Secrets with Crown Prince 21

“It seems that Claude is quite interested in the young Lady.”

The Emperor, quietly listening to our conversation, spoke up with a curious expression.

Do-Hyuk asked me to come to the palace so often that eventually, the Emperor became curious and wanted to have a meal with me, creating this current situation.

I still remember the Emperor’s earlier warning.

“Young Lady, let me give you a piece of advice. It’s best if you stay away from Claude.”

It was so cruel, to the point that I was trembling with fear.

And after that, The Emperor became a very uncomfortable and frightening presence to me, but he seemed indifferent to the past.

Could he have a split personality?

I managed to peel away Do-hyuk’s hand that seemed glued to mine and smiled at the Emperor.

“It seems like Your Majesty is very pleased to see me after a long time.”

I heard he was close to fifty years old, but he looked to be in his forties to me.

Looking at The Emperor’s silver hair and gold ornaments, I realized his beautiful appearance was strikingly similar to Do-hyuk’s.

While I was pondering these useless thoughts, The Emperor spoke to us amusedly.

“You two said you met in the Nayden Kingdom. Can you tell me how you two met?”

I wonder if he was more curious about our story now because he couldn’t ask us last time before we left in a hurry.

The Emperor rested his chin on his interlocked hand, very interested.

With his gaze so focused on me, I felt a little uneasy. 

My palms were sweating, so I quietly wiped them on the hem of my dress. I was definitely nervous.

While calming my heart with my hand, I tried to answer confidently, but Do-hyuk responded quicker than me.

“Why is Your Majesty curious about that?”

At the sharp voice, I looked back at Do-hyuk as if I had been doused in cold water. His gaze at 

The Emperor was fierce, completely different from how I looked at my father.

The Emperor smiled lightly, unflustered. Only the Empress and I seemed to be at a loss in this embarrassing situation.

“Isn’t it natural for a father to be curious about his son’s affairs?”

“His son? Do you really consider me as your son, Your Majesty?”

I thought he had blurted out these words because he got emotional, but Do-hyuk was surprisingly calm.

The reason why he was being more stern than usual in this situation was simple.

In fact, this dinner was not planned in advance.

When Do-hyuk and I were having dinner together, the Emperor and Empress barged in and asked to join us. As expected, it was The Emperor’s strong-headed behavior, and the Empress probably just followed along.

“Claude! What are you saying to your father?!”

The Empress screamed at Do-hyuk like a startled bird. However, The Emperor only raised his hand toward her, indicating it was fine.

“Are you still holding onto that matter in your heart?”

What matter? My heart started pounding, and my knees bounced. I wanted to jump up and run away from this place. It felt like I was somewhere where I shouldn’t be interfering. Please leave me out of your family’s quarrel!

Do-hyuk must have known about my feelings because he grabbed my hand and stood up from his seat.

“You’re the only son I’ve ever had.”

“If Fabian were to hear it, he’d cry.”

Only then did I realize that Prince Verdi was not present.

I’m unsure what the story is, but I didn’t want to know.

Regardless of that, I knew what to do!

At that moment, Cha Do-hyuk took my hand and dragged me out of the dining room.

“I couldn’t even say goodbye because of Mr. Cha Do-hyuk.”

When I retorted with a displeased expression, Do-hyuk looked at me with a disappointed expression.

“Still, isn’t this better than staying in there?”

I eventually nodded my head in agreement.

Did I just speak Cha Do-hyuk’s name out loud earlier? Fortunately, he didn’t say anything.

And like that, we walked silently down the hallway for a while.

The only loud sound was that of shoes ringing out in the hallway.

                                                ****

The next day, the Empress summoned me back to the palace.

“Were you very surprised yesterday?”

I nodded my head with a stiff face at the Empress’s straightforward question.

I didn’t know she would bring up that incident herself. Wasn’t it a more sensitive issue for their family?

“I was a little surprised, but it’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m a person who can keep my mouth shut.”

I pointed to myself and pressed my chest with my palm as I trembled nervously.

“As you know, I’m a foreigner.”

“But now I’m a proud citizen of the Alpine Empire.”

The Empress breathed a sigh of relief with a satisfied expression at my attitude.

“Didn’t Your Majesty say you wanted to know about your son?”

The Empress then looked at me.

She took a sip of the warm tea prepared on the table and looked at me with an expectant look.

Last time, we mainly talked about the royal family and Do-hyuk.

The story of Erin was only a tiny part of it.

Initially, I had planned to meet The Empress to talk about Erin. Still, instead, she was more 

curious about Do-hyuk.

