[CHAPTER 58]
It was early morning.
Before Rision had even finished getting ready, Neyron burst in out of breath.
The startled attendants tried to stop him, but Rision raised a hand.
“Everyone out.”
Because even the attendants helping him dress hurriedly left, he had to fasten his buttons himself for the first time in a long while.
Despite the chilly weather, Neyron was drenched in sweat, clearly having run a long way.
With trembling hands, he held out a single letter.
“It’s from the Arasas Crown Prince. There’s a mark.”
Rision stopped buttoning his clothes and snatched the letter at once.
As expected, a blue seal he had never seen before was stamped on the envelope.
To ensure smooth communication, the two of them had made several agreements.
One of them was using a specific seal on the envelope to indicate the urgency of the matter.
The blue seal meant a letter that had to be read immediately, setting everything else aside.
There was no time to fetch a letter knife.
With an impatient motion, Rision tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter.
Had the old emperor died, or was it war?
Only a very limited number of couriers could carry letters between Ravelan and Rision.
Even if they changed horses without rest, it took a full five days for a letter to arrive.
And a great many things could happen in five days.
As Rision rapidly skimmed the page, searching for words like death or war, Neyron watched him with mounting anxiety.
A few seconds later, Rision let out a deep breath.
Neyron, who had been so tense he was nearly biting his nails, asked,
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
“…A notice of a visit.”
Neyron clearly did not understand his words.
Handing the letter back to his blinking secretary, Rision smiled.
“It says Ravelan Arasas departed for Catalos five days ago.”
“What?!”
“He’ll arrive in the capital within four days.”
Neyron clutched his head and screamed silently.
With just one thin sheet of paper, his workload had doubled.
Leaving aside his sympathy for his secretary’s suffering, Rision felt excitement boiling up inside him.
And if he allowed himself a little more greed, he could even hope that Elpenlira might develop favorable feelings toward Ravelan.
This reunion would be an important opportunity in many ways.
* * *
Of course, it was an unofficial visit.
On the Catalos side, only Rision and a few close aides knew about Ravelan’s arrival.
“That’s quite admirable courage. Doesn’t he value his life?”
“Lady Elpenlira…”
Dianu tried to dissuade her, but Elpenlira merely turned her head away.
Since Elpenlira agreeing to marry Ravelan did not mean she was happy about it, Rision took it in stride.
Dianu asked cautiously,
“But isn’t it really dangerous?”
“I will protect Ravelan, and he trusts me. What is there to worry about?”
Even aside from that, Ravelan was more than capable of taking care of himself.
Rision had already realized years ago that worrying about Ravelan was one of the most pointless things imaginable.
“He’s coming to meet Lady Elpenlira, right?”
“That’s certainly a major reason, but… there’s another as well.”
Dianu tilted her head.
Although the letter hadn’t mentioned it, Rision refrained from explaining Ravelan’s additional purpose.
If his guess was correct, it would be better to hear it directly from Ravelan himself.
“Ravelan will stay at the Erbinjel grand ducal residence under a concealed identity.”
He glanced at Elpenlira, who still kept her lips tightly pressed together.
“It’s the perfect place for a quiet meeting. It won’t be strange for us to come and go either.”
Seeing the even more rebellious look settling on his sister’s face, Rision decided it was best to end things here for today.
“I’ll be counting on you, Dianu.”
“I’m not sure how much help I can be in meeting the Arasas Crown Prince, but… I’ll do my best.”
The fact that Elpenlira was at least willing to meet Ravelan was already Dianu’s achievement.
With a gentle smile, Rision took her hand.
If Elpenlira changed her mind and tried to stab Ravelan with a hat pin or a silver candlestick, Dianu would probably be the final line of defense.
Dianu, clearly understanding Rision’s look, gave an awkward smile.
* * *
“Why do I need to get a new dress just to meet Ravel— no, Erin’s fencing instructor?”
Because the seamstress and her assistants were nearby, Elpenlira quickly corrected herself.
Ravelan Arasas would be staying at the Erbinjel residence under the identity of a fencing instructor the Erbinjel Grand Duchess Ellaris had gone to great lengths to invite for her son.
There weren’t many ways for someone who was neither a relative nor a Catalos native to stay long-term at the residence without arousing suspicion.
“That’s just an excuse. His Majesty simply wants to gift you new clothes, Lady Elpenlira.”
“How is this a gift? My brother knows perfectly well how much I hate having clothes tailored.”
Despite all her complaining, Elpenlira followed the seamstress’s instructions and turned halfway with her arms raised.
The elderly seamstress skillfully soothed the sulking princess while carefully taking her measurements.
While Elpenlira was surrounded by the seamstress and assistants, Dianu flipped through a book full of design sketches.
Anything would suit such a beautiful young woman, but since this was her first meeting with Ravelan, it was best to be as attentive as possible.
As she was choosing designs that would suit Elpenlira, the seamstress called out to Dianu.
“Now it’s your turn, Lady Dianu.”
Dianu looked bewildered.
“Me?”
The seamstress, smiling brightly with a measuring tape around her neck, gestured to the empty spot in front of the mirror.
“Yes. You’ll be accompanying Her Highness when she goes out in her new dress, won’t you? His Majesty ordered that a dress be made for you as well.”
If Rision had been standing there, Dianu might have argued that it wasn’t necessary.
But if she refused now, the seamstress would fail to carry out an imperial order.
He did this on purpose, didn’t he, Your Majesty…
Shaking her head, Dianu stood up.
Elpenlira, having finished her measurements, walked over with light steps, looking far more excited than when choosing her own clothes.
“What color should we pick, Teacher?”
