The Parade

Very early in the morning, an unusual crowd had already gathered around the main palace.

Especially the maids who were allowed to enter the palace interior.

They crowded anxiously in front of the chamber doors, nervously tapping their feet.

“Yaaawn. What in the world is going on?”

Right then, stretching boldly in front of them, Riela appeared.

The maids—who had spent the whole night looking pale and worried—stared at her with wide eyes.

“Huh?”

“Oh my? How…?”

The sounds of anxious murmuring instantly died down.

Everyone filling the hallway from the chambers to the reception room stared in shock at Riela, who had just woken up, and at the bedroom she had stepped out of.

“Lady Blinite! You’re safe?”

“You came out of the bedroom? Were you inside? H-How did this happen?”

Riela laughed calmly.

“Well, of course I came out of my bedroom. Where else would I come from?”

“N-No, that’s not it. The bedroom was definitely empty!”

“That’s right! Rumors spread everywhere that Lady Riela disappeared overnight!”

“Me?”

Riela feigned as much confusion and surprise as possible.

Fortunately, it seemed no one noticed the slight twitch of her shoulders when she was briefly startled by the commotion.

That was really lucky.

“So strange, such rumors spreading. I just went to sleep a little earlier than usual. Didn’t Lou tell you that?”

“Yes… Lou did say that, but…!”

Through the maid’s flustered explanation, Riela learned what had happened.

One of the maids had accidentally opened the bedroom door at dawn.

Inside, instead of Riela sleeping in bed, she saw only cushions and pillows filling the space.

Lou, who had briefly stepped out and rushed back, dragged the maid away and insisted she had simply seen wrong.

But that explanation didn’t work.

Once Count Delcour discovered the commotion, the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

“…So we had no choice but to tell Count Delcour about the secret passage and where Lady Riela actually was. Otherwise he would have mobilized all the palace soldiers and searched the entire palace all night.”

Asion, who had rushed to the Lake Palace, kept sweating nervously outside the door while Riela hurriedly prepared herself.

“Count Delcour helped calm things down afterward, but it was impossible to silence all the maids. Rumors spread instantly—people saying Lady Riela suddenly vanished, or that she had been kidnapped. Every time we explained it wasn’t true, another strange story popped up somewhere else…”

If we’d been even a little later, it could’ve been a disaster.

Pretending to yawn because she was still sleepy, Riela secretly turned away and rubbed her chest in relief.

“Everyone seems noisy. I heard strange rumors spread overnight.”

Just then, Herhan—perfectly dressed in uniform—walked in through the chamber entrance.

Acting as if he knew nothing.
Acting as if he had worked all night at the Lake Palace and was only now returning.

“Ah, Your Majesty, it’s not… Actually, never mind. It seems we caused unnecessary trouble.”

“We’re very sorry. With so many distinguished guests filling the palace and all of them watching Lady Riela like hyenas… we thought those—those people might have done something to her overnight. We were just very worried.”

Before Riela even had time to calm her startled heart, gratitude and guilt struck her chest heavily.

Herhan seemed the same.

He had intended to scold the maids harshly to stop further rumors.

But instead, he simply fell silent and exchanged a glance with Riela.

Maybe we should stop sneaking around to meet each other like this.

Herhan smiled faintly and nodded at Riela’s awkward but affectionate smile.

* * *

“This incident has a very important lesson.”

After things settled down.

In the office where everyone had gathered, Jess spoke firmly.

Asion nodded smugly as if he understood.

“Right. It means we should sleep properly in the bedroom.”

“No, that’s not—! You idiot—”

Jess couldn’t even finish the insult.

The Emperor and Riela were present, along with Count Delcur and the young maid Lou.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jess continued.

“Everyone acted calm, but we were all extremely anxious—like walking on a tightrope. About Lady Riela’s safety.”

Everyone except Asion nodded in agreement.

Not long ago, the woman named Riela Blinite had suddenly appeared as the Emperor’s fiancée.

Then she turned out to be the only living descendant of Antu.

The Emperor was preparing a wedding with the intensity of declaring war.

And rulers from all over the world were gathering to witness it.

Throughout all of this, Riela herself had remained one step behind the scenes.

Especially after returning from the temple.

“It’s true everyone is curious about Lady Riela—even the people working in the palace. If I let my guard down for a moment, people keep dragging me everywhere asking what kind of person she is or when they’ll get to see her,” Lu added with a firm little voice.

At that point Jes revealed the plan he had prepared.

An imperial parade for the Emperor and future Empress.

“Rejected.”

Of course, Herhan raised an objection before the explanation even finished.

“Didn’t you hear the maids earlier? Even inside this palace there are hyenas everywhere. And you want me to display my treasure in front of them defenselessly?”

By now, no one even reacted when the Emperor openly called Riela his treasure.

“As for defense, we can tighten security. I’m not saying you should just show her—I’m saying you should proudly display her.”

