HPBUY Chapter 141

Despite her firmness, Jane ultimately had no choice but to follow her wishes. As Jane left the bedroom without further comment, Sienna’s tightly clasped hands finally relaxed weakly.

Sienna slowly exhaled and sat on the stool.

Now everything was truly over.

Irregular breaths escaped between her trembling lips. The hand that had been gripping the edge of the stool weakly wrapped around her lower abdomen.

Even though it probably hadn’t yet formed a proper human shape, she felt a heavy sense of guilt layering upon her heart.

“…This will be best for all of us.”

It was a murmur that could have been meant for the child or for herself.

****

Once the situation was somewhat resolved, the Empress regained some composure.

After completing her official duties, she usually spent her remaining time with her young son, and without fail, headed to the Emperor’s quarters on weekends.

She didn’t do anything particular there. She just sat with a blank face by the bedside of the Emperor, who could neither speak properly nor move his body.

By now, the Empress was accustomed to the sight of Joseph lying motionless in the darkened bedroom. Joseph, who had pathologically hated darkness, never saw light again after that incident.

The royal physician said that being engulfed in flames seemed to have left him with trauma. When the Empress blankly asked if there was no hope for improvement after the physician mentioned that his seizures worsened when surroundings brightened, the physician regretfully replied:

[I am sorry to say this, but… he probably won’t last long.]

He advised her to prepare herself mentally in advance.

As even the faint remnant of hope faded, guilt and despair took its place.

The Empress momentarily closed her eyes as fatigue suddenly washed over her. As she firmly pressed the back of her hand against her stinging eyes, commotion erupted outside the door.

“No, you cannot barge in like this…!”

Before the head maid could finish, the door flew open.

As expected, a group of nobles strode determinedly into the private chamber.

“Your Majesty the Empress, we have something to discuss regarding the regency.”

Only then did the Empress recall that she had signed the document appointing a regent this morning.

It was all too obvious what these agitated nobles, arriving in a crowd, wanted to say. The Empress returned her gaze to her papers and answered briefly.

“I have nothing more to discuss with you, lords.”

“Your Majesty!”

The nobles shouted loudly at her blatant dismissal. It seemed they no longer cared about protocol or anything else.

The appointment announced shortly after the end of the hearings had caused great indignation among the nobles. The outraged nobles immediately headed to the Empress’s chambers without further delay.

Despite the Empress’s firmness, they refused to back down.

“To entrust the regency to the Grand Duke? Even if the charges against him have been reduced, he is far from innocent!”

“He’s someone who attempted to harm His Majesty the Emperor. How dare you put forth such a person as the representative of the Imperial family?”

The Empress furrowed her brow as if hearing something absurd.

“I have already asked for your opinions many times, lords. And you all seemed to have conspired to keep bringing up Count Lowell in my presence, have you not? He is certainly not innocent either.”

“Your Majesty, those two matters cannot be placed on the same level.”

“Is that so? I don’t see such a significant difference.”

The Empress asked mockingly.

She could only scoff at how they were now questioning her when they had failed to provide any proper solutions when she most needed help after the Hunting Festival.

While she might have been at a loss among them when she didn’t know any better, now their shouting no longer affected her. After all, just as they had acted according to their own interests, she too had simply acted in the way most beneficial to herself.

“You defended the Count so passionately that I thought you would embrace the Grand Duke generously as well. It seems I was mistaken.”

“We absolutely cannot accept the Grand Duke as regent.”

Marquis Howard, who stood at the forefront, made his threatening stance clear. Fierce gazes clashed in mid-air.

“Even now, you should withdraw the statement and begin discussions anew.”

“Quite some time has passed since the end of the Hunting Festival, Marquis Howard. You’ve persistently pushed for Count Lowell while ignoring my opinion during all our discussions until now, but when I appoint a regent according to my will, you suddenly want to reopen discussions?”

Marquis Howard opened his mouth as if to offer more excuses, but the Empress was quicker.

“I’m tired.”

She didn’t want to repeat the same arguments they had already gone through several times. She clearly showed her unwillingness to continue this topic by turning her head away.

