Chapter 2 – What Remains the Same and What Doesn’t (3)

What caught Chloe’s attention was the sight of a priest preparing to take the Holy Grail from the altar back to the temple’s treasury. She hadn’t noticed when he first appeared because she was focused on the Holy Grail, but his face seemed familiar.

‘There shouldn’t be a priest I’m familiar with.’

Chloe, not being particularly devout, didn’t frequent the temple often.

‘Where have I seen him before?’

There was some distance, so she couldn’t examine him closely, but he seemed very familiar. His mouth, the bridge of his nose, the dimple only on one side… Yet she couldn’t guess who it was. Chloe, who prided herself on having an exceptional memory, couldn’t recall.

‘Since everyone is getting up, if I move a bit forward, I might get a better look…’

It was when Chloe was standing on tiptoes, craning her neck this way and that. Suddenly, the bright face of a noblewoman intruded into her view.

“Chloe! It’s been a while.”

“Oh my, Madame, it’s been a long time.”

Chloe immediately stood, slightly holding her skirt, and gave a brief bow. It was the Duchess of Crevelle, who had been sitting in the row just in front.

The Crevelle family, who were the second-to-last to arrive among the nobles, had entered shortly before the members of the imperial family arrived, so this was their first chance to exchange greetings.

“I hardly see you these days since you don’t visit the mansion. Don’t just meet Demi outside, come visit the Duke’s residence too.”

“What fun would that be with Demi? Even while touring the garden, he’d probably talk about the distribution structure of horticultural merchants. Now that spring is here, please hold a tea party in the garden.”

I’ll visit without Demi.

Chloe jokingly added, and the Duchess of Crevelle’s sky-blue eyes lit up warmly.

‘She found it amusing when I said exactly this back then too.’

Chloe responded with a smile.

Having visited each other’s homes like their own since childhood, Chloe was also close to the Duchess of Crevelle. The Duchess, who only had sons, cherished Chloe as well.

Just as one is always a child in front of their mother, it was the same with a childhood friend’s mother. Despite having shown impeccable manners to other ladies she met today, Chloe felt a sense of ‘returning’ as she spoke comfortably to the Duchess of Crevelle, who had the highest status among them.

“Yes, the spring flowers are starting to bloom, so it’s becoming something worth showing someone. I’ll have to urge the gardeners a bit if we’re to have tea time with our Chloe. Oh, I received some rare tea leaves from Orifone as a gift this time.”

The Duchess continued, warmly clasping Chloe’s hand.

The Duchess of Crevelle had a deep knowledge of various hobbies that a noblewoman should have an interest in. Thanks to this, whether it was gardening, enjoying tea and flowers, or embroidering, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Chloe’s tastes were cultivated at the Ducal residence.

That’s why the Duchess cherished Chloe. Whenever she talked at length about her recent interests with Chloe in front of her, her words would always end like this:

“Oh dear, my sons are all so standoffish.”

I wonder what they’ll do if they act so stiffly with their future wives. 

Although the Crevelle sons were generally gentle, they apparently didn’t meet their mother’s expectations.

‘Well, even after five years, there’s no talk of anyone getting married.’

Even your eldest son with a fiancée.

Chloe thought as she glanced at Demetrian’s face.

When her mother used to tease them about the joys of raising sons, Demetrian, who had grown up knowing only his duties as the heir to the Ducal family, would often show displeasure at being chided for something beyond his concern…

‘Is he smiling…?’

To Chloe’s surprise, Demetrian, who was watching this next to the Duchess, had a faintly warm expression.

Usually, at times like this, he’d make his already expressionless face even more expressionless, but now there was some emotion seeping through his face. It was too faint to discern exactly what it was.

While Chloe was looking at his face curiously.

“Oh my, isn’t that our future son-in-law?”

The sudden voice caused Demetrian’s face to revert to its usual impassive state.

A voice so jovial that it instantly transformed the sacred atmosphere of the chapel into a social gathering.

Before long, it was the Emperor, who had changed into ceremonial robes—or rather, it was his twin brother, Grand Duke Campo.

“I greet the Empire’s Regent.”

“Grand Duke, it’s been a while.”

“Demetrian, you look more impressive every time I see you.”

“You flatter me, Your Grace.”

Although they were fraternal twins, the Emperor and Grand Duke Campo looked quite similar, perhaps because they had grown up with a strong bond.

“I greet the Empire’s support.”

“Indeed, it’s been a while, Lady Lacroix. Rumors of your popularity in society have reached even the remote corners of Campo.”

“I am honored, Your Grace.”

Despite Chloe’s close relationship with his future son-in-law, Grand Duke Campo always wore a friendly smile without a hint of displeasure. Chloe thought about how the Emperor, whom she’d seen up close once, and the Grand Duke were similar yet different.

