When the master of ceremonies' ringing declaration echoed through the great hall, the mood changed at once. It felt as though the temperature had suddenly dropped.
As the Queen Dowager advanced with measured grace, the nobles around her held their breath, and Yuri instinctively straightened his back.
Celine rose slowly to her feet and offered the Queen Dowager an elegant bow.
Realizing what she was doing, Yuri hurriedly followed suit, a little flustered.
I can't believe I'm greeting the Queen Dowager...
In terms from his previous life, it was like having the student council president walk over to him while he was trying to keep to himself in the corner of the classroom right after starting high school.
The Queen Dowager regarded the two of them with icy eyes for a moment before finally speaking.
"Baroness Regnant of Reberk, my congratulations on your marriage. On the occasion of such a new beginning, I have a gift for you as well. You will no doubt need many hands in governing your lands from here on, so I am sure it will prove useful. Please accept it with gratitude."
Yuri did not miss the tiny twitch that ran through Celine's hand at those words.
She suppressed it at once, kept her smile impeccably graceful, and answered in a calm voice.
"We gratefully accept Your Majesty's generosity. Thank you for your gracious concern for our lands."
Celine wore a refined smile, but Yuri caught the chill hidden beneath it, and an icy shiver ran down his spine.
S-scary... A battle between women is terrifying...
"Miss Claudius, you may enter."
With a malicious little smile, the Queen Dowager spoke with perfect elegance, and the door opened soundlessly.
The instant her name was called, Ophelia drew a deep breath.
She exhaled quietly, forcing down the turmoil in her heart.
For the briefest moment she felt the Queen Dowager's gaze on her, but her pride would not allow her to show weakness before that woman.
With the attention of the entire great hall fixed upon her, she walked forward with impeccable posture and measured grace.
Her long black hair gleamed like the night sky, and the purple rose pinned in it reminded her of the one he had once given her.
The flower he had given her, saying it was the same color as her eyes...
A quiet loneliness brushed the depths of her heart, but she could not allow it to show.
I am Ophelia von Claudius. For the sake of restoring my house, I will carry out any command.
She understood exactly why she stood here.
The humiliating order that she should become Yuri's consort.
She had resolved to obey for the sake of restoring her family, but her heart was full of bitterness.
Her pale violet dress was edged with delicate lace, and the large jewel at her breast only emphasized her noble bearing.
Skin so white and translucent it seemed almost doll-like.
Beauty so perfect anyone would have had their breath stolen away.
Sure enough, the man seated before her—Yuri von Strauss—was staring.
Feeling his gaze on her, Ophelia smiled coldly.
Hmph. Just what I would expect from a man willing to make the Virtuous Consort, a former courtesan, his wife. He's been stealing glances at my chest this whole time...
And she had to marry a man like that.
Even if it was a condition for receiving a loan from the Queen Dowager, the thought that she would have to bear the name Ophelia von Strauss filled her with humiliation.
After offering an elegant bow, she introduced herself.
"My name is Ophelia von Claudius. I look forward to your kind favor from this day forward."
Her voice was clear as crystal, and equally cold.
A small chorus of indrawn breaths rose from the nobles gathered in the hall.
Yes, I am a noble. At all times and in all circumstances, I must conduct myself with dignity.
She reminded herself of that and felt a fleeting spark of satisfaction.
But it lasted only a moment.
In the cold stillness spreading through the hall, the Queen Dowager's tactless voice rang out.
"Would you accept this young woman as another consort for your husband—the baron-consort?"
The instant those words reached her ears, Ophelia's heart lurched violently.
Her face twisted for a heartbeat, but she mastered it at once and placed a smile on her lips.
A woman as proud as she was could not afford to show agitation over something like this.
So swearing that to herself, Ophelia smiled with perfect elegance once more.
At that smile, Yuri involuntarily caught his breath.
It felt as though Ophelia's beauty had taken command of the entire hall in an instant.
Her slender, delicate shoulders, the tight line of her waist, the lavish fullness of her chest, far too ample for someone her age—every part of her drew his eye and stole his heart.
As he stared, Celine's scent drifted over him, and the next instant a sharp pain shot through his thigh.
Realizing she had pinched him, Yuri somehow fought down the urge to leap out of his seat.
With tears pricking his eyes, he glanced at Celine, only to find her looking away with faint annoyance.
"So that is your preference, my lord husband? A young woman with a generous bosom, delicate and demure."
The murmur from beside him sent a chill straight down Yuri's spine.
"N-no... no... not exactly—I only got a little distracted because her black hair was beautiful, that's all...!"
"Are Liese, Aina, and I not enough for you?"
Celine lowered her eyes just a little and put on an exaggeratedly sorrowful expression.
"O-of course that's not true! No, it's just... um... there's always room for dessert, or something..."
Yuri scrambled to choose his words, but he had the distinct sense that he was only tightening the noose around his own neck.
Celine smiled, clearly amused, and answered lightly.
"I see."
After a small pause, she pressed on with even greater relish.
"So you want her, then?"
"N-no..."
"Then shall I refuse?"
"I-I mean... wouldn't that be discourteous to Her Majesty...?"
