All eyes turned to me.
That included Frennila’s gaze, and so, unintentionally, our eyes met.
Ugh… the instant our eyes locked, a shiver ran down my spine.
As expected, she was far scarier than the emperor or the nobles.
I felt a wave of nausea rising from sheer fear, but I forced it down.
This was the time to make a good impression.
Barely managing to suppress my instinctive trembling at the sight of her, I gathered myself and shifted into performance mode.
I relaxed my stiff expression and offered her a soft, polite smile.
Hey, don’t think I’m helping you for free.
This is a debt — a big one, okay?
You’re smart, so remember this well.
Even if things go south later, all you need to do is promise not to take my head.
Simple, right?
Perhaps burdened by my silent plea, Frennila quickly averted her gaze.
Hey, you know avoiding eye contact won’t solve anything, right?
The world doesn’t work that easily.
Meanwhile, regardless of my personal struggle, the emperor found the third prince’s unexpected intervention quite amusing.
As the room buzzed with confusion, the emperor took control and asked,
“You say we must help them. May I ask your reasoning?”
“The reason is…”
Honestly, though I’d spoken up about helping her, I struggled to find a convincing justification.
I couldn’t exactly say, “Because if we don’t, everything’s going to blow up later.”
If it were the Church, I could argue for missionary work.
If it were the Lawful Kingdom, I could suggest studying the northern soil and flora.
But as the emperor and his ministers had already pointed out, ignoring and excluding these tribes was far more in line with the Empire’s interests.
That made it difficult to frame this rationally.
So, for this particular matter, I decided it was better to appeal to emotion rather than logic.
Ah, if only I’d managed to coordinate with Frennila when we bumped into each other earlier. Too late for regrets now.
Taking a deep breath, I went all in.
“I, Kenneth, have fallen in love with Miss Frennila of the Bow Tribe at first sight. Please, I beg you, grant me permission to aid her.”
And just like that, I dropped a love confession bomb.
Ah, love — what a wonderful word. It’s an excuse for reckless, irrational behavior.
As someone who hadn’t yet undergone his coming-of-age ceremony, I could easily play the part of a lovestruck, impulsive prince.
Of course, I expected some backlash, but…
The room erupted into chaos.
“W-What?! A royal and a barbarian? Your Highness, please reconsider!”
“He’s still young! His emotions are simply immature!”
“Feelings may be fickle, but this is too much! A royal falling for a savage — is this not the end of the world?”
The ministers’ outrage made up the bulk of the commotion.
“H-Hawa… Hawa…”
Even Frennila seemed to contribute to the uproar in her own panicked way.
Can’t really blame her — I’d be confused too.
I’d definitely need to explain the situation to her properly later.
“…Is that so.”
The emperor’s reaction, however, was far more composed than I’d anticipated.
Or rather, he was even calmer than I’d expected.
I’d been confident about this.
I’d read his autobiography while researching in the royal archives.
As the great figure who rewrote the Empire’s history, Cadea III was nothing if not consistent.
The guiding principle of Cadea III was “Choice and Responsibility.”
Make your choice freely, but bear full responsibility for the consequences — no exceptions.
“Can you take responsibility for this choice? I won’t make allowances just because you’re young.”
True to his philosophy.
“Yes. I won’t regret this. Please, grant me permission.”
And I committed to taking responsibility.
“Very well. I grant my permission. But understand this — this matter is your personal undertaking as Kenneth, not an imperial affair. Do not expect a shred of support from the royal family. You must resolve this with your own abilities. Any objections?”
“None, Your Majesty.”
“Good. Then the matter of the foreign girl is now in the hands of the third prince. That is all.”
Even if the ministers had complaints, none dared voice them before the emperor’s authority.
The rest of the meeting wrapped up swiftly, and the session was formally adjourned.
*
The northern great plains — a barren and unforgiving land.
No room for diplomacy or politics, just the simple rule of survival of the fittest.
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.
Having been born and raised in such an environment, Frennila was far tougher and more spirited than most men.
But that didn’t mean she lacked more tender, girlish emotions.
If anything, growing up in a world devoid of softness only made her yearning for those things even stronger.
That yearning found its spark when her friend and sworn sister, Werrehi of the Axe Tribe, somehow got her hands on a romance novel from the Empire.
