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After finishing the letter and lifting my gaze, I saw the gazes of people staring only at me.
Including Elise's indignant gaze.
Letizia answered the head maid for all to hear.
"I can't refuse Her Majesty the Empress's invitation. I will visit this afternoon."
"Then I'll be waiting, Miss Letizia."
The head maid, having received Letizia's answer, gave her greetings and got into the carriage.
Letizia watched the carriage move away for a moment, then smiled at Elise.
"Then I'm busy, so I'll be going."
With that, she waved her hand and turned away.
She could feel the murmuring voices of the people behind her and Elise's sharp gaze, but she didn't care about any of it.
That afternoon.
I visited the Empress's palace on time.
As soon as I got out of the carriage, what I saw was...
"Letizia!"
"...Your Highness the Crown Prince?"
Rudian, with a face full of delight, and Her Majesty the Empress were waiting.
Rudian ran to me and asked.
"Are you okay now? Does it not hurt?"
I was puzzled by the sudden question, but I realized the reason a beat later.
'Ah, he remembers that I fell into the water.'
Rudian's golden eyes, filled with worry, were like...
'A chick. Cute...!'
Although I almost died in the process of saving Rudian, seeing the child alive and breathing made me realize that the effort was not in vain.
Even if Rudian had nothing to do with Idris's false accusations, I would have saved this child.
Because that's what children are.
I sat down to meet Rudian's gaze and answered.
"Thanks to Your Highness's concern, I'm all better now. Your Highness must have been very surprised that day too, are you alright?"
"Yeah! Letizia and uncle saved me, so I'm not hurt at all."
Rudian nodded vigorously.
His chubby cheeks were cute.
'Just once, I want to pinch them... No, I can't. I'd be dragged away for lese-majesty...'
As I swallowed my regret inwardly, Her Majesty the Empress belatedly approached.
She was a pure beauty with brown hair and refreshing green eyes.
I had seen her a few times at national events before she gave birth, but it was the first time I had met her up close.
'Oops, I need to greet her first.'
I had been distracted by Rudian's cuteness and was thinking foolish thoughts, so I stood up in surprise and paid my respects.
"Letizia of Cloeil greets Her Majesty the Empress."
"Welcome, Miss Letizia. Rudian has been longing to meet you."
"Mom!"
At his mother's candid revelation, Rudian blushed and shouted.
I couldn't help but smile, and my eyes met those of Her Majesty the Empress, who had the same expression as me.
She continued to speak with a smiling face.
"When I told him that you would be here around two o'clock, he started nagging me to go out and wait from the moment the clock struck one. Thanks to that, I had a hard time teaching him how long an hour is."
Her Majesty the Empress was blaming me in her words, but seeing the love in her eyes as she looked at Rudian, it seemed like she was joking.
As I smiled along, watching the two beautiful mother and son,
Ding-
The bell rang, announcing exactly two o'clock.
"Oh my, I've kept my guest standing outside for too long. Shall we go to the drawing room then?"
Following the two of them, we arrived at the drawing room.
The maid must have been brewing tea to match the time I was arriving, as she quietly left the drawing room as soon as we entered.
"Please, sit comfortably."
I sat on the sofa, following Her Majesty the Empress.
Then, Rudian, who had been pacing around and looking at me, quietly sat down next to me.
And then...
"Letizia, try this. This is super delicious. It's my favorite."
He picked one of the desserts placed in front of me and put it in front of me.
It was a completely different side of him than the first time, when he was shy and avoided my eyes.
"Oh, an egg tart? It looks very delicious, just as Your Highness said. I will enjoy it."
I have to repay our cute Crown Prince's heart, right?
I cut the egg tart, which was about the size of Rudian's palm, into easy-to-eat pieces, put a piece in the child's mouth, and ate it myself.
As Rudian said, the egg tart made by the royal palace's head chef was very soft and sweet.
"It's the most delicious egg tart I've ever had. It seems that Your Highness has a knack for evaluating the taste of desserts."
Rudian wore a proud smile at my compliment.
I suppressed my impious desires once again, looking at the child's cheeks, which were slightly flushed.
Her Majesty the Empress, who had been watching me and Rudian, began to speak.
"I hear that your boutique is becoming famous these days? I suddenly invited you during a very busy time, thank you for making time."
"No, I am honored to be invited by Your Majesty."
After exchanging light greetings, we shared desserts with Rudian and shared some small talk.
'It seems like we've eaten all the desserts.'
But I was aware that the main topic hadn't come out yet.
As expected, after Rudian finished his milk, Her Majesty the Empress said.
"Rudian. I have something to talk about with Miss Letizia, could you leave us for a moment?"
At Her Majesty the Empress's request, Rudian's sparkling eyes quickly became dejected.
However, he did not whine and readily replied.
"...Yes, Mother."
Perhaps it's because I know better than anyone else that he doesn't want to upset his weak mother and is reluctantly agreeing.
Unable to just let the gloomy Rudian go, I made another suggestion to comfort the child.
"After I'm done talking to Her Majesty the Empress, will you show me that doll?"
"...Doll?"
"The wooden doll that was in the pond back then. What was its name again?"
"Ah, Eddie! Sir Philip saved Eddie."
"That's a relief. Then will you let me see it later?"
"But Eddie is in my room..."
"Then I'll go to the Crown Prince's palace after I'm done talking to Her Majesty the Empress."
"No! I'll go get it. Stay here and talk to Mother."
Rudian seemed to have regained his enthusiasm and left the drawing room with a lively pace.
As I watched his receding back with a warm gaze and turned around, Her Majesty the Empress, who was looking at me, smiled and said.
"Miss Letizia is very good at comforting children. I don't think you have any nephews or younger siblings."
"No, it's thanks to Your Highness the Crown Prince's kind consideration towards me."
Actually, it was because Rudian resembled my childhood that I felt more drawn to him.
'But there's no need to tell someone I just met about my childhood.'
While I was smiling awkwardly inwardly, Her Majesty the Empress filled my empty cup with tea and began to speak.
"The reason I called Miss Letizia here today is to express my gratitude, but more than that..."
Finally, the main topic.
'Our boutique has become famous, so is she going to ask me for a favor?'
I was guessing what Her Majesty the Empress would say, but a completely unexpected story came out.
"I wanted to hear your story."
I blinked in bewilderment.
"What... story are you talking about?"
"About the discord between Duke Farnese and Miss Letizia."
'Ah.'
I swallowed a sigh inwardly.
'Yes, Her Majesty the Empress probably doesn't like me either.'
I've never seen Idris talk about Her Majesty the Empress, but just seeing Rudian and the Emperor being close to Idris, I can guess that their relationship with Her Majesty the Empress isn't bad.
On top of that, there's the face of the royal family, so Idris's scandal is bound to be a concern.
"I didn't think it was right for you to reveal your relationship with the Grand Duke without resolving your relationship with the Duke."
"..."
"And even now that I've received great help from you that I can't repay, that thought hasn't changed."
I also agree with Her Majesty the Empress's thoughts, and I still agree with them.
Still, I didn't expect her to bring up that story in a place to express gratitude for the Rudian incident.
"But."
I, who had been expecting further criticism, looked at Her Majesty the Empress with slightly puzzled eyes.
And unlike my expectations, I met the gaze of Her Majesty the Empress, whose gaze had softened.
"As I came to see Miss Letizia in a more favorable light through this incident, I belatedly had that thought."
"..."
"Perhaps, there was a reason why Miss Letizia had to do that... I thought."
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