[CHAPTER 120]
Lincia dressed herself in an ornate gown and jewelry for the first time in a long while.
The face reflected in the mirror felt strangely unfamiliar.
A light knock sounded, and Yulias entered the room.
He too looked more grown than before, dressed for the upcoming banquet.
“Sister, how is the dress.
Does it look alright?”
The dress tailored to the measurements Lincia had sent when announcing her attendance at the Founding Festival was clearly made with care, despite being hastily prepared to match current trends.
Not only did it fit perfectly without any uncomfortable tightness, but jewels were carefully embedded along the hem.
Each time Lincia moved, the softly swaying skirt shimmered with light.
“Yes.
I like it.
They really put effort into it.
Thank you.”
Yulias shrugged as if it were nothing.
“It suits you well, Sister.”
“You too.”
After exchanging polite compliments, Lincia picked up the gloves resting on the vanity.
“Sister, are you really going to dance the first dance with me?”
“Yes.”
Lincia nodded lightly as she answered.
Since she had come to the Imperial Palace, she had to show her face at the banquet at least a few times.
However, quietly passing the time as if invisible and sharing the first dance with the Emperor carried very different repercussions.
Lincia knew that well.
“Honestly, if you have no intention of returning to noble society, you don’t really need to attend the banquet.”
Yulias hesitated before continuing.
“…And the dance.
You don’t have to dance with me either.”
I honestly didn’t think you would accept my request.
Yulias’s eyes looked strangely subdued as he added that.
Lincia could easily guess what moment he was recalling.
There had been a day when she danced with Tereo instead, deliberately avoiding Yulias.
Seeing how uneasy she looked even after finishing her preparations, it seemed the idea of her attending the banquet truly worried him.
“I don’t want to burden you.
And with all the recent issues, the authority of the imperial family has taken a bit of a hit.”
Even if you don’t dance with me, it feels like you’ll draw more attention than necessary anyway.
But Lincia truly was fine.
“I’m fine.”
She had been worn down too much to be hurt or shaken by something as trivial as what might happen at a banquet.
“Thinking that I’m throwing you out like prey among idiotic nobles makes me feel awful.”
Originally, she had planned to attend quietly without stepping forward.
However, after seeing Harvich’s will, Lincia changed her mind.
It was not a pleasant thought, but realizing that something could go wrong made her think it was better to do something rather than nothing.
“It’s for the child too.”
Lincia murmured softly.
“I think it would be better if I secure my position…”
“But I’m here.
If it’s because of that kind of pressure, then you don’t need to—”
“I really am fine.
Ah, if you actually want me to stay in my room and not come to the hall, I’ll do as you wish.”
It was meant as a light joke, but Yulias’s expression visibly stiffened.
“That’s not what I meant.”
His overly serious response to a teasing remark was oddly amusing.
Lincia made no effort to hide the smile tugging at her lips, but Yulias alone remained solemn.
“Then?”
“It’s a major national event, so I’ll have to greet the envoys…
I’ll be stepping away often.
Wait, Sister, are you smiling?”
Watching Yulias ramble through his explanations, Lincia finally burst into laughter.
“…Are you making fun of me right now?”
His dumbfounded expression was something she had never imagined seeing.
Lincia laughed again and again.
Yulias stared blankly at her smiling face, then let out a laugh that sounded like a sigh.
“Anyway, if the other nobles make you uncomfortable—”
Yulias hesitated briefly.
“…Tereo, no.”
His expression hardened slightly.
“Use the Grand Duke.”
The look on Yulias’s face as he said it suggested he liked neither option.
* * *
The Founding Festival began.
As soon as the brief congratulatory speech and polite greetings for the guests who had traveled all this way ended—nothing more than a simple “thank you for coming”—the music for the dance started.
The speech was extremely short, but the annual Founding Festival existed only to demonstrate the Empire’s stability, nothing more.
The banquet hall was filled with various foods and wines.
People gathered in small groups, chatting among themselves.
Aside from the imperial family, the most attention was focused on the ducal delegation attending an imperial event for the first time in two years.
Lincia briefly glanced toward Harvich, surrounded by people like drifting clouds, then looked away.
She had danced so long ago that she had no room to spare to look elsewhere.
“Does it bother you?”
She had worried she might have forgotten the steps, but things ingrained through long practice did not disappear easily with time.
“What does?”
“Nothing.”
Yulias kept watching her carefully, but she did not feel uncomfortable.
Seeing him try to make her slightly awkward movements look graceful reminded her strongly of the past.
When they were young, Yulias had been her practice partner for dancing.
She had stepped on his feet countless times back then.
Lincia looked at Yulias with a faintly unfamiliar gaze.
She had thought that once shattered, a relationship could never return to what it once was.
Yet as only fond memories surfaced like this, she even wondered if things might become alright someday.
When the dance ended, people flocked toward them like clouds.
“Sister, don’t forget what I said.”
Yulias reminded her until the very end before letting go of her hand.
The nobles, restraining even their curiosity, seemed desperate yet unable to act overly familiar toward Lincia, who appeared closer to Yulias than expected.
The interest shown by the unmarried young ladies was especially intense.
More accurately, their interest was directed at Yulias.
That was only natural, since Yulias was an unmarried Emperor without an engagement.
“I attended classes with Her Highness at the academy.
Do you remember?”
Despite having treated Lincia as if she were invisible during their academy days, they now spoke casually, which felt rather amusing.
Lincia took light sips of her drink while engaging in small talk with the young ladies.
Contrary to Yulias’s worries, they were neither malicious nor foolish.
“Do you still paint?”
“Occasionally.”
“Have you ever thought about holding an exhibition?”
“If it isn’t rude to ask, may we ask what your relationship with the Grand Duke is like?”
The conversation, previously light with casual curiosity, suddenly grew heavy.
“The Grand Duke brought a successor this time, but he didn’t enter with Your Highness.”
Lincia’s lips stiffened.
While the duchy might have known, news of her divorce had not spread within the Empire.
Lincia turned her head away.
“That’s not a topic I wish to discuss.”
From the unprocessed divorce papers to the issue of the child, her thoughts were thrown into turmoil.
Even after she clearly expressed her intention, the nobles’ rude questions, fueled by curiosity, did not stop.
“If you are completely separating from the Grand Duke, do you intend to remarry?”
That was when it happened.
The mouths of nobles who never seemed capable of silence began to close one by one.
Drawn by a familiar scent, Lincia lifted her head.
“Do you have some business with my wife?”
Harvich was standing there.
