As the coachman opened the large carriage door, the crowd became quiet with anticipation. Various nobles attended to receive titles, but today’s protagonist was by far the Duke of Visconti.
Soon, the youngest duke of the empire showed up. They were wondering on what level he was to have become the Flower of the Year even though he was a man, but he was such a beauty that ordinary people couldn’t dare to think of with their poor imagination.
Those who imagined a pure and handsome man because of the title of flower were surprised by the large body frame and intimidating atmosphere of the Duke of Visconti. They expected him to look a little simple for the title of duke due to his young age, but they were mistaken.
‘Anyone would lose their light when standing next to such a distinguished man.’
Eventually, he politely reached out and escorted his partner, who was inside the carriage. As soon as the woman with a frost-cold appearance stepped out of the carriage, the crowd held their breaths and remained silent in another sense.
They didn’t think the rumors about the two of them being close were real, but in the end, Duke Visconti’s partner was Princess Deborah.
‘I never thought he would bring her as a partner to an occasion like this.’
‘It must be true that Seymour and Visconti have had some kind of relationship for a long time.’
‘I heard that she was holding on to his weakness.’
But the moment Duke Visconti looked at the Princess and smiled at her, the people there realized how absurd the rumors were and how simple the reality was.
They say that coughs and love cannot be hidden, and anyone could see that Duke Visconti seemed to have fallen for the Princess.
As she put her hand on his arm with her haughty eyes, the young Duke smiled shyly and even carefully fixed her slightly twisted bracelet.
‘He is completely smitten with her?’
Especially between men like him, they knew it better. That kind of face can never be made up. He had certainly looked dignified and cold until just a moment ago, but now, he looked like a young man at that unripe age.
Suddenly Isidor brought his face close to the Princess’ pale cheek, and small shrieks erupted from around them. The ladies who had been glancing over their fans let out noises unintentionally. They were whispering, asking why their faces were so close to each other.
But even though Duke Visconti was treating her so affectionately, Lady Deborah seemed uncomfortable. She frowned slightly and fluttered her fan.
In fact, the tension caused by her attention phobia only made her expression harden, and she fanned herself because she was so hot that she was having cold sweats, but people started to fall into the swamp of illusion once again.
‘It… It seems that Duke Visconti likes her more?’
‘I guess I wasn’t the only one who saw it that way. I wondered what had happened to my eyes for a moment.’
‘What kind of charm does she have…’
‘Honestly, she’s beautiful.’
‘As far as looks are concerned, she is more distinguished than anyone else.’
In addition to the bad reputation she earned over a long period of time, her beauty was not well known because she was shocking everyone with everything she had done recently. However, perhaps because the atmosphere of the two was so different from each other, her presence was not overshadowed at all even though she was next to Duke Visconti, and both of them were standing out intensely.
‘They suit each other well. Even their conduct is perfect.’
A noblewoman muttered.
‘When a young lady comes to an occasion like this, she is bound to get nervous. But the Princess seems confident, like a true Seymour.’
‘Her clothes are formal and, on the other hand, stylish.’
Her accessories were not excessive, but the silk she wore was very unique. The mermaid-line dress, which looked blue at first glance but turned purple as it headed towards the end of the skirt, emphasized her height and matched the color of her skin.
In particular, the shiny blue diamond on her white neck was a masterpiece.
‘That gem… Isn’t that the blue diamond that was mined a while ago? Reminiscent of the tears of a mermaid, the so-called water drop diamond…’
Of course, it was Isidor’s marketing strategy.
‘I can’t believe Princess Deborah was the first to showcase that rare gem after the pink diamond.’
Guided by the imperial servants, Duke Visconti and Princess Deborah were seated in the front seats, and the nobles who saw the necklace up close when they passed by couldn’t hide their astonishment.
‘Did you see the finely crafted handwriting at the bottom?’
‘I heard mineral crafting is trendy these days.’
‘There was definitely a name engraved on it! And very small diamonds embedded in the grooves.’
‘Dear heavens, even if she loses it on the black market this time, no one else will be able to wear it around their neck.’
‘No wonder. How could someone wear a necklace with Princess Deborah’s name engraved on it? They would be lucky not to lose their neck right away.’
Even though the imperial family had emerged alongside the emperor, the attention of the nobles was still focused on the youngest Duke and the Princess of Seymour.
Then, there was a cold glance that looked down at Princess Deborah.
***
‘I can’t believe this was such a big occasion.’
