We stayed at the Spring Palace as before.
Although I was still assigned the same bedroom as before, I changed it to share the same bedroom, saying that I didn't want to be apart from him even for a moment.
The palace was teeming with the Emperor's men, so there was no way Perdes could be left alone.
After finishing preparing for bed, I was about to go to sleep when the Emperor's attendant came to visit me.
“His Majesty the Emperor has expressed his desire to have breakfast with you two tomorrow morning.”
I knew I had to meet the Emperor tomorrow, but I didn't expect to see him first thing in the morning breeze.
And on top of that, I have to eat face-to-face with the Emperor.
Just thinking about it makes me sick.
I had to forcefully press the corners of my lips to keep my expression from distorting for a moment.
“Please tell him that I will gladly accept it.”
I couldn't avoid it even if I wanted to, and since I had to face it anyway, I accepted it because it was better to just deal with it quickly.
Not long after the sun rose, the maids came rushing in.
It was to prepare for breakfast with the Emperor.
Usually, when going to see the Emperor, you dress up extravagantly to the point of formality, but this time it wasn't like that.
As the second Prince, Chernosser, had crossed a river of no return after an unfortunate incident, it was polite to refrain from wearing flashy attire for the time being as a sign of respect.
Thanks to this, I no longer had to tighten my waist with a corset, and I also didn't have to wear unnecessary, flashy accessories.
Besides, when a member of the royal family dies, they tend to refrain from grand events like weddings for three months, so naturally, my wedding with Perdes will be postponed.
“I'm thinking of having your wedding early next month. What do you think?”
I thought it would be postponed, but I was shocked when the Emperor said something like that.
I wonder how he could say something like that when his own son died, not someone else's.
On the one hand, I thought it was possible because he was the Emperor.
Yes, it was possible, since the Emperor was the one who killed Chernosser.
The already uncomfortable breakfast table became even more uncomfortable.
“...”
I wiped my mouth with a napkin and then drank some water to moisten my dry lips.
Perdes also spoke to the Emperor with a bewildered expression.
“I am sorry, Your Majesty. It has not been long since my older brother passed away from an unfortunate accident, and I do not think it is appropriate to hold a wedding.”
“Yeah. I was really worried about that too.”
The Emperor answered with a sad face.
“I want to take the time to mourn Chernosser, who couldn’t even close his eyes properly.”
It was really funny to hear the person who killed Chernosser say something like that.
“One thing that bothered me was that the position of Duke Leopold had been vacant for three years.”
It's only been three years since my father passed away.
Maybe it was because I was repeating the same life over and over again, but it felt a little distant.
“Duke Leopold is not just a Duke, he is the sword and pillar of the empire. I too relied a lot on Duke Leopold while I was alive.”
I don't know if the Emperor relied much on my father, but he indeed called him often.
“It will be the same for everyone else. In particular, the vassals of the Duke’s family and the people of the Duke’s territory will want a Duke to be appointed as soon as possible. A group without a leader will end up disorganized and eventually fall apart.”
“I really appreciate your concern, but I’m okay for now.”
I answered.
“Because the vassals are doing their jobs so well that the Duke’s absence is not felt.”
“But wouldn’t it be more stable if there was a headmaster?”
“Of course that is true, but I think that pushing ahead blindly, ignoring rules and customs, will only provoke a backlash from people.”
“I also think the same as Young Lady Leopold.”
When Perdes agreed with my opinion, the Emperor glared at him with raised eyes.
“Even though I was initially distrusted by the vassals and the people of the territory because of my dementia, I have finally gained their trust.”
Despite the murderous gaze, Perdes paid no attention and expressed his opinion.
“But if I go ahead with the wedding, ignoring the customs and rules, the trust I have worked so hard to build will collapse. People will point fingers at me and say that I am blind to the position of a Duke.”
“...”
“If you do that, it will take a long time to win back people’s hearts. So I think it would be better to wait until the mourning period is over.”
While Perdes was talking, the Emperor only made a face and said nothing.
That's true, every word of it, but I have nothing to say.
“As His Highness the Prince said, it would be better to have it in May without any noise, and since it is cold now and not a good time to have a wedding, I think it would be better in many ways.”
When Perdes and I continued to say that it did not seem right to get married now, the Emperor backed down as if he had no choice.
“If that’s what you want, we’ll have the wedding on the first weekend of May.”
