There were many noble ladies of the same age group as the Crown Prince. However, daughters from families powerful enough to serve as his backing were few and far between. Unless the Emperor went senile, there was absolutely no way I would be excluded from the list of candidates for Crown Princess.
“It must be difficult.”
The Marquis cleanly admitted it. If the Imperial Palace formally requested a marriage proposal, the Elliot Marquisate had no grounds to refuse it.
I had somewhat given up on this part. No matter how hard I struggled, I could not avoid marriage to the Crown Prince. It was impossible unless the Marquis went mad and rebelled against the Emperor, or I became a crazy woman. It was something that could only happen if one of us went insane.
The former was, of course, impossible, and the latter was too fatal for me. It was an option worth trying at least once, when I was driven to the absolute limit, right before I died.
"Why did you ask if you said it was difficult?"
If the other person hadn't been a Marquis, I would have thought I was making fun of him. The Marquis was someone who didn't know what a joke was.
He turned his head to look out the window without answering. Before we knew it, the carriage was entering the imperial palace. The carriage, engraved with a golden lion, passed through the castle gate without any inspection.
The carriage passed the outer palace and entered the inner palace. No horses or carriages were allowed to run inside the inner palace. Even the carriage engraved with a golden lion was no exception. I prepared to disembark.
The carriage door opened, and the Marquis stood up first.
I followed right behind him. He got off first and extended his hand to me. It was etiquette ingrained in him as a nobleman.
I took his hand and tried to get out of the carriage. The carriage was a bit high for me, still young. I stumbled slightly, and the Marquis came closer and took my hand. It was the moment I felt that the distance between us was too close.
"It's difficult, but not impossible."
"...!"
The small Marquis's voice brushed past my ears like a whisper. I looked up at him
with a surprised expression. His face was no different than usual, so I couldn't tell at all what he was thinking.
After confirming that I had completely disembarked from the carriage, the Marquis turned around and began walking away as if nothing had happened. Feeling dazed, I hurriedly chased after him. If it weren't for his voice still ringing in my ears, I would have thought I was standing there dreaming.
I couldn't even guess the meaning of the words he left behind.
'You mean it's not impossible? Does that mean you'll do as I please? Or is there another meaning?'
I couldn't know the Marquis's thoughts.
While I was pondering the Marquis, I arrived at the audience chamber where the Emperor was. Upon seeing the Marquis's face, the attendant bowed toward him. The Marquis also nodded in response to the attendant's greeting.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Elliot is here."
“Come on in.”
As the attendant shouted toward the audience chamber, a reply came from inside as if on cue. The attendant opened the door to the audience chamber and led the Marquis and me inside.
"Please get inside. His Majesty is waiting."
The Marquis moved inside first. I followed him into the audience chamber. The Imperial Palace was a familiar place to me. The audience chamber was no exception. It was here that I saw him for the first time. Soon, I would see him. I swallowed hard, feeling nervous.
Inside the audience chamber were only the Emperor and the Chief Chamberlain of the Imperial Palace. The Marquis bowed toward the seated Emperor.
"Gabriel Kruter Elliot greets the Sun of the Empire."
True to the Marquis's usual character, it was a neat greeting. Typically, greetings to the Emperor are adorned with all sorts of flowery language. Depending on the individual, some would easily spend more than ten minutes just on the greeting itself. People believed that the more flowery language was attached, the more polite the greeting was.
The Marquis's greeting contained not a single superfluous embellishment. He observed etiquette but omitted unnecessary formalities. The Marquis's brief greeting was quite unconventional.
His appearance seemed familiar to the Emperor. The Emperor showed no particular reaction to the Marquis's greeting and immediately turned his gaze to me. I held the dress with both hands and bent my knees.
"Bjornne Rossa Elliot, the eldest daughter of the Elliot family, greets the Sun of the Empire."
I slowly bowed toward the Emperor. If I had been a commoner or a slave, I would have had to kneel on the ground and prostrate myself, but I was the daughter of a Marquis. I fulfilled my courtesy to the Emperor by bending my waist about 90 degrees.
"Hmph, just like the Counsellor's daughter, isn't she?"
"In my opinion, they are exactly the same."
"Hahaha, exactly the same. Exactly!"
The Emperor laughed loudly as if he found it amusing.
The Emperor smiled at me even then. At that time, I was extremely nervous about the fact that I was seeing the Emperor for the first time. I couldn't remember a single one of the greetings my nanny had taught me. I stammered for quite a while before I could finally manage to finish my greeting. Watching me like that, the Emperor laughed, saying I was cute.
'It wasn't as hearty a laugh as it is now, though.'
"Marquis, why are you only showing me a daughter like this now?"
“Here comes the Emperor.”
The Marquis's immediate response did not convey the slightest sense of humility. The Emperor paid little attention to the Marquis's reaction. The Emperor gestured toward me.
