Chapter 126
Chapter 126
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Birthday
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Countess Tigris's assault never happened in the end.
Instead, a letter arrived expressing gratitude for the advice and the dress, leaving me in an absolutely fantastic mood.
The Atelier continued running peacefully, and Princess Elizabeth had returned.
A week packed with nothing but good news.
"Haa..."
Despite all that, I couldn't shake the grim expression from my face. I let out a deep sigh as Friday arrived.
And today was the day of His Majesty the Emperor's birthday celebration—the one event I had absolutely no desire to attend.
"Ugh..."
I groaned and clutched my head.
I'd rather some accident happened right now and I got seriously injured.
I generally disliked attending events, but the Emperor's birthday was one I despised so much that I'd gladly take a scolding from Mother just to skip it.
You might not understand why I hate the Emperor's birthday festival so much, but our Emperor's celebration had a completely different vibe from other commemorative days or monarchs' birthdays in other countries.
First off, there was no banquet afterward.
His Majesty's logic was: we partied hard on Founding Day less than a month ago—what's the point of another one so soon?
There were issues with it in various ways, but even the nobles didn't object much to that.
From October to December, there were too many imperial events, and the nobles were exhausted.
And the event itself was extremely modest.
No parades from the knight orders or the army—not even that. They'd fire off a couple of fireworks from the corner of the square, then dive straight into a dull, endless stream of speeches and sermons.
If anything, it felt less like a birthday party and more like the Emperor's birthday lecture time.
You might think that since even His Majesty didn't take the event seriously, we could just breeze through it casually.
You're right—in fact, that's exactly it.
Low-tier nobles like barons or viscounts—the small fry—often just sent light congratulations and gifts without showing up.
They were common folk who could barely spare time for Founding Day and New Year's events; they couldn't leave their territories for too long.
The problem arises when you're close to the seats of power.
The reason the Emperor's birthday felt like a major event was that His Majesty would suddenly promote a noble or announce a policy on his own birthday.
His actions weren't unreasonable in themselves.
Announcing important policies or rewarding great achievements on one's birthday happened often enough.
The issue was that nobody knew about it beforehand—except for the Keeper of the National Seal and the Chief Maid.
Two years ago, a noble got promoted from viscount to count... and that noble wasn't even at the event.
Of course, it was a minor blunder everyone laughed off, but the real shocks were the policies.
Events like "The Imperial Knights shall be freely open to women" or "I take Duchess Ross as my maid" all started with surprise declarations from His Majesty at the birthday event.
The time Duchess Ross became a maid was before I was born, so I don't know the details, but I witnessed the Imperial Knights' opening to women firsthand from beside Mother, and I remember the atmosphere vividly.
Mother clutching the back of her neck, muttering "Please give us some warning."
Father dry-washing his face while glaring resentfully at Duchess Ross.
The conservative nobles' explosive protests—practically volcanic—and His Majesty declaring that was his final word on objections before stepping back.
It was truly a horrific event.
And yet, I had been invited as a VIP guest.
What on earth was His Majesty planning to do?
Was he tossing me between a cardinal and foreign royalty just to enjoy some amusing spectacle?
"Haa..."
The sighs just kept coming.
"William, once you're there, don't say a word beyond greetings. Even my slightest action could blow up into a huge issue, so please, keep your mouth shut tight. Got it?"
Mother's earnest warning before we departed weighed even heavier on my mind.
I knew that, but I had no confidence I could actually pull it off.
Clunk!
"Ah..."
The carriage jolted to a sudden stop.
Wood creaked from the driver's seat a few times, and soon the door swung open. Dazzling sunlight and cool air flooded in.
"Y-Young master..."
"William, I came out especially to greet you."
The coachman peeking nervously as he held the door wide, and Princess Elizabeth fixing her gaze on me with a gentle smile.
"It's so good to see you..."
I managed an awkward smile and greeted her back.
Ah, now the nightmare truly begins...
_
Trailing obediently behind Elizabeth, we arrived at the VIP seats.
Set up near the platform, about a level higher than the square, it offered a full view of the packed plaza—while drawing every eye straight to us. A dreadfully conspicuous spot.
To make matters worse, the seat next to me was the Cardinal's, and right in front was the Archduke of Bresel Duchy, bordering the Empire to the east.
"Eek... Lord have mercy..."
With people even my parents bowed to swarming around, I found myself instinctively calling on the divine.
One slip here, and it's an international incident...
One slip here, and it's an international bastard...
"Pfft..."
"Eek..."
As I muttered to myself and trembled, Elizabeth—who'd been quietly watching—chuckled softly and poked my side.
"Why are you so scared?"
"One little mistake from me here, and it's a massive disaster."
"Then don't make any. With a princess right beside you, what do you have to fear? Besides, you're the Empire's esteemed Honorary Imperial Knight. You could stand even taller."
"Tch..."
She wasn't wrong, but compared to these giants, it only made me feel smaller.
Honorary knight and princess's partner? Sounds like Her Highness's pet at a glance.
"And if you look so terrified out in the open, it'll just make them want to mess with you more. Act like someone who's bound to screw up, and you'll paint a target on your back."
"That's even worse..."
Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Either way, I'm the one in trouble.
