! Why are you asking me such weird questions!?” Marina quickly grew embarrassed as her face was painted in a deep shade of red.
“I was just teasing you, Marina.” Julius laughed while looking at the embarrassed princess.
Oh, thank the gods he was just playing around… I mean, I knew he was just teasing her, but still! It is difficult to tell sometimes when he’s being serious or playful…
“I don’t think we need protection… As for the money, I think I should have just enough money to pay the debt for Grandpa. I probably should pay them and make them sign a magically binding contract before the knights take them away… Still, thanks for the offer. I’m glad that you’re my friend.” Julius showed Marina a smile filled with gratitude.
“I’m glad that you’re my friend too… I’m glad that all of you are my friends and that you’re alright, but what I said still stands… If you ever need anything, just say the word and I will move heaven and earth for all of you.” Marina said with a serious expression mixed with a bit of embarrassment thanks to Julius’s previous question
“Aww! That’s cute! You’re my precious friend too!” Mia looked incredibly happy.
“We would do the same and that goes without saying! You’re our friend, and we would definitely help you no matter what, Rina!” Liliana nodded in agreement with Mia before looking at Marina with a teasing smile.
“Ah… Y-Y-You promised in our letters that you wouldn’t use such an embarrassing nickname in person! ” Marina became even redder thanks to Liliana’s cheeky attitude.
Giving such a childish nickname to the Crown Princess… Am I actually awake right now? This is not a dream, right? No one would ever think of giving such a nickname to a member of the Royal Family!
“I couldn’t help it! After you said something so cute and lovely, I couldn’t myself back! Teehee!” Liliana stuck her tongue out to tease the princess…
“Of course, I will help you as well. I can’t leave my friend who’s also my rival on her own, can I?” Luna looked at Marina and smiled confidently. “I hope you don’t mind, Rina!” A teasing smile appeared on her face as well.
“You all are really mean, you know that!?” Marina immediately pouted in response. It was clear that she was beyond embarrassed.
“And now you realize that?” Julius playfully laughed because of Marina’s embarrassment. “But the same thing goes for me, Marina. If I have to move heaven and earth for your sake, then so be it.” He said with a serious expression, almost as if he was making a promise to the princess.
Everyone felt silent after he said that…
…
…
…
Even I had no words for how gallant those words were when they were spoken by the one I loved… I just wished those had been directed at me instead…
“Julius… Umm… Thank you…” Marina’s cheeks couldn’t get any redder due to the intense bashfulness she must have been feeling… She was averting her gaze away from him, however… “Here… This is for you…” Marina suddenly pulled a red crystal out of a small bag she was carrying and quickly placed it on Julius’s right hand.
“This is… [Communication Crystals]?” Said Julius as he held up the crystal and examined it carefully
“Yeah. Exchanging letters is fun and all that, but I’m a bit tired of having to wait to hear from my friends… Tian Sebas is also not getting any younger and he is not going to be around to deliver our letters forever, so I decided to commission a few of these.” Marina explained, still looking quite embarrassed. “I’d like to hear your voices more often, so… Umm… Please accept it…” Marina suddenly placed the small bag on the table, revealing it to be full of those red crystals…
As soon as I saw the insides of that bag, I almost fainted from the sheer shock I received… Those red crystals were all the latest models when it came to communication crystals… Judging by the number of crystals inside the bag, there was at least one red gold coin, or rather 100,000 Des invested into the contents of that bag…
Ah… Is this her birthday present for him…? How am I supposed to compete with that…?
“Ah! But don’t misunderstand me! This is not your actual gift! It will take some time before your real gift is ready, so can you please wait until the tournament ends?” Marina asked Julius in a panic.
It is not even the real gift…
“Sure, I don’t mind. It would be fine if this was my real gift too, you know? I know how much these things can be worth, and these few look like they cost a fortune, so it is more than enough. Still, I’m grateful for your gift.” Julius smiled at Marina while he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
It really DID cost a fortune…
“No! There’s no way I can give you just that as a gift! It would leave a bad taste in my mouth!” Marina suddenly vehemently protested.
“Marina, this is already plenty enough…” Julius was taken aback by how intense Marina was being.
“It is not! Besides, your real gift is close to being finished, so it would be a waste if you didn’t accept it!” Marina held Julius by the shoulder. She looked a little panicked.
“Well, that’s a fair point… But you don’t need to go overboard next time, okay? I’m fine with getting anything. You being here today with us is also a gift in itself. Thank you, Marina!” He reluctantly accepted before smiling warmly at Marina.
Seriously… How am I even supposed to compete with the Crown Princess for Julius's attention? She's everything that I'm not… I am just a girl who only knows how to swing a sword and she's just the perfect princess of the Empire who does everything right…
Sigh… I can't even bring myself to speak up in her presence and my job could be considered worthless compared to Marina's…
Even though I went through the huge trouble of convincing my parents about the whole engagement idea and it will be all for naught… How depressing…
“But these sure will be convenient. We will be able to talk every day now!” Julius said with excitement as he looked into the bag.
"Yeah! Isn't it great?" Marina nodded in agreement while smiling at Julius. "There's more than enough for everyone so I insist that all of you take one." Marina looked delighted for some reason.
"Ehh? Is it okay? Then don't mind if I do!" Mia was the first one to pick one of the crystals from the bag. She looked fairly excited.
"Hehehe! I think the crystal suits you. It is exactly the same shade of red as your hair." Marina immediately complimented Mia.
"I sure hope you don't mind me calling every now and then to hear some juicy gossip from the capital!" Liliana said with a teasing smile.
"You're welcome to do so, obviously. Although, I don't know if I'm the most appropriate one to ask for gossip…" Marina replied with an awkward expression.
"I suppose I don't mind calling you every day. Just to boast, of course." Luna made the same smile as Liliana while looking at the confused princess.
