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Chapter 10
“Safe travels.”
I stood outside and saw the two men off as they departed in their carriage. The moment it rolled out through the duke’s estate gates, I immediately threw away the fake smile I’d been forcing the entire time.
“Ugh! This is so infuriating!!”
When I suddenly shouted after behaving so quietly until now, all the servants standing nearby jumped in surprise. It was completely unlike the refined demeanor expected of Lady Cowett, but I was far too angry to care about appearances.
Grinding my teeth, I turned to the innocent servants and demanded,
“Who on earth was that man?”
One of the maids cautiously answered,
“That was Roger, the butler of Count Livingston, His Majesty’s Lord Chamberlain…”
Ah. The Emperor’s Lord Chamberlain?
My temper eased for the briefest moment—
“…Roger is Count Livingston’s butler.”
“What? The Count’s butler?”
“Yes…”
I blinked in disbelief.
The maid answered as though she herself had done something wrong, speaking with great caution.
Seriously? He’s not even the Lord Chamberlain—just the Lord Chamberlain’s butler—and he acts that arrogantly?
The sheer absurdity of it made me forget all about dignity and maintaining my act. Too furious to hold back, I stomped the ground repeatedly as if trying to punish the earth itself.
Oddly enough, every stomp left a deep dent in the ground.
What the…? Why is the ground here so soft?
It made moving around awkward, but that wasn’t the important part.
From this day forward, Roger officially became the second most obnoxious person I’d encountered in this novel.
That investigator was number three.
And naturally, the undisputed number one was that Emperor—the one who still hadn’t even bothered to show his face.
Please never appear in front of me for the rest of my life!
Unfortunately, my heartfelt wish went unanswered.
A few days later, a letter from the Emperor arrived for Aileen Cowett.
It was an invitation ordering her to visit the Imperial Palace in several days.
He claimed to be worried about his fiancée, yet he never once came to see her himself—and now he suddenly sends her an invitation for afternoon tea?
I could see right through his intentions, and I couldn’t help sighing.
The servants, however, were simply delighted that an invitation from the Emperor had arrived.
Being engaged to the Emperor was an extraordinary honor, the greatest glory a noble family could hope for.
But as someone who knew the original novel, I couldn’t share their excitement.
Aileen would soon be discarded from the position of imperial fiancée.
Both the engagement and its eventual cancellation were nothing more than the Emperor’s political whims.
The House of Cowett was merely one of his countless pawns, dancing in the palm of his hand.
Even so, he was undeniably the supreme ruler of the Empire.
There was no legitimate reason to refuse his invitation.
On the appointed day, I was soaked in a hot bath from early morning.
Four maids worked together to scrub every inch of my body until my skin practically shone.
After drying me off, they generously coated me from head to toe with camellia-scented oil.
My hair received the same treatment.
Next came a layer of fine face powder, and pearl ornaments were woven into my hair before it was elegantly gathered over one shoulder.
To match my hair color, they chose a pale pink dress that was almost the same shade as my skin.
Then they adorned me with sparkling diamond earrings, a necklace, and bracelets.
Wow…
People really weren’t kidding when they said clothes make the person.
Standing before the full-length mirror, I couldn’t help but gasp.
Aileen, dressed to perfection, was breathtakingly beautiful.
Even I found myself staring in awe.
“My lady, you look absolutely stunning.”
“A masterpiece… truly a masterpiece.”
The maids proudly admired the fruits of their hard work.
Wiping the sweat from their foreheads with the backs of their hands, they smiled with complete satisfaction.
Compared to the day Roger had visited the estate, I was dressed up at least ten times more extravagantly.
Like that, I boarded the carriage bound for the Imperial Palace.
As expected, the Imperial Palace was several times larger than the duke’s estate.
The magnificent ivory buildings were decorated with intricate mint-colored trim around every window, while towering spires pierced toward the heavens.
The architecture was dazzling in both design and color.
Everything was immaculate as well—not a speck of dust in sight.
Seeing how perfectly maintained it was made it obvious just how hard the palace staff must have been worked.
Clatter… clatter…
Our carriage glided smoothly along the road.
The streets were so well paved that there wasn’t the slightest bump.
On roads like these, I felt as though I could ride forever without getting carriage sickness.
Eventually, the carriage came to a stop in front of the palace.
After stepping down, I was escorted by a palace attendant toward the Emperor’s reception room.
