Katana eyed Floria warily, his gaze filled with caution. I awkwardly began the introductions.
“This is Her Highness, the former crown princess.”
“…The former crown princess?”
“Yes, His Majesty the Emperor’s younger sister.”
At that, the tight grip on my sleeve loosened. Hearing that she was Caesar’s sister seemed to ease his wariness a little.
I gently patted Katana’s shoulder. After a moment’s hesitation, he stepped forward and offered a late but respectful bow.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
I felt a sense of pride watching Katana manage a proper greeting. Then, I continued the introductions.
“This is Katana. He’s, um…”
I suddenly faltered. How was I supposed to explain Katana? Calling him a mage didn’t quite fit, since he had been expelled from the Mage Tower.
“…He’s my friend.”
“Friend?”
Floria’s eyes widened in surprise. Her expression seemed to ask, Isn’t he too small to be your friend?
“Yes, he’s been staying at the palace. He helped His Majesty with one of his business ventures.”
“I see…”
Floria still looked a bit puzzled. It was probably hard to believe that someone around her age had been assisting with an imperial business project.
“Nice to meet you, Katana.”
“…Yes, nice to meet you too.”
After their somewhat awkward exchange, silence settled between us. It was understandable—this was an entirely unexpected meeting, in a completely unexpected place.
“Hmmm, well then…”
Floria broke the silence with a bright smile.
“Evelyn’s friend should come on the picnic with us too!”
“…Huh? Picnic?”
Hearing this for the first time, I blinked in confusion. Floria’s maids, standing behind her, then lifted the items they had been carrying—large cloths, presumably for sitting, and several picnic baskets.
“We need to do our outdoor learning!”
Floria beamed.
****
Thanks to Floria’s insistence, Katana’s agreement, and my resignation, we ended up going on a picnic. Our destination was a hill overlooking a massive lake in Summerhill.
“This is one of my favorite spots. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Wow!”
Both Katana and Floria looked around in awe. The lake was so vast it could almost be mistaken for the sea, creating a breathtaking view beneath our feet.
The maids who had followed us spread out a picnic blanket and prepared refreshments. Then, as they started to step away, Floria stopped them.
“You all should set up a blanket and relax too!”
“…Pardon?”
“We brought plenty of blankets and food. Just go over there and have fun.”
The maids hesitated, but Floria reassured them.
“No need to worry! If anything happens, you can come right back.”
I chimed in to help.
“There’s a forest with big trees just a little further away. It’s a great place to rest. And if anything happens, we’re within shouting distance. Plus, the guards will be here with us.”
Since having Floria’s maids hovering around was a little uncomfortable for Katana, this worked out perfectly. Floria and I were used to conversing with them nearby, but Katana wasn’t.
After exchanging glances, the maids finally nodded and stepped away.
With that settled, we sat down on the blanket. Floria took the spot on my right, and Katana sat to my left.
“Evelyn, look at this.”
As soon as we got settled, Katana showed me the squirrel he had been carrying. Strangely enough, the squirrel remained calm instead of running away.
“How is it so well-behaved?”
I carefully reached out a finger, and the squirrel sniffed at it. Its twitching whiskers were adorable.
“Aren’t animals always this calm?”
“Huh?”
Katana spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“All animals are gentle with me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
I recalled how Katana used to be surrounded by small magical creatures in the black market’s cabin. Did he have some kind of special connection with animals?
“That’s amazing. They must really like you. Normally, wild animals don’t act like this.”
“Is that so?”
Katana’s face brightened, but before I could say more, Floria suddenly interjected from my right.
“I love animals too! Watch this!”
Without warning, she scooped up the squirrel in her hands.
“Your Highness, wait—”
As expected, the startled squirrel bit down on Floria’s finger and immediately leapt away.
“Ow!”
“Are you okay, Your Highness?”
I hurriedly checked her hand. Fortunately, since the squirrel was so small, the bite had only left a faint mark.
Still, a scar on a royal’s hand was unacceptable. I considered calling for the maids, but—
“I’ll take care of it!”
