Facing Princess Elizabeth’s terrifying "death sentence" question, Mr. Fisher seemed as though he had already experienced it countless times, his expression calm. Smiling, he said to Lady Lao Fang beside him,
"The works of both ladies are truly too excellent, and with my humble literary judgment, I fear it’s very difficult to make a fair assessment. Lady Lao Fang, as an expert in this field, I’d like to ask for your opinion."
Lady Lao Fang’s glasses even skewed a bit from the shock, obviously not expecting Mr. Fisher to suddenly divert the fire to her.
Utterly speechless, she internally downgraded her opinion of Mr. Fisher by a notch.
Following her hesitation, and certainly not forgetting the mission she came for, she adjusted her glasses and, after a moment of careful thought, said to Mr. Fisher,
"Ah, Princess Elizabeth’s work is intricately structured, her word choice precise, and her imagery is very intriguing. While Lady Renie’s buried meanings are quite profound, her use of literary words is rather simple, so, personally, I believe Princess Elizabeth’s work is more superb."
"The elder Princess’s work is indeed very remarkable."
Lady Lao Fang’s evaluation resonated with Princess Isabella, and under the praise of the two ladies, Princess Elizabeth wore a faint smile.
After listening, Mr. Fisher nodded, glanced at Lady Renie who pursed her lips in dissatisfaction, clearly very upset with Lady Lao Fang’s biased way of reviewing, probably silently cursing that partisan Lady Lao Fang.
He silently chuckled and said,
"Since you all favor Princess Elizabeth’s work, to not dishearten my friend here, I suppose I have to favor Lady Renie’s work even more."
Princess Elizabeth’s smile instantly stiffened, and Lady Renie pouted her lips, appearing smug inside but not showing it outwardly. If she had a tail like Rafael, it would probably be wagging up to the sky by now.
Yes, my daily care for you, child, hasn’t been in vain!
That was roughly the meaning behind Lady Renie’s eyes, but Mr. Fisher didn’t bother with her, prompting her to angrily consider kicking his behind. Suddenly, though, she remembered she was now in the guise of the holy "Holy Maiden" and couldn’t commit such an impolite act.
So, she coughed lightly and made a gesture of prayer, smiling,
"Compared to Princess Elizabeth’s work, I still must humbly admit defeat."
Lady Renie graciously conceded, but in reality, she didn’t care about being better than Princess Elizabeth at poetry. Outwardly, Princess Elizabeth seemed to have the upper hand in this matter of poetry, but in truth, she had completely lost because everyone knew that what she really wanted was Mr. Fisher’s answer.
Princess Elizabeth’s fingers, hidden by her side, were clenched tightly, the rosy tips quickly turning white from the pressure, but a second or two later, the color returned to normal.
"Our poems are not really distinguishable in terms of superiority, and for me to ask Mr. Fisher which one is better was already to put him in a difficult position... Today is the poetry gathering, and you all should remember to exchange poems."
Just as these words were spoken, a dignified elderly man in a black suit, leaning on a Handcane, slowly approached, his neatly groomed white beard signifying that he was the current president of Saint Nali University, Mr. Ken.
"Princess Elizabeth, Princess Isabella."
He gave a bow to Princess Elizabeth, then gestured with a hook of his finger towards Mr. Fisher, who was holding a glass of red wine, saying,
"Mr. Fisher, there is a matter I need to discuss with you, regarding your recent paper."
The matters Mr. Ken wanted to discuss were likely about the upcoming Schwali academic delegation, which Mr. Fisher had just heard about from Princess Elizabeth. However, he couldn’t show that he already knew about this.
For a princess to disclose state affairs to outsiders was actually against protocol; otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken the trouble to call him to the small chapel in the back for a conversation.
"I understand, Mr. Ken, right this way. I apologize, Princess Elizabeth."
Before leaving, Mr. Fisher gave Lady Renie a look, signaling her not to cause any trouble. Her purple eyes clearly received Mr. Fisher’s message, and she quietly made a gesture of understanding.
Once Mr. Fisher had left, her compliant expression instantly changed. She glanced at Princess Elizabeth, who was still standing there, and with the look of someone ready for battle. Unexpectedly, the elder Princess was watching her as well.
Taking advantage of a moment free from Mr. Fisher’s and others’ interruptions, holding a glass of red wine, Princess Elizabeth slowly approached Lady Renie.
Both ladies wore gentle smiles, their wine glasses delicately clinking, yet the space around them seemed to turn into an octagon cage for gladiators.
"Renie... right? I wonder if I should be lamenting that Kado’s ascetic doctrine has become too lax, or if I should marvel at Mr. Fisher’s immense charm, as there always seem to be ladies who can’t see clearly and recklessly crowd toward him. A long time ago, there were such ladies. Do you want to guess what happened to them?"
Faced with Princess Elizabeth’s threat, Lady Renie maintained a lazy expression, seemingly unperturbed,
"How frightening, is the Princess planning to kill me? A reminder that the more you do this, the more Mr. Fisher dislikes you... Ah, or rather, Mr. Fisher isn’t fond of you right now, is he? Let me guess, little Princess, did you perhaps do something bad that Mr. Fisher found out about?"