In contrast to how tightly and heavily guarded it was outside, Lise’s palace was small and not as luxuriously decorated as the other royal concubines’. Even Sezh’s old and worn out room seemed to be better than this. They passed from one hall to another hall. Orson finally led her to the innermost corner of the palace, where the only furniture were small tables and chairs.

The ladies in waiting were diligently preparing the meal, but Raytan and Lise were nowhere to be seen.

“Princess Sezh, please make yourself comfortable. Lady Lise will arrive soon.”

Sezh sat in an empty seat. It was really quite comfortable. She had never seen such a small table in a palace, let alone use it. Only her mother, Yerena, did. She had always used a long table, longer than her height, even when she was eating alone.

Is this what you actually like? Sezh stared at the food that began to fill the table one by one.

“Good evening, Princess Sezh.”

Sezh raised her head at the unexpected voice. It was Lise who smiled brightly at her. After greeting Sezh politely, Lise then took the seat opposite of her.

“You came to celebrate Raytan’s birthday.”

“Yes. You must be surprised that I suddenly came over…”

“It’s alright. Thank you very much. Now, there’s another person to celebrate his birthday.”

The sweet and friendly remark that Lise made towards Sezh made her feel relieved and relaxed.

But will big brother Raytan think so, too? Sezh smiled at her awkwardly.

“Raytan will be here soon. He said that he is on his way.”

“Oh, okay…”

There was an awkward silence between them. Sezh looked at Lise and kept her unnatural smile in front of her.

Lise was very beautiful today. Her waist-length, silver hair was shiny, and those sparkling emerald eyes of hers shone brightly. They matched well with her fair, white skin, and the very same could have been said about her violet dress. As always, Lise looked as gorgeous as a fairy.

To be frank, Sezh wouldn’t have been surprised if Lise had said, ‘I’m sorry, but please go back.’ The reason was simple. It was because of Sezh’s mother, Yerena, who was the one who was jealous of and tormented Lise the most. But Lise continued to stare at Sezh with her calm and angelic face. Sezh couldn’t help but feel remorseful when she saw Lise like that.

“I worried frequently about him because it always seemed like he was alone in the palace.”

Well, that much was true. If she had to name the loneliest person in the Imperial Palace, it would be Raytan… and of course, Sezh.

“However, I’m very glad that you came to visit me.”

“I-, I am very grateful that you allowed me to join you for dinner.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem at all.”

Oh. Shoot. That’s right. Before she could forget, Sezh pulled out a small yet splendid looking jewelry box.

“It’s not much, but I prepared a present for him.”

“Please give it to him yourself. It will be his first time receiving a gift from someone other than me, so I’m sure Raytan will be happy.”

Sezh couldn’t believe that no one had ever given him a present even though by now he was already a grown-up man.

As she listened to Lise, she began to feel sorry for Raytan.

…But will he really like the present? I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t throw it away later.

Of course, Sezh couldn’t say that out loud.

“Lady Sezh, how did you get along with Raytan?”

We’re not close at all. I’m just trying to get close to him. Sezh looked embarrassed, but Lise continued.

“I was a little surprised. As far as I know, Raytan never had a single visitor from the Imperial Palace.”

“That’s… right…”

“Well… the situation is like that. But you know, he is just a little shy. He used to be misunderstood a lot because he was always so quiet and expressionless-“

Lise stopped mid-speech as she heard the sound of the door opening.

“…”

Sezh gulped without realizing it. She turned to look back, and instead of his normally shy and expressionless disposition, she saw Raytan making the most unpleasant face in the world.

But now he can’t ignore me like he did in the library last time.

Sezh put on a determined look.

“Come on, Raytan,” Lise called kindly, “Sit down. I’ve been waiting for you with Sezh.”

Regardless, Raytan’s glare was directed at Sezh. Sezh stared back at Raytan and clenched her fist before putting on the loveliest look she could muster.

“Happy birthday, big brother Raytan!”

“…”

“I came here because I wanted to eat dinner with you. I also prepared a present. I hope you like…”

Sezh wasn’t able to finish her sentence because Raytan suddenly approached her like a flash of lightning.