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Chapter 28.
The Envoys of Norden.
One of the commoners watching them shouted.
“I know. There’s been a rather unpleasant rumor going around lately about Her Majesty the Empress.”
“That’s right, that’s right. I heard Her Majesty the Empress severely abused the First Prince, who came from Norden as a hostage?”
“Yes, and now the prince is imprisoned, isn’t he? Everyone who was in the palace that day saw it!”
“That must be why they’re so furious, right? They must be here to hold someone accountable for abusing the prince.”
“Oh my… Does that mean there could be another war? With those savages?”
They weren’t as interested in Josephine as one might have thought.
Struggling to make ends meet as they were, who exactly had ascended to the position of the new Empress wasn’t an important issue for them.
What mattered more was whether another war would break out, and if so, how much more devastated their lives would become.
“If another war breaks out, heaven will take my sons again. Oh, I absolutely cannot let that happen!”
A woman who had once had four sons wailed.
The rumors Josephine had deliberately spread had festered to the point of bursting, their truth unknown.
Now, they began to bubble uncontrollably even among the commoners who didn’t even know the Empress’s face.
At the palace at this time.
Henrius also received the news that the Norden delegation had arrived a day early.
Along with the news came the information that they had entered without any prior notice, stirring unrest among the imperial citizens.
“Like a bunch of unruly savages with no concept of manners or procedure.”
Henrius spat out the words, thinking of Siegfried, who was probably teetering on the brink of death in the dungeon at this very moment.
“What shall we do?”
Secretary Theodore asked cautiously.
“What do you mean, what shall we do? Do as we always have. Go and prepare the hall on the east side of Mirabel Palace for receiving guests now.”
It wasn’t the first time the Norden envoys had acted so unilaterally.
The fact that they were being this aggressive meant they had a reason to be.
So, they had come here recklessly, intending to talk first before immediately crossing swords.
That was the Norden way, rooted in their Viking heritage.
‘Damn it, what on earth did they do to Siegfried for the rumors to reach this state?’
Henrius had already heard all the rumors circulating among the people.
“And summon the Grand Marshal. Since Siegfried, whom the Empress was caring for, ended up in that state, tell him to come and take responsibility if he doesn’t want his neck and his adopted daughter’s neck to fly off together.”
“Huh? But the talks are tomorrow at noon. Do you intend to grant their demands, Your Majesty?”
“If we stall for time here, they are highly likely to interpret it as a provocation.”
Henrius, having made a decision as Emperor, was quite serious.
“So, whatever happens, we must receive them as guests. Do you think it’s pleasant for me to humor these savages?”
Rather than waiting to see whether tomorrow’s encounter would be mouth-to-mouth or cannon-to-spear, Henrius chose the path of a sovereign taking action.
“How is Siegfried?”
The lowest level of the underground dungeon, where cold air lingered.
In the most comfortable cell with heating, Siegfried was leaning against the wall, looking pale and lifeless.
“Rest assured, Your Majesty the Empress. As you instructed, I prescribed the strongest anti-inflammatory agents to minimize damage to the prince’s organs and bones.”
The palace’s head physician, Dolkin, soothed Josephine’s worries in a low voice.
“So, there are no more life-threatening critical moments?”
“That is correct. The prince also has a remarkably fast recovery rate, so if things continue like this, there should be no major problems.”
Haa… Josephine let out the breath she had been holding and patted her chest.
“It’s a relief it’s only this much. It was almost like consuming raw Alraune without any refinement.”
As soon as Siegfried entered the dungeon, he had actually carried out the words he had uttered.
And for days, he had hovered between life and death, screaming, drawing the disdain and concern of everyone in the dungeon, including Josephine.
Everyone disliked Siegfried, but no one sincerely wished for his death.
Because if something really happened to him and the cause was revealed, it was obvious that the two countries, having barely regained peace, would be engulfed in the clouds of war again.
