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T/N: I couldn’t keep track of how many times I let out a deep sigh in this chapter. It’s so amazingly ridiculous how the father expects his son would become his wife’s partner even without him saying, and the son assumes that his father is his mother’s partner when they literally don’t even have the basic ‘married couple’ relationship. 🤦
Chapter 44
“Uh?”
“Father had an urgent matter come up, so he said he would arrive later.”
“…I see.”
At the sudden question, Daphne absentmindedly nodded. The question had passed so quickly, she wondered if she had misheard it.
After the brief conversation, a calm silence fell.
Damian’s gaze, which had been fixed on the window, slowly shifted to the reflection of Daphne by the window. Daphne kept her eyes firmly shut, staring straight ahead. Her lips were tightly sealed as if to signal she had no intention of speaking.
And so, the carriage continued to ride in silence. For a long time. Until they reached the Imperial Palace.
* * *
“Your Excellency, what is the matter?”
Alec hurriedly followed behind Edmund, who had just finished his audience with the Emperor.
Edmund’s expression was even more severe than when he had entered the audience chamber. The intensity of his presence made Alec wince, the weight of it much heavier than usual. Realizing the pressure he was exerting, Edmund quickly reined it in, allowing Alec to breathe a little easier and fall back in line behind him.
“The Emperor asked me to go to the Imperial Princess’s quarters. In person.”
“…You’re saying we should go all the way to the Imperial Princess’s chambers and escort her right in front of all these people?”
Alec quickly whispered into Edmund’s ear as he scanned the surroundings.
The Imperial Palace was crowded due to one of the empire’s grand festivals, and it was especially bustling as it was the eve of the grand hunting competition. Foreign dignitaries were also present, making the palace more crowded than usual.
Yet the Emperor had ordered them to go directly to the Imperial Princess’s quarters and personally escort her.
Called so early in the morning, only to be given such a task – Alec couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
“What time is it now?”
“The carriage should be arriving any minute.”
Edmund sighed, though only briefly, before quickly turning around to scan Alec from head to toe.
Given the royal event, Alec was dressed quite formally. In addition to being the only well-known commander of the undefeated Black Knights, his status was on par with the captain of the Imperial Knights. In other words, he was an appropriate stand-in partner for the Princess – just enough to buy some time.
“Alec, you go to the Imperial Princess’s quarters.”
“What? Wait, Your Excellency!”
Alec hurriedly called after Edmund, but he had already disappeared into the crowd. While Alec blinked in a daze, Edmund quickly moved through the throng. His tightly clenched fists felt hot.
There had been opportunities to speak with Daphne.
Last night. Unlike the North, where the Master and Mistress’s rooms were adjacent, they had run into each other on the terrace by coincidence. He hadn’t even noticed his hand had touched the end of a cigarette, causing a burn.
[“…….”]
[“…….”]
They had merely stared at each other, blankly. Edmund had been the first to regain his composure, parting his lips to speak.
[“Madam, I’ve brought your shawl.”]
[“…Thank you.”]
Hearing the maid’s voice, Daphne had turned abruptly, startled. Edmund hadn’t had the chance to stop her.
And this morning, he had intended to speak to her again in the carriage, but once again, the Emperor’s summons had interrupted.
“…Daphne.”
Through the crowd, Edmund finally spotted Daphne, standing alone in a way that made her unusually noticeable. He slowed his pace.
“Edmund?”
Daphne looked startled at Edmund’s sudden appearance.
“About today’s banquet partner–”
“Your Excellency!”
A sharp voice cut through the air. Edmund and Daphne both turned toward the sound.
At the same moment, a heavily perfumed and lavishly dressed woman threw herself into Edmund’s arms. The only one who remained unflustered was the woman who had rushed into Edmund’s embrace.
“…Your Highness.”
Edmund gently grasped Elizabeth’s shoulders and pushed her away.
As she stumbled back a couple of steps, Elizabeth quickly grabbed hold of his jacket before he could push her further. Her bright red nails, perfectly manicured, caught Daphne’s eye, and for some reason, she couldn’t look away.
“Greetings to the Empire’s little light.”
Realizing it was the Imperial Princess, Daphne bowed slightly. But Elizabeth merely glanced at her before turning back to cling to Edmund.
“Your Excellency, why didn’t you come to my quarters?”
Her large, heavily made-up eyes sparkled with unshed tears, making them shine even more under the light.
“I’ve been waiting for so long….”
Edmund furrowed his brow. His gaze shifted behind Elizabeth to Alec, who was standing nearby. Alec mouthed something, trying to explain the situation, but it was impossible to understand. However, Edmund could guess what had happened and sighed softly.
Edmund covered Elizabeth’s hand, the one clinging to him, and tried to remove it with force. But Elizabeth was quicker.
“Duchess, you may rise now.”
Daphne straightened her back. Her eyes were locked on the way it seemed as if Edmund was gently holding Elizabeth’s hand. Realizing how it must look, Edmund quickly dropped his hand.
