Chapter 9
9. Time with My Family
The next day was the second day of our trip.
It was the day my family from the Dian Viscount household was coming to visit.
After having breakfast with His Majesty Aleksanteri, I spent the morning in the living room, quietly working on some embroidery. The cloth I was stitching would become part of His Majesty’s wedding gloves.
As I worked on the fine embroidery on the soft white fabric, His Majesty leaned over to watch my hands.
“Such delicate stitching. Is that a vine pattern?”
“Yes. I’ve made the blue vine motif smaller and am embroidering the edges with silver thread. This cloth will become the gloves for Your Majesty’s wedding.”
“So that blue vine pattern will turn silver and adorn my wedding day. I look forward to it.”
While I embroidered, His Majesty occasionally spoke to me, but otherwise simply watched over me quietly, without interrupting.
My family from the Dian Viscount household arrived just before lunch.
I quickly put away the cloth, thread, and needles I’d been using and prepared to greet my parents and Sophia.
When I stepped outside to the entrance, my parents and Sophia were just alighting from their elegant carriage.
“Your Majesty the Emperor, thank you very much for inviting us.”
“We are truly grateful for the carriage you sent.”
His Majesty nodded politely to my parents’ greetings.
“I’m glad you could come. This is an informal setting, so please relax and enjoy your time with Lacy.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Lacy, have you been well?”
Hearing my parents’ familiar voices for the first time in three months, I smiled and replied.
“I’ve been very well. Oh, I did have a slight fever once, but it passed quickly. How have you and Mother been?”
“We miss you terribly, but we’ve been doing fine.”
“Lacy, your complexion has become so clear, and your hair so glossy—you look even more beautiful.”
Hearing their kind words, I couldn’t help but smile happily.
“Your Majesty, thank you for inviting us to your villa.”
“And Sophia, I know you must be busy with your studies, yet you still came.”
“I was curious to see how my sister and Your Majesty spend your time together.”
Since this was a private visit, my parents spoke to me by name instead of calling me Your Highness, as they would in court. Their tone was warm and familiar, just like at home. Sophia still addressed me as “sister,” and while she remained somewhat stern toward His Majesty, she smiled warmly at me.
“Let’s have lunch. The fresh fish from the lake is delicious.”
“We’re honored, Your Majesty.”
At His Majesty’s invitation, Father replied respectfully, and the three of them entered the villa.
In the dining room, His Majesty and I sat side by side, while my parents and Sophia sat opposite us.
The main course was sautéed white fish, beautifully prepared, and I ate it with great delight. My parents and Sophia, of course, dined with perfect manners.
“I hear your new enterprise is going well. At last night’s banquet, many nobles were asking the Dian family to create various items for them.”
“Thanks to Your Majesty’s generous support, the business has been a success.”
“You’ve received orders from the nobility? We must respond properly to such requests.”
“Father, Mother, perhaps we should start a department for artificial flowers as well. There were people interested in those.”
“That would require a new workshop.”
“Lacy, the corsage you’re wearing—did you make that yourself?”
“Yes. I made it with His Majesty’s permission.”
I had worn it especially to show my parents and Sophia, so I answered with confidence.
They knew that when I’d been living at the Dian estate, I had longed to craft artificial flowers but had lacked the special tools and dyes needed.
“It’s a beautiful piece of work.”
“She also made my lapel pin.”
“Even His Majesty’s accessory!?”
“So the Emperor wears what you made—how wonderful, Lacy.”
My parents’ expressions toward me seemed softer than ever.
Perhaps it was because I was so relaxed sitting beside His Majesty.
After lunch, His Majesty had the servants guide my family to their rooms, then gently placed a hand on my back.
“You should spend some time alone with your family. I’ll go through the documents sent from the capital.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Please excuse me for a while.”
I bowed and followed my parents and Sophia to their guest room.
The maid led us to a room overlooking the lake.
The room I’d stayed in also faced the water, and like that one, this was a lovely space with a beautiful view.
“Lacy, we’ve worried that becoming consort to the Emperor might have been difficult for you.”
“But seeing you so well—your skin radiant, your hair shining—we’re relieved.”
“Sister, how are things between you and His Majesty?”
My parents embraced me warmly, but Sophia’s expression remained tense. She must still harbor doubts about my relationship with the Emperor.
Once we were all seated on the sofa, I decided to speak plainly.
“I hold deep affection for His Majesty Aleksanteri.”
“You mean not because he is the Emperor, but as a man?”
“Yes. His Majesty has also told me that he loves me.”
At those words, my parents’ eyes grew moist.
Father, with his black hair and eyes, and Mother, with her golden hair and violet eyes—both were on the verge of tears, and seeing that made my own chest tighten.
“I could tell His Majesty cherishes you, Sister. But to think he felt destined for you ever since your debut… that’s hard to believe.”
Sophia had her own debut at fifteen, and likely greeted the Emperor then as well—but at such events, dozens of young nobles turn fifteen each year, each having barely half a minute of introduction.
It must have seemed unbelievable that His Majesty could fall in love with me at first sight.
Of course, in truth, His Majesty had once loved Cecil. Even after her death, he’d continued to seek her memory, eventually finding the blue vine-patterned handkerchief I had sold in the capital. Recognizing the pattern, he saw me at the debutante ball and was certain—and then proposed to me at the graduation party.
But since I’ve seen Cecil’s memories in my dreams, I cannot tell them I might be her reincarnation.
“The debut was only the beginning. As we lived together, His Majesty came to love me for who I am.”
“Still, His Majesty personally came to fetch you—his devotion was quite extraordinary.”
“That was because he wished to build a true bond with me. You can’t understand someone without spending time together, after all.”
I tried my best to deflect her doubts, but Sophia’s skeptical eyes remained sharp.
I couldn’t reveal the truth about Cecil, and as I fumbled for words, my parents came to my aid.
“When I met Livia,” Father said, “I too felt it was fate at first sight. I couldn’t get her out of my mind and proposed soon after.”
“I was surprised by his proposal,” Mother added with a smile, “but as I learned more about his character, I found myself falling for him.”
Livia—that was my mother’s name.
It seemed my father had also believed in destiny when they met. Hearing that, Sophia’s expression softened a little.
“So there truly is such a thing as fate… I can’t say I understand it myself.”
“Sophia, what about your own engagement?”
Since I was meant to inherit the Dian title, I needed a husband and was betrothed at twelve, when I entered the academy, to Lord Renan, who was my age. I had pleaded with my parents to ensure Sophia would be spared an early political marriage, so she might marry for love instead.
“I’m not thinking about marriage yet,” Sophia said.
“We’ve been trying to find a suitable match for her,” Father said.
“But as you can see,” Mother sighed, “Sophia hasn’t shown much interest.”
Though my parents seemed troubled, it was now inevitable—since I had married His Majesty, Sophia would need to inherit the Dian family and take a husband.
“I only hope her partner isn’t like mine…”
Thinking of Lord Renan, I let out a quiet sigh.
