/
“I wanted to do it earlier, but there were people so I held back.”
‘We didn’t even have a lesson today, but the reason I came here using sheet music as an excuse was because I missed her.’
As he rubbed her clasped hands, Dorothea nodded.
Ethan’s lips swept over hers as soon as her permission was given.
“Hmph….!”
Ethan cradled her head in his arms. He stroked her gently and lovingly, and Dorothea savored him as sweet as it made his head dizzy.
Dorothea swallowed his hot breath, feeling him settle deeper and deeper into her heart.
She was learning from Ethan not only to play the piano but also to love.
How they make each other’s hearts beat, how they share each other’s temperature, and how they feel the preciousness of life.
“I love you, Dorothea.”
He whispered, so close their hot lips were almost touching.
“I love you too, Ethan.”
Ethan kissed her again at Dorothea’s response.
There is no end to people’s greed, so he wants to be her lifelong companion.
‘I don’t want to come over every few days, see her for a while, and then have to leave.’
‘I intensely wanted a life in which we never parted every day, woke up in one bed, lived under one roof, and spent the night together.’
‘I also thought it would be nice to have a child with her.’
He will love the child too.
Unlike his mother, who sold him to the duke, and Bronte and his wife, who tried to hide him from people, He wanted to give love to his child.
Don’t let him/her suffer such a wound. Proud to be the son or daughter of Dorothea and Ethan.
But for some reason, if he thought about it, Ethan felt like he was going to cry.
Even though Dorothea is in his arms, the future seems far away. It’s like a mirage in an impossible fantasy.
So he hugged Dorothea tighter as if trying to catch the uncaught rainbow.
* * *
“By the way, Ethan. Why are you here today?”
Dorothea and Ethan sat next to each other and talked, still holding each other’s hands.
Their bodies were close enough to feel each other’s warmth.
“Sometimes there are days when I can’t bear to see the princess. Just like today.”
“Actually, me too.”
There were times when she suddenly wanted to see Ethan in an unexpected place.
“Besides, the princess’s birthday is not far away. and I was hoping we could spend some time together that day… but it seems that the Emperor has taken you away.”
“Should I refuse?”
“If you refused His Majesty’s banquet and met me, wouldn’t my head be left behind?” Ethan exaggerated and laughed.
However, as he said, she can’t refuse the banquet that Carnan will hold and go to meet Ethan, who was officially a stranger to her.
So Dorothea was even more dissatisfied with Carnan’s decision.
‘He only sends gifts every year, so why does he have to hold a banquet this year?’
“His Majesty seems to be paying more attention to the princess than before.”
Ethan grinned as he looked at Dorothea’s dissatisfied expression.
“He is probably interested in the spirits, not me.”
“Still, I think it’s a good thing, His Majesty is starting to care about the princess.” Ethan said.
Of course, the relationship between Carnon and Dorothea is not so good that it is difficult to recover, but it is meaningful that Carnan, the father and emperor, acknowledges Dorothea.
At least because Carnan won’t leave a tragic will like before her return.
“There are only a few years left. The time of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Yes…”
Dorothea remembered Carnan’s death before returning.
Before returning, Carnan died of a tumor. It had only been a month since his condition worsened.
The malignant tumors inside the organs could not be cured even by the most authoritative imperial doctors.
At that time, Hark boldly waged war aimed at internal chaos after hearing that the emperor was in critical condition.
Raymond stood by Carnan’s dying side, while Dorothea went out into battle to trample the cheeky Hark.
‘It’s really not much time left.’
It may seem harsh, but she wasn’t heartbroken over Carnan’s death, not before the regression, not now.
But she did feel compassion for Carnan, seeing him worry and plan for the future every day, not knowing what it would be.
Carnan always thinks of the future. The future of the empire, the future of the imperial family, the future of oneself.
No matter how hard he tries, he tries to prepare and create a future that will never come to him.
He thought of the future until the day he died.
His words are still unforgettable.
“Protect Prince Raymond from Princess Dorothea.”
He was worried about the future after his death.
He was afraid that the greedy Dorothea, who was leading the army, would eat the kind Raymond.
He probably didn’t want his will to reach Dorothea. Without knowing that Ethan could steal it.
‘He is not going to leave his will like that this time, but…’
‘What would he do if I told him that in a few years not too far away, he would die of a tumor?’
Dorothea was curious but soon stopped wondering.
He is a rational and productive person. Perhaps knowing that fact, he will also arrange and decide the affairs of the imperial family and the empire in advance for the future after his death.
He won’t say he was sorry for her. Because that’s a thing of the past.
“I shouldn’t have said that.”
