Shall We Toast After Chapter 29?
“…….”
To be my support pillar…….
That was never a role I could possibly fulfill.
“Marquis Simonian’s daughter. Even if I’m the Chief Personal Secretary…… I can’t do that much.”
I expressed my difficulty to her directly.
“Two of you, what are you two talking about?”
Mylia, who had been sitting on her stool taking a break, suddenly joined in. Ah, this is a bit awkward…….
“It’s just that I wanted to ask Luke a favor. One simple one.”
“Is that really simple…….”
I protested in my small, crawling voice, and Flora laughed lightly.
“It depends on how you look at it.”
“To me it doesn’t feel simple at all, Marquis’s daughter.”
“Then how about this?”
Flora raised one finger.
At this point, Mylia’s interest had clearly piqued, and she rose from her stool to come over to our side.
“We can ask the Empress. If she agrees, Luke will escort her. If not…… it’ll be as if it never happened.”
“Must it really be done that way, Marquis’s daughter…….”
Instead of answering my objection, Flora simply smiled. It was a sly, wicked smile that seemed to expect something.
Mylia finally caught the context and turned her head sharply toward us. Her purple eyes sparkled with a sharp light as she tried to read my thoughts.
I shook my head vigorously to convey that I opposed the idea.
Even as a mere Chief Personal Secretary, it was impossible for me to be Cecilia’s escort.
If I were to do the escorting, I at least needed someone of similar status to her. Well, like a fiancé or something?
But right now, Cecilia had no such partner at all.
In that state, was I supposed to become her escort?
This was a win-win for neither side. It was obvious that the attendees would view me unfavorably.
Flora’s intention was perhaps just too pure.
‘Well, Cecilia would obviously reject me with some tact.’
I decided to trust her political sense.
She would surely understand all the risks I was thinking about.
* * *
Ten minutes before the banquet began, Cecilia entered the waiting room. I greeted her along with the maids.
Even today, Cecilia was wearing the imperial red dress that symbolized the empire. But because it was decorated more than usual, it gave off a dazzling impression.
On her skirt hem, several golden dragons representing the empire had been embroidered.
Her golden hair, which reached down to her waist, glistened more today, enough to make one mistake it for a field of golden wheat.
Really, she possessed the elegance and beauty that fit the role of the banquet’s host and main character.
Cecilia accepted our greetings with a nod of her head. Then she glanced alternately at the three of us for a while.
“You all did a great job decorating.”
“It’s a banquet, after all. But Her Majesty is much more beautiful than us.”
“Yes. We can’t even compare.”
Flora and Mylia each lavished praise on the Empress. Of course, I had to jump in too.
“The most beautiful rose in the empire can’t beat Her Majesty.”
“Everyone, thank you.”
Cecilia then lightly praised Flora and Mylia’s dresses. After that, she finally fixed her gaze on me for a moment.
“You look even more handsome than usual, Luke.”
“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”
“You seem more charming than when I saw you in the office. What do you two think?”
Flora and Mylia, who had been questioned by Cecilia, immediately agreed.
“Yes. It looks that way.”
“Exactly! I thought he was a different person!”
They quickly echoed Cecilia’s thoughts. That meant the embarrassment was entirely mine.
Was this really a high-level compliment?
A short while later, Flora spoke in a cheerful voice.
“By the way, I have something I’d like to ask Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
Cecilia turned her head toward Flora.
Ah, so that’s what she wants to ask now.
You can count on me, Cecilia!
“You’re scheduled to enter the banquet hall soon. Instead of going alone, wouldn’t it be better if someone escorted you?”
“Escort…… Is there an appropriate person?”
“Your Majesty. I believe among the people here, Luke is the most suitable.”
Flora, who was straightforward as ever, recommended me openly. Cecilia’s red eyes then drilled into me like she was appraising the value of a jewel.
Fortunately, Cecilia’s hesitation didn’t last long.
“Flora, I’m grateful for your advice, but the proposal isn’t that good.”
Cecilia had not disappointed my expectations at all!
I let out an inner sigh of relief.
“However, I should hear my secretary’s opinion once too. Luke, what do you think?”
“For someone as lowly as me to be Your Majesty’s escort…… It’s out of the question. It would only lower Your Majesty’s status.”
“You think that way?”
A strange disappointment laced Cecilia’s voice.
Why? I had only told the truth.
Fortunately, she didn’t say anything more about my opinion.
“It’s almost seven o’clock. The three of you should head to the banquet hall first. I’ll enter a little later.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Cecilia waved her hand to dismiss us. We bowed to her and moved toward the banquet hall.
We could reach the hall quickly because there was only one corridor leading to it.
“Wow, there are so many people.”
