Rhodnes' face instantly turned ashen.
“I want to be your wife, not the Crown Princess.”
His face, which had hardened, turned red and blue, and then suddenly collapsed.
“So, you are not my Crown Prince, just be my husband.”
As the tears he had been holding back finally fell from one of his eyes, Rhodnes finally couldn't hold them back and sat up abruptly.
Rhodnes hugged me tightly and laughed hollowly. He was breathing so hard that my heart was heaving along with him.
“Adrienne, you really... You, really...”
Rhodnes hugged me tightly, almost lifting me up and showering my face with kisses.
“You’re going to keep me company until the end.”
Hot lips came down on my face several times. I couldn't hold back the laughter that burst out along with the tears.
As he held me and kissed me, I opened my eyes and saw stars twinkling around us. It seemed as if the stars were pouring down and filling my eyes.
“Stay in my arms for the rest of your life, Rien.”
Don't you usually ask someone to stay by your side for the rest of their life?
While I was thinking about that, Rhodnes brought his lips back together, which he had briefly separated from.
In breaths that are constantly mixing and intertwining.
The sound of Rhodnes's words, that he would keep me in his arms for the rest of my life and never let me go, entered my mouth.
“I’ll do anything if you stay in my arms. Be the cool and gentle knight you dreamed of. Be the hero who defeats demons. Be the Emperor who puts everyone under your feet. As long as you stay by my side.”
I laughed at the overwhelmingly favorable conditions for me.
He doesn't have to go that far.
Because I had no intention of letting go of this huge, beautiful, and sparkling star in the world.
***
Thanks to Irene and Noura, who came to the Grand Duke's residence early in the morning, Adrienne and her party gathered around the tea table.
“I have heard that since the Emperor announced the new Crown Prince, he has been staying in seclusion in the palace.”
“The party was just yesterday. Where did you hear that rumor, Ma’am?”
“I’ve been in and out of the palace for years, and I don’t think I would know that much. By the way, Your Highness the Grand Duchess... No, where did you and the Crown Prince go yesterday?”
Adrienne smiled awkwardly, looking a bit tired from not sleeping all night.
“Yes, let me talk to you, little sister.”
Blie looked at Adrienne with slightly dilated eyes.
Adrienne kept her mouth shut with the aforementioned expression on her face.
She accepted the most sparkling proposal in the world and rolled down the hill like children.
They literally rolled around. Adrienne was drunk, and Rhodnes was so drunk that he didn't know what to do.
After rolling around, hugging, and kissing for a while, Rhodnes took out a small box from his bosom.
Surprisingly enough.
It's really ridiculous.
Her brightest star and most beautiful beast wouldn't even give her a single ring.
The breath that had been pecked at her lips ran down her neck, shoulders, and finally, her exposed arms, clinging firmly to her hands.
Finally, he put the ring on his lips and used her 'mouth' to put it on his finger.
When Rhodnes wiped it off with his lips again, raised the corners of his lips as if to show off, and rubbed his cheek against the palm of her hand, Adrienne couldn't help it.
The most desirable, most desirable Lord Rhodnes!
After some time, she thought about it, but what if she didn't instigate him to kiss her first?
It was only natural that even the normally quiet girl couldn't stand it any longer!
In such a beautiful place with such sparkling lights, it would have been a crime not to kiss the lips of the man who looked at her with those eyes.
“Sister, why are your eyes slightly turned around as if you were in Abadelia and not of this world?”
Adrienne was momentarily distracted from her heated thoughts of that early morning as Blie whispered beside her.
Adrienne stroked her still-hot fingers.
She came back secretly in the morning and pretended to have just woken up, so she didn't take off the ring on her finger.
The moment they saw this ring, it was obvious how the people gathered here would react.
“Oh-.”
And Blie, who had been preparing to turn the Grand Duke's residence upside down since last night when Adrienne disappeared, caught that slight movement.
Adrienne felt a chill down her spine for some reason. This was because Blie, who was smiling wickedly, gently grabbed her wrist.
A diamond the size of a child's thumb, shining brightly in the morning sunlight, was radiating a splendid appearance as if begging for someone to look at it.
“Oh my goodness! His Highness the Crown Prince has proposed to the Princess!”
Irene, who had recently been very interested in marriage, wiggled her buttocks and covered her mouth with both hands just by seeing a ring on her fourth finger.
“There is a rumor going around that the reason the criminal investigation system has not been abolished yet is because His Highness is fond of the Princess. That is true!”
As expected of someone who has an eye for jewels, Noura was able to read the will of Rhodnes beyond the jewels.
“Grand Duchess, ha!!”
And then there was a new voice that resonated through the living room.
Everyone's heads turned toward the entrance to the reception room.
It was Madame Leblaix who appeared wearing a fancy hat and carrying a suitcase in both hands.
Madame, who already had the 'Miracle Sisters' as her muse, always volunteered to make the sisters' clothes herself.
She was spending her days thrilled at the return of her original muse, Adrienne.
Not only that, but she also secretly watched to see if Blie might be upset if she paid more attention to Adrienne.
Of course, Blie didn't really care about Madame's reaction and maintained the 'no matter how flashy' tone, so it was natural for Madame to secretly contact Adrienne again.
So Madame couldn't help but get excited when she saw the beautiful diamond ring in Adrienne's hand and heard voices coming through the door.
Madame Leblaix's nostrils flared quietly, as she placed the highest value on elegance.
