A lot of swearwords passed by Edellis's head.
"I already have a partner. Thank you for your concern Your Majesty."
"Who is it?"
"Here's Viss's elde…."
And once again, tens of thousands swearwords passed through her head. Viss Ruta, who was in front of her, had already disappeared. When the Emperor was talking to her, he was struggling disappear with speed faster than the light.
"If you don't have a partner, would you like to dance with me?"
"I am afraid that I will be inflicted on His Majesty the Emperor because of my disrespect. Thank you for your concern…"
"It's okay."
The Emperor reached out his hand to Edellis, offered her to dance.
But if I refusing, I would die without becoming an Empress.
'….. Damn it. You just say you can't dance because your feet hurt. Eldest son of Viss, I will not forget it!'
Edellis was forced to put her hand on the Emperor's hand.
The feeling of his hand grabbing my hand make me goosebumps. She took the Emperor's hand and walked out to the center of the banquet hall. Many people's attention was focused on them. When Edellis bowed her head greeted him, the Emperor greeted her back, and wrapped his arms around her waist.
'What? Originally, is this a sticky dance like this?'
After the imperial orchestra began to play, she apparently seemed to be dancing the way she learned, but the Emperor's reaction was terrifying.
I don't think he was stroking my back for no reason, it seemed like he was rubbing my body more than necessary. As she couldn't push the Emperor out, she had no choice but to move steadily as she learned.
The Emperor, who was dancing, laughed and said, 'Hoo', and breathed in her ears. The hairs of her whole body stood out, give goosebumps on her skin.
"I will deliver the good news soon."
When the music was finally over, the Emperor leaned over and whispered into Edellis's ear, tapping her ears with his tongue.
I felt my body stiffened by the feeling of the wet tongue touching my ears, but I leaned desperately and said goodbye and moved away from the Emperor.
The Emperor, who glanced sideways, was smiling as if she was cute, but that made it even more creepy.
'Are you crazy? Do you know your daughter is older than me? My father is much younger than you!'
With a quick pace, she returned to the Count who was waiting for her.
On his face there was a strong sign of concern for her.
"Edellis, are you okay? I'm sorry I left you alone. By the way, the Duke want find me today….. "
The Count couldn't refuse the call of the Duke. That was the power of status. Understanding this, Edellis shook her head in a pale complexion. Perhaps even if her father was next to her, she couldn't have avoided dancing with the Emperor.
"May I go and rest first…?"
"Yes, yes, let's go together."
"No, Dad. It's okay."
Count Brill reliably escorted her who was holding back her anger and went to the carriage as quickly as possible.
"My lady, what happened? Why is your complexion like this….."
It was Lehan's first greeting as soon as the door closed. Edellis deliberately greeted him brightly, but when he looked up close, she had a pale face with no blood as if she wasn't living.
"My first dance partner was the Emperor. I think I'm going to die."
"The Emperor…?"
Lehan stubbornly asked, but Edellis replied with a light nod.
"Yeah. Starting my first social career with the Emperor. Why!!? By the way…"
Edellis moved away from the Imperial Palace, but she continued to feel the goosebumps rising.
"No matter what my father said, he wasn't coming."
Edellis said that still with a pale face.
"Did you have a hard time dancing?"
"I practiced dancing with you hundreds of times, would it be difficult?"
"Then why… "
"That person is the problem! Do you know what the Emperor did? Did he think he were crazy?"
Edellis said it was a sense of security even if it wasn't the Emperor, and swears by saying everything about the position of the ambiguous hand between the hip and the waist, the body that was rubbed more than necessary, the breath that was intentionally blown, and the tongue that touched her ears.
When Edellis was in the Imperial Palace, she was really nervous, and she was going crazy. However, after leaving the Imperial Palace, she thought it was safe, so anger came and didn't subside.
It was the same after getting out of the carriage and arriving at the room.
"Do you think I made myself so pretty just to get seduced?!"
Edellis wanted to throw out all the decorations on her head in order to radiate her anger, but it was the first time she had experienced the contents of the book, so she was holding back.
