Two days later, Dalia was summoned by the Emperor to the Imperial Palace. This time she was alone without Hikan.
The capital had already been turned upside down by the news of the Duchess Blueport’s congestion.
Furthermore, the transcendent congestion caused no casualties, and the return of the affected party to its pre-berserk state was a huge sensation. It could only be described as a miracle.
Only the Emperor and Hikan were officially present at the scene. Dalia and Adrisha were left out of the story.
It is said that it is better to stay low to prevent it from becoming noisy. And Dalia agreed with that.
The Emperor greets Dalia comfortably in his office instead of in the audience hall.
“Thank you for the trouble for coming here, Miss Dalia.”
It was obvious to everyone that he was smiling very brightly. As if he’s very glad to see Dalia.
At the unexpected hospitality, Dalia bowed to the Emperor in half embarrassment and half joy.
“Here, come and sit down.”
The Emperor kindly guided Dalia to her seat and then continued to look at her with a very happy face.
“So tell me what happened that day. “
She told the Emperor roughly what was happening that day. However, the same was true that Dalia could not understand the situation.
She met the Duchess Blueport, talked to her, and gave her the last hug, and suddenly the Duchess’s congestion stopped and her reason returned.
This was all she knew.
The Emperor, who had been listening for a long time, nodded.
“Of course, there is nothing that can be explained except for a miracle. I guess that Miss Dalia’s love for the Duchess Blueport reached God.”
“…….Is that so?”
The Emperor smiled and nodded.
There was no way for Dalia to know about her ability unless she’s a transcendent like the Emperor. So Dalia herself had no choice but to believe the word ‘miracle’. There’s nothing that can be explained.
Just vaguely, she thought the words in her diary [There will be salvation wherever you reach] might have something to do with this.
Looking at Dalia who was deep in thought, the Emperor said softly.
“Miss Dalia, I think this is entirely due to Miss Dalia. “
“……Tha, thank you.”
“I’m being serious. For the first time, I see the possibility of the transcendent to recover from the congestion. It may be an opportunity for the public opinion to change favorably. Now that I have seen the light thanks to Miss Dalia, so next time if you have something to ask of me, just ask for it. Even when you have business with me, don’t put in the request for an audience, just come and see me.”
Ask the Emperor if you want anything. Has anyone ever heard such a statement?
It was a very unconventional remark.
However.
‘He’s not joking like last time, is he?’
Dalia looked at the Emperor half in doubt.
The Emperor spoke nicely as if he had read Dalia’s mind.
“I’m sorry about last time. Dalia was so cute that I wanted to tease you. But this time, I’m not kidding. Come when it’s really convenient. Would you believe me if I gave you my pass?”
Dalia stood silently.
After reading the meaning of her silence, the Emperor really took out a file and gave Dalia a pass that allowed her to freely enter the Imperial Palace.
You must always receive what you received and live.
Only then did Dalia give a big smile.
After that, the Emperor guided Dalia to the Duchess Blueport.
She lost weight a little, but when she saw the Duchess Blueport, who returned to her original state, Dalia held back her tears again. Instead, she ran to her and hugged her.
“Duchess! Really, I was so worried……”
“I’m sorry, Dalia.”
The Duchess patted Dalia in her arms. The two talked for a long time.
“I’m about to go to my territory. Since this happened, I think I should hand over the position of Duke to my son. He just had his magic blooming.”
‘Ah, so this is how it happens.’
No matter if the current Duchess Blueport dies or not, the future of Lewayne Blueport becoming a Duke did not seem to change.
“Ah, we’re just going to do the Duke’s coronation ceremony at the Dukedom.”
The direct descendants of the Duke of Pesteros spent most of their lives in the mansion in the capital for generations. Most of the land was left to self-government, and the owner of the land only went on business trips occasionally.
The Blueport family, on the other hand, had considerable influence on the land, and did not come to the capital unless it was during social season.
The current Duchess of Blueport, who continued to stay in the capital, was an exception.
“When Lewayne comes to the capital one day, let’s meet him then. I’ll tell him about Dalia.”
Maybe it will be 4 years later.
Dalia smiled awkwardly. The original male lead is also burdensome.
“When we meet next time, call me Mary. I won’t be the Duchess of Blueport then.”
“……Ah.”
“It’s a little tacky, isn’t it? So I didn’t talk much.”
Duchess Blueport slightly smiled in embarrassment. Dalia shook her head.
