Chapter 7
As expected, he doesn’t easily believe me.
Reina swallowed hard at the emperor’s probing question.
It wasn’t just a casual question.
The emperor’s “questions” always concealed traps.
The moment she uttered a lie, the trap would spring, and Reina would be caught like a rat in a snare, unable to move.
The emperor could distinguish those who answered his questions falsely.
That was the power of the divine beast he possessed, the “Game of Truth.”
But Reina knew more about the emperor’s power than anyone else.
She knew it had a blind spot.
He had told her himself.
Perhaps he let his guard down, knowing she had nowhere to escape.
Did the emperor even suspect?
How long Reina had been waiting for that moment.
How desperately she had struggled to find his weakness.
The moment Reina realized the core of his power, she had deceived him by delivering a false prophecy.
She had done it once before, so there was no reason she couldn’t do it again.
Reina spoke calmly.
“Three years ago, at the Founding Festival, I received help from Duke Crencia.”
“Help, you say?”
“I was out of my mind back then because my brother had gone missing. That’s when I first met the duke.”
“That’s surprising. I didn’t know the duke could comfort someone. So, you’ve had feelings for him since then?”
“As I kept thinking about him afterward, it seems those feelings grew over time.”
Reina confessed calmly, her eyes lowered.
She answered by weaving in as much truth as possible.
Her first meeting with the duke, as she remembered, was indeed three years ago.
Back then, the duke hadn’t recognized her.
That was because she had been wearing a hood pulled low.
Moreover, what he said to her was closer to a reprimand than comfort.
But sometimes, an offhand remark can resonate more deeply than deliberate words of solace.
After a moment, the emperor looked at her quietly and released her hand.
“I see. To think the duke has such a tender side. He must be different in front of his lover.”
“Yes. He treats me very well.”
Reina smiled shyly, like a woman in love.
The emperor, his suspicions eased, laughed heartily and said,
“Hahaha! I almost went down the wrong path. I must’ve caused the duke trouble by recommending Isabelle.”
At the mention of Isabelle, Skal widened his eyes and interjected.
“Wait, he rejected Isabelle and chose *her*? Isn’t the duke’s taste a bit strange?”
Reina also blinked in surprise at the mention of an unexpected name.
‘Isabelle was recommended?’
Isabelle Julid Mernie.
Among the princesses, she was the one most frequently invited to the emperor’s banquets and had the powerful backing of a ducal family.
She was also the sister who, in Reina’s past life, had tormented her for no reason.
To someone like her, Reina, with her faint presence, must have been an easy toy to toy with in the palace.
Compared to the emperor, Isabelle’s antics were almost cute, so Reina had forgotten about her until now, but she remained an uncomfortable opponent.
Realizing she had proposed to a man who had rejected such a woman, Reina’s face flushed with heat.
It was a proposal born of ignorance and courage.
“Feelings have a way of clouding reason. I never imagined the duke would fall to them, though.”
Siegfried stared at Reina with snake-like eyes.
Skal scratched the back of his head, still wearing an expression of disbelief.
It seemed the topic would pass uneventfully.
Then, the emperor said something cryptic.
“Now that I think about it, your birthday is coming up, isn’t it?”
*Thud.*
Reina froze at the sudden mention of her birthday.
She hadn’t expected the emperor to remember her birthday.
Worried he might ask her to stay for it, the emperor continued.
“The duke mentioned wanting to return to the north before your birthday. But it’s your twentieth birthday. Even if it’s informal, shouldn’t you hold a banquet to announce your engagement before you leave?”
At the unexpected suggestion, Reina’s eyes widened.
In the past, her birthday had passed quietly.
She had been suffering from a high fever, and she wasn’t an important enough royal to warrant a grand celebration.
But now, a banquet?
Reina’s mind raced to discern the emperor’s intentions.
Ignoring the cold sweat breaking out, she spoke calmly.
“Ah… I’m grateful for Your Majesty’s consideration, but the duke is busy with matters in the north, so it might be difficult for him to stay in the capital for long.”
Speaking with a voice full of regret, the emperor narrowed his eyes.
“No matter how busy he is, it’s your twentieth birthday. The duke seems rather indifferent, doesn’t he? He should know how important a twentieth birthday is to a royal.”
Oh, so that’s it?
It seemed the emperor wanted to gauge how much the duke valued her.
If she was important to the duke, she could be used as a significant pawn.
It would be best to make him feel she was valued to a moderate degree.
If she appeared too unimportant, he might suspect the engagement itself.
The emperor was a suspicious, cunning man.
To lower his guard, she had no choice but to take a risk.
Reina subtly brought up the situation in the north.
“In fact, it seems a dangerous magical beast has appeared in the north. A messenger arrived a few days ago. Waiting until my birthday might be too much.”
“A dangerous magical beast, you say?”
The emperor asked with a puzzled tone, and Michael, standing nearby, added,
“Now that you mention it, the hundred-year cycle of magical beasts is approaching. If the messenger came because of a Class 1 restricted species, it’s understandable they’d need to hurry.”
Nice, Mikael!
Thanks to Mikael unexpectedly backing her up, the emperor didn’t seem too suspicious.
“If that’s the case, there’s no helping it. If a messenger came, it must be urgent. I hope the north remains safe.”
His words sounded like those of a benevolent ruler concerned for his subjects, but his eyes were chillingly cold.
They held an eerie glint, as if he hoped the north would *not* remain safe.
“Still, sending you off like this makes me worry the north might disregard you.”
“Your Majesty?”
“They said they’re leaving in five days, so let’s hold a grand farewell banquet before then. Consider it my wedding gift and don’t refuse.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Unable to refuse further, Reina readily accepted, and the emperor smiled with satisfaction.
* * *
Meanwhile, upon learning that Reina had been invited to the banquet, Isabelle’s maid burst with indignation.
“This doesn’t make sense! That gloomy princess was invited to the banquet before Lady Isabelle? She must have used some dirty trick!”
Isabelle was equally shocked by the unexpected turn of events.
There must have been some deal between Reina and the emperor for this to happen.
What could it be?
“His Majesty must have his reasons.”
Suppressing her tumultuous emotions, Isabelle cast her gaze out the window.
The banquet must have ended by now.
Just then, the maid who had gone to spy returned and whispered to Isabelle.
In that moment, a crack appeared on Isabelle’s composed face.
“What? Crencia? They’re suddenly getting married? Are you sure you heard correctly?”
“Yes, I heard it clearly. They’re leaving for the north together in five days. His Majesty has decided to hold a farewell banquet the day before their departure.”
“That’s absurd! What kind of trick did she use to win over the duke?”
Isabelle’s voice grew sharp with disbelief.
To think that Crencia, who didn’t even bow to the emperor, would choose that insignificant princess.
For someone tasked with winning over the duke on the emperor’s orders, this was an utterly inconvenient development.
Reina had beaten her to the punch before she could even try.
And to lose the opportunity to the sister she had always looked down on doubled her humiliation.
That banquet seat should have been hers.
“How dare that nobody aim for my place?”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
By Anna 💓
