Chapter 24
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24.
Cassian Artez's peculiar atmosphere dissipated quickly, leaving me unable to discern the full truth behind it.
Since this wasn't a problem that would yield answers through prolonged contemplation, I set my questions aside and focused on the matter at hand.
After all, the day I would have to face Duke Jamoti, the First Empress's older brother, was fast approaching.
As the appointed day drew near, Cassian Artez fell into deep thought before speaking to me.
"I truly adore Rose in her usual state."
"...Your Highness, what an unexpected thing to say."
I really wasn't fond of receiving meaningless honorifics while on duty.
Cassian Artez seemed delighted by my protesting gaze and tapped my desk gently.
"Tomorrow, I'd like you to wear a proper dress."
"Ah... So you're saying tomorrow I should accompany you not as your aide, but as your fiancée?"
"Yes, I've been wanting to have a date with Rose for a while now."
How could he say such sweet words during work hours, deliberately offering me compensation?
Momentarily enchanted by his words, I regained my composure and opened my mouth, grasping his true intention.
"Is this because of Duke Jamoti?"
"Exactly."
He answered with a beautiful smile, as if confirming the correct answer.
"Rose would understand better than anyone."
Understand indeed.
Just half a year ago, I had to endure his sharp glances and disapproving clicks of his tongue at least twice a week.
He became Duke Jamoti only half a year ago; before that, he was employed at the Ceremony Office.
It was already a place full of people who disliked me, but Duke Jamoti was particularly severe among them.
In short.
The most stubborn of old-fashioned fossils!
'I was so frustrated that Duke Jamoti wasn't present during the Ceremony Office audit.'
I had desperately wanted to see his face contorted with disappointment just once.
"So you're saying I should face Duke Jamoti as the future Crown Princess?"
"Exactly."
Cassian Artez chuckled softly.
"I think you'll do an excellent job."
For a moment, my devilish superior appeared in a different light.
Such legitimate revenge—or rather, optimal personnel deployment.
'Though I wonder if that old fossil, who always disapproved of me, would actually acknowledge it.'
If he didn't, well, that would be even better for turning his world upside down.
I exchanged a smile with Cassian Artez and nodded.
"Of course, Your Highness. I shall meet your expectations perfectly."
An scheme—no, a stratagem—approved by my superior. Time to execute it flawlessly.
I intend to make excellent use of this opportunity.
*
On the day of execution, seizing this rare chance, I devoted myself to the attendants' preparations with unusual focus.
Though even then, I confess I read reports during the process.
Regardless, thanks to the attendants' elaborate ministrations, I appeared more than ever the betrothed of a prince.
I felt confident that my appearance would rival that of Countess Hanela's Daughter, First Prince Charlie's fiancée.
Since her engagement to Prince Charlie, Countess Hanela's Daughter had maintained the most resplendent peacock-like appearance in all of society.
'Though this dress, at first glance, doesn't strike one as particularly ornate.'
Perhaps for that very reason, Cassian Artez's discerning eye had elicited my admiration.
The base fabric was a delicate celadon silk with a subtle luminescence, eschewing frills and lace in favor of embroidery placed strategically as focal points for added elegance.
Generous jeweled accents provided further emphasis, yet the balance was so exquisite that nothing appeared excessive—everything harmonized perfectly.
Moreover, by exploiting the fabric's natural properties to create graceful folds that served as ornamentation themselves, it was truly a masterwork of tailoring.
"I thought you'd make me wait today."
As I stepped outside at the appointed hour, I caught sight of Cassian leaning against the wall, reviewing documents he'd prepared in advance.
He promptly gathered the papers, entrusted them to an attendant, and approached me directly.
"I'm delighted—you're even lovelier than I imagined."
"When did you commission this?"
Cassian, who had been offering a courteous greeting, let out a soft laugh at my candid question.
"It's become my hobby lately."
"Your hobby...?"
"Finding and commissioning dresses that suit Rose is quite an enjoyable pursuit."
Cassian lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, smiling.
"After all, I cannot present my beloved with anything but the finest."
His tone was playful and light, as always, yet for some reason I found it difficult to respond in kind.
'His eyes...'
Why did they seem different?
Beneath the usual teasing and affection I knew so well, there seemed to be something else—an emotion subtle yet unmistakable—woven through his gaze.
Without thinking, I found myself searching his eyes intently.
