“Lady Glenna, you are blessed in so many ways.”
Elisia was gently chewing a piece of salmon.
After she swallowed, she spoke in a calm tone: “I also heard that His Highness the First Prince values you very much.
It seems that I am benefiting from the fact that the Second Prince learned good things from his older brother.”
At Elisia's coherent response, Glenna frowned slightly.
She stared at Crichton, who was eating his salad, as if asking him to intervene.
Crichton read Glenna's expression, and smiled bemusedly.
It was clear that he did not want to cause any trouble in front of the Empress.
“Haha, I get it.
I will try harder to be a better role model for Franz in the future.”
“Oh, Crichton.
How much more can you do?”
Glenna's lips curled slightly.
His answer wasn't entirely correct, but it wasn't wrong either.
She put her hand on Crichton's arm as if to show off to him and whispered in a flirtatious tone: "However, it is fortunate that Lady Ambrose has become the princess.
If she had been Nerys, he would have been equally faithful to her, wouldn't he?"
Although she said it in a low voice, Elisia, sitting directly opposite her, heard her clearly.
Glenna intended for her voice to be heard only for her.
Elysia swallowed bitterly at the sudden mention of the name.
Nerys...have you started talking about it already?
In her previous life, Nerys only appeared at Crichton's party the next year.
This is a full year early.
ignore it.
Elisia decided to act as if she did not hear Glenna's whisper.
Getting emotional now will only bring problems.
Most people were acting differently than she remembered.
Franz—and even Glenna—were either too friendly, or too hostile.
There was no gain in adding more variables.
Elisia continued eating quietly, pretending not to hear, while Glenna raised an eyebrow.
Then she turned directly towards the Empress and raised her voice.
“Speaking of which, Your Majesty, how is Neerys?
Has she returned to Calybes?”
The Empress, who was eating, stopped and raised her fork in the air.
She tilted her head slightly, then blinked slowly.
"Nerys?
You mean my niece?"
“Yes.
I recently heard that her recovery period has ended.”
Glenna spoke with a bright expression.
Her lively tone quickly attracted everyone's attention.
She enjoyed the spotlight and continued enthusiastically: “Your Highness the Second Prince, you must remember Nerys, right?
I heard that you met her at the spring hunt in Roshanak.”
“I'm not sure”
"My God, if you say that, Nerys will feel sad.
She still remembers you.
And I know very well how close you two are.
Didn't you promise to hunt a deer for her?"
At Glenna's words, Elisia held her fork tightly.
You've never heard of this before.
Although she had heard countless stories about their tragic love, this was new.
So, they really knew each other.
Alicia bit the inside of her cheek.
This explains the passion in their story.
It explains why Nerys treated her like an intruder—and why Franz hated her from the beginning.
She had always been the outsider between Franz and Nerys.
This must be why Franz hates her.
Because Neres was unable to attend the Mana Stone presentation ceremony due to her health condition.
If she had been there, the stone would have responded to her, not to Elysia.
Franz was going to marry his first love.
No strange woman like me.
“Oh, maybe it was a rabbit, not a deer?”
“…Her Highness”
Franz, who was eating silently, spoke in a cold tone.
“Deer or rabbit—it doesn't matter.
I don't see what that has to do with my princess wife.”
“Excuse me?”
Glenna's smile froze at Franz's icy tone.
He looked directly at her and continued without any expression on his face.
“This is a royal banquet to welcome the second princess.
I don’t think it is an appropriate topic to talk about non-royal family members.”
“I was just...”
Glenna became confused and began blinking rapidly.
Tears appeared in her eyes, while Crichton's face hardened.
“That wasn't necessary.
Glenna was just trying to smooth things over.”
“In this case, it's even more absurd.
Talking about another woman in front of my wife.”
Franz smiled sarcastically and fixed his gaze on Glenna.
"Shall I start by talking about your first love, Crichton?
Will that help 'lighten the mood'?"
“Second Prince!”
Glenna turned pale.
And Crichton rose angrily.
“That's enough, Franz.”
"You're saying that to the wrong person.
Don't you realize who's overstepped their bounds?"
Franz pursed his lips in contempt as he stared at Crichton.
The tension at the table suddenly rose.
Elysia quickly glanced at the Empress's expression.
It was clear that she was not satisfied with the course of the evening.
In this way, the banquet will turn into a disaster.
Elysia was hoping to make a good impression on the Empress today.
Especially because she had a request to make of her.
In this atmosphere, you won't even get a chance to bring up the topic before dinner is over.
I have no choice.
Alicia gently put down her fork.
She didn't want to side with Glenna.
But this frozen tension had to be broken.
Since Nereus's name has already been mentioned, one cannot pretend not to have heard it.
So the best option was to direct the conversation smoothly.
“Spring fishing in Roshanak...”
Elysia began speaking slowly.
Immediately, all eyes turned to her, and the tension was cut off like a tight wire.
“I remember him too.”
“Really, Second Princess?”
The Empress turned to her, surprised.
Elisia smiled smugly.
“Yes.
You are talking about the spring hunt held at Narut Villa four years ago, right?”
She gave Glenna a look as if she was waiting for confirmation.
You'd better cooperate with me, if you don't want to be reprimanded by Her Majesty.
Elisia suppressed her desire to slap Glenna's face and smiled brightly.
That smile made Crichton and Glenna squirm a little.
After Crichton had sat down again, Elisia turned to Glenna and asked her: “Don’t you remember me, Your Highness?”
“W-What…?”
“I was there too.”
She addressed her words to Glenna, then extended her hand towards Franz, placed it gently on top of his clenched fist, and said in a warm tone: “The Roshanak hunt was my first appearance.
I came with Caleb and my older brother.”
“Really?” said the Empress with interest, nodding and smiling.
“Yes.
But I suddenly had a fever, and I wasn’t able to attend most of the events.
Maybe that’s why not many people remember me.”
As she spoke, Franz tightened his fist even more.
Elisia gave him a quick glance before turning back to Glenna.
“If I had not fallen ill, I would have become a close friend of Lady Roshanak.
What a pity.”
“...I think so.”
“You must be very close to her.
I heard that the Roshanak and Corne families often visit each other?”
“Something like that.”
Despite her hesitation, Glenna answered, then turned to the Empress.
“Anyway, Your Majesty, my father recently visited the palace...”
“Oh, really?”
With this, the conversation turned to the historical ties between the Roshanak and Korney families.
While Glenna was chatting with the Empress, Elisia breathed a sigh of relief.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall calmed down, and the servants began to bring the next course.
Serve the golden grilled lamb ribs and change the cutlery.
Amidst the movement of the servants, Franz whispered in a low tone:
“Liz, about Lady Rochanak—”
“It's enough.”
Elisia interrupted him coldly, without taking her eyes off her plate.
“Let's stop talking about your first love.”
Because she doesn't care.
Franz closed his mouth, his lips tightly pressed together.
Dinner continued in a heavy silence that only the two of them felt.
“Second Princess, you are officially welcomed into our family.
If you encounter any difficulty during your stay in the palace, do not hesitate to let me know.
I will take care of it personally.”
This was when dessert was served.
At the Empress's kind words, Elysia bowed politely to thank her.
Then she hesitated for a moment, and put her spoon aside.
finally.
The time has come for her to reveal her true purpose in attending this dinner and to win the favor of the Empress.
Elysia looked at the Empress nervously.
“In that case, Your Majesty, I have a request I would like to make...”