The waltz came to an end, and the nobles began taking turns offering toasts and praises.
“Today, I am truly delighted to be part of this glorious and joyous occasion. I hope for nothing but happiness for His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the new Crown Princess…”
“For the eternal glory of the Thern Royal Family!”
“I rejoice in the empire’s happiness.”
Although Serena held a champagne glass, she merely touched it to her lips due to her fatigue. Lucas, however, fittingly gulped down his toast.
“I, too, must offer my congratulations.”
The attention shifted to a slightly different speech. It was Count Sherwood, whom Serena had met this morning through a translucent veil. Miranda stood dignifiedly beside him.
“Especially since we, the Sherwood family, had the honor of preparing the national soul for Her Highness the Crown Princess, I feel even more special and joyous.”
Serena had never seen Count Sherwood’s face while staying at his residence to prepare the national soul, yet there he was, taking all the credit.
“No amount of thanks could suffice for the benevolence and kindness Her Highness the Crown Princess has shown toward my undeserving daughter, treating her as a sister.”
Could mingling a few times to dig up information on Elize be considered sisterly? Moreover, the Count wasn’t even at the residence at the time.
“Lora, greet Her Highness the Crown Princess.”
Miranda gently nudged the shoulders of Lora who was standing behind her. Typically, a young woman of her age wouldn’t be qualified to give a speech, but it seemed natural since the Count mentioned she was treated like a sister.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Crown Princess, I sincerely congratulate you on today’s wedding.”
Lora performed a perfect and elegant bow, a testimony to Miranda’s strict upbringing.
“I wish everlasting happiness for Her Highness the Crown Princess, who has kindly treated me like a sister despite my youth and inexperience.”
All influential nobles present took note of Lora, just as Count Sherwood and his wife had calculated.
“Thank you.”
It was rare for Serena to receive a toast directed solely at her.
The nobles scanned Lora more keenly.
Her golden blonde hair, dark blue eyes, girlishly blushing cheeks, and sophisticated education level made her an intriguing figure for any noble with a child of marriageable age.
“May you always be peaceful, until the day I serve Her Highness the Crown Princess…”
After saying what she needed to, Lora elegantly bowed and withdrew. Though it was a brief moment, she had become the talk of the high society.
Being the Crown Princess and even sharing sisterly feelings could be an additional factor to consider her as a priority.
“Did I have a sister I didn’t know about?”
Lucas murmured, to which Serena lightly shook her head.
“Ah, I see.”
Lucas was more aware of the nobles’ antics. Though he had left the imperial palace for six years, he hadn’t forgotten his status as the empire’s crown prince and was always attentive to the political landscape. Thanks to that, he had known for a while that Count Sherwood harbored significant ambitions.
“When will this banquet end?”
Smiling all day while wearing a dress and heels was far from easy. Serena found a day spent riding horses and weathering storms in Astel more endurable.
“It depends on whether you want comfort or the truth.”
“If I must choose, the truth.”
“The wedding banquet usually ends past midnight.”
At that, Serena’s blue eyes quivered.
“That’s for the guests.”
Though Lucas wanted to see more of this unguarded side of Serena, he couldn’t tease her further today, given the circumstances and the public eye. Besides, he wanted to keep this side of Serena all to himself.
“You may head to your chambers around 8, and I’ll leave around 10.”
Unbeknownst to herself, Serena’s eyes searched for a clock, but none existed in the banquet hall.
“I’m sorry, but the sun hasn’t even set yet.”
As he said, the sunlight streaming through the window was still bright. Even if there weren’t so many prying eyes, it was disappointing enough to make one want to slump down.
“Of course, I’ve prepared some options for you, who aren’t accustomed to such gatherings.”
When had Lucas’s words ever been so tempting?
“Just because it’s prepared, don’t get overly excited.”
“I’ll listen to what it is, for now.”
Right now, she wanted nothing more than to take off this frilly dress and heels and lie down somewhere out of sight.
There were plenty to attend and assist her, but in the end, the bride was the most exhausted at a wedding. Even if it was a political marriage.
“If we must go in order, the two eminent persons should leave their seats first, then you may leave after a suitable amount of time has passed.”
“And then?”
Even if Serena was strong-willed, she couldn’t possibly drive the Emperor and Empress from their seats at this event. And the same would be true for Lucas, the Crown Prince.
“It seems like there aren’t any options.”
“There is one. A way to make both eminent persons leave their seats immediately.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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