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chapter 54
“What is it?”
Yuan looked at Serret with an expression that urged her to speak quickly.
“Lady Elliot is holding a party at the imperial palace. On the 17th—the same day as our first party.”
“The 17th?”
Yuan’s face darkened. Of all days, it had to be then.
“They say His Majesty the Emperor will also attend, so few nobles will come to the Prechtuster family’s party.”
Serret’s voice carried no strength.
Yuan’s mouth turned bitter as Serret’s figure, who had been working so hard in preparation for their very first party, flashed through his mind. She must have been devastated.
“It looks like we’re going to be humiliated.”
“…I’m sorry,” Serret murmured softly, then turned toward the stairs. Her shoulders drooped as she climbed them.
Yuan couldn’t help but be concerned about Serret’s slumped figure.
“She is very worried, my lord. She even went to the Crown Princess herself to beg for attendance at our party.”
The butler, watching Serret walk away, spoke with sorrow in his tone.
“To the Crown Princess?”
“She said she didn’t receive a clear answer. My lady must be very disheartened. On the same date, of all times. They call it coincidence, but it pains me as well.”
The butler, who rarely revealed his feelings, let slip his frustration this time.
Could that really be coincidence? Yuan knew Lydia’s character all too well, and irritation churned in his chest.
She knew exactly how important this first party after marriage would be, and yet she had to go and do this. Yuan let out a sigh mixed with annoyance.
“We should look into another date,” the butler suggested.
“No, leave it.”
If things went Lydia’s way this time, she would keep causing such troubles again and again.
Because she had an emperor who indulged her every whim, Lydia was like a child who had never grown up.
She had to have everything her way, otherwise she could not stand it. And she had no understanding that such behavior could be to her own detriment.
This was as good an opportunity as any for her to finally learn. To understand that she was no longer a child, and that she could not throw tantrums like this.
Yuan turned from the butler.
“Where are you going, my lord?”
The butler, puzzled to see Yuan leaving again so soon after returning home, asked.
“To the palace.”
Yuan gave a curt reply and left the estate.
He headed straight to the imperial palace and requested an audience with the emperor. The emperor deliberately kept him waiting in the hallway for a full hour before granting him entry.
Despite the emperor’s pettiness, Yuan faced him without a trace of fatigue.
“What brings Duke Prechtuster here?”
After Yuan offered a respectful bow, the emperor’s sharp voice addressed him. The emperor still had not set aside his hostility toward Yuan.
“Your Majesty, I have come to beg a favor.”
Though his tone was courteous, Yuan’s bearing was bold. The emperor’s eyes narrowed in displeasure at such composure.
“A favor, from you. When you spurned mine.”
The emperor gave a short, derisive laugh, his eyes fierce upon Yuan.
“The party Lady Elliot is hosting on the 17th—please have it canceled.”
Even before the emperor’s menacing aura, Yuan’s voice remained steady.
“What did you just say?”
The emperor’s face hardened.
“The date conflicts with the Prechtuster family’s party. We will not change ours. Have Lady Elliot change hers.”
“Are you daring to give me orders now!”
The emperor slammed his fist against the throne, his roar echoing through the audience hall.
“I am asking, not commanding.”
Yuan didn’t so much as blink at the emperor’s outburst.
Anyone else would already be prostrate, begging for forgiveness—but Yuan was different. The Duke of Prechtuster was composed, even before the emperor’s fury.
That composure only inflamed the emperor further. If he had rejected the emperor’s request, shouldn’t he at least show some remorse?
Yuan Prechtuster—far too brazen. He had never once shown regret before the emperor or Lydia. Not even after hurting his daughter!
“And what nerve do you have to ask this of me?”
“I cannot… threaten you outright, can I?”
“Threaten?”
The emperor’s brow shot upward.
“I don’t think the matter of Lydia Elliot’s health needs to spread into public gossip.”
Yuan’s face was expressionless as he spoke.
He hadn’t wanted to go this far. But only with this would the emperor listen.
“You dare—dare to threaten me with my daughter!”
The emperor’s furious voice thundered through the chamber.
As a child, Lydia had suffered from a skin condition that caused severe dryness. She had been treated with a salve created by her mother, who bore Held blood.
But that salve contained ingredients that diminished fertility if used long-term. It meant Lydia could not bear children.
