The Spring Banquet was the biggest event in Eregron, held a week after the arrival of the three Dukes responsible for the north, south, east, and west borders to the capital.

As it was the first event of the new year and highly regarded, the banquet period alone lasted a week.

Since different dresses were needed for each day and time of the banquet, it was no exaggeration to say that the ladies of noble houses had been preparing for this day throughout the winter when it was difficult to go out.

This was no different for Alicia, the noblest lady in Eregron.

Three dresses to change into in a day, plus spare dresses for unforeseen circumstances… The basic number of dresses to prepare reached 30.

Not to mention the shoes, hair accessories, fans, gloves, and jewelry to match the dresses… It was enough to give one a headache just thinking about it separately.

“But I didn’t know this was actually the better situation.”

“Your Highness?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Even if you’re tired, please bear with it a little longer. This is the last one.”

It was time to try on all the prepared outfits for the final check before the banquet.

Even though everything had been perfectly prepared, deep wrinkles were etched between the brows of the designer in charge of the outfits, as if seeing some inadequacies.

“I’m really fine, so please continue with your work.”

“Your Highness Alicia, how can you be so kind and benevolent…!”

The designer trembled with emotion, thinking it was said out of consideration for her, but Alicia’s words were truly not a lie.

‘The truth is, the Emperor’s preparations are more demanding than the Imperial Princess’s.’

Just recalling the Spring Banquet she faced for the first time after ascending to the Emperor’s position was enough to make cold sweat run down her spine.

Born as royalty and living with various duties and privileges, she thought she was unshakeable in most situations, but back then…

‘I wanted to throw it all away.’

It was only because everything she had prepared matched with her husband Killian that she was able to endure without running away.

‘…Even here, it’s Killian.’

Why does she keep thinking about him when she doesn’t want to?

It must be because she’s chased after him with her eyes and heart for too long.

“But Your Highness, will you really be alright?”

Alicia, brought back to her senses by the designer’s sudden question, tilted her head as she looked at herself reflected in the large three-sided full-length mirror.

“If it’s like this, there’s not a single… no, not even a similar part to Duke Diaz…”

“It’s fine.”

At the designer’s question, Eimi, Mina, and the other ladies-in-waiting who were attending flinched, but Alicia shook her head as if it was nothing.

“But it’s such a rare opportunity…”

“It’s fine, so please proceed as is. And… we can’t change the dress now anyway.”

“Even if it’s just the jewels…”

Alicia was someone who had always wanted to wear matching outfits with Killian, even sending people and letters to the northern border to try and find out the design of the clothes he would wear at the banquet.

Given that, the designer thought she would choose clothes that matched him this time too, taking advantage of the opportunity to prepare the Dukes’ banquet outfits at the Imperial Palace…

‘A design that doesn’t overlap and isn’t similar at all… Why is she doing this?’

It was a natural question for the designer who had no way of knowing that Alicia had given up her feelings for Killian.

‘Usually, she would have prepared at least earrings or a necklace to match with Duke Diaz somehow… Could it be?’

The designer’s face hardened as her thoughts reached that point.

However, as someone who had been in charge of the Imperial Princess’s outfits for several years now, she quickly composed her expression.

It might have been a problem if Alicia had observed all of her expression changes, but Alicia decided to pretend not to notice.

It was an expression change she would tire of seeing from people once the banquet started.

“I heard that Duke Fraser arrived in the capital yesterday?”

“Yes, Your Highness. He’s the last one.”

“So now it’s just a week away.”

“Yes.”

“How are the Dukes’ outfits coming along?”

“Lady Sienna has handled it well.”

She heard that twenty skilled designers and their assistants were brought in from the capital to prepare.

Fortunately, there weren’t many difficulties as they had already been preparing in their respective territories…

“It seems Duke Fraser suddenly expressed a desire to wear a dress.”

“…Hasn’t he always worn his military uniform to attend?”

“Well… He said that since the crown princess with excellent taste was in charge of the outfits, he wanted to try wearing a pretty dress for once…”

Duke Fraser, responsible for the south, was a woman with very charming long pink hair.

However, having roamed battlefields as an heir since childhood, she possessed a sense slightly askew from that of ordinary noble women.

Fortunately, she was aware of this herself, so she had always worn pants-style military uniforms at official occasions to avoid being criticized, but now that she was in a situation where her opinion didn’t need to be reflected, it seemed she became greedy.

“With her personality, she might use this dress as a standard for choosing all her dresses from now on?”

While the dress ordered by the Emperor would surely be elegant, the problem is that dresses also have trends.

It would be a big issue, as Duke Fraser was unlikely to choose dresses according to such trends.

“Duchess MacLeod understood the situation, so the crown princess instructed to choose and work on a design that’s as little affected by trends as possible.”

