Namgung Se-ga, the warrior, was reincarnated in Romance

The next morning, I called my father and mother over and showed them the invitation from Ruber.

It felt right to talk about this together rather than just calling my mother.

Thinking of Louver still made me feel sick and thirsty. I couldn’t trust any of my judgments, so I had to rely on my blood relatives.

My mother looked at the invitation carefully, smiled faintly, and asked me.

“Hmm… In your opinion, what kind of person is the Second Prince, Mika?”

“⋯He is an honest, cute, and gentle⋯. A sweet boy.”

“Yeah. So I guess this tea time will be exclusive to just the two of you?”

I thought about it for a moment.

Will Lucilla or Matt Nico join us here?

No, it wasn’t. It was the kid who ran away because he was upset that Bill Brown had almost gotten involved in going to the night market. Since he even brought up the subject of dance practice, he must have called them to see each other.

“⋯Yes. That would probably be the case.”

“Then I think I can feel a little more at ease.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I also heard something from our next Duke of Valentia.”

“⋯To my uncle⋯?”

I blinked in bewilderment. My mother opened her fan with an elegant gesture and made it flutter. Even to my eyes, who did not know anything about fan language, it seemed like a noble gesture.

“Since the battle has already been decided, it would be better to make it more certain. I think we should give the Second Prince a precious gift.”

“⋯A gift?”

“Yes. I can come visit you under the pretense of giving you a nice present. Since I don’t have any clothes prepared to wear when I enter the palace… I think it would be best to make a date after the second week of December.”

“⋯Aside from the debutante outfit, are there any other clothes I should wear?”

“Okay. Later on, when you’re older and you’ve been coming and going from the palace more often, that might be different… This is your first time entering the palace. There will be a lot of eyes watching, and there’s a lot to show.”

I was speechless for a moment, but soon realized that I didn’t need to worry. My mother, Seiren Ernhardt, who was smiling brightly, was the golden girl of the Valentia Duke’s family, and had been a woman who had swept the social world for eight years since her debut.

Although I had been away from social circles since the day I was born, I was not someone anyone would look down on. I nodded obediently and folded my hands politely.

“Yes, I will leave it to your mother.”

“Yes. The letter setting the date is to be stamped with the Ernhard family crest. This invitation is to be shown to the attendant for a moment, and you keep it with you. Be careful not to lose it.”

“yes.”

“I’ll tell you how to write a reply, so write it in your own handwriting.”

“yes.”

Soon, a good piece of paper and a pen were prepared. I wrote down what my mother dictated.

“The kindly arrangement of the gods, to Prince Louver Anti-Cierran.

May the first grace of the god rest upon the feet of the prince. I thank you for granting me the honor of setting foot in the palace of green jade. I will come with a shining heart, so I ask that you open the golden gate in the second week of December⋯.

Even though it was my own handwriting, it felt unfamiliar and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“If you say it like this, how do you know which day of the second week it is?”

“You should decide that. That’s how it is when dealing with royalty. We have to follow the date you decide.”

But Louver didn’t say that. I hesitated for a moment and then asked again.

“Can I write to you to avoid Tuesday?”

“Okay. But do you have a prior engagement on Tuesday?”

“Yes. I am raising a wizard.”

“huh?”

My mother looked at me with a puzzled expression, then said she would ask me about it later and recited what she would write in the next line. I wrote it down again.

And instead of telling the last line to avoid Tuesdays, I put a cross.

These seven marks were said to be established for letters in which words of acceptance could be written but words of rejection could not be written.

I felt very fortunate to have my mother’s help.

* * *

Tailoring clothes takes more time and effort than I thought.

Of course, I thought it might be because I spent an extra hour or two every time I had my mother wear clothes that suited her tastes for the past 14 years, but this year was particularly unusual.

To me, the colors of the fabric looked the same, but the luster was different, the country of origin was different, and the color of the thread was different. Following my mother’s orders, I examined and tried on various fabrics on my body all day long.

I put on and took off shirts of various shapes prepared in advance to see which collar style would suit me best, and I raised and lowered my arms as instructed, and sat down and stood up dozens of times to see whether or not they would create nice wrinkles depending on my movements.

Of all the things I couldn’t give up, the only thing was shoes.

Whatever the color, it was important to wear shoes with heels that weren’t too hard and didn’t look ridiculous, so that you could carry someone if something happened.

