WTSP - 48

“Your Highness, Madame Ruavel sent over a variety of accessories! Do you think she knew you were going out today? Look at this rose-shaped hair tie. It’s so pretty... It will perfectly suit your white hair!”

“Do you realize you’ve been exclaiming over them for thirty minutes already, Lena?”

Lena was raising the mood today with her usual high energy. Perhaps it was because it was her first time leaving the Imperial Palace in a while; she seemed particularly excited.

Just then, she picked up a blue hair tie, having been holding up each of the accessories Madame Ruavel had sent as gifts to me.

“Oh my, blue looks so good on you too, Your Highness... It’s a shame you don’t tie your hair up.”

“I do tie it up sometimes. When I’m sword training, long hair is too inconvenient.”

“I mean usually. I think you would look so beautiful if you tied your hair up high like this. Would you like to take a look in the mirror?”

Lena gently twisted my hair up and tied it into a high ponytail.

Whether my hair was tied up or down didn’t really matter to me, but Lena seemed to be enjoying herself, so I didn’t want to interrupt.

I gave a faint smile and took out two hair ties with daisy-shaped decorations from the accessory box.

“These are pretty too. I think they would suit you well.”

“They would suit Your Highness much better than me! I’m so jealous. I wish I had been born with a pretty face like yours...”

“What are you talking about, Lena? You are so beautiful. You’re the one who needs to look in the mirror.”

I held up the hand mirror I was holding and turned the glass towards Lena. Despite my compliment, she just shook her head with an embarrassed expression.

She didn’t just look embarrassed. Lena seemed to genuinely believe she wasn’t beautiful.

I gently stroked her cheek with my fingertips and looked into her clear blue eyes, which reflected her pure nature.

“Really, Lena. Have you ever seen me lie to you? You are more beautiful than anyone. How many people envy these sapphire-like eyes of yours? They’re just like blue waves reflecting sunlight.”

“Oh, Your Highness, you’re too kind. You have rose-tinted glasses on. I’m not from a noble family like you, and I have all sorts of blemishes on my face. Look. I have freckles all over. I used to get compliments about my clear skin when I was young... I think it’s because I was in the sun so much that my face has become all pockmarked now.”

Lena gazed into the distance as if reminiscing about the past, stroking her cheek with her fingertips. I looked at every corner of Lena’s face with an expression of incomprehension.

Luxurious blonde hair, large blue eyes, lovely and cute features. Wasn’t she the kind of visual you would see in an American drama?

Of course, it was true that Ophelia was strikingly beautiful.

But Lena was also clearly a radiant child who could capture everyone’s attention. Why was she so dejected?

“Lena, this isn’t just polite talk... you are truly beautiful. More than anything, looks aren’t the important standard for judging people. Why do you value yourself so lowly when you are so clear and sparkling like dew?”

“Hmm, but... I’m not a noble, so I don’t have anything to boast about, and all I’m good at is cleaning and running errands.”

“You have no idea how much you are capable of... Would you like to sit here for a moment?”

I sat Lena down next to me and placed the two hair ties beside us. Dividing her hair that was parted in half into three sections again, I began to braid it with practiced hands.

Perhaps thanks to the experience of braiding my friends’ long hair whenever I had free time as a child, her abundant and soft hair became intricately intertwined in a dense pattern.

...What kind of story should I tell her?

“You know, I read in a book that in some countries, all citizens have equal status... Their jobs and where they live are different, but there are no social classes.”

“A country without kings and nobles? Then who rules that empire? Even so, someone has to be at the center...”

“Ah, that’s... a representative elected through a democratic process takes charge of state affairs. They don’t hold the position until they die like a monarch, and after a certain time, the people can elect another representative.”

She probably had never heard the word ‘president’ in her life. I tied the end of the tightly braided hair with a ribbon, fixing it in place, and gave an awkward smile.

Something I had taken for granted my whole life might not be so obvious after all.

For me, the Emperor’s centralized power wasn’t a given, and for Lena, the system of electing a president wasn’t a given.

Lena seemed interested in the fictional country with a South Korean system, asking me with a face full of curiosity.

“Since you said there are no social classes there, there probably isn’t discrimination based on birth either. I’m so jealous. If I had been born there, would I have lived a different life?”

“Discrimination... I guess so.”

I had brought up the story of Korea to give confidence to Lena, who was limiting her own potential within the framework of the social hierarchy.