“You said you want to win over His Highness Reynolds’ heart.”

The Empress nodded her head with a slightly worried expression at my words.

“Then please don’t be an Empress in front of His Highness.”

She tilted her head with a face full of confusion.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Instead of being The Empress, you should be his mother.”

She looked at me with a shocked expression.

“Young Lady, I am The Empress of this country.”

“And you acted as The Empress, not a mother, in front of His Highness Reynolds.”

The Empress seemed taken aback by my words.

Seeing her deep in thought with her mouth closed, I finally relaxed and took a sip of tea with a calm face.

“Even though I appreciate Young Lady Lubiche’s enthusiasm. I cannot abandon this country like that. I am the Empress after all.”

“No, Your Majesty, you seem to have misunderstood me.”

I paused momentarily and carefully chose my words, even though I had prepared advice for this situation.

“What I meant was that you should only abandon the role of Empress, in the presence of His Highness Reynolds, and become a loving mother.”

“That doesn’t mean that Her Majesty will stop being The Empress.”

As I spoke, I noticed an interested expression on The Empress’s face.

“That’s a new perspective. What do you think I should do, Young Lady?”

I pulled out a note from my pocket in response to her question.

Written on it were a couple of Korean recipes for dishes made with ingredients from this world, which I had discussed with the head chef of the Lubiche Mansion after I met with The Empress last time.

“Is this the food that His Highness Reynolds likes?”

I handed the Korean recipe book to the Empress, telling her to start one recipe at a time, starting with what Lord Reynolds likes and listening to his preferences.

I also suggested they have a meal together and talk while eating.

It might be awkward at first for both The Empress and the chef, but they might get used to it eventually.

After all, The Empress had a reason to trust the chef, even if Lord Reynolds didn’t.

“Lady Lubiche knows my child better than I do, even though I’ve spent 26 years with Claude…”

The Empress smiled with a sad expression.

In reality, I had spent only a short time with Do-hyuk. We had only worked together for four years in our past lives.

However, our time together didn’t matter; we would still understand and empathize with each other.

I don’t know everything about Do-hyuk, but I was able to have such an influence on him because I understood and empathized with him.

“Young Lady, I will make sure to repay this favor. Will you come and give me advice like this from time to time in the future?”

I smiled brightly at The Empress’s words. That was what I had hoped for.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

                                             *******

After finishing the final exam at the Imperial Academy, I began preparing for the university entrance examination in earnest with Lady Ovidus, Armand.

“Oh, Lady Lubiche.”

As Armand and I walked down the Academy’s hallway with thick books in our arms, one of Lady Serene’s group members spoke to me.

The Lady who spoke to me was a girl with freckles all over her face and crimson hair tied neatly together.

She reminded me of Anne of Green Gables.

“Here’s an invitation.”

She extended her hand with a red envelope but didn’t budge from where she stood.

I looked at Lady Serene standing next to her.

However, she raised her chin and looked at me with a sneer.

She acted like she would kill me. Why did she suddenly act like we were close friends?

I thought she wouldn’t show her face because of the commotion caused by <Man of Frederica>. Still, Lady Serene looked better than I expected.

Although she seemed more subdued than before, some ladies still followed her around.

They were not the ladies she usually hung out with, just ladies from noble families.

“We’re having an Imperial Academy graduation party at the Serene Mansion.”

When Lady Serene said that, the red-haired Anne next to her nodded her head vigorously.

“Count Serene loves Lady Serene so much.”

My step-father loves me so much too.

I smiled, swallowing my childish feelings.

Armand, carrying fewer books than me, received the invitation instead. 

I had a vague idea why she was giving me the invitation. She clearly wanted to reform her image. 

Did she think people’s thoughts of her would change if she appeared to have a friendship with me?

But I still remembered her interview, which was filled with unreasonable prejudice.

“Lady Serene will be engaged to Prince Verdi right after graduating from the Academy. She’s going to be an Imperial princess. There’s going to be an engagement announcement, so make sure to attend.”

Lady Serene looked at me as if saying, “Did you hear that?” She seemed to want to boast that she would become a princess.

Looking at her like this, she seemed like a little girl without experience. 

I had a strange experience where even my annoying and pent-up emotions cooled down quickly.

“Thank you for the invitation. I’ll definitely attend if possible,” I said.

Lady Serene frowned at my words.

“If possible?” she questioned.

Armand quickly spoke for me.

“The Alpine University entrance exam is coming up soon.”

Lady Serene sent me a sympathetic look, but she looked down at me again.