Side Story: Alois Eseah, Ronella Nestro (2)
In reality, the companionship ceremony was nothing more than a formality.
Of course, once the companionship ceremony was held, it would hold a different meaning for the people as it was a sign he was acknowledged by the divine.
“Lady Emilone, honestly speaking, wouldn’t His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince be better?”
“Hm?”
At that moment, Ronella paused to catch her breath and plopped down beside me. Then she carefully swept her beautiful hair behind her ear.
“I’m asking if the crown prince of the largest continent wouldn’t be better than some crown prince of Eseah Kingdom.”
“Ronella?”
I called her name, as if asking what nonsense she was talking about.
“Princess Nestro. You must be fearless to say such things next to me, the future king of Eseah and companion of the Saintess.”
“Oh dear, Your Highness Alois Eseah. My ignorance has caused me to be discourteous. You’ll forgive one slip of the tongue, won’t you? Hmm?”
Their verbal sparring was practically a meaningless waste of time.
Yet it was quite amusing watching them smile and laugh like animals that might bite at any moment.
As I quietly rested my chin on my hand and watched them, Ronella swiftly turned to me.
“Lady Emilone, surely the crown prince of the Empire is better than a foreign kingdom’s crown prince? If you don’t like the crown prince, there’s always the Duke, Sage Helio, or even the Marquis’s heir over there.”
“Ronella, what point are you trying to make with this talk?”
“What point? I’m asking if you have any intention of changing your companion.”
Ronella’s green eyes burned with determination, as if she wasn’t lying. I let out a small laugh at that sight.
“Aren’t those all your men, Ronella?”
“Indeed. Lady Emilone, I don’t deal with fools. Moreover, all the ones I’ve chosen are pleasing to the eye so no matter who it is, you will like them, Lady Emilone.”
Certainly, all the men that Ronella managed were top-class.
After all, she woke up to her own face every morning so it was unlikely any ordinary man would catch her eye.
When I just smiled without answering, Alois reached out and picked up the ends of Ronella’s black hair, lifting it slightly.
I watched, wondering what kind of farce was about to occur as Alois purposefully kissed the tips of Ronella’s hair.
“I’m sorry, Ronella, but do you really think Her Holiness would ever look at someone else when I’m here?”
Wow, so confident, Alois.
But he wasn’t wrong. With Alois of all people by my side, how could anyone else possible catch my eye?
In the first place, if anyone could rival Alois in looks, it would have to be Ronella, who was sitting right here… or her older brother, Veron Nestro.
“Your Highness, Crown Prince Alois of Eseah. Why are you so sure Lady Emilone won’t turn her eyes to someone else? You don’t think there might be someone more beautiful than you, who can satisfy the Saintess even better?”
“I wonder how many of such people exist in this world. People more capable and more beautiful than me, I mean.”
Alois was truly confident.
Maybe it was because there were only the three of us here, but he was showing himself blatantly without hiding a thing.
Seeing that, I wasn’t sure if I should consider this typical of Alois or not, but that thought was fleeting.
After all, there had been more than a few instances where I tried to predict Alois’ thoughts and I failed.
“Isn’t that right, Lady Emilone?”
And then, the arrow of conversation that I tried so hard to avoid came flying back to me.
I blinked and opened my mouth slowly like a cat basking lazily in the sun.
“Is that important?”
“Yes, it is important. My beauty and competence are the reasons why I could earn Your Holiness’ favor.”
That…well, perhaps, somewhat.
But now it was different.
Alois, just by being himself, had become such a significant presence to me that things like that were…well, not exactly trivial but it wasn’t that important.
“That’s all it took for you to win Lady Emilone’s heart?”
When I was lost in thought, Ronella suddenly cut in.
Her long, voluminous eyelashes fluttered as she fixed me with a gaze that made it abundantly clear just how displeased she was.
“Lady Emilone, it would be better if you went with the Crown Prince. With His Imperial Highness, you would have plenty of support for whatever Your Holiness wants to do—”
“Ronella Nestro.”
I called her name, deliberately placing weight on each syllable.
Like someone hitting the power switch on a toy, Ronella froze in place.
“I don’t like toys that someone else has played with.”
It felt wrong to call the crown prince a mere toy, but then again, it wasn’t entirely off the mark because he had been treated like a toy in Ronella’s hands.
“And besides, the crown prince is already too enamored by you. That’s not my style.”
If you think about it, even at the start, the moment I noticed that all the decent men were captivated by Ronella, I completely gave up on all of them.
“I see… But I don’t think there’s a decent man in the empire that hasn’t been in my hands…”
Ronella lowered her head slightly and her shoulders shook. And it was Alois who gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
The corner of Alois’ lips curled into a smile.
Then, as if that alone was enough, he took his hand away from Ronella.
There were no words exchanged between them, but I could tell for sure.
The winner this time, was Alois.
“Ronella, I don’t know what thoughts keep running through your mind, but don’t do anything foolish.”
“…Lady Emilone.”
At Alois’s smile, Ronella’s expression crumpled, and a shadow fell over her face. Then, letting out a sound like a purring cat, she cautiously opened her mouth.
