Busy preparing for various things, Hayden’s ideal image of a couple involves finishing all preparations early and sitting quietly beside Lu, who is busy with various preparations.

Lu, who had neatly combed her braided hair with a well-brushed braid, looked comfortable in a thick robe tightly worn over a soft dress. And she was very quick-witted.

‘She was an ace in the Imperial Knights, so it’s natural.’

Today is the day when Rustica Genesis, having won the expedition, officially presents the symbol of imperial authority stolen by Emperor Caletta to the returning Emperor.

On a day like this, Emperor Caletta, that Carlos guy, couldn’t just let it pass. So, shouldn’t he be by her side?

She, who doesn’t care about romance at all and coldly grasps the situation, has almost no room for anyone to penetrate. She should be grateful just for surviving life, considering how harsh and difficult life has been.

‘If I could have found her earlier…’

If she had still been an ace, she would have kidnapped Lu in front of the barrier and brought her here. At least Lu wouldn’t have lost her sense of desperate powerlessness and fallen honor and would have had some meaning in life.

He knew that such assumptions were useless, and he never did it, but every time he saw Lu, he couldn’t help but think of various things.

“Thank you for the flowers. Now, I should go inside…”

Hayden nodded in agreement with her awkward gesture, signaling that she needed to finish preparing.

“I’ll be happily waiting, so take your time coming out.”

“I’ll be out soon.”

She said it but didn’t listen. Since Viscount Plache sent flowers so noisily, it was meaningless for her to try not to announce his arrival. She could have avoided being caught. With a regretful expression, Hayden glanced at those darn flowers once and sat on the sofa.

The commotion inside was clearly audible to his sensitive ears.

“…I said to take your time.”

Could that be possible? Entering inside, Lu was hurriedly taking off her robe. Anyway, she probably did light makeup. If she changed her clothes, it would be enough.

“Oh my, has Your Majesty already arrived?”

Mrs. Greta widened her eyes.

“Yes, so let’s hurry up…”

“No, no. Your Majesty probably told you to take your time. Right?”

How Mrs. Greta knew that, I don’t know, but Lu nodded her head anyway.

“Yes, but…”

“Well then, let’s proceed as usual. Your Majesty is indeed a true gentleman. A gentleman’s virtue is waiting for a lady. Just keep waiting, and now, shall we try on the petticoat first?”

Mrs. Greta, without inserting any wire, handed Lu a soft and fluffy underskirt, saying something about the soft and fluffy petticoat. The maids were busy taking off her clothes and starting to put them on one by one.
“I’ll make it so that you won’t feel tight, so it should be comfortable. At banquets, your stamina tends to drop after eating and dancing.”

Mrs. Greta continued to talk non-stop, keeping Lu in a distracted state. The maids quickly put on another robe over Lu, who was wearing a revealing undergarment, and applied a fresh layer of lipstick. Meanwhile, the green ribbon and white dress were carefully adjusted.

“I thought it would be the safest and correct choice to match the ribbon with Yeong-ae’s eye color. Yeong-ae has very beautiful eyes.”

The robe was taken off again, and this time, a silk dress that elegantly revealed the shoulders covered her entire body. When it seemed like everything was on, Mrs. Greta was personally tying a green ribbon behind her back. The use of silk was evident, with the skirt being excessively wide and flowing.

“It’s a bit heavy, isn’t it? But since your partner is the Empress, I intentionally made it more luxurious. Don’t think you have to handle the dress train alone. The Empress will take care of it.”

“What?”

How could you ask the Emperor to do that? Isn’t that an incredibly audacious request? Lu was thinking about Hayden, who used to talk boldly and casually about being a couple, but now she stopped thinking about such things.

“Oh, my, beautiful. Indeed, being firm and healthy is the best. Isn’t she very pretty?”

In response to Mrs. Greta’s question, the maids nodded vigorously and admired her. At the same time, the pins that were fixing Lu’s hair were removed, and white shoes were placed in front of her.

“It might feel empty around your neck, but let’s choose a flower among the many delivered in front of you. It’s lovely.”

In her ears were the pearl earrings she wore during the last state banquet, and on her left wrist was a pearl bracelet adorned with a large emerald. That should do it. Mrs. Greta admired Lu, who had spread out her voluminous hair. She seemed to have an expression like, ‘I’m a genius after all.’

“It suits you very well.”

Mrs. Greta clapped alone. Lu, who had worn and sold many different dresses, also liked this elegant silk dress.

It had been a long time since she tried on something like this. She looked at herself in the mirror with excitement for no reason. The maids smoothly stepped back.

“Do you like it?”