“Sir Michel?”
“Why do you care about that?”
Guien answered coldly. Even his expression turned frigid. Lev also lost his words.
It felt as if he were being warned against showing interest in Michel.
His nose suddenly stung. It felt like his throat was tightening.
“I must have… swallowed water wrong.”
Lev pressed his lips together to hold back what kept rising up.
A heavy silence fell between them.
Close to midnight.
Unable to fall asleep, Lev lay on the bed letting out deep sighs. Through the slightly open door came the sound of Marco speaking with someone.
“His Majesty is coming?”
Lev sucked in a breath.
“The Emperor is coming here? Why?”
On a day like this, he could have just left him alone.
“So pointlessly dutiful.”
It was probably because of the rumors. To lend credibility to the talk that the Emperor visited the consort’s room every night. Precisely because he knew that, he wanted even less to face him.
Lev squeezed his eyes shut and pretended to sleep. Before long, he heard Marco greeting the Emperor.
At the same time, he felt someone enter the room. Then one side of the bed dipped. A faint warmth reached him from nearby.
“Asleep?”
A low voice came. Unfortunately, the distance was close, so warm breath touched his ear.
Lev’s thin eyelids trembled. But since he was lying turned to the other side, the Emperor did not notice.
Lev kept pretending to sleep for a long time, then slightly opened his eyes. It was quiet and dark. Only then did he gather his courage, sit up, and look at the sleeping Emperor.
Because he lay on his back in a straight posture, his face was plainly visible even in the dark.
Lev could not bring himself to retreat. He simply held his breath and looked at him.
“This is really driving me crazy.”
Lev clutched his head and curled up. Of course, the Emperor was handsome enough to drive someone crazy. He could not deny that from the first time they met, his gaze had been stolen.
“But still, this isn’t right.”
No matter how he thought about it, no matter how many times he thought about it, it was like that. This was absurd. This was really serious. At this rate, he felt he might become the villainous bottom blinded by jealousy, interfering with the Emperor and the male lead.
He truly declined that.
“Somehow, get the two of them together. Then I step out.”
Yes, that was the best. That was how he would survive. Yet why did both his body and his heart feel so cold it hurt.
He watched with darkened eyes as the time when black night had fallen passed and dawn brightened to blue.
At last, the morning of the banquet celebrating the Emperor’s birthday dawned.
“Sir Lev! Quickly. Please get up.”
At the voice calling him, Lev barely pried up his eyelids. Even then, his head did not clear.
“Why can’t you get up these days?”
Marco scolded as he lifted the groggy Lev. As he said, lately Lev often overslept or was listless like this in the mornings.
Every time he made plans to bring the two together, his heart grew unsettled, and then he could not sleep, and after watching the morning whiten, he finally fell asleep for several days.
On top of that, the Emperor came every night. Even when Lev suggested using separate rooms for a while, a firm refusal came back. That plunged Lev into torment.
“Why are we in such a hurry?”
Lev stumbled down from the bed and, as he was, was led out of the room by Marco.
“Because today is an important day.”
An important day. Of course, it was. Because the birthday celebration banquet would be held. Even so, that hardly seemed like a reason he had to be dragged somewhere from the morning like this.
The place they finally reached was a bath on the third floor.
The floor was laid with sleek, white marble, and there was a statue of a cherub pouring out hot water from a pitcher. Perhaps because it was so spacious, there was no steam and the air was not damp.
No, not because it was spacious, but because one wall was pleasantly open. Beyond the bright opening, a green forest grew thick, giving even a refreshing and cool atmosphere. It seemed to be a special space used not only for simple washing but also for resting.
“His Majesty has given special permission to use it.”
Marco, standing behind him, said proudly. Which meant this was a place used only by the Emperor.
“Why?”
“So that Sir Lev can be perfectly prepared, of course. Please, go in quickly.”
Marco spoke in a voice full of excitement. Lev gave a bitter smile.
“I wonder what rumors will spread now.”
When Lev got a separate dressing room, there had been talk throughout the palace that the Emperor’s consort had thrown a tantrum for days.
But the Emperor’s bath… People might say he did not know his place and was putting his nose in the air.
Somehow, regardless of his own will, he felt he was steadily becoming the villainous bottom.
