The imperial palace was decorated far more splendidly than before.
It was a ceremony to mark the debut of the next generation of high society, so the occasion had been prepared accordingly.
Carriages lined up in a long procession.
Each one boasted the unique characteristics of its noble house. I had never seen so many people gathered in one place before.
My heart pounded at the sudden sense of reality that washed over me again and again.
Recognizing the royal carriage, the knights allowed ours to pass through the procession and go directly into the palace.
Through the window, I saw noble young ladies around my age craning their necks to peek inside our carriage.
It was the famous crown prince. It was unusual for him to make an appearance so early in the morning on debutante day.
It was clear he had come to escort his partner, and for those who had assumed he would be escorting his sister, it was a shocking surprise.
And when they confirmed who his partner was—me—their expressions turned to near horror.
Leaving behind the rising murmurs, our carriage passed through the imperial gates.
Luca, being first in line for the throne, was scheduled to enter last.
“Isn’t that a bit contradictory?”
“Right? I wanted to get in early and scan the menu.”
“You’re always the same, Ria.”
…Was that a compliment?
Though we had arrived right on time, it was still too early to enter, so we headed to the Crown Prince’s garden.
There, an unexpected person greeted me.
I had said we’d meet again someday, but I hadn’t expected it to be so soon.
“Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress.”
Seated under a shaded tent, holding a teacup, was the empress.
Though the weather wasn’t particularly chilly, she had her shoulders wrapped in a thick shawl. Unlike the last time I saw her, she now wore a gentle smile on her lips.
“We meet again, Raveria.”
“Mother, you’re here.”
Luca greeted her lightly, and the empress nodded with a faint, awkward smile.
“I wondered if I came too suddenly. But when I heard Raveria was coming, I couldn’t just stay away…”
Looking at them, it was clear their emotional rift had begun to heal, but there was still awkwardness between them.
“You’re always welcome in the Crown Prince’s palace, Mother.”
Luca looked like he wanted to add something more but decided not to.
Maybe he had meant to say she was welcome anywhere in the palace.
After all, the empress held such a position.
The Grepin Imperial Palace boasted a garden praised by countries all over the world, a beautiful greenhouse, and a magnificent old palace.
It would be nice if she could make some happy memories in those places with the little time she had left.
‘More importantly… what are we going to do about this awkward vibe?!’
I led Luca and sat next to the empress.
Now acting as the mediator between them, I felt a sense of duty to ease the mood and declared solemnly:
“Shall I tell you what Luca was like at the orphanage?”
I laughed sweetly as I brought up the topic.
Sorry, Luca, but this turned into a full-on conversation between just the empress and me.
Despite her noble upbringing, the empress retained her baroness-era charm—warm and down-to-earth in speech.
“Haha, so you’re telling me this child couldn’t sleep without holding your hand?”
“Yes. And after coming to the palace, since we couldn’t sleep together anymore, I gave him a teddy bear to replace me.”
“Oh… I’m about to cry…”
The empress, who had been laughing heartily, eventually wiped away tears that had crept out.
Caught between us, Luca added quietly,
“That teddy bear only made me miss Ria more… I actually slept worse…”
Flop.
Too late. He’d already said it all—no point trying to cover his mouth now.
The empress covered her mouth with her hand and stared at us, eyes wide.
“Oh my…”
Then she chuckled and nodded, as if to say she understood everything.
‘What the heck?!’
I quickly changed the subject.
“Um, by the way, Your Majesty, aren’t you attending the banquet?”
“My health isn’t the best, so most of the external events are handled by Jeria.”
Though she was said to be ill, the empress looked perfectly fine sitting here now.
Jeria’s family—the Marquisate of Croix—still refused to acknowledge the empress, who was born a baroness.
So in their eyes, Jeria was the true empress.
Even the fact that the crown prince’s debutante was being handled by a concubine was unprecedented.
The empress must have sensed my thoughts and smiled serenely.
“I like it this way. Since I can’t run away from the burden of this position, I chose to be forgotten instead.”
It pained me to think that being forgotten or running away were her only choices.
“If you ever feel a hollow emptiness from being forgotten, we’ll fill it for you.”
In my previous life, when I was injured and constantly on the news, I had wished to be forgotten quickly.
But once I was completely forgotten—as if I had never existed—what came next was a deep, unshakable sense of emptiness. Because of that, I understood how the empress felt.
What filled that void for me was my family.
The empress also had people like that.
She looked surprised at my words but then smiled brightly and nodded.
“Mother, we should go now.”
“Yes. I had such a lovely time today. Ria, I look forward to episode two of the orphanage stories, okay?”
“Of course!”
As I turned to return to the carriage, a gentle, warm hand stopped me.
Luca had already gone ahead, so he didn’t hear it.
“Thank you for being a friend to Luca and Rachel. Please take care of the children…”
Her clear golden eyes, as if already knowing her fate, looked at me with sincerity.
I didn’t answer with words—I simply held her trembling hands in both of mine.
“His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, Azenluca Blake de Grepin, the noble sun who guards the empire, and his partner, Lady Raveria Jeanne Lays, now make their entrance!!”
What a grand announcement.
The loud voice of the herald made our clasped hands tremble slightly with nervousness.
With every step we took, hundreds of eyes followed us.
“Ria, are you okay? Should I make them all lower their gaze?”
What kind of character break is this?!
The male lead, who was supposed to be gentle and kind, was now threatening to go full tyrant.
I took a deep breath and replied,
“I’m fine. Totally fine.”
Senia, the female lead, had fallen for Luca’s kind and sweet personality. Since she was here too, I couldn’t let this story fall apart.
As we walked down the aisle, the nobles we passed all paid their respects to the crown prince.
Some of them met my gaze by accident and couldn’t hide their shocked expressions.
The rumors about me were outrageous: that I was a mouse monster disguised as a human, or an ancient witch sealed in the Dark Forest for a thousand years who broke free to take revenge on the Lays family. Some even claimed my eyes were on my ears and my ears on my mouth.
Surprisingly, a lot of people believed these ridiculous rumors.
After I was adopted into House Lays, those rumors had almost become accepted as fact.
Some gossip-loving young ladies probably looked forward more to seeing the “monster princess” of House Lays than to their own debutante.
But now, those very people stood speechless, blinking like stunned fish.
I couldn’t read their minds, but apparently, I didn’t look the way they had expected.
And to think I was the crown prince’s partner? Their shock turned to pure disbelief.
