Chapter 152
Chapter: 152
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 152
>Chapter Title: Nativity Festival (1)
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§ 152. Nativity Festival (1)
The day of the Nativity Festival had dawned.
Having wandered around outside the imperial palace the night before and skimped on sleep, Seongjin ended up sleeping in completely that day.
He skipped his morning training and was dozing off with food still in his mouth during breakfast when Edith spotted his state and freaked out.
“Good heavens, Your Highness! What’s wrong with your face!”
“Hmm? Why?”
“It’s all dry and puffy! On this most important day when you need to look your absolute best—what calamity is this? Huh?”
Hmm, is it really that bad? He felt a bit heavy, sure.
But apparently, the maids saw it differently.
At Edith’s call, the other maids came rushing in one after another, and upon seeing Seongjin’s face, they reacted with a veritable variety show of expressions.
Thanks to them, the moment he finished breakfast, his face was slathered with packs and all sorts of strange things, and he was confined obediently to his room.
“Yawwwn.”
Seongjin didn’t fidget to rush to the training grounds as usual. His body felt unusually sluggish.
Besides, he had recently mastered the skill of meditating while lying down.
As he alternated between dozing under the maids’ care and meditating, Edith grumbled while wiping his face with cold water.
“Honestly, Your Highness, why did you have to pull an all-nighter meditating of all nights, the eve of the Nativity Festival?”
“Hmm?”
All-nighter meditating?
“When I asked the guard knight because you weren’t sleep-talking like usual, he said Captain Bruno told him not to disturb you until morning since you were in the middle of important meditation.”
“The captain?”
Seongjin glanced sideways, and there was Captain Bruno stroking his mustache, giving him a meaningful look.
‘...He knows.’
Well, he hadn’t expected a former Decaron Knight to let him sneak out of the palace unnoticed.
He must have gotten a rough idea through Arenza and prevented a big fuss like before.
At least Masain wasn’t here right now, which was a huge relief. He surely would have noticed something and grilled Seongjin about it.
Masain had returned to his residence in the capital for once the evening before. As a member of the imperial family, he had his own preparations for the Nativity Festival.
‘But sleep-talking... what could it be...?’
Edith had been the first to notice his absence before as well.
When he’d asked for details, she said that past midnight, at around the same time every night, he’d mumble to himself for a few minutes.
It started after his fever, so it wasn’t something Moreth had done.
He’d never heard of having such a habit before, so Seongjin was quite perplexed. When he asked what he said,
“Well? It’s just mumbling, so I couldn’t make it out clearly. It didn’t even sound like Delcross language, maybe.”
Edith said it casually, but hearing that made Seongjin feel a chill.
She might not think much of it, but what if another servant had heard?
Their prince mumbling in some unknown dialect in the dead of night—wouldn’t they suspect demonic possession or something?
When he’d pressed the Demon King about it, the bastard’s response was even more outrageous.
-I don’t know what it means either. Maybe it wasn’t even proper words, just babbling. Don’t read too much into it.
Babbling? You messing with me?
Seongjin was floored, but the Demon King looked evasive and clammed up after that.
‘This feels off...’
But he didn’t have time to dwell on the sleep-talking. Amelia and Logan arrived at the Pearl Palace early that morning.
Seeing Seongjin with his face plastered in stuff, they plopped down on either side of him, grinning like it was the funniest thing.
“You just had to pull an all-nighter right before the Nativity Festival. Do you know how important today is?”
“Indeed, Moreth. You’ll probably spend the whole morning just on facial care.”
“Hey, why’s everyone making such a fuss? The banquet isn’t just for one day...”
As Seongjin grumbled, the two exchanged glances and nodded.
“He really doesn’t know how things work around here.”
“Previous memories completely gone, huh.”
Then Amelia calmly explained to him.
“Listen well, Moreth. There’s a reason the maids are fussing. Today’s banquet is no exaggeration to call the most important of the year.”
The Nativity Festival spanned three days around the Holy Emperor’s birthday.
At first glance, you’d think the second day was the main event, but things were a bit different.
If the main banquet on the second day was a ceremony-led event presided over by the Holy Emperor, and the final day’s banquet felt like a lighter afterparty,
Then the first day’s banquet was the grand party where everyone attended in the highest spirits.
With royalty and dignitaries from every nation present, it was the crucial day to make your first impression.
“Plus, with Father absent, the first day has a pretty free atmosphere. He probably won’t attend any banquets except the second day’s ceremony. That’s been the pattern.”
In other words, like a company dinner without the boss.
“But why does Father do that?”
It’s his own birthday, right? Why let the guests party without him?
As Seongjin looked puzzled, Amelia smiled and said,
“He’s probably being considerate of the attendees. Who could enjoy a banquet comfortably with the proxy of the closest servant of God staring them down?”
“Hmm...”
Seongjin would bet his fortune that the guy just found it annoying.
Though, all his fortune came from his father anyway.
“Anyway, what brings you here? Aren’t you all busy with Nativity Festival prep?”
“We have something to discuss. I have to attend the grand mass soon, so this is my only window.”
Logan, opening his mouth, brought up the following matter.
The Orthodox Church had decided to have Siser attend the Nativity Festival with Cardmos.
“Leaving her and Cardmos loose in the banquet hall worries me.”
Logan must have found Cardmos’s near-destruction of the main palace quite threatening.
“I’ll escort her. I’ll keep a tight leash and not take my eyes off her for a second. You never know when that Cardmos might cause some incident.”
Siser and Cardmos—both persons of interest in their own ways. Logan’s concern was understandable.
But.
“What about Sisley then?”
“I heard something happened to Lady Scarpino...”
“...?”
“So I was thinking of asking Archduke Zigsmunt.”