“Thank you for your generous understanding, Your Majesty.”
The story ended there.
The Emperor, who had asked to hear directly from me about Chernosser's affairs, did not even mention Chernosser's 'sieve' until breakfast was almost over.
As expected, he made up an excuse to call me to the capital.
I don't know what his purpose was, but I had no intention of doing whatever the Emperor wanted.
I spoke just before the meal was finished.
“I am considering moving my residence to Duke Leopold’s residence in the capital.”
The Emperor's hand, which had just grabbed the teacup, stopped as he listened to me.
He looked at me with his eyebrows slightly raised.
“Why are you suddenly moving? Are you uncomfortable living in the palace?”
Of course, it's uncomfortable.
Last night, I couldn't sleep properly because I was anxious about what the Emperor might do and when.
“How could that be? It’s just that the mansion in the capital has been empty ever since my father passed away, so I’m going to visit it for the first time in a while to take care of it.”
“...”
“There are also things I want to know.”
As I added something subtle, the Emperor's gaze changed.
His eyes, sharper than before, looked at me as if he was searching.
I guess what he wants to find out is whether it has anything to do with the Duke's basement.
The reason I added this was to deliberately pique the Emperor's curiosity.
“If you don’t mind, may I move to a different residence, Your Majesty?”
Then the Emperor will let us go.
“Yeah. It’s a little disappointing, but I can’t help it since you have something to do.”
See, he just let it go.
Now that I had the Emperor's permission, there was no reason for me to stay in the palace any longer.
After finishing an extremely uncomfortable breakfast, I returned to the Palace of Spring and immediately packed my bags.
“We’ve managed to buy some time until May, but what are we going to do from now on?”
Perdes, who had packed his bags first, asked me.
“Looking at what he's doing, it seems like we definitely have to get married in May.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t be able to do it then either.”
“Huh? How would Young Lady know that?”
How would I know? I know because I've experienced the future.
The last weekend of April.
The Empress's household holds a spring hunting competition, and the Crown Prince is determined to win first place but falls from his horse and is badly injured, almost to the point of death.
Many people, including the royal physician and priests, tried to save the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince never opened his eyes and ended up crossing a river from which there was no return.
Even though my father sacrificed his life to save him, he was just thrown away.
'Wait for a sec.'
Since the hunting competition will not be held in April due to Chernosser's death, it seems that the Crown Prince may not die in this life.
It didn't really matter though.
Anyway, once May comes, the Emperor will be so out of it that he will lose his mind.
There won't be time to worry about our wedding.
It was hilarious to think of the Emperor being half-mad and flustered.
“What is it? What kind of funny thoughts are you having that are making you laugh?”
Oh. I guess I laughed without realizing it.
“I just had a funny thought.”
I couldn't tell Perdes what I was thinking of right now, so I just gave him a vague answer.
“And don’t worry, we’ll never get married.”
Perdes' expression hardened slightly at my words. The color of his eyes darkened.
“Why are you like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
It's nothing. Your expression still doesn't look good.
Did you happen to notice anything strange in what the Emperor said?
Perdes is good at catching things I miss, so I was about to ask him more about it when I heard a knock on the door.
The person who came was a maid from the Empress's palace.
“Her Majesty the Empress wishes to meet Lady Leopold.”
It looks like she's looking for me because of Chernosser's business.
Since I had expected this, I was not surprised and just nodded.
“Let’s go right now.”
As Adele left to meet the Empress, Perdes sat on the sofa, washed his face, and sighed deeply.
Adele's words echoed in his head.
That he would never marry her.
It used to bother him when Adele spoke like that.
After realizing his feelings for her, he became annoyed and even angry.
But he couldn't blame or resent Adele.
Because it was a relationship that started out for both parties' benefit.
He had no right to be angry at her.
If he's going to blame someone, blame himself for being so stupid as to give his heart to her.
“I’m really stupid.”
Feeling ridiculous and foolish all over again, Perdes sighed repeatedly and scratched his head.
At that moment, the door opened wide without even knocking.
There's no way Adele has come back yet.
Then who is rudely opening the door?
Perdes glared at the door with a frown.
“What the heck? You look really fine.”
“That’s right. They said that the dementia was cured. I guess it’s true.”
Then, the twin siblings, the Third Princess and the Fifth Prince, appeared, standing arrogantly with their arms linked.
