Later, Edward thanked her for watching over Colette without shying away. He had initially taken her for a delicate duke's daughter who was raised in the lap of luxury, convinced that she wouldn't have what it took to see a man to his death. For misjudging her, he apologized.
No one had ever said anything like that to Karolina before. This only made her more certain that Edward was incredibly kind. In truth, she was the one who had misjudged him. Karolina accepted his apology and asked him to raise his head. A prince must not bow so readily.
Going back to the tent, Edward told Teodor that he had sent Karolina to another tent. Also, the bandit stragglers had been turned over to the border guard en route to the imperial capital, so there should be no fear of another attack.
As for Colette, he was in stable condition, but his blood pressure was extremely low, likely from losing too much blood. So Teodor and Edward agreed that he should be in the carriage. However, Teodor felt like having Karolina and Colette in the same carriage together was a bit weird. There were no free big carriages, however. Edward had burned the one meant for nobles, but he said that in that moment, he had felt a surge of power that he couldn't control properly.
Teodor said he had also felt the same thing. The powers of several other knights had even gone out of control due to this mysterious influence. There was also a need to investigate the power that healed Colette, which was similar in nature.
As for the carriage situation, Edward said Karolina would ride with him on his horse.
The following day, their journey continued. Edward offered to slow down if the ride was too rough for Karolina, but she was fine riding in his arms. At that moment, they arrived at the border of the Malcosian Empire.
Before long, they crossed the border and arrived in the imperial capital of Malcosia. By then, Colette was back on his feet, and Karolina and Edward moved from the horse back into the carriage.
Their journey, seemingly both so long and so short, would be over soon. He offered to take her on another one sometime, if she didn't mind. Thinking it was nice, she decided to reciprocate, saying she would love to go on another and would enjoy seeing the sights with him again.
Soon after, Edward and Karolina were before His Imperial Majesty, Eric Ruby Martinez. He was renowned as the strongest spell sword there was, a formidable warrior who had repelled countless foes by manipulating lightning, which was a higher form of fire magic. He was known as the lightning emperor, a title derived from his signature lightning magic and his status.
Then there was the current empress, Vanessa Ruby Martinez. She was a rare wielder of frost magic, extraordinary even on a global scale. She was known as the frost witch. Empress Vanessa had once repelled a powerful monster to save her people. That ordeal was how she won their hearts.
Standing before them, Karolina's stomach hurt. Seeing how nervous she was, Edward assured her she would be fine. They both graced themselves, and Emperor Eric commended his son and also welcomed Karolina with open arms. He invited her to have lunch with them, wanting to get a good talk in with his son's future wife.
Outside, they sat at the table, and all eyes were on Karolina. On the way over, just in case something like this happened, she had asked Teodor to teach her some table manners. She feared they might send her back to her country if she made a mistake.
With her only eating vegetables, Vanessa asked if nothing else was to her liking. Karolina didn't particularly have any likes or dislikes, but she had eaten a bit too much for breakfast. The empress asked her to speak if anything displeased her, or if she preferred to dine indoors. If the problem lay with them, they would make every effort to correct it.
Eric also encouraged her to speak up. After all, she was going to be part of their family from now on.
Karolina couldn't believe they saw her as family already. She was such a fool, feeling all scared in front of such kind people. So she confessed that she felt nervous with them staring at her, and apologized for worrying them.
But the emperor couldn't help but stare, because Karolina was going to become his darling daughter. He wanted to get a good look at her. They had only ever had boys. Even the empress couldn't help her delight at the thought of having a daughter. She thought Karolina's eyes were beautiful, just like Eric's and Edward's hair.
In their country, the ruby gemstone held a special significance. The first emperor gave the royal line its name so that they too could receive the blessing of the ruby. Vanessa felt this was fate, and proposed that the wedding ring should be ruby as well.
Karolina teared up, overwhelmed with emotion at their kind words.
After being taken into her room, Karolina was introduced to her maid, Marissa, and her bodyguard, Owen. Owen was a member of the Pyreborn Order of Knights, and also the second son of a baron. Teodor then mentioned they would begin her lessons tomorrow, and by the gleam in his eyes, she felt she was in for something scary.
Karolina's instructor for etiquette and manners was none other than Empress Vanessa. This was her first time being an instructor, but she would give it her absolute best.
Soon enough, she decided to call it a day, and Karolina was relieved. Vanessa felt she was moving too quickly. She had gotten carried away because Karolina was such a fast learner. Karolina's memory was on the good side. And what was truly admirable was her eagerness to learn. Vanessa had no doubt she was a brilliant student.