“Indeed, Your Majesty the Empress. If that were not the case, would that solemn Duke dare oppose His Majesty the Emperor?”
Marchioness Cheshire spread her silk fan and waved it beneath her plump double chin. Her strangely gleaming eyes and flushed red face testified to how excited she was about this matter.
This time, Countess Habel—the most loose-lipped among the five ladies—picked up where Marchioness Cheshire had left off.
“I heard that the woman who broke off her engagement to Baron Adrian married Viscount Dallas as soon as she received her dowry back.”
“If it’s Viscount Dallas, wasn’t it not even a remarriage but his third marriage?”
Recalling Viscount Dallas—fifty years old this year with a stomach thrust out as if it would burst—Empress Vivian hid her fluster as best she could and took a sip of black tea.
Perhaps thinking the same thing, Countess Habel nearly burst into unbridled laughter but barely regained her composure and continued.
“They say Baron Adrian had no noble title at the time, and since he was dispatched to the warfront immediately after the engagement, the marriage was broken off within six months. If she had waited just five years, she could have become the wife of a young and promising baron, but regrettably, that is not how it turned out.”
“Five years, you say? How could anyone wait that long?”
“She should have waited at least three years. A naval officer’s salary would have been more than enough to maintain a life in society; I suppose her greed was excessive.”
“More than enough? With that money, she wouldn’t even be able to hold a small tea party at her estate.”
As befitting noblewomen specialized in the art of backroom gossip, they spoke of pity with their mouths, yet a strange heat flickered in their eyes, and the corners of their lips were faintly upturned.
Even among them, Empress Vivian was drinking her tea with an inscrutable expression. Perhaps she alone appeared to genuinely lament this situation.
“I suppose I must call for Yellodia soon and comfort her.”
“I cannot fathom how Your Majesty the Empress can be so magnanimous.”
“Indeed. I have never seen anyone with a softer heart than Your Majesty the Empress.”
The noblewomen all joined voices, without exception, to praise the Empress.
Empress Vivian lowered her eyes like an innocent and pure woman, quietly savoring the fervent praise directed at her.
This moment was always the most thrilling and exhilarating for her.
The more she heard the praise of others, the more generous and abundant it made her heart.
‘Baron Adrian, you say…’
Empress Vivian felt a faint interest but soon adopted an indifferent expression. To be wary of, the title of baron was far too lowly and insignificant.
‘To think he has caught the Emperor’s fancy. It might be nice to meet him at least once.’
More than that, Empress Vivian wanted to watch Duke Savie’s contorted expression from up close.
It was Duke Savie, who defended the Emperor at every turn and dared to regard her, the Empress, as a speck of dirt stuck to the sole of his foot.
That same Duke Savie was now set to send his daughter, whom he had cultivated like a jewel, to marry an uncultured soldier; he was surely pounding the ground in regret by now.
The Empress opened her mouth with an expression seized by forlorn pity.
“In any case, this is a great celebration for the Imperial Family, so I must prepare an engagement gift for Yellodia.”
“As expected, you are so thoughtful.”
“If only they knew even a fraction of Your Majesty’s heart, broad as the sea.”
The noblewomen once again praised the Empress’s heart with all sincerity.
Feeling a deep satisfaction she had not felt in a long time, Empress Vivian’s crimson eyes flashed brilliantly.
* * *
Today, the voice of the servant calling for Hesder was more excited than ever before.
“Young master, Miss Yellodia has requested an audience. What shall I do?”
“Yedi?”
Hesder’s voice was half-asleep. His head groggy from medicine was dull, and he felt listless, as if his entire body were submerged in water.
The servant asked with a troubled expression.
“Will you be able to get up? Shall I tell the young lady that you are unwell?”
Hesder let out a groggy sigh and shook his head. He could not lie in bed forever merely because he was sick.
More than anything, he had missed his younger sister unbearably; though they lived in the same mansion, he had not caught so much as a glimpse of her in two weeks.
“Tell Yedi firmly to keep her distance from me, and open the window for a moment to air out the room.”
“Will you not be cold?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Hesder rose to a sitting position, sick to death of his frail body. Soon the room spun before his eyes. Damn it, the aftereffects of this year’s flu seemed to linger quite long.
The servant, having opened the window wide, turned back to look at him with a worried expression.
“Are you dizzy?”
“I’m fine, so don’t worry. Is Yedi in the parlor?”
“Yes, shall I bring her?”
At the servant’s reply, a gentle smile suddenly appeared on Hesder’s lips.
“Yes, I want to see her.”
The servant firmly closed the window he had briefly left open and put firewood into the fireplace. The air in the room quickly grew warm.
Hesder fought back a fit of coughing and fixed his gaze on the door.
