Chapter 21

Chapter 21

“It must have been because my fiancé is a minor noble with no power.”

“Yes. Had I known he was your fiancé, I would have summoned Al then and there and had a word with him.”

Had it been Count Elpiers alone, perhaps not. But the fiancé of Marchioness Blair was someone the Second Prince should neither have approached nor made an enemy of.

In other words, the Emperor was reproaching her for hiding her fiancé’s identity so thoroughly that it had led to this mess.

“But, Your Majesty, how could I possibly have dared to say, ‘As of today this man is mine, so I beg you to look after him’?”

Unable to say that the engagement had only been made this very morning, Irenea let her brows droop and spoke in a dispirited voice.

Besides, when one thought about it, she was right. Behavior like that would be nothing but arrogance, flaunting the Emperor’s favor.

“Haah…….”

The Emperor pressed a forefinger to his throbbing temple. The sight of the newspapers piled on the table only seemed to make his headache worse.

‘That wretched Al…… When was the last time I scolded him properly?’

He had known about the trouble the boy caused here and there, yet he had deliberately refrained from scolding him harshly.

If the boy was clever enough to wear down his own reputation all by himself, no one in their right mind would back him as the next emperor.

Half out of that calculation and half out of guilt over it, the Emperor had raised the Second Prince with indulgence. But now, it seemed, it was finally time to rein him in.

‘Of all people to provoke, he had to provoke Marchioness Blair.’

If the other party were a politically seasoned heavyweight, the matter could be settled cleanly after many rounds of maneuvering, trading gains for losses. With them, there was data built up over long years of working in step.

But Irenea, who had achieved sudden growth entirely alone and without any foundation, and who was still expanding her influence even now, was one of those vassals he still had no sense of how to handle. And all the more so because, though he would crush her by force if she grew insolent, she devoted blind loyalty to the imperial family.

For better or for worse, wherever Marchioness Blair went, talk was sure to follow.

As a result, the press had gone so far as to watch her every move, inflating what had happened and inventing what had not.

Yet in truth, in the past three years she had never caused anything that could properly be called trouble.

This was the first time. And what’s more, the first time talk had arisen from her entanglement with the imperial family.

‘Even if she had no evidence, would this girl truly have blown things up this much because she had no other way?’

Irenea could have resolved this matter far more wisely. That she had nonetheless made it so big meant…….

‘A warning.’

A warning to keep a tight rein on his son so that something like this would not happen again.

For a number of reasons, the Emperor could not severely punish Irenea over this. She had probably calculated even that before setting everything in motion.

‘Cunning creature.’

The Emperor stared at Irenea, who wore an expression as though no one could be more wronged or more aggrieved.

He felt like giving her a rap on the forehead, but in consideration of the loyalty she had devoted to the imperial family all this time, he decided to refrain.

Besides, in the long run, this was not a bad thing. He had, in effect, firmly secured one of Marchioness Blair’s weaknesses.

“First, I will apologize for my son’s shortcomings. The moment I send you back, I will summon him at once and scold him sharply, so put this matter out of your mind.”

“Please do not worry, Your Majesty. Why would I keep a single mistake weighing on my heart?”

Which was to say, a second would not be a mistake.

By now, the Emperor had grown truly curious about Count Elpiers. What kind of charm had he used to bewitch her, that Marchioness Blair shielded him so?

“Since you have said what you said in front of everyone, the prince’s fault will be covered up as it stands. In return, if there is anything you desire, say so.”

“There is nothing. I am content to have cleared up Your Majesty’s misunderstanding.”

“There is no need to decline. I intend to hand down a fitting punishment in exchange.”

Whatever the truth, Irenea had become a shameless little minx who had toyed with love over the sword of the First Emperor. With the press carrying on about the dignity of the imperial family, the Emperor had no choice but to reprimand her.

Irenea had already guessed as much, so instead of shedding tears over the injustice, she said, “In that case…….” and offered a single request.

“Please grace my wedding, to be held one month from now, with your own presence.”

“In person?”

“Yes. If Your Majesty personally congratulates our marriage, the other nobles will not dare point a finger at my fiancé.”

“Hmm…….”

She knew very well that Elpiers was being treated like a crow among swans.

“Very well. I shall do so.”

“You are most gracious, Your Majesty.”

“Gracious, nothing. Now, I am going to shout, so keep your head bowed.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As though to make sure that anyone passing by would hear, the Emperor bellowed at the top of his lungs.

About the imperial family, about contempt for it, and so on. To Irenea, who was sobbing and apologizing for her wrongdoing, the Emperor snapped angrily that he did not want to hear it.

“Until the day of your wedding, for the next month, you will remain confined to your home in penance. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I shall do as you command.”

After Irenea bowed respectfully and withdrew, the Emperor, left alone, had the head maid bring him liquor and downed a glass in one gulp.

“I don’t know what this commotion is about, so early in the morning. Madam Loam, Lloyd Matthias should be carrying a pass for the imperial palace.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I understand it is a pass vouched for by His Highness the Prince.”

