“I heard you’re busy. Are you free at this time?”

“It’s always similar. But we saw each other every night.”

“I was sleeping. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”

Amelie grabbed Serwin’s hand. She patted Serwin on the back of his wide hand with her thumb. It was only a minor act, but Serwin could see that she was intimate with him. Suddenly, his heart tickled and his frustration quickly disappeared. He thought, “Is this such a good thing?” but on the other hand, he felt very satisfied.

“What about you? How’s the preparation going for the party?”

Amelie’s current situation was known from the report from Chad. The fact that she’s suffering from the disturbances fron Renia. When he heard the news, he had come all the way here on purpose. He wondered if it would be easier for him to ask her more if he asked her about her current situation.

“Uhm, yes. It’s okay.”

“It’s okay?”

Amelie smiled and nodded. Serwin was taken aback by the reaction different from what he expected. He knew she needed his help.

“If there’s anything I can do for you—”

“I’m okay! Mrs. Enard and Milena will help me. There’s Sir Chad too.”

Amelie flatly refused. She was considerate of Serwin so that he would not feel pressured for no reason, but Serwin, who wanted her to rely on him, was upset for a moment.

‘No, why not? I’d be more helpful than a knight or a maid. Why are you saying no?’ 

Serwin looked at the distant servants. They were lowering their heads with pale faces.

‘You’re saying I’m not as reliable as those things?’

He was annoyed at the thought that he was not among the people she depended on. He was so dependent on Amelie, but it didn’t seem like she reciprocated at all. He knew it was narrow-minded to feel bad about something like this, but his feelings weren’t going his way.

“Well, you said you could do it on your own, didn’t you?”

Serwin’s tone became harsh. But Amelie didn’t notice it at all.

“Yes! I can do it! Please trust me.”

Serwin’s face was noticeably darkened by a bright answer. Amelie was embarrassed that she figured it out late.

‘Oh, are you that nervous for me? Well, I’m a little nervous, too.’

Amelie agreed. After studying, it was understandable that other people treated her as a child who had just been put in the water.

‘If I do well this time, Serwin will be relieved too! The most important thing is Serwin’s mental health, so I have to get his trust.’ 

Amelie felt determined but she never dreamed that this very independent side of her would make Serwin the most anxious.

“Don’t worry Your Majesty. I’ll make sure to not make you worry.”

If he stays here any longer, he will explode. Serwin jumped up. Naturally, Amelie’s hand fell. He was hesitant to go, but on the other hand, he felt sorry for himself. It hurt his pride. Amelie must have thought nothing of it.

‘I came here for nothing. I’ll do whatever I want.’ 

Serwin turned and left the garden. He walked faster and faster because he felt stuffy inside. He felt worse than before he met her. His servants chased after Serwin.

******

Mrs Enard chased after Serwin. His pace was so fast that it was hard to keep up with him even if she ran.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

Serwin stopped at her call. He looked at Mrs Enard with cold eyes. It was different from when he looked at her. Mrs Enard was suddenly frightened. She had forgotten for a while because she saw Serwin with Amelie, but he’s still scary.

“There’s something I’d like to talk about Miss Amelie for a moment.”

“What is it?”

Serwin asked back.

“As you have already heard from reports, there is a setback in the party preparations. I hope Your Majesty would like to help.”

“It was Amelie who said she could do well on her own.”

“I know that too.”

Mrs Enard swallowed her dry saliva. When she stood in front of Serwin, her mouth dried up with tension.

“But the opponent is Manvers’ Young Lady. If we keep going like this, we won’t be able to prepare for the party properly. Your Majesty doesn’t want Miss Amelie to be ignored by the nobles, right?”

“You’re arrogant.”

Mrs Enard shook her shoulders and bowed her head. Serwin frowned. Of course, he doesn’t want her to be ignored by the nobles. The problem, however, was that Amelie did not want Serwin to help.

“—Amelie doesn’t want me to step up. Though I’d be more helpful than you guys are.”

Serwin said irritably. As he sounded jealous, Mrs Enard doubted her ears.

“Miss Amelie is doing this because she’s worried about Your Majesty. Your Majesty is busy, so she doesn’t want to make you worry about anything. If Your Majesty doesn’t step in and help out, Miss Amelie won’t say much either.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“If only I could use the budget for the party to my heart’s content—”

“Ha, give money?”

Serwin snorted. It was so rude that he had nothing to say even if she ran away right away. But Mrs Enard did not back down. Even if she went wrong, she showed her firm will to do anything for Amelie.

