~CHAPTER 20~
When Dianu arrived quietly, the conversation in the courtyard was already underway.
“Didn’t ‘he’ notice you?”
“No need to worry. ‘He’ is dancing with my wife right now. I asked her to dance three songs, so as long as we return before the music changes, it’ll be fine.”
The new voice was familiar.
Though it was in Arasas tongue, there was no mistaking it.
Duke Roderick of Velua.
And Dianu’s assumption that the other man was the Arasas Ambassador, Nixandor, was now confirmed.
The Arasas pronoun “he” they used referred only to God or the Emperor.
Since God couldn’t possibly be dancing at the Founding Day Ball, the “he” they mentioned could only mean Rision.
And the only Arasas noblewoman capable of keeping Rision occupied in the ballroom by dancing with him was the Ambassador’s wife.
A chill ran down the back of Dianu’s neck.
This meeting is dangerous.
It was impossible for the Duke of Catalos and the Arasas Ambassador to have a private meeting without the Emperor eventually hearing about it—unless it was right now, when the Emperor and all his close aides were gathered in the Grand Ballroom.
It was the perfect cover.
Even if they were caught, they could claim they met by chance while taking a stroll.
Then what kind of conversation had to be exchanged so secretly, in a language most Catalos nobles couldn’t even understand?
Dianu held her breath and listened.
“Didn’t you say ‘she’ would never agree to this marriage? But she looked perfectly fine today. Has she changed her mind?”
It was about the political marriage between Elpenlira and the Arasas Crown Prince.
Duke Roderick of Velua replied, sounding displeased.
“If your master hadn’t agreed to this marriage in the first place, ‘her’ opinion wouldn’t have mattered.”
“It couldn’t be helped. Labelan is a shrewd man, and my master is utterly devoted to his eldest son’s words.”
Dianu pieced the puzzle together in her mind.
So, Labelan Arasas had persuaded the old Arasas Emperor to approve his marriage to Elpenlira, but Ambassador Nixandor—and probably some of the Arasas nobility—were against it.
That explained why he might be cooperating with Duke Roderick of Velua, who opposed peace with Arasas.
“In any case, now that things have reached this point, today’s plan must proceed as intended, Duke.”
“No need to worry. As long as the materials you provided are reliable.”
Wait… then this means…
The final piece clicked into place.
A Catalos grand noble, conspiring with a foreign ambassador for his own political aims, openly defying the Emperor’s will.
She felt the blood drain from her face.
***
The Grand Ballroom remained cheerful, as though nothing had happened.
Dianu slipped back inside, hiding her pale face behind a hand fan.
Where is Sir Edric Loisen?
She needed him more than ever.
She glanced back nervously, worried she might have been followed. Then someone suddenly stopped her.
She almost shoved him away out of shock.
“You should watch where you’re walking.”
It was the Emperor.
Dianu quickly looked around.
People who weren’t dancing had turned their eyes toward them.
She whispered urgently.
“Your Majesty, people are watching.”
Fortunately, the Emperor released her at once.
Everyone was watching.
Among them might even be one of Ambassador Nixandor’s spies.
Dianu could hardly breathe.
The Emperor, however, remained calm.
“I must dance. Will you stay with Lira?”
Being with the Princess would attract attention too, but it was better than standing face-to-face with the Emperor even a moment longer.
Dianu bowed deeply and stepped aside.
She could feel his gaze on her but didn’t dare turn back.
When the Princess saw Dianu walking toward her, her expression twisted in displeasure.
Dianu hadn’t expected a warm welcome, so she quietly bowed.
“Dianu Ortensa greets Your Highness.”
The Princess didn’t respond.
Only after Countess Ornin whispered something behind her did she reluctantly say,
“Raise your head.”
Dianu obeyed.
The Princess immediately looked away, as if she had fulfilled her duty.
Dianu took that moment to slip beside Countess Ornin.
The Countess gave her a sympathetic look.
“Has Sir Loisen been taken from you, Miss Ortensa?”
“By Lady Milena Loisen.”
Countess Ornin shook her head.
Dianu searched the ballroom among curious stares for the Emperor.
He was holding someone’s hand and stepping onto the dance floor.
Those not dancing parted the way and bowed their heads.
The lady beside the Emperor was Lady Adelaisa of Velua.
Dianu found it hard to hide her confusion.
The father of that noblewoman dancing with the Emperor was, at that very moment, committing an act that could earn him the gallows.
Does His Majesty know?
Even if he didn’t know the details, perhaps he suspected.
But if that were true, why did he appear so close to Adelaisa of Velua?
Lost in confusion, her thoughts slipped out as words.
“Lady Velua seems… quite close to His Majesty.”
