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A fancy banquet hall.
Dorothea followed Karnan right next to him and greeted the nobles.
Carnan took Dorothea to greet the nobles
“She couldn’t go because she was so stubborn that she didn’t want to go to Episteme. She was smart, so she rebelled like that.”
Carnan didn’t forget to praise her before the nobles.
It’s not that she couldn’t go to Episteme, it’s that she didn’t want. Carnan is trying to mitigate the weakness of her non-Episteme origins.
Fortunately, it was widely known that she got 0 points on the Episteme transfer exam, so the nobles responded by nodding their heads with a satisfied smile.
“Even after a long recuperation, you look very healthy!”
“Children are weak and get sick easily. Now she is healthy enough to wield a sword.”
Dorothea stood still and Carnan said that.
He didn’t want to reveal that she had chosen to live in convalescence for so long without reason.
He is concerned about the rumors that he abandoned the princess in a distant palace and neglected her.
“I’ve been thinking about it since her debut, the princess is really beautiful!”
“It’s a virtue that she resembles her mother.”
Carnan smiled and nodded.
Dorothea was too busy adjusting to this unfamiliar situation to turn to Ethan.
It was the first time. Carnan’s saying something for her.
“The princess looks just like the Empress’s, Majesty.”
“You’re talking nonsense.”
When she was younger, if anyone said Dorothea resembled Empress Alice, Carnan would cut them off like a knife.
It was Carnan who wouldn’t give her a single glance even if she was pushed aside at a banquet or party.
But today, he was doing something he never did before.
This made Dorothea very upset.
‘I can really be congratulated on the Empress’s death anniversary…?’
She felt anxious that something bad was about to happen.
Dorothea wasn’t the only one surprised by Carnan’s change of attitude. The nobles who attended the banquet looked at Carnan and Dorothea with bewildered expressions.
The only reason they were all here today was because they had cleared their schedules to pay their respects to the empress on the Empress’s death anniversary.
However, the schedule was changed to a banquet at once.
Everyone thought that Princess Dorothea’s birthday banquet would never have happened in the history of the Empire.
“Did you visit the grave of the empress at midnight yesterday?”
“Yes, obviously, the Crown Prince and the Princess were also present at dawn.”
The emperor didn’t forget the empress. As soon as the anniversary came, he visited Alice’s grave as he does every year.
But as soon as the sun rose, the banquet was held as if nothing had happened, so everyone was surprised.
Besides, he gently accepted the words that the princess and the empress resemble each other.
“It’s a long time ago, and I’m sure you’ve forgotten it by now.”
“Yes. It’s been almost 20 years… In the meantime, I felt sorry for the princess.”
People nodded.
* * *
Carnan’s love for Empress Alice was great from an early age.
It began at Episteme, and Carnan always failed to beat her in the Episteme test.
At the time, Alice was the perfect woman that everyone would recognize. She is an elegant, intelligent, and attractive woman.
Carnan, who was desperately trying to defeat Alice, fell in love with her.
A time when all the noblemen who fell in love with the popular Alice fought with Carnan.
Twenty years ago, he was a much more energetic, passionate, and fearless young man than he is now.
At the imperial ball, where the candidates for the crown princess gathered, he had already taken Alice’s hand.
He even made a garden for her on one side of the imperial palace.
He dug a pond in the empty land, made a creek, planted brier, hollyhock, and willow, and built a rock and made a path.
Exotic expensive koi were brought in and released in ponds, brought small animals and birds, and precious butterflies were also collected.
He personally watched the whole process meticulously for Alice.
He always looked stiff when conducting government affairs, but when he was with Alice, his face was full of happy smiles.
He spent the night with Alice every day and accompanied her when she had to go out.
At that time, there was a long procession of carriages for the empress.
So when the Empress died, everyone was worried about Carnan.
‘Was the Emperor losing his mind?’
After all, he had seen Alice bleed to death with his own two eyes, so they expected the empire to be in turmoil for a while.
In fact, the aftermath was so severe that Carnan fell ill for several days.
There was no smile on his face, and he became sharp and sensitive.
* * *
The years of constant mourning for Alice.
“You loved her so much, but in the end, the dead are forgotten by the living.”
A nobleman clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Ethan was quietly listening to them.
‘Forgetting someone you love?’
He never liked Carnan, but he didn’t agree that Carnan had forgotten Alice.
It is not so easy to forget the death of a loved one.
‘But maybe he could handle it now. Because of the spirit.’
‘Carnan Milanaire with no conscience. Can a person change so easily with just one spirit?’
Ethan looked at Carnan with cold eyes.
It was then that Ethan found Theon Fried waiting his turn on the other side.
Standing with Julia, his gaze was fixed on Dorothea.
Ethan didn’t like that red gaze.
“Hello, Theon Fried.”
So he deliberately approached Theon, speaking to Theon, so he wouldn’t look at Dorothea.
Then his red eyes that had been directed at Dorothea naturally returned to Ethan.
“You don’t seem to be working as an aide today.”
“Ethan Bronte.”
Ethan smiled brightly, and Theon’s eyes became cold and sharp.
“Hello, Julia Delevingne.”
