Richter du van Warung. His mother, Olivia, was Crown Prince Jeanâs nanny. For Richter, who grew up with him from a young age, Jean was his best friend and irreplaceable master.
When he was killed in battle (or so Richter had thought), Richter had lost one of his eyes in a previous battle and was being treated in the rear. He still regrets that he was not on the same battlefield as Jean at that time and that he wasnât able to rush to the scene.
Crown Prince Jean had actually won many battles and many generals revered him. Many of Jeanâs direct retainers have taken refuge with Lord Warung.
They also have high expectations for Jeanâs son, Emperor Carmine, so they felt disappointed and anxious whenever they heard rumours about Carmine from the capital.
Lord Warung distanced himself from the palace since he knew he wasnât good at politics. The imperial fiefs, which used to be adjacent to Lord Warungâs fief to the east and west, have been ceded to other nations during the peace negotiations after the death of the Crown Prince Jean. In order to solidify the defences of his own fief, Lord Warung couldnât get involved with the toxic central government.
As a result, the Young Emperor Carmine was not given satisfactory education.
Lord Warung has been depressed these days because he has dishonoured his masterâs family in every way.
Nadine, who had seen her father like this, concluded that Carmine âwas the one who made her father sadâ. Nadine admired and respected her fatherâs imposing aura, so when she saw that her father was depressed, she thought:
âIf only Carmine was more decent⌠If he becomes a good Emperor, then Father will be pleased.â
âFather, Iâm going to the Imperial Capital! I will study with His Majesty and make sure that he becomes a decent person!â
Lord Warung was opposed to Nadine going to the capital at first. He told her that he couldnât send his precious daughter to a palace full of treacherous retainers.
But Lord Warung decided to send his daughter to the capital when he received a report stating that most of the aristocrats from both factions hadhave left the capital to suppress the Theanabe Union.
He also found it intolerable that Carmine refused to go to battle because he didnât want to die. He felt apologetic towards his former master since he had fought together with him on the battlefield.
He would have gone to the capital himself if it were possible. However, when he heard that the Aplada Kingdom was making a move, he had no choice but to go and deal with them. Therefore, he reluctantly entrusted Carmine to his daughter.
Incidentally, the Aplada Kingdom had acted because the Chancellor wanted to keep âLord Warung in checkâ. The Chancellor feared that Lord Warung would win wars and increase his influence⌠Although there is a merchant association that took advantage of this.
He sent Nadine to the capital because of these reasons without realising that he was manipulated by someone elseâŚ
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Nadine didnât have a good impression of Carmine before she came to the capital, but that impression has grown much stronger now that she has seen him up close.
From Nadineâs perspective, Carmine was nothing short of pathetic. He skips classes and sleeps all day. It was pathetic of him to act like this when he is still young.
Nadineâs expectations of Carmine are too high, partly because she didnât know any other boys her age and because she was comparing him to Lord Warung, but she didnât realise this.
âIâm going to turn you into a good person at all costsâŚ!â
Nadine is stubborn and competitive by nature, so leaving isnât an option.
One day, Nadine spotted Carmine leaving class.
âWhere are you going?!â
He clicked his tongue when Nadine shouted at him and spoke to the attendant next to him.
âHey, do something about that.â
âAs you wish.â
Nadine cowered slightly when the Emperorâs attendant stood in front of her. She hated this guyâs cold eyes. His eyes told her that he would kill her immediately if Carmine ordered him to.
â⌠What?â
âHis Majesty is going for a ride. He doesnât have time for trivial matters, so please leave.â
Nadine clenched her hands tightly at those words.
âAre you saying that the lessons and I are trivialâŚ?â
âYes. Please leave.â
Nadine was on the verge of tears. Her efforts and her fatherâs desire were meaningless.
Behind him, a boy looked as if he wanted to say something. It was Carmine. He decided to leave this to Timona, but Timona dealt with Nadine in the worst way imaginable.
(But now I know for sure⌠that he hates Nadine.)
Carmine thought. He decided to deal with Nadine himself.
Timona wasnât interested in most people. He deliberately avoided liking or disliking them. This was the first lesson he was taught by Count Palatine in order to respond flexibly to his masterâs actions. So, he didnât particularly feel anything for Nadine, but he thought of her as an âobstacleâ.
âThatâs enough. Letâs go, Timona.â
Carmine walked away with Timona and his guards.
Nadine bit her teeth since Carmine acted as if he really didnât care about her at all.
(I wonât give up⌠Iâm not going to give up!)
The girl ran after Carmine, Timona and the guards.
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Carmine had a dumbfounded expression on his face again when Nadine came to the stables.
But he knew that she would say something else if he looked at her, so he quickly turned away and walked towards his horse.
Nadine couldnât move even though she had followed him here. She wasnât good with living beings. She didnât know what to do against beings whose thoughts and actions she couldnât comprehend and would cower.
Wouldnât the horse go wild if she yelled at Carmine now? Nadine was taught that she should never startle a living creature and was bewildered since she couldnât say what she wanted to say.
Carmine tugged the reins of the horse and came out. Once on the horse, he looked like he had an idea and called out to Nadine, âDo you want to ride too?â
He seemed to believe that she would have nothing to complain about if he made her an accomplice.
âAlright.â
Nadine, who couldnât ride a horse, answered briefly. Carmine sensed this and said mockingly, âOh, whatâs this? You canât ride a horse?â
âWhatever! I donât want to ride it anyway!â
Nadine shouted. Her face was turning red.
There was one thing that Carmine could do that she couldnât. It was as if this was an unforgivable disgrace. She needed to be better than Carmine to rehabilitate him. She wouldnât be able to do what her beloved father had asked of her if she were inferior to Carmine.
âWell, how about this? Get on that platform and extend your arm.â
It was then that Carmine reached out his hand to Nadine.
â⌠What?â
âDonât you want to ride? This horse can carry two adults, so itâll be fine for you to ride with me.â
Nadine hesitated for a while. She was curious about the expression on Carmineâs face as he petted the horse. He seemed calm, and almost looked as if he was talking to the horse.
She took the Emperorâs hand after pondering about it for a while.
âMake sure to hold on tightly. I wonât be able to help you if you fall.â
There was almost no difference in their height since they were both children. So, Nadine was riding behind Carmine. Even though the guards were pulling the reins of Carmineâs horse, it was still dangerous for him to not be able to see in front of him.
âItâs dangerous, so come closer. Put more strength into your arms and hold onto me.â
Nadine had never been this close to a boy of her age before, but she was so nervous about riding on a horse that she didnât care. She squeezed her eyes shut and did as she was told.
Then, Carmine made the horse trot faster.
The breeze brushed against their cheeks. Nadine opened her eyes little by little when she finally got used to it.
âHow is it? Are you comfortable?â
Carmine asked Nadine, but she was so anxious that she didnât have time to think about his question, but she put on a brave face and nodded silently.
âI see. But you wonât be able to see whatâs in front of you like that. Youâll have to practice horse riding yourself if you want to see the scenery.â
Then, Carmine continued.
âYouâre Lord Warungâs daughter. You should be able to ride a horse. Iâm sure he would be delighted to hear that youâve learnt how to ride one.â
â⌠What do you know about Father?â
Youâre always worrying him, Nadine grumbled in her mind.
âOh, youâre finally getting used to it. I thought you were cowering because you thought holding onto me was disrespectful.â
Nadine held onto him tighter in protest to his laughter, but strangely enough, it wasnât as strong as before.
Their appearance on the horse looked like that of a close brother and sister.