* * *
“Her Majesty the Empress has asked whether you would care to join her for lunch.”
Albert, an attendant belonging to Grace Palace on the Empress’s side, came to see me in the afternoon after morning had passed.
“What shall we do?”
He was certainly asking what I would do, but the answer had been decided from the start anyway.
I turned to look at Madam Lucy, and she smiled brightly. By now, I could tell what she was going to say just by seeing that smile.
“Please convey to Her Majesty that I am grateful for the invitation to lunch. I will visit at the appointed time.”
“Yes, understood.”
The moment the attendant withdrew, my eyes met Madam Lucy’s. Madam Lucy clapped her hands and laughed.
“Ohohoho, Lady Artie. You’ve become quite used to this now. You’re starting to look the part.”
“Was that really all right?”
“Yes! Just keep doing this from now on. You’re doing very well!”
At Madam Lucy’s praise, I set aside my tension for the moment. Even after being praised, somehow I couldn’t feel at ease.
“But why did Her Majesty the Empress suddenly call for me?”
“Who knows.”
“It’s not something bad, is it?”
“As if it would be!”
Madam Lucy shook her head firmly.
“Her Majesty the Empress is very fond of Lady Artie. She personally bestowed gifts upon you last time as well. She treasures you greatly.”
“If that’s the case, then I’m relieved, but…….”
Why was it that I couldn’t feel reassured at all?
“Now then, let’s begin preparing for lunch!”
“There’s preparation…… for lunch?”
“Of course there is.”
Madam Lucy wore a stern expression as if asking what kind of question that was.
“You must wear a pretty dress that will please Her Majesty the Empress immensely!”
Ah, that.
* * *
“May Archangele’s blessing be with you.”
“May Archangele’s blessing be with you as well.”
After the greeting, Empress Ludmila looked at me and smiled gently.
“New daughter-in-law, have you been well?”
“Yes. Is Your Majesty also in good health?”
“I’m always well. I’ve been so disappointed that I haven’t seen you often since the last party.”
Seeing the Empress wear a sad expression, my conscience pricked.
“I should have come to see you first long ago. That was my oversight.”
“Oh my. I didn’t say that to scold you. Hoho.”
She wore a faint smile, but the imperial family were impossible to read. I smiled as cautiously as I could.
“Now, come this way. Sit here. Actually, the reason I called you today, new daughter-in-law, is that I have something I wished to tell you personally before we enjoy lunch.”
“Something to tell me?”
What on earth could it be?
‘Surely she hasn’t found out?’
I wanted to believe not, but one never knew.
Sitting down thoroughly stiff with tension, the Empress gestured to a maid.
The maid who had gone inside soon came back out. I was startled by what was in the maid’s hands.
A splendid necklace resting on a velvet cushion.
“This is…….”
Too overwhelmed by the necklace’s splendor to speak, I fell silent, and the Empress smiled elegantly.
“Do you recognize it? That’s right, it’s ‘Elena’s Necklace.’”
“If it’s Elena’s Necklace…….”
“It’s the treasure of the empire, worth as much as this entire imperial city.”
The delicate, beautiful necklace, woven from dozens of diamonds set in platinum, had a charm that captivated the eye at first glance.
In particular, the golden jewel at the end, the size of two finger joints, was striking.
That was the jewel called the ‘Dragon’s Eye.’
“The legendary necklace that the founding king of Appennino gifted to the first Empress Elena. It is an imperial treasure passed down only to Empresses through the generations.”
“I see.”
I nodded without meaning to. I had heard of it, but this was my first time seeing it in person.
It truly was beautiful. The imperial family had treasures and gold overflowing to the point of rot, but this necklace was different.
Watching me marvel again and again, Empress Ludmila wore a faint smile.
“I will give this to you, new daughter-in-law.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“…….”
“……What?”
What did I just hear? As I blinked rapidly, Empress Ludmila smiled faintly.
“Hohoho.”
“No, Your Majesty. This is far too much for me. I cannot accept it.”
“You’ve already accepted it, and now you say you cannot? Are you going back on your word?”
“That was an answer that slipped out without thinking. Your Majesty, please forgive me.”
“Hoho, what is there for me to forgive?”
At Empress Ludmila’s gesture, the maid carefully placed Elena’s Necklace into a velvet case and set it before me.
“This is now yours, new daughter-in-law.”
“But, Your Majesty…….”
Empress Ludmila took my hand. Startled by the soft, warm hand, I stiffened.
“There’s no need to be so tense. Elena’s Necklace is a necklace that has been worn by Empresses through the generations. Giving it to you, who will become the next Empress, is only natural.”
“But, Your Majesty. I am not worthy…….”
I was a fiancée who would only hold this position for about three years. Was it really all right for someone like me to so readily accept something so precious?
Fear swept over me. Whatever interpretation she placed on the fear in my eyes, Empress Ludmila patted me gently.
“I said the same thing when I first inherited this from the Empress Dowager.”