The moment I looked inside the hall, I let out a sigh of amazement.
One hour ago, there had been no one but the steward and maids and the band here.
“Most of the nobles living in Deleson would have attended.”
Flora immediately answered my question.
“I see. Now that I think about it, I’ve been seeing quite a few familiar faces.”
The kind I always had to face at noble meetings.
What was fortunate was that among them were also daughters of my age and other young ladies I had never seen before.
“We’ll blend in there too. Just for the occasion.”
Flora extended her hand to me. I almost grabbed it without thinking, but hesitated. Then she said, “Hey,” and firmly took my hand. Her pink hair swayed lightly with the motion.
“M-Marquis’s daughter?”
“Fufu. You can take it as me guiding you.”
Flora winked with one eye and led me into the crowd. Just in case, I turned around and saw Mylia following at a slight distance from us.
The place Flora led me to was the table where desserts were displayed.
“As I thought.”
With those words, Mylia chuckled.
“Without a delicious dessert at the banquet, it would be disappointing. Luke, you think the same too?”
“Yes. I came to the banquet to try these kinds of things too.”
“You’re exactly right!”
When I answered appropriately, she said it was correct.
It was probably because Flora had wanted that answer…… but still.
“I’m thirsty, so I’ll go get a drink.”
Right next to us, there was a table overflowing with drink glasses.
“Then, Luke. Let’s choose the most delicious dessert here!”
Flora’s emerald eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
I too scanned the desserts to choose one for her. But since I didn’t know anything and they all looked delicious, I faced a dilemma.
Maybe it would be better to leave it to Flora?
Choosing with someone who knows would have less chance of failure.
“I think I’ll go with kanaphé. What about you, Luke?”
“I’ll do the same.”
“There are many other things too.”
“Even if I look, I can’t tell…….”
“Ahaha. That could be.”
With that, Flora picked up the kanaphé she had chosen and handed it to me.
At that moment, Mylia returned holding a glass in her hand. Judging by the color, it was orangeade.
“Why did both of you choose the same thing?”
“Ah, because Luke said he couldn’t tell, so we chose the same.”
“I see.”
Mylia nodded a few times, then approached the dessert table.
The thing she chose was a small macaron.
After we gathered to eat the desserts, I headed to the drink table to quench my thirst. Just as I picked up a glass of lemonade, a voice rang out.
“His Majesty the Empress Cecilia has entered!”
The stewards announced the Empress’s entrance in loud voices. With a regretful click of my tongue, I put the glass back down.
“Luke, come this way.”
I approached Flora, who was gesturing for me to come. Then we stood watching the stage where Cecilia would soon appear.
Everyone who had attended did the same.
A short while later, the doors opened wide and Cecilia entered the stage alone.
Even though she was alone, she walked with imperial dignity. Thanks to that, I could feel her imperial elegance and majesty clearly.
“We pay our respects to Her Majesty the Empress Cecilia, Mother of the Empire.”
Right after Cecilia sat on the throne, all the attendees bowed deeply and greeted her.
“Everyone, raise your heads.”
Following her order, everyone straightened at the same time.
Cecilia briefly explained that the reason she had held the banquet was to celebrate the successful extermination of the monsters that had appeared in the north, then concluded with,
“Enjoy yourselves for this one time.”
The guests were finally free to move around the banquet hall as they pleased.
Cecilia sat on the throne, chin resting on her hand. Then, waving to a steward nearby, she picked up a glass.
“I wonder if Her Majesty is drinking alone.”
“It seems so.”
While listening to the conversation between Flora and Mylia, I gazed at Cecilia’s figure.
She was really drinking a drink or wine all by herself.
“Should we go over and toast?”
“That’s a good idea.”
Indeed. It would be better to drink with others than alone.
Mylia also voted in favor of Flora’s suggestion.
We each picked up a glass of wine from the drink table and headed toward the stage.
* * *
‘It looks like he’s trying to approach Cecilia.’
The eyes of the Marquis Marlboro left Luke and the maids. He then poured the wine in his hand into his mouth.
Before he could even greet the Empress, he had been watching their every move. No, more accurately, it was just that he was monitoring Luke’s movements.
It had been several days since Luke had rejected his proposal to meet.
The Marquis Marlboro had not made any other moves until now. It had simply been probing to see what reaction Luke would show.
But Luke’s obvious disregard had been enough to make his mood unpleasant.
‘Then I’ll have no choice but to probe him more directly.’
At that moment, a steward wandering nearby caught the Marquis’s eye. He summoned the steward and handed him a silver coin along with an empty glass.
“You. Give this to the black-haired man over there, Luke. Tell him the Marquis Marlboro is looking for him.”