Chapter 2 – What Remains the Same and What Doesn’t (4)

He never bothered to put on a facade for anyone, sometimes coming off as arrogant, yet there he was, speaking to Chloe’s father with an unusually amiable expression. Although Demetrian had known the Count Palatine since childhood, he had never been so warm towards him before.

Chloe was so taken aback by the sight that her mouth fell open involuntarily.

‘Lately, really…’

It wasn’t that she was reluctant to meet Demetrian. She just wondered if her long-standing longing would be satisfied with just a few meetings over the past few days.

She simply didn’t know how to handle it.

‘He keeps making me feel troubled.’

Since returning to being twenty years old, Chloe could accept everything she remembered with joy.

But with Demetrian… it wasn’t just that he was behaving in ways she didn’t remember; it was that he was acting in a manner she had never encountered before, leaving her unsure of how to respond.

Like right now.

When he was overly familiar with her family or when he offered his hand to her with a tense expression as she was getting out of the carriage. At such times, Chloe found herself unable to pretend she was still twenty.

As she accepted his help to step down from the carriage, she couldn’t help but sigh.

No matter how pleased she was, no matter how her heart fluttered at the unfamiliar kindness, no matter how grateful she felt for his consideration, ultimately…

Looking at the hand that hadn’t let go immediately, Chloe sighed again, realizing that this hand wasn’t her brother Etienne’s, who would escort her at imperial banquets. If it were, there would be no inner turmoil.

“It’ll be a while before the Duke arrives, so I guess I’ll have to wait alone again.”

She tried to pull her hand away, speaking intentionally coldly, but Demetrian held her hand firmly.

“It’s okay. I’ll enter with you.”

“What did you say?”

Demetrian shrugged as if he meant it, still not letting go of her hand.

‘Is he serious…’

Even if Chloe and Demetrian were famous as inseparable friends in Gotiue society, entering a banquet together was a different matter entirely. The Young Duke of Crevelle, who had a fiancée, never entered with any woman other than his mother.

She knew this better than anyone.

When Chloe had begged him to come to her first tea party and be her partner for the Ridote graduation ball, which doubled as her debutante, how had that rational childhood friend refused?

“Sorry, attending together as partners might not look good to others.”

In the end, he showed up at the tea party pretending to run an errand for his mother and danced the first dance with her at the graduation ball after entering separately. He had a knack for initially upsetting her, even though he would eventually grant her requests in some way.

‘That was Demi’s way of being considerate, so why now…’

If Chloe were really twenty, she might have been delighted by the change, but now, with her mind still twenty-five, she couldn’t take his actions or words at face value.

‘Even if it’s a joke, there’s a limit.’

Seeing the faint anger on Chloe’s face, Demetrian’s expression briefly hardened. Just as he was about to hastily add that it was a joke, Chloe whispered quietly into his ear, gritting her teeth.

“Future son-in-law of Campo, please stay quietly with your family.”

Leaving him behind, Chloe entered with her parents, feeling annoyed as if she had been teased.

‘Why is he doing this when we’ll eventually drift apart anyway, really.’

The longing that had made their first few meetings poignant had now turned into confusion with each encounter.

‘And what was that awkward stiff face…’

While making polite conversation beside her parents, who were exchanging greetings with those who came to greet them, and exchanging distant nods with close young ladies accompanying their respective parents, Chloe kept mulling over the absurd incident outside the banquet hall.

When she glanced irritably in Demetrian’s direction, she saw him mingling with Grand Duke Campo, accompanying his parents.

‘It’s like he’s a completely different person.’

Even though she had turned back five years, she was living as similarly as possible. She would often check him again with a sense of disbelief, but then again, the iMage of the Young Duke of Crevelle carrying out his duties was exactly like the upright twenty-three-year-old Demetrian she remembered.

‘When I see him awkwardly stiff between the Duke and Grand Duke Campo, it seems he’s the same.’

She wondered if he was only acting differently towards her or if there were subtle nuances she had missed when they were truly twenty. But, well, nothing came to mind. The relationship between Loi and Demi had always been unchanged.

Just as Chloe’s sigh deepened.

“His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Edward III, and Empress Marguerite are entering! And 1st Prince Frederick, 2nd Prince Daniel, 3rd Prince Jeremy are entering!”

With the attendant’s announcement of the imperial family’s entrance, trumpets blared. The Emperor, who had returned from the Holy Kingdom after a three-day schedule following the Grand Festival ceremony, was dressed even more splendidly than during the festival.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Long live the Arthuzen Imperial Family!”

The nobles filling the banquet hall erupted in cheers for the imperial family marching in. In the midst of it, Grand Duke Campo joined them, clasping hands with the Emperor as they ascended to the podium at the end of the banquet hall.

