Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 186

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

2. Afternoon Tea Time at Two O’Clock
Born into an unnamed baronial house in the Southern Region of Lebovni, she fled to Belgot in childhood and entered the Imperial Palace at twelve years old.
A veteran maidservant with fifteen years of service starting from that day—Marienne Lebasila.
It was on a bright spring day when orders arrived that a guest of the Emperor would be staying at Bellirook Palace, which she oversaw, for the first time in ages.
Bellirook’s new guest was the cheerful, terminally ill Princess of Lebovni.
‘Cheerful and terminally ill…?’
Confused, Marienne asked the Knight who had brought the news.
“Something seems off about this information. Which should I prepare for? Cheerful? Or terminally ill?”
If the Princess was physically frail and thus temperamental and finicky, she had planned to assign calm, quiet maidservants to her.
When Selbier received Marienne’s question, he drew out his words. “Well….”
“It’s just that, constitutionally speaking, there’s a problem…. She can’t tolerate magical energy at all, not even a little bit. Apparently she collapses if even fallen leaves blow past her.”
“My goodness….”
“She’s bright and spirited, certainly, but she’s truly delicate, so we’ll need to be careful in many ways.”
As it turned out, Selbier’s assessment was perfectly accurate.
The Princess of Lebovni, Yerenika, was someone who walked around with ‘I am very bright and lively’ written all over her. Yet her physical stamina was truly abysmal.
She seemed unaware of it herself, but the Princess grew exhausted quickly if she moved too much or stayed outside for too long. Belgot itself was simply incompatible with her constitution.
Eight times out of ten she wore a gentle smile, and she had no tendency to whine or become irritable about her ailments, but she simply couldn’t hide her expression—exhaustion was written plainly across her face.
“Your Highness, would you like to choose something you prefer from these? I’m planning to place an order directly with the Imperial wardrobe department.”
“…Ah, yes. Let me look now!”
When it was severe, she often responded a beat too late, just as she was doing now.
The only time this Princess showed vitality was once every four days, when she had a brief tea time with the Emperor in the Central Garden of the Imperial Palace.
And the time she was most listless was the day before that tea time and the morning of the day itself. Today was the former.
The Princess barely glanced at the dress collection handed to her before her gaze fixed blankly on the window.
Watching her sigh softly and tap her neck, shoulders, and thighs with her fists, it was clear her condition today had hit rock bottom.
Marienne swallowed back tears at the sight of that pitiful small figure.
‘Poor dear Princess. Dragged to Belgot overnight, unable to go out as she pleases, waiting only for tea time….’
The fact that the Princess was vulnerable to magical energy was classified information, but that she was extremely delicate had already spread throughout the entire Imperial Palace and into High Society.
The Princess let out a small yawn and vaguely pointed to several dress sketches.
“This one and this one, and this…. I think that’ll be fine. Marienne, I’m suddenly getting sleepy… *yawn*. I’m going to take a short nap….”
“Yes, yes! Please do, Your Highness!”
After hearing Marienne’s response, the Princess sat there rubbing her eyes for a moment, then rose very slowly and headed straight for her bed.
Her shuffling figure, so tired that despite being a full-grown adult, she seemed as though she needed to be carried and gently laid down in bed, looked terribly fragile.
The pale pink strands of hair that usually floated about as if possessed by their own will seemed listless and limp today.
“Your Highness… Would you like me to help you a little…? It seems you might need support….”
“Hmm…? No, it’s fine. Why would I need support? I’m not a patient!”
Though Marienne had ventured the suggestion gently, the Princess merely shook her head with a slight laugh.
Marienne swallowed back tears once more.
‘She can’t show her hardship because she’s self-conscious about being from an enemy nation….’
It was necessary for the Princess to know that Belgot would never harm her, and that it was in fact quite favorably disposed toward her.
But what good could the maidservants do, no matter how hard they tried?
Yet the very target of her ambitions—the Emperor himself—graced them with his presence merely once every four days.
“Our innocent Princess may not realize it, but you’re being far too oblivious.”
Marienne’s eyes blazed with renewed determination as she seized the booklet the Princess had left on the table.
She then began selecting dresses befitting a warrior’s strategy and the accessories to match them.
The best way for the maidservants to aid the Princess was, after all….
Her beauty as a weapon.
Led by Marienne, the maidservants of Bellirook Palace surrounded the dress design booklet with solemn resolve.
“Since we don’t know what style His Majesty prefers, let’s put one of each type on the candidate list!”
They each drew a deep breath and threw themselves into the selection of dress designs with tactical fervor.
* * *
“The budget proposal from Bellirook Palace, Your Majesty.”
Auredhian flipped through the documents Felix had placed before him with a cursory glance.
Normally, he calculated the budgets for each palace at the beginning of each year himself.
However, this year’s Bellirook Palace budget had been entrusted to the head maidservant due to an unforeseen variable.
That variable was, naturally, the new arrival who had taken residence in the Imperial Palace these past weeks.
The Princess of Lebovni.
Had the guest been anyone other than a princess—that is, a woman—he would not have delegated the budget to a maidservant.
But it had been long since any noblewoman of high rank had resided in the Imperial Palace, so Auredhian had little notion of how much budget would be necessary for the Princess.
He had instructed them to report without hesitation should she require anything or wish for something in particular.
He harbored no intention whatsoever of denying her anything.
Fortunately, the budget proposal compiled by Marienne Levasilah, the head maidservant of Bellirook, was meticulous and raised no red flags.
The items necessary for the Princess’s comfortable sustenance were listed across a full five pages.
The pages that had been flipping past came to an abrupt halt.
“….”
Crimson violet eyes fixed upon the section for dresses and jewels.
The memory of yesterday’s leisurely stroll through the garden with the Princess surfaced vividly in his mind.
During their previous encounters, she had worn her hair loose, but yesterday she had gathered it high in a single elegant knot.
The plum-colored ribbon securing her hair bore silver embroidery, and the pins holding her side locks were studded with delicate diamonds that sparkled in the sunlight each time she turned her head.
With her hair bound high, both her ears, her pale and delicate neck, and her slender shoulders were beautifully exposed.
Delicate ruby earrings and a necklace, an ivory dress with a wide horizontal neckline that subtly revealed her shoulders and collarbone.
He seemed to have thought that day’s hairstyle and dress suited her remarkably well.
Auredhian tapped the document with his pen.
“A bit more than usual….”
“Pardon? Your Majesty, what did you just say…”
“She looked rather beautiful, come to think of it.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————