“Your Highness the Princess.”
The eyes of the people who saw her were slightly different. When she first entered the ballroom, it was an atmosphere that everyone wanted to avoid, as if they were seeing a crazy person. There was deep curiosity in the eyes of those who saw her now. They had seen everything that happened at the ballroom, so they might be wondering what happened. She quickly escaped the people and tried to climb into the carriage. No, she was going to climb. If it wasn’t for the charming bass that came from behind.
“Eve.”
It was Arentine. She saw him coming this way. The gathered nobles split into two sides. Arentine, who came in front of her, had a slightly hardened face unlike a moment ago.
“Are you going back to the imperial palace?”
“That’s right, now I’m going to go back and rest.”
He held out a hand to her standing in front of the carriage.
“If you don’t mind, come back with me.”
She was not okay. Being trapped in a wagon with this older brother was a torture. He must be asking about Terrence’s business.
“Brother, I’m sorry, but…”
She was about to say no because she was a little tired, but the butler came out of the mansion and ran this way.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
The butler bent over Arentine and said.
“My mistress wants to see you for a while.”
“The Duchess?”
Arentine looked puzzled, but she guessed what was going on. Because punishing nobles requires the permission of the Emperor. Now, Arentine, the crown prince, was the acting Emperor. Arentine had no choice but to let her go.
“Just go back today. Let’s talk about it later.”
“Yes.”
She climbed into the carriage with a smile of relief.
* * *
After a while, the carriage passed through the main gate of the princess’s palace and entered the dark backyard.
‘It was a really long day.’
After going a long way along the back garden, the carriage stopped in front of the princess’s palace. As soon as she entered the bedroom, she took a bath and fell asleep before she had time to dry her hair properly. She was so tired that when she closed her eyes and opened them, it was the next morning. When she went out of the bedroom, the waiting ladies-in-waiting welcomed her and chattered.
“Princess, I have prepared the bath water.”
“Shall I prepare medicinal tea and snacks, Princess?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
In a matter of days, it seemed that the ladies-in-waiting have become kinder than before. At first, there was an atmosphere of discipline, but these days, they were happy to see her and didn’t ask her to, but they tried to help her with this and that. It wasn’t like this right after waking up here. Whenever she appeared, everyone would tremble with nervousness, like new soldiers who met a general. But unlike the real Eve, she didn’t get angry or annoyed, so everyone felt at ease. Even so, these were enthusiastic reactions today.
“What’s up everyone?”
The ladies-in-waiting, whose eyes twinkled at her question, suddenly shut their mouths and exchanged glances. Among them, one maid who was pushed by her colleagues came forward.
“Princess, I heard you met His Highness the Grand Duke last night?”
“Ah.”
That’s why they are doing this.
“Yeah, it was.”
At her indifferent answer, the maids’ questions burst out like a waterfall.
“I heard that His Highness asked for a dance first last night?”
“Is it true that Her Highness the Grand Duke confessed his love to the princess?”
…who did what?
“I heard that Her Highness the Grand Duke asked for forgiveness for what happened in the past and swore love on his knees in front of the princess?”
“…”
How could rumors become so exaggerated in one day? The news was so shocking that it seemed to have grown like a snowball as the word spread. Since she was being bombarded with questions pouring in here and there, her head has been pounding since morning.
“Because it’s not a big deal. Don’t make a fuss and go out.”
In the meantime, only Chloe, the lady-in-waiting sent by the Grand Duke, was quietly doing her own thing. She tried to bite off the ladies-in-waiting and sit down to have a late breakfast. Nell, who was serving the meal, told her the news of the outside.
“Everyone in the imperial palace has been talking about the ball since morning.”
“I see.”
Well, it turned out just the way she wanted it.
“What are they talking about?”
“Everyone is surprised that the princess has won the heart of the Grand Duke.”
Nell told her in detail about the stories that spread in the imperial palace. The incident at the ball last night had already turned into an unprecedented romantic love story. It’s just one dance, and the truth was so exaggerated overnight. This was why rumors couldn’t be trusted.
“Everyone envied me. I was the only one who saw the prom myself.”
