Her moonlight-like hair was neat. The man was adamantly keeping his mouth shut. His gaze was set to look straight ahead, but nothing came into his view. It was not because his senses had gotten weak. The serenely falling light, the sounds of the surroundings, the music played by the orchestra, and the savory and sweet smells around him were all present.

Except that none of it sparked an ounce of his interest. All the man was able to do was stand still in front of the balcony door. It was the proper action of a generous knight. That action enough was enough to prove that.

But the truth of the matter was that he actually was doing absolutely nothing. He observed the surroundings to find out what the woman might be doing when she walked alone inside the balcony. There was a wall stuck between them, but that was not a big problem. Even that was but a moment when his master showed up. He immediately bowed in greeting and as usual, his master received it nonchalantly. Afterward, his master, too, stepped onto the balcony and the man again suppressed his anxiousness. He persuaded himself to close his ears to all the sounds coming from inside.

He was a hardworking servant who served his master well, but there were a couple of special circumstances that strayed from this. This situation was such an example. He had already been commanded to turn a blind eye to the relationships between his master and women. And so, like a good servant, he stood in his place like a rock. Of course, his time there was not boring.

Although the world was not empty, he had not filled himself with any of it. Even the passing of time had no importance to him.

But all of a sudden, something aroused his senses. Familiar footsteps were coming closer. Suddenly, something caught his eyes and filled his entire view as if his suppressed senses were waking up again. The shuffling sound rang in his ear. Something was flung aside. The dark of outside flowed in through the clear window glass.

That was the signal to tell him that he could move. Well, to the servant it was anyway.

Yeref stepped out only one step diagonally. But his strides were so long that his view of the king quickly grew faint. Yeref turned and looked around. The door was opening. He felt the concentrated gaze of many bystanders. Most of the people at the banquet hall, although pretending not to be, were looking in this direction.

It was the princess and this country’s king. The princess’s face was red. When the princess passed by, Yeref caught a whiff of the lingering scent of wine. The night wind that swept in through the crack of the door was also cold. He knew the reason for the princess’s face being dyed red. The king, who walked elegantly beside her, looked relaxed. But the servant, as customary, examined his master’s face and caught the slight change in his expression.

The most obvious change was the look of satisfaction. Once he caught sight of this expression, the rest of his emotions poured out like a waterfall. Yeref blinked slowly, as if trying to understand the reason for such a waterfall to occur.

Truthfully, it was now difficult for Yeref to not fill himself with any knowledge, just like how it had been when he was under the previous king. His previous master displayed a wide array of emotions clearly and so the servant had grown accustomed to it. He was able to decipher the master’s specific mood at every moment. It was impossible for the servant to feign ignorance. It was especially so for the head of staff.

But his master now was not the type to easily show his emotions nor leave hints of them behind. It wasn’t that he had no emotions to show. It was just that he took special care to make sure his feelings about a situation would only be made known after careful calculation and consideration. Until recently, that is.

It was different these days. His master was showing his true colors so blatantly. This was different even from his attitude at his coronation. The servant knew what the exact difference was. It was like the imprints of footsteps in the sand. Some say you cannot hide them, but truthfully, anyone could easily erase them. And that is why it is useless to anyone else. But these days, the master was leaving behind his footsteps and not caring who may or may not see them. He was leaving traces behind everywhere. The servant, a shadow of his master, was finding the remnants of those footsteps each and every day.

Mostly, they were in front of that princess. The king met with the princess every day so it was obvious. The princess slightly lifted her head and turned to look at the person next to her and smiled. The king looked at the woman as if she was a beautiful blooming flower.

His master smiled. It was just for an instant. Yeref picked up on another drop of emotion. A small happiness, manifesting itself to content, then an overwhelming sense of affection. His affection fell atop her forehead drop by drop. He left another footprint on the floor. Affection. Yeref blinked slowly again. Once, twice. It wasn’t that he was surprised to see this side of his master. It was just that the change in him became quite clear.

But that was the only change. Yeref started to walk. He noticed the king’s thick eyebrows, neatly set hair, sharp gaze, and stiff mouth. They were all still the same. His expression had not changed. The servant observed the master and his woman.

He stopped walking as he got to the table at the center of the banquet hall. The king was pulling out the chair for the princess and inviting her to sit.

“Ashite. Sit here.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The king lightly lowered his head to better see the person in front of him. Yeref sensed that the action was instinctual. He gazed at her without breaking eye contact. The woman swallowed hard. The breath she was rolling inside her mouth escaped in an exhale.

“…Lu Havre.”

Again, his master smiled. The joy reflected in his eyes and lips were clear to anyone who saw it. He was content at having gotten what he had desired. It was not the smug look of a victor, but more of an instinctive reflex.

“Will you not eat?”

“I’m alright.”

The master was not one to get hungry often, but he also was not one to spend his meal time frivolously, especially when he was seated at the table. At the very least, it looked that way to Yeref. But that same master was now doing nothing but staring at the princess eating her soup. A smile was planted on his face. He could not help but see how much his master seemed to like her.

“Lu Havre.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you perhaps have no appetite?”

“No.”

“Then, why are you not eating?”

“I’m not especially hungry.”

“Still, I think it best you eat at least a little.”

Lu Havre said nothing.

The woman lowered her eyes. Her long lashes gently fluttered down.

“Hmm.” The king let out a low sound. He picked up his spoon soon after. “Alright.”

His smile grew deeper. The king stirred his soup a couple times.

“How does it taste, Ashite?”

“It is very savory and smooth. Lu Havre…”

The woman seemed to be thinking over her words carefully as she let the end of her words fade. The king waited quietly until she was ready to continue talking.

