Chapter 131
Thirty minutes passed.
The busy hands of Betty and Daisy finally stopped, and for a moment, silence filled the room.
“……”
“Wow…”
Not only the maids who had been helping, but even Lora—who prided herself on her refined taste—nodded quietly in approval.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Only Riana, the one at the center of all this, looked satisfied as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, offering her gratitude to the girls who had worked so hard.
Her hair was tied up carelessly with a navy silk ribbon, her long slender neckline accentuated by a pair of drop earrings.
A touch of makeup, shoes with a modest heel.
No other adornments were needed.
Too much would only spoil the elegance and commanding grace of the dress itself.
“Your Highness…”
“Yes?”
“Now I can die without regrets…”
The soft murmur came from one of the young maids, staring at Riana with eyes full of awe.
Riana gave her an exasperated look.
“Don’t say things like that carelessly.”
“But Your Highness is just too beautiful…!”
In short, she meant Riana was so breathtaking that she could die without regrets.
“Really, me too! Ha… in this moment, I feel like I could even smash through a building.”
“We should record Your Highness’s appearance with a memory stone and pass it down to future generations.”
The stream of extreme compliments left Riana bewildered.
Do they… take some kind of class on saying over-the-top things together?
The way the maids looked at her—faces shining with pure rapture—only heightened the sense of disconnect.
“Well, anyway, thank you. Clothes really do make the person.”
“What?!”
“No, it’s because it’s you, Your Highness! If I wore something like that, I’d look like a tomboy sneaking into my father’s wardrobe.”
“If I wore it, it’d look like a bathrobe!”
“For me, it’d be pajamas… ha, I think I need to start working out.”
Riana couldn’t tell whether they were complimenting her, insulting the design, or simply berating themselves.
She cherished all the girls of Emerald Palace, but at times like this, they left her at a loss.
In the end, she settled things with an awkward smile.
Once the maids who had helped her left the room, Riana guided Lora, standing at her side, over to the sofa opposite her.
“Lora.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
A few blinks passed before Riana finally spoke of the matter she had in mind.
“Tell me… do you think it would be good if I chose clothes for His Majesty and sent them to him?”
“…His Majesty’s clothes?”
Lora froze for a brief moment at the unexpected words, then her lips curved into a fond smile.
“If Your Highness were to choose and send them, His Majesty would surely be delighted.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Did Your Highness not feel the same when you saw the clothes His Majesty carefully selected for you? More than the clothes themselves, what moved you was the heart behind them, wasn’t it?”
That was true.
What touched her more than the expensive garments was Ianheart’s thoughtfulness in choosing them for her.
So it was only natural that Riana’s heart leaned in that direction now.
As she resolved herself, the memory of Ianheart’s face when she gifted him the enchanted dagger yesterday flickered before her eyes.
…He really was happy.
So happy, in fact, that he’d blushed down to his neck and handled the box as though it were something precious.
Riana cleared her throat lightly and glanced at Lora, asking for her help.
“Then… help me. I’m no good with this sort of thing. I don’t want to send him something ready-made but rather…”
She caught herself before blurting out Ianheart’s name, but judging by Lora’s amused smile, the slip hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“…I’d like something newly designed, tailored to suit him.”
Though embarrassed, Riana forced herself to continue.
Calling him by name shouldn’t be embarrassing—especially as lovers—but somehow it felt different saying it when he wasn’t right there with her.
“You’d like to keep this a secret from His Majesty, then?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, I’ll discreetly bring a designer into the palace. He’s someone my husband often works with. His personality is… a bit eccentric, but his skill is guaranteed.”
“Eccentric is fine. I’m surrounded by enough of those already.”
Waving her hand casually, Riana dismissed the concern, and Lora nodded.
“Yes, Your Highness. He’s excellent with both menswear and womenswear, so nothing will seem out of place. I’ll have him bring his full catalog for you to see.”
Lora’s words came a little faster than usual.
She’s… actually excited about this, isn’t she?
By now, Riana had spent enough time with her to tell when Lora was in high spirits.
So Lora enjoys this sort of thing too… Well, she did say she had quite a dramatic romance with Marquis Gisel, didn’t she?
The thought amused Riana.
With a small smile, she tapped her fingernail lightly against the armrest.
“Lora, your son’s at the Imperial Academy, right?”
“Yes. He’ll be coming to the capital for the Founding Festival, so you should be able to meet both him and my daughter then.”
Lora might look young, but she had been married for over fifteen years already.
Her eldest son was twelve, her daughter eight.
“They don’t resent me for stealing their mother away, do they?”
At Riana’s playful question, Lora shook her head.
“They’re both so independent, they hardly seem to mind at all.”
With a small sigh, her expression softened—not of the competent head lady-in-waiting, but of a mother worrying over children who had grown up too quickly.
“The eldest acts like he’s already lived through everything, even though he’s only twelve. And the youngest… well, let’s just say she’s strong-willed and reckless.”
“Haha… Still, they’re children. Deep down, they must miss their mother.”
No matter how mature a child acted, they were still children.
Riana herself had been called mature for her age, but in truth, she had only been forcing herself.
There was no need to rush into adulthood.
“Well, I might not be the best one to say this, but… I’ll make sure you get every bit of leave you need to be with them.”
With a faint laugh, Riana granted her unlimited leave, in her own way of looking after her people.
Lora smiled softly in return.
“You shouldn’t be so lenient with your subordinates.”
“Mm… but I’ve been stern enough on the battlefield. If I act the way I used to, the girls might quit in tears.”
“On the contrary, I think they’d adore you even more for showing them a new side of yourself.”
“…Good grief.”
Riana let out a small, helpless laugh. Lora’s words didn’t sound like mere flattery.
Their conversation about Ianheart’s surprise gift wound down, and Riana turned back to her work.
She still had documents to review for the Founding Festival banquet, which was only a few days away.
She had gone through just over five papers when—
“Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”
Ianheart had come to the Emerald Palace a full thirty minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin.
It only took about ten minutes to walk from here to the council hall.
There was no real reason for him to be this early.
“I’ll go.”
But Riana had a good guess why—and since she felt the same, she rose from her seat without another word.
Click.
Thanks to the earlier preparations, she was ready to step outside at once.
The gates of Emerald Palace, where Ianheart always waited for her.
Tap.
Her hurried footsteps stopped the moment she saw him—a tall, striking figure.
She had been ready to throw herself into his arms, but awareness of the watching eyes held her back.
Ianheart only chuckled softly and reached out to take her hand.
“Riana.”
“Ian, you came early?”
“Yes. I wanted to see you.”
At his honest words, Riana smiled faintly.
It was an ordinary day, and yet simply defining their relationship had made it feel completely different.
“I wanted to see you too.”
Leaning closer, she whispered the words softly.
It was too embarrassing to say aloud, but her feelings were the same.
The simple act of sharing them this way made her heart flutter.
And then—
“…Oh?”
Only then did her eyes take in Ianheart’s attire, widening in surprise.
It wasn’t that his outfit was strange.
“…No way.”
Her gaze swept over him from head to toe, disbelief in her eyes.
Ianheart, smiling knowingly as if he understood her unspoken words, tilted his head.
“What is it?”
The question left her speechless.
What do you mean, what?!