Until just a moment ago, Elizabeth had been gripping him with such force that her hand had turned white, but now she released him easily, as if her goal had been achieved.
“Your Excellency, let’s go. The banquet is about to begin.”
“…Go ahead.”
Elizabeth looked back and forth between Edmund and Daphne, then smiled brightly.
“Fine. As long as you’re not planning to find another partner, you’d better come quickly, okay?”
With her entourage of dozens of maids, Elizabeth disappeared, leaving behind a calm after the storm Daphne stood, quietly processing Elizabeth’s parting words.
“By ‘partner’… you mean?”
“Yes, that's what happened.”Edmund’s eyes swept over Daphne’s expressionless face.
“Damian will be your partner for the hunting competition.”
He didn’t bother to explain any further. It wasn’t necessary, and no matter how much he explained, it wouldn’t change the situation. Edmund turned his back.
“Alec, could you not hold off even for that brief moment?”
He muttered quietly to Alec, who was now trailing behind him again.
“You know how it is.”
Alec felt wronged. It’s not like he could have stopped the Imperial Princess. It would’ve been easier to stop a high-level magical beast.
“That was the best I could do. As soon as she saw me, she rushed ahead.”
As soon as Elizabeth had spotted Alec, she had bypassed him altogether. No matter how many times he called after her, it was impossible to stop her. And blocking her way outright was out of the question, so Alec felt he had a legitimate reason.
“Next time, just let me fight a beast instead.”
“Be quiet.”
Edmund softly murmured, quickening his pace.
Which is why he failed to notice – Daphne had been standing alone, without Damian or anyone else beside her.
* * *
“…What?” Damian blinked. “Say that again.”
It was already the third time.
But Vent, despite his growing nervousness, swallowed dryly and repeated himself as quickly as he could.
“I found someone who knows about your mother.”
Damian exhaled a shallow breath he had been holding in. His lips trembled slightly.
“But whether this is reliable or not…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The accuracy of the information wasn’t important. It was the first solid lead in three years. Finally, Damian could hardly contain his excitement at having made some progress.
“They seem to be a noble.”
“A noble?”
“Yes. We won’t know the details until we meet them, but they left word to meet at the entrance of the ‘forest’ on the last day of the hunting competition. Based on their reluctance to show themselves, we’re assuming they’re a noble.”
It was pure coincidence that Vent had come across this information.
Since they were in the capital, he had met up with one of his agents, and the agent had mentioned an unexpected encounter. Someone had approached him, leaving behind information that matched what Vent had been searching for.
“The last day of the hunting competition….”
The competition will start tomorrow, so only a few days remain. Damian suddenly looked up.
“Wait, where are we?”
“Uh… not sure?”
Vent had rushed to deliver the news so quickly that Damian had left Daphne behind.
“If we follow those people, we’ll probably end up at the banquet.”
As Damian headed toward the banquet hall instead of where Daphne was, Vent followed closely behind, asking.
“What about the Duchess?”
“Her partner is Father.”
Damian erased the image of Daphne standing alone from his mind.
“There she is.”
Vent pointed out a familiar figure – Rachel, the daughter of Marquis Sovel.
Perhaps due to their previous encounter, Rachel flinched when she saw Damian. But, being one of the most prominent young ladies of the social circle, she quickly composed herself and smiled.
“We meet again.”
“I appreciate you coming despite your busy schedule.”
“It’s nothing.”
In the Empire, attending a banquet without a partner, unless you were the host, was a major disgrace. Whether single or married, one had to appear with a partner – be it family, a knight, or an attendant.
Appearing alone was a statement. For singles, it meant you held no value in the marriage market. For the married, it implied abandonment even by one’s family, so people took great care to appear with someone.
Damian had hurriedly sent a letter to Rachel, and of course, she was quick to reply, not wanting to miss such an opportunity.
Entering with Rachel, Damian confirmed that Edmund had not yet arrived and began to greet the acquaintances he had made one by one.
Time passed, and just as the atmosphere of the banquet had reached its peak and the time for the royal family’s entrance was drawing near, a sudden commotion erupted at the entrance. Edmund had arrived.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Parting with the noble he had been speaking to, Damian immediately made his way through the crowd, heading toward the source of the commotion. However, it seemed that whatever had happened was so captivating that no one even noticed the Young Lord, Damian, as they were all completely focused on one spot.
“What a perfect pair they are.”
He thought nothing of it, assuming the remark was directed at the newly arrived partners, and was about to brush it off when—
“The Duke is as stunning as ever. How can anyone be that beautiful?”
“And the ImperialPrincess is no less impressive. Together, they’re the perfect match.”Damian’s steps came to an abrupt halt.
“To be honest... Duke Winter and the Duchess don’t really suit each other, do they? It’s what you’d call... a pearl necklace on a pig?”
At those words, laughter erupted from several corners of the room.
Just as Damian was about to turn back, someone appeared in front of him.