The ointment was highly effective for the skin, so the Prechtuster family had once considered commercializing it. But during research, the infertility side effect was discovered.
Naturally, Yuan had been informed. He knew Lydia could not conceive.
He ordered all research results destroyed. Though the emperor had also commanded it, Yuan too believed it best that the truth not spread.
If rumors got out, Lydia would never find a marriage.
She was not an official princess but the daughter of a concubine—and she carried Held blood besides.
If she also could not bear children, no noble family would ever accept her.
“You dare! Dare! Dare!”
The emperor’s voice rose higher and higher. Had anything been within reach, he might have hurled it at Yuan in his rage.
“There are things in this world one must be denied, Your Majesty.”
“What did you say?”
“Indulging Lydia only spoils her further. Denying her is also for her sake. You cannot protect her forever.”
Yuan’s gaze held steady, his expression unchanged as he met the emperor’s eyes. Love was not about granting every wish.
As a childhood friend, Yuan truly worried about Lydia’s life after the emperor was gone. The Crown Prince already looked upon her coldly.
Without the emperor’s protection, Lydia would lose more than half of what she enjoyed now. Would she be able to endure that?
“So you are not even afraid of a decrepit old emperor nearing death?”
The emperor’s face shook with rage.
Yuan said nothing, simply holding his gaze. For a long while, the two men stared at each other in silence.
The emperor’s jaw trembled.
If it were up to his temper, he would strip Yuan of his dukedom that very moment and absorb all of Prechtuster’s wealth into the imperial house.
But he knew even his authority could not crush Yuan so easily. In the end, the emperor had no choice but to yield.
With a heavy sigh, he spoke first.
“I will do as you ask. But keep that mouth shut for life.”
Defeated, the emperor’s face twisted with bitterness.
To him, Lydia was a sore spot. He couldn’t grant her the title of princess, nor the marriage to Yuan Prechtuster she so desperately wanted.
When he died, no one would shield her. At the very least, she must marry into a fine family, with a kind and respectable man.
For that, the truth about her infertility could never be known.
“Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty.”
Yuan bowed respectfully and left the audience chamber.
Now he would see Serret smile again. Not that dejected face.
For some reason, that alone made Yuan feel it was worth it—even if his methods were far from gentlemanly and could stain the Prechtuster name.
That thought unsettled him. Recently, everything felt clouded, as if his own unfamiliar self was emerging—always because of that woman.
Yuan liked clarity. In life, in business, in emotions. But Serret blurred all of it.
When would this chaos end? With a troubled expression, Yuan left the palace.
“Due to unavoidable circumstances, the party scheduled at the imperial palace on the 17th has been canceled.”
As Serret read Lydia’s letter, her face brightened little by little.
“Canceled?”
“It’s canceled?”
Hannah and Eve looked at her with hopeful faces. Serret gave a relieved smile.
“It says it’s canceled.”
She let out a sigh of relief. What a blessing.
Why the sudden change of heart? Was there another scheme behind it? Serret couldn’t guess Lydia’s motives, but for now, she was simply grateful.
“That’s wonderful!”
Eve, who had been worrying alongside her, broke into a broad smile.
“How strange, for that spiteful lady to do such a thing. Truly fortunate, my lady. Oh? Then we’re not inviting Robin anymore?”
Hannah, who had also been rejoicing, asked with a pout.
At her expression, Serret burst out laughing. All the better not to invite Robin.
“Now I can throw myself into preparations again.”
Serret jumped to her feet, renewed determination lighting her eyes. Until now, she had been so dispirited.
“I’ll work hard too.”
“Me too!”
Eve and Hannah also rose from their seats.
Seeing them, Serret’s smile shone brightly.
From that day, she poured herself back into preparing the party with energy.
Though she occasionally clashed with Lady Lindsey, she compromised where she could and stood firm where she must.
Perhaps thanks to that process, on the eve of the party, she and Lady Lindsey were able to share an easy laugh.
“Tomorrow’s party will go well, won’t it?”
Hannah asked as she climbed the stairs with Serret, her face clouded with worry.
“Of course it will.”
Serret’s tone brimmed with confidence.
“Yes, it will,” Hannah agreed with a vigorous nod.
When the Crown Prince and Princess sent word they would attend, Serret had felt certain: this party would be a success.
After a refreshing bath, Serret made her way to bed. Just as she was about to lie down, the door opened after a knock, and Yuan entered.
