Ambassador Miblanc

Chirp-chirp— chirp, chirp, chirp—

Among the garden paths where fresh blades of grass swayed in the wind and birdsong rang out, Ian and Princess Adrina were walking side by side. The two of them moved forward slowly, keeping pace with each other.

They were currently taking a walk in a garden within the royal palace. At a set distance behind them, he could see his secretary Mardin and several royal guards moving as well. Because they were far enough away, they could not hear the conversation the two were having.

“This year will be your coming-of-age ceremony, if I recall correctly.”

“That’s right. Somehow I’m already eighteen. I feel like I haven’t really done anything, so why has time gone by so fast?”

“I was thinking that after your birthday we should hold our wedding. What do you think?”

“Wh-what?”

Hearing Ian’s question come so suddenly, Adrina could not help but flush bright red and show clear signs of fluster. In the end, she had no choice but to stop walking, and Ian also stopped, looking at her with a puzzled expression as he spoke.

“Why are you so surprised? We already agreed to marry each other, did we not? Ah, of course, don’t worry. I will honor our contract, and I will never lay a hand on you.”

“I-I’m sorry. I was just startled without meaning to. You’re right. It really is about time for me to get married.”

“I would like to put it off a bit longer, but these days both my royal mother and my younger sister keep pestering me about when I’m finally going to marry, so I have little choice.”

“Her Majesty the Queen Dowager and Princess Charlotte must both be hoping that Your Majesty marries soon and finds stability.”

Princess Adrina nodded as if to say she understood. They had spent a lot of time together by now, so she understood why he was talking about marriage. But then she lightly bit her lip. Seeing this, Ian felt something might be wrong and carefully asked.

“Why is that? Are you unhappy about us getting married?”

“It’s not that. You said you would grant me a divorce whenever I wish, and that you would help me in the future whenever I needed it, so from my point of view there is nothing bad about this. It’s just…”

On Princess Adrina’s face, where her words trailed off, a guilty expression settled in. She looked up at the red-haired man gazing steadily down at her. Their eyes were still locked, but there was absolutely no sign that he saw her as a woman.

At that sight, she swallowed a sigh inwardly and quietly spoke about the feelings she held.

“I just keep feeling guilty. Is it really all right to do this? When I think that we’re deceiving two people, it feels so pitiful. And I wonder if I’m not taking too much of Your Majesty’s time. Truly… with a married life like this, we’re throwing away the time when heirs should be born. I keep thinking I’m being selfish.”

“There’s no need to think of it that way.”

Ian shook his head at the sight of Princess Adrina thinking she was stealing his time. He was only just twenty-five. Even by Korean standards on Earth, he would still have been merely at the very start of his working life.

‘There were plenty of people who married well past thirty. Even if ten more years passed, it wouldn’t matter.’

“But still…”

“This is something I chose for myself. And as someone who wants to focus on governing, having you here, Princess Adrina, actually makes it easier for me to attend to state affairs. So you really don’t need to feel any guilt at all.”

“Do you truly mean that?”

“If anything, I worry that I’ll take too much of your time, Princess. If you spend too long with me, won’t your future husband—the man you’ll truly love—end up having to wait for you for too many years?”

“No, it won’t be like that.”

“Well, since I’m the one thinking that way, I don’t think you need to have those worries, Princess Adrina.”

At Ian’s words, the guilt that had been slowly filling Princess Adrina’s heart finally began to ebb. Perhaps she had just wanted a bit more reassurance. Seeing her like this, Ian spoke again.

“More importantly, have you been doing the things you wanted to do lately?”

“Of course. Do you know what I’ve been learning these days?”

“Ah, my apologies. I haven’t been getting detailed reports. Are you studying something on your own?”

“It’s only natural, since you’re busy. As for what I’ve been learning… it’s cooking.”

“Cooking?”

