After that, she couldnât see her motherâs and His Majestyâs faces for three days.
When she went to the office, Lat said, âThe two of them are eating together and are not coming to work because the meeting has been prolonged.â
Atil had a look on his face saying, âIâve found out what I didnât want to know.â and Lilyca worried.
âWhat is it with this long meeting? More than that, I think it would be better for Lat to attend the meeting rather than Mother.â
Did her mother have anything to say to His Majesty? She thought that Lat would know a lot better.
At Lilycaâs words, Lat looked disgusted.
âIâm never attending that meeting.â
Tan laughed like crazy to himself. Lat threw a wad of paper at the back of Tanâs head and said.
âSo, you can relax for a while. Itâs okay if you donât come to the office. Both of you.â
Tan grabbed the second roll of paper Lat had thrown and turned around. With a smile still on his face, he said.
âDonât worry, if something happens, we will tell you.â
At the words of the Prime Minister and the Commander-in-Chief of the Knights-Guards, the two were pushed out of the office. Lilyca shrugged her shoulders and said worriedly.
âIs Mother okay?â
âIt may be difficult physically, but my uncle canât be that much.â
Atil replied casually and paused, then looked at Lilyca. Lilyca shook her head at him, saying, âWhew.â
âItâs strange that he has a meeting with Mother, putting aside physical strength. Of course, I love Mother very much, butâŚâ
She didnât know why her mother had been talking about assassins with His Majesty for so long.
Atil coughed.
âItâs a useless worry.â
âIs guess so.â
âWhat story are you talking about? The person I was waiting for became anxious.â
[TL: Pai was waiting for Lilyca and he saw her becoming anxious while talking to Atil.]
Pai, who had been waiting nearby, approached them. And before she knew it, Bryn and Bran quickly joined behind them.
Pai smiled and looked at Lilyca.
âHello, Princess. I wasnât able to formally introduce myself.â
âThis is Pai, this is Lilyca.â
Pai frowned at Atilâs explanation.
âDo you really have to?â
âWhy? What?â
âYou look just like His Majesty the Emperor.â
Atilâs face hardened slightly at Paiâs words. Before he could say anything, Pai quickly bowed deeply to Lilyca.
âI see the high âNara Takarâ. May your name shine like a star. I am Pai from the Sandar family. You may call me simply Pai.â
Lilycaâs eyes widened. She had learned, but it was the first time she was formally greeted.
She heard that it is not commonly used except for ceremonies because it is old-fashioned.
âNice to meet you. Pai of the Sandar family. My name is Lilyca.â
Pai raised his head and smiled.
âIt is an honour to be introduced to you by your first name, Princess.â
The imperial family had a first name and a second name; externally, they operated under the second name. The first name was how they were called by their close ones âthe idea was from a hundred years ago, and now, everyone used the first name.
Mrs Glenderin told her so.
For some reason, she felt like she had become a real princess, so her heart pounded. Pai pulled up Bran, who was standing next to him, and said,
âThis is Bran Sol. Do you know him?â
âYes, Brynâs older brother?â
Bran bowed his head and said hello.
âI see the high âNara Takarâ.â
âCall me Lilyca.â
Since the Sol family does not have a title, they canât introduce their family name in front of the royal family.
However, Lilyca thought that the fact that there was no royal family who did not know the âSol familyâ was the interesting thing about the Sol family.
Pai had beige, straight hair up to shoulder length, and some of it was braided to the right.
âBy the way, Lat also has long hair. Do the people of the Sandar family grow all their hair?â
Iâll ask him later, Lilyca thought before quickly grabbing Bryn.
âThis is Bryn Sol, my maid of honour. She is a very dear friend of mine.â
Bryn said, âOh my God.â as if moved. She placed her hand on her chest and gracefully greeted them while holding her skirt.
âI see the people of the highest rank.â
Pai marvelled at Brynâs audacity to say hello to all of them at once, and Bran pressed down on his stomach.
