EURL CH 01

Chapter 1

A perfectly set formal dinner.
An elegant string quartet playing on one side.
A luxurious restaurant completely empty except for the two of us.

It was the most stereotypical blind date imaginable.

I looked at the man sitting across from me, smiling politely out of obligation. He had an ordinary, unremarkable face.

Still, according to my mother, when you marry through a blind date, an ordinary man is best. Honestly, that’s rich coming from someone who married for love.

“Lady Wildenbiston, you said this is your first blind date, correct?”

“Yes.”

“To be honest, it’s my first as well.”

“……”

I gave him a practiced social smile and naturally looked away.

This is painfully boring.

But it couldn’t be helped. I knew what blind dates were like.

This wasn’t about personal curiosity or romantic interest. It was a meeting between two houses.

Both of us were here out of duty to our families.

We both knew we weren’t attracted to each other. What mattered was what benefits our families would gain from joining together.

“…So, if we are to marry, I believe we should first discuss how the properties and estates will be divided.”

Apparently thinking the same way I was, he immediately brought up assets. I didn’t expect him to start talking about property at our very first meeting, but he didn’t hesitate.

“I…”

My lips felt dry. I might choke if I kept talking. I should have taken a sip of water.

Just as I opened my mouth—

The restaurant doors suddenly burst open, and the bell attached to them rang loudly.

What?

Both I and the man across from me turned toward the door at the same time.

The door was open, but no one entered.

“What… was that?”

“…I’m not sure?”

He looked just as confused as I felt. So it wasn’t someone he knew.

But that made no sense. The entire restaurant had been rented out for us today.

This was a meeting between the Duke of Wildenbiston, who dominated the Jahard Empire, and the prestigious Marquis of Shoden. Who would dare to barge in so rudely?

And there were supposed to be large, strong attendants from both families stationed outside the door.

Suddenly, a deep red carpet unfurled from the entrance all the way to our table.

At the same time, knights marched in and lined up in perfect formation. Red capes. Gold epaulettes. Distinctive black frock coats.

With ceremonial swords in hand, they looked exactly like the Imperial Guard during a national parade.

Wait. The Imperial Guard?

I froze.

If the Emperor’s direct knights were here, that meant—

He was here.

His Majesty the Emperor.

“Your Majesty?”

“His Majesty?”

The man across from me echoed my words in confusion.

The knights lined up on either side of the carpet and stomped their left feet in unison.

As if that sound were a signal, someone slowly stepped through the doorway.

First I saw polished black boots.

Then his knees, his hands, his shoulders, and the long black coat draped over them.

Brilliant blond hair.

And then—

“Aira Wildenbiston.”

Deep purple eyes curved sharply as he called my name.

My mouth fell open.

This made no sense.

Why… why was His Majesty walking in here?

“Is this… a dream?”

That had to be it. I’d dreamed about this many times.

Because I, Aira Wildenbiston, used to love the current Emperor of Rubellus. Truly, deeply love him.

It was a one-sided love. And not a small one.

When I was four years old, I saw him at the Imperial Palace when he was still the Crown Prince and fell for him. From then until I was sixteen, for twelve long years, I chased after him relentlessly.

It was a love I devoted my entire life to.

I liked him so much that I followed him everywhere. Even when the people around him openly glared at me or insulted me, I didn’t care.

If I didn’t see his face every single day, I felt like I would die. I followed him wherever he went. On the first page of my diary, I wrote that I would become the future Crown Princess and Empress, and I dreamed of him every day.

…But that was three years ago.

With trembling eyes, I stared at the Emperor standing before me.

Without thinking, I pinched my cheek hard with my right hand. I had makeup on, but I didn’t care. I twisted hard—

“Ow!”

That hurt!

“It’s not a dream.”

Rubellus chuckled softly.

So… it really was His Majesty?

I shot up from my seat.

Whether I stood or not, the handsome man who ruled the Jahard Empire simply hummed lightly and looked back and forth between me and my blind date.

His gaze carefully examined the man sitting across from me.

“I don’t mean to be rude… but you’re rather ordinary.”

“Y-Your Majesty?”

My blind date seemed to finally grasp the situation and hurriedly tried to kneel.

But Rubellus grabbed his shoulder with one hand and forced him back up. I heard a sharp intake of breath.

At first, I thought he had simply placed a hand on his shoulder.

Then I noticed the veins bulging on the back of the emperor’s hand.

“I’m better.”

His voice was perfectly calm.

But he was clearly gripping the man’s shoulder with terrifying strength. The poor man couldn’t even scream properly; he just wheezed in pain.

“Your Majesty!”

I rushed forward instinctively to help the man.

Our eyes met.

“Aira.”

He smiled again.

In that instant, the man whose shoulder was practically being dislocated vanished from my awareness.

Because that smile—

I had never seen it directed at me before.

Oh, I had seen him smile. He smiled at other people all the time.

But never at me.

And at his coronation in the Great Imperial Forest just a month ago…

“Aira.”

“Y-Yes!”

I straightened immediately, answering in a stiff, disciplined posture.

The situation felt so unreal I could barely endure it.

Whether he understood my feelings or not, the Emperor smiled even more deeply. His eyes curved, the corners of his lips lifting higher. His pale pink lips caught the light. His firm jaw tightened—

Tightened?

“What are you doing here, ‘my’ fiancée?”

The moment I heard those words, I forgot how to breathe.

He had said “my” fiancée through clenched teeth.

No… this really has to be a dream.

The strength drained from my legs. My vision tilted upward toward the ceiling. White shapes blurred in and out of sight.

Then everything went dark.

What exactly went wrong?

Even as my consciousness faded, I thought back to one month ago.

If I trace it back, the beginning of all of this must have been that day.

The day of his coronation.