“But I’m not satisfied. Why does it have to be Prince Eseah?”
I agree. Why is it Alois, of all people?
It was a question that proved really hard to answer.
“Is it really because he’s handsome… and smart?”
“…”
“…”
Come to think of it, even my first meeting with Alois started with his using his looks to lure me.
He seduced some noble whose face I barely remember in order to draw my attention. If you think about it from that angle, Alois was really a calculating and meticulous man.
“The crown prince is good-looking indeed. But other than that, what does he have?”
“…Power?”
“If it’s power, I have it and Alois has it too, no?”
I admit the Crown Prince has enough smarts as someone who is to become Emperor but it was nothing in comparison to Alois.
It was hard to compare the Crown Prince to a man who had devoured even his own brothers one by one and even someone like me, with the title of Saintess.
“But…!”
Ronella suddenly shot up from her seat, her once-calm face twisting adorably.
“If you’re with Prince Alois of Eseah, you’ll just end up going back to the Kingdom of Eseah again.”
“Hm?”
“I don’t like that.”
As if she had never been frowning, she softened her eyes and clasped my hands in her hand as if pleading. Then, in a desperate voice, she said,
“And also, you’ve just come back after so long, I don’t want you to spend all your time with Prince Eseah.”
A snake…very much like a snake…
Ronella looked earnest, but I couldn’t stop myself and burst into laughter.
I tried to cover my mouth with my free hand to stop the laughter from spilling out, but it was of no use.
“Ha…haha… Ronella. You’re really funny.”
Ronella was always like this. Actually, not always. Come to think of it, when did it start…
“By the way, Emilone.”
“Hm?”
Just then, Alois spoke up, pulling me out of my idle thoughts. His eyes curved like a crescent moon, and he asked in a quiet voice.
“I just thought of it but when did you start to keep an eye on Princess Ronella?”
“…Hm?”
I gave a soft hum to ask what he meant, and Alois easily picked up on that and added an explanation.
“Ever since I met you, you pretended otherwise, but you’ve been watching Princess Ronella, haven’t you?”
Ronella’s green eyes sparkled. Under the bright chandelier, her eyes shone brighter than any jewel.
“…It wasn’t from the start. Beauty alone doesn’t really draw my interest.”
“Then when was it?”
Ronella pressed for an answer.
“I’d say, a few days before the hunting competition?”
“Before the hunting competition?” Ronella echoed innocently, as if she knew nothing.
Even though Ronella had revealed her identity to me, she hadn’t changed much from before.
She still kept up her act of being a gentle, kind, affectionate and naive young ducal princess.
Of course, the emotions reflected in her eyes had changed.
From a mix of slight hostility and irritated annoyance to a strong fondness.
“I happened to see you talking with some young heir in the imperial garden. And I also saw you smile…”
I trailed off, recalling that moment.
I still felt a chill down my spine when I recalled that expression that drew in people’s eyes more than any other smile.
It felt like I’d come face-to-face with a beast.
A smile that said it would never be devoured was something I could never forget even if I tried to.
“I thought it was pretty, and I was captured like that.”
Certainly, I liked her cunning and calculating side far more than her innocent mask.
***
Even after that, the two of them kept pestering me.
It wasn’t that annoying, so I kept responding, but I was starting to feel worn out.
“Lady Emilone, should we start heading back to the temple?”
“Hm?”
“You said you’d only show your face for about three hours.”
I checked the time, and I realized the party had already been going for five hours.
Five hours of all things.
That was definitely past my limit of how long I could endure being in such a noisy place while wearing such a heavy priest robe.
“More time has passed than I thought. I’ll head back to the temple. Alois, you’re coming with me, right?”
“If you’ll allow it.”
There was no way I wouldn’t.
When I nodded, he kissed the back of my hand as if he’d been waiting for it.
It was a familiar action.
Alois sometimes liked to kiss my hand or neck instead of giving a verbal answer, and I’d gotten used to it.
Only me, though.
The musicians who had been playing and the nobles deep in conversation all turned to look at us.
At their blatant stares, I sighed but decided not to pull my hand away.
“I’d really like to go back to the temple and perform the companionship ceremony.”
Alois casually provided the nobles with fresh gossip, like throwing food at hungry beasts.
The nobles, who reacted to even the slightest touch with the Saintess, rushed in fiercely the moment they heard ‘companionship ceremony’.
“Ah, I heard about it but a marriage with a foreign prince?”
“I never thought I’d see the Saintess smile like that. I could make her smile too, you know.”
“I thought Her Holiness would get tired of a man quickly!”
They didn’t seem to realize that Prince Eseah was memorizing every single one of their faces with that smiling expression of his.
Listening to what they were saying among themselves, it seems I was unexpectedly popular.
Then again, I wasn’t bad-looking, and I held power and the favor of the people, just as much as the Emperor.
Just as I was feeling understanding, an aggressive voice cut in from the opposite side.
“What sort of frivolous talk is this?!”
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 62 - December 29, 2025
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 56 – 61 - December 21, 2025
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapters 50 – 55 - December 7, 2025
Who it might be? Crown prince?