Despite Theon’s sharp reaction, Ethan greeted Julia with a smile.
Julia looked at Ethan and Theon alternately, then nodded in response to Ethan’s greeting.
“Is that a gift in your hand?”
Ethan’s golden eyes looked at Theon’s hand coldly while smiling brightly.
In his hand was a gift wrapped in red silk.
As Ethan’s gaze reached, Theon hurriedly hid the gift behind his back.
“Usually it was sent through a person in advance, but you come to the banquet hall with gifts.”
Ethan shrugged his shoulders as if it was unusual.
Dorothea can’t even carry a gift she received at a banquet while wearing a dress.
It becomes cumbersome to have the servants keep all the gifts, so it is polite to send them in advance.
But to bring it directly like this means that he has a different mind.
“Do you think you can win the princess’ heart, Theon?”
Ethan asked, pretending to be relaxed, but inwardly, Theon’s gift bothered him.
Ethan didn’t forget the handkerchief that Dorothea had kept for a long time.
Even in happiness, he was always afraid. Because he knows how much Dorothea loved Theon Fried.
‘If Dorothea had her heart swayed by that one gift, my heart sank.’
He was not confident.
‘Can I be loved by Dorothea as much as Theon Fried? Will I be able to surpass the one she loved all her life?’
It was Ethan who was by Dorothea’s side now, but he still felt like he had not defeated Theon.
‘It’s not love, but Dorothea is still concerned about Theon’s life. No, is it really not love?’
Ethan sometimes wondered if he might be Theon’s substitute.
Ethan Bronte is accustomed to gaining the upper hand among people, but in front of Dorothea, he is infinitely weak.
‘no…Dorothea rejected Theon and chose me.’
Ethan tried to control the anxiety that rushed in whenever he saw Theon.
‘Dorothea loves me. Now I am her lover.’
Dorothea doesn’t go to see Theon anymore, nor does she talk about Theon first.
Nevertheless, regardless of guilt or debt, she never forgets Theon’s presence in a corner.
Unless Dorothea suffers from amnesia, she will never forget Theon Fried. He already occupies too much of her past.
It may be because of this anxiety that Ethan’s desire for marriage grows stronger every time he sees Dorothea.
‘If I announce to the world that she is my wife and my woman, I don’t think I’ll be anxious anymore.’
A secret love affair, which is only inferred through rumors, cannot calm his anxiety.
However, many obstacles must be overcome so that Ethan, who was born from a bar girl, could sit next to the princess.
The place where Ethan’s gaze turned for an instant, was Emperor Carnan. He will never allow Dorothea to Ethan.
‘Could I hold on to her in the face of opposition and criticism? What if she gets criticized, or suffers and gets tired because of me?’
Therefore, Ethan was always anxious and desperate about Theon Fried’s existence, even though he was next to Dorothea.
To be loved, to protect love.
While countless thoughts filled Ethan’s head, Theon opened his mouth.
“I don’t think my gift is any of your business, Ethan.”
Theon’s reaction made Ethan more concerned with the gift.
“I have told you not to shake the princess with a shallow crush.” Ethan said coldly.
“What if it’s not a shallow crush?”
“Bury it in the grave. Whether it’s a strong liking or a love affair.”
Theon’s face contorted when Ethan smiled at Theon.
Julia’s eyes widened as she watched it from the side.
Standing in front of her is Ethan Bronte, known in the social world for being kind and friendly.
Also next to her is Theon Fried, who was always calm and quiet.
But now, the two were staring at each other with expressions as if they were different people.
As if noticing Julia’s gaze, Ethan smiled softly as he loosened his cold expression.
“Just kidding. It’s polite to give a gift in person.”
“Eh, Ethan too….”
“Of course, I plan to give it to the princess directly.”
Ethan nodded his head lightly at Julia’s hesitation.
Julia kept her mouth shut and she was sure.
‘It was because of Ethan Bronte that Theon was rejected by Princess Dorothea!’
‘Oh My God! The Princess and Ethan Bronte are dating!’
Of course, many people doubted, speculated, and talked about their relationship, but they were not convinced.
Ethan had been hanging out with other young ladies for a while, so she thought Ethan would never be able to hang out with other young ladies like that if he was dating the princess.
‘But….!’
Julia looked up at Ethan, eyes wide with surprise, and Ethan smirked.
It means don’t tell anyone.
Julia nodded, dumbfounded.
Julia wouldn’t be talking about this issue for Theon’s sake.
“Then I’ll have to go and see the princess.”
Ethan turned his head to look at Dorothea.
Ethan turned his head and looked at Dorothea. Dorothea was also looking at the three of them.
Ethan thought about letting Theon greet her first.
He’d have to greet her after Theon so he could see what he’d given her and what they’d talked about.
‘I said happy birthday to her first.’
Before entering the banquet hall. Ethan thought it was childish to care about Theon and keep him in check, but he had no choice, but to do so.
‘I’m getting nervous because of Theon Fried.’
Nevertheless, Ethan hid his anxiety and gave Theon a casual nod of greeting, pretending to be relaxed, and left the place with a more graceful step than anyone else.