At the table, the person who should have sat opposite Cornelia was Neko, the Virgo Cardinal, who had the highest position in the tent.

But instead it was a young man named Yu Valarfin who sat at the other end of the rectangular table. Although the Cardinal of Virgo and his knight took it in stride, it was the first time Cornelia had ever dined opposite a butler, which was not normally acceptable for a noble.

What made it even more bizarre was that the Cardinal of Virgo was on the lap of a butler named Yu Valarfin and fed him.

“Yu, I'll be your hand, don't worry.”

The Cardinal of Virgo's words left Cornelia, her brother Cecilus and her commander Sir Devan von Bishory speechless. Needless to say, no one would ever show such devotion to their butler.

“Although, that man is a lot of...” Even though she was only speaking inwardly, Cornelia was embarrassed to continue her thoughts. “G-good... I guess...”

Cornelia couldn't take her eyes off the Virgo Cardinal's butler. Yu Valarfin was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Looking into his amethyst-colored eyes was for Cornelia the same as looking at a beautiful landscape.

“Thank you, Yurine,” Yu Valarfin said. He had called her by a name other than the one she was known by.

Yu's voice was also mesmerizing. When he first came here, his voice was dark and full of pain, but since he had met Neko, there was a faint joy in it.

Maybe he was acting like that to make Neko smile. Whatever the case, his voice was wonderful and Cornelia would have liked to hear more of it.

“Yu, uh...” Neko lifted the spoon and brought it to Yu Valarfin's mouth.

“You don't have to make a big deal out of it.”

“Aaa!”

Yu Valarfin opened his mouth and made the sound Neko wanted. Neko put the spoon in his mouth.

Cornelia could not take her eyes off them. Such a sight made her cheeks tingle, but Cornelia, who couldn't remember the last time she had smiled, didn't know how to do it.

“Nonsense...” whispered Cecilus.

“Be quiet, Cecilus.” Cornelia answered her brother in a whisper. There was no harshness in her voice.

Cecilus turned in surprise. It was the first time since he was a child that he had heard his sister speak kindly to him. He was so surprised that he was even slow to react.

“Huh?”

Cecilus looked at his sister. Cornelia didn't realize it, but her white cheeks were taking on the same shade as her hair.

“They're like father and daughter.”

She saw in Yu Valarfin's eyes the kindness and love she had never seen in her own father. Cornelia had forgotten to eat as she drummed her fingers on the table.

“Your Highness.”

Sir Devan von Bishory was sitting to Cornelia's left. When he saw the way Cornelia was looking at Yu Valarfin, he bit his cheeks because he was jealous.

“You will cool your food.”

Cornelia looked at Sir Devan out of the corner of her eye. Although he had just turned thirty, his black hair was thinning in the front and he would probably be bald on top of his head when he was a little older.

His blue eyes were the same darkness as the Bishory family's, but with wrinkles underneath. He had grown a tuft of beard on his chin and Cornelia didn't even want to say how little it suited him.

She tried to be good and fair to her subordinates, but in the end Cornelia had her own opinions and she thought Ser Devan was an ugly man. Looking at Yu Valarfin's face made Cornelia feel like a teenager.

“Your food will get really cold.”

She hadn't understood when Ser Devan had said it, but when Sivina said the same thing, it dawned on Cornelia. She had been watching Yu Valarfin since they sat down at the table.

“They noticed... They all noticed...”

Cornelia was embarrassed. Everyone except Yu Valarfin and Neko had noticed her watching Yu Valarfin.

“So what? It happens to everyone to take a dip every now and then...”

Sivina was looking at Cornelia with narrowed eyes and a bitter smile. She stopped looking at her as she took a spoonful of her food.

Cornelia took a spoonful of her food, which was getting cold. Even though her food was getting cold, Cornelia's chest was warm enough for her to ignore it.

Even when she was eating, she kept looking at Yu Valarfin out of the corner of her eye. She had already memorized every line of his snow-white face, but she wanted to look more.

“When will this end?”

Cecilus's squeaky voice, like that of a mouse, caused Yu Valarfin and Neko to stop moving abruptly. When they both looked at Cecilus, Cecilus swallowed and Cornelia saw his knees tremble.

“I told you to be quiet,” Cornelia said. It was the second time in her life that she had spoken to her brother in a gentle tone, and the first time had been a few minutes ago.

