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All the more so when the giant doors leading to the ballroom swung open — and there we were.

As I was supposed to do, I held Rachel\'s hand, and we arrived a little later than the others. Everyone there bowed their knees in a moment to greet us.

Rachel strutted confidently and powerfully down the red carpet, showing that she was taller than everyone else. While I tried to imitate her.

We walked through the ballroom and up the stairs. It was there that the special seats that, in the old days, the king and his sons had occupied at the Christmas Ball were located.

Instead of the former three seats, only two remained. The main throne, Rachel\'s, and my slightly smaller one. Instead of the lion, the symbol of the Blanche dynasty, the golden thrones were now decorated with a raven.

All the while there was a sepulchral silence.

As we sat down, Rachel waved her hand, allowing everyone else to stand.

— Thank you all for coming,» she said loudly, «As you all know, today is my one-year anniversary of my reign. However, that is not the only event of the evening…»

The girl\'s next words were the announcement that the title of crown princess was officially accepted by the heiress of the Ashford family.

When the guests heard this, either they were really surprised, or they had guessed everything for a long time, but they just pretended for the first time. In any case, as soon as Rachel finished speaking, congratulations came from everywhere.

— Congratulations, Your Majesty!

— Long life to the crown princess and the ruling family!

Of course, no one dared to say anything against it openly. Because everyone was well aware that everyone who disagrees around the corner will be waiting for a meeting with an assassin.

From this, one got the impression that everyone remained very enthusiastic. That was the reaction Rachel was expecting, and she was pleased.

I sat at the side of the girl, and, for the sake of politeness, at least briefly tried to put away the sour face. After all, my disgruntled face right now clearly wasn\'t going to change anything.

Some time after the festivities began, Rachel and I should have gone downstairs to greet the guests.

As soon as we did, a crowd of ladies surrounded me.

— Your Highness, you look beautiful today!

— Congratulations to you and Her Majesty!

— I remember you from the Christmas Ball. I knew at once you\'d make a great couple!

After so many congratulations came crashing down on me at once, all I had to do was nod. It was exactly the same with Rachel. The aristocrats were all over her, so she was barely visible.

Times had changed.

Previously, all of society was so afraid of Rachel that they could not even be near her and look her in the eye, but now things were different.

The rumors of the curse seemed to evaporate in an instant as soon as Rachel took over the empire. Now everyone wanted to be her friend and gain her support.

Of course, that was hypocrisy, but had it ever been different? At all times, the nobility tried to suck up to anyone above them in power.

The old king, despite his clean reputation, was in fact rotten to the core with corruption and other such dealings. That was probably why he was the nobles\' «favorite» ruler.

Rachel, on the other hand, had no intention of cooperating with anyone, or of exalting. Such «obsequiousness» disgusted her. But at the same time, she did not refuse all these compliments, and built the appearance of a ruler pleasant in every way.

In other words, it was all a show-off.

And pretty soon I got tired of her.

An hour after the event started, I found Rachel in the crowd and asked:

— I want to take a break for a while.

The girl immediately cut off the aristocrats she had interacted with before and turned to me.

— What is it? Are you not feeling well?

I shook my head.

— I\'m just a little tired… I need to get some fresh air.

Maybe I did look pale, so Rachel didn\'t argue long. She looked at me tensely, and then sighed.

— Okay… Just come back before the middle of the night. We\'ll have to do the main dance.

I nodded and promised I wouldn\'t be back for more than half an hour. Apparently, Rachel understood my situation, and that she wanted to be alone, and wouldn\'t send a guard with me.

I stepped out onto the wide balcony alone and breathed in the cold air.

It felt so good…

When all this talk around me disappeared, I finally felt relieved. Social life, where I had to take an active part, was wearing me out quite a bit.

I could hardly imagine how many more such evenings I would have to endure when I became queen.

And would I ever be…? In the end, I realized that all my previous attempts to avoid it had come to nothing.

I sighed, contemplating my difficult future, when at that moment I suddenly heard the rustling of trees.

A few seconds later…

A dark creature climbed onto the balcony from out of nowhere. At first I was scared to death, but then the unknown threw back the hood, and the fear was replaced by surprise.

I was taken aback by this unexpected encounter.

