With a gloomy face, Dahlia fidgeted with the edge of her teacup and asked in a quiet voice.
“Have you met with His Grace the Grand Duke in person, Your Majesty?”
Facing the Empress who frowned in disbelief, Dahlia carefully continued.
“I thought that Your Majesty might need His Grace the Grand Duke now more than ever.”
“Me?”
The Empress furrowed her brow. Seeing the overt animosity displayed, Dahlia hesitated momentarily.
Speaking her mind would be tantamount to betraying the Empress’s goodwill. At this point, Dahlia couldn’t help but consider her own position.
An illegitimate child of the imperial family, unrecognized publicly. Although she had come of age, she was significantly younger than her older siblings. It seemed presumptuous for her to express her thoughts so candidly.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t remain silent.
“Don’t… don’t you need to appoint a regent?”
“Are you suggesting I should make the man who tried to harm His Majesty the Emperor the regent?”
The Empress immediately became serious. Dahlia instantly sensed that her timid gamble had failed.
“…If I spoke out of turn, I apologize, Your Majesty.”
Despite her prompt apology, the Empress’s face grew subtly darker.
Her sincere desire to protect Dahlia in the chaotic palace was genuine. But even such sentiments seemed to falter in the current tumultuous situation.
“It would be best for you to stay in the palace for now. Let’s talk again once this matter is settled.”
However, it didn’t take long for the Empress to reconsider Dahlia’s words, which she had initially dismissed as childish.
Joseph’s condition was an unprecedented crisis for the empire, but the Empress tried to manage the situation as calmly as possible.
With the Emperor incapacitated, someone needed to act in his stead. There was Leopold, the legitimate heir, but the child was too young. They couldn’t place a toddler who had just started walking and talking on the imperial throne.
Therefore, the Empress needed to temporarily exercise the Emperor’s authority and appoint a proper regent. Though the period would be brief, the responsibility was immense.
Every morning, the Empress received opinions from the Noble Council about selecting a regent. But even when gathered, the nobles could hardly reach a consensus.
While everyone agreed that a regent should be appointed, opinions were sharply divided on who it should be. Names of all sorts of high-ranking nobles were being discussed.
Traditionally, regents were selected from among nobles of renowned lineage. This was not only because they would be acting on behalf of the Emperor, but also because nobles from powerful families were less likely to be swayed by personal interests.
Given these qualifications, some nobles attempted to surreptitiously nominate Duke Lowell as a candidate.
“Your Majesty, Duke Lowell should be recalled to the palace.”
“Have you forgotten the hunting festival incident so soon? The Duke is the root cause of all these troubles, so what good would come from bringing him back?”
Despite Marquis Hoffman’s criticism, the noble stroked his white beard and responded indifferently.
“Regardless, isn’t the Duke the most capable person to stabilize this chaotic state of affairs? It’s inappropriate to treat him so poorly over a single mistake.”
“Deceiving His Majesty the Emperor isn’t such a light offense.”
“Well then, does the Marquis have any better ideas? Instead of constantly criticizing, suggest a proper solution.”
The noble snapped irritably, causing the Marquis to grimace.
The cartel Duke Lowell had established through corruption remained solid. Even now, with the Duke disgracefully confined, the relationships forged through years of exchanging black money and power seemed untouched.
They deliberately argued that the Duke’s confinement was an unjustified measure.
As the situation escalated, it appeared the nobles had decided to abandon the Emperor completely.
After all, wasn’t it clear that the Emperor had falsified the will? On one hand, they were reluctant to publicly expose the monarch’s misconduct, but on the other, the Emperor was already in a hopeless state. Their obvious intention was to use this opportunity to reinstate the Duke.
However, since they couldn’t openly criticize the monarch in front of the Empress, they outwardly expressed their disagreement with the Duke’s punishment to hint at their true intentions. But such base motives couldn’t be hidden.
What the Marquis had clearly perceived, the Empress couldn’t possibly miss.
