CHAPTER 139…………………………………………………………….
The Duke’s Jealousy (2)
The coronation ceremony, which doubled as a wedding, began late in the morning and continued until noon. Despite the bitter cold, the crowd that had gathered from afar to witness the emperor’s wedding was so dense that the chill was barely noticeable.
Watching the emperor and his bride exit the hall after the ceremony, Anje swept her gaze slowly across the venue. Her eyes landed on the duke, but she deliberately looked away.
She still had a shred of pride, enough that she wouldn’t pretend to recognize a man who turned his head before their eyes even met.
Instead, Anje turned her attention to the foreign delegations seated nearby, examining their faces. The list of nobles the dowager duchess had drilled into her memory was limited to the empire; she wouldn’t recognize any of them.
But Anje’s objective was simple.
“He said he’s probably around the same age as the side duke…”
She was looking for Dorian Bahkt, the king of Naiyan, who was supposed to be introduced to the emperor.
“Young, beautiful, and handsome…”
Unfortunately, she could not spot the man whose looks the emperor had boasted about endlessly.
Hoping for a chance encounter, Anje scanned even their fortune calendars, but eventually gave up. Among the attendees, all showing faces exhausted from long travels, either dozing off or covering themselves with hands while yawning from boredom, there was no man of extraordinary appearance.
When Anje turned her gaze back, she checked the spot where the duke had been standing—and froze. Her eyes slowly sank into disappointment.
Her glance had barely lingered on finding the king of Naiyan, when in that brief moment, the duke had disappeared.
“Truly, the empire is exceptional. A woman in the marquis’s seat… The late emperor was reckless, but I have no idea what this emperor is thinking. Why would a woman be granted a marquis’s position? If war breaks out, she’d only end up crying and hiding behind men. And yet… a marquis.”
“Mel, mind your words. This isn’t Naiyan. It’s a country where women’s status and inheritance rights are guaranteed. Don’t forget that’s exactly why I’m looking for a bride in the empire.”
A woman with wealth and status rooted in the empire. Even a daughter of a respectable family would have sufficed, yet a marquis!
Dorian inwardly considered himself lucky—though, of course, he’d have to meet her in person first.
After warning his talkative aide, Dorian slowly surveyed the banquet hall.
“She was said to have black hair and black eyes…”
At Dorian’s murmur, Mel’s eyes widened.
“I thought the empire had no one with black hair and black eyes.”
Dorian chuckled briefly and nodded.
“I heard that her grandfather, Marquis Crow, was from Naiyan. So… it’s perfectly suitable. A woman from a kingdom with a foothold in the empire. And although she’s noble in title, I hear she grew up in the backstreets.”
“Unless His Majesty is ignoring her simply because Naiyan is a minor kingdom, why would he recommend such a woman as queen?”
Mel frowned, clearly displeased.
“Well… His Majesty seems genuinely taken with her. He couldn’t stop praising her during the introduction. And who am I to judge origins? If my mother hadn’t had a successful business-owning father, she wouldn’t have married the late king either.”
“Hmph! Still, it’s different from the late queen. The late queen’s maternal grandfather, though not titled, was well-educated. She herself was remarkable. And now a woman from the backstreets? People will talk.”
“Then all the better. At least a marquis won’t recklessly belittle a kingdom, relying solely on her position and wealth in the empire. I can’t imagine a more suitable choice. But I wish we could see her before the emperor introduces her… she’s nowhere to be found.”
“Uh… isn’t that her? Black hair, black eyes.”
Among the empire’s populace, dominated by pale yellows and whites, Anje’s black hair stood out from afar. Mel narrowed his eyes to scrutinize the woman approaching.
She wasn’t an extraordinary beauty, but had a fairly cute impression. With a neutral expression, she scanned the room and finally rested her gaze on Dorian’s party.
“She looks like she’s looking for us, too.”
“It seems so, doesn’t it? Then, shall we greet her politely first?”
“Would you now?” Mel’s arm moved forward to step ahead, but Dorian grabbed it.
“Why?”
Reading the mischievous glint on Dorian’s face, Mel’s voice trembled with unease. He knew all too well how many difficulties he had endured cleaning up after Dorian’s occasional playful mistakes.
That expression on the king’s face was exactly that: the kind of playful mischief that couldn’t be resisted.
“No!” Mel’s whispered plea fell on deaf ears as the king stepped in front of Anje.
“Are you Marquis Crow?”
Dorian’s careful bow seemed almost servile, though his natural beauty prevented it from looking that way.
“Yes.”
“I am Mel, aide to His Majesty Dorian Bahkt, King of Naiyan.”
Anje’s eyes narrowed as the man introduced himself as an aide.
She checked the golden fortune calendar above his head and immediately bowed politely—a courtesy excessive even for an aide.
“No, Your Excellency… why are you doing this to me…”
“I, Marquis Anje Crow, pay respects to His Majesty Dorian Bahkt, King of Naiyan. May the goddess’s infinite glory be with Naiyan.”
Her greeting was in Naiyan’s style, as if she had learned it somewhere.
Dorian’s attempt at playful teasing fell flat. Surprised by her recognition—and unexpectedly receiving a Naiyan-style greeting—his face flushed deeply. Whether from the shame of being caught teasing or from realizing how charming she was up close, no one could tell.
“Uh… I-I’m sorry, Marquis.”
Blushing and stammering, doing all manner of foolishness he had never done before, Dorian finally uttered his apology.
“I only meant to make light-hearted mischief to ease our first meeting. My apologies.”
Anje simply offered a soft smile in response.
Though their encounter would be fleeting, she seemed to accept it, brightening Dorian’s expression.
The music was beautiful, and the woman smiling at him was alluring. A very good start.
“Instead of standing here, shall we sit and talk? Ah, I’m Mel—the king’s chief aide.”
Emphasizing “chief,” Mel cast an annoyed glance at Dorian. Looks alone are meaningless—brilliant abilities are useless if you’re a leaky bucket inside and out.
Mel, lamenting his daily struggles assisting an incompetent superior, looked around. Hidden behind fans, but unable to avoid all the gazes, the attention was intense.
Why wouldn’t it be? One was the famed, handsome king of Naiyan; the other, the rumored woman who rose from the slums to become a marquis.
Realizing how delighted Dorian was, with a graceful smile on his lips, cold sweat ran down Mel’s back. Marquis Anje Crow maintained proper etiquette throughout, never overstepping.
“This doesn’t bode well…”
“We’ve prepared a separate seat for you.”
“Shall we go?”
Dorian extended his arm politely toward Anje. The earlier playful glint was gone, replaced with seriousness.
“No, perhaps we could walk a bit instead? There are too many eyes here.”
The seats Mel had arranged were too exposed, while using a lounge or balcony on a first meeting could provoke rumors.
Anje had no intention of prolonging the event.
As always, banquets were tedious and exhausting for her. Since assuming the responsibilities of a marquis, even more so. Work poured in from all directions, almost to the point of suffocation.
Even at a banquet, for Crow merchants, it was still work; every step brought greetings disguised as business proposals.
As a result, Anje truly just wanted to return home and rest.
