Lady Cinderella - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Lady Cinderella, Chapter 24

“It’s the Imperial Palace. Calaile may be used to places like this, but ordinary people never get the chance to set foot in one their whole lives.”
Ella’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and Calaile fell momentarily silent. Her attitude, keeping his world and her world neatly apart, had not changed once.
“If you want, I can let you come and go as you please.”
“That’s all right.”
Ella’s face clouded faintly at the offhand generosity, and she sat back down obediently. She smoothed out her voluminous gown so it wouldn’t wrinkle, and in doing so, she shifted from a carefree girl back into a solemn lady.
So as not to tarnish his dignity, Ella had Olga drill her thoroughly. Even Olga, a veteran of such things, was left shaking her head at how meticulously Ella checked for any habits she might have picked up back when she was a maid.
“Why?”
“Dreams are happiest while you’re still dreaming, you know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He would probably never understand. Before Ella could say anything more, the carriage pulled up to the Main Palace, where the Emperor resided. With her answer left hanging, the carriage door opened. Calaile stepped down first and then escorted Ella out. Since he had never been linked romantically with any particular lady, his marriage was one of the great topics of interest among high society.
On top of that, the rumor that the Duke had unexpectedly attended the last ball had been enough to set the hearts of noble families with daughters racing. But contrary to everyone’s hopes, he had vanished at some point, and the Crown Prince had flitted from one lady to another without reaching any particular conclusion. Then came the widespread gossip that the Duke had bolted from the ball and snatched a lady away without her parents’ consent.
“Welcome, Grand Duke Wellington and Lady Lloyd. His Majesty is waiting for you.”
“Lead the way.”
As the Emperor’s personal attendant came out to guide them, dozens of pairs of eyes studied the sight of Ella holding Calaile’s hand. She had already resigned herself to being a spectacle in a showroom, but with so many people staring at her, she felt suffocated, and Ella’s heart was on the verge of bursting, afraid she might trip and fall at any moment.
“Don’t be nervous. Whatever mistake you make, I’m right here.”
Calaile squeezed her joined hand, soothing Ella, who had frozen in place. As they climbed the stairs one step at a time, dazzling chandeliers glittered before her eyes.
‘It’s beautiful.’
She wouldn’t be coming here many times, so Ella committed each detail of the dreamlike palace scenery to memory. Had she been walking these corridors bathed in dazzling light alone, she would have been frightened, but now she was not alone.
‘This is a dream, after all.’
It was a dream that would end one day, so now was the time to enjoy this moment. Ella fixed her gaze straight ahead, walking with more poise than anyone. At first she seemed to be a little afraid, but as she quickly regained her composure, even Calaile was left shaking his head in admiration.
“You really have to admit, you’ve got guts.”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing.”
As they stood before the Emperor’s Audience Hall, a fanfare sounded and the massive doors swung open. Along with the golden candelabras, the colored glass, and the scrolls painted on parchment, what caught Ella’s eye was a large tapestry.
It was a pattern she had never seen before, and she quietly committed it to memory, thinking she might like to make one like it someday, before the two of them approached the Emperor. He was the sort of man who could take a noble’s head with a single word, yet the words Calaile had said so casually rang in her ears: that he was human too. Keeping her eyes fixed only on the hem of the Emperor’s robes, the figure who had seemed like a being above the clouds, Ella stood beside Calaile and paid her respects.
“Lift your heads.”
Only after the permission was given did Ella finally get a look at the Emperor.
The Emperor’s first impression was surprisingly ordinary. He was fifty this year, with gray threading through his golden hair, the distinctive hue of the Imperial bloodline, and deep creases between his brows. Thinking he looked like the bad-tempered old man next door, Ella did her best to keep her composure.
“Since word reached me that you’d brought your fiancée, the Empress has joined us today as well.”
Seated beside the Emperor was the red-haired Empress, Catherine, who would go on to build a bitter feud not only with Calaile but with the Crown Prince as well.
‘She really is beautiful.’
She was only thirty-four now, having entered the palace at just twenty and soon becoming pregnant with the Third Prince, or so Ella had heard. Even before Ella regressed, the struggle over the Imperial Succession Rights had not ended, but with the Emperor’s judgment growing clouded, the Empress, who held the greatest influence, was steadily gaining power.
Because of his childhood friendship with the Crown Prince, the Grand Duke was also under serious scrutiny from the Empress and Marquis Osborn. If anyone was destined to become Calaile’s greatest enemy, it was the Empress rather than the Emperor, so Ella kept every nerve on edge to avoid giving them any grounds for criticism.
“I wondered what sort of lady would stir such unseemly rumors about the Grand Duke Wellington. It seems rumors really aren’t worth believing after all.”
“Rumors, you say?”
“Lady Lauche, is it?”
“It’s Lloyd, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Oh my, how careless of me. I hear the Grand Duke took one look at Lady Lloyd’s beauty and rushed into an engagement without his parents’ consent.”
The Empress deliberately got her name wrong and repeated the gossip that had spread through high society, but her words were lined with an unseen thorn. Her skill was formidable, subtly belittling Ella’s looks while also attacking the Duke’s conduct.
Every word was artfully arranged as an attack, yet her expression did not change in the slightest. Listening to her manner of speech, as sharp as an axe honed to a fine edge, Ella suddenly recalled a passage she had read in a treatise on warfare: the story of a servant who refused when the king demanded a fighting rooster, only to offer one after three refusals.
