Chapter 138 - Calm Before the Storm

 

The man in the armor removed his helmet. Surprisingly, the person in the armor was not the crown prince. Victor looked at the man in front of him as he held the helmet at his side. Unlike him, who had been the one wearing the armor all along, the crown prince was dressed in a simple white shirt with a comfortable expression on his face.

“In the future, I hope you will do this yourself, Your Highness. At least for when you have an audience with the emperor. I almost got caught today.”

A corner of Max’s mouth twisted at his subordinate’s slightly resentful words. “What’s wrong? He has no clue whether the man in that armor is his own child or not.”

“But…”

“Don’t argue with me anymore. I have no intention of bowing to him.” 

Victor already felt sick to his stomach from the pressure of having to play the crown prince in front of the emperor today. Nevertheless, he was told to undergo this act again. He felt as if he was suffering unfairly. ‘Isn’t this too much? He tells me to wear this armor every day.’

Max, who had no idea what Victor was thinking, smiled. “You won’t get caught unless you take off the helmet. Don’t worry.”

Victor dropped his head helplessly and answered, “Yes, Your Highness.”

* * *

The banquet will be a masquerade. Other than that, you can do as you please. 

Beatrice crumpled up the proposal for the banquet from her stepbrother and muttered furiously. “Maximillian…!” She had no idea that Maximillian would leave her in charge of the preparations for the banquet as she had certainly not dropped any hints about her plan. This meant it was impossible to ruin this banquet as she was now involved in it as well. Beatrice started to nervously throw things around when she realized that her plan had become ruined.

“Is this good-for-nothing trying to use me?!” The royal princess stomped past the frightened maids, opened a liquor bottle, and gulped down its contents. Her red eyes soon became hazy with madness. ‘Wait a minute, I can make him look like a madman without ruining the banquet!’

* * *

I had hoped for the banquet to pass by quickly, but contrary to my wishes, the time until then had felt quite long. ‘Ah, I’m sick of this. I can’t believe I have to do this again in two weeks,’ I thought dejectedly.

“You’re so beautiful, my lady!” Merilyn gushed at that moment.

“Merilyn is right. You will be the lady who will stand out the most at the banquet today!” another maid agreed. 

Since my plan was to avoid standing out today, I couldn’t help but to consider their words as disturbing remarks. “Oh, stop it. There will be plenty of other beautiful women there,” I sighed as I observed myself in the mirror. Although my dress was definitely not a noticeable color, it was overall delicate and lovely which made me fear that it might draw attention. ‘I really hope I don’t stand out to the crown prince…’ I sighed again as I began to worry.

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“Are you all set, my lady?” 

I stood up at Derrick’s voice which had come from outside the door. At that moment, the maids all turned towards me and said, “Be confident, my lady.”

“Yes, please be confident. I’m not just saying empty words. You look very beautiful today. I’m sure you’ll stand out the most at the banquet!” one added.

‘Please don’t say such scary things. It makes me worried.’ I couldn’t take their words as compliments because of my current situation. However, since there was a chance I might hurt their feelings if I denied their words, I forced a smile and nodded, “Okay, thank you for the compliments.”

The maids smiled brightly and opened the door for me. ‘Father said he’d escort me today, right?’ I didn’t want to take another step, but trudged forward. All I had to do now was to go downstairs, where my father would be waiting. ‘Ah, I really don’t want to go,’ I lamented.

“Jubelian,” a voice sounded at that moment. I saw my father, who had made his way up the stairs, standing in front of the staircase and reaching his hand out to me.

‘My father looks amazing today, just like any other day.’ This was the reason why he was still garnering attention from other noblewomen. ‘It would be great if he got remarried soon,’ I was filled with useless hope for a moment, then slowly approached him and took hold of his hand. A brilliant smile fell on his already glowing face.

“You look very beautiful today,” he commented.

I had not expected him to compliment me on top of smiling. I normally viewed compliments about my appearance as acts of courtesy, but began to feel strange at my father’s gentle compliment. ‘This is the first time he complimented my appearance.’ A sense of embarrassment started to encroach upon me, when my father’s lips, which were drawn into a soft curve, parted.

“I’m sure the crown prince will be happy to see you as well.” 

I became sullen when I realized the true reason he had complimented me. ‘Oh, he’s saying that I look acceptable for the crown prince.’ I hadn’t expected to hear a flustering comment like ‘my beautiful princess,’ since we weren’t close. In fact, compared to the relationship between people who weren’t family, our relationship was worse. Still, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed, because it was true that I was moved and overjoyed at the thought of him thinking of me as his lovely daughter. But as I thought… I shouldn’t have had such useless expectations.

“Let’s go,” he said. The hand that slowly led me was extremely warm, which only made me feel bitter.

‘I hope today will pass by quickly,’ I sighed with this thought.

* * *

‘Okay, this is good enough,’ Max thought as he admired his appearance in the mirror. Everything seemed to be sailing smoothly so far, when the letter that he failed to deliver to Jubelian caught his eye. ‘I should take this with me as well… just in case.’

A voice came from outside the door as Max picked up the letter. “We really have to get going now, Your Royal Highness.” Max sighed and put on a mask to cover his face. Even with the mask on, he still looked acceptable, which made him glad that he took the time to dress up.

Max clenched his fists, full of determination. ‘I’ll make sure to clear up all of Jubelian’s misunderstandings today.’

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