Lehan, who escorted her with a complicated expression, knelt in front of Edellis. Edellis looked down at him, puzzled by his sudden behavior.
"…Lehan?"
"My lady, would you like to dance with me?"
Lehan reached out his trembling hand to Edellis. The tips of his ears were already red, so it was easy to notice that even though he was bowing his head, his face was burning red.
Edellis laughed at Lehan, who was dressed up very nicely, unlike usual.
Still, it was a pity to change clothes like this, then I put my hand on his hand. Then Lehan was surprised to see her.
"Why are you so surprised after asking?"
"Because I thought I could be rejected."
"I can't say no to this handsome man kneeling down and asking me for a dance. I usually don't get down to my knees and ask for a dance."
"..."
Lehan, with embarrassed face, took Edellis hand and stood up.
He helped her to practice dancing for her debut and steadfastly settled his posture like when he practiced. Edellis laughed lightly and wondered what to do, and then she hums the familiar song she was knew. Even if it wasn't a splendid Imperial palace, dancing with a comfortable mind made her feel better.
The Emperor's sticky hand can't be forgotten, but it was good.
It was even more so because Lehan danced comfortably without worrying about anything. In addition, because the other person always practiced and matched the steps, it was perfect because he danced like a flowed of water.
"Shall we dance one more song?"
"Gladly."
Lehan joined Edellis's hand. His hand trembled a little as if he was nervous. When Edellis first asked him to be a partner for a dance practice, she laughed at the thought of Lehan, whose face was wide open after holding his posture.
But now, he wasn't awkward in taking a good posture and taking the lead like this to see if there was something worth practicing every day. Edellis laughed lightly and humming another song. The door to the terrace was wide open, and a cool night breeze came in, and the sparkling moonlight was shining quietly.
"You're really good at dancing now?!"
"Thank you."
"Then, what kind of dance will we do this time?"
Edellis humming casually and moved her body little by little. Lehan followed her movements and suggested a little carefully.
"….How about Leshuto?"
"Leshuto? Yes, yes. Good!"
When the dance was decided, Edellis hummed his favorite song for the dance. They smiled at each other and danced.
While dancing happily, there was a sound of someone knocking on the door. Reluctantly took a step away from Lehan, spreading the dress to both sides and bowing down to greet him. Lehan also put one hand on his chest and bowed his head to greet her.
He laughed, facing each other, and when he heard a knock again, he quickly opened the door.
Her father's face, seen through the gap in the door, looked a lot worse than Edellis when she left the Imperial Palace a while ago.
"Father?"
"…..First of all, let's go to the reception room."
"What are we doing?"
When I saw my father's complexion, it looks weird. Something must have happened. I followed my father, who couldn't say anything, and went to the parlor, where the Imperial attendant was seated.
"You're late."
"…..I'm Sorry."
I couldn't figure out what was going on.
The attendant took out a letter with the Imperial seal stamped on it.
"Hmm"
The attendant noticed and knelt in front of it with her and her father. Then the imperial attendant opened the letter and read the contents of it.
"I order it in the name of the Emperor of the Cronard Empire. Edellis Brill, the eldest daughter of Count Brill, has been nominated for Empress, so she'll enter the Imperial Palace within 7 days."
Is this the feeling of the sky falling?
'How did this happen…? Has the future changed?'
Edellis felt like her world were falling apart.
I wanted the future to change, but I never wanted it to change this way. Her father, the Count, replied, 'I see,' to the attendant, but Edellis still said nothing.
The Count patted Edellis on the back, and it was only then that Edellis came to her senses.
"Ah, okay…Okay."
Edellis eyes were trembling.
After that the attendant left, saying he would be picked her up a week later, but Edellis was still kneeling, unable to get up.
'I can't do this!!! Empress? In the books I have seen, I have been the Empress. Do you ever become Empress after becoming Empress?'
No, the Emperor's voice in her memory was much younger than the Emperor's voice she heard during her debut.
