Special Story 2

“The East Guest Room preparation is complete!”

“Then, please guide Viscount Naigle and his wife to that room shortly…”

“The heating magic device replacement is finished!”

One week after my mother’s bombshell announcement, today.

The servants of the Grand Ducal Family were busy preparing to receive guests and for my birthday banquet. However, even while moving busily, they were so full of life that they seemed quite happy.

‘The Eclipse Grand Ducal Family doesn’t often hold banquets or social events.’

I could feel that they were putting a lot of effort into this event after a long time. Everyone was happily contemplating how splendid to make my birthday, which was heartwarming up to this point, but…

‘The thing I was worried about has happened.’

I gazed out the window with a sour look.

There was still a week left until the banquet, but carriages belonging to guests were already lined up in front of the Eclipse Grand Ducal Castle. Nobles from regions outside the North, who were eager to establish a connection with the Eclipse Grand Ducal Family, had arrived early, using the banquet attendance as an excuse. And these arrivals uniformly stepped out of their carriages accompanied by young gentlemen of my age.

‘It’s so obvious what they’re doing.’

I coldly looked down at the young gentlemen descending with their parents. Although the distance prevented me from hearing their words clearly, I could see them whining that it was cold just from their expressions.

Having to deal with such undignified, snot-nosed children. Fatigue and annoyance welled up instantly.

‘Even the lessons that were cancelled because of them would be more beneficial.’

Although I wasn’t at all pleased, I adjusted my attire and headed toward the hall. Unlike those little brats, I am a young Grand Duchess who knows etiquette and dignity. I had to receive their greetings when they paid their respects to my parents.

‘I’ll make those kids run away first, saying they can’t play with me.’

It was a naughty thought that went against my parents’ expectations. But wouldn’t it be fine as long as I wasn’t caught?

As I made up my mind, my mood and my footsteps became much lighter.

‘How should I drive them away? I feel like if I speak too subtly, they won’t catch on, so I need to be cunning…’

“I hope My Lady will be able to make many friends. Ho ho ho.”

“…”

Old Man Van smiled gently, somehow misunderstanding my lightened steps. My conscience pricked me, as I was only thinking of ways to drive the guests away, so I just rolled my eyes and hurried down the stairs.

When I arrived at the hall, my parents had already arrived and were greeting the guests.

“Father, Mother.”

“Ah, Sasha. You came at just the right time. Offer your greetings.”

“Ooh…”

As I appeared, the guests who had just entered the hall let out small gasps of admiration.

My mother called out to me softly but also pierced me with a less-than-gentle stare, which, translated, was a look of reproach saying, ‘Why are you only coming now!’

But since I had consistently expressed my strong dislike for this, I pretended not to notice my mother’s gaze and stood next to my father.

Unlike my mother, my father was not a person who cared much about social etiquette, so he didn’t say anything in particular. My father was the kind of person who usually said, ‘You are the Empire’s sole young Grand Duchess, and you will become the next Grand Duchess, so the only person you should ever bow your head to is the Emperor.’ 

So, this much was probably nothing to him.

Standing next to my father, I quickly scanned the guests’ faces. There were a total of five families who had quickly arrived ahead of the banquet.

‘That family is the Southern nobility faction, that family is the Central neutral faction…’

And when my gaze turned to the young gentleman of the last family that entered.

“When are we going back? Can’t we go home? It’s cold and horrible here…”

“Shh! We’ll go inside soon, so be quiet.”

He was the young gentleman who was whining about the cold through the window before I came down to the hall. Seeing him fussing, unable to grasp the situation even after entering the Ducal Castle, I immediately crossed him off the list in my head.

What list?

The ‘Maybe he would be okay to keep as a friend?’ list.

“Greetings to the protector of the North, the Silver Wolf of the Frozen Plains, the Empire’s only Grand Duke and Duchess.”

“Pro— protector of the North, the Frozen… huh? Um, greetings to the Grand Duke!”

‘You’re out, too.’

I furiously crossed the name of Viscount Naigle’s young gentleman, who greeted first, off my mental list. He couldn’t even replicate what the Viscount had just said and was clearly nervous. Of course, being nervous meant he at least recognized that they didn’t just come for the banquet, but I had no reason to be understanding.

‘If even Viscount Naigle’s young gentleman, who is older, is like this, will the other young gentlemen be any different?’

And it didn’t take long for me to realize that my expectations were not far off.

“Haa.”

I sighed deeply, not caring if anyone was looking. I had endured it for an hour, but I couldn’t bear it any longer.

‘Why do I have to waste my time babysitting?’

I couldn’t believe I even had to cancel my afternoon lessons for this.

It had only been an hour since we were pushed into the reception room and told to “play amongst the children.” In that one hour, my patience had reached its limit. That was because the five young gentlemen crammed together each fell short of my expectations for different reasons.

“Eww, it’s bitter. Are you seriously serving this for me to eat?”

There was the arrogant one.

“Waaaaah! Mama said there are monsters in the North! Waaah!”

The one who bawled his eyes out.

“You’re pretty.”

The one who lacked manners but had an eye for beauty—a bad seed.

“Ahem. Lady, I heard you often read the book on Pr… Pri-Princess Theory?”

And the one who couldn’t even properly memorize his script but was trying to do something.

“Mmmph.”

The one who was quietly asleep was, at least, the best situation.

‘Is this for real?’

I inwardly muttered a phrase my mother sometimes used, feeling dazed. They must have brought these young gentlemen to look good to me, the young Grand Duchess, and to try and build a connection.

‘Is this truly the right level of quality?’

I briefly denied reality, wondering if I had misjudged. But after exchanging a few words with each of the young gentlemen, my conclusion was one:

‘I want to leave right now.’

An hour was more than enough time to show courtesy. Besides, wouldn’t the guests go back to rest if the host left? So, I wasn’t leaving because I wanted to run away, but because I was being considerate to the guests who had traveled a long distance.

With a perfect excuse in place, I smiled brightly at the young gentlemen gathered in the reception room.

In an instant, the eyes of everyone, except the sleeping young gentleman, were fixed on me. I didn’t miss the chance to speak to them all.

“I have urgent business, so I must excuse myself first. I hope the young gentlemen enjoy the North until the banquet.”

“O-Oh, Lady…”

“Then, goodbye.”

There was one young gentleman who tried to hold me back, but I ruthlessly shook him off and left the reception room. Perhaps to avoid burdening the children while they played, Old Man Van, who always stayed by my side, was not visible in the hallway.

I tried hard not to lose my elegance and immediately turned towards the study. As I walked down the silent corridor, having escaped the stifling air, I slowly made up my mind.

‘I’m going to run away from home.’

If dealing with just five people was this exhausting, how much more tiring would my birthday banquet, held in a week, be? It was my birthday banquet, but I was not happy about it at all. Of course, I knew that my respected and beloved parents were proceeding with this because they had their own reasons, but…

‘Still, if I don’t like it, I don’t like it.’

I didn’t want to make friends with peers I didn’t click with, nor did I want to put on a fake smile just to make friends. My mother hadn’t become friends with Aunt Helena that way, had she?

As soon as I entered the study, I took out my personal diary, opened it, and began to formulate my escape plan.

[Escape!]

[Date: The day of the birthday banquet]

[Supplies: Allowance, clothes…]

Since expressing my opinion verbally didn’t work with my mother, it was time to use a different method. A little voice in the back of my mind wondered, ‘Wouldn’t running away be too much?’ but I briefly considered it and then cleanly dismissed the thought.

‘Sasha, do everything you want to do!’

I was merely following the words that the adults around me, including my parents, always told me.