263 – Episode 263: Resolution and Proposal
Episode 263: Resolution and Proposal
When the letter from Luke arrived at the imperial palace, it was during a leisurely lunch break.
Cecilia was in her room with Olivia organizing the materials needed for the handover.
“It was sent by Secretary Luke?”
“Why is your mother looking forward to it?”
Instead of answering, Olivia just smiled like a tomboy.
‘It seems like you’re only sincere when you make fun of me these days…’
Cecilia sighed inwardly, but that was all. Right now, reading the letter Luke sent was my top priority.
With a pounding heart, she opened her rolled up letter. Then, as if she had been waiting, Olivia brought her body close to Cecilia.
“…”
“…”
The mother and daughter concentrated on the letters written on the paper without even making a sound.
“They say a decision has been made.”
“Yes…”
Eventually they looked at each other’s faces. Olivia had a faint smile on her face. In contrast, Cecilia had a puzzled expression.
“You also call me your beloved Empress Cecilia.”
“Yes. That’s nice, but… “On the one hand, I am worried about what decision was made.”
Cecilia, who expressed her honest feelings, let out a soft sigh.
It was a very happy thing for her to have Luke return to her imperial palace. However, whether he inherited the throne or not, Luke had to return anyway.
She folded her letter neatly and looked down at it.
Olivia gently placed her hand on her daughter’s delicate shoulder.
“Mother…”
“What decision do you think Secretary Luke would have made?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
Before Luke left for her vacation he spoke to her. She said she wasn’t confident that she could lead the empire well.
The uncharacteristically dejected image of Luke never left her mind.
“Trust him. “He’s the man you love.”
“If it’s Luke…”
He may perhaps inherit the throne for himself. But if he wants to come in as a national officer…
At that time, Cecilia decided that she would follow Luke’s wishes
She raised her head again and made eye contact with her mother.
“I will respect whatever decision Luke makes.”
“Okay. For now, let’s wait calmly until the secretary returns. “Doing what we have to do.”
“Yes, mother.”
Cecilia carefully placed Luke’s letter in the drawer. Then she and Olivia started organizing the materials scattered on her desk.
That evening, Cecilia had dinner in the dining room with Flora and Mulia. There she delivered the news that Luke would soon return to the imperial palace.
“You’re coming back after almost two months!”
Flora clapped her hands and was happy.
“It’s been a long wait, Your Majesty.”
Mulia said while looking at Cecilia, and Cecilia nodded her head once.
“Tolerating the longing was not as easy as I thought.”
“We also missed Luke very much.”
“That’s right.”
The moment she heard her maids’ comments, Cecilia recalled a story she had heard from her mother earlier. That was a statement that her maids may have had feelings for Luke.
“Luke is my man, so don’t overlook him.”
“Yes?”
“Yes?”
The maids responded with curiosity, but Cecilia did not say anything else.
“This is my man.”
He only repeated the declaration that Luke was his.
* * *
It’s been almost 15 days since I said goodbye to Emma and her family and left the Nedeville estate. And the carriage carrying me passed through Deleson’s eastern gate a little while ago.
“If it wasn’t for the identity badge you have, it would have taken more time.”
Said Allen, the coachman who had worked for our family for a long time. When she heard those words, strength went into her shoulders without her knowing her.
“Young master. “Can I just go straight to the imperial palace like this?”
“Uh. Please do that.”
The scenery outside the carriage window flowed slowly by, and I watched it blankly. Then I suddenly thought that I would feel empty if I went back empty-handed.
I shouted to the coachman.
“Allen, wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
“I need to buy a little gift before I go in.”
“Then shall we go to the shopping district?”
I said yes.
‘What should I buy?’
I thought about it again and again while pinching my lower jaw. If possible, I want it to be a meaningful gift.
Cecilia gave me her wedding ceremony first, and then she proposed…
“Ah!”
I was able to decide what to give as a gift.
