“World peace.”
At those words, the brother and sister exchanged a look, their faces flat as whatever anticipation they had evaporated.
“Is that so?”
“You certainly have grand ambitions, Miss Lia.”
“Ambitions are supposed to be grand.”
“Fair enough.”
When Dalia answered calmly, Annie nodded in agreement.
Ryan merely smiled into his tea, watching their shared rhythm.
Inside Dalia’s mind, however, matters were far more complicated.
The only person who knew she could see the future in her dreams was her brother.
That was why she had shared only half the truth with the Herdlan siblings.
After all, if the end of the world were averted, would world peace not follow naturally?
Her true objective in coming to the Empire was simple and singular:
Prevent the world’s ruin by marrying off the Emperor.
On top of that, she intended to investigate why his marriage was an essential condition for averting the apocalypse in the first place.
Her strategy to get him married was brief and decisive.
First goal: build an amicable rapport with him.
Who would listen to a stranger barging in and demanding they get married?
Second goal: uncover what traits made up his ideal woman, then orchestrate a natural encounter between him and someone who fit the bill.
Once a handsome man meets a beautiful woman, nature handles the rest; a spark of love ignites on its own.
Novels always described it as though sparks genuinely flew between their eyes.
That was what dozens of romance novels had taught her.
Suddenly, Dalia’s eyes fell upon Lemon, who was tucked away in a corner nibbling absently on a piece of fruit.
When their gazes met, Lemon let out a chirping protest and cocked his head, as if demanding to know why she was staring at him.
‘Lemon… right, that garden.’
At first glance, it had seemed like a secluded favorite of the Emperor, so she decided she would lie in wait there.
A wide smile spread across Dalia’s lips, thoroughly pleased with her foolproof scheme.
She did not notice Annie catching sight of that grin and shaking her head, thinking to herself:
‘It looks like the princess is plotting something bizarre again.’
Dalia walked with her head tilted toward the sky, trailing the flutter of Lemon’s wings, when she abruptly bumped into someone.
“Ah!”
It was a petite girl whose height barely reached her waist, her brown hair neatly braided.
With amber eyes swimming with tears, the girl quickly wiped them away and bowed in an apology.
“I-I am so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going!”
“It’s quite alright. I was looking up at the sky myself. It was my fault.”
The girl’s eyes went wide in disbelief, her mouth parting slightly.
A noble lady as lovely as a fairy, apologizing to a maid like her?
“My Lady, I am only a maid in the Imperial Palace. Please, you must not apologize. It was entirely my fault.”
She bowed her head, visibly flustered.
Dalia bent her knees until her gaze leveled with those amber eyes.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“What is your name?”
“Moni.”
“That is a lovely name. Are you busy right now?”
“Um… no.”
Moni’s eyes darted around for a moment before she shook her head.
Dalia took her hand and led her over to the shade of a large tree.
When Dalia unceremoniously sat down right on the ground, Moni’s eyes went round once more.
“My Lady, if you sit like that, your dress will be ruined!”
“It’s fine, really. Will you sit with me?”
Dalia patted the grass beside her, and Moni gingerly settled down next to her.
“Would you like this?”
Dalia produced a piece of candy from her dress pocket and held it out.
Moni’s eyes sparkled.
“May I… may I really have it?”
“Yes. Consider it my apology gift.”
“You really don’t have to…”
Moni’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as she carefully took the candy.
She fiddled with the wrapper for a second, then clasped it tight in both hands as if it were a rare treasure.
“Aren’t you going to eat it?”
“I want to save it.”
Dalia looked at her with mild surprise.
She was a maid serving in the Imperial Palace, after all.
Could a single sweet truly make her hesitate like this?
As if reading her thoughts, Moni explained self-consciously,
“I am only a trainee maid. I came from an orphanage in the capital. So… I don’t get to have sweets like this very often.”
“I see.”
Dalia was inwardly taken aback, but she merely nodded, keeping her expression calm.
Without realizing it, she had fallen into the trap of prejudice.
