CH 16.5

At her sharp question, which naturally didn’t go over well, Alfonso shrugged with his usual mischievous expression.

“Charlotte, I’ve never seen it before.”

“What?”

She replied, not even looking at Alfonso, her attention focused on Lila and Lucas.

Grabbing her hand roughly as she tried to move toward them, Alfonso whispered so only Charlotte could hear.

“Your distorted face.”

Charlotte froze at his words. Unperturbed by her behavior, Alfonso leaned in and whispered close to her ear.

“I didn’t know you could make that face. I’m kind of embarrassed because I like it more than I thought I would.”

Charlotte’s eyes flicked to Alfonso, who was still waggling his eyebrows in mischief.

Let’s see, he’d been so obnoxious since the last time they met. She no longer felt valued by him.

She threw up her hands, showing her true face.

“You’re a little overwhelming, Alfonso.”

Turning to Charlotte, who was trying to ignore him and walk past, Alfonso said with a stern look.

“How dare you strike my hand away, Charlotte?”

The way he spoke, shaking his head like a child, was no different from his usual demeanor, but his expression had completely disappeared, making him look bizarre.

For a moment, Charlotte flinched, but then she lifted her chin.

“You, of all people, shouldn’t be taking a lady’s hand, should you?”

“… Cough.”

His sky-blue eyes, which had been as clear as the blue sky, glowed coldly. Heinrich stepped to his side, his lips pursed slowly.

“Marquis Benière, I don’t think this is the right time for this as the Emperor will be here in a few minutes. Please refrain from any imprudent behavior.”

“Hmmm, if the Duke of Frederick says so, who am I to say no. But you’d better be a good sport about it, or else the Duke of Montefeltra will be on to you.”

Alfonso’s words reminded Heinrich of his conversation with Lucas. It made his throat burn. How could he be loved, when he didn’t even seem to crave love that much…

As he watched Charlotte struggle to get out of his sight, Heinrich reached out to her.

Carefully, he grasped her slender wrist, but the force was enough to stop her in her tracks.

“Duke?”

Heinrich whispered softly, looking down at Charlotte, who looked puzzled.

“I don’t think it’s a good time, soon…”

His words were cut short by a frightening roar.

“His Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire of Vassium. Her Majesty the Empress, the Moon of the Empire. And His Highness the Crown Prince, the Little Sun of the Empire, will be entertaining, all of you, please be polite!”

The doors that only royalty could enter slowly opened. The Emperor entered slowly, escorted by the Empress.

As the Autumn Ball is considered the most important event of the year, the royal family was expected to showcase their elegance.

The Emperor and Empress, looking more solemn than at any other banquet, took their seats at the head of the table.

They were followed by the Crown Prince, who sat at the next table. Theobald rolled his eyes impatiently, unable to hide his impatience.

“All seated!”

The servant announced in a booming voice. After the emperor, empress, and Crown Prince were seated, they began to take their seats in order of rank at the banquet table.

Lucas took Lila’s hand and walked slowly, her fingers wrapped around his.

Her beauty shone through even in the most spacious banquet hall in the palace, and with every movement she made, the men were speechless. Theobald, equally if not more so, was also unable to take his eyes off her.

He was overwhelmed by the realization that he could see Lila in real life after only seeing her in his dreams.

How he missed her, and he wondered if she knew how much he missed her.

Theobald’s eyes were locked on Lila’s, and he was offended to realize that her gaze was on Lucas.

Why wasn’t she like the version of her who was in his dreams. Where she would have loved him and not Lucas…

Sharp red eyes glared at Lucas. Lucas’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, even as he recognized Theobald’s hostile gaze.

He bowed gracefully to the emperor and empress, and then to Theobald, the Crown Prince.

“May you have a bountiful winter.”

Following Lucas’s lead, Lila and Michael bowed as well. Theobald’s expression, stoic when Lucas greeted him, softened when he turned to Lila.

It wasn’t just soft, it was plaintive and mournful, and it made people wonder.

“Lila…”

Theobald’s voice was as sweet as a man already in love.

Lila’s brow wrinkled in displeasure. Theobald sat across from her, as they were seated in order of rank.

Heinrich took Charlotte and walked toward Theobald. The Emperor and Empress were seated in the center of the room, and a long row of nobles sat around them, all interested in the start of the banquet that marked the beginning of the Autumn Ball.

Raising his goblet of wine and tapping it lightly with his spoon, the Emperor began to speak.

“I offer a prayer of thanks to Lupus for this year’s bountiful end.”

After speaking simply, the Emperor closed his eyes for a moment. Following suit, all the nobles closed their eyes and prayed to Lupus.

Tapping his wine glass again, the Emperor raised it high.

“Then, let the feast begin.”

