Chapter 10

The Emperor must have been speaking thoughtlessly.

But she hurriedly refused, just in case.

“No, it’s fine, Your Majesty. I’ll be here as soon as possible.”

“Yes, I hope to see you as soon as I call you.”

“Yes, yes, I will keep that in mind.”

‘Ugh, that’s so annoying, ugh!’

‘Besides, how can he just read the documents like that in front of just anyone?’

She continued patting his back. Now that there were only a few red spots, he was no longer in pain. But if she didn’t take care of him these few days, it would have gotten worse.

‘Should I tell him that I’m going to help the servants in the banquet?’

However, he seemed to be concentrating on the documents, and he didn’t seem to be very interested in what she was doing during the rest of the day whenever he called her.

Instead of beginning to talk nonsense, she decided to focus on his wounds.

Now that things have been settled, let me give you a brief lesson on Celestia’s situation. Until now, she faced no inconvenience with the Imperial family as she was living like a servant doing laundry and cooking. Other than that, she sometimes had a routine of treating the Emperor. But now that the large banquet was added to it, it was bound to cause some changes in her life.

‘There’s plenty of room for the servants to make mistakes in this large event. Let’s not make any mistakes. If I make any, I wouldn’t be allowed to meet my sweet brother anymore. We’ll only meet when we’re already dead. Huhu.’

She felt like she was walking on a string these days.

The moderately fast tutor she found was Luana, a maid of the same age as her who she often ran into while doing the laundry.

I once explained how desperate Luana was and how ignorant Celestia was when she asked her about her situation with the Emperor.

Luana cooperated in making the situation interesting. She was not allowed to enter the banquet hall, so Celestia asked her to explain it.

Although she was a fast tutor, she gave her a clear description of the Imperial family.

To sum it up…..

The Empress Dowager had two sons, one of whom was the current Emperor, whose mother was the real Empress until she passed away. The current Empress was originally a concubine, but now she had become an Empress. There was a rumor stating that she still has regrets of her own son failing to succeed the throne.

In any case, a strong family bond was necessary. Now, she could understand why the Empress didn’t dwell in the Imperial Palace. Anyway, she understood that the great Emperor had a bad relationship with his family.

As expected, she still didn’t know how important the banquet was, but she could see many people were doing a lot of work to prepare for it.

She asked the maids why they were so busy as she watched them run around the banquet hall in despair. They responded to her question saying that they are much busier before the banquet than they would be during the banquet. But, it was better this way. If they were more engaged during the banquet, they would have fallen sick. However, they were not only the ones who were busy, the head of the wardrobe department and the head of the city hall also walked around the banquet hall with gritted teeth and shouted from time to time.

Eventually, the frantic preparations were completed, and a perfectly decorated garden and a banquet hall were created. The perfect single-digit layout designed by the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Deacon for two weeks had been finalized.

The morning of the banquet.

The Emperor was busy checking the banquet hall. He talked to the Minister of the Palace for a long time. As he was walking around the banquet hall, he noticed Celestia. He looked a bit surprised.

“Are you attending the banquet today?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’m here to help with the service.”

He stared at her through his red eyes for a long time before he said.

“You’re exceptionally pretty, you know.”

“And His Majesty is very good at pretending.”

She looked down at the clothes she was wearing. It was just a plain maid costume. What was different from her usual attire was that she was wearing a white cloth on her head and a white scarf on her neck. And to mark herself as a maid, she wore a black apron over the dress.

Compared to that, he was wearing a very well-suited outfit that the beholder would admire as a whole. The dull black suit looked perfect on him, which is probably because his hair was black in color.

“Don’t talk to random people in the banquet.”

“…..I don’t have anyone to talk to anyway.”

The Emperor, who was feeling a bit uncomfortable, smiled briefly.

“That’s true.”

That was the end of their conversation. It seemed as though he wanted to say more, but he was driven away by the Minister of the Palace.

‘Did he come to me just to say that? Whatever the reason was, I’m sure it didn’t include praising me.’

‘Is there anyone I shouldn’t talk to?’

If she hadn’t been busy, she might have taken the issue a little more seriously. But she couldn’t afford to be slow with her work.

The banquet hall was so crowded with people that she thought all people from all over the world were invited. She rushed around the hall, looking back and forth at the list of attendees in her mind.

The Envoy of Libya couldn’t eat raw food, the Princess of Puga liked goose soup, the elder of Derma was allergic to dust.

