Chapter 68
#068. How to Make Her Return to the Capital
"Imprisoning me here won't change anything."
The cool, firm voice abruptly transported the Emperor back to that day over a decade ago.
To the time when the Princess, who always had a bright smile beside the Grand Duke, looked at him with an expression as blank as a portrait.
"Well, I disagree with the Princess."
"Grand Duchess Bikander, please."
The Princess's eyes, as she cut off the Emperor's words as he shrugged leisurely, were still vivid.
The Emperor blinked for a moment. Although it was a painting, the cool dignity that overwhelmed the viewer was exactly the Princess he had coveted.
…But she was now a dead person, and even her great spirit was useless before the Emperor's power.
This was the Imperial Palace, and he was the eternal Monarch of this empire.
The Emperor, alternating between past and present, smiled generously. So, at that time, the Emperor subtly broached the subject as if bestowing generosity.
"If you want to deny your origin so much, I can give you another status. Princess."
At that time, the Emperor could have given her everything if only the Princess had said she would accept. His heart throbbed with anticipation. If only the word "yes" would come from between her slightly curved lips…
"...If you so desire to recall the old glory of Lowell, let me tell you just one thing as well."
Her cool voice rang out clearly like a beautiful song.
"Lowell has many interesting legends. Among them, the most mysterious is the story of the person who made a sound with a noble voice, filled with sincerity. Aren't you curious? What happens if you sing with sincerity?"
Knock, knock-.
The Emperor, awakened from his memories by the sound of knocking from beyond the bedroom, distorted his face. Even if it was a memory of her rejecting him, it was a memory of the woman he had so desired.
The Emperor, who had been angry enough to leave no one unscathed, soon let out a sigh.
Come to think of it, there were few people who would knock on the Emperor's bedroom door at this hour.
The Emperor roughly draped a curtain over the portrait. He looked regretfully at the place where the Princess had hidden her figure, then strode towards the door.
And when he opened the door.
"...Empress. What brings you here at this hour?"
The Emperor's low voice was laced with annoyance. But the Empress, with a sorrowful face, looked inside the bedroom and said.
"Your Majesty, unable to bear the long night and as a mother who hasn't seen her daughter for days, I rushed here in a frenzy. I heard the Princess has arrived."
"You're too late, Empress. Reina has already returned to her palace long ago."
The Emperor said bluntly. By now, the Empress should have turned back. But the Empress smiled like a girl and stepped into the Emperor's bedroom.
The Emperor sharply raised his eyebrows at her audacity in invading his space without permission.
"The night road is dark. Surely you wouldn't send me back like this, would you?"
The Emperor's brow furrowed at the seductive voice. With his momentum somewhat subdued, the Empress covered her mouth and smiled softly.
.
.
.
"They say a magician who can cast preservation magic entered His Majesty's bedroom."
Late at night, the Empress, recalling the maid's words, slowly opened her eyes. After confirming that regular, heavy breathing was coming from beside her, the Empress raised her upper body.
It must be there. The Empress, with keen eyes, scanned one side of the bedroom and wore a chilling smile.
The Empress knew exactly what was in the deepest part of the bedroom, deep inside.
"Never… Never come in here again."
The Emperor's still-angry roar came to mind. That place, which she had entered ignorantly when she had just become Empress, was thickly covered with the Emperor's obsession.
A blonde woman whose face she couldn't even see properly because of the curtain.
Later, news that Grand Duke Bikander had been killed in action swept across the empire. It was only when his wife, the Grand Duchess, came to the Imperial Palace to take responsibility that the Empress realized that the woman in the painting was the Grand Duchess.
Hmph.
The Empress looked down at the Emperor with cold eyes. It was fortunate that the Crown Prince and the Princess had inherited her blood. At least they wouldn't foolishly cling to the past like this.
The Empress thought of her two children.
The Princess, who had risen to the flower of high society by using that lacking Olivia to her advantage, and the dignified Crown Prince, who even kept commoners by his side for the sake of the empire's prosperity.
She smiled contentedly again and lay down on the bed.
She had to meet the Princess tomorrow. Her proud bloodline would surely bring her an interesting story and entertain her.
In the dark night, the cold moonlight cut through the darkness and illuminated the Empress's face. And soon, clouds enveloped the moon.
As if trying to prevent even a single ray of light from reaching the Empress.
* * *
"Have you arrived, Your Highness?"
As soon as the Princess got out of the carriage, the Head Maid and her subordinate maids, who had been standing in attendance, bowed their heads. The Princess scanned her palace with sharp eyes.