Is this what diplomacy is?
It's terrifying.
When did my simple dream of quietly making clothes turn into this labyrinthine, treacherous ordeal...?
I sighed inwardly, straightened my back, and plastered a smile on my face.
"Good. Keep that attitude even when Mother's gathering the VIPs for talks after the event."
"...There's more after?"
"Of course. You think these people came just to clap innocently?"
"Fair point..."
High-ranking officials didn't travel abroad often, so they'd hold summits on the side.
No— they probably gathered under the pretext of the Emperor's birthday to hold those summits.
What a tiring life.
"Madam, people are watching now. Perhaps it's time to let go..."
"What's it matter? We're married—showing off to others is fine, isn't it?"
As I reeled from the tedium of these exalted lives, a coquettish whine echoed through the VIP seats.
The familiar yet unfamiliar voice made me glance over. When I saw who it was, I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I'd seen wrong, and nudged Elizabeth.
"What's up?"
"Th-Those people over there... that's the Tigris couple, right...?"
"Who?"
Elizabeth squinted slightly, her gaze following my point to the pair.
"Madam, this is His Majesty's event. It's not an ordinary gathering—mind your decorum."
A woman with unmistakable tiger ears and tail clung tightly to a man's arm, leaving him looking distressed.
"Surely my lord isn't tired of me now? Or do you find it ridiculous that I'm expressing my feelings so late?"
The tiger-eared woman gripped his arm like a koala, showing no sign of letting go—sticky and insistent.
They looked exactly like Count and Countess Tigris, but their behavior was utterly alien, like strangers wearing their faces.
"What the heck is that...?"
Even Elizabeth's voice trembled with undisguised shock.
"That's not it. We've been together the whole way here."
"Sure, but..."
"Madam."
"Eek... Fine... I'll hold it in until the event ends."
"Thank you for understanding, Madam."
At the count's firm word, the countess deflated instantly, releasing his arm from her vine-like grasp.
In this chilly weather, they'd been wrapped so tightly that his sleeve and her dress were soaked with sweat, stained here and there.
"My lord, if I hold out till the end, will you reward me properly later?"
"Of course."
"Ehehe..."
"......"
The count gently stroking his wife's head, and her shrinking bashfully with a girlish smile.
Witnessing it up close, Elizabeth and I stared wide-eyed, hands trembling as if we'd seen something traumatic.
"William, that's the goosebump-inducing Count Tigris and his wife, right...?"
"Looks like it on the outside..."
"What the hell happened? More importantly, what did you do? The woman's acting weird!"
"Beats me. That's scary as hell..."
If anything, I wanted to know.
The bunny girl outfit had no personality-altering function. Why did she change like she'd been reborn?
"Sir William!"
The man once described as frigid to the point of iciness had become a purring female cat. Spotting me as she looked around, Countess Tigris called out in a booming voice and hurried over with the count in tow.
"I never expected to see you here, Sir. So glad we ran into you."
"Ah, uh, g-glad to see you too, Countess Tigris. And Count Tigris."
"Ah, I've heard so much about you from my wife. She said you gave her a lot of helpful advice."
"Pardon?"
I blinked, wondering if he was being sarcastic, and mumbled a dumb reply.
All she'd given me were brain-farts and "Scritch?" provocations—what was this about?
"It helped a great deal."
"We must have tea sometime. We'll treat you royally."
But the smile on Countess Tigris's face was too innocently bright to be laced with deceit.
"No, no! Not at all. If anything, I'm grateful the dress pleased you."
"Ah!"
As I flailed my hands in flustered thanks, she reacted again and seized my hands.
"That dress was incredible. It was like you'd cast a spell on it—wearing it made my honest feelings for my lord just pour out."
"Pardon?"
My clothes had no such function.
If they did, I'd have patented it yesterday.
"Thanks to it, we had our first real talk without walls between us. As expected of Count Hume's son—you're different from the rest."
"Pardon? What do you...?"
I wasn't different.
If anything, no mana made things harder for me.
"The headband you made for my lord was perfect too. Whether tiger or rabbit, it confirmed he's the magnificent man I fell for."
"Please, speak in full sentences..."
"A-hem, Madam, th-that's not appropriate for outdoors."
"My lord, what are you saying? A man should fu—"
"Enough!"
The countess veered into dangerous territory for a public venue, but he swiftly clamped her mouth shut just in time.
"Ahem..."
"Cough...!"
Uncomfortable coughs erupted nearby—it must've been audible enough for everyone to guess, but since the word wasn't complete, we could probably gloss over it.
Maybe...
"S-Sorry for the commotion. My wife’s just overly excited about recent events and couldn’t contain herself."
"Mmph! Mmph...!"
"N-No, it's fine. More like, how do we calm the lady down...?"
"I'll handle it."
"Ah, yes... Good luck."
"Thank you."
Count Tigris scooped his wife into a tight hug and vanished back to their seats.
"......"
The couple's display had been shocking in every way.
That intense image burned into our minds, refusing to fade.
Unable to snap out of it even after they left, Elizabeth and I cautiously pinched each other's cheeks.
"Ow..."
One thing was certain: it wasn't a dream, hallucination, or illusion.