“Sigh…”
Lev sighed inwardly and, pushed by Marco, moved his steps into the bath.
An evening that usually would have begun quietly at the palace was bustling and noisy.
In the broad square, carriages bearing the crests of various houses formed a line, and at the entrance to the first floor, nobles in brightly colored finery bloomed with laughter, each showing off their connections.
“We have to go there?”
Lev slightly drew aside the curtain on the window, looked down outside, and let out a sigh as if appalled.
“Sir Lev, please look this way. And of course we do. Do you know what day it is today?”
As Marco pinned a boutonniere decorated with fresh flowers and jewels to Lev’s chest, he spoke with satisfaction.
Naturally. It was a banquet opened to celebrate the Emperor’s birth. So it was perhaps only natural that all the nobles in the empire would take part.
They had said the Emperor would dance before thousands and so on. But at the time, he had only heard it in words, so he had not fully felt it, and only now was he feeling it in his skin.
“We’re doomed.”
Whether Lev wore a despairing expression or not, Marco smiled with satisfaction at the appearance of Lev, completed after a whole day of his own effort, grooming, and attire.
What Lev wore today was a white jacket and trousers, with gold applied to the sleeves, collar, and waist, and gold chains decorating the front, creating a splendid yet elegant impression.
In particular, the jacket was made to fit his body exactly, which well brought out Lev’s neat air, and this greatly pleased Marco.
Of course, the person wearing it could not shake the feeling that, no matter how he looked at it, it was like wedding attire.
“Please don’t worry, Sir Lev. Today, more than anyone, you will stand out and be in the spotlight.”
It was not comforting at all to Lev. Honestly, he just wanted to hole up in the room like this and lie as if dead.
Good heavens, to dance in front of all those people.
“Is this really a dream or reality?”
No, it was neither a dream nor reality. This was, unfortunately, an inhabited world he had entered. So even escape into delusion was difficult.
“Seriously…”
Just as Lev was on the verge of even blaming the Emperor for all of this, there came a knock, knock at the door.
“Yes.”
Marco answered and ran to open the door. Standing outside was the Emperor’s attendant.
“His Majesty is ready.”
In other words, it meant, come now, because they had to go to the banquet. Marco looked back at Lev with a flushed face.
“Sir Lev, let’s go.”
Lev glanced back and forth between Marco standing by the door and the Emperor’s attendant, then slowly began to walk.
Past several salons and corridors decorated elegantly and luxuriously, there was a room with lavish doors thrown wide. The Emperor stood there.
“You came.”
Guien gave a brief glance to Lev, who stood awkwardly, and spoke.
“Shall we go?”
Lev stepped aside by the door. He planned to follow behind after the Emperor passed.
But Guien did not simply pass by. He stopped in front of Lev and raised his arm.
When Lev stared blankly, not knowing what that action meant, the Emperor clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Link your arm. Or take my hand.”
“Pardon?”
Do what? Link arms. Take his hand. Who? Me? With whom? With the Emperor.
Disordered words spun around Lev’s head.
“Take it.”
The Emperor gave a short order to Lev, who was mired in confusion. Lev looked back and forth once between the arm the Emperor held out and his face, then, as was his habit, let out a long breath and placed his hand.
Escorting Lev, the Emperor headed toward the staircase that led directly to the first-floor gallery.
It was a place called the Stair of Honor, not normally open, but opened for special events.
Seeing the Emperor and his consort descending the stairs, the footman rapped the doorknobs on the door with a bang, bang.
“His Imperial Majesty enters.”
A resounding voice came from beyond the door. Soon the heavy doors opened and light so bright it was dazzling poured in. With stately music, loud acclamations and cheers rang out.
“Uwaaaaaa…”
Guien turned his head with a serene expression. There stood Lev, looking somewhat dazed.
“Shall we?”
The Emperor spoke casually. Lev, with his hand on the Emperor’s arm, also began to walk stiffly. All the nobles filling the hall looked at the two. Mixed in were gazes of surprise and jealousy toward the man appearing with the Emperor.
“Is that the consort from the rumors?”
“He looks fierce. I wonder how he caught His Majesty’s eye.”
“That’s right. The second son of D’Albret would suit him better. Both their blond hair looks as if drenched in gold.”
“I suppose he is different at night. They say His Majesty goes to the consort’s room every night.”
