Honestly, yes — she had stirred up trouble specifically to draw the Emperor’s attention. But now that she actually had it, Riersha found herself frozen with nerves.
…I didn’t think the Emperor would speak to me directly.
She’d had a certain confidence going in, if she was being honest with herself.
Pernoa was right there beside her. Surely the Emperor wouldn’t bother addressing Riersha when someone so much more important was present.
Gulp.
The sound of Riersha swallowing whatever she’d been holding in her mouth was mortifyingly audible.
Pernoa caught it and let out a quiet, amused breath.
Please help me.
She shot him a desperate look. He took the hint and spoke up.
“She’s not used to occasions like this. The child is a little nervous, it seems.”
“Is that so. There’s no need to be nervous. I intend to reward her for what she’s done.”
“…Th-thank you, Your Majesty.”
Riersha exhaled in relief and dipped her head into a bow.
She didn’t trust every word the Emperor said, however.
If she let that generous warmth lull her into careless speech…
That’s exactly what he’s hoping for.
She needed to stay sharp.
Just then, Pernoa spoke.
“I’ve heard you’re searching for the one who kidnapped and abused Prince Isierd.”
“That matter is being handled by the Empress herself.”
“…And if she fails to find the culprit?”
“Hmm. I don’t entertain the thought that Karla will fail. What does the young Marquess think?”
Calius posed the question.
Pernoa regarded the Emperor in quiet silence.
No one else might see it, but for Calius, the current situation was a perfect opportunity. The proof was right before them — the Empress and her faction had gone utterly, deathly silent. Terrified that any misstep might bring ruin down on their heads, they were keeping themselves as small as possible.
And that wasn’t all. Calius had issued the Empress a direct order: find the one who kidnapped and abused Isierd. Yourself.
Simply trying to figure out how to handle that demand would be enough to give the Empress a splitting headache.
Because the culprit was none other than her own father.
Would she cut him down with her own hands? Or would she do something else entirely —
Frame someone the Emperor already despised, perhaps.
One way or another, she would have to produce a culprit satisfactory to the Emperor.
And yet…
She knows perfectly well there’s no chance she’ll bring him the real one.
Cruel.
Riersha decided that Calius Declair was an extraordinarily cruel human being.
A man who didn’t care whether something was a lie, so long as it served his interests.
That was the kind of man Calius Declair was.
Pernoa smiled pleasantly.
“Since the Empress herself pledged to take responsibility for this matter, I’m sure a culprit will be found without fail.”
“I think so too. Karla seems to feel a great deal of responsibility over what’s happened. Commendable of her.”
Calius replied without a flicker of feeling, lifting his teacup to his lips.
Isierd, seated nearby and listening to every word, showed no change in expression whatsoever.
Was this what it meant to live as royalty?
Just a few minutes of conversation and Riersha was already struggling to breathe.
She stole a glance at Isierd.
“In any case, Isierd seems to have taken to proper etiquette remarkably well. The Arachrene family has done something truly significant.”
“I’m sure it falls short of the palace’s own etiquette instructors.”
“The instructors say there’s nothing left for them to teach him.”
Calius gave a faint smile and looked down at Isierd.
“You must have worked very hard in that short amount of time.”
That short amount of time.
Riersha turned those words over in her mind — and felt a chill crawl up her spine.
The Emperor almost certainly already knew. He knew the circumstances: that Isierd had been taken from the Kineart family and had been living with the Arachrene household.
He saw through all of it.
“Thank you for the kind words, Your Majesty.”
Isierd spoke in a voice utterly devoid of color.
Riersha fidgeted with her fingers.
To her relief, it seemed the Emperor’s attention had shifted away from her.
She was just letting out a quiet sigh when Calius opened his mouth again.
“Which brings me to my question, Lady Riersha. What would you like as your reward?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ve been told you played an extraordinary role in making it possible for Isierd to return to the palace.”
In that instant, Calius’s sharp, ice-blue gaze cut directly to Riersha.
She had let her guard down, and she drew in a sharp breath.
Pernoa had tried to redirect the conversation, and Calius had played along for a moment — but it was clear he had never once forgotten what he actually came to discuss.
