Chapter 39: Ominous Premonition

Nothing happened for days, it seemed that a busy schedule concealed Fabian’s anger.

As an Emperor, he still carried out official state duties and dealt with public affairs. His daily routine continued while overhauling the military and investigating demons in his spare time.

Meanwhile, Felice Kingdom was busy preparing a banquet for the Emperor.

“All the nobles who heard their names were invited very excited.”

After seeing the banquet’s official letter, Fabian twisted his lips. It seemed like he wanted to use himself to show Imperial power against the Kingdom of Felice widely. Still, he had no intention to do it there.

“Serus, spread this news to the imperial nobility too. It’s going to be a grand banquet where me, the Emperor, also participate.”

Fabian was sure that the sycophants would come running without hesitation, no matter how far they traveled. That’s precisely what Fabian was looking for. Those who were sensitive to rumors usually were good at spreading the rumors as well.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Serus answered faithfully to the orders he did not even know about. It’s mostly because he’s a very outspoken person. He was just grateful that Fabian didn’t ask Evelyn anymore.

“Make sure that the military troops is maintained until the day of the banquet. Their appearance alone can show the Imperials dignity.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

All those who accompanied Fabian were knights of noble origin. They would shine even though they were just standing there. But issuing such an order implied that the Imperial would take the initiative first.

“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been waiting for a banquet like this.”

Looking at his master, who had a peculiar smile, Serus felt something strange. But there was nothing he could do about it.

****

Rebecca’s face became haggard in a few days. It was because she always participated in arranging for a banquet without resting for a moment. But happiness radiated from all over her body. No matter how tired she was, Rebecca, who showed her passion was really shining.

“You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

Evelyn was fortunate. Although they had tea time to catch her breath for a while, Rebecca quickly joined the maid and chose a curtain fabric to decorate the banquet’s top.

“It’s fine.” Liam, who was invited to teatime, answered calmly.

“But…… I feel like I’m using Rebecca……”

The duchess of Akshire, the mother of two, had already passed away. Originally, Liam’s wife, the new Duke, had to manage the household as a duchess, but now he was unmarried. Luckily, his sister Rebecca had divorced and returned, so the duchess’s role was in Rebecca.

“What? Absolutely not! If it doesn’t bother you, I’d like to get my sister a job at the royal palace. I mean it.” Liam’s green eyes shone desperately. And Evelyn was never bored of seeing this interaction between siblings all the time.

“But, with Rebecca’s personality, I think she could take care of the Duke’s house.”

Liam’s frank face clouded over everything, “What do you mean…?”

The two people, who were awkward at first, also became quite close to each other because they had something in common… Rebecca.

“Rebecca is so smart.” said Evelyn

“Ha…… you mean…my sister?”

Evelyn fully realized why Rebecca kept teasing Liam. Of course, the last time was Evelyn’s mistake too. Still, Rebecca teased Liam not because his reaction was funny or cute, but because she’s just being pure and sincere to her brother.

“Don’t be fooled by my sister. She’s doing this for her own fun, because as a child she couldn’t ask my parents to throw a banquet.” said Liam with a severe face.

“But now she’s a good Duchess for the Duke household…”

“Yes? Then, we will go bankrupt. It seems there is a misunderstanding to claim that my sister is taking care the Duke’s house”.

Liam was still shy in front of Evelyn, but it was different when Rebecca’s story came out. It was a rare and explosive topic that could increase in his speech.

“The butler, and the maid all the servants and the people of the Duke’s house are managed by me. But since my sister often hold a banquet in every three days, I’ve left it to her ….” Liam shook his head, recalling his terrible past.

“But it’s also a talent to hold a banquet. It takes a lot of work.”

“Yes, so, if there’s someone you hate, please introduce him to my sister. I guarantee bankruptcy for any family within half a year.”

“Sir Liam is more interesting than I thought. You have a good humor, maybe because you’re Rebecca’s brother.” Evelyn laughed innocently. Liam saw it and vowed to protect the innocent Princess.

It was his duty to protect the beautiful and pure Princess from being tainted by his wicked sister.

“I’d love to have Rebecca stay in our palace, but to do that, Lord Liam needs a wife first, right?”

“Ah,….. that’s.” Liam avoided eye contact for no reason when faced with a difficult topic.

“Thanks to Rebecca, this banquet is going to be really amazing, so maybe she will meet a soul mate.”

Liam just smiled awkwardly at Evelyn’s innocent words. Whenever she talked about marriage, she used to immediately change the direction of her conversation like that. In fact, he couldn’t honestly answer that he couldn’t marry another woman because he already had someone in mind.

“Maybe, Sir Liam is worried about something that you couldn’t say?” Evelyn whispered as if she had read his mind. For a moment, she could see what it meant to be a heart-sinking.

