You stood in front of the golden doors that would soon lead to the main banquet hall within the Garnet Palace. Claude, your partner for the event, was pulled in a small meeting with the rest of the world leaders right before the two of you could officially enter the event venue.
He did ask you to accompany him and even went as far as to mention that majority of the world leaders would bring along their partners to expand social circles and connections, but you declined. You didn't have the education needed to keep up with conversation with such distinguished people, and you were afraid of causing a stain of Obelia's reputation should you make a mistake.
Now, you waited for him to return.
Originally, you wanted to enter by yourself ( because you'd attract less attention that way ), but he insisted that the two of you enter together. You had to agree, because how could you disobey the emperor on such an important day?
However, even though you agreed, you weren't sure if you were going to do a good job. You did learn how to dance, and you managed to approach Felix to ask about what Claude usually does in such events, so you had an idea on what to expect, but you still couldn't help yourself from growing nervous.
Which was understandable, right? Just a few months ago, you were from the modern world. You arrived here after being shot in the head, and you've managed to do well up until now, but that was when you were just Claude's maid. Nobody paid attention to you then, but now... His partner for such an event? With such unclear relationship? You weren't sure how to act.
You sighed.
You looked around and spotted two guards by the door that stood before you.
Is it too late to try and run away?
You hummed as your train of thought traveled further. They'd definitely sell me out to Claude if I run away here, but—
"Don't bother," the voice of the very man you were waiting for snapped you out of your thoughts. You twirled around to see him pushing his hair back further. He didn't look pleased ( does he ever look pleased, though ), so you guessed the small meeting with the other leaders wasn't to his liking, "I told Felix to keep an eye on you."
"What? You actually thought I'd think of running away?" you laughed. You did, but...
Claude shook his head, "Not thought. I knew you would."
You presented him a slight scowl for being right, and your wordless response caused the sides of his lips to lift up slightly. That caught you off guard. You were under the impression that he wasn't in the best mood because of his small meeting before, but he has the energy to flash you a smirk?
Your brows furrowed together. Maybe he wasn't in a bad mood in the first place? I knew he had a resting bitch face, but...
"Cease what ever it is you're thinking of. I'm sure that small head of yours is filled with nothing but useless thoughts as always. It's about time we greet our esteemed guests," you didn't miss the forced emphasis he placed on chosen words. He extended a hand out toward you before he gazed to the front, confident that you would place your hand on his.
And you did. You followed his lead as the two of you approached the closed golden door that covered you from the eyes of the public.
The two guards performed a small greeting before pushing the doors open. That caught the attention of the people already inside the banquet hall, and made them wonder who it was that was about to enter.
The two guards returned to their prior position and saluted. Then, one of them spoke in a loud voice, "Make way for His Majesty, Emperor Claude de Alger Obelia, and..."
His slight pause caused you to tense up. Claude must've noticed how your grip on his hands tightened as you kept your eyes to the ground. The guard must have no idea how to address you.
You were a noble lady when it comes to birth, but that was reduced to almost nothing when you entered the palace as a maid — as the Emperor's personal maid, at that.
"We should move—" you tried to take a step forward to urge Claude inside since his name was announced, and there was no one more important in the empire than him.
"Do it properly," his low tone and icy gaze was targeted towards the guard who couldn't announce your name. You recalled his previous threats of killing and taking out the tongues of those that showed disrespect during this banquet, and you couldn't help but fear for the life of the guard.
You returned your eyes to your partner. He refused to move until the guard spoke your name with the appropriate title.
"...His Majesty, Emperor Claude de Alger Obelia, and the Lady (Y/n) (L/n)!"
Claude spent a few good seconds eyeing the guard before he nodded once. He gave you a small glance, and immediately noticed the panicked expression on your face. Quickly, he spoke, "It was his job to announce you as well. I was just reminding him to do as his occupation tells him to."
He had a point.
You sighed. You didn't fault the guard for not knowing what to call you, but Claude would never agree with you on that. You let yourself be pulled with him as he took you inside the banquet hall. When you entered, you could immediately feel the hundreds of gazes that became curious when they heard Claude's name.
It only lasted for a second, because they were all bowing down afterwards. Well, almost all of them, at least. The ones who kept on moving as they liked were most likely foreigners and other high ranking officials from other nations that could stand on equal grounds with Claude.
The fact that the eyes that were on you lessened was an immense relief on its own, though. You couldn't remember a moment where you had to stand in front of this many people after you graduated.
"You should have worn gloves," Claude commented as the two of descended the stairs. His eyes were on your hands, but when he noticed your curious gaze, he was quick to elaborate, "You're sweating."
You frowned at him playfully, "I don't remember you being this picky before."
