Chapter 168. The Proposal

After watching Seraphina fall asleep, Johann got up and was aimlessly walking in the night garden.

Although he was handling a busy schedule no less than hers, the fact that he could afford this leisure was probably because he was physically superior. He was also used to this level of schedule originally.

“Haa.”

As he exhaled, a white breath appeared and dispersed.

It was still cold winter.

“Why is spring taking so long to come?”

Johann mumbled to himself like a sigh.

In his hand, as he looked up at the night sky, was a small box.

After fiddling with it endlessly, Johann lowered his head to look at the box wrapped in the finest velvet.

Various emotions stirred in his blue eyes as he gazed at it quietly.

He had imagined the moment of giving this gift to Seraphina hundreds, thousands of times in his head. Habitually when he woke up in the morning, suddenly while working, suddenly while eating.

Yet it wasn’t enough, and he was thinking about it again now.

Johann slowly opened the box.

A beautiful jewel sparkled in the moonlight.

The way the diamond was cut made its color different from others. It shone with an antique and elegant light.

Wanting to give her the best, he chose the biggest and most expensive one. Whether it suited Seraphina’s taste, he couldn’t be sure.

“A ring…”

He had never seen her wearing one.

Would she find it bothersome because the stone was too big?

Even after preparing the best thing in the world, Johann was internally anxious, unable to predict Seraphina’s reaction.

His standards had already changed from the world’s. Everything was revolving around her now.

Whether Seraphina would like it the most, or just moderately, or a little…

Wanting to know that, he was eager to propose soon, but it wasn’t easy to set a date.

He didn’t want to wake up a woman who had collapsed after a grueling schedule to propose.

Inwardly, he resented Ionia.

Couldn’t she have made it a little more relaxed?

Of course, it was because of this tight schedule that they could marry rapidly in a month, but Johann decided to erase that fact from his mind for a moment.

It felt unpleasant that the marriage was being handled like one of the emperor’s duties.

Johann was anxious that Seraphina might feel the same way.

No matter how others saw it, no matter how it looked on the outside, he wanted to whisper in her ear that his true feelings were not like that.

“Will you… ahem. Will you marry me?”

Johann muttered to himself in the empty air where no one was listening.

Although he had practiced these words countless times already, somehow it felt lacking.

It was a night when his throat felt dry from nervousness.

* * *

A few hectic days passed by.

Today was a day without etiquette lessons with Countess Adria, because it was said that the entire day would be spent on dress fittings and choosing jewelry.

I couldn’t understand why that would take all day.

Faye applied basic makeup that would suit any outfit. Come to think of it, she’s really good at makeup. Her hands were very skillful.

When I do it myself, it doesn’t turn out like this.

Thinking that I should ask her to teach me later, I put on clothes that were easy to take on and off.

“Faye, you’re coming with me, right?”

“I’ll follow whatever Your Majesty commands.”

Thanks to Faye, I’ve become a bit immune to being called ‘Your Majesty’. Still, the dress and jewelry designers are outsiders, so I need to be careful.

“Will you come with me and help? Faye, you have quite an eye for these things. But don’t call me that in front of others. I haven’t been officially crowned as empress yet.”

“Of course, certainly.”

Faye answered with a bright smile.

So we left the bedroom and headed to where the designers were waiting.

And when we arrived at the meeting place, I couldn’t help but be inwardly amazed.

It must have been one of the ordinary rooms, but a dress shop had been set up here. Thinking about how they must have brought all these dresses and jewelry early in the morning to set up, I wanted to applaud their efforts.

However, I suppressed the urge to clap my hands and just smiled gently. It was something I consciously and deliberately created.

<You’re right. Smile happily, but with dignity. You shouldn’t show your molars. You also shouldn’t laugh like a fool saying ‘hehe’.>

<…There are too many things I shouldn’t do.>

I had to practice ‘dignified’ smiling for hours, grumbling sulkily and then twitching the corners of my mouth.

Anyway, thanks to that, I’m putting it to good use now.

I sat on the sofa and looked at the designer who seemed to be the highest-ranking. She bowed her head slightly in greeting, but there was a subtle atmosphere of her looking down on me.

Ah.

I felt like I was getting a taste of similar energy even before my debut in high society.

I remembered Countess Adria’s advice that no matter how much I had accomplished as a purifier, nobles lived in a different ecosystem.

<How?>

<Don’t be intimidated by condescending looks. If it’s too hard, think of them as undead in your mind.>

<I’ll give it a try.>

Actually, if Countess Adria hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have noticed that subtle look. Because on the surface, she was showing perfect manners.

I smiled gently while imagining a durahan over the head designer’s figure.

“You must have had a hard time coming here.”

Perhaps because I had been with Countess Adria all day, the effects of practice seemed to be showing. She said that even with the same words, the atmosphere conveyed changes depending on the tone and speed of speech.

Judging by the reaction in front of me, it seemed to be true.

A surprised light flashed in the eyes that had been subtly looking down on me, then wavered slightly as if in thought, and soon her attitude changed subtly. That is, properly respectful.

Countess, I love you.

Thanks to you, I feel like I can do well in high society too.

I felt like I wanted to kiss her if I could. The etiquette lessons that were just hard at first had become something I looked forward to.

Anyway, with the initial dominance established, the dress fitting went smoothly. Or so it seemed.

“……!”

The assistant who was pinning needles to fit my body lines discreetly slipped something into my hand. I turned my head, wondering what it was.

When our eyes met, the woman gave me a meaningful look for just a moment.

What is this?

I started acting immediately.

Pretending to be calm, I finished the fitting of the dress I was wearing, and then saying I needed to take a short break before starting with the next dress, I went to the bathroom.

Rustle.

It was a small note.

As I quickly unfolded it, familiar handwriting came into view.

“Cyril…”

I whispered softly.

Cyril was the sender.

My heart ached as if it was being squeezed. Even more so when I recalled the last moment in Ponitan.

[Congratulations on your marriage.
I want to see you. I’ll be waiting.
2178 Billiot Avenue, Room 403.]

What is this, really.

The tip of my nose stung.

I barely managed to compose myself because I couldn’t ruin my makeup. After taking a deep breath and calming down sufficiently, I returned to the room that had been transformed into a dress shop.

I glanced at the guild member Cyril had sent.

She was really good at acting. She was diligently fulfilling her role as an assistant.

I wondered if she had studied design to infiltrate like this. I was reminded of Louise. Louise, who was my sewing teacher in Ponitan.

How many such versatile guild members were there?

I felt anew how amazing Cyril was.

“Let’s try on the next dress.”

It was a task of fitting one dress for the imperial wedding ceremony and seven dresses for the week-long banquet that would follow. And with each dress I tried on, we repeated the process of matching various accessories and walking around.

Honestly, dressing up is fun.

It felt good, like playing princess.

But I couldn’t concentrate anymore.

With Faye’s help, I made decisions quickly. This is good, this is not, this dress goes with sapphire necklace and earrings, that dress with a mini tiara and a bracelet with small diamonds linked like stars, and so on.

It ended earlier than scheduled.

I returned to my room and immediately prepared to go out.

“Oh my, why are you putting on your old clothes?”

Faye asked in surprise as she saw me putting on commoner’s everyday clothes.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t.”

Has Countess Adria possessed her?

At Faye’s firm voice, I stopped dressing and turned my head. She spoke in a deliberately serious tone.

“You can’t go without a guard knight.”

“How long have I been traveling the continent alone?”