"I wonder what you want to boast about…" Marina tilted her head and sounded moderately confused. "But I'd definitely like to talk with you every day!" Her face brightened up as she started beaming with excitement.
Sigh… I definitely can't compete with this woman… No, there's not even a chance for this to be a real competition…
I couldn't help but feel depressed as I watched the others all get excited about their new communication crystals… The contents of the bag had been reduced a bit, but there were still several more crystals inside.
"Neris, are you not going to pick up one?" Marina suddenly asked me.
Ehh? Me?
"Your friend has to pick one up too. That elven lady has to pick one as well. I apologize that I haven't even asked your names yet… I'm really ashamed of that, but I was really nervous about seeing Julius again so it slipped my mind, I apologize for that…" Marina looked at us with remorse.
"Why were you nervous about meeting me? Were you afraid of me being mean to you again?" Julius looked at the princess with amusement. "But I suppose it is also my fault for not introducing them to you… The elf lady is my mother's sister, or in other words, my adoptive aunt, Laura." Julius spoke with that gentle smile of his.
"N-N-Nice to meet you, Your Highness…" Laura immediately stiffened up and tried to be polite while she was clearly panicking inside.
"No need to be so polite, you can just call me Marina. I’ll call you Laura in return, okay.” Marina smiled warmly at Laura.
“Y-Y-Yes!” Laura shouted while she had a fully rigid back and a pale look on her face… She looked spooked for understandable reasons.
“Auntie, you don’t have to be that stiff, it is fine…” Julius looked at the poor nervous elven woman with an awkward smile. “Anyway, the other one is called Elissa. As you can tell, she’s in the same order of knights as Neris and they are really close friends.” Julius suddenly looked at me and winked.
“I see… It is a pleasure to meet you, Elissa. I’m really sorry that I didn’t say that sooner, so please feel free to also call me Marina and treat me casually as an apology. In fact, I insist that you treat me casually just like Julius and the others too.” Marina looked at Elissa with excitement. Her eyes were basically sparkling for some reason…
“S-S-Sure…” My friend, however, was barely able to say a few words and nod because of how nervous she was. She seemed to be genuinely scared of saying something to offend the princess.
“Good! Now that is out of the way, I want you to pick one of the crystals for yourselves.” Marina said as he pointed at the small bag.
“Are you sure about this, your High… I mean, Marina?” I asked the princess with a worried look on my face. I was about to call her Her Highness, but a single glance of hers made me stop myself.
“Of course I am sure.” Marina nodded confidently. “I would like to get to know all of you better. Truth be told, I don’t have a lot of friends besides Julius and the girls… So, because of that, I would like all of you to become my friends too!” The princess looked extremely excited.
My friend…? Does she really want to become friends with us…? That perfect, beautiful, and unreachable young lady who’s above everyone in this country wants to be my friend…?
I was clearly stunned by what the princess had just said… Elissa and Laura even more than I was… The three of us simply couldn’t wrap our heads around what she had told us…
“Oh? I’m surprised that we still are your only friends… You’re a wonderful person and a great friend despite your occasional bratty attitude. You should have hundreds of friends.” Julius looked at Marina and smiled. He seemed to really enjoy teasing her.
“Jeez… You’re still being mean to me at such an important moment for me… It is not that easy to make friends for someone in my position…” Marina pouted to show her frustration. “But wonderful… Do you really think that about me?” The princess asked awkwardly while looking quite embarrassed.
“I sure do.” Julius immediately nodded while keeping eye contact with the embarrassed princess.
Both Julius and Marina simply looked at each other and smiled… Marina had a faint blush on her face and all…
Sigh… There’s no way I can compete with that… How could I? The gods can be quite cruel sometimes…
While I was busy wallowing in my own misery after looking at the boy I recently started to like being so close to someone as important as the Crown Princess, something really small almost crashed against my face… It was so sudden that my mind couldn’t react properly, however, because of my training my body had moved on its own… My hands were already on the hilt of my blade, waiting to unsheath it at a moment’s notice.
It wouldn’t be necessary for me to draw my blade out though, as that something, was no one other than Leaf, the small white-haired fairy.
“I’m back!” She said happily. “Lili says that everything will be ready for the party in a few minutes. She said that we will have lots of fun!” The excitable fairy suddenly landed on my shoulder while smiling from ear to ear.
“Mom sure works fast… Well, she does have a troupe of assistants this time around. I kinda pity Aunt Sarana and the others.” Luna seemed impressed.
“I hope Klein isn’t slacking this time around… He was talking big about how he would perfectly decorate everything because he wanted to show a certain someone what he was capable of.” Mia said while shooting glances at Elissa.
“All that mess from before really made me hungry again, so how about we go inside to have some delicious party food?” Liliana asked as she rose from her seat and started stretching.
“That does sound like a lovely idea! I’m looking forward to having a taste of Ms. Lilia’s food again after such a long time!” Marina looked quite excited. “Though, Julius’s cooking is still my favorite…” The princess whispered something that I couldn’t quite hear...
“Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s head inside, shall we?” Julius nodded to himself before getting off Marina’s lap.
Sigh… I didn’t manage to give him his gift… With such a perfect person like Marina around Julius, it will be impossible for me to give it to him… Especially when I can barely talk properly in front of her…
“Neris, you okay?” Leaf suddenly started repeatedly poking my cheek, all the while she had a curious look on her face. “Your face is all gloomy and pale… You also were playing with that thing in your pocket ever since you got here… Could it be…?” Leaf suddenly got closer to me and looked at me with suspicion.
Leaf is quite perceptive for such a little being…
The small fairy was right. Until a few moments ago before my hands grabbed the hilt of my blade, I was fidgeting and restlessly messing around with a special thing I had saved in my pocket…
“Ah! I get it! That’s a gift for Juli, isn’t it!? You’re looking so gloomy because you’ve been too nervous to give it to him! Am I wrong?” Leaf somehow had more or less got me figured out. She also had announced my predicament quite loudly…
“A gift for me? You shouldn’t have bothered. It is just like I told Marina, your presence here is also a gift for me.” Julius looked a little embarrassed, however, he immediately shot me that particular smile of his… The smile that always came to my mind whenever I thought about the black-haired boy.
