Carolina paced nervously around her room, lightly biting her lower lip from the slight tension. She had recently received a letter from the second prince of the Desert Empire, Delmar III, and the contents of this letter would not let her rest. Of course, the princess knew that envoys from other countries would arrive for the Royal Ball of Crow. But the Empire was the largest state of all those known on their continent. These included: the independent Free Cities—Starhorod, Novgorod, Infgorod, Molgorod, and Fabgorod—all located southwest of the Kingdom of Crow in a place once known as the "Forgotten Lands," but now all that desert and plain terrain, where nothing grows, is referred to as the Free Cities. Each city acts as a separate state. Of course, besides these five largest cities, there are smaller ones, but they do not possess the same influence as the aforementioned five; the Republic of Salt, located west of the Kingdom, distinguished by its unique form of government where the inhabitants themselves choose their king, although he is apparently called the Supreme Minister there. Carolina was almost certain that even there, the authorities have such pressure that, in reality, the people decide nothing. But their land is rich in minerals and non-sea salt, which they sell. Equally surprising is that their neighbors, once the Kingdom of Blood and the Kingdom of Stone, never tried to seize such fertile lands, although in their place, the girl would have certainly done so; the Kingdom of Stone, which is a neighbor to the Republic of Salt and the Duchy of Blood, stretches further south along the vast White Sea, trading with the Free Cities and its neighbors in metals extracted from the sea and the depths of their lands. They are renowned for their sailors and excellent shipbuilding; the Tsardom of Vys, located even further south than the Kingdom of Stone, is one of the few known neighbors by land of the Great Desert Empire. Fifty years ago, it was part of that very empire, until the Free City of Fabgorod attacked the Empire, which was increasingly expanding its borders and threatening an attack on the Kingdom of Stone. Back then, they didn't yet have rifles and more modern weaponry, but they made up for it with numbers. Everything they captured was studied to be integrated into their army. Then Professor Garib revealed to the world a miracle that changed the course of that war—the airship, a huge ship that sailed through the sky, striking all its targets on the ground with fire, forcing everyone to acknowledge that the Free Cities were the most serious competitor in current politics; and the Great Desert Empire, located east of the Tsardom of Vys, its territory also running along the entire southern shore of the White Sea up to the Mountains of Death, which stretched along the eastern coast all the way to the Kingdom of Crow—impassable and unexplored by anyone. Only rumors exist that pirate gangs and their lairs hide there, as well as the Independent State of Port, where lawlessness flourishes, and which trades with these very pirates and, possibly, with the Empire itself. But these were only rumors, which the Empire itself denied, although Carolina suspected that some nobles of her kingdom did indeed trade with Port, but she had no proof yet.
And now, the prince of one of the largest states on their continent wanted to meet with her? And not officially, despite the fact that he would attend the ball himself, but secretly. This thought would not leave the girl in peace, and she was slightly nervous before the meeting, although there were still several hours until it.
"Gregory!" the princess called out, summoning her new servant. Her old one had been dismissed from the palace after that incident with Leon, and the girl had already forgotten the name of that commoner, even though she had spent several years with him.
A young boy, looking about thirteen years old, peeked into the room. His pointed ears indicated he was from the Duchy of Wood.
"Yes, my Lady," the boy said and bowed his head before Carolina.
"I need a bath. Ask the other servants to prepare it. Also, prepare some inexpensive clothes for going out into the city. I need to leave incognito on my own business," the princess issued orders without even looking at the boy, continuing to pace around her room.
"Yes, my Lady," the boy replied and left the room, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts.
After some time, there was a knock on the door, and a maid entered—whose name Carolina hadn't even remembered after the princess had allowed her in. She silently bowed to the girl, then opened the doors wider, allowing four men to enter carrying a large, white bathtub, apparently made of steel, filled with hot water. They carried it out onto the open balcony, whose view overlooked the endless sea and the city below, and after bowing, left the room. In their place, several more servant girls entered, who began preparing the princess for her bath: they laid towels around the tub's legs, began undressing Carolina, and brought various aromatic oils and herbs, adding them to the water, which was still warm but no longer scalding hot. The servants helped the girl lower herself into the water and immediately began rubbing Carolina's snow-white skin and lathering her hair, tidying it up. One of the girls brought the princess a glass of wine and carefully handed it to her. Carolina smiled and took a sip, feeling the alcohol gently spread through her body. This was one of the bottles provided by her mother, who as a hobby cultivated grapes and made wine from them. Of course, it wasn't the best wine the princess had drunk, but there was something in it she couldn't describe. Some special taste that made the girl feel a slight melancholy. Perhaps this was what they called a mother's love? Carolina didn't know the answer to that question, but she gladly took another sip of this wonderful red wine while her servants continued to wash the princess's body.
