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24. The Way of the Duke’s Lady
The adoption process took place in an instant. The Duke of Shryden verbally requested the adoption from the Emperor of Eliardon, and the Emperor made two documents saying that he orally consented and stamped them. Serben, Ryan, and Yvette were surprised that Lord Shryden had the official seal. It was shaped like a new sole, but a seal was a seal.
“Ahem. Would you put this in the chest of drawers with my bill of lading, Sir Sigres?”
As Serben accepted the imperial document that the parrot handed over with one foot, he looked as if he couldn’t even say anything.
“That, that
 I will.”
“Ahem.”
Shryden 1st flew into the golden cage.
“Oh, then what should I do now? Would it be all right if I continued serving as a court lady at the Empress’ palace as usual, Her Majesty?”
Unfortunately, it was something Lasilia was completely unaware of. Her experience dealing with royalty did not mean she knew enough about the customs or class system of aristocratic society.
“Well. What do you want to do?”
“I am grateful if I can continue to work. It’s just that my status has changed, right? If I don’t have to reveal that I’ve just been adopted into the ducal family, I’d like to just stay like this.”
Ryan interrupted.
“Then make her a maid. It is strange that the daughter of a duchy continues to do the hard work that courtiers do.”
“La-la
lady-in-waiting? Me?”
Yvette pointed to her face with a frightened expression.
“Gee, that can’t be. I am that
”
“You are the daughter of a Duke, now. Although you’re an adopted child.”
“Sure
 that, yes
? Woe, Her Majesty the Empress?”
Somehow Yvette seemed to be having trouble breathing, so Lasilia gave her a pat on the back.
“If you want, do it. 
 No, I’d rather you do that.”
Short thoughts, quick decisions. Yvette was the only person who knew about Pippi. She had no one more helpful than Yvette when it came to taking care of Pippi for the time being. If she became a court lady rather than a maid, she could keep her by her side without having to deal with other maids, so her secrets would be safer.
“That, that, that
 Then I’m very thankful, th-thank you.”
Yvette still stuttered.
“I, really
 It’s like a dream
 I’m not too crazy, but I think I’m very happy. It’s something I’ve never thought of
 I am not a knight, but I will be loyal with my life, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“No. You don’t have to go that far. You just have to do your part.”
Lasilia gently squeezed Yvette’s hand and let it go. That small gesture contained the meaning of taking good care of Pippi, who had no choice but to leave it here.
“My role
 ah yes I will keep this in mind, Her Majesty.”
Since she became the adopted daughter of the Duke of Shryden, the northern tower was also Yvette’s home. She decided to become a formal lady in-waiting from tomorrow, and Yvette remained in the northern tower.
* * *
Even while returning to the Empress’ palace from the northern tower, Lescal did not let go of Lasilia’s hand.
‘Strange. Why the hell is holding my hand?’
That kept bothering her.
‘This person is doing this because of the Blue Moon, but
’
There was still no room for the moonlight to shine outside. However, after a little more time and the sun went down, the disparate deep blue moonlight would bathe the whole night.
“You know what?”
The Emperor’s voice broke through the sound of footsteps.
“What do you mean?”
“That you never once asked me to let go of your hand after I asked you to.”
“That is
 okay.”
This was why she was afraid of the debt of her heart. But it was something worth paying for. She knew that what Lescal did was not so simple. The words that she wanted to do the favor no matter what the risk was still making her heart tingle.
‘I know it’s for contact. Still a bit
’
Maybe it’s too friendly. Was it necessary to be so kind?
“So I feel very good right now.”
“
”
Lasilia missed her reply when Lescal lowered his head abruptly.
“If there is anything I ask of you in the future, I hope you will always do it.”
“That
 All right.”
“You have to do it. Definitely, definitely.”
“
”
With that said, it sounded like asking for favors was rather patronizing.
‘It’s too strange.’
The relationship between the Empress and the Emperor was too strange. She felt like everything she had been told was a lie.
‘Is it not just instincts that remain in a blue moon, but also emotions?’
In any case, their exact relationship would be known after the Blue Moon was over.
“If I have a favor to ask of you, I will tell you without hesitation.”
Lasilia concealed her confusion with those words. The night came faster than expected.
* * *
“Tonight you will have to sleep in one room. As you know from what you went through yesterday, even if you reject His Majesty, it’s useless anyway.”
“I get it.”
It was something she was determined to do. It would be useless to be in the same space since she wasn’t the real one, but she couldn’t avoid it. It wasn’t that the mutation wasn’t scary. However, she also knew that when the moonlight faded, the Emperor would quickly return to his original body. She would only have to hold out somehow until dawn. Besides, there was a corner to believe in one thing. Perhaps because of his instinct toward her companion, the Emperor did not harm her even when he underwent mutations. Yesterday and today, too. The Emperor, who had transformed into a demon, simply embraced the person he believed to be his companion. So tonight it would be alright.
“Oh, um
 Are you willing to accept it?”
The one who panicked was Ryan, who deliberately and coercively spoke to her.