I don’t know why, but even though the princess was watching me, that smile of the boy I like somehow made me feel like I was full of courage all of a sudden. Because of that, I was certain that I needed to give Julius his gift right then and there…
“Thank you. But I insist… The gift I brought is not something outrageous or anything out of the ordinary, but I would really like you to have it…” I looked at Julius with determination as I took a pouch from my pocket.
Inside the pouch, there was a book filled with ancient poems and a locket… Both items were part of an almost forgotten custom from when the twin continents of Hresviae were one and the many tribes roamed the land… A time before the Thousand-Year War… A time when all races including the demons lived in delicate harmony with each other.
“This poem book and this locket are part of an ancient tradition the Shtrel family adopted ever since the conception of our house. It is said that when all the races lived in harmony in the sole continent of Hresviae, they often exchanged books of poetry and lockets as a sign of goodwill towards each other.” I explained as I pulled both items out of the pouch and placed them on the table. “They were also given as good luck charms to the ancient Hresviaen warriors by their spouse before they left to go to battle.” I said as I looked at the black-haired boy I had fallen for, clearly waiting for his reaction.
Julius said nothing initially… He just walked closer to the table and picked both items from the table while I watched. After just a few moments of him examining my gift thoroughly, his face suddenly beamed up and became filled with happiness.
“I will treasure this forever. Thank you very much, Neris.” He showed me the most heartwarming and precious smile I had ever seen in my life. He was quick to catch onto the meaning of my gift…
I was both speechless because of the precious smile he had just shown me as well as relieved thanks to the fact that he had liked his gift… The genuine look of appreciation on his face as he handled my gift with care was enough to put my heart finally at ease and free it from my insecurity.
Even if I think I can compete with someone like Marina, I can’t give up on my feelings… I cannot break that promise I made to myself.
The gift I had made for Julius served both as a sign of goodwill as well as a good luck charm for a warrior… It was the perfect gift for Julius who is going to represent Marina in the tournament.
But the gift also served another purpose… For my family, when such a gift is given to a member of the opposite gender it is meant as a promise… Usually, that promise is an engagement, but in my case, it is a promise that I’m determined to give my all to win the tournament… That I will give my all to impress Julius with my abilities.
The fact that Julius accepted my gift and looked so happy while doing it really was all I needed to see…
I might be a boring girl who only cares about knighthood and only knows how to swing a sword, but I am very damn good at it! Just you wait, Julius… I am certain that I will leave you speechless when you see me fight!
GodlyKamui Heya! Here's the chapter as promised! And it is extra long too! Since this arc is going to be so heavily filled with battles and action soon, I decided to continue the light-hearted mood from the last chapter. I am pretty happy with how the chapter turned out this time around and I don't much to comment on it, but I still would like to hear your thoughts!
Anyway, I am going to sleep now since I still have to work in the morning and I got crushed at the gym (both irl and in pokemon) today...
As usual, I do hope that you enjoyed the chapter, please don't forget to comment and leave some hearts since that motivates me to continue writing the story! Also, join the discord to talk about the story and see the new picrew character illustrations I'm working on! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/uH6APbzrFR
Buh-bye!
After what seemed like an eternal shopping trip, my carriage had finally arrived at the place where my best friend was staying.
Julius was currently staying at an old yet cozy-looking two-storied house in the middle of the Artisan's district, a few kilometers away from the poorer areas of the city.
This particular place was once the home of one of the most talented mages the Empire had produced in its long history, Arentia Mardyk.
When I arrived just a few moments ago, the whole neighborhood seemed to be in disarray.
The people who lived near the place I was going to visit were all looking around nervously, and there was even a great amount of residual mana in the area, proof that a huge fight had broken out not long ago… Which, of course, explained the presence of an order of knights in the area conducting an investigation.
Well, even if something like that did happen, that is not the reason why I came here today, and since this is not an official visit, I will leave that matter into the capable hands of our country’s knights.
After all, today is such a happy occasion that I won’t even bother investigating what happened~.
In any case, after taking an hour to buy the perfect outfit for the occasion, I was finally ready to meet my best friend face-to-face after three years of not seeing each other.
In the end, I decided on a simple white blouse, a blue long-skirt, a white hat, and a pair of comfortable brown boots. It was the perfect choice for such a joyful event! It was nothing as fancy as the dresses I usually have to wear by protocol, in fact, it was very modest compared to those dresses, which is what made it perfect for this visit~.
With this outfit, it would be far easier to relax and have a good time with my friend! It also happens to make me look more like a normal girl, instead of the future ruler of this country, so it makes meeting my friend a less troublesome matter.
"Truth be told, I didn't expect to meet you here, Neris." I said to my underclassmen as I waited for her and the other knights to open the gate for me.
Neris Shtrel, the oldest daughter of Viscount Shtrel and his current heir. I do not interact with her on a regular basis, but I have a positive opinion of her. Although she’s only a year younger than me, her skills with the sword are already on par or even above some of my classmates. From what little I have interacted with her, I can say that she’s usually a very calm and composed young lady. Her manners have always been remarkable as well. She’s an excellent knight and a noble lady in the making.
She and her cousin Alberis Nebandia will definitely be important subjects of the crown in the future, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to form a friendly relationship with her now that I can.
I remember that Julius asked me in his previous letter if I had made any new friends… It would be really embarrassing to tell him that I have not been very successful on that end…
“I could say the same thing, Your Highness. I never expected to meet the Crown Princess in such circumstances, much less here of all places…” Neris spoke with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
“You do need to act so politely with me today. I am not here as a Princess today, so please treat me as you would treat any other classmate.” I said to Neris, trying to reassure her.
