Maria stared at the window, her gaze lingering for far too long to be innocent.
Then she looked back at Justinian, a small sparkle in her eyes, and a devilish tone in her smile. It was clear that she wanted something.
"Be the leader of my faction, Justinian."
Justinian raised a brow. The offer was tempting, but at the same time, it would be risky, too many enemies, and too few benefits.
But... maybe that’s exactly what he needed.
He was already powerful, a literal military superpower due to his sheer quality of troops and generals; he only needed an excuse to use them, to expand while his current lands were growing.
If the two princes were low-risk, high-reward, then Maria’s would be high-risk, but insanely high-reward.
"Sure, I don’t mind."
"Really?"
"This isn’t really a conversation where I would just joke about my allegiance." Justinian laughed.
"You’re right..." Maria reciprocated the laughter, continuing to sit on the desk. She was quite literally the definition of a golden girl.
Gold hair, gold eyes, gold dress, everything about her was bathed in gold, but instead of looking absurd or arrogant, she looked harmonious; even Justinian couldn’t explain it.
But she certainly fit the title of heroine, he knew that, time and time again, every time he saw her.
***
As Maria continued to tour the city with her entourage, Justinian had other duties to attend to due to the sudden arrival of envoys from a neighboring marquisate.
Another one had offered to become Justinian’s vassal after hearing that Augustus was also vassalized.
But once again, it was easily dealt with when Matthias and Darius took over; they handled all the paperwork.
Leaving Justinian to his own devices once more as he left the meeting room, there he saw an assuring sight.
It was Cassia, but no longer wearing her armor; instead, she was wearing a simple white dress that matched her, with Snowkeep’s crime rate and development developing for the better.
She could finally stop acting like a hardened knight all the time with her fiancé.
"You look beautiful." Justinian complimented her with a smile.
"It’s been a while since I received a compliment from you based on looks."
"Since it seems like you’re free, what about we spend time together?"
"I’d love that."
In short, it was a date.
And with Snowkeep now becoming a trading giant, there were already a bunch of establishments that were made for romantic adventures.
***
The Golden Cutlery.
An establishment that Justinian proposed to Matthias as a way to increase morale and increase trade, the entire restaurant itself was owned by Justinian, and every recipe was written and made by him.
It didn’t take long for it to franchise across the kingdom the moment it opened.
"M-My duke!" A waiter by the front gasped and, without hesitation, led them to a free table.
It was fine dining, but the difference? The prices were secretly being monitored by the staff.
Prices were artificially decreased for citizens and those of the working class, but richer customers and nobles, like tourists, were priced higher.
It was scummy, but Justinian knew for a fact they wouldn’t mind; if anything, he was doing the world a favor by scamming them.
All of the gold he earned would be spent developing his duchy anyway.
Justinian and Cassia sat on a table just by the second floor of the establishment, given menus, the concept introduced by Justinian.
To chefs, he looked like a genius when it came to business.
"When I first heard you were going to start a business, I didn’t expect this."
"You’ve already tasted my cooking, haven’t you? It’s a good idea, don’t you think?"
"You still owe me a cooking lesson... just one won’t do." Cassia teased.
The afternoon went smoothly, with the dishes being an absolute hit with all the locals and tourists inside the establishment, and it didn’t take long for a certain someone to notice them.
"Lord Justinian, is that you?"
It was Maria, surprisingly without her entourage, and she was being escorted by a waiter to her table.
She gestured at the waiter, thanking him for the escort, and instead decided that she’ll instead sit by us.
"Oh my, is that the flower of the south?" Maria raised a hand to her mouth. She was a huge fan of Cassia.
And she wasn’t the only one; almost every royal lady in the entire kingdom idolized her as a symbol of strength in a world where men dominated the field of war. She was a kingdom-wide celebrity.
"Wait..."
Maria stopped, taking a look at the two of them, the cogs in her head turning.
"Are you two engaged?"
"You... haven’t heard?"
Maria shook her head while chuckling. It was surprising news to hear; she hadn’t expected a man like Justinian to have any interest in romance.
"No, I’m not that type of lady..." Maria wiped the tears from her eyes. "I’m sorry for disturbing your date."
Maria bowed, but Cassia insisted that she stay; they couldn’t just let the princess from the capital go by her own just because they were on a date.
It wasn’t even just to be respectful; it was because it would likely be a huge scandal if they just let her off on her own.
Maria didn’t sit like royalty.
She never did.
She sat like someone deeply comfortable with herself, arms loosely folded, posture relaxed but poised, the kind of confidence that wasn’t performed but lived.
"I see," she said, eyeing the two of them with a smile that was half amusement, half genuine fondness. "So the Thirell duchy not only builds walls, aqueducts, and economic systems... it also builds romance."
Cassia flushed, not out of embarrassment, but flustered pride.
Justinian only smirked.
There was no denial.
And Maria, sharp as ever, noted that silence always spoke louder than claims.
"Is it strange?" Cassia asked unexpectedly.
That surprised even Justinian.
Maria blinked. "Strange?"
"That Justinian has... someone."
She said it plainly. No insecurity, no doubt. Just curiosity, Cassia’s kind of curiosity. Direct, observant, unadorned.
Maria didn’t answer immediately.
She leaned back, fingers lightly tracing the edge of the dessert plate in front of her. Not absent-mindedly, but thoughtfully.
Then she looked straight at Justinian.
"No," she said simply.
And next, softly, with a warmer tone than either of them expected.
"I’m just disappointed I didn’t beat you to him."
Maria’s reply was a shocker to both of us, leaving us a coughing mess as we failed to comprehend her sudden and weird flirty remark.
’What!? That’s out of character...’
"Princess... I don’t think Julius would appreciate you joking like that." Justinian coughed while talking, choking on his food.
"Lord Julius...? But why? The two of us are mere acquaintances."
Justinian’s eyes widened when she said those words. It may still be fairly early in the novel, but they should still have developed a relationship already.
Unless...? Justinian’s actions had drastically switched the path of the novel.
"Excuse me...?"