Therefore, even if the decree comes down, it comes from the Prince, not from the Emperor.
My head became dizzy. Unlike the future that she knows, a present that she doesn't know has emerged.
'I have to check the book first.'
I couldn't just sit still like this. I only had one week.
Edellis left her father, who said not to worry too much, because she was going to find a a way out.
'I quickly looked at the page where I appeared. No matter how much you look at it, the book calls herself 'Empress'.
'If so, would this book not be true? Then what is actually Lehan doing in the arena?'
Seeing something she couldn't explain, Edellis had a headache.
"Miss."
Lehan opened the door of the study and entered. As before, Lehan raised Edellis, sitting on the floor, and seated her on a nearby couch.
"Lehan…."
"I also heard the exact story from the Count a while ago."
"They say I'm the Empress…I, I don't know the story of me being the Empress. I don't know such a story…."
Edellis was confused and muttered alone.
Lehan thought that Edellis current condition wasn't unusual, so first he tried to calmed her down.
"It will be okay."
"What do I do, when I become the Empress. What if I become an Empress later?"
"My lady, that's okay."
"How can you be sure of that!"
Because Edellis was still thinking of the words from the attendant in her head, without her knowing exactly what he was saying, eventually she became angry with Lehan who comforted her.
It was the worst. Really, it's the worst.
"I'm sorry…."
"It's okay my lady."
When she saw his smiling face, Edellis began to realize the reality.
Yes, it is still only the 'candidate' of the Empress, not become the Empress. So I had to avoid being the Empress.
"Lehan, let's run away. Before that, I told you to go with me when I leave the house. I'm ready. We can go now. I'll secretly ride a horse at night…."
Edellis has always been prepared since she came up with the option of 'run away'. So even if she run away from home this time, she won't have to worry about running out of money for the time being.
"My lady, I'm not saying I don't like it. Don't you want to be with the Count?"
But Lehan said, regretting whether she had a different opinion.
Lehan knew that Edellis continued to want to live at home. She seemed most comfortable at home, and Edellis talked about it often.
"I want to! I want to, but just because I want to do it doesn't mean I can't do everything."
Eventually, Edellis became emotional and burst into tears. Edellis, who had been crying for a long time, suddenly raised her head and grabbed Lehan's shoulder. A way to remain at home and not obey the Emperor's orders came to mind.
"There is a way."
"What is it?"
"I just have to make the Emperor refuse to marry me."
"Is there a way?"
Edellis's eyes pointed at the sword hanging from Lehan's waist.
"By making a scar on my face."
"Yes?"
Obviously that way, she wouldn't leave the mansion, and the Emperor would refuse to marry her.
Edellis made up her mind and spoke to Lehan, who still doesn't believe his ears.
"If I do it, it'll hurts and I don't think I can do it right. Could you help me?"
"Never!"
"It's alright, I think it would be okay if it was creepy at once."
Lehan, who was contemplated, was surprised and held her back.
"So that we can be together, I will help."
"If it's too small, there won't be any scars later, so it has to be a little deep."
"I'll help you in another way."
"Is there another way?"
Edellis was actually scared of getting hurts. However, it was very nice to hear that Lehan said there was another way.
At the other hand, I was worried that it might be an unclear method. If I can't make it fast, I had to go to the Imperial Palace.
"Do you not mind if it was a dishonorable way?"
Edellis nodded. No matter how dishonorable the way, she thought it was better than running away from her home and running into treason.
I hated being the Empress more than dying. But I really hated dying. So it would be better to choose dishonor.
"If possible, in a way that doesn't hurt."
Edellis said with a determined expression, while touched her forehead.
He gently stroked Edellis cheeks and whispered a little.
I was embarrassed that I had never been facing him at such a close distance.
"Tonight, I'm going to visit you, so please prevent the maid so she doesn't come."
"Are we running away? Should I pack my bag?"
At that moment, Lehan, who opened his eyes wide, folded his eyes and smiled.
"No. I will be there tonight, so please wait."