Chapter 8. The True Nature of the Imperial Family
The day after Princess Marie made her spectacular announcement and left, attendants formally came to Poinsettia Palace.
At the courteous notice that a dinner would be held at Kristen Palace starting at six in the evening and that my attendance was requested, I felt oddly strange.
Should I say it felt as though I had truly become a member of the imperial family?
I knew the imperial family was grand, but the fact that even a dinner had to be communicated and gathered through attendants like this was still something I could not get used to.
“Preparations for the evening dinner~. It’ll be tight. Hohohoho.”
“Tight? Couldn’t I just go wearing what I normally wear?”
“Oh my.”
Madam Lucy looked at me with a startled expression. Had I said something wrong?
“To say something so innocent. You still haven’t been weathered by the world. Fu fu. How refreshing.”
“What?”
Why was she suddenly talking about being weathered by the world?
Tilting my head with an expression of incomprehension, Madam Lucy wagged her index finger.
With the posture of someone about to teach me a lesson, Madam Lucy seized hold of me.
“The imperial family may look peaceful on the surface, but in truth, it is the foremost battlefield where intrigue and schemes run rampant. You must never take anyone lightly. You never know when, where, or how someone might target Lady Artie and set a trap.”
“Ah…… I-is that so.”
So the imperial family members set traps for me? Unable to understand Madam Lucy’s words, I tilted my head.
Despite my lukewarm reaction, Madam Lucy’s lecture showed no sign of ending.
Lost in her own words, Madam Lucy wore a sorrowful expression.
“The imperial family may look warm on the outside, but in truth, they are cold-hearted people whose insides are utterly frigid. You must act as though you haven’t heard what you’ve heard, pretend not to know what you know, and never easily form ties with anyone. Such is the life of a member of the imperial family—so heartless! You must never become close with anyone, and you must never make an enemy of anyone either. Sob, sob. I…… know of many lives that were lost because they failed to keep that vital principle.”
I had no idea what she was saying.
I simply nodded along with a mournful expression.
Madam Lucy, wearing a sorrowful face, pretended to weep without tears, then suddenly dragged me to the dress room.
“So first, you must make a good impression on the elders, mustn’t you? I think this dress would be good. Hohoho.”
I didn’t understand how she had reached that conclusion, but I did feel I ought to dress up a bit. It would be a dinner of a different caliber from those of ordinary noble houses.
Madam Lucy held out to me a splendid dress that was obviously meant for a party at a glance.
“This is a bit. Isn’t it too flashy?”
It was still an evening dinner, though.
When I showed reluctance, Madam Lucy clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“This is the imperial palace. The imperial palace!”
Ugh. Still, it seemed too flashy. I accepted the blue dress and looked troubled.
Madam Lucy firmly persuaded me.
“Remember this. In the imperial palace, only splendor becomes your battle armor! This is battle armor!”
“Ah, all right.”
I truly did not want to, but……. In the end, I had no choice but to wear what Madam Lucy had chosen.
Dressed in that heavy attire, I laboriously packed the gift for Her Majesty the Empress.
It was the dish set Uncle Helmer had tossed to me so carelessly. I had carefully wrapped it in a box so it wouldn’t break.
“I’ve prepared it for now, but…….”
I wonder if she’ll like it. I worried that it might not suit Her Majesty the Empress’s taste.
Carrying that unease, I left my bedroom.
* * *
“Did you not hear that it was an evening dinner?”
The moment Crown Prince Adrian came to escort me and saw me, his expression twisted.
This was all because Madam Lucy had insisted on it!
The Crown Prince looked me up and down as if asking what I was wearing, and the more he did, the more my cheeks flushed with shame.
In my resentment, I turned to look at Madam Lucy, but she feigned ignorance and looked away.
She said it was battle armor! She said battle armor! I’d been fooled again.
As I hung my head with a defeated expression, Adrian looked down at me as if I were pathetic.
Thoroughly intimidated, I shrank my shoulders.
“……Shall I go change into something else even now?”
When I asked in a tentative voice, Crown Prince Adrian simply stared at me.
Here we go again.
By now, this silent staring had become so frequent that I had grown used to it. Not that it stopped being intimidating, though.
“I’ll go change into something else!”