Still, you pulled your hand away the second the two of reached the last step. The people raised their heads again, and the pressure that came with the event returned. You took a large gulp as you tried to calm yourself.
I could try and make myself look relaxed if I could just get a teeny bit drunk. Where's the alcohol at—
Your thoughts were cut off when you felt Claude's hands finding your own. Your eyes widened, and you tried to pull them away again, but he kept his hold firm.
"I don't recall telling you to let go," came his explanation.
"You were whining like a bitc— Er, I mean... Ehem... You were voicing your complaints just a mere second ago."
"I was trying to distract you," he turned away and faced the people, "Just as I am doing now. It proved itself effective, seeing as you almost went and cursed not even five minutes after we've arrived. I see not even the presence of several nation leaders can shut you up."
Only in this moment did you notice that the fact that you placed your attention on the fact that he suddenly willingly held your hand once more freed you from the heavy pressure that came from constantly being watched by the people.
"Your face is curse worthy."
"A statement like that is enough to charge you with treason."
"You won't."
"I won't."
You found yourself having the capability to joke around and laugh during an event that you were extremely nervous for. Claude went silent as music began to play, and you turned your attention to watch the people rush to the dancefloor.
You thought that this event would have you acting as stiff as a board. You thought that your head would be too occupied with the hungry gazes of the nobles to find the fun in a party. You didn't think that simply holding hands with him would be enough to calm your nerves — and you, most certainly, would have never thought that he'd be the one to initiate it.
"Hey, you know what, Clau— Your Majesty, rather," you awkwardly coughed, "Let me do it again. Your Majesty, you know what?"
"Claude's fine. No one can hear you with all this music and commotion," he nodded towards the large number of people crowded in the center of the room while the two of you were standing near the edge.
"Well, it's not just for this occasion, you know? I should just really call you by your title."
He raised an eyebrow towards you, "You didn't care about those stupid formalities when we first met. Although, that can be excused seeing you were intoxicated. But you've never once shown me the desire to call me anything but my name."
"That's because the Garnet Palace has little people, and we're always alone together. Right now, I'm just reminded that you're this important figure in Obelia, and I shouldn't be treating you so lightly."
"You don't need to act so respectful this late in our relationship, (Y/n). It is rather entertaining, though. Just tell me what it was you were about to say, or get lost," he said. He told you to get lost while holding your hand.
You stared at him in silence for a moment.
He was an idiot, you concluded.
"I was just going to say that... I'm not as nervous or as stiff as I expected myself to be," you hummed, "I thought I'd be shaking by myself in some corner, drinking to calm myself down, and counting down the time until the party ends, only to dread the next celebration... But I'm not."
"You planned to drink to calm yourself?"
"Why are you focusing on that?" you grumbled, "I'm trying to express my gratitude here. Anyways... Because of what you've been doing since earlier, with the small talk before we entered, with the guard, and holding my hand, I'm just...not all that focused on the pressure that this gathering has. Thanks a lot for that. I would have been a mess."
He let go of your hand and instead wrapped his arm around your waist to pull you closer instead, "I didn't take you as the person who would think of trivial things such as this one so much."
You sent him a glance, "There's no way this gathering is trivial."
"I must remind you that you're the very same person who's managed to perform insolent actions towards me and survived. Just yesterday, I recall you hitting my arm—"
"God, shut up. I could get framed for harming imperial body."
"You did. On numerous occasions."
"You clearly didn't care about that small, friendly slap yesterday though. Or ever."
"(Y/n). You understand my point, yes?" he turned to you with his face all serious. He looked like he was expecting a serious answer, so you gave him a nod and a small smile. That small action pleased him, and he once again grabbed hold of your hand, "For now, (Y/n), I'd like to ask you something."
You hummed as a sign of urging him to continue.
"May I ask you for a dance?"
He placed your hand only inches away from his lips, and bowed towards you. He raised his eyes to you and watches your reaction. He could tell you were panicked, and he knew you weren't the most confident about your ability to dance, but he already told you that you should consider this banquet as nothing more than an insignificant gathering and experience no pressure.
When you opened your mouth, he thought you'd voice out a curt rejection, so he quickly interjected, "If you accept, I'll offer you a gift once this banquet ends."
You blinked, surprised that he decided to cut you off right when you were about to reply. You were going to agree to dance with him anyway, but then he had to add a prize, "And what gift are you talking about?"
Once Claude was sure that he caught your interest, he pressed his lips against your hand and straightened himself up. He slowly started to guide you towards the center of the room, all while a smirk placed itself on his face.
You had no idea what it meant, until he leaned close to your ear to whisper, "I hope it will refresh your memory of how you treated me when we first met."
Your eyes widened, and before you could even utter a single sentence back, you were dragged along to the beat of the song and distracted by the charming smile that adorned his face.
✰
I offer a heart <3