A dinner was set for the three of them a week later.
Blair once again asked the attendant of the central palace.
What Theodore likes.
“His Majesty enjoys seafood these days.”
After receiving the same answer as the one Meredith gave, Blair finally started preparing for the dinner.
It was because she didn’t want Meredith to embarrass her by giving her false information.
Fortunately, there were no such incidents.
And a week after that.
“Wait a minute.”
Meredith stopped the maid’s action of putting on a garnet stone necklace around her neck.
“I don’t have to wear a necklace.”
“But…….”
“Like I said. Today, I want to look as modest as possible.”
Meredith said firmly.
“I’m not the protagonist tonight. It’s the Empress Dowager.”
“You’re dressed modestly enough now.”
“That’s why it’s enough.”
“Do as Her Majesty wishes.”
At that moment, Yulia, who had been watching silently, intervened.
At Yulia’s words, the maid quietly retreated, and Yulia gave Meredith a warm smile and said,
“I think it will be fine since you are still beautiful enough.”
“I’m sure the only one who treats me like this is Yulia.”
“Well.”
Yulia smiled meaningfully.
“That isn’t just my opinion?” (Yulia)
“What do…”
“Your Majesty.”
At that moment, a maid’s voice was heard from outside.
“The Emperor has arrived.”
It was unexpected news. Meredith was perplexed.
But soon she nodded.
“Let him enter.”
Immediately the door opened and someone appeared.
Meredith habitually greeted him first.
“I greet the Emperor, the great divine son of Valtejain.”
As she straightened her back, Theodore entered Meredith’s vision.
He was more dressed than usual for the dinner, but it wasn’t overdone.
In fact, due to Theodore’s beauty, even dressing up seemed useless.
At that moment, she thought that he would have looked good even if he had only worn a shirt.
“I guess I look handsome today?”
At that, Meredith realized that she was staring at him too much.
Meredith’s face quickly heated up.
Theodore jokingly pointed out.
“You did that last time, too.”
“…just staring in confusion.”
Meredith quickly made up an excuse.
“I didn’t know you’d come all the way here.”
“It’s a dinner for us.”
Theodore shrugged and said.
“Let’s go together. But won’t it be funny if we appear separately?”
“Then I should have gone ahead.”
“That’s not very pleasing to the Emperor.”
“But…”
“I know what you’re worried about.”
Theodore quickly noticed what she had to say and stopped her.
“So you don’t have to worry because I came here in a carriage.”
Only then did Meredith’s expression brighten up.
“Good job.”
“And you, too, will ride a horse-drawn carriage to the Empress Dowager’s Palace.”
Meanwhile, Theodore suddenly grabbed Meredith’s hand.
At the sudden action, Meredith unknowingly stiffened.
‘… It’s nothing special.’
At least not for the two.
Because they even fell asleep every night, holding hands on the bed.
‘But I didn’t think much back then either…’
Strangely, this moment was particularly nerve-racking for Meredith.
‘…why? I don’t know why.‘
Meredith looked at Theodore, unable to even think of releasing the power that had been in her body.
Either Theodore didn’t notice it, or he pretended not to know. He made eye contact with Meredith casually and ended the conversation with a sweet voice.
“Because I’m weak.”
“…….”
“Let’s go.”
Looking at Theodore smiling, Meredith nodded with a tense face in contrast.
***
“Is this the first time you are going to meet the Empress Dowager after the sun goes down?”
In the carriage to Empress Dowager’s Palace, Meredith asked.
“Can you do it?”
Of course, she was talking about acting weak.
‘Is it a reasonable worry?’
But belatedly, she thought she asked a useless question.
Because his performance she’s seen so far was impeccably good.
To the point where it felt perfect.
‘But maybe it’s because I’m dull that I think so.’
Because Empress Dowager is a sharp person.
Maybe she’ll notice it.
Meredith was only concerned about that.
“Worried?”
Theodore asked in an unfamiliar voice.
“I’m afraid you’ll be discovered.”
“Seeing you say that, I don’t think it should be too bad.” (Theodore)
“If I make a mistake, you can help me.” (Theodore)
“You’re not going to make a mistake.”