Everyone followed suit and raised their glasses. Then, with their mouths together, they said

“Lupus, may you grant the empire of Vassium infinite glory and abundance.”

When they had finished, they drank the wine lightly. Michael drank the grape juice at Lila’s side and set it down.

The servants and maids waited, then began to bring out the food. First came the salad. It was a selection of the year’s best vegetables, tossed in a refreshing dressing.

Lila looked at the salad and was confused. There were cucumbers in the salad.

Michael’s complexion darkened at the quick glance. There was no way he was going to leave food out in front of the emperor, empress, and Crown Prince.

But she couldn’t bear to see the cucumber going into Michael’s mouth. Lila thought furiously.

Then the emperor picked up his fork and began to eat, and when the empress and Crown Prince did the same, all the nobles picked up their forks in unison.

Lila mashed the vegetables with her fork, making them smaller, and winked at Michael.

He looked at her salad, following her cobalt eyes as they squinted at him. As she made it smaller, he followed suit, gathering up his salad and pressing it down firmly.

Lucas stared at the two of them for a moment. Wondering what the hell was going on, he spotted a cucumber, and before he could say anything to her, Lila reached for it.

Covering her mouth for a moment, she quickly grabbed the salad from Michael’s plate and took a bite.

She felt self-conscious that this was the only thing she could think of in a hurry, but she didn’t want to feed him cucumbers.

Lila finished her salad neatly. It wasn’t a lot, so it was a quick bite.

Michael barked out a laugh, but he was embarrassed to admit that he couldn’t help it, and Lucas did the same, so he tried to keep a straight face.

Luckily, no one else seemed to see what she was doing, though even if they did, it wouldn’t matter.

The first bite was fresh oysters, shrimp, and a small piece of bread. Relieved to see him eat first, she carefully passed her shrimp to him.

Smiling wryly, he thought to himself, ‘I’m so happy to have a Lila like this. Even when I was happy, I couldn’t be this happy.’

All he needed was for someone worthy of him to love him, and when he didn’t know that, he craved affection, even though he had never received it.

Michael, who did not know he was thirsty, will seek water every day. But now he knows the true taste of water. The water of affection.

“I’m okay, Auntie.”

Listening to the child’s small whisper, Lila replied in a small voice.

“I’m fine, too, Michael.”

The rest of the dinner was uneventful. Lila watched Michael eat and occasionally glanced over at Lucas.

He was usually jealous of his nephew, but not at this moment. Lucas felt grateful for her affectionate gesture, for her care towards his nephew.

“Enjoy yours, wife.”

He should have taken care of her instead. As they ate, people were watching them eat with happy faces. They whispering quietly.

“Oh my, the Duke’s eyes are dripping with honey.”

“Mom, I don’t want to eat this.”

The woman who was speaking to the lady next to her frowned slightly at the child’s words.

“John, it’s not polite to do that in this room. Do you understand?”

John, the boy who had complained about Michael earlier, pouted his lips at his mother’s words.

“So did Michael…”

John saw clearly. Lila had taken a bite out of Michael’s salad.

John looked at his mother, then at Lila, and blushed. He wished he had a pretty aunt like that.

He glanced at Michael with envy, then shoved the last of the carrots he didn’t like to eat into his mouth at the sound of the end of the meal.

“The farming has been very good this year, huh.”

The Emperor smiled pleasantly and sipped his wine. He popped a piece of cheese into his mouth and admired Lila without noticing.

There was no way he, the Emperor, could not have heard the rumors about her. He looked at her curiously, she had changed in an instant.

Theobald stared at Lila, oblivious to the food sliding down his throat.

Still thirsty, he gulped down the wine in one long gulp.

“Well, shall we move on, then?”

The emperor gestured pleasantly. A servant called out at his command.

“Please move to the greenhouse in honor of the night.”

Before the servant could finish his sentence, the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince rose and entered the passageway reserved for royalty.

Lucas took Lila’s hand and helped her to her feet.

It was then that Charlotte interrupted.

“Duke, it’s been a while.”

With that, Charlotte shoved Michael out of the way.

“Michael!”

Lila yelped and wrapped her arms around him. Luckily, she didn’t fall, but it was unpleasant enough.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Charlotte apologized unapologetically on the spot. Before Lucas could say anything about crossing the line, Lila beat him to it.

“Young Lady Pinatelli certainly has a bad eye. Why don’t you have it checked out by a doctor?”

Charlotte’s eyes shot up at the slight exasperation in her voice.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m asking if you know who you just hit.”

Charlotte flinched at the low tone of Lila’s voice. They’d had this kind of energy battle before, but not like this.

Lila’s cobalt eyes glowed a deep blue. She was so unpleasant and unbearable right now.