Chapter 152
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 152
“So, you are Lady Tulia Frezier. Rise.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
As I straightened my back, a realization struck me anew.
I see. He really is pretending we’re meeting for the first time.
It made sense, as we had never actually met in an official capacity.
The only time I had seen him before was in a secluded garden behind the White Tower, where I witnessed the Empress slapping him across the face.
Ferdinand had the appearance of a young boy back then, and he still looked like one now.
Even though I had grown so much, he remained unchanged.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“No, Your Highness.”
His cold voice snapped me out of my trance. I realized I had been staring at him, lost in thought.
Since my behavior was a clear breach of etiquette, I immediately lowered my head in a slight bow.
Fortunately, Ferdinand didn’t press the matter further.
“Brother. You should go to Mother. You’ve been away for so long, and there is the pleasure of looking down upon the empire’s finest young men and women celebrating their debutante today…”
To put it kindly, Dave was suggesting that since Ferdinand was the Crown Prince, he should go sit comfortably on the throne upon the dais. To put it bluntly, he was telling Ferdinand that this was none of his business and he should get lost.
He really is a royal, through and through.
Just as that thought crossed my mind—having previously looked down on Dave—Ferdinand spoke.
“Dave.”
Ferdinand shifted his gaze from me to that brat, Dave.
“Did you say today is your debutante?”
“Pardon? Yes. That is correct, Brother.”
At Dave’s answer, Ferdinand silently pulled off his gloves.
I realized then that in the presence of this terrifying male lead, my reactions were always a beat too slow.
“I see. That must be why His Imperial Majesty told me to come to the Grand Banquet Hall. It’s about time I had my own debutante as well.”
Eros Syndrome. Cupid’s Disease. Divine Power Hyperaffliction.
Despite having hair the color of sweet, fragrant cocoa, this boy possessed eyes as frigid as the northern seas.
And today, quite unusually, he was dressed in formal evening wear.
“Let’s have the first dance, Dave.”
* * *
“Was a debutante ball always this entertaining?”
“My grandmother didn’t come this year because she said she was tired of seeing the same thing every year. She’s going to be kicking herself with regret.”
“I know, right? Oh my, look at Empress Carmi’s expression. Heavens, they’re from the same imperial bloodline, but how can there be such a difference in their looks?”
“Well, the late Empress Olivia was a legendary beauty. Empress Carmi is known more for her unique aura that comforts His Majesty rather than her looks…”
“If you put it that way, she sounds more like a mistress.”
“Shh! She’ll hear you!”
The nobles whispered amongst themselves before quickly scattering.
Empress Carmi’s gaze had drifted toward them.
Of course, with over a thousand nobles attending the debutante today, they were able to slip away from her sight safely.
Furthermore, only one pair was currently dancing on the floor.
Crown Prince Ferdinand and the Second Prince, Dave.
Every other noble, even distant relatives of the imperial bloodline, stood outside the floor, watching the two of them like an audience.
But Empress Carmi knew.
She knew that the vast majority—no, nearly everyone—was looking at the Crown Prince, not Dave.
She knew that half of them were staring at Ferdinand’s face in a daze.
It was a terribly beautiful face.
Was it better when he was just a boy raised like a hothouse flower within the palace?
Now, over the straight-backed shadow of the boy who had stubbornly returned alive from the battlefield, the brilliant honor unique to a knight who had conquered death was added.
It was as if a pure white diamond had absorbed blood, taking on a new, haunting allure.
“Seeing them like that, the two brothers really do look alike.”
Empress Carmi spoke.
Contrary to her cold eyes, her voice was filled with the benevolent, gentle laughter befitting an Empress.
The maids and high-ranking noblewomen, who had been walking on eggshells around her, hurried to match her mood.
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“They are brothers who both share the blood of His Imperial Majesty. It’s only natural they resemble each other.”
Empress Carmi put on a regretful expression.
“I had completely forgotten that the Crown Prince skipped his own debutante.”
“How could you not? It’s only natural.”
“That’s right, Your Majesty.”
“After all, the Crown Prince is…”
The voices, laced with intent, also carried a hint of mockery.
The reason the Crown Prince could not secure a firm position despite his incredible lineage, legitimacy, and the support of the Grand Temple.
The reason he had to endure Empress Carmi’s constant checks and even accept the daughter of a lowly vassal as his fiancée.
It was all because of that unchanging ‘disability.’