The Imperial Princess Palace, which she had returned to after a long time, was exactly to her elegant taste. As she entered the palace, the Princess's eyes softened at the scent of roses that wafted over her.
The relief of escaping from that rural Katanta Viscount's residence was only temporary.
"Did you deliver the news to the Etel family?"
"Yes. I sent a Knight a little while ago."
Baroness Luhan bowed her head and answered the Princess's low question.
"Then, let's receive the report on the Summer Ball until Lady Etel arrives."
But when the report actually began in the drawing room, the Princess couldn't say a word.
"There's nothing right!"
There was no basic plan for the concept of the ball, or even where to hold the venue. Even the guest list was so full of holes!
Olivia Madelaine's name, which she thought would definitely be on the list of possible attendees, was missing. When she asked what had happened, the Head Maid bowed her head with a flustered expression.
"...Lady Etel says that there has been no reply yet."
Ha. The Princess let out a hollow breath as if she was dumbfounded. The Princess's face turned red with anger.
This was the first time she had received such a messy report.
She was already worried that Maria Etel was preparing the ball, but her worries didn't end up being unfounded!
It was then. A maid, who must have come to announce the arrival of Lady Etel, entered the drawing room. The Head Maid hurriedly asked the maid, as if she was finally relieved.
"Where is Lady Etel, and why are you coming in alone?"
"That, well..."
The Princess flared up at the maid's helpless appearance.
"Why can't you answer when I ask where the Lady is!"
"She said it's late now, so she'll come to the Imperial Palace tomorrow morning..."
The startled maid rattled off. It wasn't just the Head Maid and Baroness Luhan who were embarrassed by that answer.
The Princess's eyes widened as if all her energy had drained away. The drawing room, where silence continued, had a precarious atmosphere like the eye of a storm.
Then, the Princess muttered.
"...I should tell my brother as well. He should know how terrible his new fiancée is."
The guest list in the Princess's hand was crumpled mercilessly. The Princess's eyes gleamed fiercely as she looked at the document.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace.
Taking advantage of the quietness of the night, a servant stealthily moved his position. And he hurriedly took out a piece of paper from his pocket and began to scribble something on it.
It would take only a few hours for this piece of paper to be delivered to Grand Duke Bikander's Residence in the capital.
* * *
It was an early morning. Winster entered the drawing room with an excited face.
"I won the bet. You haven't forgotten the bet that the Emperor doesn't know who owns the White Crystal Mine, have you?"
Winster shook a piece of paper as he laughed cheerfully.
It said that the meeting between the Emperor and the Princess had ended without incident, as usual.
Sobel shrugged as if it was absurd.
"You're kidding me. We never made such a bet."
"I'm telling you now. Give me the money, Sobel."
"Get out of here to the Territory of Vikander right now."
Winster grumbled that it was too much.
Regardless, Sobel looked at the invitation brought by the Imperial Palace messenger.
In addition to the note he had secretly received in the early morning, this invitation, which arrived at the Grand Duke's Residence every day, contained news about the Summer Ball.
Even compared to the previous, the one before that, and the invitations that had come before, not a single word had changed.
Sobel, after confirming the invitation that someone would gratefully receive, tore it up without hesitation.
"Hey, but the Imperial Family's seal is stamped on it."
"His Highness said that there's no need to report about the Summer Ball. Since it won't be delivered anyway, it's more like protecting the Imperial Family's security."
He didn't know how many he had received already. As he looked at the tiresome invitations, Sobel suddenly looked at the gate of the mansion in the distance.
"...By the way, he's quite persistent."
"Ah, really. He must have followed me. Jade Madeleine."
Winster muttered as if it was a hassle.
Jade Madeleine, whose chilling silver hair was noticeable even from afar, had been standing in front of the gate of this Grand Duke Vikander's Residence for several days.
He had already tried to enter the gate of the Grand Duke's Residence several times, and now he was standing there protesting in front of the solid and sturdy gate.
But everyone at the Grand Duke's Residence treated him as if he didn't exist, without a shred of sympathy. They remembered what the young lady was like when she first came here.
"You should have been good to her when you had the chance."
Sobel said indifferently.
It was then.
Knock, knock-. A servant entered with a knock.
"A letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace."
Sobel, looking at the letter on the tray, shook his head. Winster grinned at his disgusted expression.
"Looks like the Imperial Palace is just as persistent."
He was about to check the invitation as usual and tear it up, but Sobel's face hardened slightly as he looked at this one.
"What's wrong?"
Winster nudged Sobel's shoulder, sensing something unusual. Sobel hummed, then mechanically read a passage from the invitation.