‘If His Majesty is the typical monarch who never forgets his dignity even in private, Grand Duke Campo is a strategist who disarms others with his easy-going impression.’

Strictly speaking, Grand Duke William of Campo was the legitimate firstborn of the late Emperor. He was born a few minutes before Edward III.

However, being gentle-natured and having no great ambitions for power, he firmly decided to decline the position of Crown Prince in his youth. He judged that his more ambitious younger brother was better suited for the pinnacle of power.

The tutors who taught them also found Edward to be without shortcomings, and there was some merit to William’s thinking, so it went according to his wishes without any conflict.

To seal the decision, he went down to Campo even before his coming of age. The title of Grand Duke of Campo, which was key to the empire’s legitimacy due to the integration with Campo that brought the Holy Grail, was traditionally bestowed upon the Emperor’s most trusted sibling. It was under the pretext of tending to Campo, which had been neglected without an owner for generations due to the scarcity of imperial offspring, that even the complaints of some conservatives, who regretted that the succession did not go to the firstborn, were silenced.

Thanks to this bold move, the already close bond between the twin brothers grew even more affectionate, and the young Emperor, who soon ascended the throne, readily approved the engagement between the Campo Ducal family and the Crevelle Ducal family even before the parties involved were born.

Though the engagement never materialized, it was questionable how the greedy one would have felt if the Crevelle daughter had been praised as a future Empress by the social circle.

“Demetrian, why don’t you visit Campo sometime? Lucien has grown quite a bit now.”

“The Grand Duchess missed this Grand Festival again?”

“Yes, she takes after me in being a bit frail. I wonder if I’m already giving future in-laws something to worry about…”

The Duchess laughed behind her fan at his playful lowering of his voice. It looked just like the camaraderie between a husband’s friend and the friend’s wife.

‘Even if he says that, she probably just didn’t come as usual.’

Demetrian’s fiancée, Lucien Campo, was a lady shrouded in mystery even in society. Despite being the Emperor’s niece and having a status equivalent to that of a princess, she rarely visited Gotiue. Perhaps that’s why the kind acquaintances in Gotiue viewed Demetrian and Chloe’s friendship positively.

In fact, there was talk that if one was curious about the Young Lady of Campo, they should go to Orifone’s social circles. The Young Lady of Campo, who had been a princess of Orifone, would visit her parents every year and stay for quite a while.

‘She’s a princess both at her paternal and maternal homes.’

Reflecting on her own royal life, where she resided in a separate palace without real power or influence, Chloe glanced at Demetrian.

He strangely found it difficult to deal with Grand Duke Campo, who had been affectionately calling him ‘our son-in-law’ since childhood. Whenever he met him, his face would always show signs of tension, which Chloe would tease him about…

Whatever he was thinking, his gaze as he watched his cheerful mother and prospective father-in-law was heavy.

* * *

Demetrian’s pretense of ‘having gone to work at the imperial palace’ continued even on the day of the Grand Banquet a few days later.

Though the public’s Grand Festival week had ended, the Grand Banquet attended by the Emperor returned from the Holy Kingdom was the last official event in noble society. Since even the great nobles from the provinces, who rarely came to the capital, attended, most families couldn’t miss the opportunity to interact with them and made their presence known.

The Lacroix carriage arrived at the imperial palace late as usual today, just as it always did. The only difference was that there was only one carriage.

The Noisette mother and daughter had no interest in the imperial palace banquet, Achille was too young to attend, and Etienne would arrive a bit late due to his heavy workload at the Police Department. Due to the opening of part of the imperial palace’s banquet hall and garden for the nobles from the provinces from the Grand Festival until today, the Imperial Guard had been receiving all sorts of incidents. During the Grand Festival week, when everyone was going wild, only the Police Department was busy.

For these reasons, when the Lacroix carriage carrying only her parents and herself arrived in front of the imperial palace, Chloe let out a small sigh upon spotting Demetrian waiting for her again.

‘Is he going crazy because it’s the Grand Festival week…?’

Even if he always came out to meet her in front of the carriage to escort her, that was when she visited personally, not during official events like this.

‘No matter how much people in society don’t misunderstand us, Demi is still bound to Campo by a vow…’

Chloe glanced at the members of society filling the path from the imperial palace’s main gate to the banquet hall.

“I see you often these days, Demetrian.”

“I should have seen you often before as well. I’ll visit the administrative office sometime. Working on practical affairs has made me realize there are many things I want to learn from you, Count Palatine.”

“Have you become good at saying pleasant things since joining the Senate? Haha.”

The Count Palatine’s laughter rose at the amiable words.

“Isn’t the Duke coming with you?”

“He went to escort my mother back home for a moment.”

‘Why didn’t you go with him?’

Chloe wanted to ask, as the question rose to her throat.