The attendant leading me halted before a pair of massive white doors.
Knock. Knock.
“Your Majesty, Lady Cowett has arrived.”
“Let her enter.”
The gleaming white doors swung open.
Inside was an elegant chamber with one entire wall made of enormous windows.
A single solid table stood in the center, flanked by two luxurious sofas large enough to lie down on.
The Emperor was already seated there, waiting.
“I greet the Sun of the Empire.”
“Come closer.”
Without even standing, he simply spread his arms toward me.
The gesture struck me as unbearably arrogant.
Perhaps the citizens of the Empire thought nothing of it.
After all, they worshipped the Emperor.
But not me.
I came from a democratic society.
Does this guy not even know the concept of noblesse oblige?
This is exactly why I’m on the Grand Duke’s side instead of the Emperor’s.
Having grown up where equality was the norm, I found it nearly impossible to tolerate such overwhelming arrogance.
So I deliberately kept my head lowered.
Then, without warning, the Emperor walked over, gently grasped my chin, and lifted my face.
For an instant, it felt as though a camera flash had exploded before my eyes.
The man standing before me shone as brilliantly as if the legendary city of El Dorado had been forged into human form.
His wavy golden hair was smooth and luxurious like silk.
If someone had condensed the very essence of the deep blue sea into gemstones, they would look exactly like his eyes.
His nose was so high and sharply defined that from the side it looked like a mountain ridge.
Every feature of his face was as flawless as a sculpted masterpiece.
Wow… so this is the male lead.
His looks really are unbelievable!
No wonder the heroine eventually fell in love with him despite his rotten personality.
As I stared blankly at his face, the living statue slowly smiled.
“My lady.”
“Y-Yes… Your Majesty.”
His voice was gentle.
I had been so mesmerized that I answered a beat too late.
Notably, he addressed me as “my lady” rather than “Aileen.”
That alone proved how formal and distant our relationship truly was.
“It’s good to see you again. Have you been well?”
The Emperor asked in a tone overflowing with fake concern.
“Thanks to Your Majesty’s gracious care.”
You mean after pretending to investigate my kidnapping and then doing absolutely nothing?
“I heard you were ill. I was quite worried. Are you feeling better now?”
“I’ve recovered thanks to Your Majesty’s concern.”
If you were really that worried, you could’ve come to visit me once.
With every sentence I spoke aloud, I cursed him silently in my heart.
“I’m relieved to hear that.”
The Emperor nodded meaningfully.
Then, a moment later, he casually dropped a bombshell.
“In that case, you’ll be able to spend the entire day with me today.”
“Pardon? The… entire day?”
What?! Is this guy insane?!
I nearly screamed and wanted to grab my own hair in despair.
Of course, I couldn’t let those true feelings show.
Instead, I forced my eyes into a cheerful smile.
“Oh my… I’d be delighted.”
“Are you really that happy?”
As I clasped my hands together and squeezed out the fakest smile imaginable, the Emperor threw back his head and laughed heartily.
Does he actually believe I’m happy?
I smiled while grinding my teeth.
He’d planned this from the very beginning.
He had already arranged an entire date schedule with Aileen.
First lunch, then an opera performance, followed by dessert before parting ways.
He’d called it an invitation for tea, but it had secretly been a full-fledged date.
I had no idea what game he was playing.
“This way, please.”
Accompanied by the Emperor, I followed the attendant into the dining hall.
A magnificent crystal chandelier glittered overhead.
Beneath it stretched an enormous dining table covered with dozens of exquisite dishes.
It was a feast unlike anything I had ever tasted—not even in my previous life.
Wow…
So this is what the Emperor’s table looks like!
My mouth fell open in amazement.
My mouth watered so much I nearly drooled.
Back at the Grand Duke’s country estate, our meals focused on vegetables and balanced nutrition.
At the duke’s residence, there had been a generous variety of fine meats worthy of noble dining.
But the Imperial Palace…
This was a banquet of every delicacy imaginable.
One bite felt as though it contained enough nourishment to revive a Tyrannosaurus that had collapsed from heatstroke.
And the flavor…
“This chef seriously deserves an award!”
Gripping my fork tightly, I slammed my hand onto the table.
I’d only meant to think it—but somehow the words slipped right out of my mouth.
“My lady?”
Turning my head, I found the Emperor staring at me with a thoroughly bewildered expression.