Yet despite the Marquis’s contemptuous expression, they continued to forcefully advocate their position without the slightest intimidation.
“Since the Duke proved his capability since the late Emperor’s era, isn’t he the most suitable person for regency? Don’t you agree, Your Majesty?”
In response to their subtle request for her concurrence, the Empress answered with a sigh.
“Since everyone’s opinions seem unable to converge, let’s postpone this agenda.”
The discussion naturally moved to the topic of Ricata.
The atmosphere became even more heated. While everyone agreed that it was absurd to transfer Ricata to the Princess as per the will, they couldn’t provide concrete suggestions on how to handle the region.
While they strongly opposed giving it to Parma, they appeared hesitant to touch an area that had been forbidden since the previous generation.
By this point, the Empress felt deeply fatigued at the thought of having to select one of them as regent.
The meeting eventually ended with irreconcilable differences.
After several more such days, her resolve to reach a conclusion through proper meetings seemed futile, and she realized that further discussions would be meaningless. Instead of reconvening the council, she summoned two elderly nobles separately to the palace.
Being the most seasoned nobles after Duke Lowell, the Empress believed they would have the insight to navigate this situation.
In this chaos, she desperately needed someone’s help, and she considered them the most qualified to provide valuable advice. She was essentially clutching at straws.
“Allow the Duke to return, Your Majesty.”
At the firm tone, the Empress blinked blankly. Meanwhile, the nobles continued with unwavering expressions.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but it’s unfair to banish the Duke, who has dedicated his life to the empire, for a single moment’s mistake.”
So ultimately, their argument wasn’t very different from what had been heard in the council meetings. The Empress couldn’t help but smile wryly.
She had summoned the two to escape the council’s debates dictated by factions and to get a proper answer. Yet the elderly nobles had clearly betrayed her expectations.
“Count Smith’s opinion is absolutely correct. The fact that the empire didn’t face even minor chaos when the late Emperor was rapidly expanding territories was all thanks to Duke Lowell’s capabilities. Having personally experienced turbulent times, isn’t the Duke the most suitable candidate in the current situation with the Emperor critically ill?”
As if one wasn’t enough, the other noble also joined in support. Their consistent reactions, as if pre-arranged, were almost disconcerting, but the Empress remained firm.
“That’s impossible. I acknowledge his contributions to the empire, but isn’t the regent essentially a proxy for His Majesty the Emperor? How can you suggest placing someone who betrayed two Emperors in such a position?”
She couldn’t comprehend why they were still advocating for the Duke even after the major incident at the hunting festival. At the Empress’s sharp remark, Count Smith’s gaze turned piercing.
“Your Majesty, the term ‘betrayal’ is not appropriate.”
“…What did you say?”
“Such a term is fitting for the Princess who committed this act and fled, or the Grand Duke who supported her despite knowing the gravity of the situation. For Duke Lowell, it was likely an unavoidable circumstance.”
The two nobles took turns reinforcing the argument that the Duke should be reinstated.
“Furthermore, in a way, didn’t Duke Lowell assist His Majesty the Emperor? Had the will been publicly disclosed, the Emperor would have been the most troubled, which Your Majesty surely understands.”
“That’s…”
The Empress couldn’t find a counterargument and shifted her gaze. Marquis Howard seized the opportunity to drive the point home.
“The fact that Duke Lowell prioritizes the empire above all remains unchanged, Your Majesty.”
“…”
“Please consider his loyalty.”
Marquis Howard spoke while fixing the Empress with a gaze tinged with subtle pressure.
Although she had summoned them to resolve the issue, by this point, the Empress felt the effort had been futile.
She had expected them to identify someone capable of resolving the current chaotic situation, but they seemed interested only in the immediate power struggle.
While they claimed the Duke could resolve the situation, the Empress wasn’t foolish enough to be swayed by such rhetoric.
Thus, even the meeting she had considered her last hope had ended in vain.
