HPBUY Chapter 131

The Empress urged Declan with her eyes. After going this far, she expected at least a corresponding reaction, if not a definite answer. His impassive attitude had left her feeling uneasy lately.

But he showed little change in expression even after hearing that the Princess was safe. His lack of relief only confused the Empress more. Just as she began to doubt the value of the card she held, his mouth slowly opened.

“It would be better if you attended the audience unofficially, without the nobles knowing.”

The Empress hesitated momentarily. It took a few more seconds to understand that his words meant he was accepting her proposal.

“Informing others would unnecessarily complicate matters and prevent a proper agreement from being reached.”

The Grand Duke offered his reasoning in his characteristically calm tone. The Empress, who had been listening silently, lowered her gaze.

“But if we transfer ownership without the Empire gaining anything in return… the backlash would be severe.”

No matter how much the land was cursed with ominous rumors, it was still a major territory in the east. Despite the late Emperor’s will, transferring the land without objection would be nearly impossible.

But Declan responded as if it were an insignificant matter.

“Even if Ricata’s ownership transfers to Parma, they lack sufficient resources to rebuild such vast land. They will inevitably have to request help from the Empire.”

Parma’s size was barely half that of the Empire. There would be many difficulties in developing Ricata independently.

There were issues with technology and costs, but above all, the manpower problem was critical.

“In return, Your Majesty can demand what you desire.”

The Empress’s brow furrowed slightly.

“What I desire?”

“Don’t you want to successfully lead this negotiation to demonstrate your resilience to the nobles?”

Despite his calm tone, the Empress was momentarily speechless, caught off guard. She looked at Declan with a somewhat bewildered face, then narrowed her eyes.

“…Half right and half wrong.”

She murmured softly.

The Grand Duke was correct. With the Emperor in his current state, the nobles were initially shocked by his misfortune, but now they saw it as an opportunity to seize power. With the imperial authority precariously shaken, the Empress felt insecure about everything.

Inevitably, a regent would need to be appointed, but power must be passed down to her son in the near future.

However, seeing the nobles at recent meetings desperately trying to appoint regents favorable to their interests, that process didn’t seem likely to go smoothly.

“Even if the negotiations conclude successfully, I don’t expect the nobles’ view of me to change.”

The Empress understood reality well. While she certainly wanted to teach the nobles who treated her like a figurehead a lesson, as Declan suggested, she already knew the fate of a woman who had walked that path before.

She knew the late Emperor’s will was a testament of affection for his daughter. But that alone couldn’t change the Empire’s long-established customs overnight.

He probably considered this when including provisions guaranteeing Ricata’s autonomy, but the Empress was merely in a position where she had to follow the Empire’s customs and laws.

Even if Sienna received her father’s grace and gained enormous power, it didn’t apply to the Empress.

She needed to find a way. But for her, already on the defensive, not many opportunities remained.

“…So, I desperately need achievement.”

Their eyes met briefly. It was a fleeting moment, but the gaze measuring each other’s utility value was identical for both.

The corners of the Empress’s mouth rose bitterly.

Shortly after her brief meeting with the Grand Duke, the Empress sent a reply to Parma through Count Monches. The content was brief and concise: she would agree to an audience with Parma to discuss the disposition of the Ricata territory.

****

Lifting her heavy eyelids, Sienna blinked several more times through her blurry vision. As the scene gradually became clearer, her still dazed eyes examined the space she was in.

It was a room with neatly applied ivory wallpaper. There wasn’t much furniture, but that made it feel even more clean and uncluttered.

Sienna blinked slowly once more.

The bed she lay on was extremely soft, and faint sounds of people talking could be heard through the window. So this place wasn’t a tumbledown barn with crumbling walls in Ricata.

“Are you conscious?”

Sienna’s eyes slowly turned to Jane who asked the question. Recognizing the unfamiliar room’s scenery, Sienna sat up.

“…How long have I been lying here?”

“Well, about four or five days, I think.”

Sienna hurriedly got up from the bed. Jane, who had been counting the days, also stood up in surprise.

