“Shouldn’t you get up and get ready?”
“…”
“Countess.”
“…Ah.”
At that, Pristin, who had been sleeping, quickly opened her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Madame Korsol. I didn’t get much sleep last night…”
“I told you not to overdo it yesterday.”
“…I just want to give him something better.”
Late last night, Pristin’s head came up with a more effective method for relieving fatigue than the one she originally made.
Pristin eventually decided to make a new one as a gift instead of the one she had already made. It was because she stayed up all night. The originally made remedy was given as a gift to those who needed it among those who worked at Camer Palace.
“If I hadn’t made it again, I would have worried unnecessarily. It felt weird. But since it’s a birthday gift, I wanted to give the best.”
“Countess, you’re really…”
Aruvina murmured as if she couldn’t stop her, but there was a happy smile around her mouth.
“Thanks to you, the palace maids and servants really liked it…”
Aruvina said, her eyes drifting sideways,
“But you’re overdoing it. I’m worried.”
“It’s all right. I feel very refreshed now. If I’m having a hard time, I’ll have a bottle of the remaining fatigue relief, too.”
Pristin replied nonchalantly and then asked immediately,
“Do we not have much time until the birthday party?”
“It’s not like that, but I’m not relaxed.”
That was enough for her. Pristin nodded her head in response.
“You’ll just have to keep yourself busy. Please dress me beautifully today, Madame Korsol.”
“Don’t worry, Your Excellency.”
Aruvina promised with a gentle smile and a trustworthy voice,
“I’ll make sure to dress you beautifully enough that everyone will be confused about who the birthday celebrant is today.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Of course, the emperor’s birthday party was supposed to be splendidly held. Many noblewomen had invested a considerable amount of time to ensure the success of today’s event.
Although Pristin did not prepare Jerald’s birthday party herself, walking through the spectacular banquet hall with wide-eyed eyes gave a rough idea of their efforts. It was when she was looking around with a curious expression.
“Pristin!”
Claret approached, singing Pristin in a bright voice. Pristin bowed to Claret with a smile.
“Your Royal Highness the Princess.”
“Oh, my God, Pristin. You look stunning today. You look stunning in that dress.”
“Your Royal Highness is so beautiful.”
Pristin replied with a renewed expression,
“I think you’re all grown up now.”
“My God. It’s only been less than two years since we saw each other for the first time, Pristin. I’m still a long way from being an adult.”
“I know. But you look truly dignified today. You wouldn’t look out of place dancing with His Majesty at all.”
“What are you talking about? Pristin should dance with Brother today.”
“What? Me?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
Claret asked again, looking puzzled,
“Haven’t you two been quite friendly lately?”
Pristin was naturally embarrassed by Claret’s words. Claret laughed when she saw Pristin’s expression, which was apparently surprising.
“You really are oblivious, Pristin. You can tell without me having to spell it out.”
“But how…”
Pristin, who always kept the good line when it came to Claret’s brother, enjoyed the Founding Festival with her brother and had dinners together.
“…”
“I have ears everywhere, Pristin.”
Ah, I may have given away too much. Pristin muttered with an awkward expression,
“If Your Highness knows this well, I suppose the empress candidates must be aware of the same thing.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Somehow…”
“You don’t have to worry. I don’t think all the candidates came in expecting to be my brother’s empress. Especially with Pristin around.”
“Aren’t you being too optimistic?”
“I don’t think so. If they truly aspired to that position, why would the empress candidates be so friendly with Pristin? You’re ultimately rivals.”
“…”
“Of course, there was the case of infertility soap, but there’s nothing bad about getting close to your future empress in advance.”
Pristin felt that she had been too complacent, considering Claret’s words. There was logic in everything Claret said.
Feeling somewhat guilty, Pristin was about to apologize, but Claret tapped her arm as if to dismiss any concern.
“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t a loss for them either. Besides, even as a candidate for empress, it won’t be useless as career experience for marriage later on.”
Immediately, Claret added as if she had forgotten,
“Oh, except for one, of course.”
It was clear who that “one person” was without needing further explanation. Pristin awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth.
“In the first place, it seems that Duke Gennant helped the rebellion with the aim of becoming His Majesty’s father-in-law.”
“That’s right. He dared to go against Brother’s will because of his over-the-top greed.”
Claret muttered as if the fact was very annoying, then waved her hand to change the mood.
“Anyway, let’s talk about something else. My brother is going to choose Pristin no matter what, heaven knows.”
“Haha…”
“Did you prepare a present?”