Whenever Frennila visited the Axe Tribe for tribal matters, she would always stop by Werrehi’s house to borrow those novels.
The first book had been in the Empire’s language, but Werrehi, with her boundless enthusiasm, painstakingly translated and copied it by hand.
Though the rough translation made for awkward reading at times, the stories’ charm more than made up for it.
Through those books, Frennila first learned about love and romance — and began to dream of the Empire’s grand capital.
A fearless male lead who would leap into danger for his beloved without hesitation.
A man willing to risk everything he had, even turning the entire world against him, just to stand by the heroine’s side.
She thought men like that only existed in fiction — because of course they did.
But then…
“Maybe it wasn’t fiction after all?”
Ever since she arrived in the Empire’s capital, her experiences had been nothing but terrible.
She never imagined the imperial citizens would treat her with such overt hostility — pure malice unlike anything she had ever faced at home.
And just when that malice reached its peak at the checkpoint, this prince appeared like a hero from a storybook and saved her.
Not long after, in the emperor’s council chamber, he stood up for her yet again — this time offering his everything to protect her, claiming to have fallen for her at first sight.
But more than anything else, what moved her most…
When everyone else called her a savage, a beast, an uncivilized barbarian — only the prince addressed her as “Frennila of the Bow Tribe.”
From the string of misfortunes that began back in her homeland, Frennila’s self-esteem had hit rock bottom.
In such a state, this small but thoughtful gesture from him carried immense meaning.
To Frennila, he began to seem just like the male lead from the romance novels she had read — and she, the heroine in distress.
And in that moment, everything started making sense.
He said he’d fallen for her at first sight?
At first, he could barely even meet her eyes — but then, during the council meeting, he kept stealing glances at her, his gaze lingering.
And the way he trembled so much…
Ah, so that’s what it was all about.
The strange behavior that had seemed odd at first now started to feel… a little endearing.
“Ah… I mean, this is nice and all, but still — today’s our first meeting! We need more time to get to know each other… No, wait! Get it together! There are priorities here! Romance can wait — my tribe is still in danger, and solving that problem comes first!”
Giving her cheeks a light pat to snap herself out of it, Frennila waited for news.
Unlike her, who had already finished her business and left the palace, he still seemed to have things to take care of.
In the meantime, she sent word through Latia, requesting an audience with the third prince.
Of course, this was purely for discussing future matters — not out of any personal interest.
*
After the council meeting, I had returned to the third prince’s palace and was receiving Kyle’s report.
“What about securing the budget?”
“As you requested, I’ve compiled a summary of the prince’s investment portfolio. Let’s see… the total comes to exactly 5,507 gold and 17 silver. That covers about five-sixths of the estimated budget… Do you have any other potential sources of funding?”
“This is pricier than I thought… Can’t be helped. I’ll liquidate some of my personal assets — and if it’s still not enough, I’ll just have to squeeze the saintess for the rest.”
The way I put it makes it sound like I’m doing something shady, but I swear I’m not.
The saintess still owed me, after all.
A few years back, she got caught embezzling donations from the church’s collection box because she thought her allowance was too small.
I helped her cover the shortfall — and she still hadn’t paid me back.
It’s well past time to collect that debt.
I penned a letter — well, more of a demand notice — and sent it off with a messenger pigeon.
With most of my work finally sorted out, I could finally take a breather.
I was just debating whether to enjoy some tea and snacks to wind down when Yuria entered the room.
Perfect timing — I’d been about to ask her for a favor, but then I noticed the note in her hand.
“Yuria, what’s that note you’re holding?”
“Oh, this? Someone from the Bow Tribe brought it earlier. They asked me to deliver it to you.”
“Let me see it.”
Dear Prince Kenneth,
Frennila of the Bow Tribe requests an audience with you.
Please summon me at your earliest convenience.
I’d been planning to meet her soon anyway — and now she’d made the first move.
Convenient.
At least I wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of reaching out first.
But despite those practical thoughts, the moment I pictured her in my mind…
Shudder.
My legs wobbled instinctively.
Damn this trembling — it just wouldn’t quit.
The fear engraved into my very instincts was no joke.
“I’ll meet her. Right now.”
…But not before I take some calming pills.
Actually, make that two.
At this rate, calming pills were about to become my main meal for the day.