"Come closer."
I looked at the Marquis without realizing it. The Marquis nodded slightly toward me. I slowly approached the Emperor.
"Right. How old are you this year?"
"I will soon turn eleven."
The Emperor scrutinized me from every angle and asked my age. I was just a few days away from my eleventh birthday. The Emperor was very pleased to hear my answer.
"It's perfect. Absolutely perfect. Hahaha."
The Emperor kept bursting into laughter. He looked much better than he did back then. The Emperor at that time was also satisfied watching me, but not as much as he is now.
I knew that the Emperor had coveted my position very much. That is why he made me the Crown Princess. However, the current Emperor seemed much more satisfied than he was back then. I had only exchanged greetings, so I couldn't understand at all what made him like me this much.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."
"Oh! Yes, tell him to come in immediately."
My heart began to pound rapidly. The door to the audience chamber opened slowly. My heart was beating wildly.
Back then, I loved him enough to destroy myself.
'Do I love him now? Or not?'
"I greet Your Majesty."
Finally, he revealed himself.
He was exactly the same as I remembered him, yet at the same time, he was different. The him now looked like a boy much younger than the last time I saw him.
His silver hair shimmered like light in the sunlight. His face, still retaining a youthful appearance, was as smooth as flawless white porcelain. His elegantly curved nose and petal-red lips were so beautiful that he could easily be mistaken for a girl.
He was 14 years old this year, three years older than me. Like most boys of this age, he stood on the boundary between boyhood and youth. The downy hair still remaining on his face made him look like a boy, while his solid physique, honed by swordsmanship, made him look like a young man.
He approached with effortless movements and bowed his head toward the Emperor. The Emperor welcomed him with a broad smile.
"Come quickly, Crown Prince."
"I greet the little sun of the Empire."
"Bjornne Rossa Elliot, the eldest daughter of the Elliot family, greets the little sun of the Empire."
The Marquis and I bowed to the Crown Prince at the same time. He showed courtesy to the Marquis and me by respectfully bowing his head in return.
"Crown Prince, come here."
The Emperor gestured toward the Crown Prince. He approached my side at the Emperor's command. As he drew closer, sweat began to seep into my palms.
"As expected! You make a perfect match, don't you, Prime Minister?"
The Marquis did not answer. In a way, it was a rather rude attitude, but perhaps the Emperor had not said it expecting an answer from the Marquis, as he soon asked the same question to the Chief Chamberlain.
"What do the chief chamberlains think?"
"I am grateful for the truly beautiful pair of winged birds that match so well, Your Majesty."
"A pair of winged birds? Hahaha, that is truly a fitting description."
The Emperor burst into loud laughter as if there could be nothing more amusing. The winged bird is a bird known for having only one eye and one wing for the male and female, and being unable to fly unless paired up. It was commonly used as a metaphor for affectionate lovers or a happily married couple.
The Emperor was blatantly revealing his purpose.
"Your Majesty, I humbly beg your pardon, but the time for the morning assembly is up."
"Good heavens! Are you saying the time is up already?"
The Emperor looked surprised at the chamberlain's words. He looked at me with a look of regret.
"I lost track of time being with Young Lady."
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
All I had done since coming here was greet, but for now, I bowed my head toward the Emperor and replied.
The Emperor looked at me like that and seemed to be deep in thought about something.
"It would be a shame to let Young Lady go like this."
"The Leisha flowers are in full bloom in the rear garden of Visad Palace. How about showing the garden to the Young Lady?"
At the Emperor's muttering, the chief chamberlain answered swiftly, as if he had been waiting for it. It looked like a rigged game to anyone.
The Emperor slapped his knee as if to say it was a good idea.
"That would be a good idea. It would be better for the young lady to wait for the Prime Minister before returning, rather than going back alone."
It was much more comfortable to return alone. To be honest, I didn't want to look around the gardens. However, I could not refuse the Emperor's words. The Emperor's words were gentle, as if he were making a suggestion, but they were no different from a command.
The Emperor looked back at the Crown Prince.
"It would be best if the Crown Prince handled the guidance. Make sure you guide the Young Lady well until the Prime Minister's duties are finished."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He bowed his head toward the Emperor and answered. The Emperor looked at him with a pleased gaze. I clenched my slightly trembling hand tightly.
"It was a very enjoyable time. See you again soon."
"I am deeply humbled, Your Majesty."
I had no choice but to answer the Emperor.
The Crown Prince extended his hand to me. It was an escort like a knight giving to a lady. Barely managing to calm my trembling hand, I placed it on his outstretched hand. Even though I tried to hide it, my hand, clasped in his, was trembling slightly.
The me now was exactly the same as I was back then. Just...
'The only difference is that the trembling back then was excitement for him, whereas the trembling now is fear of the me who will change.'
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