“If you want to bring down the Grand Duke, come back with proper reasons instead of those that have already been reduced to scraps.”

Marquis Howard’s face, which had been frozen in shock, suddenly flushed with shame.

Deep down, these nobles had been looking down on the Empress. After all, she was just a young woman from a foreign country. Even the young Emperor, born of imperial blood, couldn’t disregard them, so they thought controlling the Empress would be no challenge.

They had arrived with the arrogant belief that they could manipulate her according to their wishes if they just sweet-talked her properly.

But before them, the Empress openly trampled their authority to the ground.

It was rather they who were taken aback when the Empress didn’t even blink at their shouting.

Instead of being intimidated, the Empress treated their words as if they were beneath her notice, resulting in a situation quite different from the nobles’ intention to pressure her into accepting their opinions.

Setting aside matters of status, it was laughable that a mob had gathered to confront a young woman who could be the same as their daughters.

How much more so for Marquis Howard himself, who had led the nobles here?

The Empress’s calm reaction made his earlier instigation of the nobles seem futile, turning the situation around and bruising his pride.

Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t reignite the issue in the Empress’s presence after she had already put an end to it.

Nevertheless, being so thoroughly outmaneuvated by the Empress was incredibly shocking.

It was deeply humiliating to realize that he had been so easily played by a young woman whom he had assumed would have no options against him.

Marquis Howard’s white beard trembled with anger. His neck flushed red, and his Adam’s apple bobbed violently.

The Empress’s gaze, which had been reading the documents, briefly glanced back at him. Unlike him, who couldn’t control his anger, her eyes were utterly serene.

But as their gazes met, the Marquis managed to regain his composure.

The Empress was different from the Emperor.

It was time to acknowledge this simple fact. Unlike her husband, who had been obsessed with his father’s ghost and fretted over things that hadn’t even happened, the Empress never allowed herself to be swept away by those around her, even in chaotic situations.

So if the outcome was already decided, there was no other path. Acceptance was the only stance he should take. Even though he hadn’t secured victory, that was the only way to maintain what little power he had left.

Despite reaching this clear conclusion, Marquis Howard couldn’t speak for a while, his face alternating between red and blue. After a brief silence, he finally accepted his hollow defeat.

“…I will follow Your Majesty the Empress’s will.”

There was no other way. The reason they had been advocating for Count Lowell’s reinstatement to the Empress was partly because they didn’t want to waste the gold they had invested in him, and partly because they had assumed that since Lowell had always survived in the Imperial Palace no matter what happened, this time would be no different.

However, Marquis Howard, who had spent many years in the Imperial Palace, keenly perceived which way the situation was leaning, despite his deep sense of humiliation.

The Empress had already made up her mind, and their hope of changing it had collapsed spectacularly.

So what mattered now wasn’t the gold they had invested. Between a Count whose influence had waned and the mother of the future Emperor—it was too obvious which one would better preserve their authority.

Marquis Howard tightly clenched his trembling hand. They couldn’t risk their own positions by continuing to support Count Lowell.

Watching the Empress resume reading her documents with an emotionless face, Marquis Howard clearly understood the current situation. It was time to completely spit out a medicine that had served its purpose.

****

On the day the official appointment was announced, Declan entered the Imperial Palace around noon.

A brief conflict crossed his mind. While it seemed right to show his face to the nobles since he had received the position, it was clear that they, having surely seen the appointment by now, hadn’t even sent their subordinates to offer a customary greeting.

Well. It was exactly as he had expected.

Slightly tilting his head as if resigned, Declan headed towards the Empress instead of making an appearance before the nobles.

Meanwhile, in one hand, he held a kind of gift for the Empress. Regardless of his personal feelings, he needed to maintain a cooperative relationship with the Empress for the time being, so he had concluded that showing some sincerity was appropriate.

Declan briefly glanced down to check the documents in his hand once more.

‘This should be enough.’

The first thing he had done after receiving confirmation from the Empress was to send soldiers to the Lowell estate.

Since all the employees of the estate had been confined during the search, there was no chance of information leaking out while it was being conducted.