I thought you were only fifteen years old… At that time and that time, I was wholly convinced that you were too old for fifteen, or that you were too old for fifteen…

No, from the perspective of a 30-something-year-old, there was no difference between a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old.

I felt like I was born a little too early…

As I fidgeted, the prince chuckled.

[This might be the first time someone has asked me when my birthday is. It’s a little new to me.]

My apologies, Prince.

Thinking about it, you were one of Their Majesties’ children, and when you were born, the whole Imperial Kingdom would have celebrated.

Birthdays were standard practice, weren’t they? Sorry, we were related, but I didn’t know that.

[Alexei should have told you a little more about me.]

It’s not big brother’s fault, you know!

[If you have something against big brothers, let me be your opponent!]

I didn’t have any experience in martial arts, but I was one of the best in my grade in Physical Enhancement Magic! Come at me!

[…]

Don’t laugh at me!

3rd Person POV

“Young Lady, please don’t move! Just at least one more moment, please, because that’s all I need!”

“How many times do you have to ask for one more moment…?”

Ekaterina spoke effortlessly, but still kept her pose as requested.

A large, middle-aged man was frantically sketching Ekaterina in a pose looking back at him. He was a wood sculptor commissioned to make a replica of the Queen of the Night or the Spirit of the Evening of the Temple of the Sun.

In order to make the goddess statue more realistic, he wanted to use a flesh-and-blood woman as a model. The priest said that the Young Lady of the Duke’s family looked like a goddess materialized in the world. The priest asked passionately for a reference, so the sculptors decided to take the time to make the sculpture.

Ekaterina, who looked like her mother, would be a better model for the statue, since it was ordered in the likeness of her mother, rather than as a replica of the goddess. Therefore, neither Alexei nor Ekaterina had the option of refusing. They took their time, even interrupting their preparations for the trip back to the dukedom.

“Young Lady.”

Rev, a glassblower who had been led around the duke’s mansion by a maid, and another glassblower, who was looking around the duke’s mansion, called out to Ekaterina, as if relieved to see her.

When he caught sight of her, his eyes immediately turned round, his pupils enlarged.

“I’m sorry, Rev, but could you give us a moment?”

“Yes, of course. …um”

As if determined, Rev pulled out a sketchpad and glass pen, which he seems to carry with him at all times.

“May I sketch, too?”

When the sculptor was finally satisfied and left, Ekaterina faced the Rev and the others in the small common room.

Mina made a pot of tea, which she sipped first. Even though it seemed like she was just standing there, she was honestly tired. The sculpture model, being three-dimensional, needed an omnidirectional view.

“You two, please have some. Thank you for coming all the way out here.”

“No, I’m sorry to have been invited to such a fine place.”

Rev and another bow their heads. The other was a man in his late twenties. He had dark green hair, yellow eyes, and an intellectual air about him, but he also had a stubborn appearance with slightly elongated gills.

He wanted to work for Murano Workshop.

The four artisans Ekaterina met the other day have all decided to return to work at Murano Workshop.

They all came with signed employment contracts the day after Ekaterina spoke with them. When they talked to their wives about it, some of them were not against it but urged them to move immediately.

Unexpectedly, other glass artisans who had heard about their treatment from Ekaterina and his colleagues expressed an interest in moving to Murano Workshop.