The Crown Prince’s Fiancée – Chapter 23
My name had merely been announced, and already my palms were damp with sweat.
It’s fine. You’ve practiced so much all this time.
I’d never really thought about it before, but this was the first formal imperial party I had attended in my entire life.
On top of that, today was the Empress’s birthday banquet, the largest and most dazzling of all the parties held in the imperial palace.
The moment I entered the hall, I noticed the many nobles gathered on the dance floor at the bottom of the spiral staircase.
Quite a few of them were people I had brushed past while working as a lady-in-waiting in the palace.
People I had never even been able to speak to before were all down there, waiting for me to descend.
“Come.”
Supporting my faintly trembling hand, Crown Prince Adrian escorted me so that I could easily make my way down the stairs.
Was it a mistake to feel that his touch was strangely gentle?
I was trembling more than usual.
When my eyes met the Crown Prince’s, unlike usual, he was the first to look away.
With my other hand, the one the Crown Prince wasn’t holding, I carefully took up a bit of my dress’s hem.
The dress, made of layers of silk in several tiers, wrapped around my hand like butterfly wings.
A hush enveloped the hall.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on us.
Partway down the staircase to the dance hall, I stopped at the landing and bowed to the Emperor and Empress, who sat side by side on the second-floor terrace.
“Smile.”
The time had finally come to show the mysterious smile I had practiced until I nearly bled.
It was such a difficult smile that the corners of my mouth felt as though they might cramp.
Even so, the Empress no longer frightened me.
My gaze moved to the one who sat solemnly beside the Empress.
It was only a fleeting glance, but the weight of the pressure that filled the space was enough for me to know who he was without anyone saying his name.
The Emperor of this country, Appennino. Carlo.
He was the biggest fish I had to deceive today.
I swallowed dryly and finished my greeting.
When I went down into the hall again, escorted by the Crown Prince, many people approached us as if they had been waiting.
Ugh, there are so many.
“Your Highness Adrian, you have arrived?”
“Welcome, Your Highness. We have been waiting for you.”
“Ha ha. It’s been a while, Your Highness. You’re as handsome as ever.”
Many nobles spoke to us.
To be precise, they spoke to Crown Prince Adrian.
I glanced over to see what he would do, and he only gave a perfunctory nod before walking straight ahead.
Even though he accepted their greetings so carelessly, the flood of salutations pouring toward Adrian was tremendous.
He was remarkably popular.
Whenever my eyes met those of the people smiling and greeting Adrian, I felt awkward and simply smiled.
Then a low voice sounded ominously beside me.
“Don’t smile.”
What was I supposed to do?
You told me to smile earlier…
I had no choice but to quietly return to an expressionless face.
Not that it mattered, since I was wearing a sheer veil anyway.
Thank goodness I had it.
I was very pleased that my expression couldn’t be plainly seen by others.
Pushing through the flood of greetings, the Crown Prince headed for the highest seat of all, the second-floor terrace where the Emperor and Empress sat.
It’s finally here!
It was the fateful moment that would decide how much life I had left.
I took a deep breath and walked on.
As soon as the Crown Prince and I finished our greeting, the Empress welcomed us in a voice so bright it was refreshing just to hear.
“Welcome, my dear daughter-in-law!”
Crown Prince Adrian spoke without expression.
“Can you not even see me?”
“Oh, were you there?”
These two never change.
I hadn’t imagined they would be like this even at a banquet.
The Empress let out a laugh that sounded artificial even to my ears and looked at me in a way that weighed on me.
Her eyes were so full of tenderness.
It was more than heavy; I felt I might be crushed by it.
“My dear daughter-in-law looks lovely again today.”
“Thank you.”
When I bowed my head in greeting, the Empress’s smile deepened considerably.
“Oh my, my dear daughter-in-law. You look a little different today. What could it be that looks different?”
A single line of cold sweat ran down my back.
I could feel the Crown Prince’s piercing gaze beside me.
When I kept my eyes lowered without answering, I heard the Empress laugh.
Madam Lucy had been right.
A true master conveys her feelings with nothing but a smile.
She really is a frightening person.
“I see.”
A heavy voice cut through the Empress’s laughter.
My whole body tensed on its own.
When I slightly raised my head, Emperor Carlo, who until now had only been observing, was looking at us.
So this is what they call imperial dignity.
Even the arrogant Adrian seemed slightly tense.
What was he about to say?
It was only a single phrase, “I see,” yet the weight it carried was no joke.
As we waited quietly, the Emperor looked us over once and then rose from his seat.
“I’ve seen you both, so I’ll take my leave. Marry quickly, as the Empress wishes.”
