Thinking of Sonia, who was bedridden and had stopped eating, Count Amins lost his temper and threw away his dignity. He also lost the tension he had felt from Rosalie.
No matter what anyone said, he firmly believed in his daughter. And above all, he had a reason why he couldn’t admit this fact.
‘This can’t be true. How can it be, after all I’ve done to protect the County’s honor?!’
Taking a deep breath, he calmed down a bit and looked at Rosalie with a cold stare.
“They say you’ve changed, but you’ve fallen to the point of driving away your friend.”
“I wasn’t looking for a sincere apology, but I didn’t expect things to get this complicated.”
Rosalie felt bitter about his sarcastic tone. She had expected Count Amins to be lenient with his only beloved daughter, but it was beyond her imagination.
“What apology are you talking about, Rosalie?”
Thinking that there was no point in continuing the conversation, Rosalie rose from her seat. As Rosalie rose, he faltered and continued.
“Now that you’ve had a taste of power, you don’t value your friends! This is why those nobles who haven’t received proper heir education shouldn’t be allowed to succeed the title! Does friendship seem like trash rolling on the street to you now that you’re a Duchess? After what Sonia did for you when you were an idiot who couldn’t even act as an heir, you shouldn’t be doing this!”
“This bastard…”
“Don’t you remember what Sonia did for your dying family? Don’t you remember what she did for you?!”
Deciding that it wasn’t worth listening to, Rosalie rang the bell, and the waiting knights rushed into the reception room.
“Send him out.”
“Get off me! How dare you lay a hand on a nobleman’s body?”
Count Amins shouted, flailing his arms. He had never been so humiliated before, and he didn’t even realize how ugly his behavior was.
“Count Amins. I will send a petition to the Imperial Court to accelerate the trial. I’ll see you there next time.”
With Rosalie’s parting words that were akin to a declaration of war, the knights forcibly dragged him out of the room.
As the storm-like Count Amins was dragged out of the reception room, Rosalie sighed and sank down on the sofa.
“Haaa… an idiot and a dying family? I’m so pissed off.”
Of course, it was a remark directed towards the original Rosalie. Although she usually ignored it and shrugged it off, that remark pissed her off even more for some reason.
“Your Grace, I heard loud noises. Are you alright?”
Emma, who had been outside the open reception room door, asked with a concerned expression. Rosalie gestured for her to come in.
“I’m fine, but I’m feeling quite irritated.”
Rosalie muttered and clicked her tongue. She didn’t want to go to trial, but it seemed she had no choice.
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Yes, please.”
Emma hurried off to prepare some tea. She also thought it would be nice to include some slightly sweet cookies to improve Rosalie’s mood.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
The next day, Rosalie trained as usual and was in her office as she went through the paperwork from the territory.
The door swung open, and she didn’t have to look up from her documents to know who had entered. Even without seeing, she knew it was Nathan.
“You said you’re going to bring the trial date forward?”
He must have heard the sound that had leaked out of the reception room. Rosalie shrugged it off and nodded slightly.
“So when’s the trial date?”
“They’ll probably contact me to attend within a week at the latest.”
She immediately sent someone to submit a petition to the Imperial Palace after Count Amins left.
However, there was one thing that bothered Rosalie. The court was old-fashioned, and in a setting where Imperial Authority and Imperial Law took precedence, it was no exaggeration to say that Emperor Patrick’s opinion was the verdict.
‘Count Amins is on good terms with the Emperor.’
As the Dukedom of Judeheart fell, the County of Amins became closer to the Imperial Family. It was especially true ever since the current Count Amins had become the head of his house. He developed a genuine friendship with the Emperor, who had a love for literature.
The only fortunate thing was that Emperor Patrick was an Emperor who clearly distinguished between public and private matters.
“Hmm~ I heard that Erudit worried a lot.”
“Did you contact Erudit privately?”
“Yes. In fact, I sometimes slip my letters into Rosalie’s reports. Then, every once in a while, he gets pissed and writes back. Maybe one every four letters?”
Nathan said with a gleeful tone. It was obvious that the content would be full of things that would upset Erudit. Rosalie did not doubt that the replies he would receive would not be kind.
“…If you keep teasing him like that, Erudit might hit you.”
“It’s okay~ It’s okay~ Erudit’s fists are made of cotton.”
Nathan confidently replied. Rosalie, who was irritated for no reason, glanced at Nathan as he hummed a light tune and thought, ‘I should secretly teach Erudit how to throw a punch.’
“Erudit will soon come up to the capital.”
Rosalie received a report that his successor had been appointed.
