🔊 TTS Settings
CHAPTER 94…………
“Eight years ago, I told you to speak up if there was something you wanted, but you said nothing. From now on, I will ask your opinion, but if you have no wishes, I will send gifts as I see fit.”
With that, after declaring he would go see the Emperor, he left the audience chamber.
Left alone, I blinked slowly for a while, wondering what in the world had just happened.
I was still dazed until the Emperor himself rose from his throne and approached me.
He flicked my forehead lightly with his finger and said:
“How long do you plan to stay blank-faced, First Princess?”
“Ah, Your Majesty.”
“The Prince has returned. You must have heard. A banquet will be held in honor of the First Prince.”
“Yes, I heard. That it will be in the Diamond Hall as well.”
“It is time for the Crown Prince’s investiture, after all.”
“Indeed. Will there be anything you would have me do?”
At my words, the Emperor looked at me quietly before replying.
“You’re not particularly unsettled.”
“Me?”
“You only just had your coming-of-age ceremony, and yet another banquet follows. The presence you established might soon fade, yet you seem unbothered, First Princess.”
Cecile had once said something similar to me—how could I remain so calm?
‘If it were me, and all the achievements I had built up during the absence of the rightful heir were about to be taken away and returned to him, my mind would not hold up so well.’
Cecile knew well how much my mother and I had struggled to secure our footing during the six years of Dmitri’s absence.
That was why he never stopped worrying about me.
The Emperor was no different.
Whenever my mother hosted teas or even banquets—whether to build ties with the noblewomen or to gather information for my sake—he never ceased his concern.
So now he cast that same look at me.
At some point, it was I, not Yevgeni, who first caught the Emperor’s gaze.
The heavy guilt he bore for having once turned his back on my mother and me had begun to stir him.
‘Perhaps it is because of Yevgeni too….’
As the difference in affection became clearer, Yevgeni’s growing dissatisfaction with the Emperor was also plain. Realizing that, I smiled faintly.
“Even if he is only my half-brother, he is still family. I am simply glad the First Prince has returned safely. I would not abandon family for the sake of my presence.”
So my answer was a little different from others’.
Another child might have said, “Then please grant me what I want!” or “After the investiture, give me something of my own as well!”
Especially Isabell, I knew, would have answered so. That was why the Emperor frowned at my words.
“How is it you are so without greed?”
“Without greed? I’m more cunning than I seem, Your Majesty.”
I even added a jest, which made him chuckle.
“You really are impossible.”
“I must have taken after Mother, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I see it now.”
The Emperor lightly brushed his hand over my hair and smiled faintly.
I smiled back, and with Dmitri’s face still lingering in my mind, I left the chamber.
When I returned to the Princess’s Palace, I found letters piled on my desk.
Among them were a few from Jeron, and one sealed with the crest of Duke Elliette.
I hesitated, then opened Richard’s letter first.
There was nothing of note inside—just a suggestion that we meet if time allowed.
“A meeting….”
Now that I thought about it, in my previous life I had often met Richard because of engagement matters.
“An engagement….”
…An engagement. Why has His Majesty not recommended a fiancé for me this time, unlike in my previous life?
‘Come to think of it, isn’t that strange?’
Am I not too late already?
Yevgeni may not yet have any marriage talks, but I, having finished my coming-of-age, am in a different position.
Half perplexed, I narrowed my eyes, but just then the communication stone in my pocket vibrated.
I quickly drew it out and accepted the signal. A familiar voice flowed out.
[It is Jeron, Your Highness. Do you have a moment?]
“Viscount? Why call so suddenly….”
[Have you read the letter I sent?]
“No, I was just about to.”
[Ah, then it may be faster if I explain directly.]
Jeron’s voice, unusually low, made me frown in concern.
“Has something happened?”
[Not exactly… More that I’ve obtained what you might call big information.]
“Big information? Did you perhaps succeed in uncovering something about the Empress?”
My face brightened as I asked.
Ever since Jeron revealed his true identity, our relationship had been practically contractual.
But even with the Alea Guild’s reputation, the information he had managed to bring me so far was frustratingly scant.
Or rather—it wasn’t poor, but it was as if all records of the Empress had been deliberately erased.
Like someone had purposefully scrubbed her history clean.
To restore what was erased was like finding a needle in a desert, and Jeron had lately been crestfallen, ashamed to meet my eyes.
‘But now he’s found something!’
I waited eagerly for his next words.
After clearing his throat, Jeron spoke slowly.
[Regarding the Empress… before she met His Majesty the Emperor, could she perhaps have had another lover?]
“A… lover…?”
I shook my head firmly.
“I have never heard such a thing. Before becoming Crown Princess, the Empress was already positioning herself as Lady Dolores of House Alpe, destined to be Empress. She would not have risked such a scandal at a crucial time.”
[…]
Jeron hesitated, as if weighing his thoughts.
[But Your Highness, no matter how power-hungry one might be, could there not have been a time when she looked elsewhere?]
