They were expecting special guests today, so Bina made it a priority to dress well. When she was almost done, Samantha came in to let her and Lucretius know.

“Your highnesses, the Toruka family has arrived.”

“Thank you. We are ready to leave. Now, your highness…”

When Bina tried to stand up, Lucretius complained quietly.

“But I want to stay here a little longer with you.”

He was enjoying brushing her hair when Samantha came in. He placed the brush down on the table.

They were in Bina’s dressing room and the emperor was the one helping her preparation. The maids were used to this now. Brushing Bina’s hair was one of Lucretius’ favorite hobbies. He had been doing this since Bina was his first wife.

Even though the empress had told him it was not necessary, he refused to give up. Nowadays, Bina was more used to getting ready with her husband’s help than being with her maids.

Lucretius kissed Bina’s shiny hair. A beautiful scent tickled his nose.

“Hmm. My empress is so perfect that even her hair is flawless.”

The younger maids looked envious of Bina, but the experienced maids like Yulia didn’t even seem to notice Lucretius’ ridiculous comments anymore.

Bina grinned. “We are going to be late. We shouldn’t make them wait.”

“Alright.”

Lucretius gestured at Yulia, who moved quickly. Bina was already dressed, and the only thing left was to choose her jewelry. When the maids brought an array of her royal collection, Lucretius looked at them.

“Hmm. None of them are perfect for my empress, but… I guess it can’t be helped. What should we pick?”

Just then, a youthful voice said, “Excuse me, your highness.”

Bina and Lucretius looked at the young girl sitting nearby.

In her lacy green dress, they saw the first princess Beatrice, who just turned five. She had recently perfected the royal etiquette.

Elegantly and confidently, Beatrice continued, “May I choose her highness’ jewelry? If it will please you, sir.”

Her voice still sounded childish, but the way she spoke was similar to that of a stuffy old nobleman.

Bina and Lucretius had been disappointed at how fast Beatrice was growing. They had been hoping that she would remain a kid for a while longer, but Beatrice was insistent on keeping rigid manners even in front of her parents.

They would have preferred her to have a tantrum rather than to ask so properly.

Lucretius replied, “Of course. You can pick one, Beatrice.”

The child bowed deeply. “Thank you, your highness.”

When she tried standing up from the sofa, she failed.

“…”

She was too small, and her feet were dangling in the air. She tried to stretch her legs so she could descend properly, but it was impossible with her short legs. Beatrice puffed her cheeks in frustration but quickly realized that she was acting childishly. She always wanted to appear like a proper princess, but at the end of the day, she was still only five years old.

Bina and Lucretius noticed this and grinned secretly.

Thankfully, Yulia noticed Beatrice’s situation and helped her down. Beatrice walked towards the maid who was holding the tray of the jewelry. The maid was about to lower the tray so Beatrice could look when the emperor quickly walked towards his daughter and lifted her up.

Beatrice’s green eyes widened. “Your highness!”

She sounded sullen, but Lucretius ignored it. Beatrice wanted to be seen as an adult, but her father was ruining it by treating her like a child.

Her cheeks started to puff up again in annoyance when she saw the shiny pieces on the tray.

Lucretius asked, “Now, would you like to pick one?”

“Yes, your highness.”

Beatrice nodded and continued to stare at the pieces in awe. Bina smiled and asked, “Which piece do you think would suit mommy?”

The little girl frowned in contemplation. Lucretius lifted her up higher, so she could have a better look.

He commented, “I’m sure you will choose the best piece that will make your mother look more beautiful.”

Beatrice smiled gently and replied, “But her highness is already the most beautiful woman in the world even without any jewelry.”

“That’s right! You are so smart, Beatrice. You are just like your mother, smart and beautiful.”

The maids laughed gently, and Lucretius nodded in satisfaction. Bina blushed.

Lucretius continued, “Yes, that’s right. Beatrice’s mother is the most beautiful woman in the world. It’s true.”

Bina wanted to disappear in embarrassment.

‘S, stop!’

However, she couldn’t say anything at this point. The maids and the servants were watching, so she couldn’t scold her husband, the emperor. She also didn’t want to make her daughter feel bad.

After studying each piece carefully, Beatrice finally pointed at one.

“I think that will suit her highness the best.”