“Go to the Matthias house at once and…… no, never mind that. Instruct them that if Lloyd Matthias comes to see the Second Prince, he is not to be let through under any circumstances, and that his pass is to be confiscated.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

While the head maid stepped out for a moment to carry out the order, the Emperor gave a command to the chamberlain.

“Go and bring the Second Prince. Even if he is in his nightclothes, it does not matter. Do not waste time, and bring him right now!”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

By cruel irony, at that very moment the Second Prince had just run straight into Leonard, who was waiting for Irenea in the garden of the Sun Palace.

* * *

Since only Irenea had been granted an audience, Leonard, who had escorted her, was guided separately to the garden of the Sun Palace.

A maid served tea and light refreshments to Leonard, who sat alone with no companions, and she took the lead in conversation with small talk so that he would not grow bored.

By the time Leonard had emptied his teacup, she asked if he would like to see the garden.

“Am I permitted to walk around the garden?”

“Of course. You need only refrain from going inside the building.”

The maid who personally showed Leonard around the garden was exceedingly kind.

Wherever one goes, observing the attitude of the staff reveals the heart of their employer. Seeing how well they treated him, Leonard was able to feel at ease, thinking that Irenea, too, was at least not being subjected to unreasonable treatment.

But his relief seemed to have been a little premature.

“Well, well, who is this? Unless my eyes deceive me, that man standing there looks like a mongrel of unknown origin. Does he not?”

When contempt and scorn were this blatant, they hardly even registered.

‘Of all places to run into him, how damned unlucky.’

That was all he thought, and nothing more.

The maid guiding him, however, did not take it so lightly. Her face stiffened at once, and she stepped between Leonard and the Second Prince.

“I greet His Highness the Second Prince. Are you on your way to see His Majesty?”

“I am. I was on my way to see my imperial mother…… Surely my eyes do not deceive me. Why is that man here?”

As the Second Prince looked Leonard up and down, the maid answered, as if sighing.

“Your Highness, please mind your conduct. This gentleman is a guest of His Majesty.”

“And what of it? Ah, my mistake. I failed to recognize a guest of my imperial mother and kept my neck stiffly held high. Shall I kneel now and pay my respects?”

“Y-Your Highness! You must not!”

As the Second Prince bent his back as if about to kneel, his attendants seized him on either side and held him back.

Soon they signaled the Emperor’s maid with their eyes, urging her to apologize at once. At their behavior, so rehearsed it seemed staged, the maid made an expression of utter disbelief.

“Ha…….”

What on earth had she done wrong?

Since the maid was rendered speechless, Leonard stepped forward and settled the situation. He knelt on one knee before the Second Prince and paid his respects.

“I greet His Highness the Second Prince.”

“Hmph, so at last that precious knee of yours touches the ground.”

The corners of the Second Prince’s mouth twitched ugly as he looked Leonard up and down.

Naturally, he had never intended to kneel on the ground in the first place, and he roughly shook off his attendants.

“So, how did a wretch like you come to receive my imperial mother’s invitation? You had better answer well. If it is a lie, I will cut out your tongue!”

Strictly speaking, the Emperor’s guest was not Leonard but Irenea. Even so, the maid had gone out of her way to call him the Emperor’s guest because nothing good would come of insulting the fiancé of Marchioness Blair.

Whatever her intent, it was still a lie, so the maid’s face turned white. Before the Second Prince’s gaze could reach her, Leonard answered quietly.

“It is thanks to my fiancée.”

“Fiancée? Hah, you mean that high and mighty Marchioness Blair.”

“Yes. A very high and mighty Marchioness Blair.”

Because he took sarcasm in stride as though it were praise, the Second Prince was incensed.

Ignoring even his attendant’s counsel to show a little restraint, since the Sun Palace was right nearby, he vented his temper for all it was worth.

“I hear your fiancée, riding on my imperial mother’s favor far beyond her station, has an insolence that pierces the heavens! Truly, her influence is formidable indeed. How dare you use the great name of His Majesty the Founding Emperor for your paltry games of love?”

“Games of love, Your Highness?”

“Yes! I saw it with my own two eyes, so do not even think of denying it!”

Ah, so he intended to make that verbal contract vanish as though it had never been?

Leonard gazed quietly at the Second Prince. As if he did indeed have something to feel guilty about, one of the prince’s cheeks quivered in spasms. Then his gaze, which had strayed elsewhere for a moment, turned on Leonard, blazing with fury.

“My imperial mother must have been greatly enraged to summon your fiancée. At last, even the great name of Marchioness Blair will come crashing down. This will be quite a spectacle!”

“Forgive my presumption in speaking, Your Highness.”

“What, are you afraid because your high and mighty fiancée is about to become a kite with its string cut? Even if you kneel and beg now…….”

“From now on, Your Highness will never again be able to hire mercenaries.”

“What did you say?”

At that moment, a radiant swirl of white light mingled with the sunlight and settled upon the Second Prince’s parted lips.