“Yes. Before, they wouldn’t let me even get my hands wet, saying that as a princess I had to maintain my dignity. But here, I’ve been able to learn. Her Majesty the Queen Dowager and Princess Charlotte have actually been helping me a lot.”

“Is that so? I’m glad you’ve been able to learn something you wanted. And if I could taste it someday, that would be even better.”

“Of course! I’ll definitely cook for you. To be honest, I kept worrying I’d be taking up too much of your time, so even though I wanted to do it for you, it was hard to bring it up.”

“There’s nothing hard about that. In any case, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

As he spoke with a gentle smile, Princess Adrina’s face turned red but also visibly brightened. Meanwhile, some distance away, Secretary Mardin—who had stopped and was waiting—could not help but feel relieved as their previously serious looks shifted into cheerful expressions.

‘I have no idea what Their Majesties are talking about, but judging by those bright faces, it must be something good, right?’

Of course, even if he knew, pretending not to was part of his position, so he simply had to stand quietly and watch. In this atmosphere, their walk resumed once more. When the stroll ended, King Ian and Princess Adrina had no choice but to part and return to their respective quarters.

After finishing her walk with King Ian and returning to her own quarters, Princess Adrina sat down at her dressing table with a much lighter heart. The face reflected in the mirror looked slightly more flushed than usual. She found herself rubbing at her cheeks, which had somehow grown warm and red.

‘I hope he didn’t look at my face and think I was acting strangely…’

As she thought back to King Ian, whom she had just seen, she could not help but smile. But the next thought that came to her made her shoulders droop. She was eighteen, a blossoming age. Her beauty, too, was at its peak.

Compared to before, her aura had become far more mature, and it made her beauty shine even more brightly. People in the palace were used to seeing her, but if she went out like this, she would no doubt have countless men falling for her.

‘Am I not actually really pretty? I am pretty…’

She kept finding herself thinking that. He always only looked at her gently, but never as a woman. Of course, that was good for both of them, and yet she could not help but feel her pride stung again and again. The truth was, she had dressed up a little today.

She had worn a light necklace she normally did not put on, and earrings as well. She had even applied a touch of makeup to bring out her looks, and yet there had been no trace of emotion in the way he looked at her.

She herself did not fully understand why she had done all that, but she had simply felt like doing it. Knock, knock, knock. At that moment, the sound of knocking snapped her back to herself, and Princess Adrina turned her head toward the door and spoke.

“What is it?”

“Your Highness Princess Adrina, you have a visitor.”

“A visitor?”

At the word “visitor,” she could not help but show a puzzled expression. There was no reason anyone should be coming to see her at this hour. But at the next words she heard, her expression stiffened slightly. An unexpected and unwelcome guest had come.

A short time later.

Clink. As a teacup was set down, the maids quietly withdrew from the room. Sitting before Princess Adrina now was a middle-aged man with a smiling expression. He held the position of ambassador of the Magnia Empire. The previous envoy had returned to the homeland, and this man had newly arrived to take up the post here.

“It is an honor to finally set eyes on Your Highness Princess Adrina, whom I had only heard of by reputation. Seeing you in person, I must say the rumors do you no justice—you are even more beautiful. Ah, I have not given my name yet. I am Ambassador Miblanc, newly posted here from our homeland.”

“What brings you here today?”

“Is that not a bit too abrupt? Am I that much of an unwelcome guest?”

There was something snake-like about the look in his eyes. At the same time, his presence made her skin crawl. The gaze with which he examined her held a mixture of many emotions. She could not shake the feeling that this man had not come here merely as an ordinary ambassador.

“Of course not. I was only asking why you came without sending word ahead.”

“Haha, if I had informed you in advance, I had a feeling I would not be granted an audience.”

There was an edge in his words, and it was clear he was referring to King Ian. From the moment Ian had publicly revealed the existence of his secret organization to the world, he had assumed the Magnia Empire would make some move, so he had deliberately arranged things so there would be no points of contact between them and Princess Adrina.

