Enemies Meet at the Engagement Ceremony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the first time, all warmth disappeared from the emperor’s face, leaving it completely expressionless.

 

Even the tiniest movements, inevitable in a human, were absent from the emperor’s face. It was so devoid of emotion that it seemed like a mask.

 

The most mask-like face was the emperor’s true face.

 

“You knew.”

 

Jade Gray nodded silently.

 

The two men’s gazes clashed in the air. It felt as though invisible sparks were flying, or as if a cold mist was creeping up between them.

 

After a long silence, during which they scrutinized each other without speaking, it was the emperor who first raised the white flag.

 

“Then ask what you wish to know. I will answer.”

 

“Diana went to Kratyn Forest to carry out the royal command, and in doing so, is it a reward with creating a connection between Enoch and the Crown Prince?”

 

The emperor nodded with a sly smile at Jade Gray, who asked the question as if he had been waiting for this moment.

 

“If you win the Crown Prince’s favor, it will put you in a more advantageous position when the emperor’s sword is chosen in the future. I have given the Gray Duchy a reward significant enough to make a big step toward victory.”

 

“…Haa.”

 

At the emperor’s response, a blue vein bulged on Jade Gray’s forehead. His clenched fists began to tremble.

 

This was the most intense reaction Jade Gray, who had been calmly pressuring the emperor all along, had shown.

 

Apparently not expecting this, the emperor raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to speak.

 

“Could you allow me to speak comfortably for a moment, considering the father’s mind, who lost his reason upon hearing news of his only daughter?”

 

The emperor nodded in approval, recognizing that to refuse would seem like treason.

 

“…Do as you wish, Master. It’s been a long time.”

 

“Yes, Marchian.”

 

The emperor naturally used the old title from the past.

 

In an instant, the atmosphere shifted back to when Jade Gray was teaching the young prince.

 

“I taught you everything I knew, but there was one thing I did not tell you.”

 

“That is a disappointing statement, Master. I thought I had received all of your knowledge.”

 

“You did not need to know. It was something only Gray needed to know.”

 

Jade Gray extended one arm into the air as if aiming a sword at the emperor’s neck.

 

“We are knights. And the battles of knights are fought only with the sword. Only with the sword.”

 

“………”

 

“No matter how many people gossip about Gray being a politician and not a knight, it does not change that we are knights and I am also a knight.”

 

The emperor now realized how rude his words had been to Jade Gray and the entire Gray family.

 

For generations, the Gray family heads had not only been strategic swordsmen with brilliant minds but had also excelled in various social arenas, which led to this misunderstanding.

 

However, the Gray family was a knightly house, fundamentally rooted in martial prowess.

 

“Though I have chosen a different way to wield the sword than Seffield, I have never forgotten that I am a knight.”

 

The emperor knew that victories achieved through politics were considered defeats to knights who spoke through their swords.

 

He had deeply offended Gray’s noble pride.

 

Seeing the emperor frown, Jade Gray lowered his arm. His hand, which had hovered near his waist as if to sheathe an invisible sword, finally rested on his knee.

 

“The late emperor understood this, but you, despite having learned everything from me, do not. That is your limitation. What I do not show, you cannot know, and thus you cannot trust me. You will doubt and test me until you make the worst move and turn Gray against you.”

 

Indeed, Gray had pondered continuously until this private audience with the emperor, debating whether to stand in opposition.

 

The emperor’s arrogant judgment to monitor the Gray family, which had become unpredictable due to Diana’s situation, had forced Jade Gray into contemplation. Now aware of this, the emperor raised his hands and took a step back.

 

“I have misunderstood. I admit my mistake and apologize.”

 

This was not Marchian, Jade Gray’s former student, but the emperor acknowledging his error. Given his arrogant nature, this was not an easy admission, and Jade Gray decided not to push further.

 

“That’s all I needed to hear. However, you must ensure that the royal family acknowledges its debt to Gray.”

 

“…Indeed! Sending Diana to Kratyn Forest was my decision, leading to this situation. There is no room for excuses.”

 

Having achieved the purpose of this meeting, Jade Gray leaned back comfortably on the sofa. He looked as if he were savoring a victory, causing the Emperor to grumble sarcastically.

 

“Since you’ve been so candid, let me ask you, Duke. Why did you take the Empress’s brother as your son-in-law?”

 

Edward Gray, Diana’s husband, was the Empress’s only younger brother.

 

The Blandius Marquess, the Empress’s family, had produced empresses for generations.

 

Edward was the only other child besides the Empress, and despite being the heir to the marquisate, he gave up his succession rights to marry Diana and joined the Gray Ducal family as a son-in-law, a well-known story in the Lutinas Empire.

 

“I was against it. But Edward threw such a fit, saying he would die if he couldn’t marry my daughter, that we had to agree to the marriage. You know that, Your Majesty.”

 

“You must have known that permitting their union would mean my scrutiny. Did you agree just to appease the Marquess Blandius?”

 

“Diana was so enamored with Edward that she insisted on marrying him. What could we do? Parents can never win against their children.”

 

“Ha! When Diana was betrothed to Emblem, you didn’t hesitate to strip away her succession rights.”

 

“Emblem was an exception. I would rather bite my tongue and die than see my family allied with Emblem.”

 

Jade Gray almost lost his temper but managed to maintain his composure with a cough.

 

The only thing that could ever unsettle his usually cold demeanor was Emblem. The Emperor snorted in disbelief.

 

“No wonder the Empress is so ambitious. That snake woman will never let go of Gray. Gray will be slowly poisoned by her and lose all his power.”

 

The Emperor had reasons for keeping the Gray Ducal family in check and forcibly connecting Enoch to the Crown Prince. Empress Isabelle Leopardo Lutinas, the current Empress of the Lutinas Empire, was determined to make her son the Emperor.

 

“Even now, the Empress is constantly poisoning the Crown Prince, sending assassins, and casting curses. She is doing everything she can to end his life.”

 

“…………”

 

“If anything happens to the Crown Prince by the Empress’s hand, Enoch Gray, who is related to her by blood, will not be safe either.”

 

Jade Gray’s gaze momentarily shifted to the window. Outside that window, Enoch would still be diligently practicing his sword.

 

Even though his father, Edward, had severed all ties and relinquished all rights to the marquisate, it did not change the fact that he was of Blandius blood.

 

Unless the Empress’s plans succeeded in causing a revolution, neither Edward nor Enoch could be free.