HPBUY Chapter 122

The sky, obscured by leaves, was not clearly visible, but the abnormal darkness enveloping all directions was vividly felt.  

Joseph’s eyes, filled with bewilderment, groped through the air before turning to his horse. Fortunately, the animal was standing nearby, not having fled in surprise.  

He seemed so taken aback by the untimely arrival of the eclipse that he didn’t even realize Sienna was holding a lamp.  

No sooner had Joseph taken a step than Sienna laid the lamp horizontally and firmly grasped both ends with her hands.  

Her raising it high and his gaze turning towards it happened almost simultaneously. Without hesitation, Sienna struck Joseph’s head with the lamp.  

The glass lamp shattered above him with a sharp cracking sound.  

“You damned b*tch…”

Joseph’s words trailed off.  

Sienna’s hand lost its grip, and the lamp fell to the ground. The wick’s flame caught onto the oil spilled over the fallen leaves, and it began to burn.  

Joseph belatedly moved away, throwing off his coat that was soaked with the lamp’s oil. But that alone was not enough.  

The flames quietly, but in the blink of an eye, spread to him.  

The bright flames instantly engulfed Joseph.  

Sienna staggered backward from the fiercely burning flames. Joseph’s screams, filled with the pain of burning flesh, echoed loudly in her ears.  

Shocked by the scene she had created, Sienna, who had been frozen like a stone statue in front of the fire, regained her senses at Joseph’s beast-like screams.  

“This damned thing. You b*tch I’ll tear you to pieces.” He spewed out all sorts of curses, which eventually turned into a shriek.  

This was not the time to be like this.  

She didn’t have much time.  

Sienna moved her feet, trying to go in the direction where her horse was.  

However, her frozen feet wouldn’t move as she willed. Even as darkness fell due to the eclipse, Joseph’s body burned brightly.  

Sienna, who had been stiff, took a hesitant step backward. After moving back a few more steps, her back finally touched the horse’s body.  

Barely managing to get on the horse, she immediately began to ride it like crazy.  

****

The weekend breakfast was as usual.  

With the emperor absent, the only ones sharing the meal were the empress and the First Princess Marianne.  

Even during normal meals, there was little conversation between the two, but with the emperor’s absence, the atmosphere was even more desolate.  

“Wouldn’t it be better to go now?”

A light voice, out of place with the atmosphere, broke the silence.  

“If the Empress of a nation doesn’t go to the hunting festival, the empire’s dignity will be tarnished.”  

“I have already obtained permission from His Majesty, so the Princess doesn’t need to worry.”

The empress made her position clear with a gentle smile. It was extremely impudent for a mere princess to talk about the empire’s dignity in front of the empress.  

Of course, Marianne seemed to care little about such things.  

The empress put down her cutlery and said, “Rather than that, I should apologize.”  

Marianne’s downcast eyes glanced at the empress. The empress still maintained a full smile as she continued speaking softly.  

“I was going to look after Leopold, so I wasn’t going to attend the hunting festival. I feel very sorry to the Princess that it turned out this way.”  

“Since we are both in the same position of not participating in the hunting festival, I will take Leo. You must have suffered a lot taking care of the child in place of His Majesty and me, so please take a break for the time being.”  

Her voice was particularly clear when she said, “in place of His Majesty and me.” The empress intended to use today to thoroughly remind Marianne of her place.  

However, as the empress expected, Marianne hardened her face and acted brazenly.  

“That’s not something the Empress should decide. His Majesty personally told me…”  

“What the Princess can do for the empire is not looking after children in the imperial palace.”  

Clarifying the hierarchy within the imperial family was something that should have been done long ago.  

Until now, the empress hadn’t stepped in because Joseph had been shielding her, but she couldn’t stand by and watch her overreach extend to Leo.  

“Did you hear the news? It seems this Second Princess attended the hunting festival with the Grand Duke.”  

To make Marianne properly understand her place, she intended to use not only the Second Princess but also the Grand Duke without hesitation.  

It was not difficult. Wasn’t it a fact known to all the nobles of the empire who the First Princess wanted as her spouse? There was no way the empress wouldn’t know.  

She had avoided mentioning it because she didn’t want to get involved in the princesses’ fight over a man, but the stories that had already spread throughout society were reaching her ears in detail.  

Marianne’s face slightly hardened.  

“What…”

“If they even went together to the hunting festival, what more needs to be said?”

