I was ushered into the front room of the Imperial Palace’s largest audience hall, where I waited with Lou and Sakaki. The hall would be filled with influential nobles from Galé. I would be the last to enter—diving straight into unfamiliar territory.
“Sere, you look down. What’s wrong?” Lou set his paws on my lap and tilted his head.
Normally, I would have been escorted to Gillain by a male relative...
This engagement may have been irregular, but I was naturally serious about it. This was going to be the first and last engagement party in my life. If this engagement were to disappear...I would disappear with it.
It hurt not having family with me, even if I knew there was nothing I could do about it. I wondered if my father would agree with this engagement... I wondered if my grandmother would give Gillain a passing score.
Someone knocked on the door, and Arthur entered. He was escorting me in place of a male relative. Arthur was a marquis, so he was in no position to complain about the woman he was taking with him.
Arthur took one look at me, drew in a breath, and stopped in his tracks. His gaze wandered for a moment, then he gathered himself and made his way over to me. “You seem...subdued. Is something the matter?”
Where did your disrespectful attitude go? Is this like the arm wrestling effect?
“It’s nothing. I’m just...a little homesick.” I shook off my thoughts of my family and smiled weakly.
“Do you feel constrained in the detached palace?”
“Of course not! Everyone treats me well. Thank you for escorting me today. I don’t mean to be a bother, but I’d appreciate if you gave me instructions.”
“Sure.”
I gently put my hand around Arthur’s elbow. “Is there anything strange about my appearance? I haven’t had a chance to learn Galéan customs.”
“No, nothing’s wrong. I don’t see a single weak point on you today. If you’d been like this in Marsche, even I would have...” Arthur sighed.
“Arthur?”
“It’s nothing. The emperor is waiting.”
Arthur’s uniform was navy blue. It was decorated with ceremonial medals and aglets that hung from his chest.
My grandmother’s best dress was the clear light blue of Lou’s eyes. The skirt was not particularly full, and the silhouette was clean. Mrs. Marcus had embroidered the wrists, neckline, and hem in navy blue, toning down the bright sky blue to my liking. I was sixteen, so I wanted a more modest look with my gown.
“We’re wearing matching colors, Arthur.”
“That...may not be good.”
My grandmother had given me a lot of accessories, but all I had around my neck was my platinum chain. Other than that, I just had on Alma’s gold ring and my engagement ring. My short hair was forcibly gathered at the back, and I had carefully hidden the nape of my neck with Asu’s feather. It shone red, blue, and green, depending on the angle. I feel like a follow-up act to the feather...
Lou stood on my other side, and Sakaki protected me from the back.
“Are you ready? Okay, let’s go.”
“Presenting Lady Serephione Granzeus of the Kingdom of Judore!”
The announcer read my name off. A clamor broke out in the room.
“It’s the Twilight Fairy I keep hearing about...”
“The ultimate weapon of the Trundles...”
“Why is our empress some little girl from Judore...?!”
“Eeee, Sir Arthur! Why would you escort such a lowly girl?!”
“H-Hey, her hair! Is that from our sacred bird?!”
Ah, this brings me back. I remembered being all alone in the novel, shown off to the public, kneeling before the emperor, and vowing to be his vassal. I had been subject to all kinds of abuse from the Galéan soldiers.
Compared to then...I was so much better off.
After all, I had Lou at my side. Sakaki was accompanying me with a calm air. Even Arthur was helping me with this event.
People spread to make a path to the throne for me. Gillain was watching from the throne, his elbow rested on his armrest as if he were bored, and Asu shone brilliantly on his shoulder.
I had to do my greeting and speech on my own, since I didn’t have my father with me. I mulled over how to start as a noble lady, but decided not to worry about it. I’d managed on my own in my past life. I’d do the same this time out of respect to that past version of me.
I walked up to Gillain with Arthur. Arthur started to bend his knees, but I held my fan out to stop him. His eyes went wide in surprise, and he took a step back. The audience whispered. Gillain raised his left eyebrow.
I bowed at Gillain’s feet like a knight. “My name is Serephione Granzeus. I vow my undying loyalty and protection to Emperor Gillain for the rest of my days. Even if my body deteriorates, please allow me to serve you as a spirit. May your reign be blessed.”
I’d said everything I needed to. The audience was silent—probably shocked that what I’d said hadn’t been what they expected from a woman. It had been my true, unfiltered feelings. I would never betray Gillain. That was my announcement to the audience. Just as Gillain protected me, I too would protect Gillain!
Whoosh!
Suddenly, ten flaming blades came flying from behind me, aimed at the throne. I instantly pulled out the knives I had hidden in each sleeve, stood in front of Gillain to deflect them all, and put each flame out individually by cutting off its oxygen supply. The room would’ve flooded if I’d used water.
Clap, clap, clap, clap. “Wonderful!” Regueid approached in a dress suit and applauded.
You’re the one behind this?! My shoulders fell.
“That was in bad taste,” I said.
“You can say that again,” Lou agreed.
I glared at Regueid, who smiled and knelt at my feet. I swallowed my voice.
“I welcome you to Galé, Lady of Twilight. And once again, I pledge my loyalty to the Emperor of Galé and his peerless empress.”
Sakaki, who was next to me for some reason, also knelt down and hung his head. Arthur followed quickly. Behind Regueid, one after another, military officers who, from the looks of their collars, were at least colonels, and civilian officers and nobles who didn’t seem to be idiots, knelt down.
Regueid had played me like a fiddle. He’d used me to turn Galé into a monolith. I sighed and put my knives back.
Gillain suddenly put his hands around my waist from behind. “Regueid, I’m going to kill you if you ever turn a blade on Serephione again.”
“As you wish.”
“I hereby proclaim Serephione Granzeus to be my fiancée. Anyone who harms her from here on out will be treated as if they had harmed me. I will show no mercy. If any woman has more resolve than my Serephione, she may present herself here.”
A stunned silence fell over the room. Asu spread his wings and jumped onto my shoulder from Gillain’s. I could feel the shock from the people who could see him. I froze as I realized that his feathers and my hair accessory were the same.
“That was too cool of you, Sere. Leave some for Gillain,” Asu teased.
“Hey, I was just set up, nothing more.”
“You’re drawing attention,” Lou warned Asu. “But it’s on purpose, isn’t it?”
Asu chuckled.
Music began to play.
Gillain took my hand and led me to the center of the hall. It was customary for the emperor to have the first dance. Now my second dance has also ended up being with Gillain... We made sure we were in time with the music and entered the ring of high-ranking nobles.
“Are you upset that I’m not very good at dancing?” I asked.
Gillain’s eyes sparkled in amusement—a rare expression. “No, you’re exceeding my expectations. You make my heart soar. You’re my treasure.” He brought his face close to mine as he whispered, then he took my plate from my collar and kissed it. The plate glowed with magic. I could feel the blood rush to my face from the sheer intimacy of it.