Special Side Story, Chapter 2

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“A surprise birthday party?”

“Yes. If you can’t win with quantity, you should aim for heartfelt impact.”

Truth be told, the Empress had always been delighted with simple letters, clumsily drawn pictures, or slightly lopsided cakes.

To be more precise, those gifts themselves already relied on emotional impact…

But for now, let’s just focus on calming the princess down!

That was all the maid had in mind when she suggested it.

“Great!”

Dahlia’s crimson eyes flared up with excitement.

The maid instinctively tensed up.

Wait, what?

Wait, wait, what?!

Every time the princess had made that kind of face before,

the maids always ended up running around in a panic to clean up the aftermath.

Did I just make a mistake?

The maid briefly worried she had said something wrong.

Oh well, it’ll be fine.

She tried to reassure herself with optimism.

Meanwhile, Dahlia hopped off the floor with a springy leap.

She looked ready to dash out of the room at any moment.

Startled, the maid quickly asked her,

“Y-Your Highness, where are you planning to go?”

“To see Grandmama!”

With that, Dahlia bolted out of the princess’s palace without a second thought.

The maid, left behind and staring blankly after her, tried to calm herself once again.

It’s fine. At least the princess has her energy back, right?

At that time, the maid had no idea.

She couldn’t have imagined the ripple effect her offhand suggestion was about to create.

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Dahlia sprinted straight into the Dowager Empress’s residence.

“Grandmamaaaaaaa!”

“Oh my, Dahlia, you’re here,”

The Dowager Empress, who had been admiring the fully bloomed flowers in the garden, turned to look at her great-granddaughter with a warm smile.

“Well now, what brings you here today?”

“Well…”

Dahlia fidgeted with her fingers for a moment.

Then, her eyes sparkled brightly as she exclaimed,

“Can I borrow the annex of the Dowager Empress’s palace?”

“…What?”

What on earth was she talking about all of a sudden?

The Dowager Empress stared blankly at her great-granddaughter, clearly bewildered.

Dahlia clenched her tiny fists tightly and continued.

“So, you see…!”

After patiently listening to Dahlia’s explanation, the Dowager Empress finally understood why she had made such a sudden request.

“So, Dahlia, what you’re saying is that you want to throw a surprise birthday party for the Empress without her knowing.”

“Yes!”

“And to do that, you need to keep it out of the Empress’s sight, and I’m the only one who could lend you a location without her finding out. Is that it?”

“That’s right!”

Dahlia nodded fervently.

The sight of her, so utterly adorable, could melt anyone’s heart. The Dowager Empress chuckled softly.

“Well, I suppose lending you a venue isn’t too difficult.”

“Wow, really?!”

“Would I lie about something like that? However…”

Fixing her great-granddaughter with a playful gaze, the Dowager Empress asked,

“Where do you plan to get the budget to decorate the banquet hall?”

Gasp.

Caught off guard, Dahlia froze stiff.

Indeed, it was true.

Decorating a banquet hall and preparing food would require a considerable budget.

Moreover, the Empress controlled all of the palace’s finances.

Even if Dahlia secured the location, it would still cost a fortune to properly decorate the hall.

“Why not ask Diamide?”

The Dowager Empress subtly tested her great-granddaughter.

After all, Diamide was the Emperor and technically held even greater authority than Empress Charlize.

But—

“No way.”

Dahlia shook her head firmly.

“Father is a little…”

Trailing off, Dahlia shrugged her shoulders confidently.

“…lacking when it comes to Mother.”

“……”

The Dowager Empress remained silent.

Truthfully, the fact that Dahlia didn’t outright say “He gets stupid around her” was enough to show she was still trying to be respectful toward her father.

Dahlia continued in a tone that held absolutely no faith in him.

“If Mother so much as nudged him in the ribs, Father would spill everything he knows.”

“……”

The Dowager Empress couldn’t bring herself to refute her great-granddaughter’s blunt remarks.

At the same time, Dahlia clasped her hands together and bowed deeply.

“Thank you so much for letting me use the guest palace. It’s been a huge help.”

Indeed, Dahlia was a very polite child—at least toward adults, as long as they weren’t named Diamide!

But with the way she seemed ready to dash off at any moment, the Dowager Empress cautiously asked her,

“Where are you planning to go now?”

“Oh, me?”

Dahlia flashed a bright, mischievous smile.

“I’m going to visit Aunt Rose.”

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About 30 minutes later

The Rochester Duke’s townhouse.

“Oh! Princess Dahlia, you’re here?”

“…”

Dahlia turned toward the boy who greeted her, making no attempt to hide her indifferent expression.

With soft wheat-colored hair and the signature emerald-green eyes of the Rochester family, he was Dahlia’s childhood friend, Joshua von Rochester.

Honestly, Dahlia found him incredibly bothersome, but she couldn’t bring herself to outright ignore his warm greeting—it would’ve pricked at her conscience.

“Hello, Joshua.”

Dahlia offered a halfhearted reply.

By Dahlia’s standards, Joshua was…

“Too gentle and kind to bully outright like Father, but annoyingly clingy and constantly following me around.”

She often wondered, “How on earth did someone like him come from Duke and Duchess Rochester?”

It was a mystery of the century.

Both Duke and Duchess Rochester were far from gentle—especially the Duke, who always seemed like he was on the verge of trying to kill her father.

“The Emperor has no human rights in my presence.”

That was practically Duke Rochester’s catchphrase.

“You cannot leave this office until you finish reviewing these documents.”

Dahlia could still vividly recall the Duke’s piercing gaze as he relentlessly hounded her father.

Well, her father kind of deserved it…

“Charlize, you wouldn’t believe what Duke Rochester did again today…”

The way her father clung to her mother and whined about his struggles was so pathetic.

“Come on, I’m your only daughter. Can’t you at least pretend to have some dignity when I’m around?”

“Ugh.”

Dahlia inwardly groaned at the memory.

Meanwhile, Joshua’s face lit up like the sun, as if her simple greeting was the best thing that had happened to him all day.

“Yes! What brings you to our townhouse today, Princess?”

“What? You don’t want me here?”

Feeling mischievous, Dahlia shot back at him with a pout.

Joshua’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit, and he shook his head furiously.

“No, of course not!”

“Then what?”

“Well…”

Scratching his cheek shyly, Joshua broke into a bashful smile.

“It’s just… it’s been so long since we’ve seen you here at the townhouse. I’m happy, that’s all.”

“…”

For a moment, Dahlia felt another pang of guilt.

Teasing such a sweet boy felt a little wrong, didn’t it?

Alright, fine. Let’s stop messing with him.

Just then, a clear, elegant voice called out to her.

“Dahlia, is that you?”

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Lhaozi’s Note: Read This in Shanghai Fantasy only!!