In fact, her heart had already been relieved for a long time.
However, instead of nodding in agreement, she changed the subject.
“...You’ve been on the battlefield for a long time, so your dancing skills are amazing.”
Now that she realized it, Roxanne’s lead was really great.
The dance flowed so smoothly that she noticed it too late.
He smiled in response to Sepia’s compliment.
“I dreamed of a day like this, and I practiced dancing even on the battlefield without sparing any effort.”
“Who did you practice with? Your subordinates?”
Roxanne frowned as if he was troubled by her question.
“With a scarecrow.”
Sepia burst into laughter at that absurd answer. She had already become friends with him.
It was too bad to break the close relationship they had for the first time.
The dance was over.
The two of them finished greeting each other by placing their hands on their chests. Their affectionate gazes and soft air currents were intertwined.
Sepia turned her back. After that, Roxanne also walked in the opposite direction from her.
The party to celebrate the victory lasted a week.
The first day of the victory celebration was ripening.
***
It was the night after everyone had left.
The two males met in the empty hallway.
It was when the pure white moonlight penetrated through the dark clouds.
Demios looked at the Duke and smiled.
“You finally came back alive.”
“It’s all thanks to Your Majesty. And... Your will as well.”
Demios’s expression hardened at the Duke’s response.
Soon, a bitter sneer bloomed at the corners of the Emperor’s mouth.
“...Well, it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing the Duke can do. You can’t ‘speak’ anyway, right?”
Demios’s smile grew deeper at the Duke’s silence.
“You just keep getting taken away. After all, I’m the Emperor. The empire, and the Empress, are mine.”
There was a victory in his arrogant smile.
Roxanne’s cold eyes remained consistent.
“Well. Was that place really yours?”
At his words, Demios’s forehead bulged with tendons.
“...You’d better watch out for that mouth.”
The two males’ grumbling resonated through the dark night air.
This was the first confrontation and the beginning of something long to come.
***
Late at night after the victory ceremony.
The fourth most splendid palace in the imperial palace, Repetto Palace, was brightly lit.
Inside the large reception room. The owner of the palace and a couple were sitting across from each other on the three-sided sofa in the center.
“Damn, damn... damn!”
Count Edro was trembling and clenching his fists. His flushed face looked as if it would explode at any moment.
After grumbling for a while, the Count, unable to control his anger, threw the glass in front of him against the wall.
Clang!
“Oh my!”
Countess Delsey, who was sitting next to him, was startled and put her hand to her heart.
Then she looked at the broken glass and suddenly got angry at Edro.
“Oh my. A glass made by Ercia’s craftsman... ! Do you know how precious that is?”
“What do I care about porcelain like that!”
Delsey trembled because of the broken cup, and Edro because of his boiling anger.
While his wife couldn’t take her eyes off the shattered cup, the Count banged his fist on the table.
“How dare that young man...!”
All of the anger was directed at the Duke of Leopold.
Delsey looked at her husband who couldn’t calm down, and made a pitiful face.
“If only you hadn’t said that, you wouldn’t have been embarrassed!”
“Who would have heard? So it’s my fault?!”
“It’s strange that you couldn’t hear when there are so many articles. Please be more sensible!”
The Count, unable to bear his wife’s scolding, jumped up from his seat.
“Who are you to tell me to raise him?! You can’t even discipline your own child! How can he not attend such an important event because he's drunk?”
The wife responded in astonishment to her husband’s shouting.
“Oh my, is it my fault that Gellert didn’t come? The child drank too much, but other than that, he grew up well! He thought so much of his mother!”
“Why can’t such a well-raised child come here? What a precious position this is!”
High-ranking connections became blood and flesh in the aristocratic society.
After advancing to the capital, he absolutely needed the help of the natives to settle down and gain proper recognition.
The Count, with his wife below him, raised his hand.
“How dare you talk back to your husband. It’s because we don’t usually get along!”
“Huh? Hit me! Hit me!”
Delsey also became quite angry.
The confusion was about to intensify.
“Calm down, father.”
Titi, who had already gotten up from her seat, approached Count Edro.
“This isn’t the only chance. I’ll make sure to make a good spot for you again.”
The Count was momentarily speechless at her kind words.
Titi took advantage of the opportunity to comfort Delsey as well.
“Mother. I’ll talk to His Majesty and get you a better cup. Even if that’s not the case, I’m sure there’s something pretty good among the tea sets that came as gifts.”
The Count and his wife’s eyes lingered on Titi.
Edro and Delsey hugged her tightly at the same time.
“You are my treasure after all!”
“Oh, Titi. This mother is really only you.”
When she was left alone in front of all those people, the Count and his wife were relieved, embracing her.
The fight stopped as if it had never happened.
The couple, who had sat down again, began to ask Titi for various things.
“By the way, Titi. How about asking His Majesty to give Gellard a decent sword? Gellard always wanted to be a knight. Wouldn’t a good sword help ease the grudge a little?”
“I’ll ask.”
“I’m looking for a decent place to live in the capital, but I don’t like it. But since you are His Majesty’s lover, we should save face as parents so that you don’t get embarrassed.”
“I’ll look into it.”
Thanks to Titi’s soft voice, the Count and his wife looked lost in their dreams.
A goose that lays golden eggs.
No, Titi was an angel who would give them wings and guide them to heaven.
“My daughter, I’ll only trust you.”
“Shouldn’t you do well?”
“Of course. I will do well.”
Titi was polite to the end.
After finishing the first banquet, they moved to the Repetto Palace, so it was already deep into the night.
The Count, who knew it was time to leave, made a regretful face.
