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~Chapter 40~
Refusing the Summons?
“What did you say?”
Chloe was furious when she heard that Regina had tied up the servant she’d sent and returned him like a criminal.
Normally, she would’ve thrown things in anger, but this time, she endured it.
There were too many watching eyes now, and she knew—
“The more you show, the more you lose.”
So instead, she just bit her lip hard.
“The Empress said to send her a servant who actually knows proper etiquette…”
The servant who delivered the message trembled and bowed low under Chloe’s icy glare.
“She didn’t like the servant I sent?”
“It’s not that, Your Majesty…”
“Not that? What else could it be?”
Her voice came out low and cold as she bit her lip again. The people around her quickly fell silent.
Everyone knew—if you spoke to Chloe in this mood, you might disappear from the palace without a trace.
The servant reporting lowered his shoulders and stammered.
“She said… that it was far too generous of the Grand Empress to keep a servant who doesn’t even know proper etiquette.”
“I see. And what exactly did my servant do?”
“They say he rushed the Empress, telling her to get up quickly and go to the Grand Empress’s palace.”
Chloe could already picture it perfectly. That arrogant tone—the same kind her servants used on Conrad’s aides and knights.
She knew her own servants often caused trouble, but she’d allowed it.
They weren’t truly her people, so she saw no reason to restrain them.
‘The knights… were the only place I couldn’t reach.’
Chloe’s influence never extended to the knight order. The best she could do was reduce their pay, but she could never win their loyalty.
Her son, Cain, wasn’t a skilled swordsman, and her daughter Stella had no interest in the throne.
She had tried to control the knights, but without anyone stronger than Swordmaster Conrad, it was impossible.
Knights worshiped strength—and for them, there was no one above Conrad.
‘At least, thanks to the Permang Empire’s barrier, I could send that man off to the frontlines…!’
Countless knights had died fighting the monsters beyond the barrier.
Without that, Chloe knew she wouldn’t have been able to take control of the palace at all.
When Conrad was away at war, she could do as she pleased—but now that he was back, she couldn’t send him out again so easily.
If she pushed the newly married Emperor into danger, public opinion would turn against her.
And if Regina started moving freely within the palace, Chloe’s hard-earned influence could start slipping away.
She had to act quickly.
“How dare she refuse my summons?”
Even if Regina wore the crown of Empress, Chloe was still the highest-ranking elder in the imperial family.
Her behavior was already enough to be called disrespectful and improper.
“It seems the Emperor’s beloved Empress can no longer see the Grand Empress at all.”
“T-that can’t be true, Your Majesty the Grand Empress!”
The maids fell to their knees at once. With Chloe’s words, her conflict with Regina was now out in the open.
Fearing Chloe’s wrath, the maids began to insult Regina desperately.
“Perhaps the Empress simply doesn’t know the palace rules, since it’s her first time living here.”
One maid, who had seen Regina’s elegant manners firsthand, still spoke carelessly.
“That’s right. She wasn’t born a high noble, so she wouldn’t know proper behavior.”
The head maid, who’d been waiting for a chance, added her voice smoothly.
“It seems this happened from ignorance, Your Majesty. Please don’t trouble yourself.”
Chloe, finally regaining control of her temper, nodded.
“Still, ignorance is no excuse. She clearly needs to be taught.”
“Of course, if the Grand Empress instructs her, the Empress will have to accept it.”
The head maid added quickly, implying that Regina’s opinion didn’t matter.
Chloe took her time pretending to think, then sighed deeply.
“So this is what happens when an uneducated woman sits on the throne as Empress.”
Her words made her true intentions clear—she planned to use “education” as an excuse to break Regina’s pride.
Normally, an Empress was educated in palace etiquette before her marriage to the Emperor.
Regina had skipped that process, so Chloe now had a perfect excuse to force it upon her.
“Shall I call the elder nobles, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. Do that.”
Chloe muttered to herself,
“If rumors spread that the Empress is acting arrogant, that would be troublesome.”
The head maid answered solemnly,
“We will do anything to ease Your Majesty’s concerns.”
Chloe’s lips curved in a faint, cold smile.
“Then, shouldn’t other nobles also learn of this situation?”
The head maid nodded eagerly.
“Of course.”
“Then how should we proceed?”
“Your Majesty should remain still. This is something we maids can handle.”
“Then I’ll trust you.”
“Leave it to me.”
It wasn’t the first time the head maid had stirred rumors in the palace with her network of maids and servants.
Once she spread the word, the entire palace would know within hours.
But by that same afternoon, her confident smile began to falter.
Two days later.
The nobles gathered for the next meeting, and the new issue caused uproar.
“Knights of the Fredericks Empire being looked down on by servants? Impossible!”
A noble from a knight family shouted in outrage.
“This empire was built on the blood of knights! How could such a thing happen!”
“That’s a big problem, but… the Empress also refused the Grand Empress’s summons…”
Marquis Ludvika tried to bring up the matter between Chloe and Regina, hoping to make it public.
“Is that what matters right now?!”
No one agreed with him. What mattered most was the shocking report—
that palace knights had been disrespected by servants.
“No wonder the knights standing guard around the palace looked so tense lately!”
“You’re right!”
Amid the discussion, the chief attendant of the Emperor’s palace announced loudly:
“His Majesty, the greatest sword of the Empire, enters!”
Wearing his formal conquest uniform, Emperor Conrad stepped into the hall. The nobles immediately stood and bowed.
“Rise.”
Conrad waved a hand and sat on the throne prepared in the council hall. The nobles followed, watching him closely.
“You’ve all read the council’s agenda?”
“Yes, Your Majesty! This cannot be allowed in an empire of knights!”
“That’s right, Your Majesty!”
Hearing their unified outrage, Conrad let out a quiet sigh.
His face was calm, but the heavy expression silenced everyone.
They waited eagerly for his words—
after all, Conrad was both the greatest knight and the commander of all forces.
Would he explode in anger, or pass judgment calmly?
“I’ve confirmed the truth of the reports.”
His tone was flat, without emotion—but that only made everyone pay closer attention.
For a man as protective of the knights as Conrad to sound like this… meant one of two things:
he was either holding back his fury, or had already unleashed it elsewhere.
“We’ve captured several servants and taken their confessions.
This started while I was away from the palace.”
Some nobles already knew of the corruption. But they had kept quiet—because they knew Chloe was behind it.
“The knights who fight at the barrier risk their lives to protect the Empire.
Those who remain here do the same.”
The palace knights rotated in shifts; some guarded the barrier, while others protected the capital.
All of them were members of Conrad’s personal order.
“To insult such people… is something that must never be allowed.”
