Chapter 90
“Miss Angela, is this your first time visiting our palace?”
"Yes, ma'am."
"So I'll give you a short tour, would you like to come with me?"
At that moment, Angela felt that the time had come to face the “serious talk” she had been expecting.
She nodded quietly, and rose calmly to follow the Marchioness of Winblair.
The interior of the palace was similar to most noble palaces, but of course, everything was luxurious, and the designs and decorations were of a high standard.
While the Marchioness of Winblair was giving the explanation, Angela was listening silently, while at the same time watching for opportunities that might allow her to slip into the main conversation.
"A tour of the palace isn't very enjoyable for a young woman like you, is it?"
“On the contrary, madam! The opportunity to visit such a magnificent palace is very rare! Everything you are explaining to me is a treasure to me.”
“Ah, what a girl you are, you know how to choose your beautiful words! Haha!”
The Marchioness of Winblier laughed briefly, but her eyes changed slightly at that moment.
“However, it would have been nice if someone could speak in a more exciting way than me… Ah! Leandro!”
When Angela turned to where the Marchesa was looking, there was a strange young man, but he looked familiar in some ways.
“Madam, what brought you here during the party?”
The young man approached the Marchesa without reservation, and their faces met briefly as he greeted her.
“Get to know her, Mr. Leandro. This is Miss Angela Bliss. This is her first visit to our home, and I was showing her the palace… but what do you think about you taking over this task from here?”
The Marchioness of Winbler clapped her hands, as if things had gone as she had expected, but Angela was not so naive as to not realize that this was just a game that had been set up.
She did not feel confused or upset by it, but rather she was calmer.
“If Mr. Leandro doesn’t mind, it would be an honor for me.”
Angela smiled slightly, causing Leandro's expression to suddenly change to one of surprise. Angela never missed that expression.
"So, if you don't mind, I'll be happy."
Leandro gladly accepted her proposal and offered her his hand in escort, while the Marchioness of Winbler turned and walked away.
But the expression on her face as she walked away was somewhat hesitant, something neither Leandro nor Angela knew.
"So... this way, please."
Leandro drove him, looking visibly nervous.
Although he offered some explanations about the paintings and pictures hanging here and there, he was not as adept at guiding her as the Marchesa was.
Angela observed his behavior and assessed it in her mind.
'He doesn't seem to be just a distant relative who can be ignored, given the way he speaks respectfully to the Marchesa, but he's also not a very close person. As for his appearance… it's acceptable, he doesn't seem to be poor, and he has certainly fallen in love with me.'
Angela began to feel that her pride, which had been shattered in front of Laszlo, was beginning to recover somewhat.
While Leandro was glancing at her from time to time, they reached one of the rooms, and suddenly, he turned to look at her.
“Hmm. Actually… I wanted to show you this room.”
"Yes? And what is this room?"
Angela asked, but Leandro did not answer, instead suddenly opened the door with a very serious expression.
When the door was opened, a scent of flowers, difficult to find in early winter, rushed in.
“Ah! What is all this…?”
The room was filled with flowers of every kind.
Strangely, these flowers were of a type that can only be seen in greenhouses during this season.
Clearly, filling the room with these flowers was no easy feat, and it must have cost a huge fortune.
"It's a gift, Miss Angela."
"What do you mean by this? Wasn't this just a brief encounter between us before?"
“I apologize. I wanted to meet you, so I asked the Marchioness of Winblayer to arrange the meeting.”
Angela almost laughed to herself, but instead, she put her hand over her mouth, feigning shyness.
Leandro led her to a sofa among the flowers, and sat with her while pretending to observe the place. At that moment, a maid appeared carrying tea as if she had been waiting for them.
This means that her place was prepared for her from the beginning in this room.
“I apologize, Mr. Leandro. I still don’t understand how we got to this point…”
As Angela was finishing speaking, Leandro suddenly grabbed her hand tightly, making her feel uneasy.
“I won’t waste your time, I’ll say what I want quickly. Angela, I’ve loved you for a long time. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been hiding my feelings for you.”
Leandro's eyes were glowing with love and desire that he could not hide.
Angela gently withdrew her hand as if she felt confused.
“I appreciate your feelings, but it confuses me.”
“I expected that. Although I realized this, I acted rudely because I felt danger approaching.”
"risk?"
Leandro's expression changed between anger and sadness.
“I heard that you received a marriage proposal from another family.”
"Yes…"
"Count Crisus, right?"
Angela tried to appear indifferent, but the insult to Laszlo and the embarrassment of that day reappeared on her face, and her face turned red with shame.
But Leandro interpreted it differently, tightened his grip, and moved closer to her.
“Forget that reckless person, Miss Angela. You don’t need to be sold to that despicable man for the sake of the Bliss family.”
“But I am obliged to follow my grandfather’s instructions.”
When Angela responded with that, Leandro's face filled with even more sorrow.
“Hold my hand, Miss Angela. I will take you to a much better place.”
"What? Despite what you're saying…"
Angela hesitated a little before she opened her mouth with difficulty.
“I don’t know who Leandro is. How can I introduce you to my grandfather?”
Her question was referring to Leandro's social standing.
Upon hearing that, his face was filled with excessive confidence.
"What level are you looking for?"
"What?"
“On a general level, I am a distant relative of the Marquis Winblayer and heir to Lord Teal Amend of the kingdom of Vis.”
"On a general level? This sounds like you're suggesting that you might have another identity that you wouldn't reveal to others."
"Just as I expected, you are very smart."
Leandro approached Angela and whispered in her ear.
“You deserve to reach the highest position in this empire, more than any other woman. Don’t you?”
“Impossible. I’m just an ordinary noblewoman.”
“But you are more beautiful than anyone in the empire. People expect such beauty from the empress.”
Angela was surprised by his words, which made her take a step back.
“Now, you are speaking dangerous words. The word 'empress' should not be said like that. And why are you talking about this now?!”
"Because I will make you an empress."
"What?"
This time, even Angela, who was used to surprises, couldn't help but be stunned. If this person wasn't crazy, then he was plotting a rebellion.
"What do you mean by this?"
“Miss Angela, don’t be surprised, listen to me. I…”
Leandro took something out of his chest. It was a pendant in the shape of a small box, and on its surface was a large ruby surrounded by diamonds and emeralds.
It looked like something unusual.
As Angela stared at the necklace in amazement, Leandro opened the box and showed her two small pictures inside.
One was a picture of the late emperor, and the other was of a very beautiful young woman.
“I, Leandro Gladwin, son of the late Emperor and his beloved mistress Paulina Gladwin.”
"What? You're Paulina Gladwin's son?"
Pauline Gladwin was a woman who died a long time ago, but there is no one in the empire who does not know her.
She was the mistress whom the emperor loved more than anyone else, and is considered one of the most beloved mistresses in history. She became a legend because of her tragic death.
'It has been said that the emperor deeply regretted abandoning her after her death…'
But the problem still exists.
The late emperor had many mistresses besides Paulina, and he did not acknowledge his children from them.
Leandro nodded as if he knew what Angela was thinking.
“In this world, there are many things that have not been revealed. For example, the late emperor intended for me to be part of the imperial family before his death, but the current emperor, Demacros, prevented that. Perhaps Demacros is angry because he was unable to eliminate the four great families, because they know the truth…”
Angela was completely stunned and took a deep breath.