Nell smiled broadly and set the bowl in front of her. Then, as if she had suddenly remembered, she said.
“Ah, but it looks like there was a commotion in the Duchy of Rohan this morning.”
“A commotion?”
“At dawn, one of the maids must have turned on the princess trying to give her medicine. But the culprit was one of the Duke’s collateral relatives.”
“Really? Oh no.”
“So they said that the Duchess directly caught the criminal and handed it over to the Inspection Department… It doesn’t seem like it’s a big topic right now.”
It was said that the Duke’s case was not receiving attention because of her story. It worked fine though. It was fortunate that the culprit was caught. Rather, it would be better if such things were handled quietly and without attracting public attention.
“Princess.”
A maid knocked on the door hastily.
“Your Majesty is looking for you.”
With that one word, she had to wash up and put on a dress without having to do anything that morning.
* * *
It was the first time she had been to the Empress’ palace since the last tea party. Since the Empress did not call her, she had no business to visit. Arentine had given her permission to attend the ball, and she briefly told him to visit the temple through his maid. Even when she went to the temple one more time to secretly meet the Grand Duke, the Empress did not specifically call her. The Empress’s palace, which she had visited again after a few days, had not changed from before. After summoning her early in the morning, the Empress greeted her in a dress-room in her room.
“Did you have a good time at the ball yesterday?”
“Yes, Mother.”
The Empress’ well-shaped eyebrows wrinkle at the sound of her calling her ‘mother’. She openly expresses her dislike. It’s just the two of them here, so no one was watching.
“The crown prince said he would take you as his partner, so I couldn’t stop him…” said the Empress, reprimanding her exaggerated sigh. “I heard you begged the Grand Duke to be his partner at the ballroom. What would other people say if they saw you like that? This is also a matter related to the face of the imperial family.”
“Oh, who did you hear that from?”
With a puzzled expression on her face, she corrected the Empress’ story.
“His Highness the Grand Duke asked me to dance first. I couldn’t refuse my fiancé’s request, so I accepted it. Everyone present saw it.”
Everyone stared blankly. It must have reached the Empress’ ears last night.
“I wonder who gave you such a false story. It must be someone with vision or hearing problems.”
“Then… Is it really? Did the Grand Duke ask you to dance first?”
The Empress had an expression that she couldn’t believe. Of course, she heard it straight, but she was so surprised that she wanted to call her to check it out.
“Why are you so surprised? It’s only natural to dance with your fiancé at the ball.”
The Empress carefully observed her face without answering. She must be very curious how this happened. The Grand Duke suddenly showed interest in Eve. The Empress suddenly changed the subject as if it had come to mind.
“Come to think of it, I heard you met the Grand Duke the last time you went to the temple?”
Why didn’t she say anything about it? The second time they met secretly, but the first time they went to the temple, they openly met and talked with the Grand Duke outdoors. Of course, she thought that rumors would spread somewhere. The Empress must have heard about it already, but she thought it was strange that she didn’t call or ask.
“Even if you want to attract the heart of the Grand Duke, you shouldn’t behave so rudely.”
“I just delivered a bouquet of flowers to Her Highness, the Grand Duchess. The Grand Duke also listened to my words and took the flowers. He even said thank you to me.”
“Since you brought up her birth mother’s name, he must have had no choice but to take it.”
TheEmpress clicked her tongue as if feeling sorry for him.
“Perhaps that’s why the Grand Duke was being polite to you.”
Did she think the Grand Duke’s incomprehensible behavior was a return? She chimed in moderately.
“I know, right. I guess that’s what you heard.”
“I heard yesterday that the prince said he would send you to the Grand Duke’s mansion.”
The Empress changed the topic again.
“Even if it’s for the wedding, you’d better refrain from going out of the palace. Because you are still on probation.”
That was the point.
‘It looks like they don’t want to let me out of the palace.’
Well, the Emperor would have told her to hold Eve inside the palace, but she had already been outside three times. She should be worried that she would be reprimanded when the Emperor returns. And the fact that the Grand Duke suddenly started to show favor to Eve would also bother him.
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Translator Note:
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