The grand banquet centered around the noble ladies qualified to become Empress was a stage for their introductions.
She is the head of the Tran clan.
Countless noble ladies must have asked her to become their chaperone.
Who would she choose?
Seeing Iris troubled without a suitable candidate in mind, Silvia spoke.
“Many noble ladies asked me to support them as their chaperone from behind the scenes, but I refused them all.”
“Why is that?”
“Try to guess.”
With that, she smiled kindly.
Since she invited a guess, Iris pondered even more seriously than before.
The selection requires unmarried noble ladies.
Of course, the clan head counted within that scope.
It wasn’t typical, but not forbidden by regulation...
Could it be...?
Iris’s sky-blue eyes trembled slightly as she looked at Silvia.
She blinked, forcing herself to hide her agitation.
“Madam Grandmother... is participating?”
Silvia’s composure seemed to falter.
Startled, Iris steadied her, and Cedric, who was also lost in thought beside them, chimed in.
“Indeed. It’s about time for Aunt to marry. Isn’t marriage best decided by oneself?”
Still smiling gracefully, Silvia laid her hand gently on Iris’s shoulder and said,
“My dear, why don’t you try participating as well?”
“W-what...? But I...”
Iris was already married.
The selection was only open to unmarried women, and right now that unmarried woman was elegantly brandishing a crossbow.
“Don’t worry. Soon your husband will disappear.”
Horrified, Iris looked at Cedric. He was already holding a sword.
Then, calmly addressing the worried Iris, he said,
“Don’t worry, my lady. I won’t die.”
“My dear, I will do my best for your remarriage.”
Iris’s head spun.
Liliana’s coming-of-age ceremony.
After years of anticipation and preparation, the event was delayed and scaled down to a pitiful size.
‘Still, I did my best.’
Dressed in splendid finery, Liliana’s eyes reddened as tears welled up.
‘No one came.’
Normally, guests would arrive early, gathering before the ceremony began.
Yet, looking around, not a soul was in sight.
Liliana pressed her steward.
“Are they really coming? Why is no one here?”
“Just wait a little longer...”
“That’s impossible. Everyone promised they’d come.”
Even if Liliana was disliked, the noble circles valued punctuality and keeping promises.
‘No one is coming?’
Everyone had RSVP’d, so she had felt assured.
Tick-tock.
The second hand echoed through the empty hall.
‘This can’t be.’
To have a coming-of-age ceremony where no one shows up was a lifelong disgrace.
‘Are they all just trying to surprise me by being late?’
Tick-tock.
Liliana clung to hope as she listened to the clock’s ticking.
Bang—
Exactly at the ceremony’s start time, the door opened like a lie.
‘They must all be coming in together to surprise me.’
Liliana smiled brightly.
“Why is everyone so late—!”
Her innocent smile cracked.
“…What?”
Those who entered were not the nobles invited to the ceremony.
They were servants sent by the guests.
Liliana stared blankly at them.
“We apologize, Lady Valentine. Our mistress could not attend, preparing for the Empress Selection Tournament.”
“Coincidentally, our family too has sent gifts as we cannot attend due to the same preparations.”
Liliana’s beautifully adorned figure made the absence of attendees even more tragic.
“The Empress Selection Tournament?”
Liliana asked with a stiffened face.
“Because of the tournament?”
“Recently, a special invitation was sent separately to ladies qualified to become Empress.”
“That’s right. Our family received the invitation suddenly as well.”
The servants exchanged puzzled looks.
The imperial palace sends special invitations to noble ladies deemed eligible for the Empress position.
Since they sent invitations to all qualified ladies, they assumed Liliana must have received one too.
“Miss Liliana, did you not receive one?”
No, she hadn’t.
“What? Why didn’t I get one?”
Liliana was stunned and couldn’t answer immediately.
‘How could I be the only one not invited?’
But Liliana refused to admit she alone had been excluded.
“Well, then I must have received one.”
“Indeed, Miss Liliana received hers as well. They said they sent them to all engaged ladies too.”
“Who else would receive the special invitation if not me?”
Liliana smiled as usual, nodding.
“I’ve been busy preparing for both the Selection Tournament and my coming-of-age ceremony.”
Forcing a generous smile, Liliana awkwardly opened the gifts the servants brought.
‘This is...’
An ancient dagger for relic display.
Outdated classic necklaces and unusable old hair ornaments.
All were valuable but long out of fashion and impractical now.
The implication was clear.
‘These gifts were sent to me as a dismissal.’
Reading the letters sealed with the gifts made the meaning even more transparent.
‘But if I reject these apology gifts, I’ll lose face.’
Liliana accepted the presents with a joyful face.
“Please thank everyone for me. Tell them I appreciate their thoughtfulness.”
“We will be sure to tell them.”
“Yes, we’ll say you were pleased, milady.”
The servants replied perfunctorily and left.
‘They were all desperate not to be invited.’
Liliana bit her lip hard, realizing her ruined reputation.
‘If I become Empress, no one will dare treat me like this.’
If every other lady received an invitation but Liliana did not, there was only one reason.
‘It’s because of my useless engagement!’
A frail duke—engaged to her only by title, without real power—Duke Davilar.
‘I always thought he was beneath me, but I never expected him to hold me back like this.’
At this moment, there was no news in Liliana’s mind that the noble ladies betrothed to her had all received invitations.
“Li-Liliana.”
It was then.
An awkward young lady hesitantly stepped into the Valentine estate.
Doline Felt.
A fairly plain face, the daughter of a lesser marquis, an insignificant status.
She had always acted servile, offering to serve Liliana.
Until now, Liliana, with a kind heart, had included even low-status Doline in her circle.