Empress Ludmila wore a faint smile.
“When I said I was unworthy to inherit something so precious, the Empress Dowager told me this: ‘You need only strive to become someone worthy of this necklace.’”
With a nostalgic gaze, Empress Ludmila looked down at me affectionately.
“I would like to say the same thing to you now, new daughter-in-law.”
“But…….”
I couldn’t get any words out. In the end, as I remained unable to speak, Empress Ludmila held my hand tightly and smiled for me.
“Honestly, at first I worried a great deal. You were a lady Adrian suddenly brought home, and it bothered me no end that you had grown up hidden away in Obiedo.”
“Ah…….”
I recalled the backstory of ‘Artienne’ that Terni had told me at some point and smiled awkwardly.
“Life in the imperial palace is not easy. It’s a place where all sorts of incidents occur without rest. I worried how well a lady who was frail and had never properly engaged in social activities could manage life in the imperial palace—but now I see my worries were for nothing.”
I could not easily say anything in response to the Empress’s words. As I smiled awkwardly, the Empress gripped my hand tightly.
“Child, I feel I can trust you enough to give this to you.”
It felt stranger than merely being acknowledged as a future Empress.
The guilt I had pushed aside—with my single-minded desire to live, and my selfish wish to remain by Crown Prince Adrian’s side—came crawling back.
‘Whatever the reason, I am deceiving this person.’
I was deceiving someone who trusted and cared for me like this.
“Please take good care of our Adrian and Appennino.”
The tip of my nose tingled. Had there ever been a time in my life when someone placed such expectations on me?
‘How wonderful it would be if the real Artienne were me.’
The Empress’s trust, directed at someone built entirely on lies, was simply burdensome and heavy.
‘Three years…….’
My heart was uneasy, but it was too late to pretend that what had already happened had never occurred.
‘If I do well for the next three years, won’t I be able to lessen this guilt at least a little?’
I could only atone like this.
* * *
“Are you going to wear this necklace to the Founding Festival party?”
Madam Lucy pointed to Elena’s Necklace and asked Artie.
She was eyeing it greedily, thinking it would suit that slender neck very well, when Artie was startled as if she had heard something she shouldn’t have.
“How could I put something so precious around my neck!”
“Hoho, what nonsense are you speaking. Necklaces are made to be worn around people’s necks.”
“Even so…….”
When Artie cautiously shook her head, Madam Lucy smiled faintly.
It was because she seemed to know exactly what that small, cute, animal-like young lady was thinking.
“It seems it feels burdensome to you.”
“Yes. What if I lose even a single one of those diamonds?”
Madam Lucy laughed, “Hoho.”
“What do you mean, what if? Naturally, the imperial household would find a similar diamond and replace it. And in the first place, there’s no chance of losing it.”
“What?”
At the mention of finding a similar diamond to replace it, Artie, who had turned pale, suddenly tilted her head.
Madam Lucy smiled slyly and stroked Elena’s Necklace.
“Because the magic of the founding king is cast upon this necklace!”
“Magic…….”
“They say it can never be damaged or broken.”
It was the first time Artie had ever heard such a thing. So such magic existed.
Come to think of it, the first Emperor of Appennino was a human with the soul of a dragon.
They said he was closer to a dragon than a human, so it was only natural that he would be adept at magic.
“So don’t worry and wear it around your neck! Ohohoho!”
“……No, I don’t think it’s time yet.”
Not wanting to be swept up by the atmosphere, I closed the case and shook my head, and Madam Lucy smacked her lips in regret.
I’ll keep it safe and return it in three years before I leave. My heart was complicated.
“I’m not sure I’m worthy to wear this necklace.”
“Of course you’re worthy.”
“Even so…….”
“Well, if that is Lady Artie’s opinion, then so be it.”
Madam Lucy smiled brightly.
“But there’s nothing to worry about. Lady Artie is doing well now and will continue to do well.”
“Come to think of it, it seems the title Madam Lucy uses for me has changed.”
I hadn’t paid much attention, but after renewing the contract with the Crown Prince, Artie had noticed that the title Madam Lucy used for her had changed.
“Ohohoho. It would not be proper etiquette to call the future Crown Princess ‘Lady Artie.’”
At first hearing, it sounded correct, but to Artie, the very fact that Madam Lucy, who knew the secret, would say such a thing felt unfamiliar.
“You’ve been calling me Lady Artie all this time.”
“Oh my. Are you reproaching me for my mistake?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just that it feels unfamiliar because you suddenly changed.”
When Artie cautiously opened up, Madam Lucy changed the atmosphere with her characteristic laugh.
“Well then, shall I call this my own form of sincerity?”
“What?”
Madam Lucy smiled meaningfully.
“It means that from now on, I acknowledge Lady Artie as my master.”
“Acknowledge……?”
“Yes. Because I will continue to serve you from now on.”
At Madam Lucy’s assertion, Artie furrowed her brow. What on earth did this mean?
