5. Ethan and the poison
A long procession lined up at the Imperial Palace.
A red flag fluttered at the end of a flagpole.
It was a delegation from the kingdom of Mulkybel.
“It is an honor to meet Her Majesty, Emperor Dorothea Milanaire, Mother of the Empire.”
Mulkybel’s delegation bowed respectfully before Dorothea.
Ethan, who was standing next to Dorothea, looked at the head of the delegation who was standing at the front of the delegation.
“I didn’t expect that Prince Luheit of Mulkybel would walk all the way here himself.”
Third Prince of the kingdom of Mulkybel, Luheit.
He hadn’t attended Episteme, so not much was known about him in the Empire.
But Ethan knew him well.
Because he remembered Luheit before his return.
Ethan recalled old memories and carefully observed Dorothea.
‘I guess she doesn’t know either.’
After all, Dorothea before her return only knew Theon Fried.
By the time Dorothea met Luheit before returning, she was building a new palace for Theon.
It was a time when she was already blinded by Theon and couldn’t pay attention to things around her.
‘’Should I say it’s fortunate…?’
Ethan turned his eyes again to the man standing at the front of the delegation.
A slender man with copper-colored skin. Red hair that symbolized a fire spirit.
“Indeed. Just as I heard, Prince Luhiet’s appearance is outstanding.”
One of the ministers praised his appearance.
One of the few things that was known about Prince Luheit was his handsome appearance.
“That’s too much praise. When you say that, I can’t raise my head in shame in front of Her Majesty the Emperor and her husband, Duke Bronte.”
Luheit said, making eye contact with Dorothea.
Contrary to what he said that he could not raise his head, his head remained firmly fixed on Dorothea.
Ethan smiled with his teeth clenched.
‘It really hasn’t changed.’
It is the same before and after regression.
Equally annoying. The way he looks at Dorothea.
* * *
“Your Majesty, Emperor Dorothea Milanaire.”
That afternoon, on the way back from the meeting.
Dorothea encountered an unexpected person.
“Prince Luheit?”
It must have taken him a month to travel from Mulkybel to Lampas in Ubera. So after a brief greeting in the morning, Dorothea gave him time to rest.
She never thought she would meet him in a place like that.
“I have made arrangements so that you can rest until the evening banquet. Are there any inconveniences?”
Luheit is the head of the delegation and a member of the royal family of the country that established diplomatic relations.
In particular, there was a lot to discuss with the delegation about customs duties.
With so much to gain, he was an honored guest to be treated with care.
Therefore, Dorothea smiled and carefully checked to see if he was uncomfortable.
“No, I’m not uncomfortable. Thanks to the royal family’s attention to detail, it’s just as comfortable as staying at Mulkybel. More than that, there’s something I’d like to share with you, Your Majesty.”
“Alone with me?”
Dorothea thought for a moment.
Her memories of Luheit before returning are not clear.
However, she remembered that he was quite friendly towards her.
‘He doesn’t seem too hostile towards me even now, so it might be a good idea to talk to him.’
It is also a good opportunity to understand the intentions of the delegation.
‘I tried to check the contents of the delegation even when I went back to the office anyway, so this might be better.’
“Alright. Let’s talk then.”
Dorothea ordered Stefan to follow at a distance and then headed to the back garden with Luheit.
* * *
“Father, have you seen the people from Mulkybel today?”
When he returned to the palace, Hezen came out and asked Ethan.
He seemed curious about the delegation from a distant and foreign country.
“Yes, I saw it.”
“How was it? Was it cool? I heard Mulkybel deals with fire spirits. Did my friend come too?”
“Unfortunately, Hezen, it looks like no one your age came.”
Hezen became sullen at Ethan’s words.
Ethan quickly hugged Hezen.
“If you don’t have any friends, you can hang out with your father. Shall we go see Helen too?”
At the mention of his younger sister Helen, who has just turned 100 days old, Hezen nodded his head eagerly, as if he was feeling better right away.
Ethan took Hezen and headed to Converta palace, where Helen would be.
however.
“Father, there is Her Majesty the Emperor!”