“To return safely from the battlefield in such a youthful form. He is truly His Majesty’s son, and I am proud of him.”
On the surface, Carmi’s words were praise, but they carried the hidden meaning that she would never recognize him as her own son.
And there was no fool among those present who failed to catch her drift.
Furthermore.
“I must suggest to His Majesty that we hold the royal marriage as soon as the Crown Prince reaches adulthood.”
In an instant, the eyes of the nobles surrounding the Empress sparkled.
They were busy trying their best to lift Empress Carmi’s spirits, saying things like how wonderful it was that he would marry a daughter of Frezier ‘regardless of her origins,’ or how it was a blessing for the Crown Prince to welcome a bride from the Frezier family ‘regardless of her origins.’
But then.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
Suddenly, their voices began to tremble.
Empress Carmi followed the shocked gazes of the nobles toward the dance floor.
In that moment.
“…!”
She bolted upright from her seat.
“Prince Dave!”
“Oh, heavens! Has he fainted?!”
Her beloved son, Dave, was being carried away by an attendant, his eyes rolled back in his head.
“What on earth…”
Just a moment ago, every time she glanced at the floor, Dave had been dancing with the Crown Prince.
The first dance, which, according to debutante tradition, must be performed with a member of the same sex!
“What exactly happened to my son?!”
At Empress Carmi’s sharp cry, the Head Maid, who had been watching the floor the entire time, hurried to speak.
“Nothing happened, Your Majesty.”
“Then why did Dave faint?! Did the Crown Prince…”
Did that cursed offspring of Olivia threaten her son in some way?!
Empress Carmi could not let those words escape her lips.
No matter if she was the Empress, sat at the highest position, and was surrounded entirely by her own allies!
This was a public event, and countless nobles were watching!
Carmi was skilled at hiding her expressions. She had been long before she betrayed Olivia.
She forced her rising rage into a look of shock and waited anxiously for the imperial physician, who had examined Dave, to come up.
She swore that if Dave had fainted from something like ‘severe shock,’ she would link it to the Crown Prince and ruin his reputation once and for all…
“Your Majesty.”
The imperial physician hurried up, drenched in a cold sweat. It had been less than three minutes since Dave was carried away.
“What happened?!”
“The Second Prince was dancing when the Crown Prince stepped on his feet a couple of times. He simply could not bear the pain and lost consciousness. I have applied an ointment, so he should wake up shortly.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
In an instant, the nobles silently exchanged glances.
The music had long since stopped when the Second Prince was carried off, and the other nobles were keeping their mouths shut, watching the dais.
The Grand Banquet Hall was designed so that sound from the dais resonated well, ensuring the Emperor’s voice could be heard clearly.
Consequently, the physician’s words reached every corner of the hall.
At a debutante, it was common for men to get their feet stepped on.
It was unavoidable.
No matter how hard a lady practiced her dancing or how naturally athletic she was, the nerves of a debutante ball led to frequent mistakes.
That was why the young lords attending the debutante wore special shoes padded with thick cotton.
To make a scene because a lady stepped on your foot was considered incredibly pathetic. In some cases, it would even earn you looks of contempt.
A gentleman’s virtue was to grit his teeth and endure, even if a bone in his foot was broken.
Of course, the partner wasn’t a lady but the Crown Prince.
But didn’t he still look like a young boy?
A boy who was excessively beautiful and looked as holy as an archangel, with divine power faintly radiating from him.
A Second Prince who fainted just because his feet were stepped on a few times by such a boy…
If he hadn't been of imperial blood—if he had been, say, the heir to a dukedom—bursts of laughter would have erupted from all sides.
However, because of Empress Carmi’s stiff face, the nobles didn't dare let out the laughter they were holding in.
They merely pressed their nails into their fingers, struggling to suppress the urge to laugh.
“…It seems the child overexerted himself preparing for the debutante for months, and his body finally gave out. Have the physician apply the medicine well.”
As Empress Carmi barely regained her composure and spoke, the quick-witted orchestra began to play soft music again.
The nobles, also realizing that now was not the time to laugh, were about to resume their small talk as if nothing had happened.
But then, Empress Carmi’s gaze hardened like a blade.
Similarly, the nobles who had been casting idle glances at the floor gasped in unison.
“Lady Tulia Frezier.”
Ferdinand Cassel Ewigkeit.
The boy Crown Prince had approached the young lady of the Frezier family, who had been standing there blankly, and extended his hand.
“Will you give me the honor of your first dance?”