Delina finally arrived at the Imperial Palace.
Ever since Ashud became a tyrant, everyone had been reluctant to come. The once intact Imperial Palace had long become a thing of the past.
Feasts were nothing but tools for Ashud to purge ministers he disliked, and everyone trembled at the cruel feasts where blood flowed every time. It had reached the point where people would tremble just by looking at the invitation to the feast.
“You may get down now.”
Perhaps that’s why the lively Imperial Palace felt very unfamiliar to Delina. In fact, since she had never even had her debut, this was her first proper look at the Imperial Palace.
“We will escort you this far, and from then on, you must go alone.”
“Yes.”
As Felik had said, as soon as they arrived in the capital, Delina changed carriages and headed for the Imperial Palace. After seeing the carriage of the Count of Floren enter, Delina was able to enter the Imperial Palace almost last.
“You are not on the list, but the identification badge is… Yes, I understand. I will note it down.”
The servant managing the list allowed Delina in without a word after seeing the identification badge she presented. Only then did Delina cautiously enter the banquet hall. As she went inside, she looked around, and her eyes sparkled.
“Wow.”
From the dazzling chandeliers and luxurious wallpaper to the excited nobles walking around and the bustling servants, the interior of the banquet hall was truly lively.
At the same time, Delina’s heart began to flutter little by little. Still, she checked the wig she was wearing several times.
Afterward, Delina moved in the opposite direction, avoiding the places where Niel and Charlotte might be.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Niel and Charlotte had never taken Delina to a proper social gathering, so the other nobles did not recognize her.
Even if they knew Delina, most of them had seen her in her childhood, so no one recognized Delina with her wig on.
“Monkey.”
Of course, except for a few people.
“…!”
At the word “monkey,” Delina’s body turned faster than anyone else. There stood Noah, smiling.
‘Oh…’
It was strangely new to see him in the Imperial Palace instead of the Duke’s mansion.
Noah was also revealing his face to the nobles for the first time, but his dazzling appearance was enough to attract the eyes of the young ladies around him. Delina, too, stared blankly at Noah’s adorned appearance for a moment.
“You knew it was me?”
“Of course. A monkey is still a monkey, even with a wig.”
“… You haven’t forgotten my name, have you?”
Can’t someone do something about this monkey?
Unable to control her expression, Delina’s face twitched, and the smiling Noah answered.
“I know. Delina Floren.”
Hearing her first name was one thing, but hearing her last name gave her an odd feeling.
Of course, Delina had never told Noah her surname. But she could accept it. The Diomon Duke’s house, Noah’s family, owned the empire’s top information guild. And the owner of that guild was…
“What are you doing here?”
Then a soft voice was heard. Looking up, a man with a similar appearance to Noah was standing there. The man was both interested in Noah’s conversation with a girl his age and smiling at the sight of Delina.
“Do you know this young lady?”
“She’s a debtor.”
“Oh, I didn’t know she was our precious customer.”
At the words “debtor” and “customer,” Delina’s mind snapped back. At the same time, a sentence flashed through her mind.
Don’t even drink a drop of water from the Diomon Duke’s house.
‘Edwin Diomon…!’
Noah’s guardian and the Duke of Diomon’s house. The head of the largest information guild in the empire.
The man rumored to have the most money in the empire was standing right in front of Delina. And Edwin was looking at Delina with shining eyes. Delina quickly bowed her head.
“Nice to meet you, Your Grace. I am Delina Floren of the Floren Count’s house.”
“Ah, the one who was recently at the Duke’s house…”
People were around, so he didn’t say it to the end, but he could roughly know what he wanted to say. He already knew about her existence.
“I want to talk more, but I think I have to go.”
With that, Edwin looked around. He didn’t come close, but the presence of Edwin and Noah alone was enough to concentrate people’s attention. Along with that, Delina, who felt the gaze, subtly touched her wig and bowed her head as if to hide her face.
“Shall we meet next time, Your Highness?”
“……Yes. We will do so.”
Because more people were watching than expected, Delina quickly finished her greetings with Edwin and hurriedly moved away. Fortunately, since the people’s attention was focused on Edwin and the newly appeared Noah, it was not difficult to dodge.
‘I should probably stay in the corner until the meal starts…… Huh?’
In the place where she avoided people’s gaze as much as possible, someone else was already there. Delina stopped abruptly at the sight of familiar red hair.
“…….”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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