“Well, ….I, I….”

Evelyn’s transparent blue eyes looked at Liam. It was the same eyes he had longed for since they first met when he was a child.

“I know. It’s a difficult mind.”

“Princess.”

“Well, it’s not your fault, but the situation is bad.” said Evelyn.

“Yes, right.” Liam had a hard time confessing his feelings. If Evelyn had already thought so, maybe there was a little hope for him, too. “But I think you can overcome the situation with your true heart…”

Evelyn’s eyes widened, “Really, do you think so?”

“Yes, with a true relationship, you can overcome everything.” Liam made sincere eye contact with Evelyn. Then Evelyn smiled with a mixture of joy and relief.

At the moment, Liam almost opened his mouth.

“Good thing. I was relieved that Sir Liam thought so…..”

“It’s too obvious for me.”

“Yes. Even if there are many people around who fail with their marriage, it is not good to have prejudice. There are also a happy marriages. So please don’t have too hard feelings about new relationships in the future.”

A new relationship. Liam’s green eyes were hardened by those words, but Evelyn didn’t notice.

“Surely, a true relationship will soon appear to Sir Liam.”

A fresh, Evelyn gave a beautiful smile. Liam had no choice but to give her a bitter smile. Fortunately or not, Rebecca, she unexpectedly jumped in between them.

“Whoa, this is the final candidate.”

Rebecca had five colorful fabrics in her hands.

“Can you vote for each one, please?”

Liam looked at her sister’s face, who didn’t know the timing and pointed randomly with his finger.

“Well, except for this one! As expected, you have a bad taste.” Rebecca pleasantly threw the fabric.

“I’m…”

Liam stood silently and left his seat. Rebecca continued to think while looking at the fabric without even paying attention to her brother.

“Rebecca. Aren’t you too harsh on Sir Liam? He was embarrassed just now ….”

“Princess, you’ really…… Liam is not such a child.”

Rebecca laughed. In fact, Evelyn would be surprised to know that she had listened to their conversation for a while.

Well, it was a white lie.

“And he don’t know anything yet.”

It was a strangely sincere word. Liam’s heart was pure, but he lacked courage.

“Well, this is a woman’s job.” said Evelyn.

“Yes, he’s an idiot who doesn’t know what a woman’s mind is,” Rebecca smiled, feeling sorry for her brother.

The preparations for the banquet were smooth.

However, it was a bit unfortunate that Liam wouldn’t have a new relationship.

***

Finally, the day of the long-awaited banquet had come. The Felice Palace was crowded with guests who had arrived a few days ago. For today, Evelyn left Adrian in Miriam’s arms and started to prepare for the banquet.

“Princess, it seems like time is going backwards since you came back to the kingdom.”

Lily spat a compliment when helping Evelyn dress up. That was something Lily usually said to her when she followed Evelyn to the Imperial Family when she became the Empress.

“What a bullshit.”

Evelyn gave Lily a slap on the back. And she looked around to see if anything was missing in the mirror.

“It’s not bullshit, I’m serious.”

Lily didn’t dare to compare her to the Imperial family, but Evelyn’s appearance alone seemed to have brightened her surroundings.

Evelyn, who was wearing a shiny dress with her golden hair hanging down on the back, was much more beautiful than Evelyn, who was sitting like a doll with a shaded face wearing the Empress’s crown.

“Surely, the people who attended today’s banquet will be surprised by the beauty of the Princess.”

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“No, if I were a prince in the kingdom I’d propose to you right away!”

Evelyn pinched Lily’s cheek and laughed.

“I don’t need a proposal anymore.”

It was until Lily carefully trimmed Evelyn’s hair one by one that the grooming was finished. Now, the banquet curtain that Rebecca had devoted to pushing the Emperor out of the Kingdom would rise.

“Ah… I’m feeling relieved.”

Evelyn spoke to herself and headed for the banquet hall without anyone knowing.

Adrian was under Nora’s care, and King Arthur, the host of the banquet, was all there. However, the guests were still chatting in the garden. This was because the trumpet had not yet sounded to announce the start of the banquet.

“Lady Rebecca really worked hard.”

Only

“Yes, this is the most magnificent banquet in our royal palace.”

Arthur and Miriam nodded with a happy smile. Moreover, Evelyn’s beautiful appearance was so perfect, so today would be a happy day.

However, even after a little more time, the banquet hadn’t started yet. Evelyn began to worry when she looked at her mother’s face.

“Why? The time….”

It was 40 minutes past time, but the Emperor, the banquet’s main character, hadn’t arrived yet. There couldn’t have been a mistake because it was obviously scheduled.

“His Majesty is late.”

King Arthur was also worried. And Evelyn suddenly came up with an ominous premonition.