“Teveroca is a pseudonym. I’m sure you know her real name, so there’s no need to say it, right?”
The woman made no response as he spoke about her.
After finishing her greetings and tasks, she sat down as if she had completed her duties and tried to put on her fallen robe again.
“That cumbersome thing doesn’t seem necessary anymore.”
However, at the Duke’s restraint, the woman hesitated and lowered her hands.
She looked so calm and still, staring down at the ground, like a well-behaved doll.
Without taking my eyes off her, I spoke.
“Well, I’m not sure.”
I must never show any sign of wavering.
I wanted to straightforwardly ask what he had done to my mother, but I couldn’t do that.
‘I need to buy time.’
I need to keep the conversation with the Duke going until the seeds I’ve prepared germinate.
Attempting to appear calm, I met the Duke’s eyes.
One corner of his mouth tilted upward in amusement.
“Well, you look surprised, Rohiriel. Still, I thought you would be pleased.”
The Duke’s silver eyes sparkled with interest, observing each of my reactions with a gleeful gaze.
Setting down his tea cup leisurely, the Duke added a few more words.
“It’s your mother, Shahadna. Resurrecting her was quite a struggle… but you pretending not to know makes it less rewarding.”
Despite claiming it was less rewarding, his expression showed otherwise.
On the contrary, I couldn’t conceal the discomfort rising within me at the Duke’s seemingly delighted face.
“I just heard her introduce herself as Teveroka from Tangblaham. Do you really think it makes sense for her to be my deceased mother?”
“It is a false identity. In the Empire, Shahadna is considered dead. Revealing the truth could stir up quite a scandal.”
The Duke frowned slightly and shook his head, as if just the thought of it was troublesome.
Then he lifted his gaze and glared at me.
“Rohiriel, why are you interrogating me so sharply?”
“You should know better than anyone. Did you summon me here to play this game?”
The Duke, still smiling, lifted his teacup and took a sip.
Then another sip, and another, and another.
After a short while, he lowered the cup and spoke.
“Your tone is becoming more and more intolerable. As a father, you should know that there are limits to what you can do with love.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of his words.
‘Father’ and ‘love’.
The juxtaposition of these two words, completely mismatched with Zikriesen Cassian, left me feeling a chill run down my spine.
‘He’s provoking me.’
Without responding, the Duke suddenly wiped the amusement from his face, and with a cold tone, he opened his mouth.
“Stop being so stubborn and come back. If you do, I’ll give you a reward.”
“Is the reward, by any chance, the woman who claims to be my mother?”
“Rohiriel.”
The Duke furrowed his brow, as if finding my reaction incomprehensible.
“Wasn’t she the one you wanted in the first place?”
“She’s like a doll without memories or emotions. Where’s the proof that she’s really my mother?”
“Are you suspicious even though they look exactly alike? Beautiful women like Shahadna are rare.”
The Duke’s silver eyes scanned the woman sitting quietly beside him.
There was something captivating about my mother that drew the gaze.
It was not only her physical beauty but also the warmth and noble look in her eyes.
But there was no such look in her eyes now.
All that remained were empty, seemingly authentic blue eyes.
“In fact, that’s why it’s more suspicious. Could she be nothing more than a doll with a convincing facade?”
The words that came out of my mouth hurt me, tearing my heart to shreds.
Anger surged through me at the thought of my mother, whom I love more than anyone, receiving such treatment.
As if trying to gauge my sincerity, the Duke stared at me, narrowing his eyes.
“An interesting perspective. If you thought that way, why did you come here? You could have ignored it.”
His sharp silver eyes flickered as if peering into my inner thoughts.
I needed to resist being swayed by the Duke’s façade.
I gathered my crumbling emotions and forced a smile, pulling up the corners of my mouth.
“I thought we could make a good deal.”
Saying so, I approached the Duke.
Subsequently, I sat in the chair provided at the table, leaning comfortably against the backrest.
“Put away that doll-like figure and tell me something more advantageous for me.”
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
The entire imperial palace was turned upside down.
The Crown Prince and Princess went on a trip.
But only the prince returned!
Just this fact alone was enough to generate various rumors.
And since they couldn’t even figure out where she’d gone, whenever two or more servants gathered, they couldn’t help but gossip about the whereabouts of the Crown Princess.
The rumor was that she had disappeared after a great fight with the crown prince.
Amidst the unspeakably ugly rumors, Julion had become a workaholic.
“Here is the report you mentioned.”
Pailson let out a small sigh as he handed the papers to Julion.
Julion had not slept properly for several days already.
Ever since he’d returned from Mount Hale, he’d been working almost every waking hour.
Instead of going to his bedroom at night, Julion wielded his sword on the training ground, making him wonder when he was ever going to rest.
“So much nonsense.”
Glancing at the report, Julion furrowed his brow.
The fatigue-laden eyes, worn out from countless sleepless nights, sharpened as they swiftly read through the documents.
There was a long list of nobles who claimed the Emperor could not be trusted.
“One by one, they’re being manipulated by their weaknesses.”
That was why the Emperor and Empress had summoned Julion and Rohiriel in such haste.
Dozens of nobles had formally protested that the Emperor could not be trusted.
They claimed that the Emperor’s coming back to life had been accomplished in some unusual way.
One surprising detail was the absence of Count Camer from the list.
During the thorough investigation of Count Camer following the Blanche incident and the chief physician incident, several prominent nobles directly linked to Count Camer were executed.
Perhaps some of them were carriers of the poisonous beetles and had been dealt with at that time.
Thanks to the discreet presence of Count Camer, a prominent noble in the Sertizan empire, the nobles’ protests were not escalating.
“Rumors are spreading among the commoners as well, questioning the Emperor.”
“What kind of talk?”
“That’s it…….”
Pailson hesitated for a moment before cautiously continuing.
“It’s said that the Sertizan Imperial Family has become corrupt…”
Julion’s already grim expression became even more intense.
Pailson swallowed hard and continued.
“Now is the time for a change in the Imperial Family…”
It was a ridiculous notion.
This was practically tantamount to treason.
Julion, leaning back in his chair, placed the report on the desk as he sank deep into the backrest.
“Any chance that an ordinary citizen initiated these rumors?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then it must be Cassian behind it.”
“…Most likely.”
Julion lowered his eyelids.
Fatigue had settled in, causing a slight trembling around his eyes.
“What’s the next agenda?”
“There’s a noble council meeting scheduled.”
“Ha……. What a headache.”
Now that the Emperor had fully recovered, governance had returned to the Emperor’s hands.
However, when the nobles collectively refused to attend the noble council meeting, rejecting the Emperor, Julion found himself leading the meeting once again.
As much as he wanted to sweep away all the nobles, doing so would likely tear the empire into multiple factions.
Splitting into two would be a more favorable outcome.
At least five factions, perhaps even more, could emerge.
Julion had to prevent that at all costs.
When war breaks out, it’s the common people who suffer the most.
Julion sighed and issued a command.
“As soon as the identification of the plague-infected individuals is complete, prepare ‘it.'”
“Yes, Your Highness. And regarding the next agenda…”
Pailson extended the next set of documents he had prepared to Julion.
Just as Julion reluctantly raised his eyelids to accept the documents, an urgent report disrupted the proceedings.
“Your Highness, it’s urgent!”
Freck, who had been waiting outside, rushed inside.
Julion, visibly annoyed, glared at Freck, wondering what new trouble had arisen.
Freck, who had unexpectedly received attention, stood stiffly but shouted loudly with a sense of duty.
“News has arrived that Her Highness, the Crown Princess, has appeared at Duke Cassian’s mansion!”