When she asked if he could come up to help with the document preparations for the trial and also prepare for the business, he replied that he would come up as soon as possible.
He even added that his successor was quick-witted and there would be no problem even if he left the position.
“That’s good~ I was bored.”
“You were busy eating sweet desserts every day.”
“That’s because Rosalie is busy by herself~.”
Rosalie remembered Nathan opening a box of chocolates with a happy face, but he smirked and insisted that he was just bored until the end.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
It was a sunny afternoon at the Duchy of Judeheart’s mansion when an unexpected visitor arrived.
“Are your wounds okay?”
Having come down to the lobby at Martin’s summons, Rosalie asked Venick, who bowed respectfully.
“Thanks to the potion the Duchess gave me, I can move without any problems. Of course, I’m only handling office work for now, as training would be too much.”
Rosalie smiled with relief when Venick spoke with confidence.
“But what’s the matter?” she asked.
“His Majesty the Emperor wishes to see you.”
Rosalie replied that she would be ready in a moment, so she went to her room and quickly changed before coming downstairs.
Once ready, she boarded the carriage that Venick had prepared in advance. Since Nathan couldn’t enter the palace, he waited at the mansion.
The carriage had no crest, and the windows were covered with thick blackout curtains. It seemed that the Emperor had secretly called Rosalie. As a result, the carriage did not go through the main gate of the palace but went towards the entrance that only the Emperor could use.
Rosalie stepped out of the carriage and followed Venick to the reception room. They opened the heavy door, and Emperor Patrick, who had been waiting, approached Rosalie with brisk steps.
“Welcome, Duchess.”
There was a friendly warmth in his voice, as if he had met an old friend. Patrick invited Rosalie to the table and chairs in one corner of the reception room.
There, a teapot filled with warm tea and appetizing snacks were already prepared.
“Please have a seat.”
At his invitation, Rosalie took a seat. As soon as she was seated, Emperor Patrick poured tea from the pot into her empty cup.
“It’s very good for your health.”
“Thank you.”
Rosalie replied, picking up the steaming cup. She took a sip as the pleasant aroma filled her nostrils. However, the taste was more bitter than she had anticipated, and she set the cup down.
“I’m very grateful to the Duchess.”
“I just did what needed to be done.”
Emperor Patrick couldn’t hide the smile on his face as she gave her usual nonchalant response.
“I was thinking of giving you a special reward. I heard that you also saved Radinis. It’s a small reward compared to their lives, so please don’t think of refusing.”
Emperor Patrick was afraid Rosalie might decline, so he made sure to block any potential escape route. Rosalie had no choice but to accept the reward as it seemed she had no choice.
As Patrick took a sip of tea, he set down his cup and opened his mouth.
“Do you know?”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
Rosalie tilted her head in response to Emperor Patrick’s question. In response, he ran his finger along the handle of the teacup and continued.
“No matter how thirsty they were, Derivis and Radinis never drank tea in the palace. After all, the Empress who drank the poisoned tea they had poured in front of her lost her life.”
Rosalie flinched at his words. Now that she thought about it, there had been a very short passage in the novel.
However, she had forgotten about it, thinking it wasn’t particularly important information. Besides, Derivis occasionally drank tea at her mansion.
Very few people were aware of this fact. It was only natural that she should not know, so Rosalie feigned surprise and bewilderment.
“I thought that the former Empress died of an illness.”
“…That’s why it was buried. There was a reason for it.”
Rosalie knew it was because of Radinis. An unsuspecting Radinis had given the former Empress a poisoned cup of tea, and Patrick had buried it. Derivis followed Patrick’s lead, saying nothing as his brother, the guilty one, was trampled in the snow.
“When the Duchess went to save Derivis, what expression did my son have?”
“…He didn’t have any expression, which made him look even more precarious.”
“He lost his mother and was in charge of the Imperial Knights under my orders. And now, they even turned and tried to stick a sword in his back.”
Patrick said, running a hand through his hair. He had placed the Imperial Knights under Derivis’s control, hoping to secure military power in advance.
“When Derivis returned to the palace, he immediately overturned the Imperial Knights. I can tell he’s trying not to give them any affection as before.”
However, it brought him irremediable pain.
“My sons have suffered immeasurable wounds from the selfishness of adults since they were very young. So, I hope they can be happier.”
Emperor Patrick’s eyes became sad. Rosalie, who knew the full extent of the situation, could not speak easily either.
“Truthfully, Derivis didn’t want to stay in the palace. But I encouraged his vengeful spirit and made him take the position of Crown Prince. I thought it might be a way to stop the Empress’s actions.”
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A weak emperor i see.