All the way to the highest place in the hall, Lev somehow heard the voices aimed at him.
Ladies with fans covering their faces spoke to each other as they watched this way.
Even as they observed courtesy and offered greetings when the Emperor passed, they did not neglect such remarks. It seemed they were very interested in him.
It was a situation he really did not want. At last, eight steps remaining, the Emperor released Lev’s arm. From here, only the Emperor could ascend.
Lev watched the Emperor climb the stairs and stand before the great throne.
“Thank you for coming to this place despite your busy affairs. I hope you have an enjoyable time.”
After conveying a concise welcome, the Emperor began to descend the steps. Everyone’s gaze focused there. For the banquet to begin in earnest, the Emperor had to come to the center of the hall and dance. It was the moment the children of many noble families felt most tense and expectant.
The Emperor had no Empress. So to become the Emperor’s first dance partner held a special meaning.
Of course, the nobles knew that the Emperor would no longer take an Empress, and that he did not like to convey such an intention.
Even so, the nobles could not give up hope. Lev, standing below the throne, was not a consideration to them at all. He was a lowborn consort of unknown origin anyway.
Feeling the stares stabbing into his back, Lev looked only at the Emperor who was coming closer and closer.
With brilliant light at his back, the descending figure of the Emperor was so beautiful it seemed almost unreal.
Thump, thump.
His heart began to pound. Just as Lev raised his arm to steady his own heartbeat, the Emperor, having fully descended the stairs, held out his hand.
“Lev.”
It was certainly not a tender voice. Even so, for some reason, the gaze on him seemed gentle. Lev’s long eyes softened slightly. Even his lips parted faintly. It looked somehow like he was spacing out, as if bewitched by something.
A smooth arc traced Guien’s lips.
In that instant, small cheers and gasps went through the hall. Unconcerned with the reaction around them, the Emperor took Lev’s awkwardly half-raised hand.
“Shall we?”
Lev could not say anything and only nodded. Seeing that, this time criticism burst out among several nobles.
“For a mere consort to accept His Majesty’s dance invitation with a nod, how rude.”
“It seems lowly birth cannot be hidden.”
“Why would His Majesty choose such a person? How degrading.”
Regardless, the Emperor, holding Lev’s hand, calmly began to walk to the center of the hall. Only the sound of the two of them walking could be heard.
At last, the Emperor and Lev reached the center of the hall and faced each other. As if it had been waiting, an elegant and delicate melody began to flow.
“Don’t worry. It’s fine if you step on me.”
Guien drew Lev right up to his side, brought his lips to his ear, and whispered.
At the sudden closeness, Lev’s shoulders flinched and trembled. The breath that trailed into his ear tickled.
“I will not.”
Trying not to show that he was shaken, Lev deliberately answered curtly. Unfortunately, his voice trembled a little.
The Emperor’s soft laugh was heard. Lev put strength into the corner of his eye and snapped his gaze over.
“Eek.”
But there, unfortunately, were the Emperor’s red lips, so he had to quickly turn his gaze away again.
He felt a little vibration again as if the Emperor were laughing. This time he could not turn to look.
To Lev, it was teasing. To the many nobles watching, it meant something else. Especially to Marquis D’Albret, who had had other thoughts since the time the Emperor sent for his son, and to Michel, whose interest lay somewhere other than the Emperor.
“Sir Lev.”
Michel’s gaze fixed on the Emperor’s consort who was dancing.
Lev, while showing plenty of signs of nervousness, was dancing more skillfully than last time.
What had the Emperor said then? He said he danced with Lev every day. So to be able to do it so naturally meant the two of them had been together all that time. Michel bit his lip.
Wearing white, Lev exuded an even more elegant and aristocratic air. Knowing that he had dressed like that for the Emperor, he felt jealous.
“Why in the world would His Majesty choose such a fellow?”
A voice filled with anger came from beside him. Michel glanced sideways. Marquis D’Albret stood with his face rigid.
“Surely His Majesty ought to be dancing the first dance with you.”
“Well now.”
It seemed the Marquis had gone barking up the wrong tree. Perhaps the very reason the Emperor had called for him was to ridicule him.
After taking the trouble to invite him to the palace, the very fact that at the most important banquet the entrance and the first dance were with the consort seemed to have that intention.
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