Ethan’s steps stopped as he passed through the hallway.
Dorothea was there.
and…
“Is that person a guest from Mulkybel?”
Prince Luheit was by her side.
“Yes. He is the prince of Mulkybel.”
Ethan held Hezen in his arms and watched the two of them quietly.
“It looks like we and Mulkybel are on good terms. I’m glad!”
Hezen looked at the two people and said that.
‘Yeah, they seem to get along well. In my eyes too.’
Dorothea and Luheit were chatting and laughing amiably.
Hot emotions flow through Luheit’s eyes.
Ethan knew well where the heat came from. Love.
Luheit loves Dorothea.
It’s funny to talk about love after only a few hours of meeting, but Luheit was that kind of person.
The kind of person who fell in love with Dorothea at first sight after seeing her appearance.
Of course, it’s not that Ethan doesn’t understand his feelings.
‘Our Majesty is beautiful…’
Anyone who sees Dorothea will have no choice but to love her.
But it’s different to reveal your feelings of love so openly.
‘Damn you Luheit.’
Ethan recalled what Luheit said before returning.
“Having many partners is an important political strategy for an Emperor…”
Mulkybel had a concubine system.
Additionally, many of Ubera’s Emperors also had multiple partners.
Perhaps for their beauty, perhaps for political reasons.
‘Carnan Milanaire, the previous emperor, was something special. Because he only had one woman as empress and did not remarry after her death.’
He was the only one to hold the throne until the end, despite countless pressures to remarry from the nobility.
Because of this historical ‘tradition’, before returning, Luheit openly courted Dorothea.
‘Dorothea probably didn’t know.’
She was blinded by Theon and ignored Ethan’s love.
So there was no way Luheit could win her heart.
‘It seems like she still doesn’t know.’
The only thing she lacked in being smart and perfect was that she had no idea how much she was loved.
Still, a person who is not used to being loved.
Someone who is blind to her own lovability.
Dorothea probably thinks of Luheit only as an honored guest.
‘Is that fortunate…?’
‘It seems that she is only interested in diplomatic talks, paying no attention to Luheit’s passionate gaze.’
‘Still, it’s annoying.’
But that doesn’t mean he can poison the teacup of Mulkybel’s delegation leader.
He was a very important guest to Dorothea.
At that time, Dorothea, who was walking in the garden below, stopped.
The end of the long dress got caught in the bushes of the back garden.
Normally, the maids would have organized the clothes, but there are no maids.
As Dorothea was trying to remove the hem of her dress that was caught on a branch of a bush, Luheit came up to her.
“Would you please stay still for a moment?”
Luheit reached out to the back of her waist. His slightly tilted body got closer.
‘That bastard. How dare you play tricks on Dorothea? Do you think I don’t know what your intention is?’
Dorothea may not know it, but Ethan can see it all.
Because he also once did something like that to win Dorothea’s heart.
“Ah, wait a minute.”
The day he met Dorothea as a child after returning.
“There’s something in your hair.”
He also made excuses because he couldn’t believe Dorothea was right in front of him, because he wanted to feel that she was alive, and because he wanted to touch her even just a little bit.
That’s why he was able to perceive the dark intentions of such tricks more keenly than anyone else.
“Father, what’s wrong?”
At that time, Hezen grabbed his hand and shook it.
Hezen seemed a little confused by Ethan’s furrowed brow.
“It’s nothing, Hezen.”
Ethan took his eyes off Dorothea and Luheit and smiled.
* * *
That evening.
A dinner was prepared for the delegation.
With Dorothea and Ethan sitting at the head of the table, Luheit, the head of the delegation, took his seat to Dorothea’s right.
“I don’t know if the food will suit your taste.”
“I’ve always heard that Ubera’s food is great, but it’s even better than the rumors say.”
Luheit responded to Dorothea’s words.
Ethan looked at Luheit while holding a fork and knife.
“I wish I could eat like this every day.”
Luheit smiles while looking at Dorothea.
His ‘like this’ contains the meaning of ‘with Dorothea.’
However, Ethan was the only one who understood Luheit’s intentions.
* * *
Thank you