Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Side Story 7

“It’s all thanks to Your Majesty the Empress. His Majesty must have employed us personally because of the efforts Your Majesty has made for Hartmann.”

It was the first she’d heard of it.

She had never once asked Lennoch to appoint officials from Hartmann.

Appointments were not her jurisdiction to begin with.

Lennoch had already done so much for her; she had never dared to expect more.

Eleanor’s silence seemed to be taken as humility, as Enriche continued to shower her with praise.

“Hartmann is now entering a period of stability. The suppression of the rebels has concluded.”

As she listened to Enriche, Eleanor’s gaze wandered elsewhere.

Lennoch was off at a distance, speaking with a delegation of foreign envoys.

“Food supplies in Hartmann are still limited, but compared to last winter, when people starved to death, things have improved greatly. The continued support from Baden has been a major help.”

“…That’s a relief.”

Eleanor cleared her voice to keep it steady.

She had no idea he had been watching over Hartmann with such meticulous care.

That it would move her this deeply was unexpected.

She calmed her trembling heart and set down her champagne glass on the table beside her.

Once she finished this conversation with Enriche, she would go to Lennoch.

Eleanor was just about to wrap things up when—

“We are always here to support Your Majesty.”

“…,,,?”

Enriche’s voice dropped slightly, taking on a more private tone.

Eleanor straightened her posture.

Enriche had stepped in close, bowing low.

“No matter the danger, we will protect you.”

Before she could react, Enriche’s lips touched the back of her hand.

Even as he did so, his gaze lingered heavily on her.

His eyes—if she had to describe them in one word—were strange.

As if he were trying to send a message.

“I shall take my leave.”

Leaving only questions behind, Enriche stepped away.

Across the hall, the Emperor was approaching.

Catching sight of Enriche offering a bow, the Emperor glanced briefly before walking over to Eleanor’s side.

“What did you talk about with Enriche?”

Eleanor lifted her gaze to Lennoch.

Judging by the look in his eyes, he wasn’t asking with any special intention.

“He introduced himself as a man from Hartmann.”

“Did he?”

“He also had a lot of praise for you.”

A faint smile formed on Lennoch’s lips.

“Was there anything else?”

“…He said Hartmann has become more stable than before. I heard a number of Hartmann nobles have entered the palace lately. Was that your doing?”

‘Could he have known Enriche beforehand?’

Enriche had kissed her hand as a gesture of respect, but it was odd for Lennoch to react so indifferently.

As Eleanor tilted her head, Lennoch naturally offered his arm.

A silent cue that they should leave.

Though someone voiced disappointment at the imperial couple’s departure, they walked out of the hall together, not looking back.

“After the purging of Marquis Delph, we faced a shortage of talent. I wanted to bring in people from a variety of backgrounds. I also hoped the nobles of Hartmann and Baden would build good relations… Enriche, in particular, showed great enthusiasm, so I entrusted him with a role. His recent performance has been satisfying.”

Lennoch explained his reasoning for hiring Enriche in detail.

Listening quietly, Eleanor slipped her hand between Lennoch’s arm.

He loosened the tension in his arm to make it easier for her to link with him.

“You likely won’t have many chances to run into him.”

“Really?”

“Enriche doesn’t usually take on public roles. Today was something of an exception.”

“……?”

“More importantly, didn’t you have something you wanted to tell me?”

The sudden change in topic made her feel suspicious for a moment, but it quickly passed.

Seeing his face so close, Eleanor let out a soft smile.

Thanks to Enriche, she had learned just how much effort Lennoch had put into Hartmann and into her.

Looking into her eyes, filled with gratitude, Lennoch whispered, “You’ve been looking at me for a while now. I was curious why.”

Just as she had been conscious of him, it seemed he had been conscious of her too.

Eleanor, her cheeks flushed, made no attempt to hide it. “After the Founding Festival, how about we take some time for just the two of us?”

“……!”

“We’ve both been working non-stop. I thought maybe a short retreat to the villa for some rest wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Come to think of it, since their marriage, they hadn’t had a proper break.

The empire changed by the day, and they had to keep up with that pace.

Whenever the schedule let up, she sometimes found herself wondering—

Where did all the time go?

“Is the idea not appealing?”

“Of course it is,” Lennoch answered quickly.

“Can’t we just go now instead?” he asked.

“…Now?”

That would be a bit much.

“The Flame Ritual is still ahead. We need to remain here until it’s over.”

It was also one of the reasons they had left the ballroom.

The imperial couple had to wait in the lounge until the young men and women assigned to carry the sacred seeds returned from planting them.

According to legend, the goddess of the earth would bless the pair who planted the seeds with prosperity.

And the imperial couple was meant to receive that prosperity from them—thus the long wait, which could be quite trying.

‘I’m curious how things will go with Eger, too.’

Despite Eleanor’s lingering concern, Lennoch smiled as if it were no big deal.

“That won’t be too hard.”

***

The atmosphere inside the carriage was somewhat awkward.

Eger’s expression, usually sharp to begin with, now appeared even more tense.

Joshua, seated across from him, looked no different.

A sense of tension hung in the air between them, as if they were engaged in a silent standoff.

“So you’re saying, Young Lord, that you’ve never once held a sword?”

“That’s correct. Instead, I’ve held books since I was three. According to my mother, I started reading on my own without anyone teaching me. I still remember it clearly. The biography of ‘Margarete’ left a deep impression on me as a child.”

