Cian smirked.
It was ridiculous, yet very Stephen-like, to come see him at this late hour and shamelessly ask for a favor.
“What on earth do you want from me this late at night?”
“What else could it be? It’s obvious.”
“It’s not obvious at all, so get to the point quickly.”
“Please let me sleep for a few days.”
“You want to sleep? Why did you come all the way here to sleep when you have a perfectly good Ducal mansion?”
Stefan quickly changed his expression and pouted.
“Aunt… No, Her Majesty the Empress. She’s bugging me about wanting to buy a new mansion again. She can’t send anyone to summon me or come to me herself if I stay here. Please help me.”
Beatrix, Stefan’s aunt and the Empress, was afraid of her husband, Sigar. Knowing that Sigar hated Cian, she never made eye contact or even spoke to him.
Beatrix would never send someone to Cian’s home, no matter how urgent the need to speak with her nephew.
“It looks like you’re not afraid of the emperor, huh?”
“If I feared someone like that, would I have become friends with you? But it doesn’t matter, we ignore each other anyway.”
It was true that Sigar had no interest in in Stefan. He didn’t penalize Stefan for hanging out with Cian or frequently missing royal meetings.
It was clear that he thought of things like cozying up to management, wielding power, and kicking out flatterers as child’s play. He didn’t even know how much money Stefan was raking in.
Cian spoke nonchalantly.
“If you’re making so much money, why don’t you buy her another mansion?”
“Are you crazy? I already have a dozen mansions all over the empire that I never use. Do you realize how hard it is to keep track of them all?”
“Can’t you just sell the mansions you don’t use?”
“Our Empress, Her Majesty, would go crazy. She’s always thinking about which mansion to run away to and hide in, so I can’t sell them.“
It was a pitiful story. A life in which she had to live in fear of her husband, trying to escape.
Stefan grumbled.
“Many people are suffering because of the damn emperor.”
“You could be arrested for saying that.”
“Let them try.”
Stefan blurted out, then said, as if he’d just remembered.
“Come to think of it, I should’ve told you this earlier, but I forgot.”
“What?”
“The emperor bought invitations to your party, three for ten thousand gold a piece.”
Cian nodded briefly as he expected it to happen.
* * *
Theodore had been whining in the townhouse for days after returning. The image of Rachel’s back, coldly turning away from him in the street, still haunted him. It felt like his heart was breaking.
“Rachel, I can’t believe you, especially you, rejected me twice! You’ve only had eyes for me for over ten years!”
Moreover, Graham, the ungrateful son who he’d raised, targeted his father’s vital point. His shame boiled over as people stared at him being threatened by his own son.
Part of him wanted to drag Rachel away by force. No matter how great Graham’s physical abilities were, he was still a kid. Rachel spoke venomously but was thin and weak.
He didn’t know what he was going to do with her but felt like if he could just get her here, everything would be fine.
The problem was the guy with the mask and cloak. He’d held a real sword pressed to Theodore’s throat. He still remembered the sensation of the sharp edge pressing against his skin.
“Damn him! If it weren’t for him, I would’ve dragged Rachel back here!”
As Theodore contemplated how to avenge himself if they ever met again, he realized something was strange. The man was clearly covered by a mask and cloak but seemed familiar.
A mask and cloak? Where had he seen that before?
Theodore’s head snapped up.
“…! That guy! It was him! The guy who came to Elrosa Mansion to receive Rachel’s request! The guy who took money from me in exchange for information about Rachel! It was all the same guy!”
Anger flashed in Theodore’s blue eyes.
“He was the reason she changed! Rachel Elrosa, how dare you cheat on me, how dare you abandon me and choose a low life who works for the guild! I won’t forgive you.”
He was furious, ranting nonsense.
“Seeing him walking around with his face covered, he must be a very ugly man, right? Well then! Next time we meet, I’ll rip off that mask and expose his ugly face in front of Rachel! She’ll be so embarrassed!”
* * *
Lylus and Graham sat in the parlor attached to Rachel’s bedroom, feet tapping the floor. The way they sat side by side and tapped their feet looked identical, like a grandfather and grandson.
Graham, his eyes sparkling as he stared at Rachel’s bedroom door, turned to Lylus.
“Grandpa, she’s going to be so pretty, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she is! This old man has seen her from the future.”
“You already saw it? Wow, grandpa is great!”
“Don’t be jealous. You too will see it soon. She’s going to be so beautiful, it’ll bring tears to your eyes.”
“I can’t wait! I’m so excited! But grandpa, if you saw it all in the future, why are you tapping your feet?”
“Now that I know, I’m even more nervous. I can’t believe I’m seeing her in real life, not in a vision!”
“Is that so?”
Then the two held each other’s hands tightly.
As soon as the dress arrived from the shop, Graham and Lylus clung to Rachel’s side and begged her to try it on.
After Rachel went into the room to put on her dress, the two sat together in the living room, legs shaking and heels taping on the floor the whole time.
After a while, Carol cracked open the door and smiled.
“You’ve waited very patiently!”