She was unaware of the tension at the table if she had not silenced her brother. She went back to her meal, thinking that her brother had gone silent. She hoped that Yu Valarfin would return to his meal too, so she could watch his face a little longer without him noticing.

“We need to talk about the siege.”

“I said be quiet!”

Cornelia was about to raise her hand to hit her brother when she realized she was shouting and clenched the edge of the table to avoid hitting him in front of her guests, or just front of Yu Valarfin.

When Cornelia returned to her usual self, Cecilus got scared again and shut up. Cornelia couldn't stand his whining and didn't want to give Yu Valarfin a bad impression, but Cecilus was a child who didn't understand otherwise.

“I apologize.” Cornelia lowered her eyes, afraid that Yu Valarfin would condemn her. It was the first time she had ever felt such remorse in front of someone.

“There's nothing to apologize for, Your Highness.” Sir Devan had already finished his meal. “We need to talk about the siege.”

“Bishory is right.” Yu Valarfin and Neko had finished eating. Yu wiped Neko's mouth, then his own. “I want to talk about the siege too.”

“Uh-uh-uh-uhm...” When she realized she was stuttering, she faked a cough so that others wouldn't know she was stuttering. She tried to calm herself down while drinking water. “Then let's talk.”

Cornelia saw that she was the only one at the table who had not finished her meal. Yet while the others were eating the food on their plates, she was eating Yu Valarfin with her eyes.

“Well, what do we do? I don't want to interrupt your meeting, but everyone is curious about it.”

The speaker was the last guest at the table, a half-lion named Kigaro, leader of Neko's guards. Cornelia had seen elves and giants a few times, but this was the first time she had met a creature like him.

“Why does he ask him what to do? Sivina acted like things couldn't work without him too. And Neko tried to kill herself because he left...”

Who exactly was Yu Valarfin? Why did he seem to be pulling all the strings?

“Cornelia.”

Yu Valarfin's voice made Cornelia's heart leap. He had only used her name, something that ordinary people would never do, but it was so fitting that Cornelia longed for him to call her by her name again.

“Should I say Duchess?”

“N-no need. My name is enough.”

The only people who called her by her first name were her mother and father. It was the first time she had let someone use only her name and she didn't even know why she was doing it.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Anyway, my sister is not a duchess, I am a duke as my father's heir.”

Her father had named Cecilus as his heir, even though Cornelia did not want to accept it. Now that her father was dead, the succession could not change. Cornelia didn't know what to do and couldn't think of what to do in front of Yu Valarfin.

“Of course you are...” Yu Valarfin didn't even bother to look at Cecilus. “I have been briefed on the current situation. We lack the forces to conquer the city and there is an enemy army bearing down on us. If we do not flee, we will be trapped.”

Yu Valarfin's voice, his words and the way he pronounced them caressed Cornelia's ears and even her soul.

“Using the hill as a headquarters is the most logical choice. We can build a defense line here.”

Yu Valarfin's skin was completely smooth, and the shape of his body looked as if it had been sculpted by a master sculptor after many years of labor.

“Defense is the only thing to do in this situation.” Sivina nodded in agreement with Yu Valarfin. “It is unlikely that we will be able to take the city before the enemy arrives.”

Cornelia heard what was being said, but it went in one ear and out the other.

Yu Valarfin's eyes were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. They were the most aesthetic combination of elegance and enchantment, the color of amethyst and lilac, two of the most beautiful shade of purple. His eyes were so marvelous that Cornelia would not have taken her own eyes off his for a moment if she were not ashamed.

“From up here, the walls look stronger than they say. We also lost some of our siege engines. I knew an army was coming, but I'm not going to lie. I didn't think our situation would be this bad.”

Yu Valarfin was playing with Neko's hair while talking about their situation. Cornelia was still watching him.

“You are right. If we had taken the city and met the enemy inside the city, maybe they would have retreated without even trying to attack us. As things stand now, without Link and Ana bringing in reinforcements, it will take a miracle to win.”

Sivina mentioned names that Cornelia didn't know.

“A miracle...” Yu was grieving.

“It's not your fault. Actually, I was surprised when I got here too, the reports Link brought back didn't say the siege was going that badly. We based our whole plan on those reports.”

“I don't want to suspect Link,” Yu said. “Maybe he got the wrong information too. Even if he wrote that the siege was in a terrible state, we couldn't do much more than that.”

