As Eric raised his head, he saw his reflection in the mirror.
Thud.
Doubting his own eyes, Eric unknowingly dropped his clothes.
The sight was quite a spectacle – his hair a messy bird’s nest from just waking up, wearing pajamas that were a bit short in the arms and legs, and small in the torso.
‘She saw this appearance, this state.’
Although he had shown many flustered moments to Alicia, at least his outward appearance had never been disheveled.
‘Why did Alicia have to come in then? Why did the children have to cry then? Why did I have to lose my mind then?’
Eric covered his face with both hands.
‘Why on earth! When I told you to sleep, why did you crawl all the way here to sleep!’
Unknowingly, Eric’s head dropped low.
[This is the timeline separator]Eric, now looking neat again, came down the stairs and ran into Alicia.
“The twins?”
“Edward and Emma are watching them.”
“Ah, come to think of it, it’s been a while since Edward and Emma properly looked after them. I didn’t even get to greet them earlier.”
“Eric.”
“?”
He was anxious, thinking she might be recalling that messy appearance from earlier, but unexpectedly, Alicia smiled brightly.
“Somehow, you seem more comfortable.”
“……”
Someone once said that giving up makes things easier.
After showing that ridiculous appearance earlier, he felt it was foolish to maintain appearances in front of Alicia, so he let everything go.
“Is it strange?”
“No. I like this much better.”
“…That’s good.”
Eric’s eyes caught Alicia’s brightly smiling face.
Feeling a bit awkward, Eric turned his head and continued down the stairs, with Alicia following behind.
[This is the timeline separator]Knock. Knock.
Sitting at her desk reviewing documents, Alicia raised her head at the knocking sound and immediately smiled.
Eric had already opened the door and was leaning against the doorframe.
“You’re supposed to knock before opening the door.”
“It was open.”
“Liar.”
“Well, it wasn’t locked.”
Eric entered with a grin and sat on the sofa.
He had definitely become more comfortable in both speech and actions since then.
“There’s one annoying thing I wanted to tell you about.”
“?”
“We’ve been invited to a tea party. Including us.”
“When?”
“The Saturday after next.”
“That’s not far off. Who invited us?”
“The royal family.”
“What? Then it’s not just a simple tea party, is it?”
“We’ll be drinking tea, not alcohol, right? It’s daytime after all.”
“…You know that’s not what I meant.”
As Alicia glared at him, Eric averted his gaze slightly and asked.
“Will you be alright?”
“Are you worried about me right now?”
“Well, you found it tiring following Mother around. Plus, this time the royal family will be there too.”
“It’s part of the contract, and I’m fully prepared to fulfill it, so don’t worry.”
“You’re surprisingly diligent, you know.”
“Surprisingly? I’ve always been diligent.”
After turning the last document she was reviewing, Alicia got up from her desk and sat across from Eric.
“Have you ever met Prince Harry?”
“The prince? Me? Not at all.”
“Really? Or have your parents ever mentioned anything?”
“Unless it was during my grandfather’s time, I’ve never heard of my parents having connections with the royal family. To begin with, neither of my parents liked external activities.”
“I see.”
“But why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“Ah-, just wondering. Anyway, don’t worry. I’ll be by your side the whole time, so nothing will happen.”
“Worry?”
While looking at the puzzled Alicia, Eric just smiled without giving any further explanation.
Moreover, for Alicia, there was something else more worrying right now.
‘It’s a royal invitation, and we have to maintain the duke’s dignity, so we can’t just go dressed casually. This is an unexpected expense.’
The gatherings she had attended with the duchess so far were small-scale social meetings, so she didn’t pay much attention to her attire.
As Alicia was lost in thought, calculating her spare money, Eric spoke up.
“Oh, and.”
“?”
“Mother wants to meet us at the dress shop tomorrow.”
“The dress shop?”
“She’s extremely excited about this being the first official event the whole family is attending. So she insists on gifting us our outfits. For both of us.”
“…I see. I hope I’m not causing any trouble.”
Though tempted, Alicia worried if it was really alright, to which Eric shrugged and replied.
“It’s Mother’s wish, so. Don’t feel too burdened.”
“If that’s the case, I understand.”
“And one more thing. This is my wish.”
“?”
“Absolutely refuse Mother’s taste. She was going on about couple outfits, but I just walked out.”
“……”
“Ah, right. Your expression is probably similar to mine back then.”
“Couple outfits? You’re joking, right?”
“Is Mother the type to joke about such things?”
“……I suppose not.”
“So I plan to strongly resist, so don’t side with Mother.”
“Alright. I absolutely won’t get dragged into it this time.”
The two exchanged determined looks.
[This is the timeline separator]It was a bright day.
It was the first official event held by the royal family this year and the beginning of a series of social events to follow.
The duke and duchess, attending the very first event with their son and daughter-in-law, seemed to be in a very good mood, walking with constant smiles.
“Can’t you manage your expression? It’s starting to show on your face.”
Eric whispered into Alicia’s ear as they followed behind the duke and duchess.
“How is this even a tea party? It’s more like a full-scale banquet.”
“You’re right. I thought we’d be drinking tea, but they’re even serving alcohol. People drinking in broad daylight. Quite improper.”
At Eric’s cheeky words, Alicia smiled sweetly while quietly gripping Eric’s arm tightly as if pinching it.