With such sweet temptation thrust directly before him, there was no way Yuri possessed enough self-control to overcome his worldly desires.
Unable to bear being looked at so intently, Yuri averted his gaze.
Celine watched his confusion for a while as though enjoying it, then at last, apparently satisfied, turned back toward the Queen Dowager and her attendants and offered a graceful reply.
"Thank you very much. My lord husband appears quite taken with her already, so we gratefully accept."
The Queen Dowager nodded, satisfied with Celine's answer.
"Miss Claudius. I trust I need not say it, but you are to devote yourself to my lord husband with all sincerity."
She spoke while impressing the instruction upon Ophelia beside her.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
For an instant, Ophelia looked at the Queen Dowager with eyes as cold as ice.
Huh? The Queen Dowager and Miss Claudius feel awfully tense with each other... Do they not get along?
But the next moment she veiled the expression, turned gracefully back toward Yuri, and gave a quiet nod.
"I am grateful to have been granted even the humblest place among your consorts."
With that, Ophelia bowed her head.
As Yuri sat there at a loss, a soft voice from beside him whispered, "My lord husband, answer her."
"Y-yes! Thank you very much. The pleasure is mine—please look kindly on me as well!"
Yuri bowed in haste.
Feeling his heart pounding faster and faster, he somehow forced the words out.
Celine watched him for a long moment, then slightly furrowed her brow, sighed, and murmured,
"And one more thing... my lord husband, you are staring at her chest far too much..."
That wasn't what I meant... Though, okay, maybe I was staring. But come on—if you see something like that, of course you're going to react! I'm a guy too!
Yuri protested inwardly, but he could not bring himself to say a word in his own defense.
With the Presentation Ceremony concluded, a grand banquet had already begun in the great hall.
The Queen Dowager was gone, sumptuous dishes were being brought in one after another, and the ringing laughter of nobles drunk on wine filled the air.
On the dais sat Celine, Yuri, and Ophelia on a chair that had been hurriedly brought in for her.
In stark contrast to the revelry around him, Yuri's thoughts were in utter turmoil.
Ophelia had been sent by the Queen Dowager as a new consort.
She is obviously the Queen Dowager's spy... but wow, she's cute...
Each time Yuri looked at her beautiful black hair or her wistful expression, as though she were remembering something far away, his heart gave a startled leap.
He kept wanting to say something to her, yet in the end he could never get the words out.
I know I ought to say something... but what am I supposed to say?
Before he knew it, he found himself thinking about her constantly, and the realization only left him more bewildered.
Some time later, Lieselotte appeared in the great hall.
Dressed in a pale blue gown, she surveyed the room with a proud, composed bearing.
At her appearance, the hall fell silent in an instant.
She looked every inch a fairy princess, so beautiful that everyone who saw her fell quiet without thinking.
After sighing once at the sheer number of people present, Lieselotte walked toward the dais where Celine and Yuri were seated.
"My apologies for the delay."
She offered a brief greeting, then immediately shifted her gaze to Yuri and the woman seated beside him.
Tilting her head, she looked momentarily bewildered.
"So that's why you look so troubled, Lord Yuri... And the woman beside you—is that Miss Claudius?"
Celine gave a wry smile, shrugged lightly, and chose her words with deliberate exaggeration.
"My, so you do know her, Liese. She is a 'gift' from the Queen Dowager. She is my new consort, though my lord husband appears to be quite enthralled with her—enough to overlook me entirely."
A brief twitch ran through Ophelia's brow at those words, but she swallowed the reaction at once and smiled as though nothing had happened.
"Princess Lieselotte, it has been some time. I am to take my place as one of Lord Yuri's consorts."
Ophelia greeted Lieselotte in a calm, measured voice.
Then she looked at Celine, let a faint smile curve her lips, and continued.
"As one of the Queen Dowager's 'gifts,' I would be honored if you would judge for yourself, from here on, how I may prove useful."
As her words echoed through the hall, it felt as though the air turned cold all at once.
An invisible frost seemed to spread through the room. Everyone held their breath, and only their gazes moved.
Watching the exchange among the three women, Yuri let out a shriek inside his head.
No, no, hold on a second... Why does it feel like the whole room just froze over?
All three of them are smiling, but there is nothing gentle about any of those smiles!
At this rate... this is bad. I have to do something...
His heart pounded harder and harder, and it felt as though he could barely breathe.
He knew he had to ease the atmosphere somehow, but the words would not come.
Say something. Anything. Come on, say something. If I can't say it here, what kind of man am I?
"S-so, well, come on. It's a happy day, right? Let's all enjoy ourselves together, okay?"
He forced a smile and tried to cut in, but Celine and Ophelia both turned cold smiles on him at once.
They were smiles, and yet they seemed to say, "You have some nerve interrupting this conversation. I'll grant you that much, but this is hardly your place." Sharp blades of ice pierced his chest, and his throat went dry.
I-I blew it. I really blew it...
As a last desperate hope, Yuri turned to Lieselotte with a plea for rescue in his eyes.
But she only shrugged, lifted both hands a little, and slowly shook her head.
As if to say, There's nothing to be done now, she let out a sigh of resignation.