“If you eat it, you will most certainly enjoy it.”

“And why do you think that?”

“It is delicious.” She was choosing her words carefully. But this time, her hesitation was shortlived. “I remember you especially enjoyed the soup with mushrooms.”

Truthfully, his master was not picky about his food. He had never requested anything in particular when it came to his meals. The servant knew that but the king’s expression looked to be happy with the comment. To be more exact, he looked more than happy.

Their meal time continued on as such. The king and princess shared casual conversation. The princess would at times call the king by his name, and at each of those times, the king would smile even more widely. Even his smile seemed different from before. The servant could sense his master’s emotions from the look in his eyes and the curve of his lips to the action of his touch.

The attention the two were getting from their surroundings was also obvious. From what he had observed, the princess was not dim. The princess and his master both surely knew this. They just chose to ignore it. They didn’t care whether someone saw them together or not.

After finishing their meal, the king and the princess whispered to each other quietly then headed to the platform.

Of course, the servant had heard even those whisperings. <> <> It was when he was thinking over those words.

The king sat on his throne. The banquet hall’s atmosphere calmed down immediately, almost like a lie, as if they had been engulfed by the spreading water of his kingly presence.

The banquet was already reaching its halfway point. There was no reason for the king to suddenly take a seat at his throne.

“Wait. I have something to talk to you about.”

Even as he said this, there were already people who knew what the reason was.

“Ashite. Come out here.”

The voice that called her was warm. Everyone could sense it.

The princess slowly stood up. She received the attention of everyone there. She gracefully walked over and the scent of flowers followed behind her like a shadow. The ivory dress that looked to have been delicately drawn flowed out behind her. Her confident yet calm walk looked nothing but elegant. The king, too, slowly got up from his seat.

“Ashite, will you come up here?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The king put out his hand to the princess on the stairs of the balustrade. Under the lamp light, her pink-tinted purple hair seemed to sparkle more extravagantly. The princess reached out to hold the king’s hand.

The scent of flowers filled the booth. Yeref tried his hardest to suppress his sensitive senses.

“As you may all know, I—”

But the effort came back as a failure. When the king’s voice fell, the servant’s senses as well as his ability to decipher emotions suddenly brought him an epiphany. What he had meant was that he had no intention of suppressing his feelings any longer.

The king, still holding the princess’s hand, continued to speak.

“—have a special relationship with this Skara princess, Ashite-Ploca.”

The king intentionally paused. He was waiting for the perfect timing to gain everyone’s attention. Yeref knew the intent of him waiting. He had done the same during his coronation and during the war.

“After our engagement, before Terre Sund, we will hold a wedding.”

However, this time, the reason for it was drastically different than before. Now, the expression on the king’s face after the wait was not somber. There was, of course, no sign of viciousness. That smile, that voice, that touch. The affection he poured out for her was crystal clear.

“I have gathered you all here today to let you all know. Do you accept Nante’s wish?”

The first person to bow and show respect to the king was Karbala. He wasn’t sure when he had appeared. Right below the platform, Yeref followed the head of staff and bowed in respect as well. Afterwards, Duke Moncheta answered.

“Yes, Your Highness. We accept it.”

When not only Etutu but the other dukes accepted, the other nobilities bowed their heads one by one. Some even wished them happiness and blessings.

“May the blessings of Monvixo fall upon Your Highness and the princess.”

Soon, everyone in the banquet hall lowered their heads.

The king let out a short lived laugh. As if that was a signal, all the heads turned. The king headed over to the orchestra and the conductor swung his baton without hesitation, as if it had already been planned out. A slow dance melody started to play.

“Ashite, will you dance with me?”

The king put out his hand. The light seemed to bathe the man and woman like flowing water. The princess grabbed the dark hand.

“Yes, Your Highness. I would be glad to.”

It was a song that had an especially slow intro. The two people holding hands slowly stepped down from the platform. When they had come completely down the stairs, the princess lightly swept her feet. The king wrapped his hands around the princess’s other hand. The two of them danced around the banquet hall’s center under the shining chandelier. With each step, every gaze turned to look at them.

The princess was smiling. Every time her purple hair would flutter, flower petals floated down. The woman suddenly swung her upper body downwards. The ivory dress drew a circle. The king was supporting her thin waist. Then, the king swept his feet twice. Again, the dress drew another circle, and the red cloak fluttered past them.

Ivory and red became engraved in the mind. The sound of music slowly dissipated. The gentle dance ended.The sound of applause erupted and spread with no one particularly taking the lead. The king smiled and waved his hand at the orchestra once more. The conductor swung his baton in quick motions. A fast paced dance number started to play.

The king reached out for the princess’s hand once again.

“Ashite, will you dance with me?”

“Yes, Lu Havre.”

With them as the start, each man at the banquet started to reach out his hand toward the woman beside them. The women accepted. The women stepped close to the men then flew quickly back. Their dresses swept out past them. Ivory, red, black, green, orange, yellow, white. It looked as if all the flower buds were blooming. The men’s clothing seemed to have taken in the light. From the center to the edges of the banquet hall, the crowd started to stir. When the next song started to play, almost everyone took a partner and began to dance.

After dancing through three or four songs, the king and princess sat at the table in the middle of the hall. It seemed as if it didn’t matter to them whether the atmosphere in the banquet hall was becoming more celebratory. While drinking tea, they shared light conversation. Yeref blinked slowly. The sound of music, the sound of murmuring, the sweet smells, the smell of wine, and the dancing people all entranced his senses for a moment then disappeared. Every time such useless things left a mark, Yeref defensively erased it.