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Chapter – 24
The Empress carefully examined the invitations the three young ladies had prepared, her eyes full of amusement.
Grace’s handwriting was calm and steady, Selena’s was dignified and proud—just like her personality—and Reina’s was bright and lively. They say handwriting reflects the person.
In truth, there was no need to even look at Reina’s. What Crown Prince Caesar needed was not the daughter of House Regifield. What he needed was the daughter of a family that could become his strength. That was why Selena or Grace mattered—young ladies from houses that had not yet firmly chosen a side.
For that reason, Viviana’s gaze lingered a little longer on the invitation Grace had brought.
A calm, quiet woman would be preferable. She likely wouldn’t show much interest in what Caesar or I do.
Having reached that conclusion, Viviana smiled gently and lifted her head.
“Thank you for preparing everything so diligently. Thanks to you, my workload has been greatly reduced.”
“It’s nothing at all.”
Grace replied calmly, meeting Viviana’s gaze.
“And thanks to Lady Grace’s idea, we’re able to hold a much more meaningful event, aren’t we? The high-ranking nobles willingly offered up their treasured possessions.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I believe that’s because Your Majesty prepared everything so well.”
“My goodness. You speak so beautifully.”
Grace’s cheeks flushed red. After that, Viviana asked questions and gave praise equally to Selena and Reina as well. For a brief moment, Viviana’s gaze rested on Reina.
I hear she’s been getting along well with Hayson lately.
If that was the case, there was no need to pay Reina any further attention. She had distanced herself from Caesar and was associating with Hayson, someone easy to manipulate.
Hayson was a card that could be discarded at any time. Even if he was her nephew, could he really be more important than the greater cause? Viviana withdrew her gaze from Reina.
Everything in the world was flowing according to its natural order. And within that order was the destined connection between Caesar and Grace.
Still, when human will intervenes, that flow only grows stronger.
“Lady Grace, since the bazaar was your idea, would you be willing to stay behind and help me?”
Grace hesitated. Selena nudged her in the side. Selena believed this event was a perfect opportunity to solidify Grace’s position. After glancing at Grace, Selena answered on her behalf.
“If I may answer for her, Your Majesty the Empress. Grace seems overwhelmed by the honor. Of course, she will help.”
“That’s very kind of you. It won’t be anything too difficult. It’s just sorting through the treasured items sent by each household. I wanted to borrow Lady Grace’s discerning eye. Among the items sent for the bazaar, there seem to be a few suitable for a charity auction. We’ll simply look over them together.”
“I-I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, but I’ll do my best. Still, I’m not sure I can do it alone. Selena and Reina—”
“Well, I don’t think it’s such a difficult task that it would require more than one person, Lady Grace. Please help me without burdening too many others.”
When the Empress herself asked for help, how could anyone refuse? Grace carefully nodded.
“Yes. I will do so, Your Majesty.”
Hearing that, Reina nodded to herself internally.
Finally.
This was the incident that would tie Grace and Caesar together. Grace would stay behind to help Viviana and end up returning late. Caesar would then escort her home—and along the way, a small incident would occur.
The carriage would break down.
Such a romance-novel-like development.
Thanks to that, they would get out of the broken carriage, spend some time together, grow closer, and develop feelings.
Now Caesar will finally stop paying attention to me.
When something more interesting appears, fleeting connections like Reina are easily forgotten—no matter how they ended. This was truly a good thing.
Reina linked arms with Selena.
“Then we’ll head back first, Selena.”
No need to interfere with someone else’s romance.
Viviana smiled in satisfaction.
According to the original story, Caesar and Grace should definitely be together by now.
And yet—
Why are you here at this hour?
I stared blankly at Caesar, unable to believe he was standing right in front of me.
It was time for Grace to be heading home, but Caesar had come to the Regifield estate instead. Why? This was supposed to be the trigger for the romance. Ah—had he already escorted Grace home? That was possible. The novel never clearly described how long they spent together due to the carriage breaking down.
That must be it.
…Right?
Please.
“Why… why are you here?”
Caesar frowned slightly and replied in a low voice.
“…Didn’t I just say it? I came on an errand for Senior Rochester. He asked me to bring more clothes for him to change into.”
“What about my brother…?”
“There was a clash between mercenary groups in the streets, so he went to provide support.”
“…I see. But what about Grace? She stayed alone at the palace today. Who escorted Grace—ah, has Grace already gone home?”
Unable to contain my frustration, I asked. Caesar gave a strangely cold smile.
“Hayson likely went.”
Why Hayson…? If anything, Hayson should have come here instead. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Something was wrong. I had a bad feeling.
“Hayson is a knight under my mother’s command, so it seemed more appropriate for him to handle my mother’s errand than for me.”
Caesar said something cryptic. Hayson was a knight employed by Her Majesty Viviana? Well, he was her nephew, so it wasn’t strange for them to be close. That was only natural. But why did he say it in such a loaded way?
“The world is not as honest or as warm as you might think, Lady Reina.”
“What do you mean—”
“This is a concern I raise as a friend, so please listen carefully. You should not make such an important decision as marriage too lightly.”
Well… that wasn’t wrong.
I was meeting Hayson with good feelings, and if things went well, I thought marriage could be possible—but that didn’t mean I was definitely going to marry him. How many things need to be considered before marriage? At the very least, you need to spend all four seasons together. What if he turns into a lunatic every summer? Or a weirdo in winter? And then there’s finances, values, family dynamics—heck, even views on child-rearing.
All it meant was that since I was currently seeing him, Hayson was the closest person to a potential marriage partner right now. It wasn’t something Caesar needed to be worrying about. Especially since you were the one I rejected as a “friend candidate.” Shouldn’t you at least pretend not to care about my love life?
And yet—
May I ask why you’re looking at me like I’m a cheating girlfriend?
That night.
Caesar let out a long sigh.
He didn’t want to return to the palace that day. Using emergency duty as an excuse, he decided to spend the night at the knights’ dormitory. If he went back to the palace, he would inevitably have to face someone he didn’t want to see. And if he saw that face, he felt he might end up saying something he shouldn’t.
Lying on the hard bed, Caesar covered his eyes with his arm. The mental exhaustion weighed heavier than the physical.
The conversation he’d had with Hayson that afternoon kept replaying in his mind.
“…I heard you’ve been seeing a young lady lately. Was your date Lady Regifield?”
“Ah! Yes. But please keep this a secret from Sir Regifield. As you know, if this got out… I might end up floating down the river as a corpse by tomorrow morning.”
“That’s certainly possible. How did you come to know Lady Regifield? Recently, my mother—”
“Right. You already knew? It was practically Her Majesty Viviana who introduced Reina to me. She said I was of marriageable age and told me to keep an eye on Reina.”