“Doline?”
“C-Congratulations on your coming of age ceremony. Did no one else come?”
Doline forced a servile smile and handed over a small gift. Liliana frowned sharply.
“Why are you so late?! You said you’d always listen only to me.”
“Sorry.”
Doline answered Liliana’s question nervously, glancing around repeatedly.
“But really, no one came?”
“Look for yourself!”
Liliana pushed Doline’s shoulder hard and stormed out of the hall.
Left behind, Doline clutched the shoulder she’d been pushed on and watched Liliana leave with a quiet glare.
Despite the sudden announcement that she would descend to the capital, preparations proceeded steadily.
“No! What is the meaning of this!”
“I’m sorry for coming so suddenly, Margaret.”
“No need to apologize. I’m actually very glad!”
The mistress hadn’t forgotten me.
Though still wrapped in the emotions of gratitude, Margaret did not slack off.
Even though it wasn’t her duty, she quickly moved the luggage inside.
Her behavior seemed as if she was hiding it, worried Cedric and I might run away, which made me smile at her cuteness.
Then I sighed deeply.
I never thought it would come to this.
I had wanted to seek medicine to prepare for the impending plague.
But I never imagined Cedric would discover the note I had left with the word ‘capital’ written on it.
Did you want to participate in the selection ceremony that badly?
I had never wished for her to come down here.
Even more so when Silvia heard the news and said,
“I am your chaperone, so I must go with you,”
and followed along.
“The Lilac Estate… it’s truly been a long time.”
“Madam Grandmother.”
The last time Silvia had seen this estate, it was utterly neglected.
The ivy-covered walls, once full of charm, the lively servants bustling about—
She saw none of that now.
The eternal summer memories were being overshadowed by the current state of the Lilac Estate.
Silvia closed her eyes briefly, overcome by painful memories.
Cedric, watching her, spoke.
“If you were feeling unwell, you didn’t have to come.”
His tone was gentle, but the words were not.
Silvia only smiled faintly at that and replied playfully.
“My dear, remarriage wouldn’t be so bad after all.”
“B-both of you, I’m fine…”
I knew by now that their growling was all in jest.
But still,
So fierce…
Was my heart always this timid?
Whenever the two began their verbal sparring, the intensity distracted me completely.
Of course, Silvia and Cedric never expected I found their bickering adorable and thus escalated it even more.
But today, Silvia stopped teasing early—there was no time for it.
“Well, since I’m dealing with Cedric right now, there’s so much to be done.”
“Oh? Is there something you must do?”
“Of course. Since I have become the precious chaperone to my dear young lady, shouldn’t I devote today entirely to her?”
“Devote?”
There was a custom in the empire where a noble lady’s chaperone would give a gift when she reached her coming of age.
It was called a gift of fate, symbolizing the first bond formed outside the family.
“It’s been a while, but I want to form that bond with you. Is that alright?”
Of course, Iris had neither a coming-of-age ceremony nor a chaperone and had never received the gift of fate.
Fate.
Cedric’s promised lake came to mind.
He gifted me fate, and Cedric gifted me a promise.
Some say only blood ties can never be broken, but to me, Cedric and those connected through him were that unbreakable bond.
No matter how many times time paused or moved forward, it was something I could never let go of.
A precious bond.
Biting her lip shyly, Iris smiled wistfully.
It felt awkward to say it aloud, but true feelings must be spoken to be conveyed.
“I… of course I thought so. Even if it’s presumptuous of me.”
Every word dripped with heartfelt emotion.
Silvia felt sorry for Iris.
Though surrounded by many, why did this child seem so lonely? As if only her time had come to a halt.
Silvia gently grasped the fragile hand that seemed about to disappear and guided her forward.
“Let us go.”
Feeling the warmth of Silvia’s touch, Iris nodded.
Cedric, who had been leaning against the carriage, moved to follow but was immediately stopped by Silvia’s sharp command.
“This is a moment for me and the young lady. You shall wait here.”
“That cannot be.”
Yet as Cedric stubbornly tried to step forward, two arms stretched out and firmly pulled him back.
“No.”
“That’s not allowed~”
Jana and Tania.
Cedric stared at them in disbelief but quickly composed himself and looked ahead again.
Iris, seated inside the carriage by Silvia’s side, pressed her face to the window with apologetic eyes.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“…Hah—”
Cedric sighed deeply.
“That’s dangerous. You should sit properly.”
Even in this moment of being left behind, his greatest worry was her safety.
Whether it was a veil clouding his eyes or some enchantment cast upon him, he felt an inexplicable urge to protect her—almost maddening.
After a long moment of watching the carriage carrying the two away, Cedric shook off Jana and Tania as one would dust off their robe.
Since his initial goal was achieved, the two reluctantly released their grip.
While Jana followed Silvia’s instruction to go inside and promised snacks as a reward, Tania lingered.
“Your Grace.”
Cedric answered curtly, “What is it?”
But Tania seemed unfazed.
“You could have refused. Why didn’t you?”
Jana and she were known to be formidable, yet far weaker than Cedric.
After all, was there anyone on this land stronger than him?
Tania considered him a monster, if such a term could be applied to a mortal.
His crimson eyes, suppressing the aura of a fierce beast, gazed indifferently into the void.
“Because my wife looked happy.”
When Iris took Silvia’s hand, Cedric saw her expression.
He realized that the emotions he could not offer, Silvia could.
‘I cannot be the mother she needs.’
He wanted to stand by Iris not as a mother, but as her husband.
And—
“Aunt as well. Because she looked happy.”
Had his own mother been alive, perhaps she would have worn such an expression too.
He did not wish to steal that happiness.
Nothing more than that.
Chapter 99