“Wh-what are you doing right now…?”
A thought flashed through my mind, and I quickly closed my mouth.
Erich Lennon Blant had never shown himself like this before.
Moreover…
‘Now that I look closely, there’s blood on his clothes.’
At first, I hadn’t noticed because of his black cloak, but up close, there were bloodstains on his outfit.
‘So… he really is injured?’
As I unconsciously frowned, he lowered his head.
I was surprised and widened my eyes for a moment.
“I’m sorry. This happened because I wasn’t paying proper attention…”
At his pathetic words, I furrowed my brow even more.
“Are you a god?”
“Yes?”
“I’ve heard that some new weapon, like a bomb, caused this. How could you have predicted and prevented that?”
At my response, he looked dazed for a moment, then bit his lip and said,
“But if I had been a bit more vigilant, I might have discovered it in advance.”
“Exactly, but that’s already in the past. What good does that do?”
At my words, his expression turned serious, and he unconsciously grabbed my hand tightly.
He looked serious, and without realizing it, he grasped my hand tightly.
His large hand, wearing a glove, held mine.
It was excessively warm and comforting, making me want to hold on to it, but it felt so awkward that it was driving me crazy.
I feigned calmness and deliberately spoke coldly.
He blushed at my words and hurriedly let go of my hand
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
He hastily let go and stood up, and from his red face, it seemed my words had made him uncomfortable about his mistake.
‘Does he think I enjoyed this? I was also terribly uncomfortable.’
For a moment, such thoughts crossed my mind, but I brought up what had been bothering me.
“By the way, did you get hurt somewhere?”
“Yes?”
“Your clothes are covered in blood. Plus, it smells really bad.”
Erich stiffened, then hurriedly tried to hide it with his cloak as he replied.
“Oh, this isn’t… my blood.”
Seeing him shrink back for some reason, I said,
“That’s a relief, then. As long as it’s not your blood.”
And in that moment, Erich stared at me with a dazed expression.
With a look that seemed almost relieved, I furrowed my brow again.
‘What’s with that expression?’
After a moment, I asked the question that had been on my mind.
“So whose blood is it?”
“There were some suspicious individuals nearby. It belongs to them.”
“So have you found any evidence linking those suspicious guys to the one who threw the bomb?”
At my question, Erich shook his head with a dark expression.
‘Of course they wouldn’t leave any evidence behind.’
I let out a hollow laugh.
‘But I know the motives and the mastermind behind this.’
In the empire, direct descendants of the emperor or those from families with strong bloodlines from the first emperor are granted the right of succession, regardless of gender.
However, in an empire that has never had a female emperor, a woman’s right to succession means it belongs not to her but to her son.
Therefore, my claim to the throne was essentially Demian’s.
‘So, that snake-like Reinhardt must have schemed something.’
Given the emperor’s obsession with bloodlines, he would surely want to pass the throne to his own blood.
‘And the Emperor will continue to push for Fritz. But if public opinion against him continues to grow stronger…’
He might consider passing the throne to Demian, which would make my child a hindrance in the future.
Not only to Fritz but also to those like Reinhardt who desire the throne.
‘And perhaps the culprit is…’
As I clenched my fist in anger, Erich spoke up.
“Cornelia, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Please avoid getting close to the Archduke Tarrant.”
Taken aback by his sudden statement, I swallowed dryly and asked,
“Why do you say that?”
“He pretends to be polite in front of you, but he is a duplicitous and sinister man.”
Hearing Erich’s words, I gritted my teeth.
‘Yes, he’s right. I’m also convinced that he’s the one who attacked my child. But…’
Part of me wanted to rush to the Archduke and shoot him in the head.
Yet, the reason I restrained myself was that I could not eliminate him for certain yet.
I had a strong suspicion that he was involved in treason, but I lacked solid evidence.
Thus, I intended to deal with him once I obtained the proof.
To achieve my goal, I needed to lower Reinhardt’s guard as much as possible.
‘But is it okay to share all my plans with Erich?’
Being human, I knew that Erich, who had protected me through the crowd, was my benefactor.
I also knew that Erich was not someone who would kill me and my child.
Yet, I didn’t feel completely certain.
This was largely because he and I were in different situations and had different backing forces.
‘As part of the nobility, they wouldn’t want Fritz to lose his position. What they want is a foolish puppet.’
Ironically, the noble faction opposing the emperor didn’t challenge the succession of the crown prince.
The reason was that Fritz’s maternal family, the Marquis of Arzen, was central to the noble faction.
