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Raios then gently smiled and nodded. Allice, delighted, ran straight over to where the imperial family sat. And then…
Raios pulled her by the arm and seated her on his lap.
“Yo-Your Highness! People are watching.”
“It’s okay.”Chu, he gently kissed Allice’s forehead. “Stay here.”
“B-But, it’s embarrassing.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Dana ignored the affectionate scene happening right beside her. It wasn’t worth paying attention to, so she didn’t mind it.
Right. Playing the role of a woman loved by a man isn’t necessary for gaining my brother’s trust.Gaining the trust of Viego Windsor, becoming the deputy head of the Windsor family, obtaining the holy relic, and returning to her world. Nothing else was needed besides that.Yeah. I’m here to play the role of the hostess.Once she thought that way, Dana was able to smile leisurely.
Dana spoke to the servant, “Let’s begin. Please call the beneficiaries one by one.”
The Night of Sponsorship wasn’t an ordinary banquet. It was a banquet where the imperial family gathered orphans under their patronage to encourage them. Every year, the empress would send out invitations to the beneficiaries. The empress would personally present them with a gold mother-bird sculpture, symbolizing the nation’s mother caring for her citizens.But right now, the position of empress, the one who would play the role of the mother bird, is vacant.
The current emperor is unmarried. Normally, the empress dowager would take over that role, but Raios’s birth mother was known to have died long ago. In other words, there was no imperial woman to serve as the ‘mother bird’ and lead the banquet. That’s why the role was taken by Dana, the fiancée of the crown prince.
“Saintess, thank you!”
“I’m not a saintess. Please don’t call me that.”
“Yes, Saintess!”
“I told you I’m not a saintess.”
“Ah, I apologize!”
Correcting their form of address one by one was exhausting.
“Saintess, Saintess!”
There were simply too many of them.Ah, I’m running out of energy.
Meanwhile, Raios looked as if he were enjoying himself.
“Kya, Your Highness. It got on my lips.”
“That’s why you should have eaten it properly.”
He merely continued to idle about, feeding cake to Allice while she still sat on his lap. Dealing with the beneficiaries was entirely Dana’s duty.
But why does she keep stealing glances at me?
Allice kept glancing at her. Especially whenever someone called Dana a ‘saintess,’ she stared all the more.
Finally, as time passed, the last beneficiary arrived. Hiding her fatigue, Dana waited for his greeting.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Milady.”
“What is your name?”
“M-M-My name is Bazellan Caravaggio.”
“Very well, Mr. Caravaggio. You don’t need to be so nervous… Wait.” Dan frowned.
His name was Bazellan Caravaggio. And if he’s an orphan under imperial patronage, could it be…
“…Are you the sculptor Bazellan Caravaggio?”
At that, the man looked at her with clear, spring-like eyes. “Do you know me?”
“Of course!” Dana unknowingly responded cheerfully, then quickly lowered my voice. “I didn’t know you’d be attending today. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you like this.”
Bazellan Caravaggio. He was a very famous sculptor who gained fame for his genius skills despite never receiving a proper education. Of course, she knew he received imperial support, but…I thought he never attended because he never attended every year.Had she been mistaken?
“It’s truly an honor that you know my name.” Blushing, Bazellan smiled shyly.
“It’s not just that. I truly like your sculptures.” Handing him the mother-bird sculpture, Dana whispered playfully. Her voice was slightly more excited than usual. “I especially love .”
“If you don’t believe me, come to the Windsor Mansion sometime. I bought that sculpture two years ago.”
“I have it displayed in the mansion lobby. Didn’t you know?”
“Ah, I didn’t. I heard that a noble lady bought it, but…” As if flustered, Bazellan’s ears turned red. “If you invite me, I’ll come anytime. It would be an honor. Thank you.”
“Thank you? I ask you to keep creating wonderful works. I truly love Mr. Caravaggio’s pieces—”
That moment,cling!The sound of a glass breaking was heard.
Startled, Dana turned her head to see Raios calmly pulling out a handkerchief.
“Your Highness? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry, Allice.”
The servants came to clean up the broken glass shards.
Dana clicked her tongue. How clumsy of him to drop a glass. It was an unusual mistake for Raios. Probably because he was drinking with a woman on his lap.
“Well then, Mr. Caravaggio. Let’s meet again. I’ll send an invitation soon.”
“Y-Yes. Thank you.” Bazellan’s face turned even redder.
Finally, Bazellan left, and her long role as the mother bird came to an end.Ah, it’s finally over…It was when she was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Caravaggio this, Caravaggio that. If someone saw it, they’d think you were flirting.”
Dana doubted her hearing.What did I just hear?Slowly turning my head, she saw Raios glaring at her with contempt.
“To think that the crown prince’s fiancée would speak in such a nasal voice. Thanks to that, you’ve made me quite the fool.”
“…When did I ever talk in a nasal voice?”
“Why? You’ve been doing it all along.” Raios sneered mockingly, taunting her. “To others, it looks like you’re desperately trying to be charming to men.”
“Your Highness, I’ve never done that. You must have heard it wrong.”
“Heard it wrong?”
Gasp, Dana flinched involuntarily. It was because he suddenly raised his voice. At once, all the nobles’ gazes turned toward them. Even the orchestra seemed to falter mid-performance. And Allice, seated on his lap, shrank back in fear.
Perhaps realizing it as well, Raios took a deep breath. After a moment, he spoke again in a calmer voice. “I wonder where you’ve sold off your dignity, Danae Windsor.” But his words had grown even more vicious. “Anyone would think you werea woman who sells her laughter[1]It’s an implicit way to say a prost*tute..”
Dana’s fingertips trembled. She could feel even her lips turning pale. “To what exactly are you comparing me to?”
“A woman selling laughter,” Raios repeated precisely, glaring at her as if wanting to kill her, with a rigid face. “And is that all? Inviting him to your house under the pretext of showing him a sculpture? Don’t you realize that’s something only a womanizer would do?”
Has he gone mad?With her mind reeling, Dana barely managed to think.He must have gone mad. Otherwise, how could he say such a thing to me…