🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 6
I fell into thought again.
To the Emperor and the Grand Duke, it would probably look as though I was simply worrying about the monsters.
Oh dear, House Pio will no longer have the means to support Claira.
The original story had already been greatly twisted from the moment I did not kill myself.
Then wouldn’t it be better to erase Claira’s trauma so she would have an easier time falling in love with the Emperor?
“…I think it would be better to send support troops to the Count Popolas territory as well.”
“Hm. Not to the Grand Duke’s domain?”
“Yes. The Grand Duke’s house already has enough troops. What matters is the monsters fleeing from the suppression force.”
I pointed to a spot on the map spread out by the Grand Duke.
“This place here—the one you said is where the Orc Road is?”
“…That is correct.”
“Then if the Grand Duke pushes the monsters northward, Count Popolas’s territory will surely become the monsters’ escape route.”
The Emperor nodded as if agreeing. I smiled faintly and continued my explanation.
“I am sorry to say this to the Grand Duke, but I believe sending troops to defend Count Popolas’s territory should be prioritized over supporting the Grand Duke’s house.”
“I see.”
I was not deeply knowledgeable about military strategy, but through the original story, I could predict the direction the monsters would move.
I did my best to hide my anxiousness and waited for the Emperor’s decision.
“Lady Delorvant’s words are reasonable. What do you think, Grand Duke?”
“…What I came to request today aligns with that exactly.”
“Hm. In that case, let us send five hundred soldiers to Count Popolas’s house, along with one hundred thousand Merken in support funds for recruiting mercenaries.”
“…I have no objection.”
In the end, the decision was made to send supporting troops to Count Popolas’s territory, just as I suggested.
The moment I realized I had actually saved the heroine’s father, I felt strangely dazed.
“Then I will take my leave.”
“Good work, Grand Duke.”
I kept my attention fixed on the Emperor until the Grand Duke had completely left. Finally, with the Grand Duke gone, only the Emperor and I remained in the office.
Phew… that was exhausting.
At last I could take my eyes off the Emperor. I swallowed the sigh that was trying to escape and lifted my teacup.
“Will you be joining me for lunch as well?”
“…Of course, Your Majesty.”
I quickly answered with a smiling look in my eyes. The Emperor lowered his head, seemingly avoiding my gaze.
Could it be… no, he surely didn’t really avoid me. Yes, it must have been a coincidence. Surely the Emperor himself would not look away first.
“In that case, perhaps you would like to tour the Geranium Palace until lunch.”
“Thank you. Come to think of it, Geranium Palace is where Your Majesty spent his childhood, is it not?”
“…You remember.”
“Of course. I think there is probably no one in the capital who does not know of the palace where Your Majesty spent his childhood.”
“…”
The Emperor fell silent. I could not tell what had offended him now, and it made my chest feel tight. His heart really was narrow, after all.
But since I was in no position to argue with the Emperor, I quietly rose from my seat.
“Then I shall see you again at lunch.”
“Yes.”
After confirming that the Emperor had returned to his documents, I turned and left the office.
“Master, a letter has arrived from Lady Delorvant.”
Ian, who had been buried in a mountain of paperwork since morning, suddenly lifted his head at the butler’s words.
“Isanna?”
“Yes. Please take a look, Master.”
“Haah… I’m a count now, you know.”
“Haha. To me, you will always be the young master. You really ought to bring home a mistress soon so I can finally relax a little…”
“Ah, fine! Enough!”
At the butler’s relentless marriage campaign, Ian shuddered and raised the white flag. More important than that was the letter from Isanna.
He was anxious about what kind of trouble that tiny woman was planning now.
A few years ago she was throwing a fit about marrying the Grand Duke…
She was his friend, but even then she had truly frightened him. He had never seen Isanna so full of determination in his life.
“What could it be this time?”
Still, it was nice to receive a letter from a long-lost friend. Ian slowly unfolded Isanna’s letter and read it.
Not long after, his face darkened deeply.
“What is this…?”
In a low voice, Ian ordered the butler,
“I need to investigate this. Nilsen, prepare to head to the capital.”
“Will you be leaving immediately?”
“No. I should speak with my brother first.”
“Understood. Then I’ll prepare everything in advance.”
Nilsen, noticing the grave mood of his master, bowed neatly and left the study.
“Isanna… what in the world does this mean? Haah…”
Thinking of Isanna naturally, Ian let out a deep sigh. If this was true, it could even lead to a noble trial.
“First I need to secure solid evidence.”
Ian summoned his aide, gave him the remaining work to handle, and prepared to head straight for the Beyrne territory, where his elder brother—the young marquis of Beyrne—was staying.
After leaving the knight at the palace gate, I stepped into Geranium Palace and a soft, sweet fragrance tickled my nose.
It was a modest scent that wasn’t flashy like flowers, but one that calmed the mind. It really did not suit the Emperor.
“Still… even the untamed parts resemble him.”
The wildly grown geraniums made Geranium Palace feel very different from the rest of the imperial grounds.
And yet it did not feel lacking in dignity. Rather, it suited the Emperor’s wild nature.
“That place…”
Following a path where no geraniums grew, I went deeper inside and spotted a small glass greenhouse.
A strange feeling of familiarity made me decide to take a look around.
“Hm… it’s well maintained.”
