My Fiancé Fell in Love with My Older Sister. After Locking Myself in My Room for Five Days, 500 Years Had Passed. - 40 - What’s with these people? They’re scary.

(It was such a long, intense day…)

When I woke up, I was in a bed in an unfamiliar bedroom. I spoke to a maid, and then I ended up meeting Prince Lian…

At that moment, I suddenly realized something.

(Come to think of it… who treated the injury on my ankle?)

I’ll ask about it tomorrow.

Thinking that, after such a whirlwind day—I lost consciousness almost immediately.

☆

The next day.

I contacted Prince Lian through a chamberlain.

I wanted to greet His Majesty, the Emperor of the Lumos Empire.

I also wanted to know how His Majesty sees me. And if I’m going to stay in the Lumos Empire, even just a little, a proper greeting is necessary.

Staying here without introducing myself would surely leave a bad impression.

Thinking that, I asked Prince Lian about the procedure for an audience—but instead of getting a reply through the chamberlain, he himself came to see me.

“If it’s now, His Majesty has time. It’s sudden, but what do you think?”

“Eh?!?”

(This is a bit too sudden…)

I hadn’t expected such a sudden audience!!

Before I knew it, the maid came in to help me get ready, and then I was taken straight to the audience chamber.

In front of the heavy double doors, the knights stared at me.

It was very uncomfortable.

Prince Lian, who came with me, gave me a small, apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry it’s so sudden. That’s just the kind of person he is.”

“I-I see…”

‘That kind of person’ probably means… someone bold and straightforward?

I felt really nervous. I returned the smile stiffly, and Prince Lian added more.

“My older brother will also be present, so please don’t be too nervous.”

(That just makes me more nervous…!!)

After all, Prince Lian’s older brother—Crown Prince Lumière—is, in my mind, still ‘that scary person.’

(He did warn me off, after all…)

Just thinking I’d have to face those cold eyes again made the tension melt a little—but now my stomach started to hurt instead.

(But… there was no hostility or malice in Crown Prince Lumière’s eyes…!!)

Well, that doesn’t mean I felt any kindness or warmth either…

“……”

I kept my smile, quietly rubbing my stomach.

Then, the knight guarding the doors announced loudly:

“Now opening the doors!”

Slowly, the doors began to open.

(Wow, that’s bright!)

The ceiling seemed to be made of stained glass, and sunlight was shining through.

The sparkling air made me instinctively close my eyes.

Inside the audience chamber were a man and woman who seemed to be Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress, and as Prince Lian had said, Crown Prince Lumière was also there—

(…A violent kind of beauty??)

I had met Crown Prince Lumière before, so I knew what to expect. But the Emperor and Empress… both of them had extraordinary beauty.

Her Majesty the Empress had a delicate yet powerful beauty. Her forehead was elegantly revealed, and she wore a ferronnière. The gem was probably a sapphire.

She had blond hair and lemon-colored eyes of the same shade.

That coloring was the same as Prince Lian’s.

The overwhelming beauty almost made my eyes hurt.

(My sister was delicate, fragile… beautiful like a glass ornament that could break at any moment…)

But Her Majesty the Empress had a different kind of beauty—an overpowering presence that made others want to kneel.

(When I saw Crown Prince Lumière and Prince Lian, I figured their parents must be very beautiful, but…)

This is more than I imagined.

In this space, I am clearly the one who doesn’t belong.

I felt like a complete outsider who had wandered into some unfamiliar office building.

When the Empress saw me, she gave me a warm smile.

“Please, come this way.”

Prince Lian bowed his head and walked to the front of the throne, and I quickly snapped back to myself and followed.

His Majesty the Emperor didn’t look like someone who already had two grown sons. He looked young. Like Prince Lian, he had long blond hair tied loosely in one bundle.

I walked just behind Prince Lian, held the hem of my dress, and did a lady’s curtsy.

I heard the Emperor’s quiet voice.

His voice sounded a lot like Crown Prince Lumière’s.

“So, you’re the Witch of the Tower of Lament. Nice to meet you. I am Asher Lumos, the fifteenth Emperor of the Lumos Empire. I hear from Lian that you are a guest from the Tsobellar Dynasty… is that correct?”

“Yes. …It’s an honor to meet you. I am Felicia Frenzel, daughter of the Frenzel Ducal House, who held the title of Duke in the Tsobellar Dynasty. Thank you for taking the time to see me today.”

“Raise your head.”

I raised my head at his words.

The Emperor’s face didn’t show much expression.

He just narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at me.

(Is he… suspicious of me?)

That intense gaze—it really runs in the family.

It was just like Crown Prince Lumière and Prince Lian.

That strong gaze almost felt like it could cut through me—until the Emperor’s face relaxed slightly.

“…Hmm. Your curtsy is indeed an old-fashioned one. I’ve heard that young ladies from families that value tradition and formality still learn that kind of etiquette.”

“……”

(Is… is that a compliment?? It doesn’t sound like one at all!!)

(And so it is old-fashioned!!)

I hadn’t had the chance to study the etiquette of the Lumos Empire yet, so I didn’t know…

(But… maybe that was enough to make him believe me…?)

I shook my head slightly in my mind.

(No… he didn’t fully believe me.)

Maybe I showed something that could almost be a reason to trust me… but it wasn’t enough.

The Emperor spoke simply.

“So then, Lady… Felicia. What is it you plan to do, here in the Lumos Empire, five hundred years after your own time?”