The carriage arrived at the square, the center of the downtown area.
“Young master. Is there anywhere you want to go from here?”
“Let’s go to the southern road.”
The southern boulevard is lined with jewelry stores. As a direct secretary, I often learned about the geography of Deleson, so it was one of the many pieces of information I learned.
After a while, a jeweler came into view, and I instructed Allen to stop.
“I’m waiting here.”
“Yes, master.”
I headed straight to the jewelry store. As soon as I walked in, the owner welcomed me warmly.
“Welcome, customer!”
I took a look inside the store and then started looking around slowly. As expected from a jewelry store, there were a wide variety of accessories and gems on display.
If you want to propose, a couple ring is definitely the way to go.
I looked closely at the products on display to find the ring. Eventually, I found a corner where rings were displayed.
“Hmm…”
I looked at each ring carefully. But I couldn’t find a ring I liked at all.
Should I move to another store?
The moment I was thinking that, the store owner came up next to me.
“Customer. “Is there something you’re looking for?”
“Are there no couplings here?”
“The coupling is at the counter.”
I followed the owner’s instructions and headed to the counter. He asked me to wait a moment and then headed to the dresser in the back.
“I usually show the coupling when there is a request.”
The owner took out a whole drawer and brought it here. If you do well, you will be able to choose what you like.
I looked at each of the coupling rings on display. Then, a pair of gold rings with a small red ruby in them caught my eye.
“This is quite pretty.”
“You can watch it comfortably.”
I held a ring in my hand and looked at it closely. Ruby was really small, so it didn’t seem like it would get in the way while going about her daily life.
Above all, the color of the ruby was very similar to Cecilia’s eyes.
“Please give me this.”
“Yes. “It’s 100 gold.”
The moment I heard the price, I was shocked. The owner noticed my reaction and kindly explained.
“This is a ring made of pure gold. The ruby gem is also real.”
“Aha. Somehow…”
“Are you purchasing?”
“I’ll take this. Please use gift wrapping.”
Still, considering the money I received in the name of salary and rewards while working, I could have spent as much as 100 gold.
Moreover, it is a couple ring to propose to Cecilia, so I have to invest this much.
The owner took the drawers and headed behind the counter. I stood there and waited for him to come back.
After a while, the owner brought a ring box tied with a white ribbon and held it out to me. I took 100 gold out of my leather pouch and paid it to the owner.
“Customer. Are you proposing today?”
“Yes.”
“I will pray in the name of the goddess for good results.”
The owner put his hands together as if putting his hands together.
“Thank you.”
After briefly expressing my gratitude, I left the store.
Now I can really go see Cecilia.
* * *
“Did you have a good vacation, Secretary?”
“It’s been a while since I last saw you, so I think you look better.”
As soon as I entered the imperial palace, the employees welcomed me warmly. I responded to their greetings and walked towards the office.
It was a hallway that I was now very familiar with.
-Knock knock.
When I knocked on the office door, I heard Flora’s voice from inside.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the secretary, Lady Flora.”
Looking at Flora’s answer, it seemed like Cecilia wasn’t there.
I opened the door and went inside. As expected, the owner of the throne was not visible.
“Mr. Luke! “You’ve finally arrived.”
“Welcome back.”
Flora and Mulia got up from their chairs at the same time. I approached them.
“How have you all been?”
“I haven’t been having a good time because I miss Luke.”
Flora smiled playfully. It’s really consistent.
“Thank you for your hard work on the long journey.”
Mulia understood my hardships in a gentle tone.
“It seems like you both feel very empty without me.”
From noble mtl dot come
“That’s right.”
“It’s nagging to say the least! And you don’t know how much His Majesty missed you.”
As expected, Cecilia missed me a lot.
While I was gathering my thoughts in her hometown, I also really missed Cecilia. However, I needed time away to truly capture her heart.
“Where is your Majesty?”
“You will be in the room with Her Majesty, Empress Olivia. “He said he had worked to do today as well.”
