“I was surprised because I didn’t expect you to invite me all of a sudden.”
“How come?”
“I thought you’d avoid me.”
“Why would you think that?”
“You seemed so embarrassed in the morning. I thought you’d avoid me for a while.”
“Ah…”
She certainly reacted quite shyly in the morning. Pristin, as if it couldn’t be helped, awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth and murmured,
“It’s been so long…”
“And on top of that, it was the second time. It’s remarkable.”
Jerald, who kissed Pristin lightly on the side of her neck, soon fell from her as if disappointed. He, who sat down in his seat, graciously picked up a salad fork and asked,
“Did you invite me because you missed me?”
“Yes.”
After Pristin finished her answer, she looked at Jerald. He looked perplexed. Like a man who had never expected to hear such an answer. Pristin smiled and sat down at the table opposite Jerald.
“You look surprised.”
“No, I think it’s the first time you’ve expressed it so casually.”
“I thought I expressed it without hesitation last night.”
Pristin murmured, slightly narrowing her brow.
“I’ll have to try harder then. To satisfy Your Majesty.”
“It’s just a joke. There’s no need to force it. I’m already quite satisfied.”
“No matter how big the heart is, if it’s not expressed enough, it’s meaningless.”
With a gentle smile, Pristin cautiously brought up another topic.
“Anyway, I have something to tell you. I thought it would be nice to see your face and have a meal together.”
“What is it?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
With eyes filled with curious anticipation, Pristin smiled brightly.
“I’ll tell you after we finish eating. For now, let’s eat, shall we?”
“Sure, sounds good.”
Jerald nodded gently, and soon the two of them began their intimate meal. The meal was exquisite, and they both finished it feeling satisfied. And now, there was only dessert left to be served.
“Oh, wait a moment.”
Before the dessert was brought out, Jerald spoke up.
“Pristin, can you wait here for a moment?”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden…”
“It’ll just be a moment. It’s something important. I won’t keep you waiting long. I’ll be back before the final dessert is served.”
“Oh, yes. Go ahead.”
Pristin nodded, and Jerald quickly left. He returned shortly afterward, looking rather neat, as if he hadn’t hurried. As Pristin had expected, it didn’t take him long, and she was puzzled by his quick return.
“You’re back so soon?”
“I told you. It wouldn’t take long.”
He smiled, looking more relaxed than when he left, and resumed his seat.
“You were enjoying the fig and honey dessert?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, it’s delicious. Please enjoy it as well.”
“All right, I will.”
“By the way, about what I was going to tell you…”
Just as Pristin was about to bring up the topic of marriage again.
“Your Excellency, I’ve brought a new dessert.”
A maid’s voice was heard from outside. Pristin’s mouth closed naturally.
‘Maybe it would be neater to tell him after we finish the dessert.’
Pristin didn’t show any signs of disappointment and opened her mouth in a gentle voice.
“Yes, please come in.”
A moment later, the door opened, and the maids entered with dessert dishes covered in opaque food covers. One dish was placed in front of each of them, and the maids left. As Pristin lifted the food cover of the last dessert dish with an excited expression.
“Huh?”
There was something else in it other than dessert. Pristin looked at the plate with panicked eyes, and then slowly raised her head to look at Jerald. He was smiling.
“Your Majesty, how…”
On the dish was a very expensive and beautiful azure-colored gemstone ring and a blue rose. Even though Jerald’s wealth could easily afford such a gemstone ring, the blue rose was something Pristin knew was impossible to find in the world.
‘How did he manage to prepare something like this?’
If she had been invited to dinner, she would have expected it, but since he was invited, she never predicted such a moment.
Pristin looked puzzled and couldn’t respond, but Jerald slowly pulled his chair back and got up from his seat. The sound of his shoes walking toward Pristin gently rang the marble floor.
“You look surprised.”
“When… How did you prepare this?”
“Earlier. When I went out for a second.”
Jerald smiled and knelt on one knee in front of Pristin. And he gently stroked Pristin’s cheek, which was filled with tears in emotion.
“You’re not crying, are you?”
“I’m just so surprised…”
Pristin muttered in a dazed voice.
“The ring is so beautiful. And the blue rose… I thought it didn’t exist in this world.”
“That’s right. Blue roses don’t exist in this world.”
With a smile, Jerald handed Pristin the blue rose with the thorns removed. The unseen beauty of the azure hue shimmered in her hand.
“So I went to great lengths to get it. I knew someday this moment would come. I didn’t expect it to come so unexpectedly for me too, but…”
“Oh, my goodness…”
“I couldn’t let these words come out of your mouth first. I didn’t want to give in on that.”
Still kneeling, Jerald looked up at Pristin and asked sweetly,
“Will you marry me, Pristin?”
“…Yes.”
Finally, with tears streaming down her cheeks, Pristin spoke.
“I want to be Your Majesty’s empress.”