“Well… no, I suppose in that case she might indeed have been distracted. If you’ve discovered something, please tell me properly, Viscount Idrea.”
[I believe I may have uncovered a new weakness of the Empress. However, the details remain unclear, and I cannot yet say with certainty. I thought perhaps Your Highness might know something.]
“What exactly have you learned?”
To my question, Jeron replied:
[Do you know a man called Hermo Dvich?]
“Hermo… Dvich…?”
Who in the world…?
After ending the call with Jeron, I quickly burned his letter.
Then I went straight to my mother’s palace.
Surprised at my sudden visit, she hurried out from her chambers and embraced me.
Flustered by the unexpected hug, I called out to her.
“Mother?”
“What’s happened? To come without a word like this… Did the First Prince say something to you? Did he tell you to keep silent and stay out of politics?”
So she already knew I had gone to see Dmitri in the Emperor’s Palace. My mother’s pale face anxiously searched mine.
She looked ready to faint, so I quickly shook my head.
“The First Prince would never say such a thing to me.”
“He didn’t treat you badly, then?”
“No.”
“Then I’m relieved… I feared you had been hurt by his words….”
My mother sighed in relief and gave a faint smile.
Then she led me inside, instructing Lina to bring refreshments.
“My dear came to visit. How could I let you leave without a cup of tea? If you’re not too busy, will you join me for one?”
“I’d like that. I also have something to ask you, Mother.”
“Ask me anything.”
“Let’s go somewhere private.”
She studied me a moment, then, sensing my intent, guided me to the drawing room instead of the garden.
Once seated, the maids brought in the tea and confections, then withdrew. We waited in silence until their footsteps faded completely.
It was my mother who spoke first, setting down her teacup.
“What is it my child wishes to know?”
“…I want to ask about your days as Lady of Count Epsilard, before you became Second Consort.”
“My days as Lady Epsilard?”
She tilted her head.
“You were not one to frequent the social world much, I know. But I can think of no one else I can ask.”
“If it’s the society of that time… Marchioness Eolin would know better than I.”
“It is not something I can ask lightly.”
“Then it is about someone. Who?”
“Well….”
“Speak freely.”
She pressed a cookie into my hand, smiling kindly.
Buoyed by her warmth, I spoke clearly.
“Your Majesty, I mean… could Empress Dolores have had rumors of a liaison before she became Crown Princess?”
“Her… a scandal? Hm… I’ve never heard such a thing.”
“Then do you know of a man named Hermo Dvich?”
“Hm….”
She furrowed her brow, thinking hard, but finally shook her head.
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard that name. Is he a noble?”
“No… I don’t think so….”
Jeron had said that before becoming Crown Princess, the Empress had secretly met a man by that name. But his exact identity was unclear—likely a pseudonym.
Disappointed, I must have let it show, for Mother frowned and rubbed her chin.
“Now that you say it… it does sound vaguely familiar….”
“Where?”
“I can’t quite recall… It’s been more than twenty years. But the name Dvich I have never heard. If I had to guess, he is no noble. In those days I knew the peerage well enough. If he is not in my memory, he must have been a minor son of some obscure line, or a country gentleman from the hinterlands.”
“I see.”
“But why him? Does he have some link to the Empress?”
At her question, I smiled faintly.
“Nothing certain yet. It may be nothing important, especially if even you don’t know of him.”
“Perhaps. But… wouldn’t it be amusing to probe her on it?”
“What?”
I stared in disbelief. Amusing? What was she saying?
‘Wasn’t she always so gentle…?’
Perhaps my own change had stirred a change in her as well.
Mother smiled slyly.
“Such things are best asked directly, don’t you think? The more one has to lose, the more vulnerable they are to unexpected attacks.”
“You… have a plan?”
“Oh, I have a way. But the place is a bit tricky….”
A place?
‘Ah… don’t tell me…’
The only time the Empress and Consort meet face to face—apart from banquets?
And now, with Dmitri’s victories and the Crown Prince’s investiture ahead…
She meant to test the Empress on the day of the investiture.
My relief quickly turned to alarm.
“No, absolutely not. Mother, it could be dangerous for you. Better that I—”
But she cut me off firmly.
“I do not mean to strike directly. I know best how to guard myself at such times.”
“Then how exactly will you provoke her…?”
She only smiled ruefully.
“Do you think your mother so weak she cannot even protect her own child? A mother protects her daughter—that is natural. Do you not think I am still strong enough?”
“But…”
“Until my life ends, I will protect you, Liri.”
“….”
“No one knows better than I how hard you have fought alone. All you need do now is wait for your due reward.”
“Yes….”
Her eyes shone with determination as she lifted her teacup again.
She may have seemed gentle, but when it came to me, she was unyielding.
‘I cannot say I am not worried….’
Yet hearing her so openly take my side eased my heart, loosening my tension.
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them.
“You mean to use someone, don’t you?”
“Oh? How did you guess?”
“I am your daughter, Mother. With no connections, we had to fill the gap somehow, did we not?”
I smiled softly.
“I should meet Marchioness Eolin.”
