Childhood Friend - Harriet Gaidan
Leo, after pondering for a moment, easily responded to Lena’s suspicious gaze.
“I brought Cokoren. But wasn’t it not last year, but even earlier? It was shortly after the new priest arrived in the village. Since the priest had never seen Cokoren…”
“And then what happened?”
“It was a big mess. The village chief scolded me, my brothers scolded me, and even your parents scolded me…”
“Was there nothing before that?”
Lena asked with a slightly brighter expression.
“Well…? Remember when Cokoren mistook the water in the bucket for sap and almost burst his stomach from drinking it? Is that what you’re talking about?”
It was an idea born out of ignorance, but children's pranks were sometimes frightening.
At that time, Cokoren mistakenly thought the easily accessible water was sap, got excited, and sucked it up vigorously, causing his stomach to swell like a balloon.
Lena was terrified at that moment.
Leo nervously shook his head at Lena, who had brightened up significantly.
“Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”
“Ah… Haha, I was just reminiscing about the old days.”
Lena chuckled awkwardly.
It seemed like she had misunderstood. She suspected that Leo had changed a lot since ‘that day’ and wondered if he was being used for something, but it was just groundless worry.
This is a memory that only we know about.
“Well, both Leo and I are almost adults now, so it’s time for a change.”
As if to say, ‘When did I ever doubt you,’ Lena casually offered Leo a snack she had obtained while working.
It seemed like her way of trying to repay him for her unfounded suspicions.
Leo, expressing his gratitude, accepted it and let out a small sigh.
‘It was dangerous again.’
In the past, Leo had many opportunities to hear stories from the past when traveling with Lena and Nebis. During the journey, Leo offered her a drink and asked about things that had happened in the past.
The more memories he heard from Lena, the more satisfying it was to become the “real Leo.”
Fortunately, Lena, who became loud and talkative when drunk, enthusiastically shared all sorts of memories in a tipsy mood.
It was lucky that he had listened carefully to those stories. If he hadn’t answered the question just now, what kind of reaction would Lena have shown?
‘She must have doubted my identity. Perhaps she wouldn’t have believed me anymore and would have returned to the village…’
Imagining the departure of his only friend made his heart ache.
And if that happened, the childhood friend scenario would be no longer feasible in the future.
Repeating the cycle did not make things easier.
He was becoming more and more different from the Leo Lena knew, and Lena noticed this change this time.
Because his childhood friend Lena was quicker-witted than other Lenas.
She was kind, but equally smart and curious, and once she discovered something strange, she couldn’t easily overlook it.
‘Proud as it may be, this won’t do…’
Perhaps someday, he wouldn’t be able to move forward with this Lena, a premonition crossed his mind. He also thought that there might be only one way to break this scenario.
[ King ] - In this game, where social status is a key condition for clearing, the king was the only one who could determine one's status.
If he could become the king, clearing the game would be easy. He could designate Lena as a princess.
Even if Lena wanted to become a priestess, if she was first appointed as a princess, everything would be okay. Since it was possible for a princess to become a priestess.
The problem with this plan was that ascending to the throne was a nearly impossible feat.
Leo shared sweet snacks with Lena.
A man hiding a secret and a woman observing. Although they were eating the same snack, they tasted it differently.
***
Leo and the attendants walked on the flatly ground path, where the heel of a young lady’s shoe touched the white carpet laid there.
The carpet, which Lena and other maids had scrubbed to death, shone brightly under the sun, but the young lady who stepped on the carpet had no room to care about their hard work.
She passed by the servants lined up on both sides.
Normally, she would have left a sarcastic remark about excessive hospitality, but “Hariett Gaidan,” she was feeling extremely dizzy right now.
‘…This is my last chance.’
Internally prepared, she was the daughter of the Marquis “Harvey Gaidan.”, who guarded the Eastern part of the Ohrun Kingdom.
“Please come in. You must have had a hard time coming from afar. Please, this way.”
The governor managing the city of Bospo came out to the main gate of the castle and bowed, guiding her inside.
Not long ago, the mansion, which used to be endlessly desolate, was filled with banners and curtains seemingly prepared carefully by the steward. It was difficult to see the walls, and there was no trace of dust anywhere.
The steward inquired after dismissing the maid, “Would you like to have a meal first?”
“No, thank you. I’m tired and would like to rest. Please have a simple dish sent to the room. Would it be alright to greet the others at dinner?”
“Of course. I will prepare dinner. You can meet the servants then. Allow me to show you to your room.”
Hariett followed the steward with grace, not making a sound with her steps.
Upon reaching the room, the steward opened the door for her, welcomed her to Bospo, assured her of a comfortable stay ahead, bowed again in farewell, and left.
Upon her arrival, she swiftly surveyed the room, now a special guest and hostess of the mansion.
The room, not too spacious nor too cramped, was perfectly adjusted in humidity and temperature, as if by magic.
Moreover, the elegant furniture was arranged in exquisite positions, combining convenience and elegance.
“You’ve done well…”
Thanks to the tidy manners of the steward she met after a long time and the room adorned in her favorite sky-blue color, Hariett felt much better, plopping down on the bed.
