If I Throw Myself into His Sea - Episode 2.3

“I can’t enter the banquet alone, can I?”

Irene had never attended a banquet before, but she knew that much. Even when she lived in the basement, she had occasionally heard about banquet partners. The servants of the royal castle would discuss who would be the legitimate princess’s partner each year whenever a banquet was held.

After the banquet, they would ridicule those who missed the period to find a partner and entered alone, over and over again. Recalling that past, Irene clenched her fist.

She was now the Queen of Deltia and was in a position to play the noble princess of Epin. Therefore, she couldn’t allow herself to be ridiculed for not having a partner.

Irene spoke to Sipri in front of Pereian.

“Sipri, then…”

“Yes.”

“Would you be my partner?”

The study froze in an instant. With Pereian, who seemed flustered, standing up in the background, Sipri looked at Irene. Her face was utterly clear and firm, without a hint of playfulness.

***

Upon hearing the story of how Sipri became the partner of the master he served, Atina clenched her fist tightly. As if something was so infuriating, Atina glared with ambitious eyes and growled.

“Ah! Atina, is it okay for me to dress this extravagantly?” Atina’s support continued until the day of the banquet.

“Lady Irene is practically the star of today.”

“Is it because I’m the queen?”

“That too, but…” Atina continued, offering a wistful smile.

“Everyone will want to see the queen who came from the land.”

She knew her mistress well. The time they had spent together wasn’t long, but it was enough to grasp her personality.

“Everyone will scrutinize the princess of Epin,” she said, worried that the delicate mistress of the Coral Palace, the queen of Deltia, might crumble after the banquet.

She feared rumors would spread that the princess of Epin was nothing special.

If she hadn’t heard the news of Henelia Delute’s return to society, this anxiety would have been less. If only that woman’s partner wasn’t a monarch.

A sigh escaped her lips. Atina thought that Pereian Richard had made the worst choice, bringing his wife, with whom he was attending a banquet for the first time since their marriage.

“Don’t I look strange?” Irene asked, smiling shyly, as if proving she was the star of the banquet, thanks to Atina’s dedication.

She had encountered many dresses since becoming the queen of Pereian, but this was the most extravagant dress she had ever seen.

Irene looked at herself. The dress was a testament to Atina’s meticulous nature. She had heard that it was commissioned from the best dressmaker in Deltia, but she hadn’t expected her to be so attentive.

The dress was designed to cover all the scars on her back, with light green accents on a pure white background, reminiscent of the greenery of the land.

Having finished all preparations, Irene looked at Atina. Atina, who had been holding the cloak and waiting, approached her upon Irene’s signal.

The mother-of-pearl embellishments of the cloak brushed against her shoulder, sending a cold sensation through her.

It was a cloak that possessed an excessively mysterious light for something prepared for a banquet.

“Did Atina prepare this too?”

Atina shook her head at Irene’s question. Tidying the hem of the cloak, Atina cautiously said, “It’s a cloak that only the monarch and their spouse can wear, Irene-nim.”

“Then Pereian is also here today.”

“Ah, no. That’s not it.”

Atina hurriedly waved her hand. She added that it was a garment with significant meaning, so it wasn’t usually worn. Irene was the one attending the banquet as queen, but somehow Atina seemed more nervous.

With this, all preparations for attending the banquet were complete. Irene repeatedly composed herself as she looked at her reflection.

There was only one goal. To act in a way that wouldn’t be criticized, that wouldn’t reveal any weaknesses.

She wouldn’t be welcomed by everyone, but with the intention of not being hated, Irene left the Coral Palace. Her stiff body didn’t seem to relax. Because it was her first time attending an official event, even small actions felt awkward.

As she creaked toward the exit of the Coral Palace, Sipri, who had been waiting for Irene, waved his hand. Only after facing a familiar face did Irene finally feel relieved.

Irene walked to Sipri’s side and gently placed her hand on his outstretched hand. Holding onto the hem of the cloak with her remaining hand, she said, “Thank you for being my partner.”

“The honor is mine. However…”

Sipri trailed off. He was probably thinking of Pereian, who had already declared that he had found a partner. Pereian Richard and Henelia Delute.

He could guess that Pereian hadn’t wanted her as a partner. Henelia probably used their old feelings. But Sipri’s dissatisfaction stemmed from this. This banquet was the first time the Princess of Epin was appearing before the influential families of Deltia.

It was obvious what kind of talk would arise if the Queen’s partner wasn’t the monarch at this event, so Sipri couldn’t understand Pereian’s unilateral decision on such an important matter without consulting anyone.

‘Is he planning to ignore her outright?’

He could roughly read Henelia Delute’s intentions as well. She probably chose to return at this time to keep Irene Iphraim, the new mistress of Deltia, in check.

Sipri chuckled as he recalled the three-way meeting that took place in Pereian’s office. He inwardly replayed Irene’s expression when Pereian said he had a partner, and Pereian’s expression, which was rotting at the same time.

The more he thought about it, the funnier it was.

‘You were the one who rejected the Queen, Pereian Richard. Besides, you hate the Queen.’

Even so, he didn’t know why he looked like he had been robbed of something that was his. Sipri hesitated and moved his lips.

“…I don’t know if Her Majesty the Queen would be okay with me.”

“Why are you saying that?”

Irene quickly asked back. Perhaps Sipri’s humble appearance was unfamiliar, Irene stepped back playfully.

At that sight, a light flickered in Sipri’s eyes as well. In Sipri’s life, the only banquet he had ever attended was the one immediately after Pereian’s enthronement, where he showed his face and returned. He pretended to be sociable, but he didn’t really enjoy noisy places.

Just imagining such a place always gave him a headache. In fact, this banquet was the same.

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