“Something that makes Lady Elpenlira stand out, of course…”
“No, pick something that matches that necklace.”
Dianu reflexively touched near her collarbone.
Since the day Rision had placed it around her neck, she only took the necklace off to sleep or bathe.
With its relatively simple design, it went well with almost any outfit, so there was no real reason to remove it.
“Shall we…?”
“Yes. Let’s pick something that’ll make my brother fall head over heels all over again.”
Fortunately, the last words were whispered softly enough that only Dianu could hear them.
Even so, the seamstress looked over with a puzzled expression.
That was because Dianu’s face had turned bright red.
* * *
It was only natural that the maids of Oak Palace eventually noticed the necklace Dianu never took off.
On her way to the Imperial Palace as usual, Dianu happened to run into Luicilla as she was entering.
Luicilla spoke in a subtle voice,
“Miss Ortensa, that necklace is lovely.”
“Thank you.”
“It must be a gift from Lord Vallich, right? Will we be hearing good news soon?”
It seemed that in high society, Lord Vallich and Dianu were still considered a potentially marriageable pair.
That wasn’t strange.
Lord Vallich had left the capital without any real chance to actively clarify the situation himself.
That meant it was Dianu’s responsibility to correct the rumor.
It was truly troublesome.
“It wasn’t a gift from Lord Vallich. We’re not close enough to exchange something like that.”
“Oh… I’m sorry. I saw you sitting together at the Grand Temple during the festival and jumped to conclusions.”
Dianu hurriedly added,
“Of course, Lord Vallich is a wonderful gentleman, but he’s far too good for me. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be this time.”
One way or another, the rumor had to spread in a direction that didn’t place blame on Lord Vallich.
Even though Dianu had been the one at fault, she couldn’t let his future marriage prospects suffer because of it.
Luicilla disappeared into Oak Palace wearing a thoroughly embarrassed expression.
Watching her back, Dianu let out a small sigh.
Having one or two people with loose lips nearby was helpful at times like this.
The problem was that Dianu’s explanation eventually made its way, in a subtly altered form, to Rision’s ears.
* * *
“Is it true that you said, ‘I love Lord Vallich deeply, but he is too good for me, so it cannot be in this lifetime’?”
Dianu nearly sprayed out the tea she had been drinking.
Whenever their schedules aligned, every few days or so, Rision and Dianu ate lunch alone in the Imperial Palace’s orangerie.
From the moment Rision walked into the secretariat that day, she had sensed something was off.
He was polite as always, but looked lost in thought and subtly unfocused during their conversation.
During the meal, he occasionally stared intently at Dianu’s face.
Then, in the middle of tea, he suddenly brought up this absurd story.
Dianu hastily wiped her mouth with a napkin and barely managed to suppress a cough.
“What on earth— when did I ever say something like that?!”
Even setting aside the fact that the subject was Lord Vallich, such a combination of words had never once come out of Dianu’s mouth in her entire life.
It sounded like something straight out of one of Lady Karelina’s novels.
But Rision looked serious.
“Countess Calamier told me.”
“What? Why would the Countess…?”
“She said she overheard noblewomen talking about it at a ball she attended yesterday.”
Rision leaned slightly forward toward Dianu, who sat there with her mouth agape.
Since the orangerie table wasn’t large, their faces drew close in an instant.
“Did you really say that?”
“Of course not! I don’t even understand why such nonsense is going around— ah.”
Dianu buried her face in both hands.
She had just remembered the conversation she’d had with Luicilla in front of Oak Palace.
Of course, Dianu had never babbled about loving someone deeply or it being impossible in this lifetime.
Luicilla must have embellished the story in the process of passing it on.
In other words, it was an adaptation.
The truth alone hadn’t been interesting enough, so the messenger had turned it into a more dramatic and valuable rumor.
She had only thought that someone with a loose tongue would help correct the rumor, never imagining this possibility.
Because Dianu herself was tight-lipped, she had failed to understand the mindset of habitual rumor spreaders.
Before her, her wounded lover was still gazing at her quietly.
Instead of clutching her throbbing head, Dianu grabbed his hand on the table.
“Your Majesty. Rationally speaking… does that sound like something I would ever say?”
“I thought it was strange. That’s why I wanted to confirm it directly.”
Just from his lowered lashes and somber mouth, she could tell how many thoughts had crossed his mind before reaching this moment.
With the firmest voice she could manage, Dianu said,
“I only tried to correct the rumor about Lord Vallich and me through Miss Maier. It seems Miss Maier added words I never said in the process.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. It is.”
Rision gently clasped the hand Dianu was holding.
“You truly have no feelings for Ganid Vallich?”
Overcome with frustration, Dianu almost jumped to her feet.
Instead, she held Rision’s cheeks in both hands.
Staring into his widened eyes, she spoke slowly, enunciating every word,
“The person I like is Rision Catalos.”
“……”
“Whether it’s Lord Vallich or anyone else, I wouldn’t want them even if you loaded them into a four-horse carriage and gave them to me!”
Still holding his face, Rision slowly nodded as his lips parted.
A faint blush seemed to spread across his high cheekbones.
After huffing for a while, Dianu finally realized she was gripping the emperor’s face like a radish pulled from the field.
Startled, she tried to pull her hands away, but Rision moved first.
Their lips met in an instant.
Dianu melted into his warmth and leaned into him.
With a long sigh, Rision whispered,
“Thank goodness. If that rumor had been true, I might have sent Vallich to a vast ocean he couldn’t return from for five years.”
Dianu snapped her head up.
“You absolutely must not!”
“I’m joking.”
It didn’t really sound like a joke, but Dianu decided to let it go.