“What do you want, Lady Riersha? Name your reward.”
“…Um, well…”
She had no ready answer. If someone asked her right now what she wanted, she could hardly say.
More than that — it wasn’t as though she could request anything she pleased on her own. She was just beginning to glance sideways at Pernoa when Calius Declair laughed as though he understood perfectly.
“Take your time while you’re staying at the palace. I’ll be waiting for your answer.”
⁂
“Welcome back, young Marquess. And Miss Riersha.”
When the two returned to the residence, Sona came to greet them.
The Empress’s ladies-in-waiting were still inside, still waiting.
“…They still haven’t left. They’re calling it ‘attendance.’”
“The Empress must be quite unsettled.”
Pernoa gave Sona a subtle look.
Sona understood at once and raised her voice — deliberately, so that every attendant in the room could hear.
“Yes, then. Please do call if you need anything.”
As Sona moved toward the door, the ladies-in-waiting the Empress had sent had no choice but to follow, filing out reluctantly behind her.
Pernoa settled onto the sofa, sinking into thought.
Riersha sat down beside him and tapped her shoulders listlessly.
Honestly, all she had done since meeting the Emperor was eat and make conversation. It hadn’t even been that long.
And yet Riersha felt completely hollowed out.
She genuinely wondered whether she would be able to stay awake for the evening party. She’d be lucky not to fall asleep before midnight arrived.
“What do you plan to ask for, Riersha? As your reward.”
“Ah… I haven’t thought about it yet.”
“I see.”
“What do you think would be good?”
Riersha tilted her head.
In truth, there was no shortage of things she could ask the Emperor for.
Things like: forbid the Empress from ever setting foot near the Arachrene family again. Or: the Crown Prince’s bloodline is false — please look into it. Or: the one who abused Isierd is Duke Kineart — please investigate him.
But asking for things like that as a reward is far too dangerous.
The things Riersha had in mind were so extreme that she couldn’t even be certain the Emperor would grant them. And several of them, the Emperor likely already knew.
The fact that he was staying silent even knowing — it seemed like the Emperor wanted something of his own out of all this.
Poking at that unnecessarily, and earning herself a very clear mark on the Emperor’s radar, was something she’d rather avoid.
“He asked you directly, so think it over carefully. You must want quite a few things.”
“…Mm. Actually, there is one thing I might say.”
“And what’s that?”
Pernoa looked at her with interest. Riersha hesitated briefly, then spoke.
“I want to ask him to assign the Grand Sage as Isierd’s teacher.”
“…Oh?”
“…”
“You really do have a way of starting things on your own.”
Pernoa’s reaction was one of faint, genuine surprise.
“That’s something the Emperor would likely do on his own without any request from you.”
“But… there’s no guarantee the Grand Sage specifically would be the one assigned.”
The Grand Sage was, by unspoken understanding, a teacher reserved exclusively for the Crown Prince.
It had never been formally declared — but it was what tradition dictated, and everyone knew it.
Because of that, nobles had long made a habit of watching which prince the Emperor chose to assign the Grand Sage to, reading it as a signal of who the next Crown Prince would be.
Soon, the Emperor would remove Adrian from his position as Crown Prince.
If that happened…
The Empress will certainly try to bring the Grand Sage to Adrian’s side.
Then the Emperor needed to assign the Grand Sage to Isierd first — before that could happen.
The moment Pernoa grasped what Riersha was driving at, his expression went briefly, genuinely blank.
Then he burst out laughing and stared at her as though she were something he couldn’t quite explain.
“You’re so small.”
He studied her head with undisguised fascination, then murmured with something close to pride.
“You never stop surprising me.”
“Hehe.”
“Who did you take after, being this clever?”
“My daddy!”
It was a question Pernoa had tried many times before, and the answer came flying out of Riersha’s mouth on instinct.
“Once the Empress learns that the Grand Sage has been assigned as his teacher…” Pernoa said, satisfaction spreading across his face. “She’s going to cause quite a scene.”
He ruffled Riersha’s hair with a pleased hand.
The party celebrating Isierd’s return was only a few hours away now.