‘Even if there is a rooster that crows defiantly, if he keeps his expression unchanged and holds his composure like a rooster carved from wood, the other roosters will not even dare to challenge him and will flee.’
After the death of the previous Empress, countless intrigues had erupted within the palace, and the one who emerged victorious was the youngest of the consorts, the present Empress. Since she had been the Grand Duke’s rival, Ella had looked into the Empress to some extent as well.
The Emperor was one thing, but the Empress left a particularly strong impression on Ella. She was the Grand Duke’s greatest adversary, yet as a woman there was certainly something to learn from her. A poker face like that was not something just anyone could maintain. She had read in a book that revealing displeasure on one’s face after being attacked was the mark of an amateur. Ella continued to wear a calm smile as she offered her reply.
“Rumors always tend to be exaggerated, don’t they? I’m embarrassed.”
“Exaggerated, you say?”
With a humble manner that lowered herself, she also protected the Duke by claiming that the talk about his conduct was exaggerated too. Calaile, who had been about to push back against the Empress’s words, found himself at a loss for words before Ella’s skillful handling.
He had scoffed at her promise to be his shield. Barely half his size, and only moments ago trembling the very instant she stepped into the palace, she was now daring to shield him in front of the Empress. Truly, this was a woman whose nerve grew stronger in a crisis.
Having slipped into what could be called ‘work mode’, she now looked nothing like the girl who had cried in fear, radiating confidence. With Ella seemingly in good hands, Calaile turned his attention to the Emperor. The Emperor would surely be displeased that he was rushing to marry before the Emperor’s own son, trying to secure his standing. He had expected that the Emperor would openly show his dislike of this sudden engagement.
‘What’s this?’
The Emperor was still frowning as he studied Ella closely.
Perhaps he had become intrigued by her self-assured manner in conversation with the Empress, for though his expression still showed discomfort, it was no longer irritation.
“How did the two of you come to meet?”
Suddenly the Emperor lobbed a pointed question. The Emperor was aware of Calaile’s every movement. Having spent nearly two years on the battlefield, he could hardly have had the time to nurture a romance with some noble lady in the capital. Before Calaile could open his mouth, Ella smiled brightly and took his hand. Calaile, curious to see what she could do, willingly passed the chance to answer over to her.
“With all due respect, Your Majesty, it has to do with a modest hobby of mine.”
“A hobby?”
“It began with the Imperial Palace Library, which operates under Your Majesty’s grace.”
Smoothly lifting the Emperor’s reputation as she went, Ella began to spin a rather convincing tale. The Emperor placed great importance on the rule of law, and records were treated with equal reverence, so the Imperial Library had entered its most prosperous era since its founding.
“While my studies at a desk were bound to have their limits, I broadened my knowledge at the library. Then, upon hearing of Grand Duke Wellington’s victory on the Gordon Great Plains, I wrote a letter sharing my own thoughts on the matter.”
“The library, you say?”
The Emperor was a suspicious man, so no lie would slip past him. Besides, every incident had already taken place, so none of it was a secret anymore. Even if he read the letter, a person outside the matter would take it for nothing more than a plain recounting of facts; she had confirmed as much from the attitudes of the officials in charge. Ella’s borrowing records must still be on file at the Imperial Palace Library. A noble daughter borrowing military treatises was hardly common, so the librarians would surely remember her.
“How unexpected, Your Majesty.”
Unlike the Empress, who seemed not to believe a word, the Emperor watched Ella with a rather serious expression, his gaze fixed on her. Because he showed such unusual interest, Calaile found himself torn over how he ought to step in.
‘I thought he’d hate it?’
He had accepted the engagement with the intent of thumbing his nose at the Emperor, yet the Emperor’s reaction had turned out to be far from unfavorable. As Ella kept repeating that everything was owed to Your Majesty’s grace, the furrow between the Emperor’s brows slowly began to smooth. Thanks to that, even the Empress’s icy composure started to waver, little by little.
“And?”
“I was the one who sent the first letter. That, too, was made possible by the Registered Mail of the Imperial Library. Since it was Your Majesty who brought us together, I very much wished to express my gratitude in person once I had the chance to see you.”
Unlike usual, she laced her words with a touch of coquetry, repeating “It’s all thanks to Your Majesty” again and again, and watching her, Calaile realized that his fake fiancée was rather clever.
The Emperor, with his strong sense of self, could not stand baseless flattery, but he did not dislike every honeyed word. The Lady of peculiar tastes had been able to indulge her hobby thanks to the library under the Emperor’s influence, and her meeting with her beloved fiancé was likewise thanks to a system the Emperor had created.
What chilled him most was that not a single word of it was false. She spoke of the Emperor’s dislike for the Grand Duke as though it were a joke, yet Ella herself did not dislike the Emperor very much. The Grand Duke might resent the Emperor, but she held firm to the view that the Emperor was close to a wise ruler.
“You’ve brought home an unusual one, Calaile.”
For more than ten years he had never once called him by name, but now the Emperor addressed him as Calaile rather than Wellington. It seemed the first time since he could remember that the Emperor had worn such a lenient expression in his presence.
“I am deeply honored.”
“A hobby of reading, is it? Do you happen to have a favorite passage?”

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