“Never. Absolutely. Your Highness the Grand Duchess! No, you will leave the wedding dress of the Princess who will become the Crown Princess to me, right?”
Knock! Knock!
The suitcase Madame was holding in both hands fell to the floor.
Before they knew it, Madame Leblaix had come close to the tea table.
“Shall we start working right away today??”
Her eyes began to shine more earnestly than ever.
***
“The best one.”
"Yes."
“Oh, you should see for yourself. Adrienne is quite picky, so she won’t like anything that isn’t mine.”
“Usually, Your Highness is the one who is picky.”
“...Is that so.”
Is that so?
Neil glanced at Vincenzo and Rhodnes, doubting his ears. Rhodnes was not a merciful lord who would accept such a twisted answer.
Are you so happy about becoming Crown Prince?
The person who didn't even like having an inauguration party seemed to have a spring in his face after the party was over, even though he had been cold and arrogant.
Neil always wanted a kind and understanding lord, but why does his heart feel strangely twisted?
“What good things are happening to you?”
“Ah. Did I mention that I was getting married?”
"Yes?!"
“I guess Vincenzo didn’t tell you.”
Only then did Neil grasp the situation and glance at both Vincenzo and his master's desks.
All the difficult and headache-inducing tasks were originally Vincenzo's responsibility.
These days, Neil has had a lot of work on his desk, while Vincenzo has been busy here and there.
Moreover, isn't it true that even Vincenzo, who always had a stern expression, has loosened his lips as if he has found spring in Rhodnes?
“B, are she Countess Blie Acacia, or...?”
“Of course it’s Adrienne, what nonsense are you talking about?”
I've seen all the fuss that's been going on because of the Countess, so how can you say 'Of course it's Adrienne'?
Neil rather felt deeply betrayed and roughly played with the quill.
Vincenzo frowned as he calculated the budget for the grandest wedding that Rhodnes could wish for.
“The budget for the palace has been exceeded. Even the Empress will be shocked.”
“Don’t think about the budget and prepare the grandest thing. I clearly said that I would pay for it with my own money. If you knew that and prepared for it all along, why are you whining now?”
Neil, who was reminded of the past Blie who always smiled faintly at those words, finally opened his mouth.
“With that kind of budget, it would be better to hold the Crown Prince’s coronation ceremony, which you’ve already skipped. There’s no precedent for a wedding that’s more extravagant than a coronation ceremony!”
Neil, who had been shouting in support of Blie, with whom he had become close, soon came to his senses as he felt silence flowing.
Neil, whose expression changed to the most cowardly one, lowered the corners of his eyes and pitifully raised his head toward Rhodnes.
“Neil. It’s been a while since you’ve said anything worthwhile.”
"...Yes?"
Contrary to expectations a reprimand would be issued.
Rhodnes was rubbing his chin with an expression that said, 'Did you know that you would come up with such a clever idea?'
“Yes? Your Highness! It is not right to hold an enthronement ceremony like that when you are not even married. The main character of the enthronement ceremony is Your Highness!”
“If you tell me to, then do it. Even the Red-Eyed Crown Prince is unprecedented. Since Adrienne is now called a saint, how about having her place the crown on my head?”
"Your Highness!"
Vincenzo's face turned grave at the thought of wanting to expand the scale even further.
As always, the training was always Vincentzo's job.
***
An official proposal arrived from the palace.
Gregory, who was temporarily staying with the Grand Duke, was still handling the household affairs in Blie's stead, so as soon as she received the proposal, she was half-asleep and working on the matter.
And what arrived to her with the proposal was a thick, rolled-up piece of paper that was mind-boggling just to look at.
Inside, it was filled with wedding preparation lists and descriptions as if they had been waiting for this day.
Blie read it with interest at first but threw it away because there was too much to say, and Jonah and Marge read it with sparkling eyes.
“Why is the wedding happening so quickly?”
“It takes at least a year to prepare for a royal wedding, but you’re saying you’re going to do it in a month? That’s ridiculous. There’s a lot to prepare for here!”
“No, no, Your Highness. Look at this. I don’t know for sure, but aren’t these things supposed to be prepared by the bride?”
“My goodness, you have made up your mind very well. The palace of the late Empress Letina has already been refurbished for a long time. Even Her Majesty Empress Grace has kindly given her permission.”
I looked down at the list that Rhodnes had prepared with a bewildered face.
At best, I thought he had prepared this huge diamond ring, but it seems that punishing the nobles wasn't the only thing he had been busy with.
“It looks like even the wedding dress is ready?”
“What did you say?”
Madame Leblaix, who was stamping her attendance card as if she had moved her studio over here, approached me with a glare.
She snorted and then suddenly opened her eyes wide.
“Oh. This dress is one that I was commissioned to make a few months ago and was working really hard to make...?”
“Yes?”
“I won’t reveal who it is, but it’s a wedding dress for a Princess from a faraway kingdom. I was told to make it the best in the world, regardless of budget, so I’m making it. Of course, I was thinking about making the dress for the Princess, who I’m just starting to work on, even better...”
A dress that a 'Princess' from some faraway kingdom would wear?
I covered my cheeks, which were rapidly growing hot, with both hands.
There was no need to explain at length to Madame Leblaix.
“...I think it’s mine.”
That dress was obviously commissioned in advance by the adoring Lord Rhodnes!
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment