Chapter 34
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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 34
"Ahem...! From now on, I absolutely forbid you from ever meeting that man again. How dare he show his face here!"
Father still hadn't managed to quell his anger over the fact that Cain Maxius had come to the Duke's Mansion.
"I don't want to see him either, yet he keeps showing up like this without any regard for propriety."
That was the nature of a hierarchical society.
At least Father could respond this way since he held the same rank, but I was beneath Cain Maxius in status, so I couldn't simply refuse to see him as I wished.
"Don't worry. Your father will take care of everything."
Fortunately, hearing Father's promise to take some sort of measures, I responded with a bright smile, my gratitude evident.
"Yes, thank you, Father."
The matter of Cain Maxius's visit to the Duke's House was thus settled for the time being.
But starting the very next day, instead of coming in person, he began sending me gifts.
What on earth was he thinking...?
Why was he sending me gifts at all?
Had that man taken me into his heart again?
No, that was absolutely impossible—it shouldn't happen.
Since I couldn't read people's eyes or discern their true feelings with any special ability, I couldn't say for certain.
But if a man who had grown sick of Belita's obsession was now feeling her absence simply because she wasn't by his side...?
'Wouldn't that make him a pervert?'
Though I didn't know Cain Maxius perfectly, judging by what I knew of him from the novel and what I'd experienced since arriving here, he wasn't an emotionally driven person.
So, thinking it over again and again, no matter how much I pondered it, there was only one conclusion I could reach about Cain Maxius's true purpose.
'The diamond mines.'
When he was giving gifts, his affection for Adela was greater than mountains—he would have given away the entire world if it meant removing me, the obstacle to their love.
I couldn't know exactly why the two of them had broken up, but thinking about it, it made perfect sense.
Eternal love exists only within the pages of books.
The moment you step out of the book, you face reality.
Perhaps because this is also a book, but technically a world after the novel's ending...?
'It's all rather bitter, isn't it...'
Despite Cain Maxius's relentless barrage of gifts day after day, not a single one from him ever reached my room.
The moment Father learned who was sending them, he furiously forbade any gifts from that man from entering the Manor.
I heard he burned them all—that was so like Father.
"It's wonderful, isn't it? Being loved by one's parents."
In truth, having parents was something entirely new to me.
Before coming here, I had no parents in my life.
I was abandoned at the Orphanage the moment I was born and grew up there, leaving as soon as I turned twenty.
After that, I lived alone for so long that I never knew what it meant to have an absolute presence protecting me, and I thought my life would always be that way.
Half the reason I hadn't desperately thought about leaving since arriving here was perhaps because of my parents.
Having parents, having a family—it was powerful enough to fill the void that had hollowed out one corner of my heart.
So Belita's parents, who had now become my own, had become such precious people to me.
While I was lost in lengthy contemplation, Mary announced her presence from outside the door.
"Miss, it's me. Mary."
"Come in."
I looked at Mary as she entered the room.
But she was holding an envelope in her hand.
"What is that?"
"It's an invitation, miss. An invitation has arrived for you."
"Which house is it from this time?"
I asked Mary in an exasperated tone.
It was quite exhausting to reject invitations to various parties every single day.
"This time it's not from a noble house—it's from the Imperial Court."
"The Imperial Court?"
Sensing something felt off, I extended my hand to Mary.
Mary handed me the envelope containing the invitation.
"Why would the Imperial Court send one?"
Of course, the Imperial Court could certainly host a banquet, but I examined the envelope with curiosity.
Looking at the seal, it was indeed the Imperial Court's seal.
Moreover, it was the Crown Prince's seal.
I hurriedly opened the envelope and took out the invitation.
And I began reading it carefully.
"What does it say?"
"It says the Imperial Court will hold a banquet next week."
"At the Imperial Court?"
"Yes. It says it's an occasion for young ladies and gentlemen, and that attendance is mandatory."
"Since it's from the Imperial Court, it would be difficult to decline, wouldn't it?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
"With only a week left, there isn't much time. We should begin preparations right away."
Mary said so and left the room.
Even after Mary left, an uneasy feeling lingered within me.
Why would the Imperial Court suddenly host a banquet?
It wasn't a birthday celebration for the imperial family, and it seemed to have no particular purpose—so why were they insisting I attend?
The invitations I'd received before never contained such language, since I might not be able to attend if I lacked the time or had other reasons.
Because of this, something about this banquet that demanded mandatory attendance felt suspicious.
'I really don't want to go...'
If I told Father, he would certainly find a way to resolve this.
The Emperor's power was weak, and his son the Crown Prince's power was even weaker than that.
But how much longer could I live comfortably in Father's shadow?
Cain Maxius's affairs were deeply personal, but even setting that aside, I was now a full-fledged adult—too old to rely on Father's help for such matters.
I needed to learn how to face difficulties head-on and resolve them myself, even when I didn't want to.
Otherwise, I would never be able to lead this great House forward.
Once I reached that conclusion, my resolve crystallized—I had to attend.
'If I go, I'll run into all of them again.'
Cain Maxius, who had been tormenting me with his peculiar methods lately; Adela, who outwardly maintained a deep rift with me despite my own indifference; and Aiden Byon, who watched me with that strange emotion and enigmatic gaze—they would all certainly be there.
And everyone present would undoubtedly whisper behind my back about my reappearance after two years.
I would need to steel myself for this.
When Father learned of the banquet being held at the Imperial Court, he spent the entire week discouraging me from attending, insisting I must not go.
But I persuaded him by carefully explaining why I needed to attend and how I would conduct myself there.
Eventually, my stubbornness won out, and Father consented to my attendance. Today was that very day.
Since morning, I had been making earnest preparations for the banquet.
Since only young nobles would be gathering, and attention would inevitably fall upon me anyway, I decided to simply draw even more eyes to myself.
So I chose to wear a crimson gown that suited me beautifully.
"How do I look?"
"Absolutely stunning, Miss."
After receiving Mary's approval in the first round and confirming my appearance in the mirror for the second, I left my room.
As I approached the carriage waiting before the Manor, I spotted Lian standing among several knights.
I quickened my pace, approached him, and spoke.
"Lian, you're assigned to my protection?"
"Yes, Miss."
I tilted my head slightly toward him and whispered teasingly near his ear, my voice barely audible to us alone.
"It'll be boring for you. Just stay here instead."
In truth, a guard's duty consisted merely of watching the carriage throughout the banquet, with entry to the venue only permitted in case of emergency—meaning endless stretches of tedium and monotony.
"Wherever you go, Miss, I will follow without question. I will protect you."
There it was—when I joked, he took it with complete seriousness.
That was Lian.
He responded to my playful remark with such gravity and solemnity that it was almost comical.
"Understood. You really must protect me, then?"
"Yes, I will do so."
I nodded and boarded the carriage.
The carriage then set off toward the Imperial Palace.
* * *
This was my second visit to the Imperial Palace.
I had felt it during my last visit, but it truly was an opulent and lavish place.
Beyond the vast expanse that seemed endless even when traveling by carriage, each building glimpsed through the carriage window was encircled in resplendent golden light.
'A display of power.'
It felt as though they were attempting to conceal the weakness of imperial authority and project strength, at least on the surface.
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