𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙖𝙟𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙮

ＸＬＶＩ

˜”*°• Imperial Majesty •°*”˜

"Your majesty."

"Grand Duke Kaufman."

The (h/c)-nette placed her hand on his, receiving a light courteous kiss form the handsome foreign Duke.

(Y/n) was dressed in a simple attire, her outfit being:

A long, orange, straight cut dress, adorned with tiny pearls and golden linings on the waist. A pair of peach coloured flats for her footwear and her hair was tied up into a messy bun with a silver hairpin, embellished with small, salmon coloured crystals to it.

It seemed as bit plain for a woman of her ranking and it was as if, she wore it to not attract anyone's attention.

But she was sheen, nonetheless.

(Y/n) smiled, when their eyes met the other's.

"Were you waiting long?"

"No, not all, Empress."

He returned her smiled and offered an arm for her to take, to which she did.

And they started to walk outside of the salon, and as they did, both engaged themselves in a small talk.

"How are you, old man?"

Kaufman silently chuckled at the teasing nickname she gave him. Strangely for him, he secretly enjoyed it whenever she calls him that.

The first time she called him that nickname, he was caught off guard, and when he asked her why?

Her answer was simple; "It's because of your hair colour."

The Duke only liked it, however, when she's the only who calls him that.

"I'm doing as well as I can be, your majesty." He answered.

"And, how about you?"

"I'm fine as well."

Kaufman hummed, "You're not feeling stress or something? I've heard you've been quite busy."

Aha, well...about that...

"Well, not anymore, since you've showed your presence to me. And for that, I'm grateful."

Badump.

The moment he laid eyes on her, Kaufman would always get a strange feeling in his chest. He had brushed it off once, thinking that he was merely tired but—

Whenever he would think about her, the feeling would always come back.

Which was strange because, they had known each other for merely a few months and they never got to see each other for 4 years.

Yes, they did wrote letters to each other— some letters are sent with Piere's knowing— but that was merely it.

Or was it...really?

And by her words, the Duke could feel hus face heating up. Though he managed to collect his composure.

"Being with the company of a friend really does manage to rid of the stress away."

Oh...

She only him as a friend...

Kaufman almost, almost trip when those words came out of her mouth. It was then he cleared his throat.

"Ah yes, I'm glad my presence has helped ease your tension, your majesty."

Her words clearly left a bitter feeling upon him, but if she saw him as that, then, it was better than nothing.