The first audience scheduled for today was with Calande.
It was a neighboring nation that had long caused headaches through border disputes. If negotiations with Commander Winterbark went well, Catherine might even be entrusted with command over the border defense forces.
‘If this goes well, all of Elovys’s military forces will fall into my hands. Then I can finally secure my place on the throne.’
As Catherine straightened her posture, an attendant respectfully announced:
“Your Highness the Crown Princess, Commander Winterbark of Calande requests an audience.”
“Let him enter.”
Even for Catherine, this was her first private meeting with Commander Winterbark. An indescribable tension naturally stiffened her back.
The moment the man opened the door and stepped inside, it felt as though the flow of air itself had stopped.
It was completely unexpected.
Until he approached close enough, Catherine could barely even breathe.
Her heart pounded wildly. His portrait had failed to capture even a fraction of the real man. Above all, what captivated her instantly were his eyes.
He gave Catherine a slight bow.
“Kylron Winterbark. Commander of Calande’s Northern Fortress greets Her Highness, the Crown Princess of Elovys.”
“Welcome… to Elovys, Sir Winterbark.”
As Crown Princess, she had met the leaders of countless nations. Yet never before had she encountered someone whose mere presence made one’s knees weaken like the man before her.
What Kylron Winterbark exuded was instinctive fear itself. He resembled not a human being, but an untamed beast rampaging through the wild.
And that very man bent down and kissed the back of Catherine’s hand. A burning shiver ran down her spine.
‘Calande’s… bastard child, wasn’t he.’
A man capable of swallowing an entire kingdom with ease, yet held back by a single thing—the blood running through his veins.
Because of that, he had spent years unable to shine, only to eventually bow his head before her now: a brilliant uncut gem.
He was exactly like herself.
Catherine could tell just by looking into his eyes.
How deeply suppressed Kylron Winterbark was. And because of that, how desperately he struggled to climb higher.
He was precisely the same kind of person as her.
Catherine’s voice trembled faintly.
“Call me Catherine, Sir Winterbark.”
This was fate.
There was no other explanation for it. A man who possessed the same soul as her?
While Kylron sat in the seat she offered him, Catherine could not take her eyes off him.
“I had often heard rumors of the Hero of the North… but seeing you in person, I realize there wasn’t a single exaggeration or boast in those stories. Your presence is extraordinary.”
“Is that so?”
Kylron curled the corners of his lips upward.
“Your Highness is quite different from the rumors as well. I heard you were fit to be a strong ruler, but meeting you in person, you seem more…”
Even during the few seconds she waited for the rest of his sentence, her heart pounded furiously.
“…like a young lady.”
Catherine hurriedly pressed the back of her hand against her cheek.
Could the heat warming her face really be that visible?
“Is that so? Frankly, it’s not exactly a compliment I’d welcome as Crown Princess, but as a woman… I don’t dislike hearing it.”
“Every human being has two faces.”
As if he understood everything, Kylron narrowed his eyes with a smile. Combined with his dazzling appearance, the crescent-eyed smile was utterly mesmerizing.
‘Do you recognize me too?’
Ah, if so, then she wanted him.
Catherine unconsciously thought:
I want this man. Not as the Crown Princess’s consort, but as a man.
“Did you enjoy yesterday’s banquet, Sir?”
“Ah.”
As though recalling something, Kylron curled his lips upward. Beneath the sharp lines of his eyes appeared an innocent smile like that of a boy.
“It was far more enjoyable than I expected. I regretted not being able to enjoy it longer. Especially the maze garden—it was truly beautiful.”
“So you liked the garden. Once this audience ends, shall we take a stroll together?”
“I’m afraid I may have plans afterward.”
Plans? As a foreign envoy, what other business could he possibly have?
After taking a sip of tea, Kylron abruptly changed the subject.
“Is access to the eastern tower of the royal palace normally restricted?”
The eastern side of the palace was where Ioret resided.
After last night, Catherine had stationed large numbers of royal guards around the eastern tower. It was to block envoys from approaching should they show any interest in Ioret.
“That area isn’t somewhere worthy of showing honored guests. There’s hardly anything to see there anyway. The Queen’s Palace to the west of the main palace, this Crown Princess Palace, and the southern annex are all far more beautiful.”
“Ah, so there’s no way to go east…”
The man seemed dissatisfied with her answer.
Drawing out the end of his sentence, he changed the topic once again.
“I heard His Majesty the King is unwell.”
The initiative in the conversation had been completely stolen away.
This too was Catherine’s first experience.
The more she looked at him, the more overwhelming he seemed—and because of that, the more she desired him. Catherine suppressed the smile constantly threatening to appear.
“He said he wished to rest quietly. He entrusted all audiences with envoys to me, so do not worry. I will certainly relay everything we discussed to His Majesty.”
“Yes, then let us skip the introduction and move straight to the main matter.”
Kylron spoke casually.
“I wish to propose marriage to Princess Ioret.”
“…Pardon?”
Catherine could not immediately comprehend what she had just heard.
Completely bewildered, she asked again:
“What did you just say?”
“I wish to take Princess Ioret as my wife.”
Kylron kindly elaborated on his own words, as though determined to hammer them directly into her ears if she had failed to hear them.
“I fell in love with the princess at first sight. I feel that if I miss this opportunity, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
The icy aura surrounding the man softened away like melting spring snow.
With the unmistakable face of a man in love, Kylron Winterbark proposed.
“As such, I wish to formally send a marriage proposal to the royal family of Elovys. Will you permit it?”
To her younger sister, not to herself.
Catherine’s entire face twisted into something dreadful.
Early afternoon, shortly after noon, the King summoned Ioret to the main palace.
There had been audiences with envoys since the morning, yet the summons came sooner than expected.
After letting Vara help straighten her attire, Ioret spoke to Lucian, who was about to follow behind her.
“There’s no need for you to come with me. The royal guards are outside anyway, so just go with them. Stay here with Vara.”
“Will you truly be alright?”
“It’s fine. I’m not a child.”
After a brief silence, Lucian lowered his head in acknowledgment.
Ioret whispered to Vara, who was trailing behind her eagerly.
“If a man with silver hair and dark crimson eyes comes looking for me, explain that he’s my guest. And try not to let him run into that older brother over there if possible. Understood?”
Vara nodded enthusiastically with a bright grin.
After patting the dependable little guard on the head, Ioret headed toward the main palace.
‘What kind of punishment are they planning now? Though my current situation is practically no different from house arrest already…’
However, when Ioret entered the audience chamber, the situation unfolding before her was quite different from what she had expected.
“A proposal?”
Since returning to the past, it was the first time Ioret had failed to control her expression.
Blank-faced, she repeated the words.
“Commander Winterbark proposed to me? This morning?”
She had wondered why no news had arrived all morning, but he had already proposed?
And barely more than half a day had passed since yesterday?
