🔊 TTS Settings
CHAPTER 90……………
Gloy Seretz left the imperial palace, patting his now well-filled pocket.
He thought he felt a couple of pleased gazes on the back of his head but ignored them.
This was nothing more than a customary gesture of thanks.
And so summer passed, and winter came. I stood on the balcony, letting out a sigh with a cloud of white breath.
‘I knew it would be hard….’
Could a person truly be this clean?
That it involved the Empress and Duchess Linava Calypso made it all the more suspicious.
Jeron must have thought the same. His regret came across plainly in his letter.
[I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help. They cleaned up so thoroughly. It may take time, but I will do my best to dig deeper.]
After reading his letter, I sighed again. It was Valen who gently drew me back inside from the balcony.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
“Ah, Sir.”
“Is something troubling you?”
I shook my head. The palace was terribly busy these days, running short on manpower.
The reason was my upcoming birthday banquet. Since Ilia and Mulin had been dispatched to supervise the renovation of the Emerald Hall, today my attendant was none other than my escort knight, Sir Valen Edgar.
“Do you need anything?”
“No… Oh, but I would like some warm milk.”
“I’ll have someone bring it right away.”
Sir Edgar was known as the most talented among the new recruits this year.
Thanks to that, he had quickly earned a place as my guard, though it meant being summoned frequently to report to his superiors about his duties with me.
He dashed off to the kitchens with his swift legs—his specialty—and returned with the warmed milk.
I sipped it quietly, then tossed Jeron’s letter into the fireplace.
The paper, now nothing but kindling, burned with steady crackles.
Staring blankly into the flames, I asked Valen,
“When will the hall’s work be finished?”
It was called ‘construction,’ but really it was a full-scale decoration project for the Emerald Hall, mobilizing nearly the entire palace staff.
Valen tilted his head, thinking.
“They said it would be done at least a week before Your Highness’s banquet. So, most likely by the day after tomorrow. Perhaps you should go see it when it’s finished.”
I nodded lightly.
Time passed.
From the night before my birthday, an endless stream of gifts from nobles had been arriving without pause, day and night.
So many that the palace was drowning in them. I quickly ordered the servants to move them.
“These are just the first gifts?”
Clicking my tongue, I watched the servants haul away boxes without end.
The first round meant offerings of thanks for being invited to the exalted royal birthday banquet. The second round would be delivered directly to me during the banquet itself.
…This kind of treatment was overwhelming.
In my past life, nobles had sent gifts too, out of obligation.
But never this much. Back then, most were intercepted and discarded at the Empress’s discretion, which soured my reputation among the nobility and left me isolated. Eventually, very few sent me anything at all.
“Oh my, Your Highness, you don’t look well.”
A maid who had come to dust the lobby while the gifts were being moved approached, her face full of concern.
I smiled faintly.
“I heard the dress arrived.”
“Ah, you mean the dress you’ll wear at tomorrow’s banquet? I had a glance at it—it’s breathtakingly beautiful!”
She smacked her lips regretfully.
“It would be wonderful if you could try it on beforehand, but since it’s a gift from His Majesty, strict orders were given that it must not be seen by Your Highness until the day of.”
“That’s fine. I was just curious if it came properly.”
“It was so, so lovely. Just imagining Your Highness wearing it made me smile.”
After saying this, the maid bowed again and hurried back to cleaning.
I returned to my chambers and collapsed on the bed, exhausted.
“Six months have already passed….”
When I first came back, I’d worried that I would accomplish nothing before dying early again.
Now, though—the Emperor and my mother were both moving for my sake, and people were starting to recognize me.
It was good, but unsettling too. I fidgeted with my fingers for a long while.
‘I’ll do well.’
I clenched my fists tightly.
‘He will surely come to the banquet.’
If I could win him over, I might learn something about the Empress.
On the day of the banquet, Ilia and Mulin, fresh from finishing the Emerald Hall, burst into my chamber, eyes shining.
“Wake up, Your Highness!”
“The banquet is today—time is terribly short!”
Still half-asleep, I was dragged into the toilette room.
I had been too excited the night before—my first birthday since returning—and only fell asleep at dawn. Being woken so soon made me irritable.
But the maids ignored that, clustering around me with meticulous care.
“Oh dear, did you sleep poorly? Your skin looks a bit rough. I’ll bring honey and milk.”
“You must be tired. Please soak slowly in the bath.”
“We’ve filled it with roses, Your Highness.”
Their attentiveness was overwhelming. I dipped my feet into the rose-scented bath, nodding at the warm temperature.
Ilia chuckled softly and began scrubbing and massaging me carefully.
I must have dozed off, because when I opened my eyes, all preparations were complete.
A full-length mirror was brought before me. I stood and looked.
“…”
I was surprised.
My once-rough skin now glowed, and the hem of the Emperor’s dress glittered with countless gemstones.
Layers of lace bloomed like flowers, making the maids blush and exclaim.
