Chapter 3

The social season in the kingdom lasts for about two weeks, from early to mid-March.

During this period, the royal capital is alive day and night with gatherings.

Be it peace negotiations or trade agreements, the main focus, in the end, is always matchmaking.

For nobles, marrying and producing heirs is their most crucial duty.

Being incompetent may be overlooked, but being infertile is not.

And so, I plan to stay in the royal capital for the next two weeks.

Father, however, left in a hurry this morning.

That’s because word came that Duke Larknoll departed last night.

Most likely, Father and Duke Larknoll will be staring each other down on the battlefield before long.

War is about to resume.

However, it seems young Thor has remained in the capital.

“What do you think?”

“It’s likely a diplomatic maneuver. I believe they’re trying to rattle us and push negotiations in their favor. We should not take the bait—remain calm and unmoved.”

One of the knights responded to my question.

If they truly meant to break off negotiations, then Thor would’ve returned home as well—or so the reasoning goes.

These men are seasoned diplomats.

At the very least, far more experienced than I am, and their judgment is likely sound.

“But with Duke Larknoll, the kingdom’s strongest, and now Lord Thor... we now face two sharpened horns of the beast from the north. Meanwhile, the Vulture Empire continues to watch us from the east. The Lion Royal House in the west cannot be fully trusted either… It’s a dire situation.”

Our ideal strategy would be: a non-aggression pact with Duke Larknoll to the north, a marriage alliance with the royal family to the west, and preparing our defenses against the empire in the east.

The worst-case scenario is getting pincered from the north, east, and west.

Currently, the royal family seems inclined toward a marriage alliance, but there’s no guarantee they won’t be swayed by the empire and bare their fangs.

“Fortunately, Lord Thor seems unaccustomed to social affairs. Now might be the time to make the first move.”

“Let’s not be too hasty, though…”

“I know. But I don’t think simply sitting back and observing will change the situation for the better.”

Our knights are competent—but they tend to be overly cautious and risk-averse… hesitant, even.

That’s why they’ve been consistently outmaneuvered by Duke Larknoll and Thor’s hit-and-run tactics.

But now, we have the upper hand on the social battlefield.

I think it’s time we played a bit more aggressively.

“I have an idea.”

All right, then.

Let’s show young Thor that war is just one of many tools in the diplomatic arsenal.

And so, I decided to play a little mean.

At the evening party, I made sure not to speak to Thor—not even once.

I didn’t greet him; I simply made eye contact or gave a slight nod when necessary, and danced with other men—suitors like Prince Bartona—right in front of him.

And it worked better than expected.

Each day, Thor’s envious, almost resentful stares grew more intense.

So blatant was his gaze that even those around us began to notice that Thor harbored feelings for me—and that I was deliberately ignoring him.

Prince Bartona even said, “I get that there’s bad blood, but maybe you should say something to him?”

To which I replied, “It’s a matter of family policy,” and continued to ignore Thor.

Then, about a week later…

“…Princess Roselia.”

Thor finally spoke to me.

All eyes turned to us.

I could feel every movement we made was being scrutinized.

“Oh my, Lord Thor. I hope you’re well.”

I returned the greeting as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

Then, I flashed a smile—just once—and turned to leave…

“W-Wait, please!”

“…Yes?”

Thor’s voice rang out across the dance hall.

With every eye in the room now fixed on us, I looked straight into his eyes.

“...Radiant Princess Roselia. Please, may I have this dance?”

Thor, visibly nervous, asked me to dance.

I blinked in surprise, paused for a breath…

“With pleasure!”

Smiling from ear to ear, I replied loudly and took his hand.

The moment our hands touched, Thor’s face turned bright red.

He looked a bit startled and tried to pull his hand away, but I grasped it first and entwined my fingers with his.

“Please… be gentle.”

“O-Of course.”

We began to dance in rhythm with the music—slowly, gracefully, taking each step with care to avoid any misstep or embarrassment.

“You’ve kept up your practice, just like you promised.”

He was noticeably better than he’d been a week ago.

I asked him if he’d been practicing this whole time—for me.

Thor averted his eyes, his face still flushed.

“It’s… not like I did it for you or anything.”

Perhaps out of embarrassment, he muttered his reply bluntly.

If it were Prince Bartona, he’d have said something like, “Because I’ve been thinking of you,” instead.

Still… this innocence—it’s kind of refreshing.

“Well… that’s a shame.”

I lowered my gaze as if in sorrow.

Then, letting my eyes shimmer just a little, I glanced up at Thor from beneath my lashes.

An expression designed to stir both his protective and possessive instincts.

And sure enough, Thor panicked, clearly thinking he’d made me cry.