“Your Highness… I’m not sure if I’d be able to do that… But if that is your wish then I will try my best.” Neris bowed to me, still trying to treat me with the utmost respect.
“Neris, I would prefer that you referred to me by my name instead of calling me Your Highness all the time… I insist on this, so you can consider that you have special permission to do it.” I smiled warmly at her.
“Your Highness, I’m afraid that would be…” Neris looked at me with her mouth agape, her face filled with disbelief.
“Disrespectful? It is fine, Neris. I’m allowing you to call me by my name from now, so if anyone has any complaints about it, I will gladly give them a piece of my mind.” I tried to reassure her again.
“No, that’s not…” For some reason, Neris looked a little pale.
Weird… This is more or less how I became friends with Mia, Liliana, and Luna… Why does she look like she has seen a ghost? Am I taking the wrong approach to this? Was I too overly familiar?
Sigh… Julius… Making friends is truly such a difficult thing… I was really blessed by the gods for having you and the others as my friends…
“Well, if you don’t mind Neris, we can continue with this once we are inside the property. I’d hate to bring a lot of attention to myself, especially today.” I said to Neris and the other knights beside her, beckoning to open the gate that lead to the patio of the property.
In that place, I could feel a very warm and familiar source of mana… Something that belonged to the person that I wanted to see so badly.
I also wanted to get off the prying eye of the citizens as I was currently out of the castle without my father’s permission. My aunt ordered the servants to prepare an unmarked carriage for me to come here and I am even wearing a cloak over my new outfit to hide my true identity from the common citizens.
Without even a single word of protest, Neris and his fellow knights opened the wooden gate of the property that once belonged to the house of the legendary witch that was once the most powerful magician in our country.
As soon as the wooden gate moved, I was able to see several familiar faces as well as a few I didn't recognize…
I could see that both the twins and Mia had grown quite a lot and had changed considerably…
Luna had seemingly cut her hair short and changed her hairstyle. There was a certain air of maturity all around her as well. Her serious gaze was completely focused on me.
Liliana, contrary to her sister, had her hair way longer than the last time we met. She still seemed to have that playful and teasing attitude which was clearly reflected in her smile while looking at me.
And Mia… Mia was now way taller than the twins. Her hair was also longer than the last time we met, but also shorter than Liliana's. She was displaying her warm and friendly demeanor by vigorously waving her hands to welcome me.
All three of them had become pretty beautiful in the three years we hadn't seen each other… I couldn't help but feel a little envious of that, but I was so happy to see them that those feelings of envy quickly disappeared from my mind.
However, as happy as I was to see my friends, I was also quite shocked… Dumbfounded even… I just couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing…
"So small…" I couldn't contain my disbelief as those words suddenly came out of my mouth.
The cause for that shock was no one other than the person I wanted to see so badly, my best friend and quite possibly a person I might have feelings for, Julius.
Other than his hair being a bit longer than last time, he looked exactly the same as he did when we last saw each other three years ago… He had barely grown in size, yet there was some intense pressure all around him, his mana was overflowing out of his body yet it was like a tranquil lake… All that was proof that he was hundreds of times stronger than he was when we last met…
He also looked more reliable somehow… Both of the twins were sitting as close as possible to him and hugging him tightly, which I couldn't deny that it made me feel envious… There was also a small being, a fairy sitting on top of his head…
I couldn't tell why, but as soon as Julius and I made eye contact, I started feeling increasingly nervous… Of course, thanks to my education as a princess, it was a piece of cake to hide what I was feeling and not let it show on my face.
"Let's take it easy, Marina… We can start by greeting each other and then some small talk… There's no reason to be nervous, it is just Julius… Your bestie." I tried to ease up my nerves, but it was futile…
My heart had started beating faster than before just by making eye contact with him…
"Your highness, please forgive my manners, but my husband and I will return outside as we are still investigating the incident that took place not so long ago. We will also handle any curious onlookers that might try to find out about your identity." The female catkin knight Martha said to me without a hint of nervousness in her voice.
Contrary to her husband, the male catkin knight Rick, who has been pale and has not spoken a word since I arrived just minutes ago, Martha has been extremely reliable.
She went as far as swearing an oath to me to keep my identity a secret after I revealed myself to her and vaguely told her the motives of my visit and why she had to stay quiet about it.
She even told me that Neris, her husband, the other girl who seems to be Neris' friend, and herself all served Ophelia Nebandia and were part of the order of the Roses of Nebandia. She swore that none of them would say a word about my visit.
I was already aware that Neris was part of that order of knights, but it really made Martha gain my trust that she said all that and put the honor of the Roses on the line.
"Very well, you may leave. Please keep up the good work." I immediately nodded to Martha and smiled. I was still trying to hide my nervousness.
Both Martha and her husband bowed to me before quickly leaving the patio and closing the wooden gate. Only Neris and her friend remained as my unofficial attendants.
Because the gates behind us were closed, I decided to finally remove the cloak I was wearing since it would only be a bother from now on.
I quietly motioned the two apprentice knights to escort me to the table where my friends were. Neris was quick to catch on, but it took a few moments for her friend to understand my meaning as she was still looking quite nervous.
And so without wasting any time, I was taken to see my friend…
During the short walk toward the table, I didn't stop making eye contact with him… My nerves started to become unbearable as he suddenly smiled at me.
He hasn't changed at all…
That was all I could think of. I couldn't believe that the person I wanted to see had changed so little in the last three years.
As soon as I reached the table where my friends were, Julius immediately rose from his seat and walked up to me, leaving his adoptive sisters and the little fairy behind.
While he stood in front of me, I couldn't help but be amazed by the fact that I was towering over him by a large margin… I am currently around 1.70 meters tall and he seemed no taller than 1.30, so the difference in size was quite noticeable…
"It has been a while, Marina." He said with a gentle smile on her face.
