Chapter 11
If only he still had his memories intact, he could have been certain.
Acel was aware that he had forgotten something, and because of that, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that something had happened between him and Laura — something he might have to take responsibility for.
“I’ll just watch for now.”
She had denied it flatly, but since the other party was Laura, even that denial couldn’t be trusted.
“If that child really is mine…”
He could never leave the child in Laura’s care as she was now.
A crumbling temple — that was no environment for raising a child.
Acel thought that regardless of his feelings toward Laura, he should at least take responsibility for the child. The child was innocent, after all.
Of course, that only applied if it turned out the child truly shared his blood.
“This isn’t the right time for a paternity test.”
On top of running the empire in place of his comatose father, Acel still had several urgent matters to deal with.
One of those was the return of Princess Louise, who had married into the neighboring Kingdom of Mortum.
“Her return itself isn’t the problem.”
What bothered him was that her brother, the Grand Duke — his uncle — could use that as an excuse to enter the capital.
And there was a reason the Grand Duke hadn’t been allowed into the capital until now.
According to the imperial succession law, royals who could not inherit the throne were required to leave the capital.
That law had been born from centuries of bloody conflicts over succession.
But royals were still human. The rivals in those struggles had always been brothers and sisters. Thus, emperors of the past had not been without mercy.
Acel’s father was no exception.
They added an amendment: if there was a “just cause,” non-heir royals could enter the capital again.
Of course, what counted as a “just cause” changed with every emperor.
And now, with the emperor lying unconscious, the Grand Duke was coming to the capital under the pretext of visiting his sister.
No — he was already on his way. Reports had confirmed the Grand Duke’s movements.
“And I can’t stop him.”
With the Empress recently deposed and the empire still unstable, Acel was working to absorb the neutral faction — those who had not yet sided with either of the two main political blocs.
It would not be easy. After all, why were they called the neutral faction? Because they stayed quiet and avoided risk.
They did not involve themselves in political battles over the throne — but they also didn’t care about the rewards such risks could bring.
Cautious and reserved — or, to put it less kindly, fearful.
To win them over, Acel couldn’t afford to act rashly or emotionally.
He had to prove that he was a reasonable man, a future ruler capable of fairness even beyond his own faction.
Drawing a sword against the Grand Duke without any clear justification would be political suicide.
But leaving him unchecked?
Absolutely not.
The Grand Duke’s hands were far from clean.
When the Emperor had first fallen ill and slipped into a coma, several attendants and knights in the palace had vanished — all of them people who were either directly or indirectly tied to the Grand Duke.
It was reasonable to suspect that he had used them for some dirty work and then silenced them.
“In times like these, it’s better to use someone whose background is already well understood — like Laura — than to bring in a complete unknown. Fewer variables.”
Besides, Laura at least understood what was expected of a crown princess. She had experience.
Even so, he still couldn’t fully trust her. There was always the possibility she was scheming something.
But Acel was not the sort to make decisions alone. He was the kind of ruler who discussed his concerns openly with his closest advisors.
And the easiest one to talk to was his longtime escort knight, Angel.
“What? That woman?”
Angel’s face twisted in disgust the moment he heard Laura’s name.
But as Acel explained his reasoning, Angel’s expression grew more thoughtful, and in the end, he nodded several times.
“In that case, how about asking Pell for his opinion?”
Pell was Acel’s aide and the man responsible for most of the administrative work — a classic bureaucrat.
“Since he doesn’t hold personal biases, he’ll probably give you an objective answer.”
Indeed, Pell had zero interest in society gossip or rumors.
His sole focus was efficiency — and work.
He judged people on two criteria only: competent or incompetent. Nothing else mattered.
Thinking that made sense, Acel went to ask Pell directly.
“Immediate hire. I value excellent talent. Very capable.”
Pell’s response was instant.
He had already made up his mind after reviewing the documents Laura had left behind in the palace.
“I understand what you’re saying,” Angel grumbled, “but could you at least use a full sentence when you’re talking to His Highness? What kind of tone is that?”
“I prioritize efficiency. Context clear.”
“Be inefficient for once in your life! Is speaking like a normal person really that hard?”
“You are inefficient. Waste of time.”
“Grrr!”
Angel lunged and grabbed Pell by the collar.
“Obstruction of view,” Pell muttered, unfazed.
Nothing could shake a man consumed by efficiency. It was simply impossible for normal people to deal with him.
Acel ignored their bickering — he knew it was just a clash of personalities. When it came to work, the two respected each other’s domains.
“What about Princess Marienne?” Acel asked.
“Waste of paper. Unqualified. Below expectations.”
Pell replied instantly again, placing Marienne’s report beside Laura’s so they wouldn’t overlap.
Technically, he shouldn’t have been able to evaluate Marienne — she was from another kingdom.
But he could, because she had submitted paperwork upon entering the Empire.
Officially, her visit was to sign a customs integration treaty between the Empire and her kingdom.
In reality, neither she nor her kingdom cared one bit about trade.
As a result, her report was a disaster.
The format was wrong, the contents were sloppy, and even her cited references were unverified.
After pages of rambling nonsense, she concluded with a vague line: “This treaty will surely benefit both nations.”
No reasoning, no analysis — nothing.
“Environmental pollution. The trees deserve an apology.”
Normally, Pell would’ve burned such a document halfway through as kindling, but since the author was a royal envoy, he’d forced himself to read it to the end.
He had hoped for a twist — only to realize he had simply wasted his time.
“Headache worsening. Requesting paid leave.”
“What exactly did you do to deserve paid leave?” Angel snapped. “This is hopeless, Your Highness. You should really discuss this with someone else—”
“No,” Acel interrupted.
Even if he kept the discussion among his closest advisors, the more people he involved, the harder it would be to keep things quiet.
Besides, his talk with Pell had already settled his mind.
“I still can’t fully trust Laura… but she’s better than Princess Marienne.”
Objectively speaking, yes.
Between an incompetent person with bad character and a competent person with a difficult personality, the choice was obvious.
Having made up his mind, Acel went to the abandoned temple.
And there—
“You knew I was coming?”
Laura was waiting for him at the entrance — and had already prepared tea and refreshments inside.
“Your Highness always prefers to eliminate potential risks in advance,” she said calmly. “So it would be best to make our relationship public before the Grand Duke enters the capital. The upcoming banquet to welcome Princess Marienne’s arrival would be a perfect opportunity.”
Given the time needed to prepare for that event—
“No matter how leisurely Your Highness decides, you’ll have to give me an answer today.”
And Acel…
“…Yes, you’re right.”
He couldn’t deny it —
This woman had changed.