Throughout the whole conversation, Cornelia was out of the conversation because she was looking into Yu's eyes. His black eyelashes were long and the look in his eyes when he spoke was reassuring.

“Could there be traitors in the troops we are bringing in now?”

“Maybe so, Sivina. If there are, I will try to find them, but what we need to do now is decide whether to retreat or stay here. If we stay here and try to attack the city before the enemy arrives, our army will melt. And when the enemy does come, it will be stronger than us, in which case anyone will argue that we should retreat.”

Cornelia knew what Yu was saying was important, but she couldn't focus.

“But I don't think she wants to run, and I don't think I want to run. What I propose is that we make the hill defensible, wait for the enemy to arrive, and defend when they attack us. Assuming no reinforcements arrive, we will defend the hill until we have melted the enemy and are in a position to launch a counterattack. What do you think?”

What if she could see Yu's purple eyes up close? Or hear his voice right next to her ear? What if Yu whispered Cornelia's name at that very moment? How would her skin feel against his?

“Cornelia?”

When Yu mentioned her name again, Cornelia felt her heart flutter again. She was aware that she had been left out of the whole conversation. She was also aware that everyone at the table was aware that Cornelia had been watching Yu throughout the conversation.

Cornelia couldn't understand how she had suddenly turned into such a person.

“Yes?”

Everyone was looking at her but she didn't know what to say because she was out of the conversation. As she was looking for something to say, she pounded the table with her fingers and the sound spread throughout the tent.

“Uhm...” Sir Devan noticed Cornelia's absent-mindedness and spoke up. “There's an army coming and we won't be able to take the city before they arrive. The steward,” he said the word with the contempt of a commoner, “suggests we set up a line of defense on the hill.”

“Yes, that's what I'm talking about.” Yu Valarfin paid no attention to Sir Devan's contemptuous tone. “We will dig a moat around the hill and surround it with a wall. The enemy will think we are weak and will attack us, and we will melt them down until we have a chance to counterattack.”

Even though it was hard to focus she tried her best to understand the plan. When Yu Valarfin finished his sentence, she saw that he was proposing the plan she had already thought of.

“He thinks just like me...”

Cornelia held her breath, closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. When she exhaled and opened her eyes, everyone was looking at her. Well of course normally people looked at her, but this time she was embarrassed that Yu Valarfin was looking directly into her eyes.

“The enemy will be twice our size or more. Maybe three, maybe four...” She couldn't speak sadly as long as she looked at Yu. She pretended to think so she could speak and put her chin on his hands and looked at the table. “They will attack us a few times, our position is good so we can defend, but we will melt. Instead of attacking us they will surround the hill and wait, which is probably what I would do. I don't believe we will get any help, we could starve to death here.”

She was proud of herself that she had finally managed to speak. The others didn't know it, but for Cornelia, speaking in front of Yu had been harder than fighting with a sword.

“We're not going to stay on the defensive forever, and even if they don't attack us and let us starve to death, I have another plan. In fact, that's my real plan.”

“I'm listening to you.”

Why did even saying ‘you’ to Yu warm Cornelia's cheeks?

Yu Valarfin fell silent. Cornelia couldn't understand why he was silent, but for a moment she felt her heart pierce as he stopped talking. Fortunately the feeling didn't last long, Yu Valarfin spoke as Cornelia lifted her head and looked at him as if begging to hear his voice again.

“I don't think it would be right to talk about it here.”

“I understand.” Sivina grabbed Yu's hand for no reason. Cornelia could have had a heart attack at the sight.

“Why? There's nothing between them, is there? There isn't... Please don't... No...”

When Neko grabbed Sivina's arm and pulled her away from Yu, the birds inside Cornelia's chest began to flutter with joy.

“May I know who you doesn't trust here, steward?” Sir Devan asked with a grumpy voice.

Both Cornelia and Sir Devan knew that there was only one person here who could not be trusted, but Sir Devan asked, knowing that Yu Valarfin could not answer Cecilus.

He had only done it because he wanted to put him on the spot, and Sir Devan's pathetic gesture angered Cornelia.

“It's understandable if he wants to talk about it in private, Sir Bishory. So there is no need to blame him.”

Cornelia intervened before Yu could give an answer. She could understand that Yu Valarfin did not trust Cecilus, perhaps he did not trust Sir Devan too.

