17. Larael’s Gift

“Your Highness, the Emperor’s birthday banquet will be held soon. Will you be attending the banquet with His Majesty?”  

Anais, the head maid, entered the bedroom and asked Larael.  

The Emperor’s birthday banquet and the Founding Festival were the two largest events in the empire. While it wasn’t mandatory to attend other minor banquets, these two events were obligatory for members of the imperial family and nobility.  

Anais was preparing for the birthday banquet. Although preparations were being made separately from the Emperor’s palace, she had observed all morning that the Emperor and the Empress Consort hadn’t left the bedroom. She decided to halt her preparations and ask Larael whether the event would be coordinated with the Emperor’s palace in terms of entrance order and dress code.  

“Oh… the birthday banquet?”  

Larael recalled the event.  

“Yes, please let me know if you’ll be attending with His Majesty.”  

Anais seemed to hope that Larael would consult the Emperor directly. As Larael thought about meeting Edward, memories of the previous night resurfaced. Her face flushed as she recalled how the night had started formally, like following a guidebook, but had gradually unraveled into something more passionate.  

“It doesn’t seem like an important matter. It would be better for the maids to handle this among themselves.”  

“Yes, understood.”  

Anais nodded as if she agreed and bowed before attempting to leave the bedroom.  

“Anais!!!”  

“Yes?”  

“Still, there might be some complicated situations, so it would be better if I asked His Majesty directly.”  

—

Edward couldn’t focus on his work at all. He kept getting distracted, to the point where he had to reread the documents in front of him multiple times from the beginning.  

“It’s time for the noble council meeting.”  

Marquis Argen stood up and reminded him.  

“Already?”  

Edward sighed as he looked at the stack of documents piled on his desk. Rising from his chair, he glanced at Marquis Argen’s face and was suddenly reminded of the lewd jokes his aides had shared during the Marquis’s early days of marriage. Something about what was good for what… but he couldn’t remember any of it now.  

‘I can’t ask again… No, what am I even thinking about right now?’  

Edward felt a pang of self-loathing. It was the first time he had been so distracted from his duties.  

“Your Majesty, a message just arrived from Abella Palace. The Empress Consort wishes to discuss the Emperor’s birthday banquet with you.”  

Trix delivered the news from the Empress Consort’s palace just as Edward was leaving his office to attend the noble council meeting. Marquis Argen shook his head in disapproval.  

“Not today. Your schedule is packed. Absolutely not.”  

Edward silently stared at the Marquis, who was shaking his head.  

“Well, it can’t be helped. Trix, I’ll visit the Empress Consort’s palace tonight. It seems urgent…”  

—

Sasha and Joanna, who had served Larael since her days at the Count’s estate, had completed a brief training for maids and were assigned to the Empress Consort’s palace. They appeared visibly nervous.  

“Your Highness… Empress Consort!!”  

Seeing Sasha and Joanna immediately put Larael at ease and made her feel reassured. However, when the head maid accompanying them cleared her throat, Sasha and Joanna hesitated and stepped back from Larael. 

They had been sternly warned to avoid causing any gossip, as they had been specially brought in at the Empress Consort’s request, bypassing the other maids who had undergone extended training.  

“Well, I’ll take my leave now.”  

Anais was extremely busy, as the Emperor had been spending every night recently at Abella Palace. Additionally, since the Empress Consort would be entering the banquet alongside the Emperor, there was an overwhelming amount of work to coordinate with the main palace.  

Anais hurriedly left the bedroom.  

Lillian and Kara naturally stepped aside, giving up their positions as the closest maids to Larael, allowing Sasha and Joanna to take their place.  

Sasha and Joanna’s first day as maids in the imperial palace coincided with Larael’s first tea party.  

Of course, the only guest was the Marchioness of Argen. Since the weather was lovely, the tea party was held outdoors, with tea tables and chairs set up in the garden.  

When the appointed time arrived, Larael and her maids headed to the garden where the tea party was prepared. The Marchioness of Argen arrived at the palace on time as well.  

Seeing Larael, the Marchioness bowed politely. Compared to their first meeting, her demeanor was much more respectful.  

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Your Highness.”  

“Marchioness of Argen, it’s a pleasure to meet you again.”  

When Larael smiled, Beatrice, the Marchioness, felt as though everything around her sparkled, drawing all attention to Larael. Beatrice, momentarily captivated by Larael’s beauty, recalled something her husband had said in disbelief.  

[If this was going to happen, they should have crowned her earlier…]  

She had thought the Emperor simply wasn’t interested in women, but recent events made it clear that wasn’t the case. If the Emperor had taken an Empress earlier, would the scandals have been avoided? And judging by how he treated Larael now, it seemed likely that he would have had a harmonious relationship with an Empress.  

[Well, you never know. Maybe it’s because he likes the current Empress Consort.]  

[Really? Ever since you met the Empress Consort, you’ve been subtly taking her side.]  

“Are you preparing for the birthday banquet?”

Beatrice asked as she sat down, addressing Larael. The Emperor’s birthday banquet was the first banquet Larael would be attending. She had heard from her husband that Larael would be attending alongside the Emperor.  

Larael smiled faintly but soon looked troubled.  

“Since the process of me becoming the Empress Consort wasn’t ordinary, I barely managed to avoid the coronation banquet. But it seems I can’t avoid the birthday banquet.”  

“It’s something you’ll have to face eventually. Imperial banquets occur frequently, so you can’t keep avoiding them.”  

“I suppose you’re right.”  

Larael let out a deep sigh. Then, as if trying to change the subject, she offered Beatrice some tea.  

“Please try this tea. I prepared it especially for you, Marchioness.”  

When Larael lifted her teacup, Beatrice followed suit and sipped the tea.  

As the two exchanged light conversation and nearly finished their tea, Larael called Sasha, who was standing at a distance. Sasha nodded and handed a prepared gift box to Larael.  

“I have a small gift for you.”  

Larael placed the neatly wrapped box in front of Beatrice. Beatrice, looking puzzled, untied the ribbon and opened the box.  

“This is…”  

Beatrice’s lips trembled as she looked inside the box.  

At first, she thought the gift was a token of appreciation for attending the tea party. But soon, even her hands holding the box began to shake.  

In the Kazel Empire, when a child was born, they were taken to the temple to receive a blessing from the high priest. As a gesture of congratulations, it was customary to gift a baptismal gown for a newborn.  

Larael had gifted Beatrice a baptismal gown—two, in fact, one for a boy and one for a girl.  

“Your Highness…”  

Tears welled up in Beatrice’s eyes. Her usually confident voice trembled. Larael, mistaking her reaction as one of overwhelming joy, smiled and gently held Beatrice’s hand.  

But Beatrice forcefully shook off Larael’s hand.  

“Your Highness!!! I cannot bear children! If this was intentional, it is truly cruel of you.”  

Beatrice abruptly stood and left. Larael, stunned, could only blink in confusion as she stared at the spot where Beatrice had been.  

‘But she was supposed to be pregnant with twins around the time of the birthday banquet…’  

No matter how many times Larael retraced her memories, she was certain this was the right time. She looked down at the baptismal gowns in dismay, unsure of how to resolve the situation.  

Back at the Marchioness’s residence, Beatrice locked herself in her bedroom and didn’t come out until her husband returned.  

When Marquis Argen came home and heard about his wife’s condition after her visit to the palace, he went to her bedroom and found her lying on the bed, crying.  

A deep rage began to boil within him.