"Indeed, it really has been a long time, Julius." The nervousness I was feeling was only surpassed by the happiness of seeing my friend again. I quickly smiled back at my best friend.
"Would you mind crouching for a bit?" He asked for something strange, and all the while he was still smiling…
"Okay?" I was a little confused, but I still complied with his odd request, crouching so our faces would be more or less on the same level.
I really didn't expect what was going to happen next…
"You just called me small, didn't you?" Julius said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes while he started to pinch and pull my cheeks in all directions.
I couldn't help but let out a surprised yelp thanks to my best friend's sudden attack…
Naturally, what he was doing didn’t actually hurt me. Julius was clearly holding back, and even if he wasn’t, my defense is too high for something like that to hurt. It was all just a little game among us.
“It is time for me to teach this best friend of mine a lesson!” Julius said with a lot of enjoyment in his voice.
“W-W-Wait! Why!?” I asked Julius as my voice was slightly muffled thanks to him and his little game…
“I’m not small! I’m waiting for my growth spurt!” Julius suddenly started to pull my cheeks even more intensely than before… He was obviously pissed off…
Needless to say, the two knights that served as my current unofficial attendants were both pale and completely flabbergasted thanks to Julius’s little game, all the while Liliana, Luna, Mia, and even the little fairy were laughing because of the antics of my best friend…
I could not believe what my eyes were seeing… I was still in disbelief after suddenly meeting the Crown Princess, Her Highness Marina, all of a sudden on the street outside of the Mardyk household, but witnessing the scene in front of me simply left me speechless…
“Jeez… You were pulling too hard…” Her Highness Marina complained a little while rubbing her reddened cheeks.
“You pushed a button and I simply had to teach you the consequences.” Julius crossed his arms while he sat on Marina’s lap, he seemed to be proud of his actions.
“You know that you could be punished by law for what you did to me? You’re still as mean as you were when I first met you…” Marina said with a cold tone, however, she was hugging Julius quite tightly.
It was unthinkable for anyone in the Empire, both nobles and commoners alike, to do the thing that Julius had just done to the Crown Princess… If anything, what Julius had done was outrageous…
“For playing around for a bit? That’s a bit too harsh, don’t you think…?” Julius let out some words of complaint.
“I didn’t say I was going to actually punish you… You’re my best friend and my champion, I need you in top shape to spend quality time together and to participate in the tournament!” The princess nodded to herself while keeping her tight embrace on the son of the Skull Crusher. “Speaking of playing, how about we play some football like the good old times? I haven’t practiced since, so I have been dying to play with you again! We even have more people to join this time!” The princess suddenly started beaming with excitement.
Yep… What Julius was doing with the princess was definitely extremely outrageous… But I simply have no words to describe how shocking it is to witness the Crown Princess in such a manner…
Normally at the Academy, she’s the epitome of perfection… A composed young lady with perfect manners and perfect grades in all subjects, an astoundingly beautiful person who always has an almost divine smile on her face, and whose sole presence is enough to make entire rooms fall silent… She’s a person that even the sons and daughters of dukes have trouble talking to…
Even if you didn’t know her, it would be easy to tell that she was someone important thanks to the pressure around her… A person that was destined to be born at the top of the top…
Because of all that, seeing the princess act so childishly and with such excitement is just too much for me to process… In fact, even though I recently became aware that Julius was a special participant in the tournament, I did not expect them to be this close and act so casually with each other…
“I’ll pass. Winning against you would be too easy if you haven’t practiced at all.” Luna suddenly spoke up while shrugging.
As soon as she said that, I couldn’t help but look at Luna with a dumbfounded expression. The youngest twin looked as if a spark had been ignited in her eyes… She was looking at Marina quite intently, almost like there was some tension between the two.
“Oh, don’t worry! It will take me a few minutes to warm up and catch up. We need to retake our competition where we left it, don’t we?” Marina looked back at Luna and smiled from ear to ear. A strange pressure was coming from her as well…
The strange pressure between those two was a little suffocating, especially for Elissa who was definitely not used to being around a member of the Royal Family as she seemed like she was about to pass out any minute now… Julius’s aunt, Laura, also looked extremely nervous while repeatedly casting a few glances at the princess and Julius and then immediately looking away…
“Take it easy, you two… If you’re going to get as fired up as you did the last time we played, then I won’t be the goalkeeper… I don’t think my hands and my stomach can’t endure that much punishment again…” Julius frowned as he spoke to the pair.
“That’s right! As much as I want to make everyone bite the dust just like last time, today’s a very special day and I don’t want Julius to get even more stress on his birthday! Especially after what happened a while now…” Mia spoke with confidence before her expression softened after taking a peek at her loved one.
Ah! The gift! The shock of meeting the princess made me forget about it! I need to give it to him soon! I wonder what he’ll think of it! I just need to find the right time to speak up!
“Don’t get too cocky, Mia. Don’t you remember that I managed to beat you last time?” Liliana looked slightly annoyed. “But I agree with that… Let’s take it easy today…” Liliana’s annoyance suddenly turned into guilt as she looked toward Julius.
“Right…” Luna nodded with a difficult-to-read expression. There was a myriad of emotions all over her face…
“Let’s leave it for another time, I suppose.” Marina looked at both twins with worry.
“I was kidding, you know? I don’t mind if you all get fired up while playing…” Julius smiled awkwardly.
“I have some time before I have to return to the castle, so I think we can play a few matches later. How does that sound?” Marina smiled at the twins and Mia. “In the meantime, I want to catch up with you! There’s only so much you can tell in a letter!” Marina held Julius even closer to her…
Despite my initial shock because of the situation at hand, I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of the princess since she was monopolizing the attention of the boy that became so important to me in a matter of days…
“If you don’t mind me asking, what is all the commotion outside about? Liliana and Luna also seem to be forcing themselves a little… Is everything alright?” Marina tried to be tactful about the topic.