“Dalia was one of the most precious people I’ve ever met in my life. See you again. I’ll visit the capital from time to time when things get sorted out. I hope the next time we see each other, we’ll both be happier.”
The Duchess patted Dalia on the back and said that. Dalia also smiled.
And that was her farewell with the Duchess.
It’s always sad to say goodbye, but she was happy with the fact that the Duchess was alive.
* * *
When the Duchess Blueport left, it was Adrisha who filled her vacancy.
Since Adrisha became Dalia’s maid of honor, she often visited the Pesteros mansion.
Dalia welcomed her with enthusiasm. Now that there was no immediate concern, all she could do was to fangirling over the original character.
Of course, it was not that there was nothing on her mind.
The Duchess Blueport incident went well, but Dalia still had one concern on her mind, considering what happened that day.
Clearly, Duchess Blueport was in a very stable condition when she spoke to Dalia.
But can her condition deteriorate so bad enough for the congestion to happen in a matter of hours?
When she thought of the original story, the male characters didn’t suddenly become, ‘Ta-da! I’ve gone crazy!’ not like this, but they’ll get more sensitive with the continuation usage of their mana, and then they’ll be in congestion.
But that’s not what happened with Duchess Blueport.
‘……It’s weird.’
Dalia also told Hikan of her thoughts.
He also said that the Blueport and the royal family are currently working together to investigate as they had the same suspicions. But they didn’t have any clue.
Well, the culprit was not identified because it was a simple incident in the original story. But she couldn’t completely get rid of it from her mind.
She wanted to protect the Duchess Blueport. For a very long time, the Duchess was her only friend.
‘But the person who will scheme such a thing in the original……is it brother?’
Of course it’s not Hikan. If it’s not him.
‘Aceras?’
Dalia thought of him reflexively.
As far as Dalia knows, among the people who were there, Aceras was the most cunning person.
‘But I can’t think of him as the culprit because of that one thing.’
Dalia bowed her head sullenly.
The four Duke families have many enemies. Just thinking about the Pesteros right now, the family members are still circling around trying to rip off Hikan and Dalia.
The more privileged and stronger the power someone has, the more humans who seek them gather. The Blueport family is no different.
If they’re looking for the culprit, it’s right to start investigating the surroundings of the Duchess Blueport first.
‘Let’s not think too much about the original. This is also a prejudice.’
Therefore, she had no choice but to wait for the results of the investigation.
In the end, all that remains is to play with Adrisha.
She didn’t do anything great.
It was fun to just chat and play while drinking tea. The day went by quickly when she saw her favorite character breathing and talking in front of her eyes.
Through this Blueport incident, Dalia’s affection for Adrisha, which was already deep, had deepened.
Because of such a situation, she was worried and concerned about Adrisha’s future. She was always lonely despite receiving the love of the three male protagonists (including Hikan’s love) that everyone would envy.
Dalia knew that Adrisha was always thirsty for affection while playing the original game.
There is nothing that Dalia can do with her lack of strength, but she wanted to relieve Adrisha’s loneliness as much as possible before the time came.
So she acted cute to Adrisha twice as much as she did to Hikan.
“Why is Adrisha so pretty?”
“……In my eyes Dalia is prettier.”
At first she panicked by Dalia’s attack of affection, however she quickly collapsed. Thanks to this, the two quickly became friends.
While they drank tea together, Adrisha shared rumors of noble children around Dalia’s age.
Dalia had no friends of her age, so it was fun to hear everything for the first time.
When the ball was about a week away, Dalia and Adrisha were drinking tea at the garden in Pesteros mansion.
Again, Adrisha came with an incredible story.
“So, as far as I can see, it’s clear that Lady Peggy has a crush on the Crown Prince.”
Dalia shook her head in surprise.
“Goodness, but I was surprised that His Highness was so popular. I saw him once and he’s not really my style.”
“Oh, where did you see him?”
‘Ah, my mistake.’
Dalia immediately shut her mouth.
Of course Dalia had never seen him in person.
Leonard didn’t show up at the last ball, and he stopped joining social activities such as tea parties.
She saw him in the game.
Her expectation was high since he was the Crown Prince, but from the standing CG, he was not that good. Even though his face was like that, his personality was not very attractive. He’s also immature.
‘Rather, His Highness the Second Prince was much more handsome.’
Dalia recalled Cedric, whom she met at the last ball. He was really handsome.
To the point she wants to see him again.
Anyway, Dalia replied vaguely.
“Well… I just heard the rumor.”