She had assumed that the Imperial Palace would only ever select its servants from vetted family lines.
Moni continued,
“Originally, people who grew up in orphanages weren’t allowed to enter the palace at all. But after His Majesty the Emperor ascended the throne, we were given this chance. I want to work as hard as I can for the Emperor who gave us this opportunity.”
Her eyes were filled with sincere reverence for the sovereign.
In Dalia’s mind, the sight overlapped with Cole’s face.
Though he was now her sworn escort knight after catching the eye of the kingdom’s knight commander, he had started as a simple palace servant.
‘I will do my very best in everything for Her Majesty the Queen, who gave me the chance to work in the palace.’
Those words had hung on Cole’s lips almost every single day when they were children.
“His Majesty the Emperor seems to be a kind person.”
“Yes, he is! Our Emperor is truly wonderful! But… where did you come from, My Lady?”
“I came from the Wyvern Kingdom.”
“Did you come to see the Foundation Day festival?”
Her tension melted away, Moni asked again, her eyes bright with curiosity.
“Yes.”
Finding the girl endearing, Dalia gave her a warm smile.
“Is this your first time seeing the Foundation Day festival?”
“It is. And this is a secret, but truthfully… this is also my first time leaving home.”
Moni’s eyes widened at the shared secret, and she clutched her hands tightly.
“I’ll keep it a secret! And since it’s your first Foundation Day, you’re going to have so much fun. I look forward to it every single year, to be honest. On that day, His Majesty hands out food to the poor. And this candy—the first time I ever tasted it was at last year’s festival. I was wondering if I’d get to have one again this year, but since you gave me one today, it must be my lucky day.”
Moni offered a pure, innocent smile.
“If it’s your lucky day, why were you crying?”
Dalia asked gently, brushing Moni’s brown bangs aside.
At that, Moni cautiously bared her heart, sorrow creeping over her features.
“To tell the truth… I’m used to people looking down on me because I’m from an orphanage, so that doesn't hurt me.”
“It’s just that the person I serve suffered because of me, and that’s what breaks my heart. I’m nobody important. If it were just me, it would have blown over quietly… it would have ended quickly. But he is so unimaginably kind.”
“I see. Your devotion to the person you serve is truly lovely.”
“No, it isn’t like that…”
The girl hung her head, burdened by guilt.
Dalia wished there was some way she could help.
Yet listening to the story, she knew it lay beyond her reach.
“Moni.”
“Yes?”
Moni raised her head with a fragile expression.
“I will bring you a sweet out here every day at this exact hour. Until the Foundation Day festival arrives, I’ll be your good luck.”
It was the best comfort Dalia could devise after turning over every thought for this young girl.
Moni’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“No, My Lady, you couldn’t…”
“So cheer up.”
“Ah…”
Tears welled in the child’s eyes once more.
“Thank you, My Lady…”
Dalia smiled softly and patted Moni’s head with tender care.
Walking down the corridor, Gray’s eyes caught sight of a sweep of pink blooms outside the window.
Ranging from deep rose to delicate blush, flowers of harmonious shades bloomed in abundance.
“Were there always this many pink flowers in the garden?”
“Is it not spring, Sire? And spring is pink.”
Orion chimed in briskly from behind him.
“Fair enough.”
Just as he turned his gaze from the blossoms, another patch of pink caught his eye.
The trees had yet to don their lush green foliage,
yet that vivid splash of pink seemed no different from the spring blooms he had looked at moments before.
The only difference was that it was larger… and moving.
There sat the Lady of the Pink Flower Field beneath the shade of a tree, chattering and laughing with a young maid.
She seemed entirely accustomed to sitting on the ground, plopping herself down on the bare earth without so much as a cloth beneath her.
If anyone saw her, they would take her for a commoner girl rather than a noble lady.
They said she hailed from a cadet branch of the family…
Had she truly been raised that freely?
While he wondered what on earth they were discussing, the Lady of the Pink Flower Field burst into innocent laughter alongside the little maid.
She was getting on his nerves.
She was a woman who unnerved him in the strangest way.