“Hmm? I thought that you already knew about it since there’s such a large number of knights outside…” Julius suddenly looked me in the eyes very intently.
I was caught off guard so I became embarrassed… That embarrassment soon turned into nervousness as the princess was also watching me…
Eeek! If she looks at me that intently, there’s no way I can’t speak up… That pressure around her is too much for me to even try to make a coherent sentence…
“Well, you don’t need to worry about it since the situation is already dealt with.” Julius reassured Marina. “But to put it briefly, I had to knock the lights out of some jackasses who severely bullied Liliana and Luna in the past.” Julius’s face became filled with anger for a moment. That anger quickly disappeared as he smiled at his sisters as a way to reassure them as well…
“I see… Where are these imbeciles? I wish to have a word with them.” Marina’s expression was cold… Extremely cold… It was the first time I had seen such an expression on her face.
“As I said before, you don’t need to worry about them. They won’t be a problem ever again. And even if they do try, neither Mom nor Dad nor myself will let that slide.” Julius turned around and looked at Marina with a serious expression. “I doubt they will try anything, especially since Dad personally went back to his former household to give a friendly warning to Lord Laurent.” Julius explained to Marina
Huh? The Skull Crusher went to visit the Laurents…? Oh, gods… This will end up badly… Really badly…
“The Laurents were also involved!?” Marina looked at Julius with a shocked expression.
“Kinda. As long as they have a good head on their shoulders, they won’t try my dad’s patience. But as I said, don’t worry about it.” Julius again tried to reassure the princess. “Still, it is quite annoying that Grandpa got himself into an indirect debt with the Laurents… Of all the people he could have asked money from, he had to ask the father of one of those idiots…” Julius became annoyed. A frown quickly replaced his usual smile…
“Is that so? Well, if you say so… Though, you know that you can ask me for anything, right? I’m your bestie, so if you need protection or want me to pay that debt in your grandfather’s place, then just say the word and I will do it. That’s what friends are for, after all.” Marina looked at Julius with an earnest expression.
“Anything huh… So even if I asked you for your hand in marriage you would agree? Do you want to rule the Empire together with me?” A teasing smile appeared on Julius’s face in response to the earnest attitude of the princess.
WHAT!? He just asked what I think he asked!?
Needless to say, I was speechless after hearing such an unexpected thing…
“That’s… Umm…” Marina was taken aback by the sudden question… Just like me, she was speechless. “Jeez! You’re so mean! Why are you asking me such weird questions!?” Marina quickly grew embarrassed as her face was painted in a deep shade of red.
“I was just teasing you, Marina.” Julius laughed while looking at the embarrassed princess.
Oh, thank the gods he was just playing around… I mean, I knew he was just teasing her, but still! It is difficult to tell sometimes when he’s being serious or playful…
“I don’t think we need protection… As for the money, I think I should have just enough money to pay the debt for Grandpa. I probably should pay them and make them sign a magically binding contract before the knights take them away… Still, thanks for the offer. I’m glad that you’re my friend.” Julius showed Marina a smile filled with gratitude.
“I’m glad that you’re my friend too… I’m glad that all of you are my friends and that you’re alright, but what I said still stands… If you ever need anything, just say the word and I will move heaven and earth for all of you.” Marina said with a serious expression mixed with a bit of embarrassment thanks to Julius’s previous question
“Aww! That’s cute! You’re my precious friend too!” Mia looked incredibly happy.
“We would do the same and that goes without saying! You’re our friend, and we would definitely help you no matter what, Rina!” Liliana nodded in agreement with Mia before looking at Marina with a teasing smile.
“Ah… Y-Y-You promised in our letters that you wouldn’t use such an embarrassing nickname in person! ” Marina became even redder thanks to Liliana’s cheeky attitude.
Giving such a childish nickname to the Crown Princess… Am I actually awake right now? This is not a dream, right? No one would ever think of giving such a nickname to a member of the Royal Family!
“I couldn’t help it! After you said something so cute and lovely, I couldn’t myself back! Teehee!” Liliana stuck her tongue out to tease the princess…
“Of course, I will help you as well. I can’t leave my friend who’s also my rival on her own, can I?” Luna looked at Marina and smiled confidently. “I hope you don’t mind, Rina!” A teasing smile appeared on her face as well.
“You all are really mean, you know that!?” Marina immediately pouted in response. It was clear that she was beyond embarrassed.
“And now you realize that?” Julius playfully laughed because of Marina’s embarrassment. “But the same thing goes for me, Marina. If I have to move heaven and earth for your sake, then so be it.” He said with a serious expression, almost as if he was making a promise to the princess.
Everyone felt silent after he said that…
…
…
…
Even I had no words for how gallant those words were when they were spoken by the one I loved… I just wished those had been directed at me instead…
“Julius… Umm… Thank you…” Marina’s cheeks couldn’t get any redder due to the intense bashfulness she must have been feeling… She was averting her gaze away from him, however… “Here… This is for you…” Marina suddenly pulled a red crystal out of a small bag she was carrying and quickly placed it on Julius’s right hand.
“This is… [Communication Crystals]?” Said Julius as he held up the crystal and examined it carefully
“Yeah. Exchanging letters is fun and all that, but I’m a bit tired of having to wait to hear from my friends… Tian Sebas is also not getting any younger and he is not going to be around to deliver our letters forever, so I decided to commission a few of these.” Marina explained, still looking quite embarrassed. “I’d like to hear your voices more often, so… Umm… Please accept it…” Marina suddenly placed the small bag on the table, revealing it to be full of those red crystals…
As soon as I saw the insides of that bag, I almost fainted from the sheer shock I received… Those red crystals were all the latest models when it came to communication crystals… Judging by the number of crystals inside the bag, there was at least one red gold coin, or rather 100,000 Des invested into the contents of that bag…
Ah… Is this her birthday present for him…? How am I supposed to compete with that…?
