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Dorothea hardened her expression and asked.
Nereus has been secretly ignoring Dorothea until now.
In particular, the power of the spirits was his only ability that could not help him in front of Dorothea.
Therefore, it seems that he couldn’t recognize the power of Dorothea’s spirit.
“I’m sorry if you were offended. But the spirit of the princess that I saw in the debutante was so surprising. Isn’t everyone like that?”
Nereus looked around and asked, and they nodded.
It is natural for ordinary people to want to see a spirit as something like mysterious magic.
“Obviously, when I saw the princess in Cerritian, you couldn’t handle the power of the spirits, and this sudden awakening is so unusual that even I, who can deal with the spirit, feel curious.”
Nereus was suspicious of her based on reasonable guesses.
Dorothea’s awakening was against the theory about the power of spirits that students in Episteme had studied before.
The time of awakening and the magnitude of the awakened power.
‘It’s strange that no one doubts.’
Dorothea could understand why Nereus was so openly trying to test her.
As Nereus suspected, her power is not really hers.
Perhaps he and others have these doubts as well.
However, there are not many opportunities to meet Dorothea, and they don’t have the courage to ask her, who is a Princess.
Or, since they are ordinary people who have never dealt with spirits, they just thought, ‘There must be something I don’t know.’
“Isn’t it easier for the princess to summon a spirit than to smile? Like this, I can summon spirits and show it in front of people.”
With a single gesture of Nereus, blue-colored water spirits hovered around him.
A blatant provocation.
The nobles admired the spirit of Nereus and turned to Dorothea.
Expectations as if Ubera couldn’t stand still in front of Hark’s provocation.
And curiosity, somewhat sympathetic to Nereus’ doubts.
The situation was moving toward becoming strange if she didn’t respond to Nereus.
“The reason I don’t want to reveal the spirit that because I don’t want to let a spirit that has no use other than lighting determine the value of a person.”
At Dorothea’s words, Nereus’s forehead wrinkled, and the nobles murmured.
“Does that mean denying the authority of the imperial family?”
“No. I want to say that the authority of the imperial family is not determined by just one spirit, Prince Nereus.”
For the imperial family to be imperial, it must have real authority, not a spirit.
The ability to bear the weight of everyone’s life and take responsibility.
That is what determines the emperor’s qualifications.
“Pride with a spirit doesn’t qualify you as a ruler, Nereus.”
Dorothea’s beliefs didn’t change before and after the return.
There were times when she was shaken by Raymond’s spirit, but now she knows.
The reason Dorothea Milanaire was a tyrant was not because she couldn’t summon a spirit, but because she couldn’t take responsibility for the lives of the people as emperor.
What you need is ‘living a good life’, another word for ‘becoming a good emperor’.
Dorothea made eye contact with Nereus and smiled, and Nereus gritted his teeth.
“So, are you avoiding it to the end?”
Dorothea shook her head when Nereus raised the corners of her lips.
“Of course not, I cannot disappoint so many people’s expectations.”
A ruler should grant the wishes of her people.
Dorothea leaned toward him and whispered in his ear.
“Don’t be afraid, open your eyes and look.”
A voice softly drifted into Nereus’ ear.
At the same time, a strong light, like a firecracker exploding in front of his eyes, spread like an explosion.
Nereus saw a wave of light spreading behind Dorothea like the tail of a giant peacock.
The light that filled the salon took everyone’s breath away and overwhelmed the crowd.
The light that filled the salon and spread out quickly wrapped around Dorothea, and her dazzling blonde hair fluttered and shimmered with the power of the spirit.
Nereus was numb at the power of the strong spirit.
‘I hate to admit it, but Dorothea Milanaire, who deals with spirits, was beautiful enough to make my heart flutter.’
If there were a spirit king, a god, or anything more than a human being, he wondered if they would look like her.
And due to the overwhelming spectacle, even those who did not know about the spirits knew that Dorothea’s power was stronger than that of Nereus.
“Did you really need to prove yourself weaker than me, Nereus?”
Dorothea asked with a smirk.
Nereus stiffened, unable to even contort his face at the insult.