“…Tell the chief. Ask for anything you want, whether it’s money or something else.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Mrs Enard bowed deeply and thanked. She seemed very happy to help Amelie.

‘How the hell did a woman who only thought about her own stomach change like this?’

Serwin swallowed his admiration inside. Despite the clumsy and anxious appearance in his eyes, Amelie was doing much better than he had thought. It might have been a vain expectation to want her to rely only on him, as he wished. He couldn’t have done it without Amelia, but she isn’t like him.

When he reached that thought, Serwin was somewhat disappointed. At the same time he felt childish and ashamed.

******

A few days later, Caroline received a letter from Mrs Enard. It was about asking her to come to the palace again.

‘Why are you calling me again when I refuse—?‘

The dressing room staff told Caroline not to go. She threatened to go there, saying that the knights of the emperor would be waiting with swords. However, Caroline resisted the disapproval of her staff and went to see Amelie.

It was because the last time she saw Amelie’s sullen face it kept bothering her.

‘Maybe if I refuse twice, she’ll give up.’

While on her way, Caroline also picked up the contact information for a famous dressing room in another city. The capital city was held tightly by Renia, so it would be difficult to hire a dressing room, so she hoped it would be of little help.

“Caroline, thank you for coming today.”

Amelie welcomed Caroline. She didn’t seem to mind being rejected by her at all. Caroline became very comfortable.

“Actually, Mrs Enard invited Caroline because she had something to say.”

“Mrs Enard?”

Caroline looked at Mrs Enard who was bowing slightly.

“I want to show you something, Miss Caroline.”

“Ah, yes.”

“It won’t take long. Please wait here.”

“Yes, that’s nothing.”

Caroline readily accepted her offer. Thanks to Amelie, she feels better and less anxious.

“Thank you for your time.”

Amelie smiled softly. Caroline smiled along with a pleasant smile.

******

Caroline followed Mrs Enard to Amelie’s dress room.

‘Oh, it’s good?’

There were so many good things in her dress room, even though she was fed up with the ladies’ collections. There were fabrics that were all of the finest and difficult to get. The embroidery of the imperial bedmaid was also very beautiful. The dresses were all great, but since they were imperial style, there was no classical feeling.

‘Even if classics have their own charm, I don’t think it would suit Miss Amelie a little. It would be lively and cute if I added something like a ribbon decoration.’ 

Caroline unconsciously assessed the items in the dress room and thought about how to suit her.

“These are the jewels that you own.”

There was a glass display case in the center of the room. A bright light glistened under a clean window without a grain of dust.

“Oh my.”

Caroline unknowingly exclaimed in admiration. All the jewels here were treasures. It wasn’t just big and shiny, each one was a piece of art that went through the hands of a craftsman.

“It’s all a gift from His Majesty to Amelie. She’s not going to use it for the party.”

“I mean, why not? Why don’t you use this pretty one?”

Caroline asked back. Doesn’t she know how fantastic those yellow diamond earrings are if they’re fluttering under a chandelier light?

“His Majesty is going to give her a new jewel. It’s Miss Amelie’s first party and it’s an important day. She can’t go out doing what others have used.”

“—Have you decided what kind of thing it is?”

“Not yet. The accessories should look good on that day’s outfit, right? I’ve been waiting for Caroline to come.”

“….!”

“I think Caroline can give you some advice on making jewelry that suits Miss Amelie. For reference, the budget allocated is about this much—”

Mrs Enard wrote a number over the glass display case. Her fingers seemed to glow brilliantly because of the light emitted from the jewels. It was an overwhelming amount.

“—That much?”

“Of course.”

“It’s the entire budget, right?”

Mrs Enard shook her head. Her expression seemed to take Caroline’s timidity lightly.

“Oh my goodness.”

“This is the overall budget.”

Mrs Enard wrote a number on Caroline’s palm. Caroline couldn’t keep her mouth shut at the endless circles.

‘For this amount of money— I can do anything I really want to do! I can take a bath with a perfume made from roselle flowers, which bloom once every five years!’ 

Mrs Enard then asked with a smile,”how is it? It’s not lacking, is it?”

“Of course! There’s nothing I can’t do with this money! There’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Weave thin cloths like dragonflies’ wings and lay them on top of each other, embroidered with gold and silver, and every time the hem of the skirt shakes, it glitters brightly—!”

Caroline was so excited that she became talkative.