Chapter 59
The Empress’s Personal Letter
As usual, Cassel was already seated in the dining room. Noah sat beside him, and Liena took a seat across from them.
Placing a napkin on her lap while waiting for the meal, Cassel asked,
“Did you have a good time?”
“Yes!”
She replied in an excited voice.
“It was really fun. We ate at a famous restaurant, browsed jewelry stalls, played some games, and even bought a few snacks.”
Noah exclaimed in a bright voice,
“The chocolate and cake my sister bought for us were so delicious!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
Cassel chuckled softly and gently ruffled Noah’s hair.
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves. Was there anything uncomfortable?”
“Not at all. All three of you were kind and fun. Thanks to you, we were so absorbed we didn’t even notice the time. Ah, thank you.”
After greeting the servant who had set down her soup, Liena continued,
“It would have been nice if you had come along, too. Noah as well.”
“The festival happens every year, so we’ll go together next time if we can.”
“Alright. Is that a promise?”
“Yes.”
Liena enjoyed her meal with Noah and Cassel. Noah begged to hear more about the festival, and Cassel quietly, yet attentively, listened to Liena’s stories.
On the way back to her room after leaving the child with the nanny, Liena glanced at Cassel escorting her and remembered the chocolate she hadn’t yet given him.
“Do you have something to say?”
“No! Well, actually… yes.”
Liena reflexively denied it, then quickly corrected herself.
Cassel leaned slightly toward her. She could feel the heat radiating from his close, firm body—likely because he naturally had a high body temperature.
Although it didn’t quite match the moment, Liena recalled the day they had ridden horses together in the rain and then climbed the watchtower.
The heat emanating from his solid body, pressed close with no space in between. His rough, unrestrained breathing.
The gaze that looked down at her with a mix of longing and sadness.
And the inexplicable desire she had felt for him.
Unconsciously, Liena blushed slightly and lifted her head.
“…Ria?”
“No, I… actually, I have something I want to give you too…”
“For me?”
“Yes. It’s a gift, but also… not much of a gift…”
As Liena hesitated, Cassel gently took her hand in his.
“Anything from you is fine with me.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Cassel smiled softly.
“Then wait a moment. I’ll bring it out shortly.”
Liena went inside and brought out the box she had carefully kept. Cassel looked quite intrigued at the item she hid behind her back.
Liena offered the box, beautifully wrapped by the shop attendant. Cassel accepted it, his face showing curiosity.
Liena muttered by way of excuse:
“It’s nothing special. I just saw a famous dessert shop while passing by and bought some chocolate. I got some for Noah too.”
“Chocolate… you say?”
“Yes. I haven’t seen you eat it yourself, but I remembered hearing you liked it as a child.”
Liena watched Cassel carefully without unwrapping the gift. Still, she couldn’t guess what he was thinking.
“I bought chocolate with some alcohol in it in case you don’t like very sweet things. I hope it’s alright.”
“No, I like it.”
Only then did Cassel unwrap it. Seeing the neatly arranged chocolates inside, he explained:
“It reminded me of my older brother for a moment.”
“Ah…”
He gave a faint, bittersweet smile.
“Every time I saw chocolate, it reminded me of him, and I couldn’t bring myself to eat it. My father also frowned upon me eating desserts, so I decided to stop entirely. That’s why it’s been a long time since I’ve smelled chocolate like this.”
Liena cautiously asked,
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No.”
He relaxed his expression.
“Thanks to you, I can face what I’ve been avoiding. Thank you for the gift. I suppose I can just eat one whenever I want something sweet.”
Liena studied his expression, trying to gauge the sincerity of his words. It seemed that he was genuinely ready to confront his past, not pretending for her sake.
She silently wished for nothing but good things on Cassel’s path forward.
“You know, Cass.”
Liena stepped a little closer to him.
“If you have something difficult to bear, and it’s too heavy to carry alone, I’ll help you overcome it together.”
“…”
“So, you can set down some of that heavy burden now.”
After a brief silence, Cassel replied,
“Thank you.”
His expression looked a little lighter as he said it.
Later, Liena received a letter. This time, it wasn’t Amy who brought it, but the head butler himself.
Curious about his stern face, Liena picked up the letter from the silver tray.
When she saw the seal, she was shocked, her spine tingling.
“Isn’t this the imperial crest?”
“Yes.”
“Who from the imperial family…?”
“Judging by the color of the wax seal, it seems to be from Her Majesty the Empress. Each direct royal family member uses a specific color for their seal.”
“Why would the Empress…?”
“For your reference, my master also received a letter from His Majesty the Emperor.”
Hearing that Cassel had received one too made her even more uneasy. What exactly did the Emperor and Empress want from them?
She wanted to just seal the letter and ignore it. But the sender was the Empress, and ignoring her letter would be a grave insult to the imperial family.
Taking a deep breath, Liena opened the letter.
The handwriting was more elegant and beautiful than any she had ever seen—it looked less like writing and more like a finely drawn painting.
She read it with admiration.
The contents were more ordinary than she had feared, yet slightly embarrassing.
“What does it say?”
Snapped out of her shock by Amy’s voice, Liena folded the letter.
“Her Majesty the Empress wants Cass and me to attend the imperial banquet this time.”
“The banquet?”
“Yes. I think the letter Cass received from His Majesty the Emperor is probably similar…”
Her head spun. There was an imperial banquet scheduled for the last day of the founding festival.
When they had previously fitted her dress, Cassel had suggested deciding later about attending, but Liena had temporarily forgotten about it, deciding she probably wouldn’t go anyway.
But a personal letter from the Empress? Though it said that if possible, she wanted to see them at the banquet, it was essentially an order.
Who in the empire could refuse a direct invitation from the Emperor and Empress?
Yet surprisingly, that person was right beside her.
“If the letter is from Her Majesty the Empress, you don’t need to worry.”
Cassel spoke without hesitation upon hearing Liena’s concern. She was quite taken aback by his reaction.
“You mean I should ignore it?”
“I’ll reply to His Majesty the Emperor that we won’t attend and will soon depart for the Winkler territories. Weren’t you worried about attending the banquet?”
“…Not attending? Are you saying it’s because of me? Of course, I wasn’t thrilled about the banquet, but the Emperor and Empress personally sent letters. Saying we won’t go—this can’t just be about preparing for winter in Winkler. It’s really because of me?”
“The Emperor will understand. He won’t let you be affected…”
“That’s not the point!”
Liena couldn’t help but interrupt him, speaking passionately.
“Of course, even if we don’t attend, the Emperor won’t punish us or give any disadvantage. You are the Duke of Winkler, after all.”
“…”
“But I want to avoid any risk of harm to you as much as possible. No one can really predict what the Emperor might do.”
She calmed herself and smiled.
“Come to think of it, attending the banquet once might be okay. Since arriving in the capital, I’ve mostly stayed at the Winkler mansion. Sure, I had fun meeting good people like Amy and Ryan, but even though I consider them friends, I can never truly be close to them.”
“…”
“I want to attend the imperial banquet where many nobles gather and meet other people too.”
Liena nudged him gently, urging him to respond.
“What do you think? Isn’t that a good idea?”
“…Is it really okay?”
“Of course. It’s not a battlefield, so why wouldn’t it be?”
Cassel thought for a moment and reluctantly nodded.
“Alright. I’ll reply accordingly.”
“I’ll also send a reply to the Empress saying I will attend.”
And so, the two of them were almost forcibly committed to attending the banquet.
