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Chapter : 24
“So?”
“His Grace the Duke and the families supporting him believe that Her Majesty the Empress must bear an heir. However, the remaining families argue that the imperial faction should bring in a new imperial consort as soon as possible and secure an heir that way.”
“And it seems that the person being mentioned as a candidate for that imperial consort is the young lady of Count Dangel’s family.”
So in the end, that young lady keeps coming up.
“Which side is Luciano on?”
“They say His Highness the Grand Duke believes it’s inappropriate for someone of imperial blood like himself to involve himself in such matters, so he did not express an opinion.”
Given Luciano’s personality, that was entirely possible.
Though he belonged to the imperial faction, he was a man with firm convictions—strong enough to speak against his own faction if their views conflicted with his beliefs.
“So you’re saying there’s a plan?”
“I’m not sure. But they say the matter will come up at the upcoming nobles’ assembly.”
“I see. Then something new will come out at that time. We’ll have to wait until then.”
I spoke calmly, but my heart was pounding.
If a new imperial consort were appointed, the influence of the ducal house and Lysianthus would no longer be what it once was. And the day that consort bore an heir would mark the beginning of a split within the imperial faction.
Those who supported the ducal house, and those who supported the new imperial consort and her family.
“It seems I’ll have to meet the young lady of the Dangel family. Bring me some letter paper. I need to send her a letter.”
“Yes, my lady.”
I wrote a letter to the young lady of the Dangel family on the paper Dalia brought and sent it off.
“Why do you wish to meet the young lady of Dangel?”
After sending the letter, Dalia approached quietly and asked.
“I must meet her. At the very least, I need to know whether she harbors ambitions of becoming the imperial consort or not.”
Dalia bowed her head at my words.
“Understood, my lady.”
The next day, a reply arrived from the young lady of Dangel.
It was an affirmative response.
“Tomorrow, I will visit the Dangel count’s estate. Make the preparations.”
“Yes, my lady.”
The following day, I headed to the Dangel count’s residence.
The moment the gates opened, I saw the young lady of Dangel.
“I greet Your Highness, the Grand Duchess.”
“It’s been a while, Lady Alise Dangel.”
I greeted her with a smile.
However, it seemed as though she already knew why I had come.
She avoided my gaze, after all.
“Please come inside, Your Highness.”
She and I drank tea in the indoor garden.
“I believe you know better than I why I’ve come.”
“I… I have absolutely no intention of becoming the imperial consort!”
The young lady spoke to me with tears in her eyes.
“There’s no need to cry…”
I was flustered. I had never intended to make her cry.
I only wanted to understand her thoughts.
“I know my father intends to make me the imperial consort. But I absolutely do not wish to bear an heir in place of Her Majesty the Empress. And everyone knows that His Majesty the Emperor dotes on Her Majesty the Empress. I don’t want to become an imperial consort and drive a wedge between them.”
Her eyes brimmed with sincerity.
Of course, in high society, sincerity was something one could hide if one wished—but she made no attempt to do so.
She must be trying to let me know she’s on our side.
I smiled once more.
“I understand your sincerity very well. I’ll meet with the Count and speak to him properly.”
“My father plans to bring up my appointment as imperial consort at tomorrow’s nobles’ assembly. When that happens, the imperial faction will begin to fracture.”
When I first met her, I thought she was merely a pure and innocent young lady. But now that I looked again, she seemed quite sharp.
She could be useful if kept close.
“I understand. Trust only me, my lady.”
After saying that to the young lady of Dangel, I returned to the grand ducal residence.
“Is Luciano in his office right now?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Then I should go to his office.”
I went straight to Luciano.
I knocked on the door to his office to announce my presence.
“It’s me, Luciano.”
“Come in, my lady.”
Luciano welcomed me, having paused his work.
“What brings you here?”
“There’s something I’d like to discuss.”
“Please, sit down.”
We sat facing each other.
“What matter is so important that you’ve come all the way to my office?”
“I heard there’s a nobles’ assembly tomorrow.”
“That’s correct.”
“That’s why I came to ask. I hear that some members of the imperial faction plan to bring up the appointment of an imperial consort. Is that true?”
“How did you find out…?”
“So you knew.”
Of course he would.
Luciano, along with Duke Seledina, was the focal point and leader of the imperial faction. It wouldn’t have been difficult for him to learn something like this.
“Yes. Some families have been plotting this for quite some time. You must have also heard that Lady Dangel is being mentioned as a candidate.”
By “then,” he seemed to be referring to when I heard about it from Khalid.
“I met Lady Dangel today. She said she has no intention of becoming the imperial consort.”
“Do you trust people’s words?”
“I trust sincerity. Her words were sincere.”
“So what do you want?”
“Is there a way to stop this?”