Meredith spoke in a confident tone.
“I’ll cast a spell on you.”
“You know how to do that?”
“Of course, it’s a lie.”
“……”
Theodore looked at Meredith with a look of absurdness, and she tried to pretend not to know.
Meanwhile, the carriage stopped.
“We’ve arrived, Your Majesties.”
The carriage door opened and the servants helped the ‘weak’ Theodore.
He moved toward the Empress Dowager’s Palace with difficulty, as it seemed strenuous to even take his steps properly.
Meredith followed him from behind.
Before she knew it, the two arrived at the dining hall of the Empress Dowager’s Palace.
“Your Majesty, His Majesty the Emperor, and Her Majesty the Empress have arrived.”
“Please come inside.”
The door opened with an elegant voice from the inside.
Theodore entered the hall arduously with the help of his attendants.
Blair looked at Theodore with a very worried face.
“Your Majesty, are you okay?”
“Your Majesty.”
Theodore, who struggled to enter the dining hall, greeted Blair.
“It’s been a while since I said hello.”
“Greetings later. First, sit down. You look tired.”
Meredith quickly helped Theodore.
Theodore did not refuse the support of Meredith.
So the three barely sat down.
“Was there any inconvenience in coming all the way here, dear?”
Among the three, Blair opened her mouth first.
The question being addressed to her was quite obvious, so Meredith quickly opened her mouth.
“Yes, your majesty. I came comfortably in a carriage with his Majesty.”
“Oh, you two arrived together”.
Only then did Blair’s eyes turn to Theodore.
“Thank you for coming all the way here, Your Majesty.”
“No, thank you for inviting me.”
“It’s been a while since we had dinner together.”
Blair said with an emotional face.
“This mother is very happy.”
“……I haven’t been able to visit often because I’ve been in poor health.”
Theodore replied with his unique low voice.
“I’m sorry if you’ve been disappointed.”
“Disappointed? That’s not true.”
Blair shook her hand.
“It wasn’t any other reason, but because of your health. I’m not so narrow-minded to not even understand that much.”
“…..”
“And your empress visits me every day.”
In the meantime, Blair looked at Meredith with her finely curved eyes.
“It’s a great pleasure for me.”
“If you feel that way, it’s an honor for me, your majesty.”
“The empress worked hard to prepare for today’s meeting.”
There was a compliment for Meredith.
“Thanks to you, I had my first dinner with his Majesty after his ascension.”
“I’ll visit you more often in the future.”
“Yes. We’d better have more opportunities like this in the future.”
Blair responded as if it was a good idea.
Of course, Theodore was just saying it for formality.
“No matter how close, if you don’t meet your family and talk, your relationship will grow apart”.
“…….”
“If communication is cut off, misunderstandings will inevitably arise.”
“….yes. That’s right.”
“Oh my, look at my mind. I called in the guests but didn’t bring any food.”
Blair clapped her hands as if she realized it late.
The servants and maids entered the dining hall with food filled up on the dish cover.
How large the amount was, the procession continued for a long time.
Meredith looked at the scene with a sense of being mesmerized and only came to her senses after all the servants and maids who served the food had left.
“I don’t know if it’ll suit your taste. It’s been such a long time since we had dinner.”
Blair smiled nicely and crossed her hands and wrapped them together.
“I was worried about that, so I prepared as many things as possible.”
“Eat it before it gets cold.”
“It’s such a fancy dinner, your majesty.”
Meredith opened her mouth in admiration.
“Your Majesty’s favorite seafood dish is full.”
“That’s right. I heard from you and told them to prepare seafood.”
“Thank you for your care, Your Majesty.”
Theodore, who had been silent until then, opened his mouth.
“You didn’t have to prepare this much.”
“It’s been a while since I had dinner with Your Majesty.”
Before he could say anything more, Blair replied back.
“I did my best. Please go ahead and eat.”
“Yes. Then…”
“Hold on, Your Majesty.”
Then someone stepped in.
“I will check the food.”
It was Felix.
At his interference, the atmosphere of the table was completely frozen.