“Your Highness has become even more beautiful since I last saw you.”
Eustia moistened her throat with black tea, her eyes narrowing with a smile. Before Relia could even lift her lips from the teacup, she held a bright smile.
“His Majesty always dotes on me, and Father says I’m growing more and more childish.”
“Speaking so beautifully, Your Highness, the Duke is too stern a father to you.”
Eustia’s voice, as she gracefully set down her teacup, was solemn yet gentle. It was the very embodiment of the gracious and dignified Empress.
Relia Nette was the princess that Eustia found most beautiful.
The only daughter of the Duke of Nette, she was closely connected with her mother’s family, the Duke of Garnet.
All the conditions she possessed were more than enough to win Eustia’s heart.
Eustia had long ago chosen her as Liurian’s match.
Had Gardro not suddenly announced his national marriage with the Duke of Caroline, Relia would now be the crown princess, not Evelia.
Thinking of that time still made her blood boil, but it was all right. After all, sitting beside her son now was Relia, not Evelia.
Eustia’s eyes narrowed in mirth. The two sitting before her looked like a painting.
A pair of lovers, so beautiful that one would have to look hard to find a flaw.
It was really perfect. If it weren’t for Liurian’s preoccupied expression.
“To see you both sitting side by side again, I haven’t had such a happy day recently.”
Eustia stared at Liurian, feigning a tearful voice.
What on earth was he thinking, Liurian’s pupils were consistently out of focus.
Something was definitely strange. Seeing her son for the first time in a year was certainly joyous, but he seemed a little unfamiliar.
Not only the sight of him being lost in thought beside Relia but also Liurian addressing Gardro was something she had never imagined.
“Liur, aren’t you feeling well? Leaving without breakfast has displeased your mother.”
Eustia finally voiced her restrained concern. Then she saw focus return to his previously vacant eyes.
“……I have only just returned to the palace. It’s just the tension wearing off, so don’t worry.”
It was an excessively rigid tone, incongruous with the Liurian she remembered from a year ago.
Eustia stared intently at her unfamiliar son’s face without response.
Unaware of her feelings, Relia turned to Liurian with a bright smile.
“Your Majesty, I hope you’re not feeling unwell? When I heard this morning that Your Majesty had returned safely, I can’t tell you how happy I was.”
“There’s no need for you to worry about things like that.”
“What? Your Highness… You used to call me ‘Reli.’ It’s so… awkward for you to call me Your Highness, Your Majesty.”
“Ah…….”
At Relia’s brief look of distress, Liurian let out a short sigh.
Seeing Evelia’s face just before coming here had made him lose his concentration.
He composed himself, trying not to show any sign of his thoughts.
“I felt like Your Majesty had changed somehow… It’s like you’ve become a different person in a year.”
The whining tone of a child went straight to his ears.
Liurian subtly narrowed his eyes. It was disgusting, a whimper coming from the mouth of a princess who had even made her debut.
But he couldn’t show his true feelings.
“Oh, it seems the stiff and tense atmosphere of the battlefield still clings to you. To upset my Reli like this.”
Liurian held his tongue, which was moving almost instinctively, and a snakelike smile curled around his lips.
“Your Highness. It finally feels real that you have returned. I’m truly very happy.”
Lelia’s face quickly brightened with emotion at the insincere, sugarcoated words. Yustia, who had been quietly observing the two, also finally regained her normal complexion.
“I, too, can finally feel at ease. Speaking of which, the flowers in the empress’s garden bloomed beautifully not long ago. Did you not see them on your way here?”
Yustia looked alternately at Lelia and Liurian with a doubtful face.
“Oh my, really? I did feel it was much brighter than when I visited last time. So that’s why!”
“The tulips bloomed very brightly. The scenery was so beautiful that just looking at it made me feel like I was floating with happiness.”
“If Your Majesty says so, I want to see it too. It would be wonderful to leisurely view it with you……”
Contrary to her previously constant indifference, Lelia glanced at Liurian coquettishly. Soon Yustia’s commanding gaze was mixed in as well.
Liurian quickly pulled his lips up at the intense gazes directed at him, although he felt himself blush.
That was what he had to do now.
“It would also be more than wonderful if I could be with Lelia.”
(This is a time separator.)
“Huh.”
As soon as Liurian arrived at the crown prince’s palace bedroom, he slumped into the chair at the table and exhaled the breath he had been holding.
It was just past noon, but the fatigue that weighed down his entire body was immense.
He tilted his head back and pressed his temples with his fingers. A heavy pain spread sharply down his temples.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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