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The garden party after the hunting tournament came to an end while the sky still retained its brightness.

The invited guests, their stomachs filled with abundant game such as the melt-in-the-mouth delicious Great Horned Auroch, departed in satisfaction. Ekaterina and Aleksei, as well as Mikhail and Flora, were to stay one more night at this villa, and they withdrew to their rooms early to soothe the day’s fatigue.

Upon entering the room assigned to him, Mikhail let out a long breath.
Then he turned to his attendant valet, Luka, who had followed him, and smiled.

“Thank you for your efforts earlier.”

Luka bowed his head to his master.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t buy you much time. …As expected of Jurnova—they’re keeping something outrageous as a pet. If I’d faced it head-on, I’d have been flattened in seconds.”

Narrowing his threadlike eyes even further, Luka grinned. Combined with his slender build, the impression he gave was unmistakably foxlike.

In the Empire, there exist fox spirits who possess powers of illusion, take human form, and bear children with humans.

“It isn’t your style to face something head-on. For today, that was sufficient.”
“Have you made any progress?”

Asked with keen interest, Mikhail made a slightly displeased face.

“She acknowledged me as a friend.”
“…How modest.”
“I’ve gone from caterpillar to human. That’s significant progress.”

Luka sighed.

“And yet there are mountains of young ladies who adore Your Highness.”
“It can’t be helped. It is her that I love.”

He retorted, then suddenly fell silent. After a moment, he softly corrected himself.

“I love Ekaterina.”

Then he strode to the bed, collapsed onto it on his back, and rubbed his face vigorously.

“Truly… I had no idea one could lose control to this extent. Ah, honestly, I can’t even control my complexion.”
“To think I would live to see such a day from Your Highness.”

Though teasing in words, Luka’s tone was gentle.

“You have always treated beautiful young ladies with equal kindness. Is Lady Ekaterina truly so special?”
“….”

At Luka’s words, Mikhail pondered. Soon, however, he gave a wry smile.

“Words have no shape, yet compared to the heart they are far more crude instruments, don’t you think? I once tried to explain to myself what it is I love about her. But when I turned it into words—kind, intelligent, beautiful… the moment I say them, she becomes ordinary. When I try to explain my feelings, passing them through words makes them nothing but trite. But Ekaterina—”

He broke off, struggling to think. In the end, this was all he could say.

“She’s a mysterious…and cute girl.”

.

Ekaterina is a mature, beautiful woman. Yet inside, he thinks she is quite cute.

The first time he noticed her was at the academy’s entrance ceremony. It was when he was waiting in the wings to deliver the new student representative address after Aleksei’s speech.
A girl with indigo hair seated in the front row. From that alone, he guessed she must be the Duke of Jurnova’s daughter. At that time she appeared dignified and mature, even somewhat severe.
But after Aleksei finished his speech, their eyes must have met, because she suddenly broke into a smile and waved. It was an unguarded, bursting smile with no pretense.
So she has a cute side too, Mikhail had thought.

That alone did not make him fall in love. But afterward as well, each time they met she showed him cute sides and mysterious sides both. Each time, he felt himself gradually falling more in love.

At first glance, Ekaterina appears perfect as a duke’s daughter. Her refined speech and even her smallest gestures carry elegance.

And yet she befriended Flora, a baron’s daughter of former common birth, learned cooking from her, and brought lunch to Aleksei.
And she lacks the self-defense that a high-ranking noble should naturally possess.

It was during their first exchange of words, at lunchtime. When she had looked at him as though she had seen a caterpillar.
She said she would share the lunch she had made for Aleksei, so in order to show her he was associating closely with Flora and thereby secure Flora’s position within the academy, he decided to partake.
After that, he also took one from Ekaterina. As self-defense befitting royalty, and as etiquette. Whether giving or receiving something, one must treat multiple parties equally to show that no one is being singled out. Especially for an unmarried royal dealing with someone of the opposite sex.

Ekaterina’s reaction at that time was not that of a high noble. She, who should require the same consideration toward the vassals of her territory, seemed not to understand it in the slightest, merely assuming he was hungry, and offered the basket with a big-sisterly smile.
A little impertinent… and that too was cute.

And when they drove back the magical beast together—

*“It was reckless trying to face it alone, yes—but I think what you did was truly admirable.”*

When he said that, tears welled in Ekaterina’s eyes.
Before that, she had collapsed to the ground with Flora, clung to Aleksei, and cried loudly.
And yet just moments earlier, she had been wielding powerful magic and fighting the beast precisely. Had she been terrified inside? Had she stayed instead of fleeing all the same, and fought alongside him and Aleksei?

She was so adorable, Mikhail had almost taken her hand without thinking.

Ekaterina is popular at the academy as well. Among the boys, her captivating figure often becomes a topic of conversation, and each time he makes it a point to cut into the conversation with a smile and ask, “What are you talking about?” The appearance of the crown prince immediately ends the discussion. He is there to end it.

At that point the image of her, like an undine, rose inadvertently in his mind, and Mikhail hastily shook it from his head. Those had been pure white… so don’t think about it.

