Weeping Men: The Innocent Princess's Secret Delight - Chapter 2.2
Judith, wanting to receive as many suitors as possible and have them compete to raise her value, deliberately brought up Kaizen to smoothly avoid this situation.
The atmosphere around them cooled. The nobles who had been watching the situation, anticipating a union between the ducal family and the imperial family, deflated and exchanged glances with each other.
‘The Princess again…’
‘She lacks tact at crucial moments, always pushing away families and young men who approach her actively like this.’
It was as if she could hear their inner thoughts. Judith inwardly sang to herself.
‘I appreciate you thinking that way.’
The Duke, who became awkward at Judith’s remark, cleared his throat.
“Ahem! Of course not. I was about to call him after you greeted the young duke. …Kaizen!”
At the Duke’s call, Kaizen peeled himself off the wall. As he walked over with measured steps and stood beside the young duke, exclamations erupted from the group of young ladies.
‘They must be enthralled.’
Handsome brothers who look similar as if stamped from the same mold, yet exuding different atmospheres. They’re impressive enough separately, but seeing them as a set would double their beauty.
‘But this one is mine.’
“I apologize for the late greeting. Kaizen Pentmian, the second son of the Pentmian ducal family, greets Your Highness.”
“Kaizen! I’ve missed you.”
Judith deliberately called him without formality.
Surprised by the suddenly narrowed distance, he opened his eyes wide. Judith ignored his reaction and acted naturally.
The important thing was to show who Kaizen belonged to.
‘With Kaizen as the partner, there won’t be rumors about a designated imperial son-in-law, so it’s fine.’
The young duke and Kaizen were in different situations from the start. While the young duke was a top-tier bachelor with a bright future, Kaizen’s position was ambiguous both in his family and social status.
A war hero. But a son who had fallen out of the Duke’s favor.
The youngest Imperial Knight Commander. But his duty was merely the Princess’s close guard.
With positive and negative evaluations mixed, he wasn’t particularly appealing in the eyes of any noble.
As such, even if he greeted the Princess alongside his father, he would only be seen as an ‘extra’ to the young duke.
‘That’s why I like it. There’s less need to be cautious.’
Not that there weren’t aspects she disliked.
Judith continued to flaunt their intimacy.
“I felt strange not receiving Kaizen’s morning greeting today.”
“…It’s only been a day.”
“Still! It’s natural to feel odd when someone who comes every day doesn’t show up.”
Before her next words, Judith checked once more if the nobles were focused on her lips.
It was especially important that the Duke was listening.
“But it can’t be helped, right? This banquet is to celebrate the victory, how could the protagonist be missing?”
The Duke’s face flushed noticeably. He was indirectly criticized for not taking care of the person of the hour until now.
He couldn’t possibly rebuke the Princess. It was merely her words trying to praise the guard she cherishes, and everyone knows the Princess lacks some tact.
‘This is why I can’t stop pretending to be naive.’
Judith, who had swiftly made the Duke eat his words twice by actively utilizing the image she had built up, secretly smiled.
It wasn’t as if she had spoken only for the Duke to hear. She didn’t like seeing Kaizen being ignored either, so she deliberately called him over and made everyone in the hall acknowledge him.
‘Why should what’s mine be treated poorly? Revere him immediately! But don’t covet him!’
It was from such a childish sentiment. It had been a while since she acted on emotion.
“Come to think of it…”
“We should at least greet Lord Pentmian formally…”
At Judith’s words, nobles who began to remember the reason for the banquet started to move subtly. It was to greet Kaizen.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall began to shift towards Kaizen.
“As you say. Isn’t this banquet to celebrate the victory in the three-year-long war with the North?”
At that moment, Froyzen stepped forward again. Pretending to look after his brother, he patted Kaizen’s shoulder and said,
“Thanks to him, we were able to escape the danger of all-out war. We can now even enjoy their culture.”
He then signaled to the head butler. The head butler, receiving the signal, ushered in servants to the banquet hall. The servants were all pushing carts with cold cream in glass cups.
“It’s called ice cream. I hear it’s a dessert enjoyed by people living in the polar regions. We’ve modified it to suit the taste of imperial people, so it shouldn’t be unpalatable.”
With the appearance of this unfamiliar dessert, people’s attention shifted towards it.
“You say it’s eaten by the Northerners?”
“How could we eat the food of barbarians…”
“Since it’s been through the hands of the ducal family’s chef, shouldn’t the taste be guaranteed? It looks exquisite at least.”
Judith, observing the situation, smiled coldly.
‘Look at this.’
The topic change was so natural that no one seemed to notice. But to her, who always did similar things, it was clear as day.
Froyzen had prepared the ice cream and brought it out just when Kaizen was about to be in the spotlight. Thanks to this, the center of attention remained on Froyzen, who had first served the ice cream.
‘He’s quite skilled at subtle instigation.’
He’s one of her kind. She could sense the scheming writhing beneath his smiling face.
Unaware that he had been seen through, the young duke personally brought a glass and offered it to Judith with a smile.
“Would Your Highness like to try some? It’s soft and sweet, so I believe it will suit your taste.”
The glass he offered had noticeably less ice cream than the others.
‘Hmm…’
“Thank you.”
Hiding her mocking smile, Judith smiled prettily.
Did he give it without realizing this glass had less ice cream than the others?
‘Absolutely not.’
He definitely knows. He probably had it prepared separately just for this. To serve her.
“…It’s really delicious. I’d like to set it as a regular dessert for tea time.”
Although his attempt at flirtation was pathetic, she played along for now.
When she opened her eyes wide and pretended to be amazed, Froyzen smiled gently.
“I’m glad you like it.”
Froyzen’s scheme was revealed after all the glasses were emptied. Judith’s glass, which had less to begin with, was emptied faster than others.
“Here. Bring a new glass.”
Froyzen, who had been hovering nearby, quickly ordered a servant to bring a new one. He didn’t forget to show consideration by taking away the empty glass and handing her the one he was holding, lest Judith feel embarrassed.
This behavior continued not just with the ice cream, but also with champagne and finger food. Seeing this, the Duke, who was in the middle of entertaining other nobles, smiled and said,
“The young duke is taking good care of Your Highness. I can see that the chivalry our family upholds is alive in him.”
“Indeed, it is.”
Judith pretended to be grateful while inwardly sneering.
‘Is it your family’s chivalry to serve meagerly just to show off?’
She was already annoyed that he had been subtly interfering whenever Kaizen tried to approach and take care of her. Now with the Duke making unnecessary comments, it was beyond irritating.
‘Is he trying to score points on behalf of his son after accidentally witnessing his petty tricks?’
But they seemed too well-coordinated for that. As Judith was doubting, the Duke’s next words confirmed her suspicions.