This won’t do. Thinking of how surprised others would be, I couldn’t bear the shame any longer. I had to quickly change into something relatively ordinary so there would be no sense of incongruity.
I hurriedly turned, but I could not enter as I wished. Because Crown Prince Adrian had caught my arm.
Caught off guard and stopped in place, I turned to look back. Why had he caught me?
When I turned, Crown Prince Adrian was looking at me with a profound expression.
“Y-Your Highness?”
“Just go as you are.”
“Is that really all right?”
Wasn’t it too flashy? When I cautiously asked, the Crown Prince calmly nodded.
“There’s no time.”
“…….”
I knew it. I was a fool for hoping for warm consideration.
Madam Lucy was now completely ignoring me.
Crown Prince Adrian held out his hand to me. I gently placed my hand on his outstretched hand meant to escort me.
This should be right, shouldn’t it? I watched the surrounding atmosphere and acted as I sensed I should, and fortunately, it seemed correct.
Adrian gripped my hand tightly.
“Then, let’s go.”
“Y-yes!”
The place where tonight’s dinner was being held was Kristen Palace.
The purpose of this dinner, I was told, was for the family to gather simply and celebrate Empress Ludmila’s birthday.
To celebrate with such sincerity—truly, this was an imperial family with exceptional family affection.
Before entering the palace, I had heard until my ears bled that the imperial family members were terrifying people with neither blood nor tears, but my prejudice was crumbling.
Moreover, from what I had seen in each meeting so far, everyone except Crown Prince Adrian seemed like good people.
It was only natural that attendants followed behind when walking with the Crown Prince, but the fact that some of the Crown Prince’s attendants and my maids followed along felt strange, like I was walking around with a tail attached.
How do the imperial family members endure this so nonchalantly?
Since I too had often followed behind Princess Marie as her attendant, the feeling was even stranger. When I was the one following, I hadn’t thought anything of it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Y-yes?”
“I asked why you’re frowning. Is something displeasing you?”
“Ah, no. I’m pleased.”
“What exactly is pleasing you?”
Why is he doing this again?
When I answered hurriedly, Adrian smiled oddly. A chilling sensation swept over me. What on earth is it?
“Uh…… um……. My dress?”
A cold air passed by. Sob, sob. I knew this would happen.
Adrian clicked his tongue. I bowed my head deeply.
“You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”
“Yes…….”
“You’ll do well from now on, won’t you?”
“Yes…….”
“If you understand, I won’t bother saying it.”
“Yes…….”
Thoroughly cowed, I looked up at Adrian. The moment my eyes met the Crown Prince’s, I felt a chilling sensation like a knife piercing my heart.
Startled, I flinched, and Adrian watched me.
What is it? The moment our eyes met, I felt strange. Is it because his red eyes are frightening?
“What is it?”
“What? Ah, it’s nothing.”
“Are you sick?”
Swipe. Adrian approached and placed his hand on my forehead. Startled by the sudden contact, I stiffened.
As I held my breath, Crown Prince Adrian, having touched my forehead, looked puzzled.
“No fever.”
Is he going to say something again? As I watched for his reaction, Adrian stared intently at me.
By now I had been exposed to this gaze so much that I had grown used to it……. Still, it was frightening.
“Walk faster. At this rate, we’ll arrive after everyone’s finished eating.”
“Y-yes!”
Fortunately, we were able to arrive at Kristen Palace before the evening dinner began.
Kristen Palace. The so-called Emperor’s Palace, needless to say, had the strictest access control even within the inner palace, so only maids with proper qualifications could enter.
I had occasionally come near it, but this was my first time entering the interior of Kristen Palace.
Even having entered as a maid, tension would have made my whole body tremble, but today I was visiting as a member of the imperial family.
Will I really be able to do well today? I’m not confident.
I adjusted the veil covering my face once more and took a deep breath.
Crown Prince Adrian, seemingly without a care, headed toward the dining room following the guidance of Kristen Palace’s attendants.
“You may enter.”
Standing at the dining room door for the last time, Crown Prince Adrian looked at me.
The moment our eyes met, my body flinched again. To think red eyes could be this captivating—it was truly unfair.
Holding my hand, Crown Prince Adrian stepped into the dining room.
Empress Ludmila, along with Princess Marie, were already seated.
Emperor Carlo was not yet in the dining room.
“Adrian, you’re a bit late.”