Ethan saw Dorothea’s face, somewhat shady.
“No. It’s fate, after all.”
Dorothea shook her head.
Then Ethan changes the subject as if trying to revive the atmosphere.
“Ah, I had a conversation with the nobles yesterday about the reform of the post office.”
“Really?”
“Everyone said it was a great idea. If we make it a little more controversial, the post office will definitely be actively reviewing it and thinking about it.”
“Thank you, Ethan. actually… I was a little curious.”
What it looks like after the postal code and stamp system was created.
‘Because in my last life, I couldn’t even implement it and it ended.’
“When I’m done with the post office, I will try to spread the story little by little about the other things that the princess had in mind.”
“The other things?” Dorothea asked.
“The general commercialization of small deposit certificates of the imperial family through general merchants, companies, and the army. If that happens, the national treasury will be able to afford it, and instead of the heavy blancs and benny of today, it will be possible to trade with deposits like money. It is guaranteed by the imperial family, so people will trust it.”
Ethan mentions something Dorothea had been envisioning for a long time.
Right now, both Blanc and Benny were metal coins that were uncomfortable to carry around.
For this reason, the imperial family used a deposit certificate with the imperial seal stamped on it when making a big transaction.
It was very easy to trade with a deposit certificate, and it was already used as currency in large transactions.
However, due to the large amount of the deposit, it was inconvenient to conduct general transactions during business.
Dorothea wants to miniaturize it so that it can be used in the private sector as well.
“The most important thing is to ensure that counterfeiting is impossible. Printing on paper is easy to counterfeit. And it’s difficult to solve a lot at once. The price could go up rapidly.”
“It would be better to start by breaking up the current high-value deposits into smaller ones. We should also prepare to retrieve Blanc and Benny from the market.”
“That part could be reviewed by the finance officers.”
Ethan nodded and looked into Dorothea’s face. She looks much more happy than before.
She’s been putting up with it and enjoying taking care of the Empire’s affairs to the bone.
* * *
As her birthday approached, Dorothea felt that her birthday was quite different from the previous year.
“The Marquis Dmitry also sent you a present, Princess!”
A few days before her birthday, gifts began to arrive that she hadn’t expected.
‘Isn’t this more like a bribe than a gift?’
Dorothea thought, looking at the overly expensive gifts.
‘How many of the senders of this gift would really congratulate me on my birthday? Is there any?’
‘I think we should open a charity bazaar.’
Dorothea thought as she looked at the presents she had not opened.
And on her birthday.
“Princess! Hurry up and get ready!”
Dorothea has been busy since morning with the preparations for the banquet that Carnan had planned to hold.
She wore the dress that Carnan had sent her as a gift and wore accessories.
She hadn’t realized it when she was nervous about wearing it in front of Ethan, but both the necklace and the dress were much heavier than she remembered.
‘It’s crazy to go to a banquet wearing this outfit. My neck is heavy and my chest is tight, how can I enjoy a banquet?’
‘I’m going to be starving all day.’
Besides, the dress was exposed to her shoulders, so it was obvious that she was going to be cold.
There is also a limit to wearing a shawl, so she has to stand by a warm fire at a dinner party.
It was times like these that she admired the aristocracy of society.
There are so many talented people who wear these clothes every day. They are artists who endure their pain for beauty.
‘As expected, the fabric is luxurious, so it’s fancy, it has a subtle feeling.’
‘That’s how heavy it is…’
The tightly woven fabric was thick and heavy, so she felt like she was dragging a sandbag.
Clara smiled as Dorothea moved around the hem of the heavy dress.
“I want to try on clothes like this at least once, but strangely, the princess has not liked clothes like this since she was young.”
“Would you like to try on Clara?”
‘Maybe once you wear it, you’ll be like, ‘Oh! I’ve been wearing it!’ And I don’t want to wear it again.’ Dorothea thought.
“No! How can I wear a princess dress! Even the precious dress that His Majesty the Emperor gave you! Besides, it won’t fit my body.”
Clara waved her hand and Dorothea laughed.
“By the way, is Master Ethan coming today too?”
Clara asked, daring to pin Ethan.
“Why are you asking that?”
“If he just comes, our princess will be very happy~”
Clara smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Then Joy, behind her, shook her head.
‘Everyone knows!’
They know the relationship between Dorothea and Ethan.
‘No, it’s strange that they don’t know unless you’re an idiot.’
People who have known for a long time that Ethan likes Dorothea, how can they not know when they see him go in and out of her palace?
But even knowing that, Dorothea pretends to not know.
“I don’t know. I don’t know if Ethan is coming or not!”
If she admitted it publicly, it would be hard to fix.