Chapter 107

"What?"

"Isn't that man over there so splendid? I've never seen anyone else who's so dazzling— uhh?"

When Cairn followed Mary's gaze, he was left shocked. The bright, golden man approached Violet, and all Cairn could do was urgently hold the back of Mary's head and make her bow together with him.

"Bow down, you idiot!"

"What? Why?"

"Are you seriously asking because you don't know? Are you not a citizen of this empire?"

"Huh?"

They whispered furiously at each other. Cairn was normally unphased about other people, but as he dropped his voice and spoke quietly like this, Mary followed suit and whispered as well.

Mary still couldn't understand the situation, but she did as she was told. Next to her, she saw Aldin dropping to the ground, kneeling with his head down.

How many people in this empire would be able to make them bow when Cairn was a duke's son, while Aldin was, despite being of illegitimate lineage, an officially acknowledged noble?

Absorbed in admiring the paintings before her, the only one who went on without noticing the commotion around her was Violet.

"Do you like this piece, Lady?"

"......?"

What pulled her out of her reverie was the sweet voice of a man. And, when she looked to the side, she found out that the owner of that sweet voice was a rather impressive man.

"Greetings to the rising small sun of the Empire."

Though taken aback, Violet reflexively greeted him with respect. The man laughed.

"Haha, you don't have to greet me with such courtesy, I came here only to hang out a little. Hey, you guys can stop and just raise your heads now."

The crown prince of the empire had appeared.

Crown Prince Rajaden was a splendid man. It wasn't simply because he had donned such luxurious clothing.

The inherent light that he'd give off, his facial expressions, his atmosphere. Everything combined was what made him splendid.

It was a feat for her to have been distracted by paintings when such a brilliant person had been right next to her.

Gauging the crown prince's intentions, Violet merely put on a perfunctory smile. The three people who recently raised their heads also furtively gave each other a look. They couldn't understand what exactly was going on here.

"I'm here on a secret inspection for just a little while. After all, this is an exhibition held to commemorate my birthday. Besides that, I wanted to see the responses."

"It's an honor, Your Highness. I wasn't expecting to meet you here when we are not in the palace, so I have not prepared enough to greet you. Please forgive my oversight."

"Really, you don't have to be so formal. Ah, is it because I have such a stern image?"

Rajaden joked and laughed jovially.

Whilst holding the highest authority and unable to tell how uncomfortable the others were in front of his presence, he smiled a picturesque smile.

"You over there, come closer as well. You already know me, but I'll introduce myself. I am Rajaden Elifos K. Liddell."

"Greetings to the small sun of the Empire. I am Aldin of House Aesir, Your Highness."

"Greetings to the small sun of the Empire. I am Cairn P. Everett, Your Highness."

"H-Hello, greetings to the small sun of the Empire..."

The commoner Mary did not know how to greet the royal with a proper greeting, and so she stammered. Whether or not the crown prince was being sincere when he said there's no need to be formal, he did not nitpick her behavior.

"Please forgive us for not being able to greet you in a timely manner."

"Yes, but truly— do I have such a stern image? Well, anyway. I wasn't expecting to meet the future leaders who'll be spearheading the efforts in keeping the Empire safe. It's good to see you."

Rajaden smiled and held out his hand. Perhaps unable to bear it any longer, Cairn faltered back. Inevitably, this left the crown prince face-to-face with Aldin.

"I am undeserving of your praise, Your Highness."

"I disagree. I've heard quite a lot about your feats ever since your days in the academy. And of course, Young Lord Everett? I've heard many things about you through Roen as well."

"Y-Yes? Tha...Thank you."

Cairn replied dazedly as he received Rajaden's flattery. There's no way that Roen would have praised Cairn, but he couldn't think deeply about that right now.

Violet clicked her tongue.

'You really don't get it? He's asking what you're doing when you haven't graduated yet.'

Though she felt a bit sorry towards her younger brother, Violet ignored the desperate plea behind his eyes.

"Haha, it must be fate that we met like this, so why don't we take this opportunity to talk for a moment? It's refreshing to meet the future knight commander here."

"Huuh...?"

A sly-sounding chuckle filled the air.

Even after Cairn's graduation, he would become a knight belonging to House Everett's knightage, not the imperial guard. Thus, he looked even more puzzled after this remark.

In the end, Violet had no other choice but to step up. Her younger brother would most probably trip over his own words and make a mistake sooner or later.

"Your Highness's invitation is quite an honor, but unfortunately, I would have to decline. My maid is also part of my group. Forgive me for not being able to prepare her formally for this occasion."

"I'm not very keen on formalities anyway, so it's alright. You over there, girl, you can act comfortably as well."

"U-Uhh, huh? Y-Yes, Your Highness. It is an honor..."

Mary looked to be on the verge of tears. She was well aware now of how unusual this situation was.

'My maid is a commoner and feels uncomfortable around you. Would you just please go away?'

'Uh-huh, nope. You're a member of a great noble household, too, so why can't you just be on casual terms with me?'

A silent war of nerves ensued.