Chapter 36
“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress are here.”
The greenhouse, which had been filled with the noisy chatter of mingling nobles, fell into instant silence as people rose to their feet.
But instead of the main door where everyone had entered, a door connected to the imperial palace opened.
‘Wait, was the Emperor supposed to come too?’
His presence had been so insignificant in the game that I couldn’t even remember his face properly.
‘How can a character be this lacking in presence?’
In other games or novels, an emperor would usually leave a strong impression, but in this one, he was nearly invisible.
I raised my head to look at the door, and the Emperor and Empress stepped through.
The Empress, younger sister of Duke Spencer and current Empress of the Empire, strode in proudly, dressed in her favorite light pink hyacinth-colored gown.
With jet-black hair and eyes, and broad shoulders befitting a knightly family, she looked just like Duke Spencer.
‘Wow… She’s basically Duke Spencer with long hair.’
True to the legacy of the empire’s most prestigious knight family, the Empress radiated an overwhelming presence. Next to her was the Emperor, dressed in a white uniform adorned with golden decorations and draped in his imperial cape.
He had blond hair and golden eyes. At a glance, he looked like a well-aged, graceful middle-aged man—but his expression was completely blank.
In stark contrast to the Empress, who was smiling brightly beside him.
And behind them—unfortunately—came the young men of the Spencer family, following their aunt.
‘Ugh, just once, couldn’t something have defied my expectations?’
The fact that this was exactly what I expected made me feel oddly defeated.
“Thank you all for coming today.”
Standing at the head table in the greenhouse, the Empress scanned the guests from the left side with a pleased smile.
‘Shouldn’t this kind of greeting be done by the Emperor?’
The Emperor sat down with a blank face, staring off into the distance, looking completely uninterested.
“This greenhouse is my most treasured place in the palace. It holds my most cherished flower—the pink hyacinth.”
When the Empress’s gaze fell on Lady Karen and Lady Tallin, who sat together at one table, her smile stiffened slightly.
“I love it so much that I consider the pink hyacinth a reflection of myself.”
Sensing something off, people began following her gaze.
“So much so that I can’t stand the idea of anyone else having it.”
As her voice dropped, it felt like a chill wind blew through the fragrant greenhouse.
“Thirty years ago, I even wiped out all the pink hyacinth seeds in the Empire….”
The young noble ladies, suddenly struck with fear, turned their eyes to me.
‘See? You shouldn’t have believed me so easily.’
The Emperor and Empress.
The late Duke Spencer had recommended his daughter to become crown princess, and the powerless royal family couldn’t refuse. That was how the two were married—or at least, that’s the story everyone knew.
“Ahem….”
Clearing her throat, the Empress forced a smile and continued.
“I suppose the young ladies and gentlemen here might not know. This pink hyacinth was a special birthday gift from His Majesty on my tenth birthday.”
The Emperor remained expressionless, staring ahead, but the Empress’s eyes shimmered with emotion at the memory.
‘It was actually just a one-sided love.’
Perhaps to the Emperor it was a marriage of necessity, born of political submission. But to the Empress, it had been a marriage of love.
The moment she received that flower from the Crown Prince, the young Spencer lady fell head over heels and begged her father to let her marry him.
Duke Spencer had initially refused, saying marrying into a powerless royal family was far less beneficial than marrying into a foreign royal house. But when he found out his daughter was born infertile—and that the Crown Prince was allowed multiple wives—he pushed for the marriage.
“It’s a very dear memory to me, and I hope it can become precious to others too.”
‘She’s basically saying the pink hyacinth is hers alone.’
This story had been repeated so many times in high society over the past thirty years that it was practically common knowledge.
But the young noble ladies now had no way of knowing, and they had worn their hyacinth-colored dresses thoughtlessly based on my words.
Those who understood the Empress’s meaning responded with silence. The young ladies looked on the verge of tears.
“Oh dear, I seem to have made the mood too heavy. The social season is a perfect time to find a good match. I hope all of you find your lifelong companion, as I did. Now, let’s begin the tea party.”
Applause followed her words, and the music resumed. People began to take their seats again.
“It’s been a while, Lady Luceronia.”
“Hello, Felice.”
As the Empress sat, behind her appeared Kainis and Dustin, making their way to their assigned seats.
Kainis, in a crisp white uniform embroidered with gold and adorned with rubies, bowed politely.
Dustin, wearing a black uniform with silver embroidery and rubies, simply raised his hand in greeting.
Except for their black eyes and similar builds, the brothers were so different in aura they barely seemed related.
“Greetings, Young Masters of the Spencer family.”
I bowed my head and quickly turned my gaze to the teacup in front of me, avoiding their eyes.
“Lady Luceronia.”
“Felice, why did you leave so early at Marquis Bayron’s birthday party?”
“Dustin, show proper manners to Lady Luceronia.”
“No, but Felice—I wanted to tell you something.”
“Dustin.”
As soon as they sat down, Kainis and Dustin began talking over each other. I shook my head.
‘Please, just shut up already.’
I looked weakly at the Spencer brothers, who were completely ignoring my presence and just talking amongst themselves.
Still oblivious to my feelings, Dustin slouched and continued.
“Felice, back then I was really—”
“Dustin, are you trying to completely disgrace our family?”
Kainis, sitting upright, looked down at him with one raised brow.
“What did I do?”
“Sit properly.”
Now fully bickering, the brothers drew attention from nearby maids who were frozen, waiting to serve tea.
“Um, why don’t we talk over tea?”
At my suggestion, the two finally fell silent. The maids began preparing tea.
“Today’s tea and desserts were all personally selected by Her Majesty.”
With practiced hands, the maids placed tealeaves into the teapots and poured water.
‘If I remember right… that water was drugged.’
Usually, in this world, poison and medicine were easily visible by their color. Normally they’d mix it into the leaves or the teapot, but this time was different.
The water from the jug went into the pot, and the tearful young ladies began exchanging glances.
“Lady Luceronia.”
“Yes?”
As the tea steeped and silence fell, Kainis called to me.
“I’d like to ask you on a date.”
‘What is this, a duel challenge?’
With an utterly serious face, Kainis spoke solemnly. Everyone turned to look at him—even the maids.
“Huh? A date?”
“Did he just say date?”
I asked in confusion, while Dustin looked intrigued. Kainis nodded without hesitation.
“Yes, a date. I heard most couples go on several dates before getting married.”
“Before getting married…?”
“Ha! So you’re saying you want to date Felice before marriage?”
“Yes. I believe it helps in understanding each other for a successful marriage.”
“That may be true, but…”
‘You’re not the romantic type who thinks of things like this.’
Kainis had never acted this boldly before.
Unable to comprehend his behavior, I bit my lip, lost in thought.
“So, I’d like to ask you for a date. Please let me know a convenient day…”
“Wait, wait. You? A date? The famous Kainis?”
Dustin let out a laugh, as if it were the most absurd thing he’d ever heard.
“This doesn’t concern you.”
“Come on, this is your first date ever.”
Dustin’s lips curled in amusement. Kainis, who had only been looking at me, now turned his sharp gaze on his brother.
“Do you even know how to go on a date?”
What’s she got planned?