Although I was still assigned the same bedroom as before, I changed it to share the same bedroom, saying that I didn't want to be apart from him even for a moment.
The palace was teeming with the Emperor's men, so there was no way Perdes could be left alone.
After finishing preparing for bed, I was about to go to sleep when the Emperor's attendant came to visit me.
“His Majesty the Emperor has expressed his desire to have breakfast with you two tomorrow morning.”
I knew I had to meet the Emperor tomorrow, but I didn't expect to see him first thing in the morning breeze.
And on top of that, I have to eat face-to-face with the Emperor.
Just thinking about it makes me sick.
I had to forcefully press the corners of my lips to keep my expression from distorting for a moment.
“Please tell him that I will gladly accept it.”
I couldn't avoid it even if I wanted to, and since I had to face it anyway, I accepted it because it was better to just deal with it quickly.
***
Not long after the sun rose, the maids came rushing in.
It was to prepare for breakfast with the Emperor.
Usually, when going to see the Emperor, you dress up extravagantly to the point of formality, but this time it wasn't like that.
As the second Prince, Chernosser, had crossed a river of no return after an unfortunate incident, it was polite to refrain from wearing flashy attire for the time being as a sign of respect.
Thanks to this, I no longer had to tighten my waist with a corset, and I also didn't have to wear unnecessary, flashy accessories.
Besides, when a member of the royal family dies, they tend to refrain from grand events like weddings for three months, so naturally, my wedding with Perdes will be postponed.
“I'm thinking of having your wedding early next month. What do you think?”
I thought it would be postponed, but I was shocked when the Emperor said something like that.
I wonder how he could say something like that when his own son died, not someone else's.
On the one hand, I thought it was possible because he was the Emperor.
Yes, it was possible, since the Emperor was the one who killed Chernosser.
The already uncomfortable breakfast table became even more uncomfortable.
“...”
I wiped my mouth with a napkin and then drank some water to moisten my dry lips.
Perdes also spoke to the Emperor with a bewildered expression.
“I am sorry, Your Majesty. It has not been long since my older brother passed away from an unfortunate accident, and I do not think it is appropriate to hold a wedding.”
“Yeah. I was really worried about that too.”
The Emperor answered with a sad face.
“I want to take the time to mourn Chernosser, who couldn’t even close his eyes properly.”
It was really funny to hear the person who killed Chernosser say something like that.
“One thing that bothered me was that the position of Duke Leopold had been vacant for three years.”
It's only been three years since my father passed away.
Maybe it was because I was repeating the same life over and over again, but it felt a little distant.
“Duke Leopold is not just a Duke, he is the sword and pillar of the empire. I too relied a lot on Duke Leopold while I was alive.”
I don't know if the Emperor relied much on my father, but he indeed called him often.
“It will be the same for everyone else. In particular, the vassals of the Duke’s family and the people of the Duke’s territory will want a Duke to be appointed as soon as possible. A group without a leader will end up disorganized and eventually fall apart.”
“I really appreciate your concern, but I’m okay for now.”
I answered.
“Because the vassals are doing their jobs so well that the Duke’s absence is not felt.”
“But wouldn’t it be more stable if there was a headmaster?”
“Of course that is true, but I think that pushing ahead blindly, ignoring rules and customs, will only provoke a backlash from people.”
“I also think the same as Young Lady Leopold.”
When Perdes agreed with my opinion, the Emperor glared at him with raised eyes.
“Even though I was initially distrusted by the vassals and the people of the territory because of my dementia, I have finally gained their trust.”
Despite the murderous gaze, Perdes paid no attention and expressed his opinion.
“But if I go ahead with the wedding, ignoring the customs and rules, the trust I have worked so hard to build will collapse. People will point fingers at me and say that I am blind to the position of a Duke.”
“...”
“If you do that, it will take a long time to win back people’s hearts. So I think it would be better to wait until the mourning period is over.”
While Perdes was talking, the Emperor only made a face and said nothing.
That's true, every word of it, but I have nothing to say.
“As His Highness the Prince said, it would be better to have it in May without any noise, and since it is cold now and not a good time to have a wedding, I think it would be better in many ways.”
When Perdes and I continued to say that it did not seem right to get married now, the Emperor backed down as if he had no choice.
“If that’s what you want, we’ll have the wedding on the first weekend of May.”
