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Chapter 18
Cecilia blinked.
It seemed obvious now, but she had never thought about it before.
“Of course… everyone probably assumed I wouldn’t return, and tried to take advantage of the vacancy.”
The problem was that Edward, out of his grudge against her, had even gone so far as to coerce Björn to ensure her return.
“Doesn’t matter. In a year, they can try for the vacancy again if they want.”
It was natural for Edward to remarry after divorcing her.
“Of course there were many of them,” Cecilia said softly with a smile.
“I don’t care about past events.”
“No. You should care,” Yolanda said firmly.
“There are still many young ladies who haven’t abandoned their ambition.”
Cecilia was secretly surprised.
Could it be that they had already discovered she was only a one-year empress?
“They think that since Your Majesties were apart for so long, your relationship won’t be like before,” Yolanda clicked her tongue sharply.
“Foolish ones… legally, divorce is impossible.”
Cecilia felt relieved.
Apparently, most people didn’t know that if an empress failed to conceive during her first year as empress, a legal divorce would be possible.
“Who even bothers to read the Imperial Code?”
Moreover, since no empress in the empire’s history had ever been deposed for this reason, it was understandable.
Cecilia nodded in agreement with Yolanda.
“That’s right. My relationship with His Majesty is improving day by day, after all.”
Yolanda stared at her.
“Is that true, Your Majesty the Empress?”
“Of course,” Cecilia replied without a moment’s hesitation.
In fact, her relationship with Edward was genuinely getting better each day.
“That’s a relief… but… be careful of Lady Christine Cypher.”
“Lady Christine Cypher?”
Cecilia blinked.
“She was just sixteen… oh, she must be over twenty now.”
Five years had passed in the meantime.
The young Christine Cypher, once just a sixteen-year-old girl, had now reached adulthood and was surely seeking a marriage partner.
It was bold of her to have feelings for a married emperor, but Cecilia didn’t blame her.
“Who knows… maybe she really will become empress.”
If that were the case, Cecilia had no particular desire to make an enemy of her.
After that, Yolanda continued to provide useful information.
The rising star in recent society was Lady Amelia, the Marchioness; Countess Etchett and Baron Sorio were having an affair; Admiral Piatti, long believed to be single, was seeking a wife in his mid-thirties.
As with high society anywhere, seemingly unrelated relationships were actually intertwined like a web.
Yolanda didn’t explain all the connections in detail, but Cecilia could easily infer them.
“Admiral Piatti wouldn’t suddenly seek a wife… Countess Etchett must have betrayed him.”
Countess Etchett’s affair had probably been with Admiral Piatti.
Given the Admiral’s age, it would be difficult for him to marry a young noble girl, but Lady Amelia, the socialite, would surely receive many marriage proposals.
It wouldn’t be strange if Admiral Piatti sought to marry one of the young ladies under her protection.
But strangely, after Yolanda left, Cecilia found herself thinking less about these social intricacies.
“Becoming an emperor changes everything.”
Edward Ceres had never been the top choice for a husband, especially after Gerard, who despised the Ceres family, ascended to the throne.
Cecilia smiled wryly.
Because of this, when she, who had received many suitors, boldly proposed to Edward, it caused quite a stir.
It was as if the best bride had proposed to the least desirable groom!
But now the situation had completely changed.
Edward had become a man every woman wanted, and after divorce, she would have no marriage proposals coming her way.
Who would dare propose to a former empress and great magician?
Though inevitable, it felt a little unfair.
Cecilia frowned.
She decided she would extract a generous alimony from Edward when they divorced.
If she performed her role diligently for a year, she could be sure he would give her a substantial amount without her needing to argue, knowing Edward’s personality.
“Good.”
Cecilia resolved for the twelfth time:
“I will become the best empress ever!”
Preparations for the ball proceeded smoothly.
Since this was the first imperial court ball since the new emperor’s ascension, everyone was desperate for invitations.
Cecilia invited all nobles with the rank of baron or higher, to avoid complaints that her own parents were being given special treatment.
Of course, Yolanda had a different opinion.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t invite the Cypher or Deymos families.”
Rumors abounded that daughters of both families aimed for the empress position.
Cecilia stared at her.
“They must be invited. The purpose of this ball is to win over high-ranking nobles.”
Yolanda banged her chest in exasperation.
“Your Majesty, don’t be foolish. Do you think they’ll be won over? They’re desperate to have their daughters become empress!”
“That’s uncertain,” Cecilia said with a smile.
“In any case, I am the empress, and they know it.”
Even if they attempted to undermine her, it wouldn’t matter.
What mattered now was how useful these two families could be to Edward.
And the answer was…
“Of course, they’ll be very useful.”
Edward had been emperor for barely five weeks.
Even if a rebellion overturned the world again, it wouldn’t be surprising.
To stabilize his reign, placating one or two ambitious young noble ladies was nothing.
Finally, the day of the ball arrived.
From the morning, the empress’s palace was in an uproar.
The staff available to Cecilia were limited to the empress’s household, and they had to prepare the entire imperial ball.
Of course, the staff wasn’t causing chaos…
“Y-Your Majesty! Come down! It’s dangerous!”
Cecilia smiled brightly from the extremely high palace roof.
“I just need to put up this decoration and I’ll come down!”
She wanted this ball to demonstrate the emperor’s grandeur.
What was grandeur?
Money.
If you lavish money on decorations, everyone would naturally acknowledge it.
She had used this method even as a marchioness.
“But honestly… with my current resources, it’s impossible.”
No money? Use magic.
Thus, Cecilia Ceres, Empress of the Linek Empire, hung from the palace roof, casting a spell to transform the entire roof into a massive stained-glass masterpiece.