At the word “marry,” my body flinched.
What a dreadful thing to say.
The first to react to the Emperor’s words was the Empress.
She shook her head helplessly and sighed.
“Very well. Thirty minutes is quite a long stay for you. I shall let you off, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Empress. Happy birthday once again.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
With a light embrace and a kiss, His Majesty the Emperor departed.
It was an exit even grander than our entrance.
The sight of every noble bowing and lowering their heads as he passed was truly magnificent.
Is this the thrill that makes being an emperor worth it?
Once His Majesty’s figure had vanished completely, the Empress’s attention returned to us.
“Now then, shall we have a cozy chat among ourselves?”
“I shall take my leave as well.”
“Oh, Adrian. You aren’t needed, dear. My dear daughter-in-law? Come here.”
The Empress beckoned.
My body started forward as if by conditioned reflex, but Adrian’s hand caught me.
Ugh.
The grip that held me was tremendously strong.
I was left unable to go forward or back.
“Lady Arti?”
Your Majesty, even if you call me with such a smile, I have no strength to move.
When I looked at the Empress with a pleading gaze, she smiled and glared at Adrian.
“Adrian?”
“Just speak here. I’d like to stay with her as her partner.”
“Does that mean you don’t want me to take my dear daughter-in-law from you?”
“…”
When the Crown Prince said nothing in particular, the Empress grinned.
What an ominous smile.
The Empress’s gaze, as it moved back and forth between Adrian and me, was sprinkled with sugar.
No, wait a moment! Whatever you are imagining right now, it is absolutely not the truth!
“Adrian. Possessiveness is all well and good, but sometimes you ought to let her breathe.”
That’s not what this is!
The Empress, apparently deaf to my silent protest, looked at me with a delighted expression.
No, that isn’t it, you see…
“What have you been doing lately? Has the Crown Prince been treating my dear daughter-in-law well?”
As if he would!
I glanced over and ended up meeting the Crown Prince’s eyes.
I should have turned away quickly, but his gaze was so menacing that I froze on the spot without meaning to.
Come to think of it, he had treated me well from time to time.
“He… has been…”
I needed to speak, but my voice caught.
I managed to clear my throat and naturally turn my head away.
But this time my eyes met the Empress’s.
Facing that tender gaze, I nearly told the truth without meaning to.
Haa, I almost made a mistake.
“He… has been trying his best to treat me well.”
At my best possible answer, I heard someone clench their teeth beside me.
Well, it’s true!
Crown Prince Adrian, who had been quietly suppressing his anger beside me, suddenly wrapped his arm around my shoulder and addressed the Empress.
“I am so clumsy that we are both making an effort.”
I was shocked, the Empress was shocked, and even the maid was shocked.
What effort? What kind of effort? Let me in on it too!
Startled, I reflexively looked at Adrian, and as if he had felt my gaze, Adrian looked down at me gently.
Of course, there was no way it was gentle.
I’m dead now. This is to keep me from running away, isn’t it?
The grip of the Crown Prince’s hand on my shoulder was no joke.
“I see. So my dear Adrian has been considerate…?”
The Empress looked back and forth between the two of us with a bewildered expression.
Had she seen through us?
Yes, even to my own ears, it had been the nonsense of the century.
Even so, I held on with a smile for all I was worth.
I don’t want to die yet.
I was inwardly weeping over the chance at redemption I had kicked away with my own foot when the Empress suddenly rose from her seat.
What is this? Is she going to tear us apart?
My feet twitched, wanting to flee, but I was already caught, and escape was nothing but a midsummer night’s dream.
With a stiff expression, the Empress, assisted by a maid, approached until she stood before us.
The Empress fixed her sharp gaze on the two of us in turn.
I was completely rigid.
“I had always wondered whether Lady Artienne was simply being pushed around by Adrian’s every whim…”
The Empress took my hand and suddenly wiped the corner of her eye.
Why is she crying all of a sudden?
I couldn’t understand the situation and was dazed.
“So Adrian has been making an effort for Lady Artienne. To think the two of you love each other that much.”
The Empress, moved, held my hand tightly.
I didn’t know what was going on, but my body flinched at the word “love.”
We don’t do any such thing.
“I don’t know what has happened between the two of you, but you look far better together than before.”
“Thank you.”
When I bowed my head in respect, the Empress smiled and stroked my hand.
“By the way, my dear daughter-in-law, I’ve been feeling this for a while, but your voice seems slightly different. Are you unwell?”
I flinched guiltily.
Was it time to keep my mouth shut?
I had forgotten that I mustn’t speak much.