When she raised the hand not holding the wine glass, the servants immediately bustled about, rinsing the foam from the princess's body. At the very moment she was lifted from the bath, a light autumn breeze enveloped Carolina's body—it was no longer so warm, but not cold enough to make the girl shiver. The servants immediately wrapped the princess's body in soft towels, helping her step out of the bath, putting warm slippers on her feet, and handing her back her wine. Accompanied by her servants, the princess entered her room, and here the girls began attending to the princess's appearance—applying makeup, drying her hair, painting her nails. Carolina, of course, had asked them to make her current preparations not too flashy, but looking in the mirror after all the procedures, she couldn't stop admiring her beauty.
The servants left the princess, bowing low to her, leaving her alone in a beautiful black dress. It wasn't as vulgar as the one in which she had tried to seduce Leon, but it still accentuated all the girl's assets, highlighting her slender figure.
After a few minutes, there was another knock, and Gregory's little face appeared in the doorway after Carolina allowed him to enter.
"Your carriage is ready, Your Highness," the boy said quietly, trembling slightly but still standing at the entrance, lowering his gaze, trying not to look at Carolina, though his cheeks burned with a red blush.
The princess sighed wearily, took the black shawl the servants had prepared for her, and headed out of her room, ignoring the child. The boy squeezed his eyes shut as Carolina passed by him, but he only heard the door to the princess's room close behind him. He blinked in surprise and immediately decided to leave, not wanting to stay there alone, but when he stepped into the corridor, the princess was no longer there.
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Carolina, meanwhile, was walking quickly in the direction opposite the carriage. Like any member of the Crow family, she knew the entire layout of the castle, including the secret passages, to be able to leave the castle in case of emergency. And now the girl decided to use one such passage to get out into the city. If she wasn't mistaken, the princess would emerge somewhere in the Port District, which was within the Outer Wall.
Moving for an hour, Carolina already regretted her decision not to take the carriage. Yes, it was a secret meeting, and arriving by carriage would have been foolish. But! How tired her legs were, unaccustomed to walking for so long. And the corridor itself was dark and eerie, which slightly frightened the princess, especially as she began to approach the exit point, by her feeling. She saw small puddles on the stone floor, and water dripped from above in some places. Nevertheless, when Carolina reached the wooden door and found a spiral staircase leading to the surface behind it, the girl breathed a sigh of relief. She thanked herself for having refused high heels, and extinguishing her torch, emerged onto the surface. There, she encountered a small wooden dock house, inside which stood a single ship. Carolina paid it no attention, merely reading the name on the ship's board—"Vanessa"—but immediately dismissed it from her mind as she left the building.
Finding herself in the port, a sharp smell of fish hit her nose. Wrinkling it slightly, she began to walk through the huge crowd of people milling about, with or without purpose. The girl roughly knew where the meeting place was, but she was very unaccustomed to going anywhere without an escort who would definitely know where to take the princess. Most likely, Carolina had done something very foolish by going alone, but who could harm her in her own capital? Deciding not to take unnecessary risks, however, she clutched the shawl tighter, draping it over her head, and continued moving towards the "Seahorse" tavern, where Prince Delmar awaited her. Fortunately for her legs, the journey was indeed not long, especially compared to how far she had walked from the castle.
There was no visible security at the entrance to the tavern, or at least none that Carolina could notice, so she entered the building without any problems. Inside, as outside, it stank just as much, though at least not as strongly. The princess moved towards the bar counter, pulling the letter from her pocket, which she nervously clutched, noticing how the male part of the bar devoured her with their glances. Already at the counter, she waited for the bartender to approach her and silently look at her, as if asking what she was doing there. In response, Carolina gave an equally silent answer, simply handing him the letter she held. The man glanced at it, then nodded and gestured for her to follow him. They went to the back door of the building, behind which sat a huge brute reading some book. He silently glanced at the bartender and the girl, but likewise not making a sound, continued reading. The man led the girl down the stairs, taking her somewhere into the basement. There, reaching some door, he knocked in a specific pattern. Carolina noticed this but didn't remember the sequence itself, and besides, the girl thought she wouldn't really need it. Footsteps were heard behind the door, and soon it opened. The bartender gestured for the girl to enter, while he went back, returning to his usual work.