“Ah! But don’t misunderstand me! This is not your actual gift! It will take some time before your real gift is ready, so can you please wait until the tournament ends?” Marina asked Julius in a panic.
It is not even the real gift…
“Sure, I don’t mind. It would be fine if this was my real gift too, you know? I know how much these things can be worth, and these few look like they cost a fortune, so it is more than enough. Still, I’m grateful for your gift.” Julius smiled at Marina while he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
It really DID cost a fortune…
“No! There’s no way I can give you just that as a gift! It would leave a bad taste in my mouth!” Marina suddenly vehemently protested.
“Marina, this is already plenty enough…” Julius was taken aback by how intense Marina was being.
“It is not! Besides, your real gift is close to being finished, so it would be a waste if you didn’t accept it!” Marina held Julius by the shoulder. She looked a little panicked.
“Well, that’s a fair point… But you don’t need to go overboard next time, okay? I’m fine with getting anything. You being here today with us is also a gift in itself. Thank you, Marina!” He reluctantly accepted before smiling warmly at Marina.
Seriously… How am I even supposed to compete with the Crown Princess for Julius's attention? She's everything that I'm not… I am just a girl who only knows how to swing a sword and she's just the perfect princess of the Empire who does everything right…
Sigh… I can't even bring myself to speak up in her presence and my job could be considered worthless compared to Marina's…
Even though I went through the huge trouble of convincing my parents about the whole engagement idea and it will be all for naught… How depressing…
“But these sure will be convenient. We will be able to talk every day now!” Julius said with excitement as he looked into the bag.
"Yeah! Isn't it great?" Marina nodded in agreement while smiling at Julius. "There's more than enough for everyone so I insist that all of you take one." Marina looked delighted for some reason.
"Ehh? Is it okay? Then don't mind if I do!" Mia was the first one to pick one of the crystals from the bag. She looked fairly excited.
"Hehehe! I think the crystal suits you. It is exactly the same shade of red as your hair." Marina immediately complimented Mia.
"I sure hope you don't mind me calling every now and then to hear some juicy gossip from the capital!" Liliana said with a teasing smile.
"You're welcome to do so, obviously. Although, I don't know if I'm the most appropriate one to ask for gossip…" Marina replied with an awkward expression.
"I suppose I don't mind calling you every day. Just to boast, of course." Luna made the same smile as Liliana while looking at the confused princess.
"I wonder what you want to boast about…" Marina tilted her head and sounded moderately confused. "But I'd definitely like to talk with you every day!" Her face brightened up as she started beaming with excitement.
Sigh… I definitely can't compete with this woman… No, there's not even a chance for this to be a real competition…
I couldn't help but feel depressed as I watched the others all get excited about their new communication crystals… The contents of the bag had been reduced a bit, but there were still several more crystals inside.
"Neris, are you not going to pick up one?" Marina suddenly asked me.
Ehh? Me?
"Your friend has to pick one up too. That elven lady has to pick one as well. I apologize that I haven't even asked your names yet… I'm really ashamed of that, but I was really nervous about seeing Julius again so it slipped my mind, I apologize for that…" Marina looked at us with remorse.
"Why were you nervous about meeting me? Were you afraid of me being mean to you again?" Julius looked at the princess with amusement. "But I suppose it is also my fault for not introducing them to you… The elf lady is my mother's sister, or in other words, my adoptive aunt, Laura." Julius spoke with that gentle smile of his.
"N-N-Nice to meet you, Your Highness…" Laura immediately stiffened up and tried to be polite while she was clearly panicking inside.
"No need to be so polite, you can just call me Marina. I’ll call you Laura in return, okay.” Marina smiled warmly at Laura.
“Y-Y-Yes!” Laura shouted while she had a fully rigid back and a pale look on her face… She looked spooked for understandable reasons.
“Auntie, you don’t have to be that stiff, it is fine…” Julius looked at the poor nervous elven woman with an awkward smile. “Anyway, the other one is called Elissa. As you can tell, she’s in the same order of knights as Neris and they are really close friends.” Julius suddenly looked at me and winked.
“I see… It is a pleasure to meet you, Elissa. I’m really sorry that I didn’t say that sooner, so please feel free to also call me Marina and treat me casually as an apology. In fact, I insist that you treat me casually just like Julius and the others too.” Marina looked at Elissa with excitement. Her eyes were basically sparkling for some reason…
“S-S-Sure…” My friend, however, was barely able to say a few words and nod because of how nervous she was. She seemed to be genuinely scared of saying something to offend the princess.
“Good! Now that is out of the way, I want you to pick one of the crystals for yourselves.” Marina said as he pointed at the small bag.
“Are you sure about this, your High… I mean, Marina?” I asked the princess with a worried look on my face. I was about to call her Her Highness, but a single glance of hers made me stop myself.
“Of course I am sure.” Marina nodded confidently. “I would like to get to know all of you better. Truth be told, I don’t have a lot of friends besides Julius and the girls… So, because of that, I would like all of you to become my friends too!” The princess looked extremely excited.
My friend…? Does she really want to become friends with us…? That perfect, beautiful, and unreachable young lady who’s above everyone in this country wants to be my friend…?
I was clearly stunned by what the princess had just said… Elissa and Laura even more than I was… The three of us simply couldn’t wrap our heads around what she had told us…
“Oh? I’m surprised that we still are your only friends… You’re a wonderful person and a great friend despite your occasional bratty attitude. You should have hundreds of friends.” Julius looked at Marina and smiled. He seemed to really enjoy teasing her.
“Jeez… You’re still being mean to me at such an important moment for me… It is not that easy to make friends for someone in my position…” Marina pouted to show her frustration. “But wonderful… Do you really think that about me?” The princess asked awkwardly while looking quite embarrassed.
“I sure do.” Julius immediately nodded while keeping eye contact with the embarrassed princess.