“It’s fortunate that Sienna is there.”

If it were Alicia, she would have chosen the method of gifting new dresses that matched the latest trends each time.

However, there was no guarantee that the unpredictable Duke Fraser would happily accept such gifts every time.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never given gifts to the Dukes in the past.’

The world of Alicia before the regression was filled entirely with Killian.

When she recalled her past self who was so desperate to capture his heart alone that she couldn’t look around her, it was rather understandable that there was no one by her side then.

‘If I hadn’t been the only royal, would I have been able to continue holding the Emperor’s position?’

No, she probably wouldn’t have even ascended to the Emperor’s position.

“Your Highness. Is there any discomfort?”

“No, I was just lost in thought for a moment. Is this the last dress I’m trying on today?”

“Yes, the remaining dresses will be… um, no, the day after tomorrow? I think that’s about how much more we’ll need you to look at.”

“…How many have I seen today?”

“Exactly ten dresses.”

Alicia sighed at Mina’s answer.

She had been putting on and taking off dresses repeatedly, even skipping lunch, but it was only ten dresses.

That meant twenty remained.

‘I’m only going to attend on the first and last days anyway, should I stop here?’

She might be called to a few afternoon tea times depending on the situation, but Alicia intended to minimize her appearances at this banquet.

She knew that the moment she mentioned this out loud, the Imperial Palace would be turned upside down and there would be a commotion trying to persuade her, so she was just keeping quiet with the intention of doing it on the day.

But thinking about trying on clothes she wouldn’t even wear… it was too tiring.

The one fortunate thing was that all the clothes that were troublesome and complicated to put on and take off were tried on today, so the remaining two days would be less tiring than today.

“There’s some time left until dinner, what would you like to do?”

Having changed out of the dress prepared for the banquet and back into her usual attire, Alicia leaned back on the sofa and let out a long sigh.

Eimi, who had brought a specially chilled drink for her and poured it into an elaborately crafted glass cup, asked.

Alicia, watching Mina busily helping the designer organize what had been worn today, turned her gaze to the window.

It was the early evening of early spring, when the days were longer than winter but still short.

Looking at the sky that had begun to set, Alicia pondered for a moment what to do before getting up from her seat.

“I’d like to take a light walk. How long until dinner?”

“It will be difficult to reach the garden.”

“Then shall we just go to the entrance of the garden?”

To go from Alicia’s room to the garden, one had to walk a bit of a long way along the corridor that ran outside rather than inside the building.

Fortunately, the distance from the garden entrance to the dining room where dinner would be prepared was not far, so it seemed like a good choice for a light walk today.

“The landscaping along the way has been completed, it should be pleasant to look at.”

“You’ll get angry if I say I’m going alone, right?”

“I wouldn’t get angry. I’d be worried instead.”

“Then I’d like just Eimi to come with me…”

“I’ll follow.”

Mina, who had been watching Alicia get up from her seat, nodded at Eimi’s gesture and began to return to her work.

Smiling slightly at her, Alicia stepped out into the corridor full of flower and grass scents, with Eimi quietly following behind her.

As if Eimi’s words about the landscaping being completed were true, the exterior view of the corridor, which had been messy until yesterday, was neatly organized.

“There’s a flower I haven’t seen before?”

“It’s a flower sent from the Kingdom of Tirione a few years ago. Perhaps affected by leaving its homeland, it couldn’t properly take root for a while, but this year it finally bloomed.”

The Kingdom of Tirione, bordering the southern border of Eregron, was a country with a sea that doesn’t freeze.

While Eregron’s sea freezes solid from winter to spring, making proper fishing impossible, the Kingdom of Tirione is said to be able to fish all four seasons.

“Did it have trouble adapting because it came from a warm place?”

“The change in soil must have been a factor too.”

Alicia, who had been standing looking at the bright yellow flower, was startled by a sudden voice and turned around.

“I greet Your Highness Alicia.”

“…It’s Viscount Anderson.”

She had heard that Reilly was coming in and out of the Imperial Palace delivering news on behalf of the busy Duke Anderson, but she didn’t expect to encounter him at this time and place.

Was it because she couldn’t forget his face as he handed over the poison, telling her to kill Killian?

Faced with his smile that was said to melt the hearts of noble young ladies, Alicia instead tensed up and hardened her face.

“It seems I’ve startled Your Highness. I apologize.”

“No, it’s alright. How did the Viscount…”

“Ah, you mean why I’m here? His Majesty invited me to dinner.”

It was the first time she had heard of this.

However, the surprising news didn’t end there.

“Didn’t you know? His Majesty also invited the three Dukes to dinner.”

Should I skip dinner tonight?

Alicia seriously began to contemplate ways to escape from tonight’s dinner table.