“Wasn’t the sir in a position to criticize me for not fulfilling my role in the Blue Moon? Why are you surprised?”
“I know, right
 It’s time to get used to it, but it keeps surprising me. It must be because it is so different from before.”
“Comparing things I can’t remember is something I can’t answer. Deliver my answer to His Majesty, and bring him to the Empress’ palace when the time is right.”
“I understand, Her Majesty the Empress. Then
 Oh, one more thing.”
Ryan, who was about to turn his back and leave the bedroom of the Empress’ palace, turned her body around again.
“Why did you go to the North Tower? No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think there’s anything to see there.”
She thought of the answer in advance in case someone asked. It was a little surprising that the person was Ryan, not the Emperor.
“When I have time, I look around the palace. I wonder if it will help bring back memories. I just came across the North Tower by accident.”
“It was a coincidence, but why did so many guards never see His Majesty?”
“That’s their business, not mine to explain.”
“Well, that’s not wrong. We need to kill more guards, oh.”
Ryan, who seemed to think about something for a moment, asked again.
“I’m asking just in case, do you still have the same impression of His Majesty’s appearance even if you look at His Majesty’s side during the day instead of at night?”
“Why do you have to ask that?”
“I was just genuinely curious. Night and day can be different, right? Her Majesty may have been very surprised when he suddenly broke down the door and entered.”
It was not very comfortable to ask questions about people’s appearance. To Lasilia, who was accustomed to the silence and darkness of a room without a mirror, a person’s appearance did not mean much. The moment to be seen was short and there was a lot of time to forget.
‘In the case of that person, though, the memory lasts longer because it’s so intense.’
Besides, today’s day was better than last night’s. Probably because her bones didn’t protrude, which made her look less painful.
“Because it was daytime, there wasn’t much variation. I’m glad he suffered less.”
“Ah
 I didn’t expect you to say that. So you’re saying you haven’t changed your mind?”
“There is no reason to change. It’s not like His Majesty has changed just because he went through a mutation for a while.”
The change in his appearance was nothing compared to the growing friendliness of him.
“It seems that His Majesty’s transformation has no effect on Her Majesty the Empress. All right.”
Ryan lightly bent her back.
“Then I will bring His Majesty.”
Ryan closed the door and stepped out. Alone and without the help of her maids of honor, Lasilia, who had changed into her nightgown, opened the window and sat down on the single-use sofa underneath, gazing at the blue moon. Her time at the imperial palace was risky, but there were also good points. Because she could look out of the window at any time.
* * *
“There is nothing special about the northern tower. Not yet.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“It’s hard to believe, but the Duke of Shryden’s story is true. The library manager confirmed it.”
“He had no doubts. It’s just what the Emperor would do.”
“In case you didn’t know, I also investigated the court lady’s background. Her mother died when she was young, and her father also died in the army. She has two younger siblings and both are still minors. She is not in extreme poverty, but she is not in a position to refuse money either. And it has been confirmed that she worked at the Imperial Library.”
“Oh, must have been a bookworm. So, she did everything she could to read something like the Imperial Records. Haven’t you read all the books in the library?”
“
”
Serben, who was in charge of escorting the Empress, could not escape from the Empress’ palace. And Ryan was on her way to the Emperor’s palace, humming her lightly now. After staring at Ryan, who had no intention of stopping her steps, Serben eventually stopped in front of her.
“Wait, Ryan.”
“Why?”
“We have something to talk about. Aren’t you worried?”
“What is there to worry about?”
“What? Does it make sense that Her Majesty the Empress coincidentally happened to be alone with a court lady in the northern tower? Of course not, what’s going on? It’s something she has to do away from Your Majesty and our eyes.”
Ryan clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“So what? What, you want to overturn everything that has already been done? His Majesty will take good care of it.”
“No, even if His Majesty is like that
 Neither you nor I can do that. We should either keep an eye on that palace guard or something. I naturally thought you would bring it up first.”
“Oh, did you?”
Then, without warning, Ryan kicked Serben in the shin. Serben held onto his shin and held back the scream that was about to explode.
“Ugh! Why, kick it, yes. In words
 You can do it.”
Serben barely spit it out with arrogance.
“Because you acted so stupid today. At times like this, if I hit you once, You’ll come to your senses.”
“I, what?”
“Tsk tsk
 That palace maid has now become a lady-in-waiting. As the daughter of the Duke of Shryden. Don’t you know what that means?”
“Hmm?”
Serben let go of his shin and looked at Ryan.
“Didn’t she just ask him to make her a lady-in-waiting?”
“Right now, the maid of honor in the Empress’ palace is the Marquis of Fashad.”
“So?”
“What will the Marquise look like when the Duke’s daughter suddenly appears? To say that she is Her Majesty’s maid of honor is to say that she is number two in the social world. Of course, all requests to Her Majesty have to go through the Marquis Fashad.”
Serben’s expression changed.
“Then?”
“If there is something suspicious about the daughter of the Duke of Shryden, the eight ladies-in-waiting will take care of it without us trying.”