Katana scooted closer to Floria. He muttered something under his breath, and just like that, the wound disappeared.
“Wow, Katana! You can use healing magic too?”
“Is there anything I can’t do?”
Katana shrugged, looking pleased with himself.
“Ugh…”
But instead of being impressed, Floria puffed out her cheeks, looking sulky.
“Your Highness? What’s wrong?”
“…I can do it too!”
“Huh? You can use magic, Your Highness?”
“Well… not exactly…”
Floria mumbled, looking like she was on the verge of tears. That’s when I finally understood.
The way she had impulsively grabbed the squirrel, her stubborn insistence just now—she was jealous that I had only been praising Katana.
What do I do now?
I quickly searched for a way to soothe her and spotted the picnic baskets the maids had left behind. Inside, everything was neatly arranged: a small folding table, a teapot, teacups, and teaspoons.
“Your Highness, you brew tea exceptionally well, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“I’m really thirsty. Would you mind making some tea for us?”
Normally, asking a former crown princess to serve tea would be unthinkable. But since no one was around to see, and because it was the only way to cheer her up, I went for it.
As expected, Floria’s face lit up instantly.
“Of course! Leave it to me!”
She eagerly pulled out the teapot and began preparing tea with practiced ease.
“Wow.”
An unexpected bonus came from this—Katana was now watching her with curiosity. Unlike Floria, who had mastered court etiquette from a young age, Katana had never learned such things.
As his curiosity grew, he started asking Floria questions, and with each one, her pride swelled. Before long, the two of them were chatting excitedly without me.
Come to think of it, they’re pretty close in age, aren’t they?
Katana was a little older, but since he was small, they looked like peers. Maybe this was a good opportunity for them to become friends. After all, they had both grown up lonely.
Floria soon finished brewing the tea. When Katana took a sip, his eyes widened in admiration.
“How do you make it taste so good?”
“I learned as a child! It was one of the essential etiquette lessons.”
“I see… Then does Caesar know how to brew tea too?”
Katana murmured absentmindedly, and Floria’s head snapped toward him.
“Caesar? My brother?”
“Ah… um…”
Katana shot me a panicked look, realizing his mistake. Addressing the emperor so casually was something Caesar himself had allowed, but from Floria’s perspective as his sister, it could be seen as disrespectful.
I quickly stepped in.
“Well, since they worked together on a business project, they saw each other often. His Majesty gave permission.”
“He did? He let you call him by name?”
Floria’s expression turned unreadable for a moment—then, out of nowhere, she declared,
“Then I want that too!”
“Huh?”
“Call me by my name too!”
“Are you sure?”
I was so startled that I had to confirm. I hadn’t expected Floria to get mad over this, but I also hadn’t expected her to insist on the same treatment.
“Of course! Katana and I are friends now.”
Floria flashed a bright smile.
****
We sat comfortably on the picnic blanket, enjoying tea and refreshments. The cool breeze from the lake made us feel relaxed and at ease.
Katana and Floria were chatting away, growing even closer. At this point, I was starting to feel left out.
“But Katana, are you a mage?”
Floria suddenly asked, as if it had only now dawned on her that the wound on her hand had completely disappeared.
“Hmm… probably? I can use magic.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
I chuckled softly. In the original story, Floria had been the first to recognize Katana’s talents, and here she was saying the same thing. In the original, the two of them got along well too, but only in a formal sense.
They were more like a trusted emperor and his loyal subordinate.
But now, they were on a first-name basis and had become friends. If anything, this was a good development.
Floria bombarded Katana with questions, eager to learn more about him.
“So, do you not need magic tools at all? Can you teleport without a scroll?”
“Teleportation magic is really difficult… I’ve only managed it once.”
“Wow!”
Watching them, I suddenly had a thought. If anyone knew about magic tools, it would be Katana.
“Hey, Katana, I have something to ask too.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Do you know if there’s a way to manipulate a magic tool?”
“What do you mean?”
I hesitated before speaking.
“Well… there’s this magic tool that can record video, and I was wondering if there’s a way to edit or erase the footage inside.”
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