The fact that the ambassador had just shown up like this without any prior notice was, strictly speaking, quite rude.

“As you know, His Imperial Majesty does not seem to be at ease these days.”

“My brother?”

“Of course. How could his heart not be greatly troubled, when someone he considered to be on his side has betrayed him so?”

“So, what did my brother wish for you to convey to me?”

At Princess Adrina’s cold tone, Ambassador Miblanc continued to watch her with those same snake-like eyes as he spoke.

“So, you had already guessed. In any case, please accept this letter first.”

He took from his breast a letter decorated with ornate gold leaf, set it on the table, and subtly pushed it toward her. Seeing this, Princess Adrina reached out her hand for the letter. At that moment, Ambassador Miblanc made a bold move to seize her hand. But he had to stop just short.

At some point, Princess Adrina had withdrawn her hand, and now her face showed not only astonishment but also anger.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Ah, you misunderstand. I merely meant to stop you for a moment and ask you to wait.”

“What did you say?”

She very clearly knew he had been about to grab her hand, and the realization left her dumbfounded. At the same time, she could not help but think, did she really have to keep putting up with this lunatic? But she also noticed that the expression of relaxed amusement he had worn moments before had gone strangely rigid.

Why was he like that? Was it because of how she reacted? Just as she began to feel a vague sense of discomfort, he spoke again.

“This place seems quite dangerous. I expected as much to some extent, but it feels like a completely different place from what I once knew. Is it because a new king has ascended the throne?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. And please leave at once. I do not wish to remain in your company any longer.”

“Ahaha, I was planning to do so anyway. If I stay any longer, I really might die.”

Relaxing his rigid expression, he smiled again as he slowly rose and walked toward the door. Once he had left, Princess Adrina’s face twisted into an expression of deep disgust. She shuddered once, then quietly unfolded the letter her brother had sent and began to read it.

While Adrina was reading the letter, Ambassador Miblanc stepped out into the corridor and saw that the expressions of the royal guards and maids waiting outside had all gone stiff. They had likely assumed something had happened after hearing the princess’s raised voice a moment ago.

He merely shrugged at their looks and turned his body away. At that moment, he saw someone standing off to one side and could not help but stop. That person had definitely not been there when he went in. The man wore a white mask shaped like a smiling face.

‘Well now, my skin is prickling.’

From the murderous pressure directed his way, he could instantly tell the other man was no ordinary person. He could not help but think of someone else—a man who always stood at the emperor’s side as his bodyguard, Lacen—and how similar this masked figure felt to him.

‘An Expert?’

To encounter someone of Expert level in a place like this was information he had never expected to gain. And the fact that, even with his masked face revealed like this, none of the royal guards here tried to stop him showed that he was someone whose presence in this place was officially permitted.

‘So it truly wasn’t luck that this country managed to repel that organization’s attacks twice.’

As Ambassador Miblanc thought this, the masked man simply walked forward with bold, confident strides. He could do so because he knew they could not harm him here. And so, Ambassador Miblanc did the only thing he could—pretend not to notice and keep walking.

From how the masked man made no move to attack, it was clear he would not act unless he personally chose to.

‘If I had grabbed her hand, I might have been killed on the spot.’

In truth, he had tried to seize her hand as part of a certain ploy. But that move had been blocked in advance, and so he had been forced to leave without doing anything. With that thought, he walked slowly down the corridor until he disappeared from sight, and this visit was promptly reported to Ian.

Originally, the moment Ambassador Miblanc arrived, a report would have been sent at once, but because Ian happened to be out walking, the message had been delayed and this incident had occurred. If there had been something like a mobile phone, it never would have happened. But there was no point lamenting the absence of something that did not exist.

Meanwhile, Ian had no choice but to wrestle with whether he should go to Princess Adrina or not. He wanted to know what had happened, but it might be a private matter for her, so he decided to wait for now. He believed that when the time was right, she would tell him.

Just then, Ian received an unexpected report.