And Erich Lennon Blant was their leader.
‘He saved me, but… ultimately, he’s still an outsider.’
I recalled the past when I had revealed everything to him.
And the outcome had been the death of my child and me.
The uncomfortable sensation of the gloves came to mind.
Soon, my gaze turned cold.
‘There’s no need to reveal my plans. I don’t need to listen to the words of someone who is essentially a stranger.’
Finally, I spoke to Erich.
“Thank you for saving me today. However, I would prefer it if you didn’t involve yourself in my affairs from now on.”
For now, it was best to keep Reinhardt close.
That way, he would let his guard down and offer himself to me.
“Whether Reinhardt approaches me with ill intentions or not, I’ll handle it myself.”
At that, Erich looked at me and then bit his lip.
“Cornelia, I…”
But I couldn’t hear the rest of his words.
I saw Sardin approaching, covered in soot.
“Sardin, you…”
Before I could finish speaking, Sardin kneeled down.
“I’m sorry, master.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“It’s because I didn’t keep a proper watch that this incident happened.”
Seeing him say the same thing as Erich made my head start to throb.
‘No, I might be a bit strict, but do I really seem like the kind of person who would berate someone for such a trivial matter?’
But that thought was fleeting.
“Mom!”
I saw my child approaching us.
“Sadi?”
Demian stared at Sardin for a moment before turning to me.
“Mom, I don’t like the carriage. I want to roll around in bed!”
I then asked Marquis Philippe.
“What happened to finding a new accommodation?”
He sighed with a troubled expression and replied.
“I did look into it, but it seems that the guests currently at the hotel are moving to other hotels, so there are no available rooms left.”
“Marquis Philippe, it seems I’ll have to impose on your household.”
“I would be honored to host Your Highness, but currently, aside from the rooms for my wife, myself, and our servants, all the other rooms are under repair… There are no spare rooms. I apologize.”
He then suggested.
“If it’s alright with you, how about going to the imperial palace?”
At those words, I frowned.
‘As if I would be crazy enough to go to the imperial palace…’
After all, the Empress and Fritz were there. And I knew they were the kind of people who would take advantage of my absence to harm Demian.
Moreover, Demian was still unaware that I was a princess; I couldn’t just go to the palace recklessly.
‘What should I do? There’s no suitable noble to rely on, and I can’t go to the palace…’
Just then, feeling frustrated and letting out a sigh, I saw Demian run over to Erich and say,
“Daddy, I want to go to your house!”
I was left in a daze at those words.
Erich, looking momentarily surprised, then turned to me and spoke.
“Well, if your mom is okay with it, let’s do that.”
At his words, I clenched my fists tightly.
‘The Duke’s residence…’
The Duke of Blant’s residence was a place that had been a nightmare for me.
But…
‘I am no longer that fool.’
Over the past few years, I have overcome that nightmare while standing on my own.
More importantly, I didn’t want to show any weakness in front of Erich Lennon Blant.
“Alright, that’s fine.”
At my approval, Erich made a face that was hard to read and then extended his hand.
“Let’s go by carriage.”
And he still wore gloves on that hand.
‘Yes, you still wore a glove when you held my hand.’
For a long time, I had rarely touched his bare skin. That’s how much our relationship was like that of a stranger, with an invisible barrier.
As I stared coldly at his hand, I spoke.
“However, there’s a condition. I’m going to the duke’s residence as ‘Cornelia Schwanhild,’ not as ‘Cornelia Blant.’ And since my child doesn’t know my true identity yet, make sure to keep that under wraps.”
He slowly nodded in response.
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
I picked up my child and said,
“Demi, now you can stay in a comfortable ‘lodging’.”
This was a matter of pride. I wanted to prove that the Duke Blant’s residence, a nightmare of my life, no longer had any significance for me.
“Now, let’s head to the carriage…”
I was about to change my position when I saw Sardin still kneeling and said,
“Get up and get ready to go to the mansion, Sardin.”
Leaving Erich behind, I focused only on my party and boarded the carriage.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Meanwhile, Reinhardt’s aide went to the underground prison, handed some money to the guard, and met someone.
“Medelin Arzen.”
At that, a woman with silver hair looked up.
“Oh my.”
Though she was in a disheveled state, Medelin’s smiling face was still beautiful. Soon, she parted her red lips.
“I wonder what the dog of the Archduke Tarrant wants with me?”
A chilling madness lingered subtly in her green eyes.