Seongjin was stunned by Amelia’s response.
“Huh?”
What? No way in hell!
Entrusting a kid to that thug?
As Seongjin flailed, nearly shaking off the face packs onto the floor, Amelia added gently,
“Sisley needs a partner of appropriate standing. Right now, Archduke Zigsmunt might be the best option. Even as a border noble, the Zigsmunt Margrave’s prestige rivals any central grand noble.”
Even Logan nodded approvingly.
“He’s a promising fellow. I’ve only seen him a few times at previous Nativity Festivals, but unlike most young people these days, he seemed quiet and sincere.”
Unbelievable! Am I the only one who knows what that guy’s really like?
How can they all be so blind? Especially Logan—this is his second life!
[Seeing them fawn over a guy like you, yeah, these kids are a bit too naive.]
‘Shut up!’
As he bickered inwardly with the Demon King, Logan carefully picked up a fallen pack and plopped it back on Seongjin’s face.
“Hey, you idiot! You’re putting something that fell on the floor back on my face?”
“...Is that no good?”
Seeing that pure, clueless face staring blankly at him made Seongjin’s neck tense up.
Ah, blood pressure rising.
Meanwhile, Amelia continued with a deeply worried expression.
“Still, I’m really concerned about Lady Scarpino. I hope it’s nothing serious...”
“...”
“Moreth, you should send a letter asking after the Scarpino family as soon as possible. And once the Nativity Festival ends, go check on her. Officially or not, she’s still your long-time fiancée.”
Seongjin was skeptical about Isabella’s condition.
She’d survived thanks to the Holy Emperor, but even if she regained consciousness, her state was uncertain.
If his guess was right, the Holy Emperor had severed her completely from Sigurd Sigurson with that strike to the crown of her head.
But.
-Will you truly harm this innocent, pitiful soul who’s nearly lost her sense of self?
As the bastard said, Isabella’s personality could be considered gone.
If she ended up like Ricardo with mental delirium, it’d be as bad or worse.
Maybe that’d be better. If she still believed herself to be the dimension’s storyteller...
‘She’d probably think and act fully as Sigurd Sigurson, right?’
Then who was she to Seongjin? How should he treat her?
Time flew as the maids dragged him through various preparations.
Finally, evening came, and when the maids saw Seongjin in his immaculate formal attire, they erupted in praise.
“Such a dashing figure, unmatched!”
“The dark formal wear makes Your Highness’s golden hair stand out even more, doesn’t it?”
“Even the cuffs and decorative fringe match your eye color so perfectly!”
“Ahh, I could fall for you at first sight!”
...Did they take a class together or something?
Why’s their praise repertoire all identical?
Even then, Edith eyed the red jewelry in the case longingly.
“Why not wear such precious gifts, Your Highness? The other palace maids say red gold is all the rage this Nativity Festival. Everyone’s desperate to get even one more piece.”
Those were expensive gifts from the Ravizuri Marquis family not long ago.
Apparently, Amelia had received a high-end set too, as an apology for the commotion the guards caused at that restaurant in the city.
Amelia had stored them away in her room without touching them.
Of course, not knowing the full story, she’d been bewildered by the sudden lavish gift from an unfamiliar foreign noble.
But there was a deeper reason she avoided the red gold accessories.
-They’re beautifully crafted, but that red sheen feels strangely off-putting, Moreth.
That’s what Amelia had said.
Seongjin agreed; the blood-tinged, reddish glow of the metal wasn’t to his taste.
So they’d agreed beforehand to match dress codes with other accessories instead of red gold.
“But the Asain Grand Duke would be disappointed if he knew. Red gold is a specialty of the Asain Grand Duchy.”
The Asain Grand Duke was Moreth’s maternal grandfather.
Seongjin tilted his head at Edith’s words.
“Other than Ravizuri, has Asain ever sent red gold accessories directly?”
“No? Not that I know of...”
“Then we’re good. Don’t worry about it.”
The Asain Grand Duke wielded immense power, so Seongjin had heard all sorts of rumors. Even merchants of decades couldn’t match his shrewdness.
But still, his grandson nearly died—hadn’t he even asked after him once?
He wasn’t expecting tonics, but this showed scant familial affection.
And surely he didn’t expect his grandson to buy red gold and advertise it?
* * *
[Wow...]
‘Wow...’
Arriving at the Silver Rose Palace, Seongjin and the Demon King both exclaimed inwardly in unison.
He’d always thought of her as a wingless angel walking the earth, but Amelia, fully dolled up, was like a rose goddess descended from heaven.
Wrapped in a dress like vivid red petals, Amelia shyly extended her hand to Seongjin with a smile.
“Doesn’t it feel a bit awkward?”
“...No, sister. It suits you perfectly. Really.”
How could someone be so gorgeously flamboyant yet pure at the same time? Her beauty was truly wondrous.
The problem was how overwhelming Amelia looked— even Orden, who’d arrived to escort Sisley, was so entranced he couldn’t tear his eyes away for a while.
‘You bastard, eyes off! Or die!’
When Seongjin glared fiercely, the guy finally hurriedly shifted his gaze to the little saint he was supposed to escort.
Getting lost in someone else right in front of your partner—what rudeness!
Fortunately, the little saint, lost in her own thoughts, seemed oblivious.
“...Yes. Tonight is truly... a night......”
The saint was mumbling nonstop through her small lips.
Puzzled, Orden enhanced his hearing with aura and listened closely; she was repeating,
“...A night. Tonight is truly a beautiful night. Tonight is truly a beautiful......”
“...?”
Orden tilted his head for a moment, then slowly extended his hand to the saint.
He had no inkling then that this was the prelude to the bomb that would drop on the banquet hall that night.