The Empress licked her lips like a snake before continuing.
“You wouldn’t dare blame the Imperial family, so you would naturally blame the Gray Knights here.”
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
The Crown Prince hastily approached her. His face, upon encountering this unexpected visitor, was painted with bewilderment.
“How could you come to such a dangerous place like this? Did His Majesty allow it?”
“How could His Majesty stop a mother from accompanying her son to where he goes?”
The Empress, wearing a benevolent smile, glanced at the Second Prince, Arthur, who was nervously fidgeting with his fingers behind her.
Startled by her gaze, Arthur quickly stepped forward, positioning himself in front of the Crown Prince.
“B-brother.”
“Arthur…”
The Crown Prince stifled a sigh at the sight of Arthur’s face, which was now fraught with worry.
“I only permitted you to observe because you showed interest in merchant transportation. I didn’t agree to let you witness this dangerous extermination mission.”
“But I… wanted to… help you, Brother…”
Arthur’s stammering words couldn’t reach their conclusion.
“Helping me? Arthur…”
It was because the Empress’s sharp glare had cut his words off mid-sentence.
“As the Second Prince of the Empire, Arthur is only performing his rightful duty of supporting the citizens of the Empire.”
“Yes, that’s correct…”
Arthur couldn’t refute the Empress’s words and merely hung his head, as if realizing that remaining silent was the wisest choice in the current situation.
Pleased with Arthur’s compliant attitude, the Empress continued with a satisfied smile.
“Fortunately, Arthur and I happened to be visiting Baron Cortiz’s territory to console him over the aftermath of the Lowes mountain disaster.”
“I see…”
The Crown Prince finally realized how the Empress and Arthur had found their way here.
Not far from the scene, Baron Cortiz and his wife stood beside their son, Emmet Cortiz, who had joined the Gray Knights, tending to his injuries.
The Empress had been by their side after hearing about Emmet Cortiz’s injury and rushing over in concern.
“If one were unaware of the situation, it couldn’t be helped, but now that you know, it’s only natural for Arthur to act. Continue the extermination; he will assist, even if only a little.”
“Your Majesty the Empress, that is—!”
This extermination had been entrusted solely to the Crown Prince by the Emperor.
It wasn’t just a command; it was a test to prove his ability as the future leader of the Empire.
If the Second Prince were to be involved here, the Crown Prince would lose both his opportunity to demonstrate his competence and the trust of the Empire’s people.
However, knowing the peril lurking in the Lowes Mountains that had injured half of the highly skilled Gray Knights, the Crown Prince couldn’t proceed with the extermination.
If their skills had been lacking, lives might have been lost. The Crown Prince had no intention of allowing casualties on this mission.
“It’s too dangerous to continue the extermination with our current forces!”
“Then will you abandon the extermination and leave the Gray Knights to face the resentment of the Empire’s people while the Crown Prince flees?”
The Empress rebuked him with a commanding voice.
She had now linked Arthur’s involvement to the honor of the Gray Knights in her argument.
“Isn’t it the fundamental duty of the Imperial family and knights to be ready to make any sacrifice for the Empire’s people? It’s regrettable that you may not showcase your abilities to His Majesty, but you must understand what takes precedence.”
Listening to the Empress’s smoothly flowing words, even the Gray Knights and the people of the barony unconsciously began nodding their heads.
Seeing the crowd swayed by her reasoning, the Crown Prince clenched his fists in frustration. His mind seemed to go blank.
But at that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from behind him, followed by a voice responding to the Empress.
“Before rushing in like a moth to a flame, one must coldly assess the situation to prevent unnecessary sacrifices. That is the ability of a ruler.”
“………!”
The Crown Prince turned sharply, his eyes widening.
Through the rising smoke of her return, Melsia Emblem, the Commander of the Emblem Knights, appeared. Her entire body was drenched in the black blood of demons.
“Your Highness, as a ruler, you must consider everything rather than prioritizing one thing over another.”
“Melsia Emblem…”
The Empress’s expression hardened fiercely as she muttered Melsia’s name through clenched teeth. Her voice carried a threatening edge, as if she wished to devour her. Standing beside her, Arthur trembled slightly.
“In such a dangerous place, it’s natural that Your Majesty failed to consider that a few knights would need to remain behind to escort you, further depleting the already short-handed extermination forces.”
“……….”
“Your Majesty the Empress, your role is to remain as benevolent as a flower. Matters like this are best left to the Crown Prince to manage.”
Melsia’s words caused the Empress’s face to twist in humiliation.
Suddenly, the Empress had become someone who, despite her lofty ideals, seemed completely detached from the realities of practical matters.
All her words now appeared as mere pleas born out of compassion.
Her hands, clutching the hem of her dress, turned white from anger as they trembled with fury.
“Dame Emblem.”
The Crown Prince looked at Melsia as if she were his savior.
Even though she was a mess, covered in the blood of monsters, in this moment, she seemed to shine.
Moreover, her appearance caused Baron Cortiz and his wife, who had been at a distance, to rush toward her.
“My goodness, isn’t this the Commander of the Emblem Knights!”
“You went to such lengths for our Cortiz Barony, to the point of being drenched in monster blood…”
The baron’s family, seemingly forgetting the conversation between the Empress and the Crown Prince, busied themselves with speaking to Melsia.
Meanwhile, the Gray Knights turned their heads away, reluctant to show their injured state in front of her.
‘As expected of Emblem. She always rescues me, no matter where or when.’
The Crown Prince felt a flutter of admiration rise within his chest.
At that moment, the Empress, who had quickly regained her composure, raised a handkerchief and spoke.
“Dame Emblem, what is this state you’re in? The Empire’s finest knight, drenched in monster blood so carelessly…”
Covering her nose with the handkerchief as if disgusted by the smell was an insult to a knight who had just come from battle.
It was evident that the Empress was determined to vent her frustration in front of others in any way possible.
However, Melsia knelt on one knee before the Empress as if it didn’t matter to her in the slightest and spoke.
“How merciful of Your Majesty to personally offer to clean the monster blood from me. Truly, you are the mother of the Empire. I shall remember this honor forever.”
“………!”
The Empress, who had only intended to hold her nose with the handkerchief, froze in an awkward posture, unable to move.
“Her Majesty the Empress is truly kind-hearted.”
“Even though monster blood is dreadful, how noble of Her Majesty. What knight wouldn’t want to lay down their life for such an Empress?”
Baron Cortiz and his wife looked at the Empress with admiration and respect.
“……….”
Melsia, staring up at the pale-faced, frozen Empress, grinned and tilted her head slightly.
As if saying, What are you waiting for? Go ahead and clean it.
