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Chapter 52
After the attendants left, Ranellica slowly rose from her seat.
Conscious of the tense maids pressed against the wall, she walked slowly and picked up the newspaper.
“Verbium Newspaper.”
It was the newspaper of the Indigentia Grand Ducal House, which had finally made its way to the capital recently.
In truth, Ranellica had been working behind the scenes to prevent this newspaper from entering the capital. Her argument was that citizens of the capital had no need to know provincial news.
For a time, the emperor had actually agreed with Ranellica’s stance.
However, recently, for some reason, he allowed the Verbium Newspaper to establish its building, rapidly increasing its influence.
As a result, every morning, the Verbium Newspaper would arrive at Ranellica’s bedroom.
Ranellica’s violet eyes scanned the pages for a particular article.
The main article featured a smiling photo of Cedric and Elia.
“If this continues, they’ll become even more famous.”
Ranellica anxiously tapped the table with her hand clad in gauntlets.
The sound of metal against wood rang out: tap, tap, tap, steady and rhythmic.
“They’re already famous enough… if they become any more renowned…”
Quietly, she clenched her teeth.
She couldn’t look away from Cedric in the photograph.
He stared at the bride in her wedding dress with a calm expression—a sight utterly unfamiliar to her.
In Ranellica’s memory, Cedric was always emotionless and aloof.
Even though it was a tournament, she recalled how boldly he had shattered the emperor’s staff without a trace of fear.
“That moment still remains vivid in my mind.”
Her purple eyes darkened for a moment as she recalled the past.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion shook the area, sending a sandstorm swirling as if a curtain had been drawn around them.
The mages rushed to protect the royal family, yet even the barrier created by the imperial mages began to crack under the sheer force of the storm.
Through the pale smoke, a solitary figure stood tall.
Cedric Kediselle Indigentia.
He stood perfectly composed, wielding a massive Dolmen in the storm, looking down at the emperor.
In that moment, Ranellica’s heart raced. She had married under the emperor’s coercion.
“…”
Cedric had broken the emperor’s staff, said nothing, and casually swept back his black hair.
His indifferent blue eyes remained wary, lips pressed firmly, his presence exuding undeniable charm.
There was nothing about him that wasn’t captivating.
It was then that Ranellica realized a human man could be that alluring.
After all, how could one not be drawn to someone who had easily defeated an eternal rival they could never hope to best?
Since then, whenever she thought of Cedric, her pulse would sometimes skip like an arrhythmia.
Placing her hand lightly over her chest, Ranellica turned to read the newspaper.
Behind the first-page article boasting about the grand wedding was a rather curious headline:
“Honeymoon… Cancelled?”
Ranellica’s violet eyes read the black text on the gray paper as if hypnotized.
[Last May, Cedric Kediselle Indigentia and Elia Indigentia held a happy and magnificent wedding. Today, they have announced the complete cancellation of their honeymoon. …Is it because the path to the Sanctuary of Knowledge is closed, or due to a worsening curse received on behalf of Prince Renoa? The cause is uncertain…]
“Hah.”
A cold, ironic smile appeared on Ranellica’s lips.
It was an all-too-transparent scheme.
“A curse received on behalf of Prince Renoa?”
That wasn’t really on behalf of anyone.
“It just backfired by chance.”
By phrasing it this way, the newspaper seemed intent on stirring public opinion against the imperial family for arbitrarily blocking the path.
The wedding had indeed been lavish. Many had been jealous, yet they had admired and blessed the couple.
Yet, the ending was that they couldn’t even take a honeymoon.
“Commoners, for whom a honeymoon is the only trip in their lives, would be furious.”
Ranellica brought her hand to her mouth out of habit to bite her nails, then steadied herself by clenching her gauntlets.
She didn’t know when she’d ever break that damned habit.
Ranellica had to think strategically.
Since she, the empress, had directly ruined the wedding, rumors of the Indigentia family being at odds with the imperial family would grow.
Her plan was indeed to weaken Indigentia’s power in the noble society.
“But if that happens, nobles might cling to Indigentia, backed by the commoners’ opinion.”
Recently, the number of wealthy commoners had increased.
And many of them were commoners.
