𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙖𝙟𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙮

ＣＸＸＸＶＩＩ

˜"*°• Imperial Majesty •°*"˜

(Y/n) arrived back at the south palace. There, she was approached by her lady-in-waiting and a few maids stood beside her.

"Welcome back, your majesty."

"Hello, Duchess Maya."

The (h/c)-nette nodded her head in acknowledgement whilst the older woman gave her a respectful curtsy.

"How is everyone, Duchess?"

"Duke Caldwell is currently meeting with high ranking nobles who wanted to talk to you in your stead, and the other ladies-in-waiting are still doing their jobs as what was ordered of them."

"Good, good."

(Y/n) adjusted her the cuffs of her sleeves, as they walked the halls of the palace.

"Oh- By the way, your grace..."

"What is it, your majesty?"

"How many more are left?"

"The numbers are steadily decreasing, my Empress."

She hummed in satisfaction, she was very pleased knowing that everything was going smoothly.

"Duchess, remind me to personally thank the ladies for all their hard work."

"As you wish, your majesty."

Once they arrived at her designated room, they noticed an all too familiar looking man standing patiently beside the door.

"Oh, what's this? I didn't expect to see you today, old man."

"Your majesty."

The albino's ears perked up at the familiar sounding voice. He turned around and greeted, gently taking her hand in his as he place a small kiss on it.

"What brings you here, my dear Grand Duke?"

His heart fluttered at her words, he knew she was merely teasing him but he couldn't help but feel flattered.

Truth be told, Kaufman's schedule was very full and he was supposed to be very busy today.

But his selfish desires of seeing her after long weeks of separation got the better of him and thus here he was, standing dashingly in front of her.

His eyes darted to the older woman beside the (h/c)-nette and the latter understood what he was thinking.

"You're dismissed for today, Duchess."

Without another word, Duchess Maya obediently followed her words, but not before giving a respectful bow to the both of them.

Once gone, Kaufman returned his focus on the Nevivon woman.

"I simply came here to see you."

(Y/n) chuckled and playfully winked at him, "Did you missed me that much, old man?"

"Yes."

Almost instantly, he answered.

Those words weren't supposed to leave his mouth but it did. Baffled, he blushed profusely with a surprise look on his face.

"Pfft- haha!"

The Nevivon Empress laughed at him, finding his behaviour cute and couldn't help but let a small hue of red dust on her cheeks.

"I missed you too, Kaufman~"

She grinned, and he was absolutely sure her smile tugged the strings of his heart.

"Luckily for you, I'm free for today. Shall we head to the gardens and have a chat?"

The male albino straightened himself up and nodded, silently clearing his throat and kept the joyous emotion from bursting out of him.

"Please."

He offered his arm for her to take- to which she did. Smiling beautifully that made Kaufman knew he made the right choice of seeing her.

"So, how's your progress going?"

"Good, most of the aristocrats here have shown to be eager when forming a respectful partnership."

"I suppose it's because it's not everyday they get to form trading relations with a foreign diplomat."

She chuckled, "A handsome one too."

A soft noise emitted from the white haired male making him temporarily pause and the (h/c)-nette could only laugh at his reaction.

"Haha! Look at you~ Is that a blush I see~?"

Kaufman looked to the side timidly, raising his other hand to hide his flustered face.

"Please stop teasing me."

He muttered on to his hand but (Y/n) could hear him clearly.

"Apologies, I can't help it."

She smirked mischievously, leaning her cheek on to his arm. He glanced at her- still covering his face.

"You're just too cute."

"-!"

"Pfft! You're red again! Haha!"

"Your majesty, please..."

"Alright, alright. I'll stop."

They soon arrived at the garden where they were presented with the typical beautiful sight of it.

There were a few nobles idling around the place, but the numbers were very low to the point were it just seemed that it was merely the two of them there.

"The Eastern Empress certainly knows how to make the Empire's garden green and luscious."

The foreign woman hummed and nodded, "She really does, even though she is very busy at times- she still makes effort to keep things in check."

The tone of fondness in her voice didn't slip past by Kaufman's notice, he set his eyes on her and saw her admiring the place with a gentle smile.

He let out a breath, he knew the feeling creeping up inside of him all too well.

He felt her let go of her hold on his arm and went to approach a flower of a golden colour- to stare at it.

Her (e/c) eyes seemed to trail every single detail of the flower even though it was simple golden flower.

The very moment Kaufman saw the (h/c)-nette hang around the blonde eastern woman after long years of separation.

He saw how those beautiful (e/c) eyes of hers sparkled with more than just adoration, and it was the first time he accidentally read her mind.

And the only thing that was consuming her thoughts was her dear Navier.

The Rwiptian man wasn't stupid, he knew the Nevivonnian woman wanted to be more just friends with her.

And it was making his chest ache.

"I can never top her, can I?"

He whispered, his eyes trailed her figure ahead. He doesn't need to hear the answer from her as he already knew it.

As they both hang around the open halls of the south palace's garden- a man stared down below at the two of them from his window without their notice.

.

.

.

An evident look of annoyance was plastered on his face and his eyes were set on a certain albino.