I expected that Isidor would attract attention, but I didn’t know I would sit in the front seat to the extent that I could even see the gray hairs on the emperor’s blue hair.
‘Because I was blinded by jealousy… What on earth have I done?’
I thought that the lady called Syril or whatever was fearless. How could she think of sitting in front of the emperor?
Stiffened, I watched as the provincial lords received their nobility titles. The emperor bestowed the titles himself starting from the title of count, and Isidor was pushed to the end because his title was the highest here. It was no different from any place that showed the highlight of the occasion at the end.
‘As expected, if I buy a title, something like a viscount would be enough.’
Because at this rate, I thought I would be able to buy it in two years.
As I was calculating it in my mind with a blank expression, my eyes met with the 5th Princess, sitting in the imperial family’s seat. She winked and made a gesture for us to grab a drink.
“Did you make a promise with the Princess to have a drink together?”
Isidor whispered to me in a low voice, and my shoulders shrank slightly because of my ticklish ears.
“No.”
“… I can’t let my guard down against her either.”
‘What is he talking about?’
“And your father too.”
Isidor, who had quickly pulled his face away from my ear, muttered incessantly something about how he almost died.
‘Anyway, I’m really bored.’
After the pattern kept repeating, I was so bored that I bit my lips to hold back a yawn. The atmosphere gradually subsided, and the emperor, who kept reciting the same words, felt tired as well.
After the ceremony for the titles of counts, which lasted nearly three or four hours, the area became disorganized for the brief refreshment time.
“Princess Deborah. It’s unusual to see you in a place like this. And you look exceptionally beautiful today.”
“Princess. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well.”
The 5th Princess approached us with a companion, with a happy face. The person who came with her was the Crown Prince.
‘Come to think of it, the 5th Princess is the only younger sister of the Crown Prince.’
Since the empress passed away early, the two of them, who were born from the same mother, are probably deeply dependent on each other within the imperial family.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince and Isidor lightly joined hands and bumped their shoulders. It was an act done between close friends. And I felt a strange sense of sympathy when I saw the Crown Prince being deceived by a swindler.
‘Your Highness. This ruffian is Blancia’s Master.’
Still, my lover’s life was precious, so I kept my mouth shut…
“I should call you Duke Visconti now.”
“Please call me comfortably, Your Highness.”
“Haha. Alright. Duke Visconti.”
When their greeting was over, the Crown Prince stared at me curiously.
“… This is Princess Deborah.”
Since the imperial family did not ask for greetings first, Isidor introduced me to the Crown Prince with a reluctant expression. The Crown Prince smiled briefly.
“I didn’t know Isidor would have someone like you with him.”
“…”
“I’ve heard your name many times from my sister, Princess Deborah. Vivienne has fallen in love with you. You have a great talent for magic theory, don’t you?”
“You overpraise me.”
“There’s no need to be humble. Sir Rosad has been a great contributor to the war, and I’ve been hearing your name everywhere lately, so I wanted to have a conversation with you like this.”
“…”
He spoke with an impatient look on his face.
“But I have to ask, since when have you and Sir Isidor been so close? The reason why I became friends with him was that he wasn’t interested in this kind of thing. To the point that it wouldn’t be strange if he went to a monastery one day.”
“Brother. Won’t you inconvenience Princess Deborah by asking such a question? And I am closer to the Princess. Isn’t that right, Princess Deborah?”
The 5th Princess crossed arms with me triumphantly, as if showing off to Isidor.
“Don’t we share a deep understanding and exchange between our souls? It’s a higher universe that knights cannot comprehend.”
‘Isidor is a wizard swordsman, though.’
As Isidor slightly hardened his expression and raised his eyebrows, the Crown Prince pressed his temples with a tired face and muttered,
“Vivienne. Please, the marriage law… let’s talk about it later.”
‘What on earth is he talking about?’
I couldn’t understand more than half of what they were saying, but why did it seem like they were talking about me? I stood there in confusion, but I felt a chilly gaze coming from somewhere, so I turned my head.
‘What was that?’
I suddenly met eyes with a beautiful middle-aged woman with long black straight hair.
‘… I think I know who she is.’
From her exotic appearance to the fact that she sat near the emperor before, she was undoubtedly the 4th Empress depicted in the novel. She was also the mother of the 3rd Prince, one of the fishes who was described as quite important in the second half of the novel.
‘But why does it seem like… she is glaring at me?’
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