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“But, after all, the imperial family left the princess here alone and has not been properly looking for her for years…”
“Princess has recovered her health, but the princess should be a little more proactive in showing her face to the imperial family instead of when she is here like this.”
‘They worried about me even though I didn’t want them to do that.’
‘I am no greed? I?’
‘It seems that I hadn’t been living my life wrong. To hear that I, who lived with the label of being greedy, no longer has greed.’
Dorothea smirked.
‘Is it the result of being nice?’
“Since there is no one here to give advice to Princess, it seems that Princess is innocent without knowing the politics yet…”
“Stop.”
Dorothea cut off their advice coldly.
“I don’t really want to talk about that.”
‘I already know and it’s not as easy as you think.’
To them, Dorothea may be a young princess who has just entered her teens, but she has already passed through a long black tunnel and was here.
But they did not know that.
“But if it goes on like this, all the famous nobles in the Lampas will ignore the princess, right?”
“Right. I’m saying this with the heart of being a brother and a parent of the princess. In particular, nobles who have graduated from Episteme are never as humble as we are. Everyone’s nose is so high that it can penetrate the clouds and touch the sun.”
‘I know, I know everything!’
Dorothea bit her lip. Then Ethan poked his head under the railing and smiled.
“You must have been very angry because of me because you got wet with tea. You keep saying it even when the princess tells you to stop.”
It was a subtly friendly tone, so it was difficult to tell whether it was meant to quarrel or comfort.
“You must dry your clothes and your hair again. Would you like to come inside?”
Ethan naturally knew how to get them out of Dorothea’s sight. At Ethan’s words, the nobles murmured for a moment, then tried to walk inside to clean up their wet clothes and hair.
At that moment, Dorothea saw a servant running screaming from the entrance of Count Duncan in the distance.
“Everyone! Everyone, come forward and line up! The emperor’s carriage has arrived!”
‘His Majesty the Emperor?’
Dorothea looked up and saw the entrance to the garden in the distance. She saw knights on horseback and a splendid carriage approaching. A flag that symbolizes the spirit of light. It was definitely the coat of arms of the imperial family.
Dorothea’s heart pounded.
Why did the emperor’s carriage come all the way here?
“Stefan!”
Dorothea turned quickly, and Stefan nodded quietly. Dorothea hurried down to the first floor with Stefan.
The nobility of the salon had already gathered at the entrance.
“Did His Majesty the Emperor come all the way here?”
“There was no message…!”
Not only Dorothea, but the others, too, panicked, and quickly checked their body.
When they barely lined up, the carriage stopped at the Count’s entrance.
“Everyone be polite!”
The Count’s door opened, and the knights lined up and entered.
It was the Knights of the Royal Family to which Stefan belonged, the Knights of Brilliance.
And followed by a high-ranking official of the imperial family with the emperor’s decree.
Dorothea was glad he wasn’t Carnan.
‘It’s probably not because of me.’
Dorothea thought that he must have come because of another nobleman, or Stephan.
After getting off the carriage, he crossed the bowed people and stopped in front of the Count’s main gate. The place where the minister’s gaze suddenly turned to the place where he could see at a glance as large as a distance was Stefan, and Dorothea below him.
“Princess Dorothea Milanaire is the lifeblood of all things in the Empire, the original contractor, and the executor of the spirits. honor the decree of His Majesty the Emperor, Father of Ubera, who is the light that dispels all darkness.”
The minister shouted in front of the crowd with his head straight up.
‘Are so many people really coming down because of me?’
While Dorothea panicked, people made a way for Dorothea, and the road split in both directions.
Dorothea’s heart began to beat.
‘I couldn’t even guess what was written on the letter in the minister’s hand.’
‘But in my experience, I’ve never had a good experience with Carnan.’
Dorothy hesitated, and Stefan looked down at her quietly. It was not something that could be avoided.
In the end, Dorothea stood in front of her, clutching the hem of her dress with both hands, instead of holding the decree.
When Dorothea showed her manners, the minister opened the emperor’s decree.
“The Emperor of Ubera, Carnan Milanaire, commands.”
The minister read it aloud so that everyone could hear it.
“Princess Dorothea Milanaire has recovered her health, so there is no reason to stay in the detached palace. Princess Dorothea Milaneer must be faithful to her responsibilities as a member of the imperial family…”
Dorothea stood still in front of him, listening to Carnan’s decree.
‘Member of the imperial family. duty assigned. It’s not very comfortable.’
‘Even if you pretend you don’t know, you can always mention my name when you need me.’
The minister listed the duties Dorothea must do as a member of the imperial family. None of those rights were given to Dorothea.
“Therefore, Princess Dorothea Milanaire follows the decree and immediately returns to the Lampas.”
Only duties and orders until the end. Instead of reading all of Carnan’s decree. he rewound it, closed it, and held them out to Dorothea. Dorothea stood still, staring at the splendid decree covered in red silk.