It was an ear cuff that was the shape of a wing.

“…”

“…”

Both Bina and Lucretius became speechless.

After a few seconds, Lucretius smiled widely and kissed Beatrice’s cheek.

“My princess indeed has a very good taste.”

Beatrice smiled proudly. Lucretius handed his daughter to Yulia and gestured for the maid. She then brought him the ear cuff. He put it on Bina himself.

It was a gift Lucretius gave before their first ball. It shined beautifully on her ear.

The emperor smiled in satisfaction and helped Bina to stand up.

The empress mentioned with a small laugh, “It’s amazing that Beatrice chose this particular piece.”

“I was surprised too. It just proves that this piece suits you very well.”

Lucretius carried Beatrice again. The child looked at her mother and exclaimed, “You are so beautiful!”

Lucretius added, “Beatrice has such good eyes!”

Like father like daughter.

Finally, the family arrived in the garden. It was much later than expected so Bina became worried.

“Oh no, we made our guests wait too long.”

***

It was a nice warm spring morning, so the royal family decided to greet the guests in the garden. The bright red-haired woman first noticed their arrival and stood up to bow.

“Greetings to your highnesses the emperor, the empress, and the princess.”

Bina smiled brightly. “Please stand up, Liliana. You need to rest…”

Liliana smiled prettily and stood up with help from her husband. As Bina suspected, Liliana’s belly had become large. Bina took Liliana’s hand and escorted her to the table.

“So your due date is in about two months? How’s your appetite?”

Instead of Liliana, another girl answered from behind. It was Roselia, now a fourteen-year-old girl.

“Hello, your highness. Her nausea has been worse than when she was pregnant with Cullen. Thankfully, she could eat a little better since about a month ago.”

Bina nodded. “I’m glad to hear, Roselia. I can see that Liliana gained a bit of weight since I last saw her two months ago. I was so worried at the time since she was getting thinner while her belly was getting so big.”

The three women continued to chat cheerfully while they sat down on the chair. Bina looked down at the small child, now four years old, who was grabbing onto Liliana’s dress. Cullen bowed awkwardly.

“Your highness, hello.”

He was an adorable boy with his mother’s red hair. Also, like Liliana, he was very shy.

“Hello, Cullen. You have grown so much since I’ve last seen you.”

Another youthful voice greeted from nearby.

“Long time no see, your highness!”

Bina’s smile got even wider as she saw another red-haired young girl.

“Hello there, Margaret.”

Bina reached out to pat her head gently. Kids grew up so fast. Bina remembered Katleyanira being pregnant with Margaret. It seemed like it was only yesterday, but Margaret was already so big.

The third princess of the former emperor.

Margaret was the youngest of all the former emperor’s children. The three daughters of Katleyanira had higher ranks than any of their stepsisters because when Katleyanira was executed, Lucretius adopted them to keep them safe.

Another reason he did this was that they were useful spares for him. If he and Bina couldn’t have a child of their own, they had to think of who their next heir could be.

Lucretius felt that Liliana could be a safe choice. She was emotionally weak and very soft-hearted, and she always felt like she owed the emperor and the empress for what her mother had done. On top of that, her husband’s family, Toruka, was significantly weakened after Katleyanira’s execution.

If Lucretius didn’t adopt Liliana, then any of his other stepsisters would have had a claim to the throne if and while he was childless. For this reason, he felt that it was best to have Liliana as the first princess in line to the throne after him.

Not to mention, Roselia was engaged to the prince of Genoa, Izid, and it was important for her to keep her royal status.

Bina knew this; Liliana and Clodys understood this situation very well. This was why they maintained a very low profile.

The public often referred to Marquis Toruka as the ‘royal dog,’ but Clodys didn’t mind it at all. In fact, when he heard some people whispering about him, Clodys approached them so he could announce loudly.

“A royal dog? What an amazing compliment! I am flattered that you think my loyalty to the royal family runs deep.”

Those people would become pale and run away. Clodys, of course, didn’t tell the emperor or the empress about this, but it was only a matter of time before the royal spies let the emperor knew.

When Lucretius heard about this, he laughed. “Hahaha. I guess I got a pretty good dog, then.”

If Clodys heard this, he would have laughed too.

Bina couldn’t help but found this dynamic between them as bizarre sight.