Both Julius and Marina simply looked at each other and smiled… Marina had a faint blush on her face and all…
Sigh… There’s no way I can compete with that… How could I? The gods can be quite cruel sometimes…
While I was busy wallowing in my own misery after looking at the boy I recently started to like being so close to someone as important as the Crown Princess, something really small almost crashed against my face… It was so sudden that my mind couldn’t react properly, however, because of my training my body had moved on its own… My hands were already on the hilt of my blade, waiting to unsheath it at a moment’s notice.
It wouldn’t be necessary for me to draw my blade out though, as that something, was no one other than Leaf, the small white-haired fairy.
“I’m back!” She said happily. “Lili says that everything will be ready for the party in a few minutes. She said that we will have lots of fun!” The excitable fairy suddenly landed on my shoulder while smiling from ear to ear.
“Mom sure works fast… Well, she does have a troupe of assistants this time around. I kinda pity Aunt Sarana and the others.” Luna seemed impressed.
“I hope Klein isn’t slacking this time around… He was talking big about how he would perfectly decorate everything because he wanted to show a certain someone what he was capable of.” Mia said while shooting glances at Elissa.
“All that mess from before really made me hungry again, so how about we go inside to have some delicious party food?” Liliana asked as she rose from her seat and started stretching.
“That does sound like a lovely idea! I’m looking forward to having a taste of Ms. Lilia’s food again after such a long time!” Marina looked quite excited. “Though, Julius’s cooking is still my favorite…” The princess whispered something that I couldn’t quite hear...
“Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s head inside, shall we?” Julius nodded to himself before getting off Marina’s lap.
Sigh… I didn’t manage to give him his gift… With such a perfect person like Marina around Julius, it will be impossible for me to give it to him… Especially when I can barely talk properly in front of her…
“Neris, you okay?” Leaf suddenly started repeatedly poking my cheek, all the while she had a curious look on her face. “Your face is all gloomy and pale… You also were playing with that thing in your pocket ever since you got here… Could it be…?” Leaf suddenly got closer to me and looked at me with suspicion.
Leaf is quite perceptive for such a little being…
The small fairy was right. Until a few moments ago before my hands grabbed the hilt of my blade, I was fidgeting and restlessly messing around with a special thing I had saved in my pocket…
“Ah! I get it! That’s a gift for Juli, isn’t it!? You’re looking so gloomy because you’ve been too nervous to give it to him! Am I wrong?” Leaf somehow had more or less got me figured out. She also had announced my predicament quite loudly…
“A gift for me? You shouldn’t have bothered. It is just like I told Marina, your presence here is also a gift for me.” Julius looked a little embarrassed, however, he immediately shot me that particular smile of his… The smile that always came to my mind whenever I thought about the black-haired boy.
I don’t know why, but even though the princess was watching me, that smile of the boy I like somehow made me feel like I was full of courage all of a sudden. Because of that, I was certain that I needed to give Julius his gift right then and there…
“Thank you. But I insist… The gift I brought is not something outrageous or anything out of the ordinary, but I would really like you to have it…” I looked at Julius with determination as I took a pouch from my pocket.
Inside the pouch, there was a book filled with ancient poems and a locket… Both items were part of an almost forgotten custom from when the twin continents of Hresviae were one and the many tribes roamed the land… A time before the Thousand-Year War… A time when all races including the demons lived in delicate harmony with each other.
“This poem book and this locket are part of an ancient tradition the Shtrel family adopted ever since the conception of our house. It is said that when all the races lived in harmony in the sole continent of Hresviae, they often exchanged books of poetry and lockets as a sign of goodwill towards each other.” I explained as I pulled both items out of the pouch and placed them on the table. “They were also given as good luck charms to the ancient Hresviaen warriors by their spouse before they left to go to battle.” I said as I looked at the black-haired boy I had fallen for, clearly waiting for his reaction.
Julius said nothing initially… He just walked closer to the table and picked both items from the table while I watched. After just a few moments of him examining my gift thoroughly, his face suddenly beamed up and became filled with happiness.
“I will treasure this forever. Thank you very much, Neris.” He showed me the most heartwarming and precious smile I had ever seen in my life. He was quick to catch onto the meaning of my gift…
I was both speechless because of the precious smile he had just shown me as well as relieved thanks to the fact that he had liked his gift… The genuine look of appreciation on his face as he handled my gift with care was enough to put my heart finally at ease and free it from my insecurity.
Even if I think I can compete with someone like Marina, I can’t give up on my feelings… I cannot break that promise I made to myself.
The gift I had made for Julius served both as a sign of goodwill as well as a good luck charm for a warrior… It was the perfect gift for Julius who is going to represent Marina in the tournament.
But the gift also served another purpose… For my family, when such a gift is given to a member of the opposite gender it is meant as a promise… Usually, that promise is an engagement, but in my case, it is a promise that I’m determined to give my all to win the tournament… That I will give my all to impress Julius with my abilities.
The fact that Julius accepted my gift and looked so happy while doing it really was all I needed to see…
I might be a boring girl who only cares about knighthood and only knows how to swing a sword, but I am very damn good at it! Just you wait, Julius… I am certain that I will leave you speechless when you see me fight!
GodlyKamui Heya! Here's the chapter as promised! And it is extra long too! Since this arc is going to be so heavily filled with battles and action soon, I decided to continue the light-hearted mood from the last chapter. I am pretty happy with how the chapter turned out this time around and I don't much to comment on it, but I still would like to hear your thoughts!
Anyway, I am going to sleep now since I still have to work in the morning and I got crushed at the gym (both irl and in pokemon) today...
As usual, I do hope that you enjoyed the chapter, please don't forget to comment and leave some hearts since that motivates me to continue writing the story! Also, join the discord to talk about the story and see the new picrew character illustrations I'm working on! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/uH6APbzrFR
Buh-bye!
