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Chapter 14
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
“I found the letter you sent quite interesting, so I read it several times.”
I never imagined he’d actually read the letter I sent to the Emperor reporting my father’s disappearance.
I thought it was just a formality—something the lower officials would filter out casually.
“You said the Duke and Duchess disappeared overnight two months ago, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You write quite well.”
The Emperor chuckled.
Instead of giving a needless response, I smiled faintly. It felt wiser to laugh along.
“I must say, I was quite taken by your letter.”
I didn’t know what the usual relationship between the Emperor and the Duke was like, but one thing was clear.
They must’ve had a terrible relationship.
‘Honestly, it would be more surprising if my father ever got along well with someone.’
The Emperor continued, his tone relaxed.
“Your letter convinced me that the Duke and Duchess were truly missing.”
Just the words alone might have sounded light, but that deep, underwater-like voice and piercing gaze made them feel anything but.
“I only wrote the facts. I’m just grateful that Your Majesty appreciated them.”
I had even dropped a few teardrops on the letter, pretending to cry.
“I heard the Duke doted on his daughter quite a bit.”
My father, lying even outside the house, it seems.
As I looked at the Emperor, who was faintly smiling, I brought the teacup to my lips.
Both the teaspoon and teacup looked like they’d been crafted meticulously by a master artisan.
Wait… hold on.
The teaspoon isn’t made of silver.
Usually, when serving tea, the spoon is always silver.
It’s the most reliable method to detect poison—and customary etiquette.
The Imperial Family couldn’t have forgotten the silver teaspoon.
That tiny spoon, light enough to hold in one hand, seemed to be asking me:
Do you really have the guts to drink this?
“As you are a precious guest, I asked them to serve you our finest tea. I hope it suits your taste.”
“Thank you. The aroma is so pleasant I found myself savoring it without even realizing. Tea from the Imperial Palace must truly be special.”
“I’m glad you enjoy it. I’ll have some sent to you later.”
As the Emperor leaned his chin on his hand and smiled, I brought the cup to my lips.
The aroma was wonderful, but…
It was unbearably bitter—so bitter I couldn’t even swallow it.
I took a few sips and then set the cup down.
“That tea seems to suit you perfectly.”
Why do you sound like someone who poisoned the tea?
“Perhaps it’s because Your Majesty gave it to me—it fits my taste. If it were Your Majesty offering it, I’d even eat fruit plucked from the Winit River.”
The Winit River was a black stream flowing through monster-infested, polluted lands.
The Emperor tilted his head, smiling faintly.
“You speak so boldly—I can’t say no. If you wish, I’ll have the fruit brought to you.”
I quickly rolled my eyes, searching for a good response.
“I appreciate the thought, but I’d worry something might happen to the royal knights because of me.”
A polite way of saying the royal knights wouldn’t survive the Winit River.
“Hm…”
A brief silence fell—short, yet it felt as long as eternity.
A silent warning that it was time to stop playing word games.
Within that silence, I thought:
It’s time to gamble.
“Your Majesty.”
The reason he called me here—truthfully, it had never mattered from the start.
“That bothersome chess piece has finally been removed.”
He stared at me as if wondering what I meant.
“So now, you need to replace it with a new one.”
He seemed to recognize what I meant by “chess piece” and a flicker of interest appeared in his eyes.
“Outdated ideas are more dangerous than dull swords, and fixed notions only make us take longer paths.”
The Emperor smiled at me, as if to ask, Do you really believe that?
“Don’t you think it’s time to cast aside that dull blade and raise a new one?”
The Emperor slowly covered his mouth with a hand.
I didn’t wait a moment longer.
“Please make me the Duke.”
His eyes gleamed with fascination.
“If things remain as they are, the House of Mertiel will fall, and another family will take its place. That would cause chaos, wouldn’t it?”
But I had to make sure his interest didn’t twist into something else.
“So I will protect that position, and serve as Your Majesty’s hands and feet.”
I rose and knelt on one knee before him.
Just like any noble heir would when presenting themselves to the Emperor.
“I know my place.”
The Emperor reached out.
He lifted my chin, and our eyes met.
His gaze—unreadable.
It was time to bring out the most crucial card.
Something even the Emperor would covet.
“And if given the chance, I will return all of the former Duke’s fortune to the Imperial treasury.”
The Mertiel Dukedom was the second most powerful on the continent—their fortune was beyond measure.
Seeing the corners of his lips curl, I was sure.
I’ve won.
✦ ✦ ✦
News spread rapidly across the Empire of Libedro.
The Emperor had declared that Lady Inerua Mertiel, the sole direct bloodline of the ducal house, would succeed the title of Duke.
Shortly after the announcement, nobles scrambled to rush to the capital or prepare for the succession party to be held at the Imperial Palace.
They had to witness with their own eyes the celebration of Lady Inerua Mertiel becoming a Duke—formally recognized and congratulated by the Emperor.
The party was held so swiftly, it could only be assumed the Emperor had prepared it in advance.
Perhaps to bless the day, the sun shone warmly on the capital.
Nobles who had rushed to confirm the rumors stood under chandeliers more dazzling than sunlight, cautiously whispering.
“Is it true? That she’s really inheriting the title?”
“She’s never even had a debutante ball or appeared in society—how can someone like that inherit a title?”
“Personally, I think the whole thing is absurd. What do the rest of you think?”
Though their voices were drowned by the musicians’ performance, the endless murmuring turned even beautiful music into background noise.
“Besides, it’s that lady.”
“Rumors say she’s missing an arm, or has mental problems—maybe not all of it’s true, but surely not all false either.”
“She’s also said to have a terribly nasty temper.”
“The Duke claimed he kept her hidden because she was too precious, but clearly there’s more to it.”
“Who even believes such ridiculous stories?”
By comparison, those were tame comments.
The cadet branches of the family and their sycophants—those who had hoped to steal the title for themselves once the ducal seat was empty—began muttering venomously, veins bulging in their foreheads.
“She should’ve just married and lived quietly! Why wait until nineteen and change the law just to inherit the dukedom?”
“What on earth was His Majesty thinking, appointing a lady like her…?”
“There’s clearly something deeply wrong with her!”
The whispering had grown bold enough to become open slander.
After all, those in society loved a juicy scandal—none would pass up this opportunity.
The more the rumors spread, the more exaggerated they became.
Even the purest things turn black when gathered together.
And since they were gathering with malice, it didn’t take imagination to know how dark and dirty those tales would become.
At that moment, Kissel—who had arrived early under Inerua’s orders—rotated her stiff neck and stepped into the crowd.
“Well, if it were me, I’d be watching my mouth right now. Do you really think His Majesty appointed her Duke for no reason?”
“Ahem… well, that’s true.”
“Even if you don’t like it, if you’re going to petition His Majesty, at least wait until after the ceremony.”
As she walked among the nobles, who now hesitated mid-gossip, Kissel let her smile drop.
‘Vermin like them know nothing…’
Under normal circumstances, this would be unthinkable.
That nobles of lower rank dared to slander the daughter of the mighty House of Mertiel.
It just showed how much the “accidental” deaths of the Duke and Duchess had shaken the family.
The dukedom’s prestige had visibly declined.
With only the sole heir remaining, wicked rumors ran wild, and as if agreeing with them, she had lived her life behind locked doors, never saying a word to the outside world.
Just as those stories reached a fever pitch—
A herald’s booming voice rang out.
The Emperor, Empress, and their only son, the Crown Prince, had arrived.