Breathing deeply, she gazed at the ceiling adorned with splendid paintings.
Hariett Gaiden, who lifted her head, was a woman anyone would praise as a beauty.
She had put on makeup, but even without it, her round forehead that would shine white, thin eyebrows drawing a curve, lips that seemed pitiful, and the melancholy contained in her shadowless eyes above her eyes, with green irises, made her a woman that anyone would want to protect and stand behind.
Moreover, she was a woman who, filled with confusion, would soon meet another man, whether through a strategic marriage or whatever it may be.
The reason she had come all the way from the capital to this distant east was to avoid that darn strategic marriage.
No, it was to seek another strategic marriage.
Hariett was a noblewoman who was very aware of her position.
She had already understood since she was young that she would have to pay the price for these things someday - to beautifully groom herself as a noblewoman, communicate well with other noblewomen, and eventually marry to support her family. Hariett knew this all too well.
But…
‘No matter what, I don’t want to meet such a despicable man. Either of them.’
Thinking of the two princes, Hariett shivered.
The two heirs of the Lognum royal family, ruling the Ohrun Kingdom - Aeton de Lognum and Elzear de Lognum.
Born as twins and recently coming of age, they shamefully grew into thoroughly disreputable individuals.
From a young age, their excessively mischievous pranks garnered widespread concern. However, there was hope that their personalities weren't inherently vicious, a hope that was shattered as the princes reached adulthood.
Upon coming of age, they began to indulge in drinking and revelry in earnest, using their noble status to harass young noblewomen.
At social gatherings, they would use sophisticated manners and lewd words to put their favored ladies in difficult situations.
Those who couldn't handle the situation properly were dragged to secluded places where their breasts were groped, or they had no choice but to abandon their dignity and flee.
If they fled, the princes would laugh heartily, mocking them as girls without manners, dignity, or humor.
Even Hariett Gaidan once fell into their trap and was on the verge of giving up her body.
However, she managed to escape with her calm eloquence, overhearing the princes chuckling behind her, saying she was quite something.
As this situation persisted, the nobles of the kingdom began to hold parties without inviting the princes. Yet, somehow, the princes would find out and show up uninvited, often ruining the gatherings.
As such behavior continued, sensible and normal noble gatherings became less frequent, and Nebis's social scene was dominated by nobles who clung to the princes like jackals.
"Disgusting scoundrels."
If there were signs of the country's downfall, the princes' behavior would be it.
Moreover, their actions, under the guise of flaunting a rare brotherly bond within the royal family, were even more appalling.
Buying sex slaves and...
She didn't even want to think about it.
Hariett, completely disheartened, kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed. Yet, she couldn’t help but think of the princes once again.
Alas! She found herself in a situation where she had to choose one of the two princes to marry.
Hariett Gaidan pleaded tearfully to her father.
“Please don’t send me to those people.”
“Dad, please. I beg you.”
“Can’t you marry into another family? I’ll go anywhere. Anyone will do.”
“Why! Why! Why do I have to be born into the Gaidan family and meet such dreadful people!”
Despite her pleas and anger, her father didn’t even flinch.
No, he pretended not to flinch.
Being a nobleman with a warm heart who cherished his daughter, her father must have been hurt.
Her father clearly disliked those princes as well. Yet, his sudden decision to marry her off to them was not due to a change in him but because the situation had changed.
The Gaidan Marquisate was gradually losing political power.
She understood her father’s circumstances, but… she really hated those princes!
Shouting that she would never see her father again, Hariett suddenly came up with a solution.
‘It doesn’t have to be someone from our country, right?’
Hariett Gaidan ran to her father along that path and expressed her thoughts.
Marquis Harvey Byungbaek closed his eyes tightly and replied that he would consider it, and soon the results came out. Her father, calling her, spoke in a tone of having made a decision.
“I’ve contacted the Tertan Duchy. They say there is a successor similar to your age… Go meet them once.”
Hariett graciously thanked her father and gave a polite bow.
Just like when she was young, she wanted to run to him, hug him, and thank him, but she held back.
Such behavior shouldn’t be shown by an adult. Even though she had cried and thrown a tantrum…
Lying on the bed, Hariett Gaidan gently nibbled on her lips.
So, she had come here to meet the heir of a foreign aristocratic family, hoping that he would be a decent, no, even just a slightly normal person.
And she hoped he would take her away…
Hariett didn’t want to miss this last chance given to her. She had shouted to her father that she would rather die than marry those trashy princes, but it was a lie.
If she couldn’t form a bond with the heir of the aristocrat, she would end up meeting a prince anyway. It was natural for a daughter to marry for the sake of the family.
So, this was truly her last chance.
- Be smart.
At that moment, the ‘simple’ dish she had requested arrived.
Hariett got up in a flash, “You can come in.” She gave permission.
Then, five maids entered one by one and laid a fresh white tablecloth on the table. Carefully, they placed what they were holding on the table.
Warm, expensive ceramics, silverware, well-aged spirits, appetizers that stimulate the appetite, and exquisite dishes that captured both elegance and taste…
Hariett sat down with an unwilling expression. Her posture was upright, and her elegant way of eating was neat and melancholic.
TFTC
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