~CHAPTER 49~
My Dianu.
I cannot trust my own judgment, so I thought it best for you to choose it yourself.
Please pick something you can keep for a long time and remember me by.
– Rision Catalos.
Elpenlira disliked choosing accessories.
So I heard that Countess Ornin filled her jewelry box instead.
But choosing someone else’s jewelry seemed to be a completely different matter.
Elpenlira’s eyes glittered brighter than the gems themselves as she examined the design sketches and samples the Sailand merchant lord had spread across the desk.
“This one looks pretty to me. You suit pink, teacher.”
“Oh my. As expected, Your Highness has remarkable taste. This is a pink diamond, and our company has only one piece of it. It deserves to be treated as a royal heirloom.”
“But pearls don’t seem bad either.”
“Indeed, Your Highness. Perfectly round and pure white pearls like these are very rare. The people of the Viafria Archipelago spend their entire lives diving just to harvest a single pearl like this.”
Having gained Dianu’s permission, Rision seemed determined to burn through his gold in earnest.
If not that, then he must still be holding a grudge over the accessory he had once gifted Dianu and received back.
Either way, it was something Dianu, who had lived her whole life as a commoner, could not possibly handle.
“Um… don’t you have something small and not noticeable?”
The Sailand merchant lord looked as if he had just seen a ghost.
“Small and not noticeable, you say?”
“Yes…”
“But this is a gift from His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Y… yes…”
Elpenlira waved her hand.
“Teacher, I guarantee you, if you choose something unimpressive, my brother will use that as an excuse to keep giving you something better.”
The horrifying image made Dianu want to cry.
Even with Dianu cornered, Elpenlira looked as though she was greatly enjoying herself.
“He won’t stop until you’re satisfied, so it’s better to pick something good from the start.”
“But I don’t have anywhere to wear such extravagant jewelry…”
“You can wear it when you meet my brother.”
Imagining herself wearing such flashy accessories with her usual simple dress — a diamond ring the size of her thumbnail or a necklace heavy enough to hold a gold bar — Dianu could only let out a faint laugh.
Elpenlira leaned toward Dianu, who stared anxiously at the glittering desk.
“It’s your first love. My brother must be thrilled. He’ll want to give you the whole world.”
There was no denying it.
This pair of siblings knew exactly how to deal with Dianu to get what they wanted.
* * *
She cut her hair.
While trimming the length, she cut off enough for Rision to keep and tied it with a ribbon.
Once she finished, her cheeks grew hot from embarrassment at doing something so sentimental.
We’re lovers… so it’s fine.
Even though she still couldn’t fully believe they were that kind of relationship.
Before entering the Eastern Palace of the Imperial Court, she took a deep breath.
She had once been turned away at the door, so she couldn’t help being nervous even though the situation was different now.
Lady Kalamiore was seated behind her massive desk, flipping through an unknown ledger as always.
She glanced at Dianu approaching carefully and pointed silently at the door behind her.
One of the waiting attendants opened it without a sound.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. I hope you enjoy your time.”
The fact that she even gave a formal smile made this a dramatic change from last time.
Is this the power of influence…?
Dianu wondered what Rision had said to Lady Kalamiore.
Even though Dianu came without sending word beforehand, the gatekeeper of the East Wing greeted her as if they had been waiting.
A different attendant than the one who opened the door led Dianu to the office of the Emperor’s private secretary, Nairon Berdian — the mandatory checkpoint before entering the Emperor’s private office.
Dianu stopped there.
“Secretary…?”
Nairon slowly lifted his head from a mountain of documents.
His bloodshot eyes and unshaven face made him look like a soldier who hadn’t slept for three days and three nights.
He squinted as if he couldn’t see her clearly, then struggled to his feet.
“Lady Ortensa. Good day.”
“I’m doing fine, but it seems you’re not…”
“There’s just a lot of work lately. Nothing for you to worry about.”
Even as he spoke, he desperately fought back a yawn, which made him look even more pitiful.
Dianu glanced around the secretary’s office, which somehow looked even messier than before.
“Just what is keeping you so busy… ah, it must be confidential.”
“Well, yes, something like that.”
Even as he agreed, Nairon’s face looked oddly uneasy.
He kept glancing nervously at Dianu.
Just as she was about to ask him more, the door to the Emperor’s office opened.
“Dianu.”
The moment Rision stepped out with a sweet smile, Dianu completely forgot her concern for Nairon.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry for coming without notice.”
“There is no need to apologize. Come in.”