That was a result no one wanted.
“Then, about him waking up…”
“My apologies, Your Majesty. That, I cannot guarantee.”
Josephine’s chest, which had swelled with relief, tightened again with anxiety.
“Haa… He must wake up by the day of the talks somehow. Isn’t there any other antidote or medicine we can use?”
“It is most humbling, Your Majesty. Having used as much as we dared, using more medicine now could actually greatly harm his health.”
Dolkin showed a troubled expression.
“It can’t be helped.”
Josephine did not press Dolkin further.
Siegfried had already been hovering between life and death for the past few days.
All to make the rumor that he was abused by the Empress a reality. That was the only reason.
‘Why?’
It would have been enough to just go along with it moderately.
Why go to such lengths for the Empress of an enemy country he had never even met before?
She simply couldn’t understand it.
“Your Majesty the Empress! Your Majesty!”
Just then, someone ran into the dungeon calling for Josephine.
Josephine looked at Harbert approaching hurriedly and asked.
“What is it?”
“The… The Norden delegation has just arrived! They’re at the palace right now!”
Harbert whispered urgently into Josephine’s ear. Hearing this, Josephine was astonished.
“What?”
“It seems the rumors that were only circulating within the Empire have reached Norden.”
Harbert continued, panting.
“I heard they are demanding an explanation regarding the rumors about Prince Siegfried, and they are demanding that Your Majesty the Empress appear personally…”
At those words, Harriet, who had been standing silently all along, also widened her eyes in surprise.
“The expected has arrived.”
However, Josephine herself, the person concerned, remained calm. As if she had been waiting for things to turn out this way, a gunmetal-like glint flashed in her coral-colored eyes.
“Harbert, Harriet. Let’s go.”
Taking one last look at Siegfried sleeping peacefully, Josephine made a vow.
During this time, Josephine hadn’t just been idly waiting for Siegfried to wake up either.
Thanks to Siegfried suffering like this for her, she had gained not a few things.
So now, it was time to counterattack.
Even on behalf of Siegfried, who had fallen ill for her.
A strange battle of nerves was already unfolding in the audience chamber and meeting hall of Mirabel Palace.
“We demand an explanation regarding the rumors about His Highness Prince Siegfried, the First Prince.”
Duke Georg, who had come as the leading figure of the delegation, got straight to the point without preamble.
“Is it true that the abuse of His Highness the First Prince has been continuously carried out under the leadership of the Orlande Imperial Family of Van Shalois?”
They held out a single flyer they had brought with them.
It contained an illustration of Siegfrief covered in wounds along with the content of the rumors.
“The rumors are widespread throughout all of Norden. It is said that not only is His Highness Siegfried covered in wounds, but he is still being continuously abused by the Imperial Family.”
Henrius regretted his decision to receive the delegation in the first place.
‘Damn it.’
Because the perpetrator of that ‘continuous abuse’ they spoke of was none other than Henrius himself.
“We have no obligation to explain that suspicion. On what grounds do you violate the agreement between our two nations, cause trouble, and now dare to insult Us?”
“Everyone here knows that our two countries’ royal families are like sworn enemies, don’t they?”
True to his blunt Norden origins, Georg did not yield even before Henrius.
Led by Georg, the other Norden warriors all wore grim expressions.
“That’s why the Empress of this country must also be caught up in such disgraceful rumors, of course.”
Thud. Henrius gripped the armrest of the throne with a loud sound.
“Our Empress is absolutely not that kind of person. We will not forgive any further impertinence.”
“Then summon the Empress or His Highness Prince Siegfried here immediately. Then all suspicions will be cleared, will they not?”
“How dare you!”
A tense situation ensued. One more step here, and it seemed tomorrow they would be crossing spears not at the meeting table, but at the border.
“I will prove it myself.”
Just then, the door to the audience chamber opened.
Entering through it was the Empress they had been so desperately seeking, Josephine.