Carol slowly opened the door wide and stepped back.
Graham and Lylus’ eyes and mouths widened in time with the door’s opening.
“Wow…”
“Woah…”
“Graham, Dad. I know you’ve been waiting, but my dress has so many embellishments, it took me forever to get it on.”
Rachel, wearing a pink dress, walked gracefully into the room. Her hair was up and she looked radiant.
Lylus clapped his hands.
“You’re so beautiful, Rachel! Even if Yenis herself was reincarnated, she wouldn’t be this pretty!”
“Dad…”
Rachel blushed at the exaggerated compliment.
Graham opened his mouth in a daze and began to sob.
“Huh, huh, huh.”
Rachel was surprised.
“Huh, Graham?”
“Uh, uhh. Mom…!”
Graham threw himself into Lylus’s arms, tears streaming down his face.
“Grandpa, Grandpa, my mommy is so beautiful… Wahh. What if she turns into an angel and flies away? I’m scared.”
“Don’t worry. Don’t I know Yenis well? All I have to do is ask her to send Rachel back. If she doesn’t send her back, I’ll threaten to quit as her left hand.”
“Ugh. Thanks, Grandpa, I’m so glad I get to keep living with my angel mom!”
“Heh, heh, heh.”
Lylus patted Graham’s head in glee.
Wiping the tears from his eyes on Lylus’s robes, Graham slid down from the chair and ran to Rachel. The child’s eyes shone as he squeezed his mother’s hand.
“Mom, I’m sorry I cried all of a sudden, it’s just that you’re so beautiful.”
“Ugh. You scared your mom.”
Rachel leaned down and hugged Graham tightly in her arms.
“Oh, thank you. I’m so glad Graham thinks I look pretty.”
“Ehehe. I’m so glad that such a pretty person is my mom. I hope the day when mom will be awarded her title comes soon. I want to brag to all the people that this pretty person is my mom.”
“Hehe. Mom is also going to brag that this gorgeous, adorable Graham is her boy. We’re going to be very busy on the day of the title award ceremony.”
“Ahh, I see. I’ll eat a lot and do my best!”
Rachel’s eyes spilled over with affection as she looked at her adorable son, and so did Lylus’s eyes as he looked at Rachel and Graham.
* * *
The title award ceremony was as grand as expected. Not only the imperial family but also all the nobles living in the imperial capital gathered, and Great Saint Titienis and Bishop Lylus also attended on behalf of the Church of Yenis.
“The generous Emperor has decided to bestow upon Lady Rachel the title of Countess! Reviving a lost title is something that has never been done in the history of the empire…!”
The man in charge of the opening remarks praised Sigar loudly enough to make the palace reverberate.
Sigar looked down at Rachel kneeling in front of him with a sinister smile.
‘So, this woman is Rachel. She has a surprisingly pretty face.’
He’d been looking forward to this day. He wanted to see for himself what kind of person Rachel was.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing how stupid this woman is. Haha. She’s going to go crazy.’
He’d prepared a test for her with great care. If she didn’t answer right, he was planning to yell at her.
He couldn’t wait to see the ugly look on her face.
He couldn’t think of anything more hilarious than seeing the woman he’d handpicked as Cian’s partner begging for his favor! Anticipation sent chills down his spine.
The long speech, which neither the person awarding the title nor the person receiving the title heard, was coming to an end.
“And now, His Majesty the Emperor will bestow the plaque of nobility!”
Sigar slowly rose from his seat and approached Rachel.
“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Lady Rachel.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“As you know, titles are given to families who’ve worked hard for the empire, but you decided to receive this title without doing anything. This is unusual.”
This was not something that was included in the title award ceremony procedures that were announced in advance.
The nobles and ministers standing on the sidelines narrowed their eyes in bewilderment. Cian, standing a few feet away, stiffened.
The corners of Sigar’s mouth twitched as he barely managed to keep his smile at bay.
“So, before I bestow the noble plaque, I will give you a test. If you pass my test, I will give you the plaque; if you fail, I will not give you the plaque.”
“I will follow your Majesty’s wishes.”
Sigar’s eyes narrowed at the unexpectedly calm reaction.
‘…Why aren’t you panicking?’
The anticipation quickly subsided. A gleam of wariness appeared in Sigar’s eyes. Trying to keep his composure, he blurted out the question he’d prepared.
“The former Count of Elrosa, who lived with you, was caught in an act of indecency at the crown prince’s birthday banquet. What would you send such a man if you were to give him a gift?”
There was no answer.
Sigar didn’t care how she answered his question. Whatever answer she gave, he would scold Rachel and frighten her.
After a moment of thought, Rachel spoke up.
“I don’t want to send anything, but if I must, I will send alcohol. It would be nice to send mead wine, which is said to be good for stamina.”
“What, a drink that’s good for stamina? Hahaha!”
Sigar burst out laughing.
‘What a foolish woman, sending liquor that’s good for virility to a husband who cheated on her, even if they’re separated!’
Rachel also smiled slightly as she heard Sigar’s resounding laughter.