Atil looked at Bryn with a stern look. He didnât like that Lilyca said âa very dear friendâ.
He openly ignored Brynâs greeting and pulled Lilycaâs hand.
âUh? Your Highness?â
Lilyca was startled and started walking along, and the group began walking one after another.
Atil was thinking about what to say to Lilyca, and then he mentioned,
âI heard you invested in a scammer?â
âA scammer?â
âYes. Is that Ubara? The guy whoâs doing something. They said he must be a scammer, but I heard that the empress invested in him. Maybe you did too?â
Lilyca stopped.
Atil stopped almost at the same time without pulling her with force. He looked back at Lilyca and she said seriously.
âHeâs not a scammer.â
âWhat?â
âUbara is not a scammer. Heâs a good person.â
âThat is the hallmark of a con artist.â
âHeâs not a swindler.â
âHow do you know?â
âYou can tell by listening to his story. Heâs not a fraud.â
âGoing into floods is always a gamble. How can you guarantee that it is 100% possible? That guarantee itself is a fraud.â
âNo, Ubara has experience.â
When Lilyca answered with determination, Atilâs expression began to harden.
âWhat are you going to do?â
âWhat do you mean?â
âHeâs a crook. Do you think there are only good people in the world?â
âThatâs what I know best! But Ubara is not a scammer.â
âThen what will you do?â
âAbout what?â
âWhat are you going to do if that bastard is a scammer?â
As their conversation escalated, Pai panicked and put himself between them.
âNow, why are you two fighting over that person?â
âRight, I donât think itâs just about that.â
Bran responded. Atil looked down at Lilyca with his arms crossed, and Lilyca looked at him without losing ground.
âIf that bastard is indeed a fraud, after that, when youâll invest in someone, come find me and get my permission.â
Lilyca straightened her back.
âOkay. Unless heâs not a scammer.â
Lilyca raised her eyebrows.
âAnd please donât call people I trust a scammer.â
âFine by me.â
âDeal.â
Both of them looked satisfied. Lilyca quickly took Atilâs hand again.
Atil looked at Lilyca in surprise. Since they just argued, he thought they would part like this.
But Lilyca was different. He grabbed her hand with a smile.
âI see.â
It was okay to fight like this with Lilyca.
Atil held her hand. Lilyca asked.
âI have a question for you.â
âWhat is it?â
âDo you really have a territory? What kind of territory is it?â
âI have a territory, but the problem is that crops do not grow well because it is in the north.â
âBecause wheat is vulnerable to cold weather. We may have to change the type of crop. Well, even if we change the type of crop, it wonât bring much value.â
Pai shrugged. Lilyca tilted her head.
âItâs not a good land?â
She thought it would be a good land if it was the Crown Princeâs.
âItâs not as cold as the land of the Inro family, but itâs not that good either.â
Atil added to Paiâs words.
âYou have to be able to cultivate such a land well to become emperor.â
âI see.â
But itâs a cold land, and she didnât like it.
Lilyca didnât particularly like snow. If you step on the snow with your bare feet, it will feel like itâs on fire. Or a sharp pain like a cut. Even though she could endure the summer heat, the winter cold was scary.
What if her nose or toes fall off?
At night, she was always worried about that.
âBut it is very beautiful in summer.â
At Atilâs words, Pai nodded.
âThe birch forest is beautiful. Summer is really pretty. Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries âberries of all kinds abound. During this time, you can pick a lot of them and make jam or syrup. Full buckets of them. Bears are eating them like crazy. Oh, and honey comes out a lot too. Nuts are also present.â
Lilycaâs eyes widened.
âIt sounds great.â
âI want to invite you when I go down to the estate in the summer. I think I will be staying in the capital this year.â
âYes, invite me. Please.â
At Lilycaâs words, Atil frowned as if contemplating.
âIf you have your escort knight.â
âHa ha, thatâs right. His Highness needs to pick one, right?â
Pai added softly. Atil started walking again without saying a word.
