Soft sunlight streamed in through the translucent lace curtains.
The baby lying in the cradle blinked its eyes and looked at the curtains. Its tiny hand reached out clumsily towards the fluttering edge of the curtain. But the hand, which couldn't even grasp and release at will yet, couldn't reach the curtain by the window, let alone grasp it, and only waved in the air.
I want to touch that. The baby was disappointed. It reached out a few more times, but it couldn't reach it. It was angry. Tears slowly welled up in the baby's violet eyes.
Soft arms wrapped around the baby, who was about to open its mouth in a triangle and cry out.
"Do you like that?"
The angry baby calmed down. Soft arms, a comfortable smell, a gentle voice… The baby had only been born a little over a hundred days, so its life experience was very short. But the baby was sure.
That the person holding it now was the one who made it the happiest in the world.
Mommy. The baby recognized her and giggled.
"Do you want to touch the curtain?"
Neris, holding her young daughter, chuckled and walked towards the window. She stood so that the baby's hand could reach a new lace curtain. The baby's round hand wiggled, bathed in the warm yellow sunlight of early summer.
After a brief struggle, the baby grabbed the curtain. It couldn't grip properly and soon let go, but the little one's face was full of smug triumph for having achieved its goal. Its jet-black hair stood up all over, facing the sky, and swayed softly.
So cute. Neris hugged the baby's warm body and laughed. Where else could there be such a lovely creature? She understood why Joyce still called Diane "baby."
"My love, my life. Soon you'll be able to walk here yourself. When that happens, I'll need your permission to hug you."
She loved this child. She loved her so much. She loved her more every day. What would happen when these years piled up on top of each other? She was so beautiful now that she wanted to cry just looking at her, would she cry just thinking about her later?
Seeing that parents in this world didn't spend all day crying over their children, it probably wouldn't happen… but it was worth questioning. How did something so cute come to be born?
The baby giggled, opening its mouth wide in delight as its mother hugged it tightly. Though its overall appearance resembled its father, people often said it looked like its mother when it smiled like this. Neris kissed her daughter's forehead.
Someone gently knocked on the door of the nursery, which was filled with soft colors and cushions. Neris turned and replied,
"Come in."
The nursery door was carefully maintained so that it never creaked, so as not to disturb the baby's sleep. Diane, who carefully opened the precious door, met Neris's gaze and beamed.
"It's time, Liz. Let's go get ready."
"Okay."
The nursemaid, who had peeked her head out from behind Diane, approached Neris with a relieved expression. She gently took the baby in her arms.
"Princess Arbyone, you seem to be in a good mood today. You're such a good girl."
Unlike the customs of noble society, Neris breastfed Arbyone herself, but her breast milk was not enough for the baby's appetite. Moreover, she couldn't take care of the baby herself with her busy schedule, so she hired two healthy nursemaids to work in shifts.
Arbyone didn't like the nursemaids as much as her mother. But she didn't cry and was content to be held, blinking her eyes.
"She's so cute. Will our Yoni bloom the Jewel Heart when she grows up?"
Even though she had clearly come to pick up Neris, Diane immediately clung to Arbyone as soon as her eyes met the baby's, and she was so happy she didn't know what to do. Neris chuckled, holding Diane's hand to prevent her elaborate dress from getting ruined.
"She will. Her eyes are the same color as mine."
"Then she'll be so beautiful. Ha, she's beautiful now, but what if she gets even more beautiful? Huh? Huh? Our pretty Yoni, what will I do if she gets even more beautiful than she is now? She's so angelic, what if someone just pops her in their mouth? What will I do then?"
Diane cooed at Arbyone, deliberately mixing in babyish sounds. The nursemaid looked embarrassed.
"Um, Lady Diane. It's time… "
"Oh, right."
Diane sighed and pulled her face away from Arbyone. She took Neris's hand.
"Let's go. Everything else is ready. We just need to dress the star of the show."
The sound of fireworks, already launched by impatient people outside, could be heard. Neris smiled and left the nursery with Diane.
She couldn't bear to leave that lovely creature, but there was nothing she could do.
Today was the day of the coronation of the new Emperor and Empress, a day that all the people had been waiting for.
***
"Why are you so late!"
Ellen, who was ready to argue that anything Neris did was right, was particularly sharp today.
Neris, who had been reviewing documents until the morning of the coronation and then went to see the baby, went into the bath prepared by Ellen without a word. She was massaged from head to toe, from her fingertips and lips to her toes.
It wasn't a particularly dramatic experience, as it was a routine she had been doing every day for the past week. But Ellen and the maids she had personally chosen and trained were very meticulous. They rubbed rose oil on Neris's skin, hair, and lips until they shimmered like the waves on a clear day.
After the massage, a dress with a train long enough to fill the dressing room was brought in. Dyed a very deep and rich purple, the dress had a remarkably uniform and beautiful sheen. The front of the dress was the same Tyrian purple, but it was subtly embroidered with silk thread that had been dyed one or two more times to make the color even deeper, while the back was magnificently decorated with gold thread, making those who saw it blush with delight.
"It's so beautifully made."
"They say painters from all over the continent have come to record today's ceremony. Isn't it great? Our Empress is always beautiful, but it's not often that she dresses up so magnificently. It would have been a shame not to record this moment forever."
The maids Ellen had trained were all very friendly. They were so friendly that Dora, their senior and now promoted to manage the Empress's palace, sometimes ran away from them.