“We must persuade Count Dangel. However, he is a man with a strong lust for power, so he has no intention of giving up easily.”
“Does Count Dangel have any weaknesses?”
“Yes. As I said, he craves power, and he’s committed quite a few corrupt acts.”
“Then that’s enough. Lend me the ledger of his corruption.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I’ll have to threaten Count Dangel.”
“Threaten him, not persuade him?”
Luciano asked, seemingly doubtful of my approach.
“As you said, someone so driven by ambition and power won’t be swayed by persuasion. If things continue this way, his daughter could become the imperial consort—who would willingly give that up? But because his desire for power is so great, he also won’t be able to give up what he already enjoys. That’s what we must exploit to resolve this matter.”
“If this goes wrong, the imperial faction could split.”
“If Lady Dangel becomes the imperial consort, the imperial faction will split anyway. If both choices are losses, it’s only logical to choose the lesser one.”
After hearing that, Luciano nodded and handed me a ledger.
“This is the ledger detailing Count Dangel’s corruption. Are you sure you can handle this?”
As a member of the imperial faction himself, he must have turned a blind eye to the corruption of Count Dangel’s house. That he handed it over at my request made me deeply grateful.
“Of course. I want to meet Count Dangel this evening, Luciano.”
“I’ll arrange the meeting.”
Luciano set up the appointment, and that evening, Count Dangel visited the grand ducal residence.
“I greet Your Highness, the Grand Duchess.”
“Welcome, Count Dangel.”
“You said you had something to discuss.”
Count Dangel spoke with a strangely arrogant tone.
It seemed he was swollen with the delusion that his daughter would become the imperial consort tomorrow.
“Please, have a seat first.”
Once he sat down, I got straight to the point.
“I know that you intend to bring up the appointment of an imperial consort at tomorrow’s nobles’ assembly.”
Count Dangel nodded without surprise.
“What is it you wish to say?”
His arrogant attitude made me frown inwardly, but I continued without showing it.
“That thing you desire—give it up.”
“You’re telling me to give up my daughter’s chance to become the imperial consort? That’s impossible.”
“I had hoped to persuade you with words, but if this is how it is, then I suppose I’ll have to threaten you.”
I smiled coldly.
At my resolute tone, Count Dangel flinched.
What is this…?
Breaking into a cold sweat, he still tried to sound composed.
“A threat, you say?”
I placed the ledger in front of him.
“Look at this, and your mind may change, Count.”
As he examined the ledger, his face gradually turned pale, and his hands began to tremble.
“H-how did you get this…?”
“Did you really think the grand ducal house wouldn’t have information like this? I’d heard you were ambitious and power-hungry, but I never imagined you’d go this far. No matter how desperate you are for wealth, for a central noble to swindle the common people like this…”
Count Dangel was truly vile.
Though he was a central noble, he had yet to firmly establish his own position. The only way he could make money was by squeezing the blood and sweat out of the poor and powerless.
With deceitful, honeyed words, he lured them in and stole even the little money they didn’t have. His methods were utterly contemptible.
“What is it that you want…?”
“Haven’t I already said it? Give up the position of imperial consort. And one more thing—don’t even think about switching to the nobles’ faction. This ledger will remain secret only as long as you remain loyal to the imperial faction.”
Count Dangel tried to protest with a deathly pale face, but upon seeing my firm expression, he lowered his head as if resigned.
“Yes… I understand, Your Highness.”
If one was going to threaten someone, it was best to leave them no room to breathe and instill true fear.
A halfhearted approach would only invite greater trouble later.
“And His Highness the Grand Duke also said this: never engage in such filthy deeds again. If you do this even once more, no matter how loyal you are to the imperial faction, this ledger will be made public. Remember that well, Count.”
I retrieved the ledger and dismissed him with a smile.
“You may leave now, Count.”
Count Dangel left for his estate without a single word.
By tomorrow, I’ll know whether he understood my threat—or whether he was foolish enough not to abandon his greed.
After the Count left, Luciano came to my office.
“I heard the Count has left, my lady.”
“Yes. We’ll only know tomorrow whether the threat worked.”
“Well done.”
Luciano said to me in a gentle voice.
Count Dangel had not fully trusted Estellin when she said she would persuade him.
Though she appeared confident, there were far too many uncertainties to rely on confidence alone.
He couldn’t even believe she was capable of threatening Count Dangel, given that she had previously refused even tasks entrusted to her.
But true to the rumors of her cleverness and intelligence, she succeeded.
She looked different to him now.
There was a sharp light in her eyes, and he found himself able to trust her confidence.
“I’ll escort you to your bedroom, my lady. Please, let us go.”
Luciano took her hand.
At least a little, he acknowledged it.
That Estellin was no longer merely the woman who deepened his loneliness—but now someone like a ray of light appearing within that loneliness itself.
