When the Villains Unite - Chapter 16; Part 1
The next day, I rode to the palace in the carriage Bellamy arranged for me. There were a number of formalities required to enter the palace, but he had already taken care of them for me. It didn’t go how I had expected, but I was glad to have cleared up the misunderstanding between us.
Something tells me that Damian is being particularly sensitive this time…
I leaned back into the seat, shaking my head when the escort asked if there was anything bothering me through the window at the front of the carriage.
I could tell why Bellamy had sent an Imperial carriage when I didn’t see the gatekeepers blocking the palace entrance. I entered through the main gate, so I couldn’t really see the rose garden dedicated to Aria by the Crown Prince.
Now that it was lunchtime, I hoped we could move a bit slower.
“Taran, stop the carriage here.”
“Yes, my lady.”
At my command, the carriage stopped on the shoulder of the road.
The palace was very grand and ornate, as one would expect from the residence where an Emperor with historic wealth would reside. I mean, who else would think of owning a gold statue…
I stopped walking when I saw the statue.
It’s a statue of the Orca family. The eagle soaring above looked very much like the sigil that was always in Bellamy’s hand. Unlike the white tiger symbolizing Eurassia next to it, which was adorned with all gold, the eagle was crowned with diamonds. Unsurprisingly, the eagle’s eyes were also diamonds. I guess the first Duke didn’t have gold eyes.
Well, at least he had beautiful eyes.
The only statues we had in the mansion were made of stone, so I didn’t expect so much detail in the original.
“Princess?”
I turned at the sound of a familiar voice calling to me from afar. I felt a twinge of recognition at the sight of the young man approaching from the distance.
Ashik? Well, he seems to have started looking better since he began dating. Then there was Dion, standing behind him. When our eyes met, he bowed his head toward me. The sight of the two beauties together made me feel better.
Taran, my escort, saw them and took a few steps away from me.
“How have you been, Duke?”
“I’ve been well.”
Yeah, you’re welcome for your connection. There are a lot of hidden meanings in our greeting, so I couldn’t help but laugh.
Dion is unaware of it, so he merely shakes his head at Ashik’s side, unable to comprehend why we were laughing.
“But what business does the princess have to come to the palace alone? And why aren’t your brothers here to greet you?”
“I can’t disturb them when they are working.”
“Their work shouldn’t be a problem…”
He was aware I was unfamiliar with the palace, so he was puzzled by my visit. Ashik smirked at my response.
“The youngest has run away, and I’m trying to catch him, but I don’t know when he’ll show up for work.”
“When you say youngest, you mean…”
Do you mean Damian?”
At Dion’s blunt question, Ashik’s face hardened. His face told me he demanded an explanation, and as I nodded to confirm Dion’s question, Ashik sighed.
“Well, I guess he is technically the youngest.”
“They say he is a doting little brother at home.”
“Stop it, I don’t want to talk about it.”
As Dion tried to tease me about Damian’s affection, I decided to stop playing around. The Orca brothers’ reputations were well established, so I didn’t want to ruin it.
“The Duke and the Head of the Imperial Knights have been in a bad mood lately. Is this related to that?”
“The Head of the Imperial Knights?” I asked, stunned by the unfamiliar title.
Didn’t Damian just say he was the Crown Prince’s escort knight?
“Yes…. He was promoted a week ago.”
“Why all of a sudden….”
“Because of all the things Damian has done for the Empire in the meantime… Didn’t he tell the Princess?”
Of course, he didn’t tell me… We were in a Cold War, after all. Hearing the good news out of someone else’s mouth made me feel a bit wistful.
My expression darkened, and the two men in front of me were embarrassed.
“I-I didn’t realize he hadn’t told you. I’m sorry, Princess.”
“No, no. I’m not offended.”
“Did you fight with each other and he didn’t have a chance to tell you about the promotion? Wait, Rose, are you sure you are okay?”
“I’m fine…”
“Your face doesn’t look fine.”
Well, there are problems between us, as Ashik had surmised. If it was Damian as usual, he would have been wagging his invisible tal and begging me to pat his head for getting promoted.
Did I look that bad? No, I don’t think I look offended.
I smiled at the two in front of me as if two say it was okay, but Ashik took a step back.
“It’s like I just saw Bellam-”
“Duke, what did you just say?”
Ashik’s words were quickly interrupted by Dion. Did he mean Bellamy’s murderous smile? I couldn’t help but glare at him.
“Nevermind…”
“Well, Princess, if you are on your way to the Templar… I mean, to Damian, would you mind if I accompanied you?”
“I would be grateful if you would be so kind.”
“No, I was on my way anyway.”
I accepted Dion’s escort, placing my hand casually on the arm he held out. Ashik followed without comment, looking a little envious at our appearance.
What? Jealousy? Ashik was somewhat condescending, so I just ignored the look in his eyes.
The first main building was close to the Sun Palace, where the Emperor resided, so I had to get deeper into the palace grounds. It was a longer walk than expected, but Dion had a unique way of putting people at ease. On the surface, I expected him to be cynical, but as we talked, I could see why Ashik referred to him as a warm person.
“Next time, you two should come to my estate together. It’s right on the beach and quite secluded, so it’s popular with lovers.”
“No, we’re at-”
“Oh, it’s a nice location. Dion, you haven’t used your vacation yet, have you? Let’s take a trip next month when the weather is nice.”
“I haven’t, but-”
“Oh, that’s great! Tell me the date and I’ll send a message to the Lord.”
“Yes… Thank you for the favor.”
It was inevitable that Dion would end up feeling like it was decided without his input.
Suddenly, the subject of managing the estate came up, along with the story of our trip being canceled due to an argument. I thought that this was the perfect place for the two of them to have their secret love affair away from the public eye. Dion doesn’t realize that I know about their relationship, so he’s bound to be embarrassed.
Looking at Dion, Ashik was smiling in such a cute way. Seeing that he was still enjoying himself, he didn’t seem to have any intention of informing Dion that I knew right now.
Not long after, we entered the main building. As they led me up the stairs, a man who appeared to be an administrator was walking down with a pensive look on their face. He didn’t seem to notice me until he was right in front of Ashik.
“Ew!”
He stumbled backward and hit his ass on the stairs. It made a loud noise, but from the look on his face, he was more shocked that he had fallen in front of a high-ranking noble than the sound or pain in his tailbone.
“Excuse me…!”
Before I could ask what was wrong, he jumped to his feet and tried to run away, tail between his legs. I watched after him, wondering what was wrong, then heard a sigh beside me.
“He won’t be back for a while.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know. Until yesterday I wasn’t sure why either, but I suspect it has something to do with the fight between Damian and the Princess.”
“Or the administrators who misinterpret their moods and choose to go around on their own accord.”
“I don’t know how you can come to such a conclusion.”
Here’s what was said: when Damian went on an expedition and worked overtime for a week, he was himself as per usual. At some point, his whole body started to become tense and he would make everyone else stand. One day, a knight made a mistake in front of Damian and was so intimate by his cold stare that they ran out of the hall.
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