“Can’t we just stay here? It’s quite a hassle to come and go during the victory celebration.”
Even though it was a luxury hotel in the center of the capital, it was not as good as the palace where Titi was staying.
However, unlike the Count, who had expected such an answer, Titi made an apologetic face.
“This is also a residence that Your Majesty has barely prepared for me. Besides, I need the Empress’s permission to put a guest on the rental list.”
“No, but if you ask...”
The Count, who had become irritated, was about to press her when Delsey put a hand on his shoulder as if to stop him.
“Oh, no. We’re in the same capital anyway, so what’s the problem with moving? If we’re here, wouldn’t it be difficult for you and His Majesty to get along?”
The reason why an ordinary goose can lay golden eggs.
More than anything else, the relationship between the Emperor and Titi was the most important.
The Count, who realized his wife’s intentions belatedly, nodded in agreement.
“More importantly, it is important to capture His Majesty’s heart. Yes.”
Still, perhaps because he was disappointed, the clCount’s steps as he left the drawing room were extremely slow.
“Then we will go back now.”
“Take care. Father, Mother.”
Titi smiled as she saw the couple off to the door.
The door closed.
Titi remained frozen in place.
After a while, the sound of a carriage could be faintly heard beyond the closed window.
The moment the noise of the wheels could no longer be heard, Titi’s smiling face turned fierce.
Edro and Delsey hugged her tightly at the same time.
“You are my treasure after all!”
“Oh, Titi. This mother is really only you.”
When she was left alone in front of all those people, the Count and his wife were relieved, embracing her.
The fight stopped as if it had never happened.
The couple, who had sat down again, began to ask Titi for various things.
“By the way, Titi. How about asking His Majesty to give Gellard a decent sword? Gellard always wanted to be a knight. Wouldn’t a good sword help ease the grudge a little?”
“I’ll ask.”
“I’m looking for a decent place to live in the capital, but I don’t like it. But since you are His Majesty’s lover, we should save face as parents so that you don’t get embarrassed.”
“I’ll look into it.”
Thanks to Titi’s soft voice, the Count and his wife looked lost in their dreams.
A goose that lays golden eggs.
No, Titi was an angel who would give them wings and guide them to heaven.
“My daughter, I’ll only trust you.”
“Shouldn’t you do well?”
“Of course. I will do well.”
Titi was polite to the end.
After finishing the first banquet, they moved to the Repetto Palace, so it was already deep into the night.
The Count, who knew it was time to leave, made a regretful face.
“Can’t we just stay here? It’s quite a hassle to come and go during the victory celebration.”
Even though it was a luxury hotel in the center of the capital, it was not as good as the palace where Titi was staying.
However, unlike the Count, who had expected such an answer, Titi made an apologetic face.
“This is also a residence that Your Majesty has barely prepared for me. Besides, I need the Empress’s permission to put a guest on the rental list.”
“No, but if you ask...”
The Count, who had become irritated, was about to press her when Delsey put a hand on his shoulder as if to stop him.
“Oh, no. We’re in the same capital anyway, so what’s the problem with moving? If we’re here, wouldn’t it be difficult for you and His Majesty to get along?”
The reason why an ordinary goose can lay golden eggs.
More than anything else, the relationship between the Emperor and Titi was the most important.
The Count, who realized his wife’s intentions belatedly, nodded in agreement.
“More importantly, it is important to capture His Majesty’s heart. Yes.”
Still, perhaps because he was disappointed, the clCount’s steps as he left the drawing room were extremely slow.
“Then we will go back now.”
“Take care. Father, Mother.”
Titi smiled as she saw the couple off to the door.
The door closed.
Titi remained frozen in place.
After a while, the sound of a carriage could be faintly heard beyond the closed window.
The moment the noise of the wheels could no longer be heard, Titi’s smiling face turned fierce.
“Ah..."
Titi broke the decorative mirror and opened the cabinet, taking out expensive items in a haphazard manner and destroying them. The once luxurious drawing room quickly became a mess. Titi, who was grumbling, kicked the now empty cabinet. It slowly fell over and eventually broke the mahogany table.
Kwung!
A loud noise echoed throughout the palace. The maids, startled by the noise, poured into the drawing room.
“What’s going on?”
They were bewildered as they saw that the place that had been fine just a moment ago had become ruins.
“What are you just standing there for? Why don’t you clean up!”
The maids pretended to clean up in a hurry, just in case sparks flew.
Titi shouted at them with a distorted face.
Her once gentle purple eyes were blazing with rage.
Even though she had destroyed so many expensive items, her anger did not subside.
Titi kicked the jewelry box rolling below her.
“The rental list is bullshit.”
The story of sending the Count away by mentioning the Empress was actually made up.
The palace was given to me by the Emperor, so what did the Empress have to do with who I let stay?
Titi sat down on the sofa in annoyance.
“Anyway, they’re like hyenas.”
The Count and his wife were nothing more than beasts trying to eat up what Titi had worked so hard to obtain.
“What are you just standing there for? Why don’t you clean up!”
The maids pretended to clean up in a hurry, just in case sparks flew.
Titi shouted at them with a distorted face.
Her once gentle purple eyes were blazing with rage.
Even though she had destroyed so many expensive items, her anger did not subside.
Titi kicked the jewelry box rolling below her.
“The rental list is bullshit.”
The story of sending the Count away by mentioning the Empress was actually made up.
The palace was given to me by the Emperor, so what did the Empress have to do with who I let stay?
Titi sat down on the sofa in annoyance.
“Anyway, they’re like hyenas.”
The Count and his wife were nothing more than beasts trying to eat up what Titi had worked so hard to obtain.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment