Blooming Stars

Chapter 5

I kept thinking about that day I met the crown prince. The meeting was so strange to me that I couldn't get it out of my mind. A long time ago, I had heard the crown prince was possibly the brightest, most talented person in the whole empire, and in the history of the imperial family. There was a lot of anticipation for the day he would become emperor. There were also many rumors about who he would choose as his bride. For someone like him, it would have to be someone to match him in looks and brains. I also wondered about it, going through a list of well-known, unmarried noblewomen I thought might be good candidates. None of them seemed to hold a candle to him, though.

But he was such a serious person. Some people even described him as "icy" because he was always so emotionless. He had certainly seemed that way when I spoke to him. I had figured that was just his personality and he meant nothing by it.

A few days later, I was sitting at a tea party with several ladies, stifling my yawns. I was one of the youngest ladies there, and one of the lowest ranked, so I decided not to talk very much. Although there were some nice ladies there, a few of the them took turns throwing barbs at each other. All I could think about is going back to the forest to find another Ghost Star. If I didn't find one again, I may never get a second chance, because my family didn't come to the imperial palace often.

"I saw His Highness looking my way," said one of the ladies. She glanced around the table haughtily as the others turned their eyes on her. "I even greeted him."

"What did he say?" said another.

Her arrogance faded somewhat. "W-Well, he said... He just nodded."

I sipped my tea. So, he said nothing to you. That shouldn't be surprising to anyone, but this lady wanted to boast.

"He seems so hard to approach," a third girl lamented. I recognized her as the daughter of a marquess. "This isn't my first time at the imperial palace, but he never says anything to me."

"Does he ever say anything to anyone?" said a fourth.

"He seems quite busy."

"He acts like he doesn't have time for ladies."

"Well, he is the crown prince, so it makes sense that he would be very busy."

I pressed my lips together as I recalled my meeting with him. It would displease them if I told them my story, since I was just a baron's daughter. I chose instead to hold the memory in my heart.

The first lady spoke up. "I heard there is already a list of marriage candidates for him."

Everyone riveted their attention on her. "Ah! Really?"

"This is the first time I've heard about it!"

"Who's on it?"

"I might be on it!"

"But why is he searching now? He's so young!"

"I don't know. I heard a rumor that the emperor might be retiring soon."

"What!"

Whispers ensued as they all began to speculate. Of course, the highest-ranked ladies were confident they were on that list, while the rest reasonably assumed they weren't. There was even talk of a foreign princess being a candidate.

Eventually I stopped listening. It had nothing to do with me, after all. Something like marriage was far from my mind. At my age, I didn't need to think about it. I felt sorry for the crown prince since he had to think about it. He may look older, but he was still only fifteen.

"I think becoming the empress sounds frightening," I said. Apparently I did not mumble these words quietly. The ladies snapped their gazes on me. I felt like a slab of meat tossed in front of a pack of angry wolves.