Episode 121
“Goodness, Ernie…”
I finally helped him up and pulled him into an embrace.
My Ernie.
Even if I had never seen him again, I wouldn’t have been able to hold a grudge against him…
But Ernst embraced me with his warm, broad chest, gently patting my back.
“Why do you look like you thought you’d never see me again? Who do you take me for?”
“You are… you are my…”
Instead of my stammering, he spoke.
“Your friend Ernst. You don’t have any friends besides me, right? Correct?”
I couldn’t speak and could only nod.
I could almost see the pain and hardship he must have endured, forgiving my selfish choice and coming here.
Ernst, still holding me, whispered softly.
“I will always be by your side. Right beside you, as your only friend.”
As I nodded vigorously, he added mischievously.
“I’ll keep doing it even if the Grand Duke hates it, so you’ll have to tell him I ask for his understanding?”
“I’m sorry, Ernie…”
I was so sorry that my voice was barely a whisper.
He raised his index finger to my lips.
“Don’t apologize, Lu. I don’t want an apology from you for anything.”
I took a deep breath, struggling to hold back tears.
Ernst finally released me, beaming as he offered his hand.
“Well then, shall we go?”
Two guards nodded towards us and entered the open gate first.
Waiting for me in front of the gate was the 2nd Division Commander of the Babenberg Knight Order.
“We will escort you.”
And so, I stepped forward to go to my brother, leaving behind my beloved baby, the child’s wet nurse, and my dependable maid.
“You’ve arrived, Your Highness!”
Helena was the first to greet me.
Seeing a familiar face, my heart, which had felt somewhat uneasy after being separated from Phoebe for the first time in a while, finally settled.
“Helena!”
Behind us, sharing a happy hug, Rurik was smiling softly.
“Welcome back, Louise.”
“Your Majesty.”
This was my first time meeting my brother, now the Emperor, at the Imperial Palace.
I grabbed the hem of my skirt and bowed very respectfully.
Ernst also bowed deeply before the Emperor.
“I greet the Sun of the Empire.”
My brother, unusually, expressed gratitude to the Flavi Crown Prince, whom he had wanted as a brother-in-law.
“I didn’t expect you to come again today. I will not forget your sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice, Your Majesty? Please don’t say such things. Every day spent assisting Her Highness the Princess has been an honor for Flavi.”
Ugh, tone it down a little.
I eventually made a face of disgust and stepped away.
I had suspected as much, but my brother had designated the entire week of my stay at the palace as a festival period.
It was different from Jenais’s case, who had fled the palace and left for her husband’s family.
The Imperial Palace was bustling with the rare news of the national wedding, and every noble I met congratulated me on my recovered health and marriage.
“I heard that while you were convalescing, the Grand Duke of Babenberg visited frequently and cared for you most devotedly.”
In response to a noblewoman’s words, I suppressed my shyness and answered honestly.
“That’s right. Not only that, but I received much help from friends during my convalescence in Edessa. Not to mention the protection of His Majesty the King of Flavi and the Crown Prince here.”
Unlike Callisteon’s position, which was as steadfast as an evergreen on its own, my friend Ernst’s standing often depended on every word from the Imperial Family.
When I deliberately praised him, everyone spoke with satisfied expressions.
“There is no vassal state in Brentani like Flavi. If all our other vassal states and allies were like Flavi, how secure we would feel.”
Ernst smiled amiably.
“You flatter me, Madam.”
“So, was your convalescence in Edessa comfortable, Your Highness?”
For me, this was the first time receiving such attention and kindness.
During my previous stays at the palace as Louise, the nobles would only throw me a brief word, as if bestowing alms, when no other royals were around.
‘Louise should have been the one to enjoy this joy.’
The thought made me bitter, but I didn’t forget to maintain a bright smile on my face, the kind Louise would have shown.
“The weather was as nice as in Timor where the Academy is, and the lake was so, so beautiful. Even if it’s not for convalescence, I think it would be nice to travel there at least once.”
“Is that so? Is it warm even in winter?”
Ernst stepped in to answer the question, whose target was unclear.
“Flavie is a country where it absolutely never snows. If you are curious, please visit anytime. And don’t forget the royal banquet.”
When he extended the invitation, the ladies blushed with delight.
Rurik watched his sister, who had returned to the palace after so long, surrounded by nobles, with a satisfied expression.
What he had wanted to give me was surely times like this, gazes like this.
Although my brother’s status had changed greatly, I hadn’t expected so many nobles to want to speak with me.
I spent the entire afternoon of the banquet dealing with countless nobles whose names I could never hope to remember, and returned to my room completely exhausted.
It wasn’t the familiar detached palace, but a magnificent room in the main palace.
The one Genais used to occupy.
I told the maids assigned in Phoebe’s place that I was uncomfortable and would bathe alone.
There was a chance they might notice signs of childbirth if they saw my body.
Soaking in the tub alone, melting away the day’s fatigue, tears suddenly welled up in my eyes at the thought of frilly, whom I had left behind.
‘We’ll be departing for Babenberg soon, right?’
They must be busy with preparations. I couldn’t possibly bother the staff with pointless calls while being unable to help with anything.
Besides, the wet nurse was a hundred times better at caring for the baby than I was.
Around the same time, in Edessa.
The Edessa Hotel had ceased operations and refused all guest bookings since eight months ago. It was only called a hotel for convenience; its sign had been removed long ago.
Only in the first few months did clueless guests accidentally show up, but today, strangely, a lavish noble carriage arrived without prior notice and knocked on the hotel’s door.
It was already late evening, the sky dark.
Security at the hotel was extremely tight after the Princess had left the newborn behind, but the Babenberg knights guarding the main gate were greatly flustered by this unexpected visit.
“This building is private property. We are not open for business, please turn back.”
He spoke to the coachman, but the answer came from the small window of the carriage.
“I know you’re not open for business. But Louise is here, right? I want to use the gate with her when she returns to the Imperial Palace. I’ve been invited to the national wedding celebration banquet.”
The casual use of the Princess’s name suggested royalty?
But the remaining forces here were only from Babenberg or Flavi, and none knew the exact faces of the Imperial Family.
Hadn’t the Imperial Guard all returned with the Princess this morning?
“…Who are you?”
“Oh my?”
From inside the dark carriage, a woman’s dazzling eyes sparkled like jewels.
“It’s too dark to see the uniform properly. You’re not Imperial Guards, are you? Then, you’re Babenberg Knights? Even so, don’t you recognize the crest of the Pereira Marquisate?”
She pulled the window curtain aside a bit more and pointed at the carriage’s insignia.
As she moved, her red hair became conspicuously visible.
Finally, the coachman stepped down to explain the situation.
“Show your respects. This is Lady Tata, younger sister of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and wife of Viscount Pereira.”
But the knights were firm.
Their orders were simply to let no one enter or leave this hotel.
Moreover, it was famously known, even to commoners in neighboring countries, that the Emperor of the Empire was not particularly close with his half-siblings.
Therefore, the knights had no reason to obey a noble from another country.
Furthermore, it seemed utterly suspicious for a noblewoman to come here at this late hour with only a single coachman and no lady’s maid.
“You are mistaken if you believe Her Highness Princess Louise is here. She has already returned to the Imperial Palace, so the gate will not open here again. The nearest gate is at the Flavi Royal Palace—”
Finally, the sound of a latch opening came from inside the carriage, and the coachman hurriedly rushed over and prostrated himself before it.
A woman dressed in lavish banquet attire stepped down gracefully, nonchalantly using the coachman’s back as a stepping stool.
“Lies. If Louise isn’t here, then who exactly are you guarding this place for?”
