Beatrice smiled the way she only did when she was with close friends and families. Liselotte knew that not many people could witness Beatrice’s smile. Only their parents, herself, and very close friends could see the real Beatrice.
Beatrice firmly believed in not showing any weaknesses, and Liselotte sometimes got worried about her. Liselotte realized that showing strength was necessary to some extent as the ruler of a kingdom, but she worried that Beatrice gave up on her own personal happiness.
Beatrice looked peaceful as she asked Liselotte, “You look great. Do you have good news for me or something? Well, I guess you are about to be a new bride, so it makes sense.”
Liselotte smiled shyly like a beautiful flower and touched her engagement ring.
“No, nothing special. Oh, and… I got a message about his and her highness.”
Beatrice looked relieved at the news. After Beatrice became the official ruler and was able to stabilize the kingdom, Lucretius and Bina left to live in Bilenae permanently.
They left suddenly about six months ago and Beatrice and Liselotte had been getting regular messages from them. However, two months ago, their parents decided to go on their long overdue honeymoon and left the colony without telling anyone where their destination is.
From then on, the daughters had been getting random and rare messages from them, and this was why Beatrice was worried.
She asked, “So where are they now?”
Liselotte picked up her teacup and took a sip.
“I got a message from Aunt Roselia from Genoa.”
Beatrice frowned in annoyance. “Genoa? They went that far?”
“Yes.”
Liselotte sighed and handed Beatrice a letter marked with Genoan royal seal.
It was a short letter. Apparently, Lucretius and Bina appeared out of blue at the Genoan castle, creating an uproar. Roselia stated that she was writing this letter to let Beatrice and Liselotte know of their parents’ whereabouts in case they were worried about them.
Beatrice folded the letter and returned it to Liselotte with a sigh.
“At least they are healthy and active enough to travel all over the world.”
“As usual.”
Beatrice put down her half-empty teacup and asked, “They will be attending your wedding, right?”
“Yes. The wedding date was set before they left so they are aware.”
“Well, I guess we will get to see our parents in a very long time. It’s tiring to have such energetic parents.”
The sisters sighed together. Liselotte held her warm teacup with both hands and murmured jokingly.
“I wonder if we will end up getting a surprise younger brother or sister.”
“… it’s a possibility.”
“… This is scary.”
They both laughed together. The sisters couldn’t help but feel worried about their parents’ safety, but they believed in their parents’ wisdom and common sense.
They might have been traveling all over the world, but the sisters knew that their parents had plenty of guards following them for protection. Both Bina and Lucretius were careful and cautious. Besides, no one in this world would ever dare harm them.
Liselotte’s big wedding was coming up soon. Her parents would, of course, be attending but the sisters needed to complete all the preparation first. Their conversation naturally turned to the subject of the upcoming event.
Liselotte asked, “Now that I think about it… you wore that crown at the wedding, right?”
“Oh… Yeah. Mother’s royal crown.”
It was the crown decorated with the blue tear of the goddess.
The one Sa Bina wore at her own coronation.
Liselotte murmured in frustration, “And during your coronation, you wore father’s royal crown.”
Beatrice grinned. After she dethroned her husband, she had a small coronation for herself and wore her father’s crown. Beatrice was the only person in history who had the chance to wear both the empress’ and the emperor’s crowns.
“That’s true.”
“I’m so envious… That crown with the blue tear of the goddess is so beautiful. I always wanted to try it on…”
Liselotte knew it was not possible to wear the crown at her wedding. Even Beatrice couldn’t make it happen since only the empress could wear the crown.
However, there could be another possibility. Beatrice offered to her little sister.
“How about our grandmother’s blue diamond crown?”
Liselotte’s brown eyes widened. She looked genuinely surprised.
Beatrice was referring to one of the inheritances she received after she became the official empress of the kingdom. It was a very precious item.
“Really? I can wear it?”
“Sure. I will give it to you as a wedding gift. It is the first crown our mother wore, and it was our grandmother’s favorite thing. I will be happy for you to have it.”
“…”
Liselotte smiled warmly and Beatrice held her hand.
Beatrice said to her firmly, “Please live a happy life.”
“I will.”
The sisters smiled.
***
Their meeting went long. It wasn’t an empress’ wedding, but still a very important national event. Beatrice wanted to make sure everything was perfect for her sister.
“Don’t be afraid to spend as much as needed. You are the princess of this kingdom and the first in line to the throne. Your wedding needs to be perfect.”
Beatrice was being a good sister, but Liselotte pouted.
“Do you really mean it, sis?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Liselotte replied seriously, “If you really want my wedding to go well and have a happy marriage… Then you should also find a good man to date and marry soon.”
Beatrice became rigid suddenly.
“Dating and marriage…I’m sick of it. I think you are asking too much of me. Besides, what has that got to do with your wedding?”
Liselotte said to her firmly, “Whatever. After the wedding, I will get a small house and live outside the castle. I am going to live independently.”
Beatrice scolded her gently. “Lottie.”
“No, this is the best way. As soon as I am married, I will leave this castle.”
“…”
“You don’t want our relationship to be strained either, right? If I remain here even after my marriage, people will whisper about how I could be the next heir to the throne.”
Beatrice sighed. “I know, but…”
Objectively speaking, what Liselotte said was completely true, but Beatrice couldn’t ignore her personal feelings. She wasn’t thinking as an emperor; she was thinking as her sister.
After a short hesitation, Beatrice begged Liselotte with a sad face.
“But… If you abandon me, who will help me with the empress’ duties?”
Liselotte’s eyes narrowed, looking just like their father.
“So you won’t let me leave because you want me to continue to work for you?”
“… If you don’t help me anymore, I might really die from overwork.”
Beatrice sounded serious, but Liselotte was firm on her decision.
“No. If you really need help, ask our mother.”
“How could I? She is traveling all over the world enjoying her third life.”
The reason why Bina called it her third life was because she considered her new life with their father in this world her second life. The sisters remembered her mother’s happy smile as she became excited about her travel.
At the time, they thought it was a wonderful idea, but now, they realized that perhaps their mother became tired of working so hard for the past twenty years and finally ran away from it all.
Liselotte offered a suggestion.
“Then how about you solve the issue of the next heir? You just have to marry again.”
“Never.”
“If you think you can’t handle both the emperor’s and the empress’s duties, then you need to marry someone, so you can share the responsibilities. You can’t just dump it on your sister.”
“Lottie…”
Beatrice massaged her head with a frown. She was getting a headache from this conversation. The sisters had been fighting over this topic ever since Liselotte’s wedding has been decided.
Liselotte continued, “So get married. Dating first would be even better.”
After a short silence, Beatrice answered in a low voice.
“But you know my situation. A husband is a bad idea for me.”