Unlike the rough, wild-looking geraniums outside, the inside of the greenhouse clearly showed the hand of a skilled caretaker.
I walked up to a low tea table that looked just right for a child to sit at. It looked perfect for playing pretend.
The cups are small too… how cute.
I was absentmindedly touching the tiny tea set when I sensed someone’s presence.
“I greet the Empress Dowager.”
When I recognized the owner of the footsteps, I quickly composed my expression and offered my respects. But even after quite a while, there was no permission to lift my head.
For a moment, I wondered if this was a subtle power struggle.
In The Tyrant’s Courtship, the Empress Dowager was described as having a gentle temperament.
But honestly, could she really have survived in this palace if she had been nothing but gentle?
“…Raise your head, Lady Isanna.”
“Thank you.”
I kept my gaze lowered while showing proper respect to the Empress Dowager.
“Lady Isanna… do I make you uncomfortable?”
At the Empress Dowager’s sudden question, I lifted my head and looked at her.
Her black hair, just like the Emperor’s, was neatly arranged. But aside from the hair, she shared little resemblance with him.
Perhaps that was natural. She was not the Emperor’s biological mother, but the cousin of his mother.
The Karvandeka imperial family really is a mess. Was the Empress Dowager forty-two this year?
She looked no older than mid-thirties.
“How could I possibly judge the one who raised the sun of the Empire so carelessly?”
“That is… I would like us to get along well.”
At my mention of the Emperor being raised by her, a genuine smile—not a fake one—appeared on the Empress Dowager’s face.
I lowered my eyes and guessed her intention.
Was this a greeting toward the future Empress, or a warning?
A pure and gentle woman untouched by politics…
I recalled the line that described her in the original novel and smirked inwardly.
Yes, her appearance definitely matched that description—an innocent face untouched by politics.
But the fleeting expressions and the subtle air of superiority hidden in her words and behavior made it instinctively clear that she was not simply pure and harmless.
She was a woman who had survived under the terrifying former empress from the Kingdom of Ocalon.
And more than that, the Emperor’s real mother—her cousin—had died, after which this woman entered the palace, took in the crown prince, and eventually rose to become Empress Dowager.
So I could not let my guard down. Not until I took the Empress’s seat.
“It is an honor, Your Imperial Majesty. I am still far too lacking, yet you think well of me.”
“Fufu. You are to be my daughter-in-law, and I regret that I have not done much for you.”
I almost sneered inwardly.
I was already engaged to the Emperor.
The way she put it made it sound as though I still belonged only to the ducal house.
I could tell how she viewed my position.
This is really confusing. Is she innocent, or just pretending to be? Of course it’s the latter.
Without showing my discomfort, I met her with a gentle smile.
The greenhouse was filled with the clear calls of birds.
“Empress Dowager.”
It was then, while we were still silently sizing each other up, that the Emperor’s cold voice rang through the greenhouse.
“Oh, Your Majesty. It’s been a while.”
“Ha… why are you here?”
Even at the Emperor’s sharp question, the Empress Dowager showed no sign of shrinking back and calmly explained why she had come.
“Fufu. I suddenly felt nostalgic for the palace where Your Majesty spent your childhood, so I came to visit.”
At her words, a twisted smile appeared on Calisers’s once-stiff lips.
“Nostalgic, you say. But Empress Dowager, you stayed in your parental home until I returned from the war, did you not? There should be nothing to miss.”
For a moment, the Empress Dowager’s face twisted.
I stepped one pace away from them and watched the situation unfold.
So the Emperor clearly disliked the Empress Dowager.
I had heard she rarely appeared in social circles because of her timid personality… but that wasn’t it.
It was because the Emperor kept her at arm’s length.
Life in the imperial family really is not easy. Still, I plan to divorce right after becoming Empress, so it doesn’t matter to me. But the heroine…
I already felt sorry for the heroine who would be trapped between those two.
Even I, who had been rolling around in society since childhood, found it exhausting. How much worse would it be for the heroine?
“Do not distance yourself from this mother too much. My heart feels empty.”
“Hah. Mother? Mother, you say… do you truly think so?”
The Emperor answered sharply.
At his cutting tone, the Empress Dowager decided to withdraw for now and closed her mouth. Her face still held that faint, serene smile.
“…Today the Emperor seems to be in a bad mood, so I shall take my leave. Lady Delorvant, see you later.”
“Yes. Please take care, Empress Dowager.”
I offered the proper level of respect—neither too much nor too little—in the Emperor’s place.
A calm yet cool gaze stabbed into me. But I did not add any more polite words.
The one I needed to watch now was not the Empress Dowager, but the Emperor.
Eventually the Empress Dowager departed, and the Emperor spoke.
“What were you doing?”
“I was looking around Geranium Palace. It is lovely.”
“…Does it remind you of anything?”
It was a question that seemed to be searching for a specific answer.
I delayed my reply for a moment and thought.
What exactly was the answer he wanted?
But no matter how much I thought about it, I could not figure it out.
In the end, I answered honestly.
“Ah… it feels familiar. I think I may have visited a place like this when I was young.”
“That much…”
For an instant, a fragment of the emotion called disappointment flashed in the Emperor’s eyes.
A dejected Emperor felt strangely unfamiliar.