She was almost done remembering all of their names. As she watched the other maids and servants do their jobs properly, she took on the role of supplementing the necessities from time to time.

Other things were difficult, but she wondered if her cheeks would hurt because she kept smiling all the time.

After a while, she finally took a break and leaned on the cart.

Banquets were really enormous. She had also heard that they were quite eye-catching. But between imagination and reality, it was luxurious.

‘Is there even one good music to listen to?’

Ever since she was a child, she had grown up listening to the music of an old man, who used to beat a trash can, and an old lady, who played the violin with only two strings. However, the music that was being played in the banquet did not suit her taste. It was so different…..She was a little disappointed.

It wasn’t just about the music. The mere sight of their clothing rims and hair ornaments made it so obvious. She could easily distinguish between expensive and cheap clothing, and real and fake jewelry through the techniques that she had learned from Liberty, who was a pickpocket. The articles and the jewels worn by the nobles were all real. Furthermore, they were all things she wouldn’t even be able to touch in her lifetime.

As she watched women of different status dressed in expensive clothes, which were lavishly designed with high-quality fabrics and expensive jewelry, she couldn’t help but think that they were trying to compete against each other’s beauty.

Each time a carriage arrived, a new aristocrat was introduced. By the time the Emperor was about to announce the banquet, the Empress appeared. She heard his brother was arriving too, but he didn’t show up yet.

From afar, she could see the people beginning to mingle with each other. The Emperor was the first to stand on the dance floor.

Dressed in a black suit and a purple cape, he danced lightly with a woman whose physique was different from Celestia’s. Both of them were very skillful in dancing. They really looked good together.

‘They said he didn’t like women. Then, is she his lover?’

She knew she had nothing to do with it…..Anyway, no one could say that one couldn’t have a lover just because he wasn’t good with women. She was blinded by the unexpected sight.

She thought he was a strangely caring person who recognized her because she, a servant, wore a mere tidy suit. Now, she was sure that his lover would be the only reason who could fill his eyes with more affection.

Whenever the Emperor muttered something, the woman, who was dancing with him, laughed.

There was no way he could be like that in front of anyone else.

She suddenly felt a great gap between them as she had felt when he came back from the battle. It was natural, but it was unfamiliar every time she felt it. That’s because he was considered a messiah by his people.

As she noticed that someone was approaching her, she stood upright and smiled.

The man had black hair and green eyes. His face seemed impressive with a smile that could melt people’s hearts. However, she thought it was rare for an aristocrat to smile at a mere servant, unless he’s a servant, too. There was something unpleasant about that bright smile of his though. But, immediately, she shook off that feeling since it was bad to have preconceptions about someone whom she didn’t even know…..

Still, his attire was too luxurious for him to be a servant. It seemed as though his attire was made of a fabric that was the most expensive of all the people present in the hall.

It must have been her first time seeing him, but she also had a bright mind. She would know the rank of a person from the badge he was wearing on his chest.

However, he didn’t have a badge. So who was he?

Whether or not he knew what she was thinking, the man smiled and pointed to the beverage cart beside her.

“Please deliver a glass of wine.”

“Yes. Where would you like me to deliver it, sir?”

“To the first table.”

That was the table that belonged to the Empress. But it was supposed to be served by another person. It was also the part where the head of the servants himself said that he would need help. Especially after hearing the circumstances inside the house, he honestly didn’t want to get close to the Empress Dowager.

“What happened? Why are you so still?”

Coming back from her thoughts, she quickly nodded.

Now, she had no other choice but to encounter Her Highness.

“I will go with you.”

“…..Thank you.”

The man, who was walking alongside her, kept smiling while the others bowed to him as he walked past them.

‘He seems to be a person of very high rank. Then, I should do as I’m told. Obviously, I did memorize the faces of people, but why am I not aware of his identity?’

She tried to walk slowly, but she also needed to serve the Empress as soon as possible. Finally, she reached her table with her cart.

There sat a woman who was showing off the highest dignity she had ever seen. The woman, with a heavy hairstyle, who was staring at Celestia with a look of indifference, was wrapped in a purple dress that usually depicted the Imperial family. The luxuriant hem of her dress was a foot longer than her dress. Even though she looked majestic, she seemed calm.

She was the Empress of the Burg Empire. It seemed like she only attended this banquet to meet highly-ranked officials.

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