He had expected as much, but it seems men gather around her even in her territory. Aleksei appears to be driving them off. The fact that she herself does not realize either her deficiencies or her charms worries him endlessly.

In their conversation today as well, regarding the water spirit statue in the bath, it became clear that Ekaterina had not been raised in the ducal residence. And that it was Mikhail’s great-aunt and Ekaterina’s grandmother, Aleksandra, who had made sure of it.

She is entirely unaccustomed to informational maneuvering through conversation. Not only was she not raised in the ducal residence, it can only be assumed she was not placed in an environment suitable for engaging in the social interactions expected of a duke’s daughter in the first place.
For some time, it had been the prevailing rumor in the imperial capital’s society that Ekaterina and her mother were oppressed by Aleksandra. It appears that was true.

To be frank, Mikhail disliked Aleksandra. Every time they met she disparaged his mother, Empress Magdalena, and treated Aleksei coldly. There was no reason to like her. Though she had married into the ducal house, she brandished the privileges of royalty while naturally refusing its obligations. As a member of the imperial house, she was the very embodiment of what one must not be.

Even so, Aleksandra had her value. By marrying Duke Sergei, in whom the late Emperor had placed absolute trust, Duke Sergei came to be treated as the Emperor’s brother-in-law, quasi-royalty. In casual settings, his grandfather used to refer to him as “my brother-in-law Sergei.” That enhanced the duke’s authority and enabled him to push forward innovative policies.
Though it seems his marriage with Aleksandra, who disliked reform, was dreadful.

Despite being raised in such an environment, Ekaterina is cheerful and kind. Though she has missing pieces, her intelligence is striking. She ranked first in her year in examinations, and during the imperial visit she demonstrated such understanding in a trade-related conversation that his mother became thoroughly fond of her. And then there is that glass pen. She possesses remarkable creativity.

At the announcement of the exam results, Ekaterina had said this:

*“Prince Mikhail, I think it’s wonderful how sincerely you face the weight of your position.”*

The more time passes, the more deeply those words sink into his chest.

The weight of the position of one who will inherit the throne. Few understand it. Especially among their generation.
Though she is a duke’s daughter, Ekaterina was not raised in circumstances befitting that station. Even so, he felt that she could imagine, more than any other young lady, the burden he would someday bear upon his shoulders.

After today’s conversation, that feeling became a certainty.
When the word “alone” arose, Ekaterina expressed pain. She seemed to be contemplating the Emperor’s loneliness. Very deeply.
Rather than merely claiming to understand, she thought with all her strength and gave him the words she could. Filled with kindness.

—When the day comes that I ascend the throne… if such a woman were by my side.

Why is she able to do that? That, more than anything, is a mystery.

.

His parents, the Emperor and Empress, are also quite fond of her. It would be easy to have the imperial house formally approach the Duke of Jurnova with a proposal of engagement.
But that is not the way he wants. He wants Ekaterina to fall in love with him—with Mikhail Jurgrahn.
Ordinarily, for a crown prince, that might be considered a luxury. But his parents married for love. His father apparently pursued his mother throughout their three years at the academy. Thanks to their experience, they support his choice.

The public pays intense attention to who Mikhail’s spouse will be. Simply because he visited Jurnova, rumors have spread that Ekaterina is the leading candidate. That cannot be helped.
Unless the imperial house shows that it holds interest in her, there is a risk that danger may befall her. She will be treated specially as a candidate for Mikhail’s fiancée. That will serve as her protection.

…And yet Ekaterina seems not to understand any of it. Despite being so intelligent, that too is one of her missing pieces.

.

At times he wants to clearly convey his feelings. But he has a premonition that if he did, she would panic and flee. Like a rabbit. And if that happened, Aleksei would happily tuck her into his embrace and never let her go.
To begin with, Aleksei looks as though he has no intention of marrying Ekaterina off at all.

Given how attached she is to Aleksei, she surely has no one she likes. Though why she looked so startled at first remains a mystery. She does not dislike him.
So he will approach slowly—and gently, capture her.

Perhaps he will have to duel Aleksei.
When he inherits the throne one day, he intends to work him to the bone in return.
Like Duke Sergei in his grandfather’s time, he will have him shoulder state affairs as a chief minister and move the Empire together. Emperor, Empress, and at their very side, Aleksei. Even if he reaches the pinnacle of subjects and grasps power, he can trust that Aleksei, who has little personal ambition, will not abuse it. Though he would likely do anything if it was for Ekaterina’s sake.
That is precisely what Mikhail wants. He has no intention of changing Ekaterina’s missing pieces. Rather, let her remain as she is. Even his mother Magdalena, though criticized for conduct unbecoming of an empress, remained herself and uplifted the Empire in her own way.

An Emperor is lonely. But if there is a future in which the three of them support and move the nation together…
*Aleksei and I will probably spend our lives competing over Ekaterina.*

.

“Your Highness, your change of clothes.”
“Ah.”

At his valet’s voice, Mikhail roused himself from his thoughts and sat up.