Cecil swallowed dryly as she sees the rows of jewels carried out by the servants.
‘I can do this. I can do this. I can do thi… There’s no way I can do this!’
She had been practicing for this moment for the past few days. However, it felt like her heart shrivelled up at the sight of the dazzlingly blinding jewels.
Just how much would one of the accumulating jewels cost?
As she pondered the price, she noticed a ring with a large emerald. At that moment, Cecil studied it with a piercing gaze.
‘So that’s the one.’
The Ald of Woods.
A jewel that was renowned amongst the imperial family’s treasures.
A long time ago, back when the forest Elves used to roam the continent, this jewel was said to be a gift from the King of Elves to the first Emperor.
It was so legendary it even had a 100 chaptered novel about it.
‘Now, I have to… to that jewel…’
Cecil grew distant as she recalled what she had to do.
It was something no one had ever done since the founding of the empire.
While Cecil was trembling, Estian picked up the Ald of Woods and brought it over to her. Everyone could clearly hear him as he spoke in front of the servants.
“I thought of this jewel ever since I saw your eyes, Empress. It’s the same color as your eyes, and I’m thinking of making it our wedding ring. From now on, this is yours. Here, give me your hand.”
At those words, Cecil stretched her hands out to Estian.
There were sounds of people gasping in surprise all around.
The Ald of Woods was the imperial family’s treasure. It was passed down to the Emperor, but now he was giving it to the Empress as a wedding ring?
Estian placed the ring on her finger, creating a beautiful scene.
The scene was so stunning, that if they weren’t the Emperor and Empress, if the ring wasn’t the Ald of Woods, someone would have whistled and shouted their happy blessings.
The vassals were confused as to whether they should shout or clap at the scene.
As if they had made up their mind, someone bravely walked forward with large strides.
However, Cecil moved before they could open their mouths.
She pulled the ring off of her finger and threw the Ald of Woods to the floor with all of her strength.
Ting!
The imperial family’s treasure struck the floor with a clear and bright sound..
She threw it with such great force the ring bounced violently off of the floor and soared up to the ceiling.
The people’s eyes followed the ring’s path as it hit the floor and into a nearby decorative porcelain.
The porcelain shook with a tinkling sound.
It was a very clean finish.
“Amazing!”
“It went in!”
Unconsciously, the audience clapped and cheered.
Soon enough however, they couldn’t conceal their shock when they saw the stunned servant running towards the ring.
It was because they now realized what was causing the sounds inside the porcelain.
If someone was surprised enough, nothing would escape their mouths, as everyone soon learned.
Screams silently filled the hall, to the point where only the sound of a bug crawling could be heard.
“…!”
The jewel rolling around in the porcelain rang out thunderously in the terrible silence as they realized what just happened.
The Empress.
To the finest treasure, the Empress—
She threw it to the floor.
Everyone slowly turned their heads to look at Cecil. Fully taking in everyone’s gazes, she spat out the line she had been practicing for the past few days while she was buried within the imperial palace.
“Oh my, the jewel was so small that it flew away in the wind.”
“Wh-what in the world…”
Everyone in the hall could not believe what they’ve just seen with their eyes.
After rubbing their eyes, pinching hands, and slapping the person next to them and seeing them get indignant, they confirmed that this was definitely not a dream.
It was in reality that the treasure of the imperial family was treated as if it was lesser than a pebble on the streets.
“Wh-what in the world did you just do…”
One of the vassals in the front groaned.
He hurriedly picked up the porcelain with the ring in it and shook it. A heavy sound rang from inside.
Some fell down onto their knees. The Ald of Woods was both a ring and proof of the empire’s history.
“…Damn.”
Estian’s voice returned people to their senses.
Their breathing quelled as they saw his chilly expression and low voice.
Walking down to the porcelain held by the vassal, Estian took the ring out.
“Y-Your Imperial Majesty. There is no way the Ald of Woods is light. The Em-Empress…”
When someone implied that ‘the Empress must have gone crazy,’ Estian moved his hand.
The ring in his hand flew off at the speed of light, quickly flying between the vassals and smacking against the wall at the end of the hall.
Shatter!
The sound of wood cracking and splitting open could be heard. Everyone could see the destroyed wall and the jewel embedded in it.
Estian saw it and nodded as if he understood what she meant.
“As the Empress said, it certainly is very light.”
“…”
There was no vassal with enough gall to ask ‘how?’
While everyone was speechless, Estian walked towards the jewels the servants carried.
Shortly enough, his hands picked out a necklace with a ruby that was the size of a child’s fist.