Dianu glanced sideways at Nairon, but the secretary only stared blankly at the floor.
He knows as well…
Closing the door with him right there felt strangely embarrassing.
Not long ago, she had made a fuss here insisting they couldn’t wake Rision while he slept.
The atmosphere in the office was very different now.
The curtains were wide open, letting sunlight pour in.
Aside from the faint scent of leather and ink, there was none of the dangerous, sealed room feeling from that day.
Since it was still early in the day, Rision was fully dressed, wearing even his jacket and cravat properly.
He tended to shed layers as night approached, but Dianu thought he looked very handsome with everything buttoned up to his throat.
“Shall I bring tea?”
“No. It’s alright.”
“Pardon?”
“…I want to be alone with you.”
Even though attendants of the Imperial Palace were trained to be invisible, she didn’t want even that.
She wanted to fully savor the feeling of being alone together, something rare for the two of them.
“You say surprising things sometimes.”
“Not as surprising as Your Majesty.”
She could speak like this now without worry.
He was her emperor, yes, but he was also her lover.
Rision stared at her pouting face and suddenly burst into clear laughter.
His bright voice filled the office.
“By the way, Dianu.”
He sat beside her.
The long couch used for imperial naps felt unexpectedly intimate when they sat side by side, and Dianu didn’t know where to look.
“…Yes?”
“How long will you keep calling me ‘Your Majesty’?”
He leaned close, coaxing her gently.
“Call me by my name, like you did in the carriage.”
“…”
“There’s no one here but us, so it’s fine, isn’t it?”
He leaned in closer and closer.
His breath teased her slightly parted lips, and she couldn’t think straight from the heat of familiar memories.
“…Rision-nim.”
“It would be nice if you said it a little more sweetly.”
“R… Rision.”
He sighed in satisfaction like a well-fed animal and cradled her chin in one hand.
“May I kiss you?”
Dianu closed her eyes tight and nodded.
And just as their lips were about to meet—
Someone knocked urgently.
“Your Majesty, forgive me, but…”
It was Nairon’s dying voice through the door.
“Grand Duchess Erbinjel will arrive in thirty seconds. Lady Kalamiore says she cannot stop her.”
Dianu pushed Rision’s chest as if burned.
Rision groaned softly but allowed himself to be pushed away.
“…Would you wait with Nairon outside for a moment?”
Dianu nodded, pale as chalk.
“Does that mean… Her Highness found out…?”
Rision’s troubled smile was enough to tell her the answer.
For the first time since deciding to be with him, Dianu felt something close to fear.
* * *
When Grand Duchess Erbinjel stormed in, Dianu was sitting quietly in the secretary’s office, pretending to read a book.
Thankfully, she hadn’t been kissed yet.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to fake such a calm face.
“Lady Dianu. What an unexpected place to meet you.”
“Hello, Your Highness.”
Dianu rose and bowed.
The Grand Duchess looked at her with a complicated expression but neither approached nor extended her hand.
That was how Dianu knew she was angry.
She didn’t feel fear, but guilt weighed heavily on her.
No matter the intention, her actions had betrayed the trust and expectations of Grand Duchess Erbinjel.
“…We will speak privately later, Lady Dianu.”
The Grand Duchess turned without hesitation and disappeared through the office door where Rision waited.
The door slammed behind her, and Dianu held her pounding heart as she sat back down.
Nairon, who had witnessed everything, approached carefully.
“Are you alright?”
“…Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It may not be much comfort… but do you remember what I told you before?”
‘If His Majesty desires it, everything becomes possible.’
That was what Nairon had said, and it was undeniably true.
Even if Grand Duchess Erbinjel was the Emperor’s aunt and greatest supporter, she could not dictate the Emperor’s love life.
As long as Rision wished for Dianu, they could be together.
But that logic ignored the cost Rision would have to pay.
“…I don’t want His Majesty to sacrifice anything because of me.”
“Pardon?”
“Because of me, His Majesty must sacrifice relationships and principles. If I were someone more… worthy of him, that wouldn’t be necessary.”
If she were a noble lady fit to become Empress, someone even Grand Duchess Erbinjel would accept without question, then Rision could remain a flawless Emperor with no stains on his reign.
Before she could tumble further down that slope of anguish, Nairon stopped her.
“You are mistaken, Lady Ortensa.”
“…What?”
“Have you sacrificed nothing for His Majesty?”
Dianu only blinked at him.
Nairon let out a long sigh.
“Forgive my boldness, but I believe the two of you are a perfect match.”
Strangely, it did not feel like a compliment.