“Ah, you mean ‘Margarete.’ He was truly an outstanding knight. Not only did he lay the groundwork for knight training, which had been disorganized at the time, but he also thwarted several assassination attempts on the first emperor during the early years of the empire. I especially admire his draw technique. The swordsmanship manual he left behind remains a perfect textbook even today.”

“I’m sorry, Sir Joshua. I was referring to Margarete the scholar, not the knight. A mathematician from the Kingdom of Mondriol…”

“…A mathematician, I see.”

“Yes, mathematics.”

The flow of the conversation was hard to follow.

It likely wasn’t just Eger who felt the discussion kept veering off course.

‘How many times has this happened now?’

Though things started out smoothly, they always ended up talking past each other in their own fields.

Eger had tried to align with Joshua’s interests, but the only thing he could really understand was the sandbag training.

The quality of the swords she used, how much they cost, or how much the famed craftsman Lamous’s greatsword had gone for at auction—none of it had anything to do with him. It was like a conversation from another world.

To dispel the awkwardness, Eger cleared his throat.

“Do you have a cold? You’ve been coughing quite a bit.”

“N-no, that’s not it.”

“You don’t look well. Are you sure you’re okay to proceed with the ritual?”

Of course he had to.

This was an opportunity he had fought hard to get.

“Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine.”

Eger’s firm reply was met with only a nod from Joshua.

With both of them falling silent again, an uncomfortable quiet returned.

Rather than speak recklessly, Eger turned his gaze to Joshua’s violet dress.

‘It’s the first time I’ve seen her in a dress.’

Even back at the academy, Joshua had always worn riding clothes.

Her uniform had looked good on her, but the dress made her appear elegant and beautiful in a different way.

But worried that staring too long might seem strange, Eger quickly lowered his eyes.

“We’ve arrived.”

Just then, the carriage reached the designated location, and the coachman opened the door.

‘Now’s my chance.’

What if he tried to earn some points as an escort?

Since she didn’t usually wear dresses, Joshua might find moving around a bit difficult.

If he could assist her well, maybe that would earn him some favor.

As Eger hurried to get out, he stood up abruptly—

Thud!

“Ah…!”

A dull pain struck, and at the same time, a soft groan escaped from Joshua.

Joshua, who had sunk back into her seat, was holding her forehead just like Eger.

Rubbing his own forehead, Eger forgot the pain and inwardly let out a mortified scream.

Of all moments…

They had stood up at the same time and bumped heads—perfectly.

“A-are you all right?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m terribly sorry, I just meant to stand up first…”

Unable to bring himself to touch Joshua, yet also unable to retract his hand hanging in midair, Eger stood in an awkward position.

Joshua’s reddened forehead looked quite painful.

She calmly covered it with her hand. “It’s fine. I’ve grown used to moving ahead of the Empress without realizing it.”

‘Ah.’

It was a habit from always walking ahead when escorting the Empress.

Now that he understood why Joshua had stood up, Eger felt even worse.

He should’ve just stayed still.

“Then shall you go down first?”

“Excuse me.”

Joshua didn’t decline and rose again.

Retrieving the sword she always carried, she stepped down from the carriage with some difficulty due to the long dress.

Far from being able to escort her, Eger had to rush to follow her down, then checked his vest pocket.

‘…Does this thing really work?’

It was supposed to be a sacred relic of miraculous power.

But if things were already going this wrong from the start, how was he supposed to get through the rest of the day…

It was daunting.

‘Lady Eleanor must be cheering for me from the palace, unaware of how badly it’s going.’

Eger let out a silent sigh.

***

“Is this where we’re supposed to sow the seeds?”

“Seems like it.”

“This should be enough, right? I’ll plant this batch.”

“Hm? Aren’t those seeds meant for the opposite side? The sign and the bag color don’t match.”

“…Ah.”

Realizing her mistake, Eleanor looked back and forth between the pouch and the spot she had already sown seeds in.

She should’ve taken them from the purple bag.

Spotting the blue marker and the mismatched pouch, Eleanor offered an embarrassed smile.

“Do they come to check later to see what kind of seeds were planted?”

“I’ve heard they verify whether the couple performed the ritual correctly… but switching seeds shouldn’t be a huge issue. The ritual is more about the act itself.”

“That’s a relief.”

Eleanor let out a sigh, and Lennoch gave her a soft smile.

The two walked side by side to the next location.

“This is quite nice. Wandering around like this is fun.”

“Is it?”

Getting out of the palace had been simple.

They had decided to participate in the ritual themselves.

As they reached the next designated spot, Eleanor paused midway through sowing seeds to ask, “Lennoch, are you sure no one’s paying attention to us?”

“Well, yes… but if you’d like, shall I draw some attention?”

“No, absolutely not.”

Drawing attention was the last thing she needed when she’d rather be hiding her face.

Eleanor shook her head rapidly.

Considering how her portrait had made her face widely known to the empire’s citizens, it was a miracle she hadn’t been recognized yet.

Noticing her concern, Lennoch whispered gently, “Everyone assumes we’re at the palace. I’m the only emperor who’s ever snuck out during the Founding Festival. A groundbreaking move none of my predecessors dared attempt.”

“Hm, I don’t think that’s something to brag about, Lennoch.”

“Then do you regret coming out?”

“……”

It might be a little inconsiderate to Eger, but—

“The sky is so clear. Perfect weather for an outing.”

Eleanor decided to forget Eger for now.

Shifting the topic, she focused deliberately on sowing seeds, and Lennoch’s eyes softened as he watched her.