The Emperor, raising a wine glass handed to him by an attendant, shared it with Grand Duke Campo and lifted it to the audience, exclaiming:

“This year, too, the Lord has promised abundance.”

“Glory to the Earth!”

“Glory to the Promised Campo!”

“Prosperity to Arthuzen!”

“Enjoy the blessed time, everyone.”

In response to the Emperor’s toast, hundreds of glasses of sparkling wine from the imperial brewery shimmered in the air.

Completing the fast and prayer at the sanctuary after the Grand Holiday ceremony to receive the year’s blessing and revelation was the duty of the imperial family blessed by Erd.

Though how the revelation descended was unknown, as far as Chloe remembered, abundance was always promised. Given the vastness of the empire, some places might have been in drought while others were abundant, so the prophecy was generally accurate.

‘I’m not sure if that can be considered abundance…’

Ha, thinking that, Chloe was startled.

‘I shouldn’t think so irreverently.’

No matter how her fate had suddenly changed because of the holy relic.

Chloe drank from her glass, trying to shake off her thoughts. Compared to the rosé sparkling wine that had given her a hangover last week, this one was drier, so she thought she might sip it more sparingly.

Meanwhile, the first dance of the grand banquet began. As the Emperor and Empress took their place in the center of the hall and started dancing, the three princes also joined with their partners.

While the nobles watched the imperial family’s dance in hushed awe, they began whispering about the princes, who were at the center of political change.

“Will the 1st Prince be crowned this year?”

“It’s already been nearly seven years since he came of age.”

“Perhaps His Majesty intends to be more cautious.”

“Has there ever been a time when the Crown Prince’s coronation was delayed like this?”

Even by the time Chloe left Arthuzen, the 1st Prince had not been crowned Crown Prince, despite having reached adulthood long ago. Only after Chloe’s political marriage was the negotiation over the Holy Grail completed, and he was crowned as a reward for that achievement. So this year, it was out of the question.

Considering the tradition of crowning the Crown Prince at the coming-of-age ceremony, it was significantly delayed.

From the moment Chloe met Frederick, he had never been anything but the crown prince in her heart, yet no one expected that he wouldn’t officially become the crown prince until he was twenty-six. Not even Frederick himself.

Perhaps that was why Frederick’s smile, as he danced with the Princess of Maleca, who was living in Arthuzen’s court to become the next Empress, didn’t seem entirely genuine.

“Could it be true? That they’re considering the 2nd Prince instead?”

“Since His Majesty himself was the second son?”

“Surely not… The Second Prince has no desire for the throne.”

“Right, why else would he have joined the Third Knights? And as deputy-commander at that.”

As Frederick’s appointment was continually delayed, the nobles’ idle speculations extended to his younger brother, Daniel. He should have been excluded from the succession line long ago, but as the appointment of the crown prince was delayed, the number of nobles supporting Daniel grew undeservedly. In reality, he found such expectations burdensome and remained in a low-profile position.

“Hasn’t it been years since the Princess of Maleca came to Gotiue?”

“Indeed. She came expecting to marry the 1st Prince, but what if she ends up with the 2nd Prince instead?”

“If only he could secure a definite achievement, he’d surely be appointed, but there’s no turmoil in the empire.”

“Can’t cause a disturbance, you know. The current work at Internal Affairs is just about breaking even at best.”

“Hey, is that something you should be saying?”

Listening to the various conversations of the nobles gossiping about the affairs of the imperial family, Chloe recalled a future only she knew. The future of that prince, who, according to the usual customs of the imperial family, should have already accepted the Princess of Maleca as his consort, yet was dancing awkwardly with her.

The future of 1st Prince Frederick, who would play the most significant role in the negotiations with Scandar over the Holy Grail and be recognized for his achievements, finally being crowned Crown Prince.

“May I ask for the first dance?”

While Chloe was deep in thought, observing the princes, Demetrian had approached her.

“I can’t dance with a family member.”

He nodded towards where the Duke and Duchess of Crevelle were holding hands. They seemed to be waiting to step onto the floor once the Emperor and Empress finished their dance.

And standing beside them was a graceful beauty with dark blue hair tied in a ponytail. Unlike his brother, Demetrian’s younger brother, Luipold, was a prodigy whose intellect was more developed academically, making him shy away from the duty of dancing with the nobles attending the imperial banquet. Not that Demetrian would be dancing with Luipold anyway.

For that reason, it would have been natural for Chloe to monopolize Demetrian’s first dance since her debut in society.

‘I did have the first dance with Demi today originally.’

Seeing his smug face, acting uncharacteristically cheeky as if he’d forgotten the scolding she had given him just a moment ago, she couldn’t help but sigh. Somehow, it seemed like the hand he extended was trembling slightly… but that wasn’t important.