Count Delcour calmly supported Jess.

“The nobles of the imperial capital are also clamoring to see Lady Riela’s face at least once. We may soon need a separate archive just to store all the audience requests. A parade would certainly help calm public curiosity.”

“Well… the timing.”

The unspoken words were obviously not good.

Greta had not yet been captured.

The mysterious alliance could still be hiding somewhere.

And they had no idea how large the public’s interest in Riela truly was.

“All the more reason to show her to the world,” Jes said.

“To show everyone what an incredible treasure we possess.”

Riela, who had been listening quietly, replied sharply.

“That wording is a bit much, Sir Jes. I’m His Majesty’s treasure, not yours.”

Asion burst out laughing while Jes grimaced and ground his teeth.

Riela laughed freely, then took Herhan’s hand.

“Anyway, I like the idea. I want to proudly stand beside Your Majesty.”

* * *

And so the parade through the capital city of Bahaborden was arranged.

“Is it common for royal families to hold parades?” Riela asked.

“Emperor Lentis II—famous for his vanity—used to parade through the capital several times a day. We don’t need that much, but it is the easiest way to win the people’s attention and support.”

Riela nodded.

She had once walked the streets secretly with Herhan on a disguised date.

She had also done something similar in the royal capital of Riota.

But still—

‘I’m a little nervous… nothing will happen, right?’

There was no reason for anything to happen.

The entire imperial army had been assigned to guard Riela’s carriage.

Security along the parade route was tightened across the whole city.

The city had already turned festive.

Nearby towns sent flowers to Bahaborden every day.

People even bribed city guards just to secure better viewing spots.

Despite all the preparations, Herhan remained tense until the very moment the carriage was about to depart.

“Should we cancel it even now? The more I think about it, the more it feels like asking for trouble.”

“We’ve already been to the Kingdom of Riota and the temple. Soon we’ll even hold our wedding in front of the whole world. After doing all that, you’re worried about this?”

“Try standing in my position.”

Whenever Herhan grumbled like this, Riela found him strangely adorable.

“Oh really? What position is that? The one where you changed the cavalry parade into a carriage parade right before departure, shortened the parade to ten minutes, and replaced the entire route so we just briefly appear in the plaza?”

Despite Riela’s teasing, Herhan remained tense.

But the parade itself went smoothly.

“Waaaaa!”

The only unexpected thing was the overwhelming cheers of the citizens.

The plaza was filled with smiling, excited faces.

“Your Majesty the Emperor! Your Majesty the Empress!”

“The one and only descendant of the gods!”

“Lady Riela Blinite! Eternal divine blessing for Elschweig!”

The joyful cries made Riela’s chest swell with emotion.

But strangely, Herhan still looked displeased.

“See? They’re all targeting you.”

“Wow. Your obsession is getting serious. Now, even your own citizens look like enemies to you?”

Riela laughed as Asion clicked his tongue.

“Don’t go too close to the edge of the platform, Riela.”

“Okay.”

In truth, several layers of armed knights guarded the stage.

Even if someone tried to rush in, they wouldn’t be able to touch a single hair on her head.

Riela only wished she could see more faces.

More of her people.

More of those smiling as if simply seeing her brought them joy.

Then—

“…Kyle?”

Riela whispered the name without realizing it.

Herhan’s spine stiffened instantly.

He grabbed her waist at once, but Riela only looked confused.

“Riela. What did you just say?”

“Huh? What did I say?”

“You said ‘Kyle.’”

“Me? Ah…”

Riela turned back toward the crowd.

“I thought I saw a familiar face… I guess the name slipped out without me realizing. I think he was around there.”

She searched the area again.

But the face she had seen earlier was gone.

Herhan immediately halted the parade.

Riela hurried into the carriage in confusion.

“Riela. The person you saw in the plaza. Was it Kyle Parlante?”

“What?”

Kyle Parlante.

Riela repeated the name quietly to herself.

Then she clapped her hands.

“That’s right! That was his name. How do you know it, Your Majesty?”

“….”

“Now that I think about it—remember what you asked me yesterday? That young noble boy. His name was Kyle.”

“He was in the plaza?”

“I’m not sure. It’s been more than ten years, so I can’t recognize his face clearly…”

“Let’s return to the palace. I have a bad feeling about this.”

As soon as they returned, Herhan summoned Asion.

He planned to order a full list of everyone who had entered the plaza.

But strangely, Asion—who should have been leading the security detail—was absent and only appeared much later.

“Asion! Where were you?”

Herhan raised his voice.

Asion bowed his head apologetically, but his face remained tense.

“Asion, today’s plaza visitors—”

“Your Majesty. There is a report that must come first.”

For once, Asion interrupted his lord.

“An urgent message arrived from the search team stationed at the Central Temple.”

He paused.

“They say they have found Greta Feodorona.”

* * “