“Thank you for your generous understanding, Your Majesty.”
The story ended there.
The Emperor, who had asked to hear directly from me about Chernosser's affairs, did not even mention Chernosser's 'sieve' until breakfast was almost over.
As expected, he made up an excuse to call me to the capital.
I don't know what his purpose was, but I had no intention of doing whatever the Emperor wanted.
I spoke just before the meal was finished.
“I am considering moving my residence to Duke Leopold’s residence in the capital.”
The Emperor's hand, which had just grabbed the teacup, stopped as he listened to me.
He looked at me with his eyebrows slightly raised.
“Why are you suddenly moving? Are you uncomfortable living in the palace?”
Of course, it's uncomfortable.
Last night, I couldn't sleep properly because I was anxious about what the Emperor might do and when.
“How could that be? It’s just that the mansion in the capital has been empty ever since my father passed away, so I’m going to visit it for the first time in a while to take care of it.”
“...”
“There are also things I want to know.”
As I added something subtle, the Emperor's gaze changed.
His eyes, sharper than before, looked at me as if he was searching.
I guess what he wants to find out is whether it has anything to do with the Duke's basement.
The reason I added this was to deliberately pique the Emperor's curiosity.
“If you don’t mind, may I move to a different residence, Your Majesty?”
Then the Emperor will let us go.
“Yeah. It’s a little disappointing, but I can’t help it since you have something to do.”
See, he just let it go.
Now that I had the Emperor's permission, there was no reason for me to stay in the palace any longer.
After finishing an extremely uncomfortable breakfast, I returned to the Palace of Spring and immediately packed my bags.
“We’ve managed to buy some time until May, but what are we going to do from now on?”
Perdes, who had packed his bags first, asked me.
“Looking at what he's doing, it seems like we definitely have to get married in May.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t be able to do it then either.”
“Huh? How would Young Lady know that?”
How would I know? I know because I've experienced the future.
The last weekend of April.
The Empress's household holds a spring hunting competition, and the Crown Prince is determined to win first place but falls from his horse and is badly injured, almost to the point of death.
Many people, including the royal physician and priests, tried to save the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince never opened his eyes and ended up crossing a river from which there was no return.
Even though my father sacrificed his life to save him, he was just thrown away.
'Wait for a sec.'
Since the hunting competition will not be held in April due to Chernosser's death, it seems that the Crown Prince may not die in this life.
It didn't really matter though.
Anyway, once May comes, the Emperor will be so out of it that he will lose his mind.
There won't be time to worry about our wedding.
It was hilarious to think of the Emperor being half-mad and flustered.
“What is it? What kind of funny thoughts are you having that are making you laugh?”
Oh. I guess I laughed without realizing it.
“I just had a funny thought.”
I couldn't tell Perdes what I was thinking of right now, so I just gave him a vague answer.
“And don’t worry, we’ll never get married.”
Perdes' expression hardened slightly at my words. The color of his eyes darkened.
“Why are you like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
It's nothing. Your expression still doesn't look good.
Did you happen to notice anything strange in what the Emperor said?
Perdes is good at catching things I miss, so I was about to ask him more about it when I heard a knock on the door.
The person who came was a maid from the Empress's palace.
“Her Majesty the Empress wishes to meet Lady Leopold.”
It looks like she's looking for me because of Chernosser's business.
Since I had expected this, I was not surprised and just nodded.
“Let’s go right now.”
***
As Adele left to meet the Empress, Perdes sat on the sofa, washed his face, and sighed deeply.
Adele's words echoed in his head.
That he would never marry her.
It used to bother him when Adele spoke like that.
After realizing his feelings for her, he became annoyed and even angry.
But he couldn't blame or resent Adele.
Because it was a relationship that started out for both parties' benefit.
He had no right to be angry at her.
If he's going to blame someone, blame himself for being so stupid as to give his heart to her.
“I’m really stupid.”
Feeling ridiculous and foolish all over again, Perdes sighed repeatedly and scratched his head.
At that moment, the door opened wide without even knocking.
There's no way Adele has come back yet.
Then who is rudely opening the door?
Perdes glared at the door with a frown.
“What the heck? You look really fine.”
“That’s right. They said that the dementia was cured. I guess it’s true.”
Then, the twin siblings, the Third Princess and the Fifth Prince, appeared, standing arrogantly with their arms linked.
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