In short, the era had come where not all nobles were wealthy, and not all commoners were poor.
“There’s no guarantee that nobles won’t curry favor with Indigentia, mindful of the commoners.”
Even if weak, if nobles moved, the attention of powerful houses would shift.
“Then, I’ll have no choice but to reopen the path to the Sanctuary of Knowledge under their pressure.”
It was true that a troublemaker had infiltrated; the person had been an attendant of the empress.
But she couldn’t use that as an excuse to keep the path blocked forever.
“I need another plan first.”
In truth, blocking the path had been only a temporary measure.
Ranellica had never intended to let Cedric enter the Sanctuary of Knowledge.
“Opening the path must be solely under my authority.”
That way, Cedric would come to her.
Her mind kept replaying Cedric’s image right after he had broken the emperor’s staff.
Slowly lowering the newspaper onto the table, Ranellica thought:
“Even if Indigentia owes me a great debt, is it really more precious than my life?”
No matter how powerful, the grand ducal house was still a noble family of the empire.
With the empress obstructing him, who could save Cedric, who was neither a duke nor a duke’s son?
Cedric would soon realize:
“The only way I survive is through her.”
A sinister smile curved Ranellica’s lips.
She dreamed sweetly:
Cedric kneeling before her, kissing the top of her foot in loyalty.
Cedric, who had stood upright before the emperor, collapsing and clinging to her.
Cedric, willing to overthrow the emperor for her and offer himself completely.
“I’ll make him act like a little bird in my hands.”
She would show him pity, accompany him to the Sanctuary of Knowledge, and make sure he found the way to break the curse entirely through her help.
“Then I become his lifesaving benefactor.”
“He’s already given up the ducal succession, essentially just a regular member.”
Wouldn’t being the empress’ mistress be far better?
A benefactor, the only savior.
Ranellica could elevate Cedric from a mere family member to the empress’ personal consort—like a Cinderella story.
“Yes. Cedric shouldn’t have some commoner woman by his side, it should be me, it has to be me.”
Her smile, as she toyed with her gauntlets, was chilling.
At the same time,
The emperor, Cereus, sat in his quarters lost in thought.
The reason Cereus allowed the Verbium Newspaper into the capital was simple: to check the empress, Ranellica.
Since the imperial newspaper had monopolized the press, the revenue filled both the treasury and Ranellica’s pocket.
“I don’t mind her taking from the back pocket, but wealth always brings power.”
He couldn’t let the empress grow her independent influence.
Earlier, he had heard that Ranellica had received the Verbium Newspaper today as well.
“Hmph… despite her efforts to keep them out, she reads it quite well.”
The Imperial Newspaper and Verbium Newspaper were, in a broad sense, rivals.
“It’s odd that she’s monitoring the competitor’s moves so closely.”
Ranellica claimed she only read the parts about the Indigentia Grand Ducal House before discarding the paper.
Cereus leaned on the armrest, lying slightly askew, resting his chin on his hand.
“This morning’s article is about the honeymoon being canceled.”
Why did Ranellica show such intense interest in Indigentia?
Cereus was irritated that there were things about Ranellica he didn’t know.
He usually had to know everything about her down to the smallest detail.
He felt a mild headache and frowned.
“Am I missing something?”
Sunlight streamed in peacefully, glinting off her long blonde hair down to her waist.
Cereus decided to trace everything from the beginning.
The current emperor, Cereus, was not the legitimate heir.
His father was emperor, but his mother had been nothing more than a maid in the royal chambers.
Her beauty had elevated her to the position of mistress.
She could never be empress, and her last wish had been:
“Please become emperor.”
To fulfill that wish, she had been gravely wounded in a struggle for the throne’s succession.
His brothers had pursued him to end him, and in his desperate escape, he had fallen from a cliff.
It was Ranellica who had tended to him.
“Silver hair like clear moonlight, violet eyes like amethyst…”
In the flickering firelight, her enchanting presence completely captivated him.
Yet Ranellica rarely opened her heart, revealing neither her residence nor her family.
It didn’t take long for him to realize the reason: she was of royal blood.
Indeed, Ranellica was a fairy endangered by the Ifrisent Imperial Family.
