🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 47
“Your Majesty the Empress, I greet you.”
“Come in.”
Lysianthus welcomed me with a smile and instructed a maid to bring tea.
“I’ve been staying in the Empress Palace so much lately that it’s grown rather lonely, so I called for you.”
After dismissing even the maids, Lysianthus teased me and told me to speak comfortably.
“Sister, honestly… I may not be on your level, but I’m still the Grand Duchess of Winfoste. I’m a busy person too.”
At my words, Lysianthus smiled brightly and took a sip of tea.
“Well, if you can make it here, then you must be doing fine.”
“Sister.”
“Your brother will be arriving soon as well.”
“Brother Erion?”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than the doors to the Empress Palace opened and Erion walked in.
“Welcome, Brother.”
After giving a light greeting, Erion took his seat.
“Why did you summon me?”
It was my first time seeing Erion since things had ended the way they did at the Spring Heavenly Festival.
“Have you given it some thought?”
“You mean the annulment?”
“Yes. And please speak freely, Brother.”
Lysianthus said with a gentle smile.
“My decision hasn’t changed. I will annul the engagement with the young lady.”
Lysianthus, who had naturally assumed Erion would retract the annulment, wiped the smile from her face and raised her voice in anger.
“Brother!!!”
“Lysianthus. No matter that you are the Empress and my sister, I will accept no further interference.”
“Please at least tell us the reason. Only then can my sister and I understand you.”
Since the Spring Heavenly Festival, I couldn’t believe this situation. In the original story, Erion married Lily Stura, and though it wasn’t a love match, they had a mutually beneficial marriage.
And yet—an annulment?
Everything was proof that the original story had gone off the rails.
“I no longer want that kind of marriage. The young lady herself would be better off marrying someone who truly cherishes her rather than entering a loveless union.”
“You know this as well, Brother. As nobles—especially high-ranking nobles—the likelihood of a political marriage is far greater.”
No matter how much we spoke after that, Erion would not change his mind. In the end, both Lysianthus and I gave up trying to persuade him and told him to do as he pleased.
“Do whatever you want, Brother.”
When Estellin entered the Empress Palace, Luciano was on his way to the Imperial Palace.
“I greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“Welcome, Grand Duke.”
Luciano’s reason for coming to Khalid today was simple: to speak about the power of the sun.
“I didn’t expect you to visit me immediately after returning to the palace after so long.”
“There is something I must tell you urgently.”
“And what might that be?”
“The power of the sun has manifested.”
The impact of Luciano’s short, simple statement was immense. Khalid stared at him in silence, as if he could not believe what he had just heard.
“The power has manifested in the Grand Duke?”
“I have already had it confirmed by Cardinal Chris of the Helios Temple.”
“What in the world…?”
Yet he had no choice but to believe it. When Luciano removed the ring he was wearing, a yellow light seeped from his palm.
“This is the power of the sun….”
Khalid naturally stood and approached Luciano.
“I can’t control the power perfectly yet. There’s a risk of it going berserk, which is why I’m wearing the ring.”
A smile slowly formed at the corner of Khalid’s lips. It had been a long time since someone with the power of the sun had appeared—especially someone like Luciano, who belonged to the pro-imperial faction.
“It’s fortunate that the power manifested in you.”
Luciano didn’t understand Khalid’s reaction. Until now, most manifesters had been emperors or members of the imperial family. From Khalid’s perspective, the manifestation in a Grand Duke could have been seen as a threat to imperial authority.
“You’re not concerned?”
“Concerned about what?”
“The power was thought to manifest only among the Emperor and the imperial family. Though I share imperial blood, I am still a Grand Duke…”
“Don’t worry, Grand Duke. If it had manifested in someone else, I might have been concerned—but not in you.”
Khalid smiled as though the matter didn’t bother him at all.
“Dothae or the Marquis and the Empress Consort will be quite unsettled when they learn of this. Does the Grand Duchess know?”
“She does not yet.”
“Then very few people must know.”
“I believe it would be premature to reveal it.”
“Indeed. There’s no need to announce it until you can fully control the power. Until then, keep it hidden.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
After greeting the Emperor, Luciano exited the palace.
