Weeping Men: The Innocent Princess's Secret Delight - Chapter 1.3
“Indeed. It seems the stars in the sky are volunteering to guide the new knighthood.”
She gave an irrelevant answer despite knowing his true intentions. Pretending not to understand or comprehend is the best way to fend off such men.
“Ha, haha… Indeed. The starlight is bright. The palace grounds are high, so the stars seem even clearer.”
“That’s right. You know about it?”
“Yes. I’d like to see them closer, and if possible, with Your Highness as my guide—”
“Our chamberlain is excellent at guiding. There, Albi?”
After casually dismissing a few like this, some approach with even more courage.
“Would you grant me the honor of dancing with you, Your Highness?”
Seeing the nobleman kneeling before her, Judith only gave a troubled smile instead of answering. Such blatant advances didn’t even require her to move directly.
“Just a moment, Viscount Bjorn. Let’s stop making requests that trouble Her Highness.”
“Knowing that she always rests sitting down after the first dance due to lack of stamina, you still make such a request?”
As expected, attacks pour in from all directions.
On the surface, they might be concerned for Judith, but their true intentions lie elsewhere. They’re keeping her in check, fearing she might become too close to a particular person.
“Why are you acting like this when I didn’t rudely try to lead Her Highness away?”
“Are you saying it doesn’t matter as long as the exterior is polished, regardless of the inner intentions?”
“I didn’t say that!”
Watching the heated argument, Judith quietly slipped away.
Now, what’s important in that debate is not herself. It’s their pride. Even if she disappears, no one will notice.
“Haa…”
Judith sighed as she left the banquet hall. Then, she muttered quietly so that no one could hear.
“If you really want to please me, just cry your eyes out.”
It’s a boring and tedious daily life with nothing interesting. Even the air felt stifling.
Judith strolled through the rose maze garden for some fresh air. As she was trying to recall the name of an unfamiliar variety she discovered, she heard it.
“Hic…”
A groan was heard from the other side.
“!”
How long has it been since she had such entertainment? Judith, her face brightening, followed the sound, winding through the maze.
What else could be causing groans in a secluded spot far from the banquet hall other than ‘that act’!
The expectation of obtaining someone’s secret scandal filled her. Her steps quickened silently.
Finally, she arrived at the source. When she realized who the owner of the voice was, Judith was taken aback.
The man who had seemed like a well-forged sword. The new captain of the knights who should have been the star of the banquet was there. Alone. With his head buried deep between his knees.
‘…What’s going on?’
Unable to understand, Judith unconsciously settled in place and stared at him intently. Then she accidentally brushed against a flower branch.
Rustle.
The sound wasn’t loud, but the trained swordsman’s senses were keen. He jerked his head up.
For a moment, their gazes locked in mid-air.
“—!!”
Judith immediately dropped to the ground. She even held her breath. She didn’t care that her skirt was getting wrinkled.
Kaizen lingered around for a while searching for the presence, but eventually fled the scene.
Only after the sound of his footsteps had completely faded did Judith let out her held breath. Still, she didn’t remove the hand covering her mouth.
Thump, thump.
She felt like her heart might jump out of her mouth if she removed her hand.
“…”
Judith blankly recalled the scene she had just witnessed.
Under the moonlight, his face was glistening with tears.
Without contorting his face or making a sound. He was crying beautifully and mournfully.
She clutched at her chest, but her heartbeat wouldn’t slow down.
Judith turned her head to look at where he had been. There wasn’t even a trace that someone had been there, let alone a departing figure.
She scanned the empty space as if searching for the person who had been there. A murmur escaped her lips.
“That’s it…”
A smile full of ecstasy spread across her face. She didn’t feel the need to hide her expression at all.
***
After the inauguration ceremony, a rumor spread. A rumor that the Princess had taken an interest in one of the Imperial knights.
“Otherwise, why would Her Highness take morning walks near the training grounds every day!”
Since the rumor was confined to the knighthood, it was dismissed as mere wishful thinking. However, it was true that the training grounds had been added to Judith’s morning walk route.
Despite the chilly autumn weather, the knights were training with their upper bodies bare. While mechanically following the training, their minds were entirely focused elsewhere.
Soon, the Princess appeared, walking with light steps. The knights all stopped to greet her with their eyes.
The Princess responded to each and every one of them. The knights who received her response each indulged in their own daydreams.
‘Could it be that Her Highness is taking walks around here because of me?’
Judith, returning each eye greeting, had these thoughts in her head:
‘Do we need regular knights? I want to cut them all off. There are so many unnecessary ones that I can’t see Kaizen.’
Despite enduring the irritating smell of sweat every morning, Kaizen was harder to spot than a rare species. It was frustrating.
‘To let such a treasure rot on the northern battlefield for three years. What were Father and Duke Pentmian thinking? What if his face had been scarred!’
She regretted not recognizing his true value earlier.
Ever since their chance encounter on the night of the inauguration ceremony, Judith’s mind had been filled with thoughts of Kaizen.
Half was admiration for Kaizen’s crying face, and the other half was scheming how to make such a peerless beauty fall into her hands.
However, there was a big problem with her desire.
‘Of all things, he had to be the captain…’
Kaizen’s position was too high to keep him by the Princess’s side.
‘If he had been just a vice-captain, I could have managed to pull him out somehow.’
Unless one is the Emperor, it’s impossible to use the captain of the Imperial Knights, a war hero, like a mere servant.
It’s irrational to forcibly succeed to the throne just to obtain one person. Judith pondered on a way to securely obtain Kaizen while remaining rational.
‘I can’t ask for the entire 4th Division as my personal guard either.’
To make such a request, a dangerous situation requiring a large guard force would need to arise.
Judith, unwilling to give up her current boring but peaceful daily life just to obtain Kaizen, continued to ponder.
‘Isn’t there something? A way to pull down the Imperial Knights Captain to be the Princess’s personal guard…’
As she pondered, she kicked a stone at her feet. The rolling stone touched someone’s military boots.
Lifting her parasol slightly, she saw three regular knights standing in front.
“Good morning, Your Highness!”
“Would you perhaps be interested in watching the knights’ sparring?”
Before answering, Judith scanned their attire.
On their chests was the emblem of the 4th Division, and on their epaulettes were their respective family crests.
The knights’ faces were flushed with excitement. They seemed to firmly believe they were the subjects of the rumor circulating among the knights.
‘It’s true that I’m interested in a knight, but it’s not you guys.’