Jerald smiled brightly at Pristin’s reply, and before long, he lifted the ring and carefully inserted it onto Pristin’s left ring finger. Looking at it, Jerald explained quietly,
“I made this ring when I became emperor, thinking that someday this moment would come…”
“…”
“I wanted to give it to you when we met again.”
Jerald continued, smiling brightly as he locked eyes with Pristin. It filled Pristin’s heart with overwhelming emotions, and before she knew it, a radiant smile adorned her lips.
“You’ve never really forgotten me for a moment.”
“Of course.”
Jerald whispered softly as he gently held Pristin’s hand with the ring,
“Even though my body was apart, my heart was always with you.”
“…”
“We thought we might never see each other again, but miraculously, we found each other in the end. I want to be with you every moment from now on, body and soul.”
“…Me too.”
Pristin finally spoke, her voice trembling with emotion, and she confessed to him with a face soaked in tears of gratitude.
“I love you, Your Majesty.”
After gently stroking Pristin’s face, Jerald enveloped her in a warm embrace, his own face starting to moisten.
“I love you too, Pristin.”
It was a happy, beautiful evening.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Oh my, so you really received a proposal from His Majesty?”
“Yes.”
Pristin showed Christine the ring on her ring finger with a shy expression. Christine’s eyes widened when she saw the beautiful gemstone ring.
“Wow, I’ve never seen such a beautiful ring in my life!”
“Isn’t it? I think so too. It’s so beautiful.”
Pristin added as if the story behind it was more beautiful,
“His Majesty had it made to give to me someday after he ascended to the throne.”
“His Majesty is so romantic!”
Christine exclaimed, delighted as if it were her own news.
“I’m really happy for you, Countess. To marry such a wonderful person… I’m so, so happy for you. You two are truly a perfect match.”
“Thank you for being happy for me, Chris.”
“Now there’s only the wedding left to prepare for.”
“Yeah, His Majesty said he would mention it at the meeting tomorrow.”
“You’ll have to start preparing for the wedding soon!”
“That’s right. I think I’ll be busy in the future.”
Pristin turned her head to Aruvina, who was happily watching the two from the side, and asked,
“Madame Korsol, will you help me?”
“Absolutely, Countess. Congratulations.”
She could feel the sincerity in Aruvina’s expression.
“I actually knew it would be like this.”
“Huh? What do you mean…”
“I could see how much His Majesty cherished you from the first time he met you. No matter how long it took, I was sure that you two would eventually form a good relationship.”
“Ah… I see.”
Pristin spoke to Aruvina with a shy but smiling face.
“I look forward to your kind cooperation, Madame Korsol; there will be many things I need your help with.”
“Absolutely, Countess. I will continue to serve you with all my heart.”
“Rather than that, when the countess becomes empress soon, the empress candidates will have to go back to their respective homes.”
At Christine’s words, Pristin nodded as if she had forgotten.
“Oh, that’s right.”
“There’s a tea party at the Essian Mansion in a few days, so you can discuss it then.”
“Yes. That’s a good idea.”
And at the same time, Tanya’s face came to mind. How will she react when she hears of their marriage?
‘She’ll surely be furious.’
It was only the day before yesterday that she was humiliated at the birthday party. Pristin resolved to be more cautious until she was sure Tanya had left the palace. After all, she might try to harm her again.
“I’ll be careful. It should be fine.”
Thinking that she shouldn’t worry too much, Pristin smiled softly at Christine.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
On the next day, Jerald immediately announced the news of his wedding at the meeting.
“I’m going to appoint Countess Pristin Rosewell as empress.”
There were two responses to this announcement: those who approved and accepted Jerald’s wishes, and…
“Your Majesty, what is this…?”
“Countess Rosewell is not even a candidate for empress, is she?”
“This seems like a mockery to the empress candidates.”
People who opposed and objected. Jerald quickly countered the arguments of those who opposed, breaking their justification.
“Originally, the human heart is not fixed in one direction. That’s what I clearly stated when establishing the Selection Bureau and bringing the empress candidates into the palace, didn’t I?”
“…”
“But even if we bring the empress candidates into the palace, I have the authority to appoint anyone I want as empress, regardless of whether they are candidates or not.”
However, at that moment, they couldn’t have imagined such a situation. The nobles who opposed all shut their mouths with expressions of defeat. Without a special reason to oppose now, they remained silent.
In any case, Pristin Rosewell was a countess, had made a contribution to saving the princess’s life in exile, and was currently taking good care of her by her side. If it hadn’t been for the conditions Jerald had initially proposed, there might have been some possibility, but those unfavorable conditions made it futile to oppose further.
In the end, those who opposed it had nothing to say, so they shut up. Within the now quiet meeting room, Jerald wore a puzzled expression.
“How come…”
His eyes turned to Duke Gennant. Without saying anything, he was simply watching the situation. His attitude, as if he were just watching someone else’s affair, was clearly absurd given his previous stance.
Jerald slowly spoke up.