Pai and Bran looked into each otherâs eyes and sighed.
Lilyca said.
âI have tried raspberry jam before. It was very pretty. It sparkles like a jewel and tastes so sweet⌠You mean there are a lot of them, right?â
Itâs awesome. This territory was like a dream.
Bran laughed because Lyrica muttered so much. Atil snorted and tapped Lilyca on the head.
âJam is boiled down with sugar. Real raspberries arenât that sweet.â
âNevertheless, I want to fill an entire bucket.â
Atil paused for a moment. He stopped and contemplated, then clenched his hand and began to walk quickly.
In the meantime, the party left the Sun Palace and headed for the backyard. The place was also quite wide, so they walked for a while. Bran said as he could see Lilyca starting to get tired.
âExcuse me, Princess, but can hold you?â
âWeakling.â
Atil clicked his tongue and he lifted Lilyca. Lilyca cried out in shock.
âIâm heavy!â
âYou Highness, I will do it.â
At Branâs words, Atil said, âitâs fine.â and started walking. It was twice as fast as before.
Lilyca stared blankly at Atil, then looked down at the floor. Then she looked at Atil again and asked.
âArenât I heavy?â
âYouâre lighter than a colt.â
Lilyca rolled her eyes rolled. Was a colt light or heavy?
She had never seen a colt, so she didnât know.
Lilyca spoke again.
âYour Highness is quite strong.â
Atil let out a small laugh involuntarily.
It was funny that she doesnât know what a Takar was, what a Sandar was, or what a clan was.
Funny and lovely
Atil quickly erased the last words from his mind.
âHere we are.â
Atil said standing in front of the wall covered with ivy vines. Lilyca looked up at the wall.
âAre you going to climb the vines?â
âNo.â
Atil put Lilyca down and set the ivy aside. Then an old wooden door appeared there.
Lilyca widened her eyes. Was the door leading out?
Atil took the key out of his pocket. The old wooden door creaked, but the latch opened without problems.
âWell.â
Atil pointed to the inside of the door and Bryn quickly caught Lilyca who had tried to enter.
âI will go in first.â
âOh, yes.â
Bryn and Bran entered, followed by Lilyca, Atil, and Pai, who closed the door.
Lilyca, who passed through the door, exclaimed.
There was another garden.
The garden, which looked to be about 200 meters, looked like it had not been cared for a long time. However, it was a structure that looked closer to a field than a garden.
Small apple trees and vines were growing at will, and herbs and bushes were scattered everywhere.
The stone roads were disorganized, and the pillars that had been erected had fallen.
There was also a small hut. Was it a gardenerâs hut?
But most of all, it was the bushes that caught Lilycaâs eyes. Among the green bushes, there were many bright red fruits.
Atil said.
âPick only the ripe ones.â
âWhere are we? What is this place?â
Lilyca kept asking questions, but Atil asked bluntly instead of answering them.
âYou donât want to pick raspberries?â
âItâs raspberries!â
Lilyca jumped and exclaimed. Confused, she turned to Bryn.
âBut where are you going?â
âTo get my apron. Iâll also bring a bucket. Shall we pick just as much as we can eat today?â
âYes!â
Lilyca ran to the raspberry bush. The bright red ripe berries were picked one by one by hand, and while taking them to her mouth, she threw some into Brynâs skirt as well.
The ones that looked pretty were going in the apron, and the ones that werenât were for the mouth.
Not only raspberries, but other bushes were also in bloom, and the herbs were giving off a sweet, tangy scent.
Lilyca also put a fruit in Brynâs mouth. This is because Bryn was unable to use her hands as she was holding the apron with both hands.
She collected some of the biggest and most beautiful fruits and gave them to Atil and Pai.
Bran said with a smile.
âWe can help too.â
As soon as several people picked the fruits, a pile of raspberries piled up on the apron.