“W-Wait, I didn’t mean—”

“You’re… upset with me, aren’t you…?”

I spoke in the softest, most anxious, and fragile voice I could manage.

Ignoring Thor’s confused expression—he looked like he wanted to say, “Huh? About what?”—I pressed on.

“…After that, my father scolded me…”

(Though in reality, he praised me.)

“…And the rest of the household objected too…”

(Actually, they were just worried I might’ve gone too far.)

“I couldn’t bring myself to speak to you… I’m terribly sorry.”

All of it, of course, was an act—exactly as planned.

I cast my eyes down again, then looked up at Thor like I was checking if he’d forgive me.

“Please… don’t come to hate me.”

…Was that laying it on too thick?

A little nervous, I glanced at Thor’s reaction.

“I-I would never hate you over something so trivial! …If anything, I should be the one apologizing for not speaking to you first.”

He fell for it. Instantly. And he even apologized.

Did you all hear that? He just apologized to me.

“Oh my… How kind of you. Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll take you up on that kindness.”

I beamed with the joy of being “forgiven” and closed the distance between us in a single step.

I pressed my chest against him, making sure to maximize skin contact.

“…Ah.”

Thor’s face turned bright red.

Flustered, he missed a step and nearly fell backward.

I pulled him back toward me without hesitation.

Just as our foreheads gently bumped together, I gave him a playful little smile.

“I-I’m terribly sorry!”

Thor, thoroughly flustered, quickly pulled his hand away.

Right on cue, the music ended.

To those watching, it would’ve looked like we simply danced a single song and parted.

It’s still too soon for a second dance.

A bit more teasing is in order.

“As much as I hate to part ways… shall we leave it here for tonight?”

“Y-Yes… of course.”

Since he was the one to let go first, he couldn’t very well say he wanted to keep dancing.

But I didn’t want it to seem like I didn’t want to dance with him either.

“…Her expression might get even scarier if we keep going.”

I glanced briefly at the waiting maid, then leaned close to whisper in Thor’s ear.

Her sour face wasn’t because I danced with Thor—that’s just her normal look—but Thor would surely think she was angry.

It’s my way of saying, I want to be close to you, but everyone else is against it.

A little Romeo and Juliet, if you will.

“I’ll be waiting… for you to come speak to me again.”

“Yes… I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Thor’s eyes lit up at my words.

…And now I feel a tiny bit guilty.

But I can’t help it.

Because this is diplomacy.

I slowly stepped away from Thor, as if reluctant to part.

As I did, the waiting maid approached my side.

“…Princess. We need to have a word later.”

“Oh my… You’re making such a scary face.”

Come on, it was just a joke. Don’t be mad.

---

After that, every night, I accepted Thor’s invitations to dance—just one or two songs each time.

The reason I was doing this was simple: though we had lost a battle, I wanted to create the impression that the Budoudarl Principality still held the upper hand in the overall war.

In reality, we were barely managing to maintain a stalemate…

But rather than making it look like Budoudarl is stuck on the defensive, I wanted it to seem like Larknoll is struggling to make progress.

Naturally, the one doing the inviting always looks more desperate than the one being invited.

Behind the scenes, our knights were steadily engaged in peace negotiations.

What I was doing was simply providing support fire.

On the stage of politics and diplomacy, perceptions like these can be surprisingly influential.

And then, another week passed.

“Phew… I’m getting a bit tired. Would you mind if I took a short break?”

“...Of course not.”

Tonight, we danced three songs—our highest number yet.

The count itself didn’t matter, but once you go beyond two, it starts to look less like obligation and more like genuine interest.

I stepped away from Thor to catch my breath.

As I did, my maid stepped forward and gently dabbed the sweat from my skin with a towel.

I swept my hair up to make it easier for her, and in that moment, I felt a warm gaze.

Catching Thor’s eyes, I offered him a bashful little smile.

He quickly averted his gaze in a fluster.

It’s not like I don’t understand—the appeal of a girl flushed and glistening with post-dance heat.

Still, being looked at that way myself is… complicated.

“Lord Thor.”

“Yes?”

Once I’d finished freshening up, we turned to face each other again.

Normally, this is where we would exchange parting words. Thor probably assumed the same.

“Thank you for the lovely evening.”

“...I enjoyed it too. Thank you, Princess Roselia.”

Thor looked genuinely reluctant to say goodbye.

I wasn’t feeling particularly sentimental, but I put on the same look anyway.

“…I had hoped we might have had a little more time to talk, calmly.”

Ordinarily, that would’ve led straight into a farewell—but instead, I let the conversation linger.

As if I didn’t want it to end.

As if there was still something I wanted to say.

“I’ve thought the same, Princess Roselia. I’d much rather speak beneath the sun than the moon.”