“But is he afraid that they will communicate our plans to the enemy?”

Cornelia thought. She still found it hard to think, but she had to think because it was about her home.

Cecilus had lost Vermia very easily. When Corelia asked him how he lost it, he told her that he was afraid of the army and that the enemy had promised him that if he surrendered they would keep the House of Vermilia’s position as the Ruler of Vermia.

But this was not to be. The army inside the city was taken hostage and Cecilus fled the city with a small group and took refuge in Andromedia.

“It will be as you say,” She said to Yu Valarfin. Everyone agreed that it was the most sensible option if they stayed here. “How long will it take to surround the whole hill with a moat and a wall?”

“Are there still people in the surrounding villages? If there are, let them all come here. In two weeks we will build a wall and dig a ditch in front of the wall. I want the grass on the hill to be pulled out and covered with soil. We need to dig strong pits on the hill, we will put our belongings in the pits and the soldiers will sleep there.”

“Why are we going to do this?” Cornelia asked.

“They will shower us with arrows, and burning the ends of the arrows is a perfectly reasonable option. Grass and tents can catch fire and we can't waste water to put out the flames. We must also make the pits extra strong so that the rocks from the catapults don't collapse our pits.”

Cornelia didn't know what the word extra meant, but she nodded her head in agreement. After all, she understood that they had to make it strong.

“Have you tried tunneling under the city walls and tearing them down?”

"Yes, but the soil here is hard and the distance between us and the city is a bit long, those two things make it difficult. But that was not the reason behind our failure. The other side realized we were tunneling and collapsed the tunnel.”

“How did they do that? Anyway...” Yu drank another glass of water. He was drinking too much water. “It will be difficult to bring down the walls with catapults, we need to bring them down from underground. The roarons can help with that, right, Kigaro?”

Kigaro just nodded his head up and down and said yes.

“I understand, you are right,” Cornelia said.

“Tomorrow we will send the ships back to Aqua, we need what Link can bring. We especially need Ana, we need her help with the catapults and the rocks they will throw. Together with Yurine they should smash the rocks in the air. And when they see the presence of wizards, it will strike fear into the enemy.”

“Dragon...” A worried voice came from the table and it was Sivina. “But the dragon...”

“I made a deal with him, he will not attack my friends...” Yu Valarfin was unsure of himself when he said this. “So... At least he confirmed that he will not attack my friends.”

***

After the dinner meeting, Cornelia immediately gave the necessary orders to her soldiers and returned to her personal tent while they went to work.

At Cornelia's side was Luna. The blonde half-elf had assigned to take care of Cornelia's sick father, but now that he was dead, she would be with Cornelia.

“Your Highness, you look happy,” Luna said.

“Is that so? I think I'm the same as always.” Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Cornelia knew she was different from her usual self. Her cheeks had softened.

She was watching herself as she ran her fingers through her magenta-colored hair. When she looked into her own eyes, Yu Valarfin's eyes came to her mind and she smiled for the first time in years.

She had even forgotten what her own smile looked like. Looking at her lips reflected in the mirror in amazement, Luna spoke.

“To see you smiling, I'm so happy to have this honor.” She saw Luna's reflection in the mirror and the girl was indeed looking happily at Cornelia. “Besides, girls usually start to care about their hair when they like someone.”

Luna smiled mischievously, she was a young girl who wanted to gossip.

Cornelia closed her eyes as her feelings easily understood, and thought that if she did that, Luna wouldn't be able to see her. Of course it was an absurd thought.

“I just touched my hair, there's no need to look for meaning in everything.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” Luna kept smiling, but at the same time she was sad that she couldn't talk to Cornelia like she used to.

Cornelia and Luna used to keep each other company and talk, but Luna's time with Cornelia's father had driven a wedge between them.

When Cornelia opened her eyes again, she examined her own magenta-colored eyes. “Do people like these eyes?” she asked herself. She wondered if it was Yu Valarfin who liked them, not other people.

After all, Cornelia had admired Yu's eyes at first sight.

For the first time she was overwhelmed by the feelings she was experiencing. If she didn't find something to distract herself, she would keep thinking about Yu Valarfin, and the more she thought about him, the more her chest would tingle, and eventually she would come up with some ridiculous reason and go to see him.

She came out of her tent to see the soldiers working. She would walk around the hill until she was sleepy and make sure the people were doing their job. That was the only way she could keep herself occupied.