An Intimate Family Dinner
“It has been quite a while, Titania.”
What a truly delightful and harmonious dinner this was. An intimate meal among family, supposedly arranged to welcome me back to the imperial palace after such a long absence...
The moment the Emperor finished speaking, every gaze at the table shifted toward me. Imperial Consort Cleo and Prince Brian’s eyes, in particular, were like sharpened awls. Trying to eat in an atmosphere like this would result in a hundred percent chance of severe indigestion.
Suppressing my true thoughts, I put on the brightest, most radiant smile I could muster for the Emperor, who was gazing at me with a look of immense self-satisfaction.
“Your Imperial Majesty! Heavens, I was so moved! The Rose Palace is simply breathtaking...!”
“Yes, yes. Are you not as lovely as the imperial family’s own rose? I specifically commanded the royal gardeners to spare no expense and plant the rarest of roses. Do you like it?”
“How could I not? I feel as though I’m living right inside a blooming bouquet...!”
“Didn’t you grumble that just planting roses doesn’t fix everything, Master? (o.o;)”
This, my dear, is what we call workplace flattery.
Crafting the expression of a girl on the verge of tears from sheer gratitude, my mind wandered entirely elsewhere.
In truth, the Rose Palace had indeed been renovated quite nicely. Was it thanks to my frantic insistence to Lisianthus—“Dog doors! Dog doors! Big enough for people, plenty of them!”—that my efforts had borne fruit? Only after Mary, whom I had coaxed just as I had Sarah, along with the other newly arrived maids, had completely disappeared from the vicinity did Debbie guide me through the hidden passages.
Whatever methods they had employed, they had dug an underground pathway that allowed me to slip out through a deserted rear gate of the imperial palace without being seen by a soul. Furthermore, a false-backed wardrobe had been installed in my bedchamber. Cleverly using optical illusion, the interior appeared shallow and cramped at first glance, but in reality, it concealed a hidden compartment capable of stashing an adult without a trace.
Though I had devised several fail-safes, it was hardly a situation where I could let my guard down, considering there was no telling what Imperial Consort Cleo and Head Maid Natalie might conspire to pull off next.
“Oh, my. But of course you would be the loveliest flower in that bouquet, Princess Titania. How was your journey? So many strange rumors reached my ears that I was quite worried.”
Imperial Consort Cleo spoke with a smile. The sheer brazenness with which she addressed me, acting as if nothing untoward had ever happened, was truly a sight to behold.
I had anticipated that the Emperor would have lifted her house arrest by now. Even so, the Ocean of Stars tiara she used to flaunt so proudly was absent, and her unusually modest attire made it clear that she was still walking on eggshells.
Unlike his mother, however, Brian couldn’t quite master his expression, casting venomous glares in my direction.
What a waste of his mother’s acting talents, who could play the perfect part before the Emperor. He really ought to take notes from Cleo, who could smile so sweetly while tossing verbal daggers like, I heard so many bizarre rumors about you—did you conduct yourself properly? Then again, if he actually learned from her, things would only get harder for me.
“Thanks to your kind concern, Imperial Consort Cleo, I returned without incident. Ah! That reminds me. Having traveled so far, I prepared a few gifts!”
I clapped my hands twice, summoning the attendants. Following my prior instructions, the servants entered carrying velvet-lined boxes and placed one before each member of the imperial family seated around the table.
The Emperor was the first to flip open the lid of the ornate red velvet box before him. A rich, exquisite fragrance drifted across the dining table.
“For Your Imperial Majesty, I procured a holy chalice in which the precious petals of the World Tree are steeped in holy water. I was told it purifies evil energies and bolsters physical vitality. I thought it might aid Your Majesty’s—no, Father’s—health!”
The Emperor’s jaw dropped before spreading into a beaming, delighted grin.
“Oh, ho! This is a truly magnificent treasure. Wherever did you come across such a thing?”
“Though it embarrasses me to admit it, I searched high and low with everyone’s assistance. Had I not gone all the way to the southern border, I never would have obtained it.”
Grand words, but in truth, it was hardly anything extraordinary. While the World Tree was revered for holding the energy of the world, the petals inside this basin had long since lost their divine essence; it was nothing more than an exorbitantly expensive air freshener.
Meanwhile, Imperial Consort Cleo opened her own box, preserving her practiced smile.
Inside lay a bolt of fabric so supple that it didn’t make the faintest rustle as it shifted. It was a deep, dark navy cloth, as though a piece of the night sky had been sheared right off. Cleo’s eyes flickered subtly.