After begging and pleading to prevent the sharp ends of my new shoes from breaking, I started to sweat.

I even felt envious of Marianne, who went out wearing her older sister’s clothes, but I knew that if I said it out loud I would be criticized, so I held it in.

Maybe that’s why.

On the second Wednesday of December, when we head to the Second Prince’s Palace, which is decorated splendidly and magnificently, I feel a sense of liberation as if I have overcome the biggest mountain.

The milky-gray shirt was tailored to fit his body perfectly. There were jewels on his collar and wrists. Over it he wore a waist-cinching vest, and then a stiff, beautifully embroidered coat. He buttoned it up with jewels, and when he took a deep breath and puffed out his chest, he felt his body tightening.

The hem of the trousers was made to fit so snugly around the thighs that it was clear that if someone climbed a tree, the seams would rip. It was as if they were clothes made to prevent spies from being caught in the palace.

At first, I thought it would be embarrassing to dress up and go meet Louver, but that wasn’t the case.

I closed my eyes to avoid seeing the fluttering bangs in the carriage that vibrated to the sound of the horses’ trotting.

It was also her mother’s order to comb her pink, curly hair, part it, and let it fall gently below her right eyebrow.

It would be easy to just touch it and turn it over, but there was no need to do something so rude⋯.

When the carriage reached the palace, a guard approached and cautiously saluted through the carriage window. I showed him the invitation I had received. The soldier bowed deeply and stepped back, and the carriage continued on its way along the main road.

Everything outside the window was sparkling. I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the sight of snow-white flowers blooming everywhere in this winter, magically sprinkled with light.

It was a sight more overwhelming than anything I had ever imagined about the palace.

Each building was tall and huge, white and shiny.

It was said that the Imperial Palace of the Cerran Empire was built to imitate the light of the gods. In order to build a building that resembled divine power, it was painted pure white and decorated with magical light. It was a beautiful light that seemed to avoid rain and avoid snow.

The zelkova trees I often saw in botanical gardens surrounded the building decorated with gold. The white building occasionally glowed with a precious yellow light. The carriage stopped in front of it. The attendant opened the door for me, so I stepped out of the carriage.

A neatly dressed old man bowed deeply and respectfully.

“Welcome, Ernhard Youngshik. His Highness the Second Prince awaits you.”

“Thank you for welcoming me.”

I also paid my respects with a simple bow.

I had secretly hoped that Louver would come out to greet me, but I was not disappointed. I felt the strict social status barrier once again. Now, that child will never come out to greet me barefoot.

According to the order my mother had given me in advance, it was right for me to be served tea and snacks in the reception room, wait ten minutes, and then for Louver to come to the reception room and greet me.

So, as soon as I stepped through the open door, I was startled to see the guy standing up without even giving me a chance to catch my breath.

“Ernhard Youngsik!”

“⋯Senior?”

I felt a presence inside the door, but I thought you would come in slowly according to the rules. Did waiting really mean waiting?

I watched from afar as Louver, with his bright face, blushing like a flower as he looked at me, and then burst out laughing.

My heart melted. Honestly, I was happy.

“Oh, today… today. You’re so… pretty.”

“Yes. He said I should dress like this when I go to see my senior.”

“That, that’s not… That’s right. But that’s Erhard Youngshik….”

“Let’s take a seat first.”

It was against the rules for me to offer a seat first. I had heard an explanation in advance, but I thought it would be rude to ask why the one who should be receiving the courtesy was so impatient, so I sat Louver down first.

The guide, who had been standing politely at the door with an unchanging expression, bowed deeply and closed the door as he left.

Even during that time, I felt strangely pleased that Louver’s dark gaze never left me.

Perhaps it was because I often didn’t see my child during the vacation, but it seemed like a dream that I had lost sleep at night because I was sad that Ruber was graduating.

“How have you been?”

“Yeah… yeah, what about Youngsik?”

“Should I say that it went well⋯.”

Instead of going on and on about how I’d been making clothes for two weeks, I just laughed in vain.

“I now realize how difficult it was to meet you just once, senior.”

“No, you can come anytime⋯.”

“It doesn’t work out the way I want it to.”

“⋯.”

What did I say that was so hurtful? I glanced at Louver as he calmed down and took a deep breath.

I decided to skip the greeting that my mother had repeatedly asked me to give and took out what I had prepared.