“You mean the birthday present?”
“Yes. Although, with my brother’s character, he must have said something like, ‘Pristin, you are my gift.’”
Pristin couldn’t help but laugh as she watched Claret deftly impersonate Jerald. Claret asked knowingly,
“I was right, wasn’t I?”
“Yes, you were. It was quite similar.”
“But I think so, too. Perhaps the best gift for my brother is Pristin.”
“But it’s my first birthday with His Majesty again.”
Pristin said with a smile,
“So, I couldn’t help but prepare something. From my heart.”
“Really. How happy my brother would be if he knew.”
Claret asked with a happy expression,
“So, what’s the present? Does my brother know?”
“No, not yet. It’s still a secret. The gift I prepared is…”
“His Imperial Majesty enters!”
At that moment, the booming voice of the servant echoed through the banquet hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing and waited for Jerald’s arrival. Pristin also blinked quickly, looking for Jerald.
Shortly afterward, Jerald strode into the banquet hall with a dignified air. He was handsome to begin with, but the carefully groomed appearance made him look like the most handsome man in the capital, if not the entire empire.
The quiet moment when everyone waited for him to enter with bated breath made his aura stand out even more.
The quiet moment when everyone held their breath to wait for his entrance only accentuated his aura. Everyone bowed their heads in respect to the emperor. However, in the midst of it all, Pristin simply stared at Jerald’s entrance with a vacant expression, forgetting that she was supposed to bow her head.
‘…Ah.’
Then, at one point, Jerald and Pristin’s eyes met.
In an unexpected situation, Pristin only realized that she was acting rudely while standing blankly.
As soon as she became aware of it, she tried to lower her head, but that’s when Jerald smiled at Pristin. Pristin looked at Jerald blankly, unable to keep her head down, once again attracted to the smile.
With everyone bowing down, only two people were sharing a secret time.
“Everyone, please rise.”
“Congratulations on your birthday, Your Majesty.”
“Congratulations on your birthday, Your Majesty!”
From various places, the sounds of nobles offering their congratulations to Jerald could be heard. They were mostly high-ranking nobles like dukes. As Jerald seamlessly blended into the banquet hall, the people who had been momentarily quiet regained their energy.
Not much time passed, and all the attendees behaved as they did before Jerald’s arrival, except for Pristin, who couldn’t take her eyes off Jerald, who was conversing with other nobles with a blank expression.
“Oh my, even Pristin.”
Then she heard Claret laughing next to her.
“Of course I know my brother is handsome, but you don’t need to stare so openly, do you?”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve been staring until now. Do you like my brother that much?”
“Oh, Princess…”
Then, Pristin smiled embarrassedly and turned away from Jerald. It was then.
“Your Majesty.”
A woman dressed in a sparkling golden dress stepped forward before Jerald. All eyes were on her. Tanya, who had adorned herself as if she were the protagonist of the day, elegantly lifted the left hem of her dress and bowed to Jerald.
“Congratulations on your birthday.”
“Thank you, Princess Gennant.”
“As a candidate for empress, I have a request to make to Your Majesty.”
At that, Jerald raised an eyebrow. Before he could understand what it was, Tanya gracefully extended her right hand towards him. The meaning behind it was clear.
“Could you please grant me the honor of the first dance of Your Majesty’s birthday celebration?”
Tanya thought of this as her last chance to present it to Jerald. If he refused this dance, Tanya would truly be furious.
So she stood in front of him more splendidly than ever, hoping that it wouldn’t happen. But…
“…Unfortunately.”
Unfortunately, that was not a method that worked well with Jerald. He looked at Tanya with an inscrutable expression and then slowly spoke.
“I understand the Lady’s intentions.”
At the ambiguous start, Tanya stared at Jerald.
“But I already have someone who promised me to dance with me.”
“…Who is that, Your Majesty?”
“That’s…”
“If you’ve promised someone else to dance, instead of me, a candidate for empress, surely it must be another empress candidate?”
Tanya asked Jerald in a trembling voice. It was a question that could be asked because she guessed that it wouldn’t be any other empress candidate.
Jerald looked at Tanya for a moment and then turned away soon after. And he walked towards Pristin with a slow step.
While Pristin felt burdened by everyone’s attention on her, she had no intention of avoiding the attention of others. Nor did she have any intention of avoiding Jerald, who was approaching her now.
“Lady Rosewell.”
“…”
“Would you honor me with the privilege of sharing the first dance?”
Even more so, she had no intention of shaking off Jerald’s hand to her.
