Chapter 210 - Believe in Me Just Once in Your Life

“Oh dear, how dare I be compared to the Sun of the Empire,” he said as he let out a loud, coarse laugh. “I do not know if we will be imprisoned and held accountable for committing lèse-majesté!”

“That would never happen, my dear Ro,” Petronilla whispered as she planted a small kiss on Rothesay’s cheek. “How can they arrest and imprison a man who is as lovable as you?”

“It is an honor, Nil,” Rothesay responded, kissing her cheeks with an affectionate smile. “Oh right, I have something I need to tell you.”

“Something you need to tell me?”

“Next week is when they will be holding a banquet for the celebration of Her Majesty’s birthday.”

“Yes, that is so.” Next week would be the birthday of the person that Petronilla loved most in the entire world, Patrizia. Of course, this meant it was also her birthday. Tilting her head, Petronilla asked, “What about that?”

“I have something important that must be taken care of that day. Once the celebration is over… could I meet with you for a moment?”

“Of course, Ro.” Petronilla nodded as if she liked that idea.

Rothesay drew a light smile on his face as he gazed at her reaction. He brought his head down to kiss her on her forehead, and whispered, “There is no woman in the whole wide world as lovely as you, Nil.”

—–

Time passed, and the day of Patrizia’s birthday celebrations finally arrived.

The birthday of the Empress was planned in splendor to match the title. From the early morning of that day, Patrizia had to spend her time being busy dealing with the incoming flood of gifts, and being made up to the point of feeling like she was being decorated like a doll. Due to the level of preparation differing completely from the other banquets in the past, Patrizia could almost feel her consciousness fading away.

“Oh my, Your Majesty. You are beyond beautiful!” one of the maids exclaimed with a thrilling voice to her. Patrizia felt rather embarrassed and awkward at her reaction.

As if she had caught onto Patrizia’s feelings, Mirya helped by saying, “Your Majesty, you are truly beautiful.”

“I do not think I will get used to being this dressed up, no matter how many times I am made up.”

“But you will get used to it soon. The more wrinkles Your Majesty forms around the mouth, the more natural it will become to accept these lavish appearances.”

“Are you saying I have to keep doing this even as I get older? Oh my goodness!” Patrizia shook her head as if she was exhausted just thinking about it. Her hair had been piled up high in a tidy style, and felt somewhat heavier than usual.

“What about my parents and my older sister? When did you say they would be arriving?” Patrizia asked.

“I received a message stating they had set off a little while ago, Your Majesty.”

“I have to hurry too, then.”

The hour hand of the clock was already running towards early afternoon. For the final step, Patrizia spritzed some dried rose-scented perfume on herself and then rose from her seat. As she did so, she could hear a little disturbance occurring outside of her room. Patrizia muttered with a puzzled look, “What is happening…”

But before she could even finish her sentence, someone suddenly opened the door and walked into her room. Patrizia stared at the incoming figure with bewildered eyes. She saw that person was Lucio. She murmured, “Your Majesty…?”

“Ah…” He looked at Patrizia, a slight flush creeping up on his cheeks, and he admitted in a small voice, “That was rude of me. Please excuse me. I was in a hurry…”

“What brings you all the way here…”

“That is…” He hesitated before providing his explanation, “I came here thinking I could be your escort.”

“Ah…” When Patrizia looked awkward and turned away to avert eye contact, the maids, including Mirya, caught on and swiftly left the room. Their faces became more reddened by the maids’ behavior. In fact, even though they had seen everything they could have of one another, the mental and emotional relationship between them of them was still new and fresh. To say the least, it was quite interesting and amusing to watch from a spectator’s point of view.

“Preparation… Have you finished with all of your preparations?”

“Yes…”

“You look very pretty today.”

“Ah…” Patrizia hesitated for a moment, then replied with reddened cheeks, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Then, shall we take our leave?” He hesitated as he tenderly reached out to take her hand in his.

Patrizia grabbed his outstretched hand carefully. -Has there been a time that I ever properly held this man’s hand?- Patrizia entertained these thoughts while holding his hand. -I do not think think so..-.’ Lucio’s hand was warm in hers. She thought about how this was pretty strange and grasped his hand a bit tighter.

It was her birthday, after all…

—

The birthdays of both the Emperor and Empress were among the most celebrated festivals in the Marvinus Empire. There were so many people that it created the illusion that all the nobles in the Empire must have gathered. The crowds were full to the brim, to the extent that it was a little dizzying for Patrizia as she muttered to herself silently, -Are there usually so many people that gather at a celebration like this?-

“You look like you are a little fatigued, are you alright?”

“I am fine,” Patrizia responded politely.

However, Lucio continued anxiously, “If you feel even the slightest amount of discomfort, please make sure to let me know. Do you understand?”

“I will do that.” After agreeing to his request, Patrizia broke out into a grin despite herself. The unexpected attention was not such a bad thing…

—

Meanwhile, Petronilla was having a good time, starting off the day of the birthday celebration with Rothesay.

“You look really pretty today.” As always, Rothesay began the conversation praising Petronilla, and she blushed slightly, as she thought there was no stopping him.

“Every time, you only compliment me. What if I get used to you doing this for me?”

“Why not, what is wrong with that? Anyway, I will be the one you will marry-…” Rothesay, who had spoken thus far, swallowed the rest of his words at that moment. -Oops, a mistake.- Luckily, Petronilla did not seem to notice anything amiss, as she did not show any sort of reaction to his abruptly cut statement. Reassured by this, Rothesay continued with his words, “It is fine to get used to it. Because I plan to keep paying you these compliments.”

“Oh my, wow.” Petronilla could not help but display a silly grin. “Those are some sweet words.”

“Then that would be an honor.” With a gentle smile, Rothesay gracefully stretched out his hand to Petronilla. “With that in mind… would you like to dance with me to one song, my Lady?”

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED