4.5
“Come to think of it, did they not say His Majesty met often with the second son of D’Albret?”
It seemed Michel was not the only one who thought that. A noblewoman seated a little farther away fluttered her fan and whispered.
“They did. That is why there were even rumors that the Marquis D’Albret’s second son might become Empress.”
Another noblewoman beside her murmured along.
“Hm… seeing it now, perhaps His Majesty did it on purpose.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember how the Marquis of D’Albret took issue with His Majesty taking a consort. Do you not remember what His Majesty said then?”
“Ah, aha! He asked if the marquis meant to make his son the Empress.”
Because the two noblewomen were not far away, their conversation carried clearly to the Marquis D’Albret and to Michel.
“That, that insolent…!”
The Marquis D’Albret turned a frosty gaze behind him. But he could not tell who had said it. There were simply too many nobles present.
He glared coldly at one of them, then turned forward again just as the music ended and the Emperor and his consort exchanged bows.
The first dance had ended. Now it was truly the nobles’ time. It was also when the Emperor’s next partner would be decided.
“Michel! What are you doing!”
The Marquis D’Albret urged him. But Michel only looked quietly at the two who had finished the dance and exchanged bows. The air that flowed between the Emperor and his consort was subtle.
“You said His Majesty saw the consort as nothing more than a partner for the night?”
The Marquis D’Albret snapped irritably, glaring at his son who, despite being scolded, did not budge and said something off-topic.
“Yes. Did you not see it too? How His Majesty treated that consort, who looked as if he had been wandering somewhere, with coldness.”
Michel recalled the situation when he first went to the palace and met Lev. It was true that the Emperor’s manner toward the consort then had been cool.
But…
“In that garden it was completely different, was it not?”
As if to show him, the Emperor had danced with Lev. There had clearly been affection within that.
So for Michel, the Emperor entering with his consort was not a surprise.
Even so, who could say? All Michel had heard of the Emperor was that he was a cool-headed and cunning sovereign. Because he was such a ruler, even such displays might be something carried out under a plan.
“It must be so.”
The Emperor had to be that way.
“So that I too will have a chance.”
Michel clenched his fist tight.
“Hurry and go to His Majesty. Will you give others a chance like this.”
When Michel still showed no sign of moving, the Marquis D’Albret pressed him again. As he said, there were many eyes on the Emperor. But the marquis seemed not to notice. He did not understand why the empire’s foremost nobles and their heirs did not readily step forward.
“Father, do you not understand.”
“What are you saying?”
“The reason His Majesty entered with the consort and danced the first dance.”
The marquis’s chilled gaze shifted from his son back to the Emperor and Lev at the center of the hall.
He was not unaware. He could guess that what the nobles were murmuring was, to a degree, true.
“It is a warning. That no matter how hard anyone tries, he will give his favor to none among the nobles.”
But hearing those words come out of his son’s mouth only wounded his pride more.
Now, in the marquis’s gaze toward the Emperor’s consort, one could even feel a certain fighting spirit. The Marquis D’Albret turned his eyes somewhere across the vast hall. They soon met the Emperor’s attendant who was standing by His Majesty.
“You told me to trust you and leave it to you. How long am I supposed to wait?”
The Marquis D’Albret had pressed him so when he met the attendant at the palace yesterday. He thought that for all the bold talk, the results were meager.
“Please look forward to tomorrow.”
But the attendant had been confident. It seemed he had some plan. Even now, meeting the marquis’s eyes, the attendant gave a meaningful smile.
Michel, who had been watching only Lev, did not notice the sly looks the two men exchanged.
At last the Emperor and Lev finished exchanging bows and stepped back.
“Now.”
Without taking his eyes off Lev, Michel began to move.
“We need only remove that vulgar thing. Then you will have all the chance you want.”
From behind came the Marquis D’Albret’s mutter, ground out between his teeth. Michel, who had just lifted his foot to step forward, stopped short and whipped around.
Only then did Michel realize the marquis was glaring at Lev with an ominous look.
“Please do not say such things carelessly.”
“To peel off a mere consort, what of it?”
“Father.”
Michel lowered his voice as he called him, worried that someone else might hear the marquis.
But what truly concerned Michel was not the Marquis D’Albret, it was Lev.
For an instant, conflict and hesitation flickered through Michel’s eyes. To probe what the marquis was thinking, or to go to Lev.
Having reached a decision at last, Michel chose not to stop his father, and instead began walking to where the Emperor and Lev stood. The nobles nearby also converged on Michel. All their eyes shone with keen interest.
It was only natural, now that the three at the center of all the rumors had finally gathered in one place.
Most of them were eager to see how Michel D’Albret would deal with the Emperor’s consort, what he would say to humiliate him.
They brightened with excitement as they imagined how the Emperor would act as he watched those two, and so on.
At last, Michel arrived, and his gaze lingered for the briefest moment on Lev. But then he addressed not Lev, but the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, congratulations.”
With one hand to his chest, Michel raised his right hand and offered an elegant salute.
“It has been a while.”
The Emperor looked at Michel D’Albret, who paid him respect, with an unenthusiastic eye.
“Seeing you again after an interval of a week, when before we were seeing each other almost daily, you seem even more distinguished.”
Yet because his tone was gentle, the surrounding nobles were deceived into thinking the Emperor welcomed Michel D’Albret.
“My apologies. I had several affairs to see to and could not come pay my respects.”
“Even so, that you sent not so much as a word left me a little disappointed.”
“For that as well, I am without excuse, Your Majesty.”
Guien’s words, spoken as if for those around to hear, caused a small stir, as expected.
“So it truly is the second son of D’Albret that His Majesty has set his heart on.”
“My goodness. To hear His Majesty speak so gently. It is unbelievable.”
“That he would say he was disappointed not to have seen him for a week. It is unlike His Majesty, but rather romantic.”
Those whispers did not reach the Emperor and Michel, who seemed wrapped in a world of their own. But Lev, who stood a step behind them, heard every word clearly.
‘As expected… they do have feelings for each other.’
It should have been reassuring. If the Emperor and the male lead went well, it meant the ending that led to death was that much farther away.
Yet somehow his insides felt scraped raw again. Around his heart too, there was a tightness that felt as if something were squeezing. Lev gave his chest a small thump for no reason.
“May I ask Your Majesty for a dance.”
Michel asked the Emperor for a dance. The slightly raised face also showed a hint of tension. The Emperor’s lips curved faintly.
He had not yet spoken the words, but those nearby understood that it meant yes.
“I ought to dance with you.”
The Emperor readily held out his hand. Seeing this, the crowd murmured again. Right on cue, the music that had paused began to flow once more.
The Emperor and Michel D’Albret began to move with grace, like those who had already matched their breathing many times.
Watching them, Lev realized belatedly that he had been standing there in a daze. Everyone was paired and dancing. He alone stood there without a partner. He ought to leave this spot, at least.
Lev turned his body at once. But because he was in the midst of the great swirling figure dance, it was not easy to slip away. More than that, he did not know where he should go.
Everyone, dressed in splendid clothes, was dancing, and he alone felt like a boy who could not adapt and wandered.
Lev looked around at the dizzying scene and found a place that at least looked a little less crowded.
It was a doorway veiled with purple blackout curtains. Likely, beyond it would be a terrace leading to the garden.
Lev walked carefully so as not to be jostled by people. A few glances turned his way and then moved on.
At last, Lev reached the long purple curtain that nearly dragged along the floor.
He took hold of the edge of the curtain and looked back. There spread a scene beautiful as in a film.
Decorations set with jewels of many colors and ribbons, the chandelier in the ceiling glittering, beneath it nobles laughing and chatting, and footmen and maids moving busily with trays of food.
It felt as if they were all moving to the elegant, delicate melody. And what shone brightest among them was none other than the Emperor and Michel D’Albret.
“No wonder they are the protagonists.”
Even the air they gave off was so very different. Yes, clearly he did not fit this place at all.
He was one who would simply stay quietly for a time and then disappear. That was exactly the role he ought to play.
With a bitter smile, Lev turned away as if fleeing from a world that did not suit him, drew the curtain aside, and pushed hard on the closed glass door.
“I expected you to go pay respects that way since you could not take your eyes off my consort, but this is unexpected.”
The Emperor brought his face close and spoke in a whisper to Michel D’Albret. Michel too answered softly so that others would not hear.
“I, unlike Your Majesty, think first of Sir Lev’s safety.”
Guien widened the distance again and looked down at Michel D’Albret. Contrary to his expressionless face, there was a question in Guien’s eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“I understand that entering with Sir Lev and dancing the first dance were to keep the nobles in check.”
“Clever.”
Michel knew the Emperor’s words were not praise. If anything, it was close to a sneer. But he continued, unfazed.
“But have you considered what danger that brings to Sir Lev.”
“Danger…”
Guien repeated the word that most drew his attention from what Michel D’Albret had said, and looked around.
Everyone was smiling, talking, and dancing with their partners. Yet their gazes often turned this way, and sometimes moved here and there seeking someone not present at this spot.
Guien was not unaware of what those looks meant. From the outset, he had intended it. He had entered with Lev, had danced, and had remained here.
Even after finishing the dance, he had not gone back at once for the same reason. He knew Michel D’Albret would surely approach.
Through him, he would again take the measure of the surrounding reactions. What he wondered was how Michel D’Albret would act.
Guien felt the fixed, insistent gaze on this spot.
There was no need to think long about who it was. He recognized at once that it was Michel D’Albret. He even recognized that the gaze was not directed at himself but at Lev.
“Do you not know or do you simply not care?”
Michel planted one foot and slid to the side, facing the Emperor head-on.
The green eyes, like emeralds, even gave off an aggressive air. It was clearly aimed at the Emperor.
“Who knows?”
Of course, the Emperor, more adept than anyone at dealing with people, would not fall for such a provocation.
Instead, Guien made his smile a little brighter. That was enough to mislead the nobles who had been glancing this way.
Michel D’Albret, gazing only at the Emperor, and the Emperor smiling at him as prettily as a flower.
“At this rate, Michel D’Albret might become Empress.”
“So that is why the Marquis D’Albret has been meeting His Majesty so often lately.”
“From now on, I should try to please the Marquis D’Albret.”
The mood flowing through the hall now was exactly what the Emperor had wanted. From the beginning, he had aimed for this situation by entering and dancing with Lev. Then, with apt timing, Michel D’Albret inserted himself and made it even more dramatic.
It was indeed the thing he most desired, so why did it feel unpleasant. Just then, unconsciously, Guien’s gaze began to move to search for his consort.
“Irresponsible of you.”
Michel’s voice, laced with reproach, reached him.
“You are truly insolent. To whom do you think you are speaking like that?”
No matter how great the power of the marquis’s house and its son, Michel D’Albret could not match the Emperor Guien.
“What does Your Majesty intend to do with Sir Lev?”
Even so, Michel D’Albret looked straight at the Emperor and asked. With a face still wreathed in a smile, Guien again brought himself close to Michel D’Albret and spoke softly.
“That is none of your concern, whelp.”
“Whelp.”
At the sneer in the word, Michel bristled. Enjoying the hostility that gathered in those green eyes, Guien smiled even more deeply.
“I will ask in case, just to be sure.”
Guien drew Michel D’Albret close again and whispered low.
“Do not entertain foolish thoughts.”
“I do not understand what Your Majesty means.”
Before answering, Guien watched Michel swallow a dry gulp. Unable to hide his tension, he showed it plainly, just like a clumsy whelp.
“Do not forget that Lev is my consort.”
The eyes that fixed on the Emperor trembled. Michel’s hand, which had made its way up onto Guien’s shoulder, tightened. At the all too obvious agitation, Guien instead lost interest.
“I understand.”
Michel replied, barely managing to sound composed. It seemed this was his way of saying he would not cause harm to Lev.
He did not seem to know that such clumsy “defense” would only put the other in a worse spot. Of course, Guien had no intention of kindly pointing that out.
He only needed to give a warning.
“Good. Keep it like this.”
There must be no awkward approach that would cause trouble for both.
At last, the piece ended. Michel D’Albret offered a bow and stepped back. Without so much as a word of thanks, Guien looked around.
He sought his consort, but he was nowhere to be seen. When the Emperor turned his head, what followed him were only gazes full of expectation, thinking perhaps he meant to dance with them.
“He has gone out to the terrace.”
Sensing what the Emperor was looking for, the chief attendant came up behind him and whispered. He did not forget to signal with his eyes toward the terrace where Lev had gone out.
Guien’s gaze turned that way for a moment. But the steps that finally moved headed not for the terrace, but for the throne. The chief attendant quietly followed, hearing the sighs of disappointment spreading here and there.
Leaning back, Guien took the glass the chief attendant offered and looked down. Amid the flower-bright nobles, Michel D’Albret was moving busily. It looked like he was searching for someone.
“You said you did not understand, did you.”
Guien snorted into his glass. Just then, he saw two men heading out to the terrace. Holding the liquor in his mouth, Guien watched them closely.
Leave a Reply