The Princeliest Prince of All - Chapter 24
“Ha, no political influence, no wealth, nothing to boast of. Not even an old, decaying reputation.”
Contrary to Sera’s wild imagination, the empress was simply confirming the obscure history of the little-known Brandt family.
Siannon Brandt, who inherited the barony, was an incompetent wastrel, and the Brandt family was merely a landowner of a small piece of land—an insignificant family. The emperor and empress had barely noticed its existence.
The empress sighed deeply and handed the report back to the maid.
“For now, grant the confiscated western estate and elevate this household to a countdom.”
“…Pardon?”
“If you aim too high too fast, you will only suffer. Be content with this for now. I will find a more suitable position gradually.”
“Yes, um…?”
Sera couldn’t comprehend the empress’s words and tilted her head in confusion.
Is this the language of high society in romance fantasy novels?
What on earth does the estate and title have to do with her?
The empress scanned Sera, who looked clueless, from head to toe again.
“I like that your appearance is unassuming. At least you won’t attract too much unwanted attention.”
“I… I don’t quite understand….”
“But you still have a lot to learn about etiquette and conversation skills. Sit up straight and stop mumbling.”
“Yes, ma’am! I mean, Your Majesty!”
Sera straightened her hunched back and corrected her posture.
“Yes…! However, I don’t quite understand what Your Majesty is saying….”
The empress sighed at Sera’s cluelessness and shook her head slightly before continuing in a softer tone.
“A royal marriage isn’t a child’s play—it’s not something you can decide on your own.”
“Is His Highness getting married?”
Gasp.
One of the maids, who had been quietly standing guard, let out a gasp. Sera, still not understanding the flow of the conversation, tilted her head again.
The empress was the only one maintaining a calm expression.
“Did Leonard not tell you anything?”
Ah, if Sera had known he would be getting married this soon, she would have exercised some restraint.
Sera nodded, feeling downcast.
I should resign as soon as possible.
I don’t want to see some duke’s daughter or whoever flirting with Leonard.
“Foolish girl.”
The empress’s voice was very quiet but pronounced clearly. Sera wondered if she had heard correctly.
The empress’s gaze was fixed on the prince’s palace visible in the distance.
The empress resumed speaking in her refined tone.
“Thanks to you, Leonard can now have a coronation. In return, he requested to marry you.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
Sera gaped in shock.
The empress frowned, seeing the open mouth of the girl who would soon be her daughter-in-law.
“It’s unfortunate that you weren’t consulted, but since the emperor has already approved, we cannot defy his command.”
It was the first time Leonard had visited the empress’s palace of his own volition. He had taken off his gloves, held his mother’s hands, kissed her hand, and drank tea prepared by the maids.
He had asked for this marriage in exchange for managing to endure the coronation ceremony, which involved holding a two-thousand-year-old relic with his bare hands.
No doctor had ever found the cause of the prince’s mysophobia. There were no signs or traumas to indicate the root of his condition. He had rejected his mother’s and wet nurse’s embrace even before he could speak, and refused to breastfeed to the point of endangering his life.
If a lowly maid had somehow cured such a son, there was ample reason to grant his request.
Of course, the empress preferred not to know how Sera had achieved this.
Still, marrying someone without their consent was repaying kindness with cruelty.
The empress added quietly,
“…If you truly detest it, you can run away.”
Sera was even more dumbfounded by these words.
The empress’s line was something she had said to Leticia, who was suffering from an impossible love with Theodoric, in the original story.
Of course, there is a huge difference between telling someone to run away to live together and telling someone to run away if they don’t want to marry.
In conclusion, the proposal for Leonard and Sera’s union wasn’t just the empress’s whim.
It was Leonard’s request…
Could Leonard possibly have special feelings for Sera?
The empress, seeing Sera’s blank face, felt a headache coming on and waved her hand dismissively.
What a troublesome son who never does anything properly.
“In any case, I only wanted to confirm your appearance today, so you may leave now. I will discuss the details with Count Brandt.”
Her family’s already a countdom at this point?
Sera couldn’t bring herself to ask and obediently left the reception room.
Her head was in a daze as if she had just awoken from a dream.
Unlike the grand procession that had brought her, she returned alone to the prince’s palace.
She still couldn’t grasp the reality of it all.
Leonard wants to marry me?
So, all those times he called her name in that sticky voice and looked at her with those heated eyes were all because…!
Oh my.
What exactly is happening?
Leonard, although a supporting character, was the next emperor and had an amazing face and body.
If there were any downsides, it was his mysophobia and the resulting prickly personality, but that was practically resolved now.
Maybe God had made her an extra like Sera Brandt to fix Leonard, who was perfect on the outside but broken inside.
The only thing that nagged at her was why Leonard hadn’t proposed to her directly but had gone to the empress first.
Given the leave she was granted, it was clear Leonard knew the empress would call her today.
So why didn’t he talk to her first?
Sera stopped in her tracks in front of the prince’s palace.
What would happen if she went in right now?
Would Leonard kneel and propose?
What should she say in response?
Just imagining it gave her goosebumps.
Sera now understood the meaning of her leave.
It was to prepare her mind, as she didn’t have to give an answer right away today.
No matter how she thought about it, she didn’t have the confidence to face Leonard right now.
Sera turned and walked away without a plan.