“It is a precious foreign textile. Even the finest draper in the south confessed he had no idea what material it was woven from. I had the High Priest inspect it to ensure it was completely harmless to the human body, but I felt such a mystical hue would never suit an ordinary person. I could only imagine how breathtaking the beautiful Imperial Consort Cleo would look if she fashioned a gown from it!”
“...”
Cleo fell silent for a brief beat. Through her narrowly slit eyes, I could see the gears turning as she tried to divine my true intentions. Paying her suspicion no mind, I beamed brightly back at her.
“Goodness, Titania. I am so touched that you thought of me... However, to gift such a rare fabric to someone like me? Judging by this elegant color, wouldn’t it suit Her Imperial Majesty the Empress far better?”
Since she can’t figure out my hidden motive, she wants to pawn it off on the Empress, does she?
Right at that moment, the Empress, who had remained quietly observant, opened her own box. Inside was a modest black cameo brooch engraved with a hawk—the sigil of Duke Integria’s house.
“It seems this is a gift that no one but myself could possibly receive.”
“It is a modest token that hardly matches Your Imperial Majesty’s grand dignity, but I felt it was something meant solely for you. The instant I saw it, I couldn’t resist buying it.”
The Empress promptly pinned the brooch to her chest. Having coordinated our plans in advance, she was dressed today in an understated gown of soft grey tones that complemented it perfectly.
“How could I be so greedy as to monopolize two of the gifts our young princess bought for her family? Besides, it is a magnificent fabric. Few aside from the Imperial Consort could carry off such grandeur. Do not decline any further and accept it.”
“...If Her Imperial Majesty insists, then I shall gratefully accept. Since it is such precious cloth, I will ensure it is put to equally precious use.”
Realizing that further refusal was impossible, Imperial Consort Cleo accepted the gift with a forced smile. Prince Brian and Prince Adrian, who were also seated at the table, proceeded to open their respective boxes.
Their gifts were relatively straightforward: ornate daggers. However, their hilts were carved from a hardy hardwood native only to the southern territories, each set with a different colored gemstone.
“Haha, Titania. The princes’ gifts are virtually identical. Are you showing bias against your brothers?” the Emperor teased lightheartedly.
“As a woman, I could manage to guess what might suit Her Majesty the Empress or Imperial Consort Cleo... but I truly had no idea what my brothers would prefer. Still, I was told these are sacred blades carved with protective prayers to ward off demonic beasts and bestow blessings.”
As I beamed innocently, Brian’s brow twitched. What? Upset because you received something meant to ‘ward off demonic beasts and bestow blessings’ right in front of everyone, after you recently fainted in terror while running away from one?
That’s right. I gave it to you specifically to twist the knife! Haha! If you don’t like it, you shouldn’t have passed out like a coward.
I had orchestrated this gift presentation in front of the Emperor specifically to witness their reactions. With the Emperor grinning ear to ear over his own gift, none of them could be stupid enough to scoff at theirs and reject them to his face.
“Thank you, Titania. Thanks to you, I’ve received a fine blade.”
“You are very welcome.”
While Adrian and I exchanged pleasant words, Brian remained dead silent, looking as if his lips had been sealed with glue. Underneath the table, Cleo discreetly pinched him in the side. Only then did Brian squeeze out an expression of gratitude, his voice dripping with forced civility.
“...Thank you, Titania.”
“I hope you find good use for it, Brother Brian.”
“I shall... make sure to do just that.”
His voice was thick with venom, sounding as though he would rather slit my throat with that dagger than a demonic beast’s, but I maintained my sweet, clueless smile. Just as the gift-giving seemed poised to conclude in faux-harmonious laughter, Imperial Consort Cleo dropped an unexpected bombshell.
“Oh, my. Titania, isn’t there one more person you should have prepared a gift for?”
“...Excuse me?”
An ominous chill crept down my spine. Instinctive alarm bells began clanging furiously in my head.
“To tell the absolute truth, Your Imperial Majesty... While Your Majesty cherishes my humble self so dearly... the greatest beauty in the imperial palace has always been someone else. As for Titania, having grown up in solitude from such an early age, she seems to frequently forget her own birth mother...”
“...”
Cleo let her words trail off with pointed malice. The Emperor cleared his throat nervously with a cough. Even he had, despite always insisting that Imperial Consort Elaine’s ‘empty seat’ be kept at these meaningless family dinners, completely forgotten her existence until this very second.
It felt like taking a solid blow to the back of the head, but there was no way I was going to sit back and take this lying down. Forcing my composure, I opened my mouth to respond.