The empress replied with a voice laced with laughter.  

It was extremely significant for a pair of men and women to attend the empire’s biggest event, the hunting festival, together.  

So, there could be nothing more humiliating for the First Princess. It was as if she had been publicly rejected.  

The empress wasn’t particularly interested in the relationship between the Grand Duke and the Second Princess, but she was very interested in how that matter would affect the First Princess.  

“It seems we don’t need to worry about the Second Princess’s marriage. I was worried that she might be greatly shocked by the Parma incident, but it’s fortunate that she found a good match. Don’t you think so?”  

There was no reply, but for the empress, Marianne’s complexion, which had become noticeably hardened compared to before, was enough. The empress’s smile, having clearly gained the upper hand, deepened.  

“I’m thinking of asking His Majesty to decide on the Second Princess’s marriage as soon as he returns from the hunting festival. What does the Princess think? I’m concerned that the Princess might be upset if her younger sister’s marriage is decided first.”  

“That’s not something the Empress should be concerned about.”  

“Of course, it is. Princess. It’s something I should rightfully take responsibility for as the lady of the house. In fact, if we’re being honest, isn’t your marriage a more urgent matter than the Second Princess’s?”  

Even with the stiff voice, the empress calmly countered.  

Marianne glared at her fiercely. She was not unaware of the empress’s intentions.  

If she were ostracized in this way, it was only natural that the empress’s position within the imperial family would grow stronger.  

The empress, who had been leisurely looking at Marianne, suddenly turned her gaze behind her.  

Not far away, the head maid was gesturing with a pale face.  

The empress, frowning slightly, wiped her hands with a napkin and rose from her seat.  

Either way, her business was already finished. She had said everything she wanted to say, so there was no need to face the princess any longer.  

“I should get going now. Enjoy your meal, Princess.”

The empress offered her greetings with a face that hadn’t lost its smile until the end.  

No sooner had she entered the hallway than the head maid urgently approached her.  

“Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!”  

****

Marquis Hoffman stared blankly at the healers going in and out of the emperor’s bedroom.  

He looked up at Sir Stefan, the commander of the Knights Order, standing next to him, with a dazed look, then glanced back at the emperor’s bedroom.  

He blinked his eyes, but this was still not a dream.  

‘What on earth is going on?’

At a time when the hunting festival’s afterparty should have been in full swing, the marquis found the solemn atmosphere of the imperial palace, where he was standing, unreal.  

Everything had happened so suddenly.  

It was already bewildering enough that the emperor was engulfed in flames in the middle of the mountains, but to make matters worse, the Second Princess went missing, and the Grand Duke was suddenly accused of being the mastermind behind it. The marquis couldn’t wrap his head around it.  

The marquis learned of this after returning to the villa from hunting. At that time, the Sendelk Mountain villa was already in ruins.  

When he belatedly heard the details from other nobles, he learned that the commander of the Knights Order arrived at the scene and Declan was in the same space as the emperor.  

Even during the interrogation, he answered without denying anything.  

As a result, Declan was arrested on the spot.  

Considering his title as Grand Duke, he would normally be detained in a way that didn’t damage his dignity too much, but the commander of the Knights Order, as soon as he returned to the capital, unexceptionally threw him into the underground prison.  

However, a proper investigation hadn’t even taken place yet.  

The marquis mustered up the courage to protest, thinking that this was too much.  

“Sir Stefan. Isn’t this too excessive? A complete verdict hasn’t been reached yet.”  

Stefan, the commander of the Imperial Knights Order, didn’t seem to be listening. The marquis’s brow furrowed at his indifferent reply.  

Just as he was about to lash out again, a healer came out of the emperor’s chamber.  

The two men’s gazes simultaneously turned to the healer.  

“Fortunately, he has survived.”  

At those words, the marquis felt a sense of relief. The treatment must have been difficult, as beads of sweat were forming on the healer’s forehead, but the marquis was satisfied just knowing that the emperor’s life had been saved.  

Regardless of the truth behind this incident, he was extremely relieved that it had ended in an attempt.  

Unlike the marquis, whose face brightened noticeably, Stefan asked expressionlessly.  

“What is the extent of his injuries?”  

“Well, that’s… since he barely survived, it will be difficult for him to lead a normal life as before.”  

“What do you mean? It will be difficult for him to return to his former self?”  

The marquis asked with wide eyes, but the healer hesitated and couldn’t speak properly.