“Oh! In that case…”

Seizing the opportunity, I clapped my hands together and gave Thor my brightest smile.

“If you’re free tomorrow at noon… would you care to join me for a meal?”

Then, as if shy from my own boldness, I lowered my gaze and continued in a soft, almost whispering voice.

“…Just the two of us.”

Thor’s eyes went wide.

Then he nodded vigorously, answering with bright enthusiasm.

“Absolutely!”

Got him.

---

Around noon the next day.

“Welcome, Lord Thor.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Princess Roselia.”

I greeted Thor at the gate of my estate in the royal capital.

Not only Thor, but also his guards, attendants, and even clerks were present.

The purpose of this lunch meeting was peace negotiations.

While Thor and I enjoyed our meal and conversation, the clerks would conduct the actual negotiations.

So when I invited Thor to dine together during the evening party, it was the final push—details had already been coordinated between the clerks in advance.

Thor surely knew I wanted to eat together.

That’s why he said he wanted to “speak beneath the sun” rather than the moon.

“The weather is fine today… so let us talk freely under the sunlight.”

I chatted casually as I guided Thor to the dining area set up in the garden of the estate.

As soon as he took his seat, the servers placed glasses before us and poured sparkling ale.

“Well then… let us give thanks to the guidance of the moonlight.”

I said this while raising my glass and giving a mischievous smile.

Thor seemed to think it over briefly before raising his glass in response.

“May the sun’s blessings be upon our future.”

He looked at me as if to say, “Is this right?” I smiled broadly.

The moon represented our past and the relationship so far; the sun symbolized the future.

Though our meeting was born of war, now was the time for peace.

“To our futures.”

We clinked glasses and took a sip.

I drank only twice before setting my glass down on the table.

“Hehe… to speak of our future like that, how passionate.”

I relaxed my tone slightly and joked.

Thor choked on his drink, coughing a bit, his face flushing deeply.

“My earlier words were meant to celebrate the friendship between our houses…”

“Houses!? Well now…”

“N-No! Between our countries…”

“Hehe, I understand.”

After lightening the mood, we enjoyed our food and drink together.

Thor was nervous at first, but as the alcohol flowed, he grew more talkative.

I have to admit, he drinks well…

“By the way, Princess Roselia, do you have any plans after this?”

His question came out of nowhere.

I was surprised—and on guard—that Thor himself would suggest extending our meeting.

“No, nothing…”

“Then… would you teach me to dance? I want to improve…”

Thor said this, looking a little embarrassed but holding my gaze.

I see… under the pretext of practice, I can dance with him as much as I want.

Clever.

“Of course, I’d be happy to.”

After the meal, we began dance practice.

Both wearing our evening gowns, we held hands and stepped through the movements.

“How do you find it, Princess Roselia? I believe I’ve improved since last time.”

“You have indeed. May we increase the tempo?”

“Certainly.”

Alone together, a few mistakes wouldn’t matter.

Feeling confident, I raised the difficulty.

At first, Thor matched my pace well, but gradually he lost timing.

Perhaps the alcohol was catching up to him.

After finishing the fourth song, he stumbled, tripping his feet and leaning against me.

“Ah…”

“Eek!”

Instead of catching him, I let myself fall backward.

Our noses almost touched.

His rough hand pressed against my chest… unexpected.

“Well… you’re quite bold.”

“I-I’m terribly sorry!!”

When I gave him a shy look, Thor quickly jumped back in surprise.

His face turned pale as he started to fumble nervously.

“T-That was an accident… I-I don’t know how to properly apologize…”

“I understand.”

I said that as I took his hand and pressed my body close to his.

I pressed the curve of my chest against his chest, looked up at him, and smiled.

Thor’s face shifted from pale blue to a deep red.

“We’re alone together, after all. So don’t worry—let’s just enjoy ourselves, okay?”

Strictly speaking, we weren’t really alone. Our attendants watched us, musicians played nearby, and guards stood ready, each wary of the other.

But by noble standards, those people didn’t count as equals—they weren’t part of us.

So no one witnessed the “accident.” It wouldn’t be recorded. There’d be no diplomatic incident.

I declared this loudly enough for everyone to hear.

I felt the tension among the knights ease.

“…Y-Yes!”

We began dancing again.

This time, slow and careful, stepping deliberately as if to confirm each movement.

“Lord Thor.”

At the moment he took a long step forward, I leaned close to his ear.

Whispering softly:

“You owe me one.”

---

Thus, the luncheon with Thor ended without incident.

As a result of the negotiations, as a preliminary step toward a ceasefire, our country’s marshal was returned.

It was definitely worth having my chest fondled for this outcome.