I Am Currently The Object Of The Emperor's Fervent Admiration - Chapter 22

Bestia looked at Duke. Her fingertips had turned white. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to dance at all. But that was all she had learned in her etiquette classes!

The banquet etiquette required by the imperial palace was sure to be more demanding than that. Why wasn’t there any content about banquets in the imperial etiquette she had practiced to death for the past two days! Her gaze towards Duke was tinged with a little resentment.

“Miss Betty?”

“Miss Betty. This is the last question. What should you do?”

“When, when someone asks for a dance at a banquet……”

Why do I have to take this test here?

She suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. Even if she had turned into a duck, it wasn’t her intention. Coming to the imperial palace wasn’t either. This was all because of Caenian, who had acted high and mighty as the emperor.

“At, at that time……”

Tears that didn’t come when she was acting earlier now welled up in her eyes. Right, everything needs sincerity! Bestia felt miserable. She was about to become a slow-witted woman again over one piece of banquet etiquette. That’s when it happened.

“You should respond by taking the hand that’s been offered to you.”

“Ah, Your Majesty…!”

* * *

A crazy woman appeared in the audience chamber. Caenian Ruvan. He didn’t like the woman in front of him.

The first reason was because her first impression was the worst.

“That’s right, Your Majesty. By a very strange coincidence, I have the same name as Your Majesty’s duck.”

The second reason was because she had the same name as his duck.

Caenian was displeased from the moment he heard Bestia’s introduction. Although it hadn’t been announced to the entire empire yet, everyone in the palace knew about the duck’s existence.

It felt strange. He strongly felt that the woman had copied the duck’s name. A ploy to create a good image after being disliked by him.

Not a chance.

Caenian clicked his tongue. No matter how many Bettys there were in this world, there was only one Betty who had stolen his heart.

His blue-eyed duck, Betty.

“Miss Betty. His Majesty is in front of you. When should you greet him?”

And it was when the etiquette test was in full swing.

“Show us with your actions, Miss Betty.”

Bestia moved at Lily’s words. She slowly bowed five steps away.

“Your Majesty. Betty, the Chancellor’s errand girl, greets you.”

“……!”

A few seconds later, she straightened up. Their gazes met at the closer distance. Caenian’s eyes widened.

Blue eyes! Eyes of the same color as Betty the duck captured his gaze.

To think there could be another with such clear blue eyes…

For a moment, he felt a shock as if he had been hit on the head. Her eyes were sparkling even more than when he saw them in the Memorial Hall in front of him. It was thanks to the sunlight coming through the arched windows.

“Miss Betty. I’ll ask the next question.”

After seeing her eyes up close once, Caenian changed. He couldn’t take his eyes off Bestia.

He was captivated by the sight of her fluttering her fan. Her full eyelashes were swaying in the fan’s breeze. Her blushing white skin caught his eye. She looked beautiful as long as she kept her mouth shut.

Yes, as long as she kept her mouth shut.

The reason he had called her crazy or slow-witted was because she said strange things whenever she opened her mouth…

But she’s sixteen?

Caenian was lost in thought. He recalled himself at sixteen. But he soon erased it from his mind. The woman in front of him and himself were different in status and environment.

It’s dangerous to judge others by my own standards.

That’s how he came to a realization. Caenian acknowledged his own rashness. Perhaps he, who couldn’t mingle with his peers and grew up among adults, was the strange one.

His is a life born to become an emperor and living as one. And a life where no one has to sacrifice because of him.

Perhaps living so freely like that is truly a blessing. Caenian rose from his seat.

“The partner would have extended their hand, so you should respond to that.”

The emperor’s seat… reached through the deaths of many beastmen. This position wasn’t given to test the empire’s people. The one being tested was Caenian Ruvan himself.

Thus, Caenian, who had been silently watching Bestia, extended his right hand towards her. It was a pose similar to one inviting someone to dance.

“Your Majesty, the test is still…”

“Your Majesty, this is…”

Lily and Lara blinked with confused faces at Caenian’s sudden action.

“You two, asking a lady to accept a dance invitation without a partner. Isn’t this terrible etiquette?”