“Where are you going?”

“Jere… I mean, where is His Majesty?”

“He’s gone to meet with an envoy from the Empire right now… Your Highness!”

When Sienna tried to walk straight toward the door, Jane quickly grabbed her. Her face still showed clear signs of illness.

Her facial features were sharper than usual, and her complexion was so pale it had a bluish tint.

“You… shouldn’t overexert yourself. Since you’ve been lying down for a long time, for a while…”

“Jane.”

It was a voice close to a murmur, lacking strength. Sienna smiled weakly and stopped Jane who was trying to support her.

“This is no time to be taking it easy.”

As soon as she said that and left the bedroom, a soldier guarding the front blocked her way. He said he couldn’t let her out until the King gave his permission. Even at that moment, Sienna was completely relieved at the word “King,” and asked the soldier:

“Where is His Majesty?”

****

At the eastern border of the Empire, the atmosphere between the two people sitting opposite each other was very heavy.

The Empress, who had been silently staring at Jeremiah, slightly rolled her eyes.

The reception room arranged at the eastern border clearly showed signs of age, but it seemed they had put effort into maintaining it as it didn’t leave a dirty impression. Of course, it was significantly below the standard for a private audience between a king of a country and an empress of an empire.

Because the Empress had come alone with minimal personnel to avoid the opposition of nobles who despised Parma, it was impossible to invite them to the palace and provide lavish hospitality according to custom.

While the nobles insisted that they should never be dragged along as Parma wanted, they couldn’t offer proper opinions on the future disposition of Ricata.

The Empress expressed her opinion that discussions on Ricata needed to be concluded as soon as possible to stabilize state affairs, but they simply refused to swallow their pride.

Eventually, when they started mentioning war, the Empress finally headed to Parma independently. It was something she would have to face sooner or later anyway.

Since the stance of the imperial nobles had remained unchanged since the Hunting Festival, there was a need to directly hear Parma’s position.

When the Empress requested a meeting with the King through Count Monches, a positive response soon came back.

It wasn’t a very long distance from the imperial palace to the eastern border. That was fortunate for the Empress, who couldn’t leave the palace for long periods.

Although it was clearly an uncomfortable situation, Jeremiah showed no sign of it when facing the Empress. Unlike the Empress, who sat with a stiff face, he maintained his characteristic smiling expression, looking no different from before.

“By the way, I remembered what you mentioned before, so I brought this.”

At Jeremiah’s gesture, an attendant approached and handed him something. Jeremiah took it and placed it close to the Empress.

“It’s an herb that healers in our kingdom use to treat night blindness. I heard it’s rare in the Empire, so I brought it.”

It was an action based on what the Empress had said at a banquet held in the Empire previously.

The Empress’s gaze briefly went to the object wrapped in layers of blue silk packaging, then back to Jeremiah.

“I appreciate the gesture, but I didn’t come here today to discuss such matters.”

“Parma’s position regarding Ricata remains the same as what was previously conveyed through Count Monches, Your Majesty.”

Despite the cold response, Jeremiah showed no signs of being intimidated.

He had no intention of giving up ownership of Ricata. It was finally an opportunity to break free from the past of living in submission to the Empire for a long time.

What he had aspired to since growing up as the heir to the throne was finally within reach. While he felt human sympathy for Sienna, that couldn’t weaken Jeremiah’s resolve.

The Empress, who had been silently looking at Jeremiah’s determined face, briefly turned her gaze to the doorway.

“By the way, I thought the Princess would come along.”

“The Princess is not in a condition to attend. But there’s no need to worry. I should be sufficient to engage in negotiations.”

Jeremiah answered as if it were nothing. He glossed over the issue concerning the Princess as if it were an insignificant topic and changed the subject.

“By the way, you must have come a long way. Aren’t you hungry?”

“…That can’t be.”

The Empress muttered in response. Jeremiah’s gaze, which was about to turn to an attendant, returned to the Empress.

“I cannot discuss this matter without meeting the Princess.”