Others couldn’t even talk about her amazingly gorgeous power.
At that moment, a single soft applause broke the silence.
Dorothea turned her head and saw a silver-haired handsome man standing at the entrance to the salon.
Dorothea’s heart sank.
Ethan made eye contact with Dorothea and said with a soft smile.
“You are indeed the master of the spirits.”
His voice is so sweet.
After he praised Dorothea, others followed him to applause.
It was also a beat late that Nereus’ face was changed.
But Dorothea, amidst all the praise and applause, just stared at Ethan.
Thump, thump, as soon as she saw him, her heart went on a rampage.
Ethan was wearing a black tailcoat to play the violin today, and his silver hair was neatly tied with a black ribbon, as he always did whenever he played.
Ethan, who had a slightly calmer atmosphere than usual, was still elegant and beautiful.
With him, Dorothea’s feelings for the sloppy and cheap became clearer.
The emotions that had been complicated for several days were answered.
It’s as simple as looking at his face again.
‘I don’t know how deep this feeling will be or how long it will last, but what is certain is that my heart is beating towards him at this moment.’
When her feelings became clear, Dorothea walked towards him.
And she stopped in front of him.
“I have something to tell you, Ethan.”
* * *
Dorothea asked the servants to show her a small room where she could avoid people’s eyes.
She had Joy stand guard at the door to make sure no one disturbed them.
A quiet room with only the two of them left.
Dorothea turned to Ethan after the door was completely closed.
Then Ethan smiled brightly.
“I am glad that you are using the power of the spirits well.”
Words are spoken as if nothing happened.
Dorothea looked into his eyes. Still so beautiful and he didn’t avoid Dorothea’s eyes.
So her feelings only became clearer.
She hesitated, not knowing how to start the conversation, and finally made up the first sentence.
“Ethan, I’ve been hearing about you the past few days.”
She didn’t know if it was a good sentence to start with, but she continued.
Recently, she had been hearing about Ethan through the servants.
Although she hadn’t seen him since she met him at the restaurant Caro, Dorothea could easily know what Ethan was doing every day.
It was because his every act was the object of interest, and those who met him spread rumors proudly.
Ethan has recently been actively meeting social aristocrats.
Before the return, public interest in him was high, and his popularity didn’t fade.
He spent time with the ladies who had sent him letters even after his date with Monica.
‘That’s why Nereus called Ethan a ‘playboy’ today.’
Not only that, but Ethan also attended social events that invited him and dinners with nobles.
There has already been news that young children who want to marry Ethan are nagging their parents, but the parents are burdened with the poor background Ethan has.
Perhaps those who wanted to catch his attention had already sent him marriage proposals.
‘Before the return, why didn’t I think it was strange?’
Ethan, who is so popular, didn’t marry any woman until he was of late age.
Dorothea just assumed it was because he was playing with a bunch of nobles, or because he wasn’t interested in women.
It’s contradictory. If he had genuine political greed, he would have strengthened his power by joining hands with a nobleman famous for his marriage.
Dorothea was blinded by Theon and didn’t take Ethan’s marriage very seriously and hadn’t really cared.
Perhaps she was more relieved that Ethan was not married.
If he had decided to marry another family, it would certainly be linked to power issues, and she would have to be very careful.
Dorothea didn’t want to be tired because she had to pay attention to his marriage.
‘I have been so mean.’
She didn’t pay that much attention to Ethan, who was always by her side.
‘Can I come and confess this feeling now?’
“You seemed to be doing well….today, too. I didn’t realize you’d already gotten to know people well enough to get a violin recital.”
Dorothea smiled awkwardly.
Ethan didn’t answer her.
‘I seem to be doing well?’
Ethan laughed bitterly inwardly.
‘Wrong. I wasn’t, and that’s why I looked like this.’
The reason he went to the social world was nothing more than a struggle to stay away from Dorothea.
When he saw Theon with Dorothea at the restaurant Caro, he realized that the time had come when he had to give up.
“I…I want Theon to live this time.”
Dorothea and Theon will fill the time he doesn’t know.
Even the most intimate and heated times that he is not allowed to have.