Inside the small room the princess entered were two men. One of them was tall, black-skinned, with long blond hair that curled very unnaturally, and eyes as blue as the sea. He was dressed in a turquoise caftan with gold embroidery, and, to the princess's surprise, was also barefoot, but his legs were crossed in a manner unfamiliar to the girl. The second man in the room was a less remarkable young man, his appearance extremely unassuming, and he was not dressed as grandly as Prince Delmar, who sat before her, so the girl didn't particularly scrutinize his appearance.
"Lady Katerina?" said the man sitting in the strange pose, in a surprisingly gentle and soft voice.
"Your Highness," the princess smiled and sat down on the sofa opposite her interlocutor.
She heard the sound of a door opening and assumed that the second unremarkable young man had left the room, leaving her alone with the Prince of the Desert Empire.
"Forgive me for dragging you to such an inappropriate place," the man smiled at her, showing his brilliantly white and straight teeth. Carolina was even amazed at how straight and clean teeth could be, since even her half-brother Arthur didn't have such an even set of teeth. In fact, few in the Kingdom did.
"Oh, not at all, Your Highness. I am extremely flattered that you wished to speak specifically with me," the girl said, hiding her surprised emotions behind her shawl, and offered a slight smile, which also probably wasn't visible.
"Not at all, Princess. I am extremely pleased to meet you," the prince smiled at her again. "Allow me to speak with you about the matters for which I had to invite such a beautiful girl to such an unpleasant place."
Carolina tried to hide the sudden blush that flared on her snow-white skin. But the girl also noted the furnishings of that small room where they were. Compared to the rest of the tavern, and the corridors that had led her here, it was completely different here. Despite the absence of paintings and other decorations, the girl realized that the carpet covering the entire floor, and all the other furniture, were of very high quality, as if made for a royal palace or other noble families. Carolina was more surprised that such furnishings were in this tavern, although perhaps because of them, Prince Delmar had chosen this place.
"Not at all, Your Highness, you're making me blush," Carolina said, removing the shawl from her face. "And this room isn't as bad as you make it out to be."
"I chose this place specifically to avoid embarrassing you, Princess," Delmar continued to smile at her. "But still, I suggest we get to the heart of our conversation."
"If you insist, Your Highness."
"As you know, I am not the crown prince of my Empire, and you are not first in line for the throne in your Kingdom. I think that at your royal ball, it would be a good diplomatic solution to propose a marriage between you and me, to strengthen diplomatic relations between our states."
Carolina was somewhat struck by the prince's proposal, but she was also a little surprised. Of course, the princess had thought that sooner or later she would have to marry, but certainly not the second prince of the Desert Empire. Although in itself, such a proposal was extremely tempting. And if something happened to the first prince, she would become the emperor's wife. Although, as far as she knew, the emperor could have many wives, but being the first and foremost also meant holding power in one's hands.
"This is so unexpected, Your Highness," the girl said, tilting her head slightly. She understood that she needed to delay her answer a little, to gauge the prince's reaction and the seriousness of his intentions.
The man stood up and approached Carolina, then placed his large hand on the girl's small cheek and lifted her head slightly, looking directly at her with his blue eyes. Then he slowly leaned down and kissed her on the lips. After a few moments, he pulled back, leaving the girl in a slight but pleasant shock.
"Do you now understand the seriousness of my intentions, Princess?" Delmar said quietly, but his face was still close to hers, and she could feel his hot, uneven breathing.
"Yes, Your Highness," Carolina replied just as quietly, looking alternately at the eyes and then at the lips of the prince before her.
"This is advantageous for us outsiders. If something happens to our relatives, you could take the throne of the Kingdom, and I the title of Emperor. Sometimes even everything together. Doesn't that thought excite you?" Delmar whispered softly, leaning slightly closer to the girl.
The princess placed her small hands on the man's massive shoulders and with a slight effort tried to pull him closer to her. The prince yielded, led by the girl's desires. When the prince's ear was near Carolina's mouth, she whispered softly:
"I agree."