Soon the bedroom door opened quietly, and a head of rose-colored hair poked in before disappearing. Hesder smiled quietly.
“Yedi, come in.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
A mumbling voice came from beyond the door.
Hesder let out a short laugh and flicked his hand lightly.
“Hurry. Come here.”
The very next moment, Yellodia poked her upper body in. Her hair, resembling a brilliant rose color, swayed lightly.
“Brother, are you really okay?”
“I’m fine. If I lie down for another day or two, I’ll recover completely. It passes like this every year. More than that, I’m curious about how you’ve been, Yedi.”
Yellodia finally took a large step and entered the bedroom. Her elegant cream-colored dress fluttered softly of its own accord. The fancy lace-trimmed bonnet was held in her hands.
Hesder observed his younger sister, who somehow seemed nervous, with a mischievous gaze.
“Will you come closer?”
The quick-witted servant moved a chair so that Yellodia could sit.
Yellodia sat in a spot where she could face Hesder and gripped the bonnet tightly with both hands.
“Brother Hesder, you look very ill.”
“It’s because I have no appetite.”
Hesder answered as if reciting an obvious truth. Yellodia pouted her lips, and Hesder burst into helpless laughter.
“The dress suits you well. It seems spring has fully arrived.”
“Yes, the weather has really warmed up. At this rate, summer will be here soon.”
“I see. I ought to go out before summer arrives. I’ve been lying in bed so long, I’ve no idea how the world outside the window is turning.”
Since Hesder wore a slightly disappointed expression, Yellodia’s heart grew sympathetic as well.
“When will you return to the Academy?”
“I took leave until next week, so I should be able to return the week after next. You’ll come visit often, won’t you?”
“Even if I visit, you’re busy and don’t play with me properly.”
“I was too busy last year. Things have improved this year, so it’ll be fine.”
Instead of answering, Yellodia nodded her head vigorously.
Having graduated from the Imperial Academy with excellent grades, Hesder had not left the Academy but had become an assistant professor, researching ancient history.
A prodigy so exceptional that word had it he would be appointed as a full professor within a few years, Hesder was unfortunately frail, causing concern to those around him.
He caught colds every change of season without fail, and if an epidemic spread in the capital, he was invariably among the first victims. By the time the season had passed, things had escalated to the point where the Emperor himself sent medicine to House Savie.
“Now, tell me. Stop twisting your legs like a puppy that needs to piddle.”
“Ugh. A puppy? That’s mean.”
Yellodia complained but kept glancing at Hesder to gauge his reaction. Hesder waited calmly with a faint smile on his lips until Yellodia spoke.
After rolling her eyes for quite some time, Yellodia suddenly blurted out something like a riddle.
“I’m just asking because it’s spring, but Brother… um, what do you think about me seeing someone else?”
“It would be something to celebrate, of course. Why, have you found a young lord in Prier that you fancy?”
“It’s not that… since I’ll have to get engaged someday… I thought it might be all right if I were introduced to a good person…”
Yellodia fidgeted with her bonnet and mumbled. It was then that a minute crack appeared in Hesder’s expression. His voice dropped a notch lower.
“A good person? Who?”
“No, I’m just saying. You don’t need to get so serious.”
Afraid her third brother might faint, Yellodia was terribly restless.
But Hesder was an older brother who could plainly see what his younger sister was thinking just by looking at her face.
‘There is definitely something going on.’
He had already been feeling that the atmosphere in the mansion had been unusually excited these days.
Thinking he needed to know why the servants seemed to want to talk to him whenever they saw him, or why they were suddenly flustered, Hesder broached the subject calmly so as not to startle Yellodia.
“Yedi, no matter what you say, I won’t be surprised, so tell me honestly. What has been happening in the mansion these days?”
“Well, the thing is…”
Yellodia stole a glance at Hesder and then closed her mouth again. She seemed to hesitate until the very end.
At that moment, a fierce and brusque voice cut in between them.
“Yedi is getting engaged.”
“…What?”
Hesder looked up with a blank face at Fabian, who strode into the bedroom.
Fabian clicked his tongue as if he disliked his younger brother’s reaction.
“How long are you going to lie around like that? Are you planning to come out of your bedroom next year?”
“Aside from that, what in the world are you talking about? Why would Yedi be getting engaged?”
“I don’t know the reason either. But since His Majesty the Emperor is officiating the ceremony, a wedding will likely follow before long.”
“…”
Hesder could not close his mouth for a long time. His brain could not process Fabian’s words in the slightest.
The Emperor was officiating Yellodia’s marriage. Yellodia’s marriage… Marriage?!
Hesder asked, overcome with horror.
“To whom?”
“Baron Edward K. Adrian.”
“…”
Hesder looked up at Fabian blankly.
“Who is that?”