“That’s the Ruby of Fiot!”
This time, his hands picked up a bracelet with a blue sapphire.
“Ah! That is the Celsetta of Eternity!”
Every time he picked a jewel up, people would exclaim the name in amazement.
“The Star of Legias!”
“The Black Sun of the Black Emperor!”
Each name that slipped from the people’s lips were all names of ancient jewels that have appeared in pages of imperial history.
As if they were solving a history problem, everyone called out the names of each jewel inside the Emperor’s hands.
Once most of the known names were called out, Estian’s hands were filled with gems.
With the armful of jewels, he walked up to Cecil, where he then made the attendant standing next to him hold the weight.
“Ack!”
The attendant stumbled and moaned, their face reddening as they started to sweat.
‘It’s heavy!’
Though the Emperor carried it so lightly as if the weight was unnoticeable, it was still an armful of jewels and precious metals. There was no way it could have been light.
Disregarding the sweating attendant, Estian looked at Cecil.
Cecil had an indifferently calm expression, as if questioning if there was anything going on at the moment.
‘I’m sure she should be trembling inside.’
She was the one who begged him last night, ‘Your Imperial Majesty, I can’t do it!’
Cecil had jumped up, asking how she could dare throw such a precious treasure. However, when Estian asked ‘do you want to die? Or do you want to throw it,’ she unhesitantly answered ‘I have good arm strength! I will throw it skillfully!’
‘I didn’t think her arm strength would actually be good.’
He had thought that she was just saying that, but in the moment when the ring struck the floor and landed in the porcelain, he realized that Cecil had only spoken the truth.
we are not printer* * *patience is a virtue
For the past few days, the two had been confined in the Imperial Palace as they practiced for today.
As Estian instructed Cecil on what to do, she would cling to him during practice, near tears as she cried out ‘I can’t do it, I won’t do it. Please save me.’ This went on for most of the time period.
‘She kept saying that but when she does it, she does it excellently.’
Is she the type to be good in the actual moment?
Estian contemplated over it as he spoke to Cecil.
“Empress, will you give me your hand?”
With graceful movements, Cecil held out her right hand when Estian spoke to her.
While holding that hand, Estian noticed her trembling fingertips.
As expected, no matter how much she pretended nothing was wrong, it was still a terrifying situation to be in.
Estian picked out the sapphire ring on top of the pile of jewels the attendant was holding, and placed it on Cecil’s finger. Due to its large size, the ring was loose on her.
What exactly was the Emperor doing right now?
That was everyone’s thoughts as their gaze fell on Estian. However, he did not care about their gazes and languidly did whatever he pleased.
He pulled out a heavy and long pearl necklace from the pile, unclasping it to then wrap it around Cecil’s neck. That was not all.
He also plucked out earrings decorated with large spinels, replacing Cecil’s current small earrings with it. Afterwards, came a bracelet and then another necklace.
Just like that, Estian took all of the jewels he had brought and placed it on Cecil over and over again.
Dozens of necklaces were wrapped around her neck and numerous bracelets also adorned her arms. There were so many booches on her dress that the original fabric could not be seen.
Estian carefully decorated her as if he were her servant. Everyone watched silently at the sight of such an Emperor.
In the meantime, many of the jewels Estian brought were placed on her.
Cecil’s expression began to stiffen under the weight. Because the placements were spread all over, it wasn’t as difficult as before, though it was still not very comfortable.
Just like that, once all of the jewels were placed on Cecil, Estian stepped back, looking proud of his accomplishments.
“Empress, I think it won’t fly away in the wind if it’s like this. Can this replace our wedding gifts exchange?”
Groans filled the room at the Emperor’s words. The Emperor was currently giving the Empress all of the treasures.
It was the first time this happened in history. Even the previous emperors who were said to be even crazier than Estian had never done anything like this.
In the corner of the hall, the man in charge of the imperial treasury groaned and fainted.
‘Do you know how much that is! It’s enough to purchase several entire countries! Moreover, those are already considered as cultural assets!’
The people looked at the Empress.
No one would refuse such a generous offer. Everyone believed the Empress would be thankful and pleased with his graciousness.
Contrary to their expectations, not an ounce of happiness could be seen on Cecil’s face. Instead, it seemed even stiffer.
What would the Empress say this time? They waited for Cecil’s reply with sweaty hands.
“I am very thankful for Your Majesty’s kindness. However…”
‘However?’
The words that fell out of the Empress’s lips were beyond their expectations.
“As expected, wouldn’t something new be best for a wedding present?”
At that moment, the imperial family’s treasures that were historical artifacts all became used items.