Rather than evade my scrutiny, Cassian met it openly, then raised his hand to gently obscure my vision.
"I wish you'd let me escape."
With those cryptic words, I felt his breath draw near, brushing against my cheek.
"...Your Highness?"
Uncharacteristically, I sensed a faint hesitation from Cassian.
As time seemed to slow, I noticed only my own heartbeat quickening.
"-We have work to do, Rose."
Casually, as though nothing remarkable had transpired, he whispered those words to me.
With that, both the warmth of his presence so near and the large hand that had stolen my sight withdrew.
As my vision cleared, I blinked and studied him carefully, as if to confirm what I was seeing.
The depth in his smiling eyes, curved in a gentle arc, had already returned to its usual state.
Armed only with a touch of mischief, trust in me, and goodwill.
*
All of the Anden Kingdom's treasures were stored in an annex located north of the Winter Palace.
Cassian Artez and I had arrived thirty minutes earlier than our promised time with Duke Jamoti.
"Your Highness!"
Yet judging by how eager he was, Duke Jamoti had arrived even earlier and was waiting—he hurried toward Cassian Artez the moment he spotted him.
"Duke Jamoti pays his respects to Your Highness."
Indeed, the former Ceremony Official....
Though he showed no attempt to hide his urgency, the moment he drew within five paces of Cassian Artez, he executed a flawless bow without the slightest falter—I couldn't help but admire it.
I too bent my knee slightly before Duke Jamoti could catch me off guard, offering my greeting.
He regarded me with the same disdainful gaze as always, but he refrained from hurling sharp words at me as he had before.
'Your Highness, maintaining a proper aide befitting your station is also a duty of the Royal Family. When even the Second Son of Duke Jamoti would raise eyebrows as an aide, how could a Countess's Daughter who hasn't even held her debutante ball serve as your primary aide?'
The Empire's honor is at stake.
Would you truly call such an aide your primary aide even in foreign ceremonies?
Walking about the Imperial Palace without even offering proper respect to the First Empress.
It would be loyalty to step back and acknowledge one's own shame.
And so on!
He complained so much every time he saw me that I thought he must have had a hate-speech switch installed.
'But I've essentially held my debutante ball, and besides, I'm not just a simple aide anymore—I'm the prospective Crown Princess?'
While I was puzzling over why that trash-talking Duke's attitude had changed, his mouth opened with surprising speed.
"I see you've brought Miss Salice, so it appears you intend to cultivate her refinement as a prospective Crown Princess."
Duke Jamoti spoke to Cassian Artez as if he were being sincere.
"I'm delighted to see that Your Highness has taken my previous counsel to heart and decided to select a proper aide."
At that moment, Cassian Artez gently tapped my pinky finger.
A considerate signal asking if I wanted him to handle it.
Of course!
But I had no intention of handing over my prey to anyone.
"How thoughtful of you to consider someone I serve, Your Highness. As the Crown Prince's primary aide, I'm truly grateful."
"I didn't ask you a question, did I?"
"I believe it's also my duty to answer words that Your Highness deems unworthy of a response, wouldn't you say?"
I smiled at Duke Jamoti with the same impudent expression I'd learned well from Cassian Artez.
"Surely you know as well as anyone, Duke, that the position of aide to Crown Prince Cassian Artez is not something just anyone can hold."
They were the ones who isolated him in the first place!
"You've always told me I fall short, and I've even considered that you might be right about that."
"Do you know your place?"
"Of course. But I'm also someone who understands responsibility."
I raised my hand to cover my mouth, letting out a sound laden with unmistakable mockery, before speaking again.
"Surely I'm better than the Second Son of Duke Jamoti, who simply fled when he claimed a slightly burdensome task was too much for him?"
"That, that had legitimate reasons...!"
"Ah, of course, I've heard that the Second Son of House Jamoti suddenly took on the honorable position of scribe for the Ceremony Office documents before withdrawing."
I stripped away all trace of amusement from my words, and Duke Jamoti's eyes twitched in a convulsion.
"I happened to review the documents your son prepared several months ago, you see?"
During that very Ceremony Office audit.
And Duke Jamoti knew the results of that inspection all too well.
Before the Second Son was dishonorably dismissed, Duke Jamoti had whisked him away, claiming urgent business in his Territory.
The triumphant expression on Duke Jamoti's face contorted.
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