“Your Grace.”
“You’re a maid from the Empress Palace.”
One of Lysianthus’s maids approached him.
“Her Grace the Grand Duchess will be returning home after spending time with Her Majesty the Empress today. She asked that you return first.”
“My wife?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Luciano felt a twinge of bitterness at not being able to return with Estellin, but he nodded in understanding.
“Oh? Grand Duke Winfoste.”
Rebecca approached from the distance.
“I greet Your Highness.”
“Were you visiting His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You left so suddenly last time that I was surprised. I worried you might be ill.”
Rebecca spoke with concern.
“I’m quite well, Your Highness.”
“Are you returning to the ducal estate?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After exchanging farewells with Rebecca, Luciano returned to the ducal residence.
“What? Really??”
“I’m telling you, it’s true!!”
Lysianthus and I were taking a walk in the garden.
“The Princess and the Grand Duke were together?”
“Yes!! The maids said they saw it clearly!”
We heard several maids whispering among themselves.
“What do you think you’re doing here!”
The head maid of the Empress Palace scolded them sharply.
“Wait. Say that again.”
“Pardon?”
The maids hesitated, glancing at me.
They likely thought I was jealous after hearing that Luciano and Rebecca had been together.
“I won’t be angry. Tell me what you know.”
“Well… some passing maids said they saw His Grace the Grand Duke and Her Highness the Princess together.”
“Together?”
“Yes… they were seen from afar, so no one heard what they were talking about, but it was definitely the Grand Duke and the Princess.”
The maids trembled in fear.
“That’s enough. You may leave. And do not speak of this matter.”
“Yes!”
After the maids left, Lysianthus burst out angrily.
“What on earth is the Grand Duke doing?!”
“Sister, nothing’s been confirmed yet.”
“I knew it ever since the Empress Consort suggested the Grand Duke and the Princess dance together! It’s obvious the Princess has taken the Empress Consort’s side.”
If I knew nothing, I might have believed Lysianthus. But they were simply bound by the destiny the author had written. Rebecca wasn’t siding with the Empress Consort.
“That’s a hasty conclusion. We don’t know much about Princess Rebecca yet.”
Even so, Lysianthus’s anger didn’t seem to subside.
She continued speaking ill of Rebecca until after dinner. Only then was I able to leave the Empress Palace and return to the ducal residence.
‘That’s right… those two will eventually fall in love, and I’m nothing more than a passing extra.’
I had to think that way. Even if the original story had been twisted, this was still a world inside a novel. Before long, everything would return to how it was meant to be.
“Welcome back, Madam.”
“I’m tired. Prepare the bedroom.”
“Yes, Madam.”
After the maids went upstairs to prepare my room, Luciano emerged from his study.
“You’re back late, my lady.”
“I stayed late talking with my sister.”
Luciano stepped closer to me. Then I saw it—an orange light faintly swirling around his body, visible only to my eyes.
‘Is that the power of the sun…?’
It was my first time seeing it in person. It fascinated me—but knowing that this power had killed Estellin in the original story filled me with fear instead.
“My lady.”
As Luciano approached further, I quickly stepped back to distance myself from him.
“My lady. Why are you avoiding me?”
Luciano looked genuinely confused by my behavior.
“No… I’m just tired from coming home late. I’ll go rest first.”
As I hurried upstairs, Luciano stood still, watching me.
“Rest well, Madam.”
“Yes. You may leave, Dalia.”
After Dalia turned off the lights and left the bedroom, I lay down and fell asleep.
“My wife has changed….”
Back in his study, Luciano thought to himself. Lately, Estellin had changed—and not in a good way.
Before, she had been indifferent to him dancing with Rebecca. Now, she was outright avoiding him.
‘Could it be… because we’re going to divorce soon?’
Luciano felt a headache coming on. He was doing everything he could to prevent the divorce, yet Estellin was the one distancing herself, leaving him with no way to act.
‘It’ll be fine. My wife won’t leave me.’
Luciano forced himself to calm down.
It was the first time he had ever felt this way. Though things had not been good between him and Estellin at the beginning, those feelings had long since disappeared. Luciano needed Estellin.
He couldn’t even imagine the ducal house without her.