— Razor…? — I muttered in disbelief.

Maybe I\'m hallucinating.

But no. The man in black not only looked like my best friend, but also spoke in his voice.

The guy jumped off the balcony railing and came toward me.

— Razor, what are you…?

I didn\'t even get a chance to finish my sentence before he suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me after him. I was more and more perplexed.

— Hurry up! — Without further ado, the second prince said, «We must hurry!»

— What…? — I was still in a state of shock.

— Leriana, this is our chance to get out of here!

***

The next shout from the servant announced the ballroom:

— Viscount Louis Fernandez and Lady Camilla Fernandez of House Fernandez enter!

Rachel sat on the throne and watched with a bored expression. Leriana hadn\'t been back for over ten minutes, and was beginning to get worried little by little.

Should we send someone to her after all?

While Rachel was thinking about it, she didn\'t pay much attention to the fact that some nobles came up to greet her. Or rather, she paid no attention to it at all.

But Viscount Fernandez coughed awkwardly as he knelt before the imperial throne. His daughter did the same.

— Greetings, Your Majesty!

The viscount purposely said it a little louder than usual, and the girl did turn in his direction. Camilla Fernandez looked very agitated, but she followed her father and said:

— Your Majesty, it is an honor to greet you!

Rachel hummed and waved her hand lazily.

— You may rise.

Those obediently followed the order, and were soon to join the rest of the assemblage of aristocrats. But while Viscount Fernandez headed straight into the hall, his daughter was a little delayed.

— Your Majesty, could you spare me a few minutes?

Rachel raised an eyebrow. Just as she was about to continue her musings, this young aristocrat suddenly took such a bold step. Not everyone had the courage to challenge her to a one-on-one.

For the first time, Rachel paid her more attention than just a glance.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the viscount\'s daughter was one of the most beautiful ladies here. Exquisite blonde hair, as if melted from real gold. Ruby shining eyes. And finally, she had very attractive facial features. Not at all like her older sisters and brother.

But even so, in her thoughts, Rachel was completely oblivious to all this outer gloss. To her, beauty was irrelevant.

However, since it was a jubilee in honor of her reign, the girl decided to show favor. She inquired:

— Do it here. What did you want to talk to me about?

There were a lot of people looking at them, so Camille was a little nervous. But in spite of that, she resolutely met the Queen\'s gaze.

— Your Majesty, I would like to ask you a favor.

— Hmm?

— Y-You do remember that the House of Fernandez was one of the first to swear allegiance to you, don\'t you?

It turned out to be true. During the Cassius rebellion against the Imperial family, the Viscount was one of the first to sense the «smell of fried food.» The Blanche dynasty would not last, and that was obvious. So, to ensure his safety in advance, he pledged his loyalty to the new queen in the very first days. And he even helped to repair the aftermath of the coup.

Rachel appreciated the gesture, and promised to reward all those who took the first step to her side.

Most of these aristocrats had already received their reward. Their wishes were all about the same. A piece of land, a promotion or money. All very typical.

Therefore, she expected the viscount\'s daughter to say the same thing now. Her father had already received land in the western territory of Azeroth, but in honor of the holiday, Rachel decided to make an exception.

— Okay. Tell me what you want.

Viscount Fernandez, who had already retreated to the middle of the hall, froze in amazement when Camille didn\'t follow him. And, moreover, she even dared to ask the queen for something. But it was too late to interfere now.

The young noblewoman declared nonchalantly:

— Your Majesty, I beg you to give me a job at the Imperial Palace!

At this point Rachel was involuntarily surprised.

— What…?

The last thing she had expected were these words. Not everyone had the opportunity to ask the queen for something. But instead of a material reward, Camilla Fernandez suddenly chose this. Can you really call a job a «reward»?

— A job? What do you need it for?

Rachel frowned, trying to understand the girl\'s true motives.

But her expression didn\'t waver a bit.

— I want to be useful to Her Majesty.

— Hmm? Why should I?

— I… I believe you do a great deal for our country. And I would welcome the opportunity to lighten your burden a little.

— …

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

— And how can you be «useful» to me? — she inquired.

Camilla hesitated.

— If Your Majesty doesn\'t mind… I\'d like to be your private secretary.