Dorothea could feel the hot gaze of the people surrounding her and the edict. Those who had just advised Dorothea to go up to the Lampas looked at each other in amazement.
But Dorothea wanted to tear off Carnan’s bullshit.
But it was an act of treason against the emperor. Dorothea did not want to renew the bondage of treason.
‘Cowardly.’
Dorothea clenched her teeth. An irresistible curse.
Dorothea bowed her head in front of him and held the decree with both hands.
“The carriage is already ready. Let’s go straight to the Lampas.”
“But…”
“It is His Majesty’s orders. I’ll serve you without any inconvenience.”
Instead, the minister gave her a hard gaze.
“Give me time to clean up too.”
“His Majesty has asked me to bring the princess ‘without delay’.”
He said this strictly.
It was a tight schedule to leave immediately to arrive in the Lampas within this month.
“You don’t have to worry about everything you need for your trip.”
The Carriage was already loaded with light travel luggage for Dorothea. It seemed that he had already gone to the private palace to pick up Dorothea.
Clara and the other servants will organize the rest of the detached palace work.
Dorothea clenched her fists.
‘Aren’t you supposed to give me time to say goodbye?’
‘I lived here for many years. With the exception of a few who came down from the Imperial Palace like Clara, most of the servants of the detached palace were from this area, so we wouldn’t go up together.
Can’t I even say thank you to them?
‘Joy and Po…’
People who are not the Imperial servant cannot enter the Imperial Palace. To become a servant of the imperial family, you need the permission of the emperor.
If Joy and Po are left alone like this, they will have to go back to the Black Village, because they have no place to stand in the detached palace.
And their father will treat the escaped children more than ever before.
“You know that His Majesty the Emperor personally sent a letter the other day.”
As Dorothea hesitated, the minister urged her, as if nothing was sudden.
“I definitely wrote a reply of rejection and sent it.”
In the letter, it was clearly engraved that she would not go back.
Then he nodded his head.
“That’s why I came to pick you up.”
It didn’t come up on its own.
It seems that the problem was that she refused the emperor’s words the other day. So, the minister spoke in a formal and hard tone. He thought Dorothea would take the time to return to the detached palace.
“I must carry out the orders of His Majesty the Emperor.”
A minister who could not disobey Carnan’s orders could not be flexible.
“Then give me a moment.”
‘Even if I can’t stop by the detached palace, I can take a moment to talk right now.’
So he gave Dorothea permission until that time.
Dorothea borrowed a pen and paper to write to the Countess for a while.
‘It was unfair and upsetting that I could only say goodbye like this.’
Dorothea pressed her words of thanks on top of the letter. She said she would come back if he had a chance.
Next, Dorothea wrote to Clara about how to deal with the things in the detached palace and how to go about getting Joy and Po into the imperial palace.
Dorothea, who had written the long letter, stood up to find someone to deliver it while the ink dried.
Then, before she could even leave, Ethan approached.
“Can I deliver that letter to the detached palace?”
“You?”
“Among the people gathered here, I think I went to the detached palace the most to play.”
Ethan said honestly.
When Dorothea hesitated, Ethan added.
“Don’t worry. If the princess entrusts me with the task, I will do it properly.”
He looked into her eyes, asking Dorothea to trust him. without trembling an eyebrow.
‘I was angry last time, so you won’t think of anything else.’
Dorothea remembered Ethan crying and begging her not to hate him. After all, there was no one else to ask for more than Ethan.
Dorothea finally nodded.
“I would appreciate it if you would, Ethan.”
Dorothea folded the dry ink letter, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to him.
“If you tell Clara, she will take care of it.”
Upon receiving the letter, Ethan nodded.
After hesitating for a while, not knowing what to say, he parted his lips.
“Congratulations, Princess.”
“Congrats?”
“You have returned to Lampas.”
“Ah…Yes. Thank you.”
It wasn’t a good thing for Dorothea at all, but in the eyes of others, it would be something to celebrate.
“I was grateful that the princess came down to Cerritian.”
Ethan bowed his head.
By the way, Dorothea said goodbye to Ethan too.
“It’s been fun, Ethan.”
“Please don’t say goodbye as if we will never see each other.”
“Don’t worry. I will see you again.”
Dorothea laughed.
Regardless of his concerns, Dorothea and Ethan will surely meet again someday.
Then Ethan laughed.
“Are you talking about the debut?”
‘Oh yeah. He asked to be my partner When I debuted.’
Dorothea, who had forgotten her promise for a moment, nodded.
“Until then, you must stay healthy. I will be waiting for that day.”
Ethan waited for a definite answer, staring persistently into Dorothea’s eyes.
He seemed afraid of where Dorothea would go.
‘Do you hate your only friend being away from you?’