“Ah…!”

“It was our oversight, Your Majesty.”

While everyone was dumbfounded, Caenian caught them all off guard. Lily and Lara, who were as surprised as Bestia, hurriedly stepped back, and everyone held their breath waiting for what would happen next. Bestia looked up at Caenian. She also glanced at the hand he had extended at chest level.

“Now, Betty. Are you going to keep me, no, your dance partner waiting like this?”

“Ah… Your Majesty…”

“It seems you don’t know dance etiquette. With your family in debt, you probably didn’t have the luxury to learn dancing.”

“Ah, th-that’s right, Your Majesty.”

Caenian’s insight was 50% accurate. Bestia quickly nodded. She thought this was her chance. If she acted pitiful again, she thought it would end here.

“I like your honesty. There’s a banquet coming up soon, so it might be good to loosen up a bit now. I’ll teach you the etiquette while we’re at it.”

It was a perfect misunderstanding.

“…What? You want me to dance with you, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. Don’t you want to? Is that why you’ve left the emperor’s hand hanging like this?”

Rather, Caenian seemed to be enjoying this situation. Bestia, as if enchanted by his smile, took his hand.

“Let’s begin.”

“We’ll play a piece typically used at banquets, Your Majesty.”

At Caenian’s command, the hastily summoned musicians began to play. The atmosphere was strange due to the sudden performance. Everyone was listening to the sweet melody with awkward expressions. Bestia was no exception.

“Um, Your Majesty. I really have never danced before.”

“It’s alright. Just watch me and follow along.”

“What if I accidentally step on Your Majesty’s foot…”

“Are you planning to step hard enough to break my toes?”

“O-Of course not!”

After a simple greeting, Caenian led the dance. Bestia followed him, trembling. She felt breathless as their bodies drew close. Their joined hands felt burning hot.

“Even if that happens, the time it takes for my bones to heal would be a bit faster than the time you’d spend in prison.”

“Gasp…!”

For a moment, the step she was following so diligently got slightly tangled. Bestia’s face turned red.

“I-I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen! Your Majesty!”

The frightened woman was desperate. She didn’t want to go to prison for dancing.

Twirl.

“That’s what I hope for.”

Caenian responded to Bestia’s words as he made a turn. Golden hair fluttered against the background of a white dress. Her blushing face was like a pink flower. A single blossom enveloped Caenian from all directions.

“Ah.”

That’s when it happened. An exclamation burst from between his carelessly parted lips. It was an exclamation of beauty. Caenian’s black eyes trembled slightly. His eyes met those of the woman smiling shyly at him. In that brief moment, an unexpected face overlapped.

The face of a duck with snow-white feathers, adorable yellow webbed feet, and blue eyes. The small and cute face of Betty.

“Ah…!”

Caenian let out another short breath. This time it was closer to a sigh than an exclamation.

Why did I think of my duck when looking at this woman?

The man who questioned his inner thoughts frowned. There was no answer coming back. Only the sound of music in his ears.

“Your Majesty, are you unwell? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

No, Bestia’s voice was there too. She was now naturally following him, having become accustomed to the steps. With good athletic ability and rhythm, her dance line was beautiful.

Caenian stared intently at Bestia. The duck’s face that had flashed before his eyes was gone. Meanwhile, the music gradually reached its climax.

“How old did you say you were again?”

“Sixteen, Your Majesty.”

“I see. They say girls eagerly anticipate their debutante ball, don’t they?”

It was an abrupt question. Even Caenian himself didn’t know why he was asking about her age again. The words just came out without him realizing.

Twirl. Following the rhythm, the two made a circle simultaneously.

“Yes. That’s right, Your Majesty. I wish two years would pass quickly.”

The beautiful man and woman soon met again, palms touching. Bestia was a bit gloomy thinking about her hometown, but she quickly smiled brightly. Dancing was more enjoyable than she had expected.

“Why? You’ve lost your family, so there’s no one to hold a ball for you, is there?”

“Ah… I just want to become an adult quickly.”

“You want to become an adult quickly?”

“Yes. Right now, there’s almost nothing I can do on my own. I want to become an adult soon and live as I please.”