"The Heferti Delegation will also be attending the Summer Ball."
Winster's face also hardened. The Grand Duke had previously announced his intention to officially participate in the Nobility Council, starting with negotiations with Heferti.
"...Someone's put some thought into this. What should we do?"
"What do you mean, 'What should we do?' Run as fast as you can and report directly to him. Winster Calter."
Sobel indifferently closed the invitation again and tossed it into Winster's arms. Winster frowned.
"Haven't I been going back and forth between the Territory of Vikander and the islands non-stop?"
"Oh, and this too."
Ignoring him, Sobel handed over a document envelope from one side of the drawing room and added solemnly.
"A letter from Duke Madeleine's Residence. Deliver it to Lady Olivia perfectly."
"Ugh."
Winster, who had been shaking his head and making a face at the mention of Madeleine's Residence, changed his expression because of what followed.
"Oh, and there's also a letter for 'Liv Green'."
Winster snatched the envelope, his smile already gone.
Sobel, watching him, recalled what the maid from Madeleine's Residence had said.
"Please be sure to deliver this to our Lady Olivia. It's a letter she's been really waiting for. If you tell her it's a letter from Liv Green, she'll be so happy."
'Liv Green', discovered in the words she had repeatedly asked to ensure the letter was delivered.
Sobel smiled faintly.
Lady Olivia and His Highness the Grand Duke. No matter how destined they were, no one would have guessed it would be this much.
* * *
"I have confirmed that a Knight is leaving the Grand Duke's Residence, Your Highness. The Knight who left is Lord Winster Calter, a close aide of the Grand Duke."
The Crown Prince's reception room.
Leopold, leaning languidly on the sofa, raised the corner of his mouth slightly at the Knight's report. Then he looked at Princess Reina, who was sitting across from him.
Reina, who had come to him from the morning and scolded him fiercely, pouted.
"Did you hear that? So, put your worries aside and go prepare for the Tea Party. Shouldn't you go and check on it yourself?"
Watching his sister nod calmly, Leopold pressed his temple with his finger.
He already had a mountain of busy work. And on top of that, he had to worry about the Summer Ball.
Maria hadn't handled anything properly since he had said she was doing well. Leopold swallowed a sigh as he thought of Maria.
And he recalled the decision he had made as soon as Reina had arrived.
"We just need to make it so the Grand Duke can't help but come. For example... yes, we can present negotiations with Heferti as a card."
Of course, some unavoidable annoyances had arisen as well.
"Are you really planning to invite the Heferti Delegation to the Summer Ball?"
If only he didn't have that stiff face of someone who had urgently requested an audience.
Conrad Madeleine.
He belonged to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he had rushed over as soon as he had heard the news.
"What could be the problem? It's my party, no, my sister's party. And the guests are from the defeated nation of Heferti."
"But even if they are a defeated nation, Heferti is another country. To invite a delegation from another country when even the rough schedule for the Summer Ball hasn't been released yet...!"
Conrad's eyes narrowed at the Crown Prince's indifferent words. The presence of people from other countries meant that it had to be treated differently from a normal Summer Ball. But before Conrad could finish speaking, Count Hagis interjected.
"It will take about five days for a response from the Grand Duke's Residence regarding the Lady Olivia and the Grand Duke's attendance. In the meantime, Junior Duke Madeleine, please contact Heferti with the proper procedures. I have already contacted the Minister of Foreign Affairs."
"Since it's been a while since we've seen Lady Olivia, prepare so that we can show her the utmost courtesy regarding her attendance."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Leopold rose from his seat as if the matter was over. Conrad, who had been watching him, clenched his teeth.
Conrad couldn't tell if the discomfort swirling in his heart was because of Heferti or because of the presence of Olivia, whom he hadn't heard from in a long time.
Before Conrad could sort out his thoughts, the Crown Prince left the reception room first. Count Hagis, who was following behind him, glanced at Conrad.
"...Lady Madeleine is said to have followed the person who left to deliver the news."
As he watched Count Hagis leave as if his business was done, a heavy weight settled in Conrad's heart.
When had Jade returned to the island after being gone for several days? If she had left for Vikander again, had she really not seen Olivia all this time?
"Brother."
Conrad suddenly raised his head at the voice that seemed to echo in his ear like an illusion. And without realizing it, he looked around.
But there was no one there.
It was only natural.
This naturalness felt terribly unfamiliar. There seemed to be no way to soothe the emptiness.
Conrad bit his lip without realizing it. His heart was beating anxiously.