“Ouch. I didn’t know either. Mother definitely said it was a tea party.”
“If you had told me in advance, I could have at least looked into it.”
Even until they boarded the carriage to depart, Alicia thought it was just a tea party where the emperor and empress invited a few familiar families, including the duke’s family.
“No wonder there was a line of carriages entering the imperial palace.”
“I really didn’t know it would be to this extent either. How would I know without attending such events?”
“You’ve never attended?”
“I avoided daytime events using the knighthood as an excuse. With Prince William’s approval.”
“Then you could have avoided this one too, right?”
“I couldn’t let you come alone. I couldn’t think of an excuse to make you skip as well.”
“Ah.”
“Children, His Majesty will be arriving soon, so we should greet them first.”
The duke and duchess led the two to the front, closest to the entrance where the emperor and empress would appear, with fond smiles.
As Duke Gloucester was a collateral branch of the royal family and high in the noble hierarchy, they had to be among the first to greet the emperor and empress.
Standing behind the duke and duchess with Eric, Alicia let out a small sigh.
The glances and whispers were bothersome.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“Am I the only one feeling this? It seems like everyone is staring at us.”
“No, your feeling is probably right. I was prepared, but it’s worse than I thought. I’m really sorry about this.”
With an awkward smile, Eric placed his hand over Alicia’s hand on his arm as a sign of apology.
“?”
“I’m comforting my nervous fiancée.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
But the whispers seemed to have grown louder, so Alicia jokingly asked Eric.
“Eric, you must be very famous.”
“Me? No way.”
Though a bit flustered, Eric kept a straight face and looked ahead.
‘This is why I didn’t want to come.’
Eric glanced at Alicia beside him.
‘It’s just a contractual relationship, so it wouldn’t matter if she knew about my rumors, but.’
‘But there’s no need for her to know. It would be troublesome if it affected her trust in me as a contract partner.’
‘Hah. I never thought I’d care about rumors.’
As Eric was racking his brain, the chamberlain stood by the door.
“His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, Her Imperial Majesty the Empress, and Their Royal Highnesses the Princes are entering.”
The emperor and empress walked in first, followed by the princes through the opened door.
The emperor scanned the crowd once, then smiled and stood in front of Duke Gloucester at the front.
“Duke Gloucester.”
“I am honored to be in the presence of Your Imperial Majesty, Her Imperial Majesty, and Their Royal Highnesses.”
“You look particularly radiant these days, Duke. Have you had some good fortune?”
“Oh my, I’m embarrassed that it shows so clearly, Your Majesty.”
“The Duchess looks happy as well. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Watching the emperor, empress, and the duke and duchess chatting amicably, Alicia began to tense up again.
‘They said they were a collateral branch, but the duke’s family is indeed different. What should I do? I never thought I’d be directly deceiving the royal family like this.’
“Don’t be nervous. I’m here with you.”
Eric comforted Alicia as he felt her hand on his arm tightening.
It wasn’t the kind of tension he was thinking of, but still grateful, Alicia smiled slightly.
Besides, the water has already been spilled. There’s no point in worrying now, as they won’t be canceling the contract at this point.
“We are honored to be in the presence of Your Imperial Majesties.”
Alicia curtsied politely in sync with Eric’s greeting.
“Oh, it’s the two at the center of the hottest topic in the empire these days. Congratulations, Count Russell.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“I was really curious. To see who the lady was that captivated the count. And now I see.”
The empress fanned herself lightly while scanning Alicia from head to toe, then fixed her gaze on her face again.
Then, with a formal smile, she opened her mouth.
“You two seem to be getting along very well, as the rumors say. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Although her expression wasn’t clearly visible as she covered more than half of her face with the fan, at least her eyes didn’t seem friendly.
“Hmm. Now that you’ve grown up, you resemble the countess more than the count. That’s fortunate. Isn’t that right, Empress?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. That’s why I was looking for a while.”
“?”
The emperor smiled at Alicia’s puzzled expression.
“It’s understandable that you don’t remember. You were very young then.”
“I apologize.”
“No, no. It’s quite moving to see you all grown up like this. Welcome.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Well then, enjoy your time here. Count Russell, take good care of her.”
“I will do so, Your Majesty.”
As the emperor and empress moved on from the duke’s family, the princes behind them gave a light nod and passed by the duke’s family.
As Prince Harry’s and Alicia’s gazes met briefly, Harry hesitated for a moment before quickly turning his head away.
Eric, who was watching this, frowned.
“Eric?”
“Yes?”
Eric, who had been watching Prince Harry’s back, turned his head at Alicia’s call.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, nothing. Were you very nervous?”
“Just as much as everyone else, I suppose?”
Alicia smiled, seeming to have finally relaxed.
“But isn’t it surprising? That I’ve met His Majesty before?”
“Indeed.”
“I had no idea because I’d never heard about it.”
“He said it was when you were young, so it might have been because of the previous Count Lancaster.”
“Ah, right. Though I don’t think it would have been because of my father.”
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, who had been exchanging greetings with nobles standing behind, finished their conversation and turned to Eric and Alicia.
“Well, children. Shall we go now?”
As the duchess called out excitedly, Alicia and Eric looked at each other with solemn expressions.
“So it begins.”
“Let’s hope nothing goes wrong.”
__________
“Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!”
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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