🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 28~
That’s Nonsense
Regina tilted her head and looked at the first page of the documents.
“A list of the palace’s property?”
“For now, it’s just what’s in the emperor’s and empress’s palaces.”
She could see that Conrad wanted her to fully take back her rights as empress, so she nodded.
“And the rest?”
The palace was large and there were many areas to manage. There were also other royal family members besides Conrad, but there was no property list for them.
Limitan hesitated for a moment, then answered,
“The Grand Empress hasn’t handed those over yet.”
“Hmm.”
Regina’s slender, pale fingers tapped the desk, making a soft, steady sound. Her fingers looked beautiful but also cold.
If she made a magic sign with those hands, she could wipe out even a troll.
“Limitan.”
Limitan had been staring at her fingers and missed her call at first.
When he finally looked up and met Regina’s eyes, he blinked.
“I called you, but you didn’t hear.”
“S-sorry.”
He needed to stay alert. Ever since seeing Regina’s amazing magic, Limitan had a new attitude toward her.
He wasn’t someone who trusted others easily, but he always respected those with real power—especially as a knight of Fredericks, where strength is admired.
“It seems the Grand Empress isn’t ready to give up control yet.”
“I expected that too.”
But Regina was still the real empress.
No matter how long Chloe (the Grand Empress) had managed the palace money, in the end, she would have to give it to Regina.
‘There can’t possibly be a special law that allows the Grand Empress to act for the living empress, right?’
Fredericks’ laws could be different from Permang’s, so Regina needed to be careful.
If she made a move without being ready, she could be caught off guard.
Remembering how easily Chloe had sent her own people into the empress’s palace, Regina gave Limitan an order.
“Bring me all the documents about the royal power structure and related laws.”
“All of them?”
“Yes, all of them.”
She would check everything first before making her next move.
After the Council Meeting
When the council meeting ended, Conrad called in the Madeline baron family’s servants.
They had been waiting anxiously outside since they couldn’t join the meeting. As soon as the emperor called, they hurried in.
Nobles leaving the meeting noticed their crest and whispered:
“Why are people from the Madeline barony here?”
“It’s obvious. Now that His Majesty submitted the marriage contract with the empress, it’s time to keep their family under control.”
“But the Madeline family has no elders!”
“That’s exactly why! If he doesn’t, the servants might act out.”
Now that Regina had come to the palace, the nobles paid much more attention to the Madeline family—a house they hadn’t cared about before.
If there had been any relatives with royal blood, the nobles would have tried to get close to them immediately. But there were no such people.
“Did you find any distant relatives?”
“Not at all. We sent someone near their land and he barely made it back alive.”
“Is it really that dangerous?”
“No, it’s just so remote. Outsiders get lost unless they’re locals.”
The Madeline territory was far from the capital. It was so isolated that even if anyone wanted to investigate, they couldn’t.
There weren’t many Fredericks citizens there, so if anyone sent spies, they’d be caught quickly.
“I heard the Madeline house didn’t have many people, but not this few.”
“I couldn’t find anyone connected to them, either.”
The Madeline family had only one direct heir left—Regina. Her parents died young, and she was raised by the servants. She had always been sick as a child and never made her social debut.
“But wasn’t her ancestor a mage?”
“That’s why they say she can use magic…”
“I heard she shot fire into the sky recently.”
“Wow, then we should welcome her. Mages have almost disappeared from our empire.”
“That must be why the emperor married her right away.”
“That’s probably why the servants were called in.”
The nobles discussed the new situation, each thinking about what it could mean.
Regina was the first mage empress in Fredericks.
If she had the emperor’s support, maybe she could finally push the Grand Empress out of power.
Two servants, who were actually spies from Permang and served the Madeline family, listened carefully.
“Your Majesty, the servants of the Madeline barony are here.”
“Let them in.”
With permission, the two servants stopped listening and entered the audience room, nervous.
One of them, Shiren, was especially tense.
‘Why is our lady doing this?’
Regina could have been an empress in her own country. Why was she here?
At first, Shiren had been too shocked to respond, but after thinking about it back at the baron’s mansion, she still couldn’t accept it.
‘This is nonsense. A marriage contract?’
She and Theodore had discussed it for hours, but nothing changed.
If only Martan was here, maybe things would be different…
But after losing contact with Permang, Martan went to the border to find a way back.
‘I wanted to leave Madeline territory, but not like this!’
Shiren had often complained about being stuck as a spy in that little estate, wanting to see more of the world. But she never wanted to face the enemy emperor.
She walked across the long audience room and met Conrad’s eyes on the high throne.
The jeweled throne was dazzling, but when Shiren saw Conrad, only his cold blue eyes seemed to shine—like a wild beast ready to strike.
‘This isn’t right, my lady.’
Shiren bowed elegantly.
“I greet the empire’s greatest sword.”
Theodore also bowed, and Conrad spoke slowly.
“Rise.”
Shiren glanced at Theodore, glad he looked calm.
But it didn’t last.
“I heard there’s another servant who supports Madeline. Where is he?”
Shiren almost lost her composure.
‘Has he already investigated us? Is our network exposed?’
Cold sweat ran down her back, but she tried to stay calm.
“When our lady went missing, he left to search for her.”
“I see.”
When Shiren didn’t answer, Theodore stepped in.
“He should return soon.”
“Hmm. I wanted all three of you here… Maybe I’ll call everyone back when the last one returns.”
Shiren clenched her fists at Conrad’s determination to gather all three.
If the emperor focused on the Madeline family, other nobles would start watching them too. And if anyone found out that Shiren, Theodore, or Martan were mages hiding in such a small, remote place, it would be a disaster.