Diane, who had already finished dressing and was sitting in one corner of Neris's dressing room, occasionally chimed in.
"Right, it would be a shame not to record this moment. Let's find out later who the best painter is. Have them make five more copies, for preservation, exhibition, appreciation, and gifts."
Paint was a very expensive item, and special colors like Tyrian purple or gold were even more expensive because they had to be ground from gemstones. So what Diane said meant that she would sell a castle just to copy a painting.
But how could the precious daughter of the Mackinnon ducal family, who was steadily approaching the position of the richest person on the continent, not be able to do that? Neris chuckled wryly.
"You need four copies to do that, why do you need five?"
"We need two copies for exhibition. One for our house, and one for the Lily Palace!"
"The Lily Palace in the Papal States? Why would you hang a coronation painting there?"
"It has to be hung somewhere like the Lily Palace so that people from all over the continent can see it as they come and go. If you just send it, they'll probably walk past the Pope's palace, won't they?"
That was probably true. Neris made a mental note to warn Ren beforehand to prevent such a ridiculous thing from happening.
Standing before the enormous mirror set in the center of the dressing room, Neris adorned herself with countless beautiful things. Tiny, adorable diamond-encrusted shoes, multiple layers of delicate muslin petticoats so thin they were almost transparent, lace stockings and garters woven by artisans to fit perfectly on both legs…
Once she donned the purple dress, the same color as her eyes, and elegantly styled her hair, the prepared jewels were brought out. The tiara, earrings, and other adornments, all carefully kept in a velvet-lined box.
She was already wearing her wedding ring, and she had no intention of changing it. But all the other jewels had to be carefully considered to see which ones were appropriate for the occasion.
Fortunately, the jewels Neris had wanted from the beginning were more than adequate for the occasion of the coronation and wedding of the new Emperor and Empress.
Diane, seeing Neris's finished appearance, gasped in pure admiration.
"You're so beautiful!"
Diane was right. Everyone in the room thought so.
Even Neris herself, looking in the mirror.
Her creamy soft skin and neatly arranged features shone brightly with just a light touch of makeup. Her slightly thin nose was straight, as if holding the center of her being, along with her slender frame, and her red lips were as beautiful as flower petals.
Among the beautiful face shapes, the Jewel Heart, sparkling as if emitting its own light, was set in the most pleasing position. The color of her dress made the beautiful color of her eyes stand out even more. Above them, platinum blonde eyebrows, soft like the morning sun but with a distinct presence, stretched out delicately.
A dazzling tiara with pink conch pearls swaying on top of her fragrant, fine hair was carefully secured. Similarly, large teardrop-shaped pearl diamond earrings were attached to both earlobes.
High-quality pearls have a radiant luster like moonlight, giving the wearer a radiance as if they had lit a lamp. The earrings Cledwin had given her when she first came to this land long ago had served exactly that purpose.
Looking at the beautiful woman in the mirror, Neris shyly smiled.
"Shall we go then?"
Diane, who was to be the bridesmaid today, took Neris's outstretched hand and stood up, answering brightly.
"Yes!"
***
"There are no problems, Your Majesty."
"I know. You said that before."
"But why do you look so anxious?"
Cledwin stopped short at Gilbert's remark. Gilbert, the former steward of White Swan Castle and now the Lord Chamberlain of the Imperial Palace.
Crrrreek. It almost sounded like that. Cledwin stiffly turned his head and asked Gilbert.
"Did I look anxious again?"
"Yes."
It was the day of the official coronation, a day they had all been waiting for. The significance was not small, but it wasn't a day for Cledwin to be nervous. It had been months since the new Emperor and Empress had taken care of state affairs. It shouldn't happen, but even if something happened today and the coronation was canceled, no one would refuse to recognize them as Emperor and Empress.
So Gilbert couldn't understand. That, that… the man who hadn't shown a single change in expression even when he first inherited the title of Grand Duke.
Cledwin sighed deeply. Dressed for the coronation, in a black ceremonial robe with a gold cord and a short cloak with half gold thread, he was beautiful today. People passing by unconsciously sighed, he was so handsome.
"It's because it means a lot to me today."
Did it mean that much? Gilbert began to doubt whether he had been thinking irrationally all this time. After all, the Emperor's coronation was much bigger than the succession to the Grand Duchy.
Fortunately, Cledwin's next words put Gilbert's doubts to rest.
"Because I'm finally giving my wife the position she should have had."
Ah, he was anxious about the Empress. Gilbert instantly understood everything perfectly. He didn't know exactly why the Empress "should have had" the position of Empress, but since the Emperor he admired was always like this, it wasn't something he needed to worry about. If he pressed the issue, it would inevitably end with praise for his wife, like "Who else could have that position except my perfect wife?"
The Imperial Palace's grand banquet hall was already packed with people, making a lot of noise. Cledwin and Gilbert were in the northwest room, at the end of the shortcut from the main palace to the grand banquet hall, and the entrance for the coronation attendees was connected to the south corridor, so the two men could see the people coming and going at a glance.
That's why they quickly noticed Neris entering.
To Cledwin's eyes, the dark grand banquet hall seemed to instantly brighten with Neris's appearance. Without a word to Gilbert, he strode into the grand banquet hall, almost running.
He quickly approached his wife and took her arm, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Shall we go?"