Then something surprising happened.
The Princess, who had been staring straight ahead with a stern expression, turned her head toward Dianu.
The same green eyes as the Emperor’s flashed, piercing straight through her.
Dianu froze, caught by the force of that gaze.
A smile touched the Princess’s lips.
To her astonishment, the Princess looked amused—something Dianu had never seen before.
She blinked, unsure what to think.
The Princess leaned her arm on the chair’s armrest and rested her chin on her hand.
Countess Ornin quietly tried to caution her, but she ignored it, glancing up at Dianu with a tilted gaze.
“Isn’t Lady Adelaisa of Velua the woman closest to becoming the next Empress of Catalos?”
The Princess had spoken to her.
It would have been rude not to answer, but Dianu didn’t know what to say.
Though she knew it was improper, she remained silent.
The Princess turned away with a mocking smile.
Lady Adelaisa as Empress? Impossible.
Her father, Duke Roderick of Velua, is defying the Emperor’s will and conspiring with the Arasas Ambassador.
It was absurd.
The daughter of a traitor could not become the Emperor’s consort.
If the Princess’s words were true, Dianu had to tell the Emperor everything she’d seen and heard tonight.
That was her duty—as both a Catalos citizen and his loyal subject.
But… is that all?
Dianu bit her lower lip hard.
Something other than loyalty or patriotism was pressing painfully against her chest.
* * *
The problem began when the Emperor started dancing with Lady Adelaisa and Grand Duchess Erbinjel, then led Countess Ornin onto the floor.
Now that Countess Ornin, who had been keeping him company, has been led away by the Emperor, I have nothing to do.
Dianu kept her place beside the Princess, avoiding curious gazes as best she could.
That was, until Duke Roderick of Velua appeared before the Princess.
“Duke Roderick of Velua greets Your Highness.”
She kept a calm face, but her thoughts were noisy.
“In any case, now that things have reached this point, today’s plan must proceed as intended, Duke.”
“No need to worry. As long as the materials you provided are reliable.”
It was certain that Duke Roderick of Velua and Ambassador Nixandor were plotting something, but Dianu could not determine what.
I planned to ask for a private audience if His Majesty finished all his dances…
She had not expected the Duke to approach first.
It was a bad turn of events.
The Princess looked down at the bowing Duke with cold eyes.
The Duke did not flinch at her obvious chill.
He even smiled as if at ease.
“It seems we have not met for some time, Your Highness. I am pleased to see you so well.”
“……”
“The last time I saw you was… at the funeral of the third son of House Loisen, I believe.”
“Was his name… Edric? Losing a favored knight must have been a great sorrow for Your Highness.”
The Princess remained silent.
Dianu’s heart pounded so hard she felt it might explode.
Please, just shut up.
She sent that look, but Duke Roderick did not even glance toward her.
He seemed unaware she and he had ever met.
He furrowed his brow with mock regret.
“I have had no chance to see Your Highness since the funeral, so I apologize for not speaking sooner.”
He wore the face of someone least sorry in the world.
Dianu was sure of it.
This man knows of the relationship between Your Highness and Edric Loisen.
If so, this was not an accidental faux pas but a deliberate provocation.
And an effective one at that.
The Princess’s ice statue expression flushed in real time.
She slowly rose to her feet.
Duke Roderick watched with obvious pleasure.
Could this be part of their plan?
A scheme to provoke the Princess into public scandal through a deliberate insult?
Please, Your Highness. Not here!
She prayed inwardly, but the enraged Princess seemed to forget Dianu’s presence entirely.
The Princess spat out words as if the Duke were vermin.
“How dare you—”
At that moment, Dianu made a decision she would never have imagined months earlier.
The Emperor must have anticipated this kind of situation when he asked something of her.
Whether this was part of a plan or not, with Countess Ornin absent, protecting the Princess’s honor and reputation fell to Dianu.
Dianu stepped between Duke Roderick and the Princess.
She spoke in an exaggeratedly fussy tone.
“Oh my, Your Highness. Is your head hurting again?”
For that instant their aims aligned.
Despite being looked at as if she were mad, Dianu grabbed the Princess’s arm without hesitation.
“Perhaps the noise is making you unwell. I will take you somewhere quiet to rest.”
“……”
“Duke, I’m sorry, but Your Highness is not feeling well yet. Perhaps you might save your conversation for another time?”
The Duke looked displeased.
Dianu did not wait for his reply and pulled the Princess along.
She worried the Princess might resist, but she came easily, like a paper doll.
Dianu lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Please, follow me quietly.”
“…Do you truly want to die?”
“Whether you kill me or spare me, do it in five minutes.”
There was no one to bar their path before the Princess and her tutor.