I asked her what was going on, but her maids shook their heads and said they didn’t know.
What on earth are you doing?
“I’m going to say hello to Your Majesty.”
I left the office while being seen off by the maids. Before heading to her room her her her, I checked one more time to make sure the coupling box was in her pants her pocket her her.
‘Luckily I’m doing well.’
I walked towards Cecilia’s room with great strides. When I arrived at the door, I knocked without delay,
“Who?”
I was able to hear Cecilia’s voice her her, which I had missed so much.
“Secretary Luke Nedville is here, Your Majesty.”
No answer came back. Instead, I heard footsteps that sounded like running,
“Luke!”
Cecilia opened the door wide and appeared.
“Your majesty. Have you been there…”
Without even having time to say hello, Cecilia hugged my neck.
I almost lost my mind for a moment when I smelled the scent coming from her hair, but I held on and carefully hugged her waist.
“Why did you come back now?”
“I apologize, Your Majesty.”
“You don’t know how much I missed you.”
“I missed you a lot too.”
While we were whispering in each other’s ears, we suddenly heard a coughing sound coming from somewhere. I glanced up and saw Empress Olivia looking at us.
“You guys. “Why don’t you come inside first?”
Only then did we break our embrace and entered the room. I sent my greetings to Empress Olivia.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Secretary Luke.”
“Yes, Your Majesty the late Empress. But what happened earlier…”
“Hehe. I already heard everything from Cecilia. “I heard you’re already in a romantic relationship?”
The late Empress looked as if she was happy.
“And it seems like you have a very passionate love.”
“Uh, mother…”
Cecilia must have felt embarrassed at that moment, and she tugged on Empress Sun’s collar. As I look at that scene… Before I knew it, I was laughing.
Even Cecilia’s embarrassed appearance felt lovely.
It was clear that I was really crazy too.
“I plan to continue to love you passionately, Your Majesty the late Empress.”
Hehe. Okay. Men should always be like that.”
The late Empress smiled with satisfaction. Then, she leisurely left the room, saying she needed to give us some alone time.
“Luke.”
As soon as the door closed, Cecilia called me.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Me too, me too. With you… “I want to continue to share passionate love forever.”
The pretty ruby colored eyes were moist. I felt now was the time to propose.
“Your majesty. “Can I call you by your name now?”
“Of course.”
I took out her coupling box from her her pocket her her, then walked over to her and got down on one knee.
“Luke?”
Looking up at her with her eyes wide open, she opened her mouth.
“Cecilia. “I have decided to inherit the throne.”
“!”
“And, I will welcome you, the most beautiful woman in the empire, as my wife and empress.”
I opened her box and held it out to her.
“Luke! This can’t be…”
“It wasn’t a proper proposal, but I wanted to clearly express my feelings.”
“…”
With her careful hands, Cecilia took out one of her rings from her box of her.
“It’s a really pretty ring.”
“I’ll fit it in.”
Then Cecilia handed me a ring. I held her hand carefully and put the ring on her delicate ring finger.
Fortunately, the ring fit properly on her ring finger
“Do you see the ruby in the ring?”
“Yes.”
“I chose these because I thought they looked exactly like Cecilia’s eyes.”
“Luke…”
Cecilia examined the ring on her ring finger with her touched face. She then touched the gemstone of her ring with her right hand.
I put the remaining ring on my ring finger her her her her. Fortunately, it fits my hand her her her well her.
“Actually, I was very worried. “I’m afraid you might say that you won’t inherit the throne.”
“I apologize. It took her a long time to make up her mind.”
Cecilia shook her head.
“No. I am so glad that you made up her mind and came back. And to me … He even gave me a big gift.”
“Because I love you, Cecilia.”
“I love you too, Luke.”
As soon as I got up, Cecilia came up to me and hugged me as if she had been waiting.
We hugged for a really long time, enjoying each other’s body heat and breath.