I quietly whispered the two syllables of ‘discrimination’.

The Republic of Korea I knew was certainly a country without social classes, but it wasn’t a place without discrimination based on birth. Even though everyone was born as fellow citizens, their starting lines were all different.

Compared to the Carlot Empire, the possibilities were relatively limitless, but it couldn’t be said that discrimination was completely absent. Lena’s words might have come from pure curiosity, but...

I felt strangely caught off guard, and a bitter taste lingered in my mouth. This seemed like a topic that required a little more thought.

“In conclusion, Lena, what I wanted to say is, don’t limit your own potential. I hope you won’t forget that you are my precious friend, my beloved younger sister, and a young person with endless possibilities to grow.”

“...Your Highness. Hearing you say that makes me feel like crying.”

“You can’t cry when you’re going to a festival. There, all braided. How does it look? It would be perfect with this hair clip.”

I found a pin with pearls embedded in it and clipped it to Lena’s side hair.

Lena, looking in the mirror with her hair in pigtails, truly looked like the personification of loveliness.

‘There was a dress that would suit this child well...’

I opened the closet and looked at the dresses packed tightly inside. There were so many clothes that checking each one was a task in itself.

I took out a light purple dress that was hanging around the middle and held it up to Lena’s body.

“This is a dress that perfectly matches the daisy hair ties. Why don’t you wear this?”

“Oh my, can I really wear this? It’s yours, Your Highness...”

“I’d like you to wear it. Oh dear, look at the time. Sir Cloden will be waiting. Let’s hurry and change, Lena.”

“I really lost track of time! Oh no. Yes, yes.”

Turning my head to check the time without realizing it, I saw that the appointed time was approaching.

We quickly changed our clothes and headed to the place where we were supposed to meet Cloden. It was a close call, but I was relieved that we weren’t late.

Cloden, who found Lena and me, bowed his head politely.

“Your Highness, you have arrived. I hope you did not have to rush... you seem a little out of breath.”

“Hoo, I’m alright. Running like this occasionally is good for blood circulation. Ah, Sir Cloden, could you hand me that water bottle?”

“Of course. Please take your time and drink slowly.”

I received the leather water bottle from Cloden and handed it to the panting Lena. Perhaps because she had run the entire ten-minute distance without stopping, both her cheeks were flushed with heat.

Despite my urging her to drink first, I pressed the water bottle into Lena’s hand.

I was definitely out of breath, but I felt vividly alive, which made me feel good. It even reminded me of the old days when I would run around the Han River until my heart burst in the quiet dawn.

‘Ophelia’s stamina has improved a lot. She used to collapse easily even just from walking.’

People really need to exercise regularly.

Feeling the effects of exercise and training anew, I looked at the carriage. It was a carriage large enough for the two of us. The brown horse hitched to it also looked quite sturdy.

Getting kicked by those hind hooves would probably hurt quite a bit.

“Here, thank you... Sir Cloden.”

“Not at all, Lady Lena. Are you feeling a little better now?”

“Ah, yes... thanks to you.”

While looking at the carriage, Lena finished the entire water bottle and was catching her breath. Cloden, who had taken the water bottle from her, smiled quietly at Lena.

Were they not meeting for the first time, the two of them? I tilted my head involuntarily, catching the subtle air flowing between them as they exchanged the water bottle.

“Your Highness, please get into the carriage now. I will assist you.”

“No, I just need to step up here, right? It’s been a while since I rode in a carriage...”

Though it was actually my first time. How many opportunities would one have to ride a carriage while living in modern society?

I grabbed the carriage door handle and, pushing off with my foot, hopped into the carriage.

“...Your Highness, are you alright?”

“Of course, I am.”

Perhaps he thought it was quite high to step up in one go, as a faint look of embarrassment crossed Cloden’s face.

I sat down and gave Cloden a quick smile, then extended my right hand to Lena.

“Take my hand and come up, Lena. I’ll help you.”

She also took my hand and got in in one go, letting out a breath.

Cloden, after confirming that Lena and I were seated, quietly closed the carriage door and mounted the saddle.

“Then we shall depart. I will go slowly so that you do not get motion sickness. It will take at least an hour, so please rest comfortably.”

I slightly lifted the partition and gazed through the clear window.

‘......It’s my first time visiting somewhere other than the Imperial Palace.’

The carriage lightly rumbled along with Cloden’s guidance. It was a pleasant swaying, filled with anticipation.