“You look stunning, Your Highness.”
“The most beautiful I’ve ever seen you.”
“I styled you myself, Your Highness.”
“We should have summoned the court painter to capture this sight!”
Their words, for once, I agreed with.
On my head gleamed rose quartz, cut and set by Gloy Seretz. Around my neck hung the black diamond necklace Jeron had given me, casting an alluring light.
The effect was otherworldly.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the mirror.
That was when Ilia and Mulin exchanged mischievous smiles.
Mulin clapped, and Ilia declared,
“Your Highness, this isn’t the end!”
“Hm?”
“Open the door. There’s another gift from His Majesty.”
Another one?
Puzzled, I went to the door.
‘What could it be?’
The maids squealed as I hesitated, ear to the wood. Embarrassed, I threw it open.
And froze.
“Sir Cecil…?”
“First Princess.”
There she was, clad in the ceremonial uniform of the Imperial Knights.
She knelt before me, smiling kindly.
She looked more haggard than the last time I saw her—cheeks hollow, face weary.
I frowned. She gave a sheepish grin.
“Must you frown as soon as you see me? I thought you’d cry the moment you laid eyes on me again.”
“Do I look like someone who cries easily?”
“Well, true. I must have misjudged you.”
“….”
Seeing her again only pained me.
“Have you been eating properly? You’ve lost weight. I never ordered you to starve.”
“…Forgive me. With Your Highness always on my mind, food hardly went down. I only longed to defeat those… no, those bandits, and return to your side.”
“….”
“Ha, was that presumptuous?”
She scratched her head awkwardly. My eyes drifted to the many scars showing beneath her sleeve.
“…You’ve worked hard. I’m glad you’ve returned.”
Rather than scolding her, I stepped forward and embraced her tightly.
“At least your muscles, twenty times stronger than an ordinary man’s, haven’t changed. That’s a relief.”
“Haha! Thank you for the compliment!”
She laughed heartily. The touching reunion ended with her offering her hand.
“May I escort you, my little master?”
“Of course. But what of the Red Horse unit?”
“Oh, that? I stepped down.”
“What? Why?”
“Because protecting you is my duty. And I failed once already.”
“But that was because I ordered you! I even told His Majesty to restore your post—!”
Before I could argue further, she squeezed my hand gently.
“Just being by your side again is enough for me.”
“….”
“At first it was duty, but now… I find joy in it. I’ve always been a little sensitive, truth be told. One day I’ll retire anyway, and when I do, I only want to spend my days as I please. That day simply came sooner.”
“….”
“You gave me what I wanted, so from now on I will give everything to protect you.”
I walked in silence, unsure how to respond.
Then—
“May I swear a knight’s oath to you?”
“…To me…?”
“Shamefully, I rushed here for your birthday without preparing a proper gift.”
“So you want to give me your oath as a present?”
She said nothing, but her silence was answer enough.
A knight’s oath meant pledging one’s life entirely to one’s lord. To die in their place, to endure anything, even if it destroyed them.
I nodded.
She released my hand, stepped forward, and knelt.
I placed my hand on her right shoulder.
“Cecil Brolmind.”
She lifted her head. Her crimson eyes, warm and resolute, fixed only on me.
Smiling, I asked,
“Will you swear eternal loyalty to me?”
“Until my life burns to ash, I will remain by Your Highness’s side.”
“Will you give me your strength, your senses, your very heart?”
She tore her insignia from her chest and placed it in my hand.
“Of course.”
The insignia was like a knight’s heart. To offer it was to seal the vow.
I stroked it and smiled faintly.
She added,
“Use me like a dog, and I’ll run wild like a beast.”
“Oh dear. That spot’s already taken.”
“What?! Don’t tell me—Sir Edgar?”
She spat out Valen Edgar’s name.
I waved my hands quickly.
“No, not him. Someone else.”
“Then who dares steal my place? That was mine!”
Why was she so desperate for the role of “dog”…?
I eyed her suspiciously, wondering if she had… unusual tastes. But oblivious Cecil only pleaded again.
“Then what am I?”
“What else but… Cecil Brolmind.”
“No! Wait, I have an idea!”
“What is it?”
“The position of ‘doormat’ is still free, isn’t it? That’s sort of a dog too, right?”
“….”
I decided to just keep walking.
The main character always arrives last.
When the gatekeepers spotted me, they bowed deeply.
“You’ve arrived, Your Highness!”
One raised his hand in salute. Upon noticing Cecil at my side, his eyes widened.
“Announce my entrance.”
At my words, they hesitated.
“Could you wait just a moment?”
“…What?”
“Your partner will be arriving shortly.”
“Partner…?”
Their gazes shifted past me, behind my back.
Then one said, “He’s here.”
I turned—
The partner was… the Emperor? …Or perhaps Dmitri?
Both were approaching together, side by side, looking at me with expectant expressions.
…Surely this didn’t mean—
‘They don’t expect me to choose a partner… do they?’
