Even during the hearing, I had rushed in without thinking due to urgency about my own affairs, but once the situation calmed down, I finally became aware of my surroundings.
Even after using authority to unilaterally appoint a regent, the turmoil within the imperial palace was not easily subdued. As expected, the nobles strongly objected, and the Empress fled, leaving all the aftermath for the Grand Duke to handle.
Contrary to my internal concerns that he might sabotage things out of resentment for being threatened using the imperial princess, the Grand Duke was fulfilling his duties even more diligently than expected.
Originally, Ricata would have been the first agenda for him as regent, but he expressed his intention not to be directly involved with this matter and temporarily delegated his authority to Marquis Hoffman.
This began to gradually disperse the reactions of nobles who had fiercely opposed the Grand Duke.
Marquis Hoffman, who was now leading state affairs on a temporary basis, did not actively participate in discussions, likely due to his characteristically lukewarm personality.
Originally without any particular bias, he was performing quite admirably as a mediator among the nobles.
Initially, some were wary that pressure might be exerted through Marquis Hoffman, but as time passed, hostility toward the Grand Duke diminished due to the Marquis’s unchanged lukewarm attitude.
By that point, even the Empress, who had been unable to hide her anxiety despite having made the appointment herself, gradually relaxed.
The relationship with Parma had also been peacefully resolved. While everything was now finding its proper place and running smoothly, there remained a lingering anxiety in one corner of her heart.
Though she had intimidated Declan by using his relationship with Sienna as leverage to achieve this peace, hadn’t the situation changed now?
‘Now it’s more like a landmine, isn’t it?’
The Empress recalled Sienna whom she had encountered at the border recently. Her unnaturally pale skin and apparent lack of energy – anyone could see she wasn’t in a normal state.
The Empress’s expression darkened as she became lost in thought. To some extent, she felt human sympathy. However, when thinking rationally, the possibility of Sienna becoming a future obstacle was by no means small.
It might just be a hasty judgment. But she didn’t want to leave this kind of uneasiness behind. It was right to eliminate uncertain elements one way or another. Even if it was selfishness, she had no excuse.
“…Just take what I’m about to say as me thinking aloud.”
So this was neither compassion nor anything else. It was merely a path to ease her own mind. The Empress thought this as she began to speak.
“The situation has already been resolved. Since we’re also gaining something from Parma, there’s no reason for the cold war to continue. If possible, maintaining an amicable relationship going forward would be better in many ways.”
She glanced at Declan.
“Also, let me make it clear once again in this place, that you can walk proudly around the imperial palace like this only until Leo comes of age.”
“There’s no question about that.”
“As I said earlier, once Leo properly inherits the throne, I will never draw you into state affairs again.”
Just as Declan was about to give another perfunctory response, the Empress quickly added:
“In other words, after you step down as regent, I will have no interest whatsoever in your future actions.”
Only then did Declan’s gaze silently turn toward her. The Empress briefly rolled her eyes downward before blurting out:
“Even if you were to take a wife in another country. That sort of thing. After all, such matters aren’t considered flaws for imperial nobles, are they?”
While not even properly meeting his gaze, her tone suggested it was truly an insignificant matter. In fact, if one were to nitpick, even this country’s emperor was of illegitimate birth, so it wasn’t a complete taboo.
“But before that, you must perfectly fulfill your duties, right?”
Declan slightly furrowed his brow at this unexpected remark.
“Go to Parma. There are still matters that need to be coordinated, so take this opportunity to wrap everything up completely before returning.”
“…..”
“It’s not a significant issue, so there’s no need to make it an official schedule. Wouldn’t it just create unnecessary noise if others found out? I’ll send an urgent message to the King of Parma, so make sure to go quietly.”
“After all, you won’t be participating in state affairs for the time being, so there shouldn’t be any urgent tasks to handle.” The Empress muttered as she buried her gaze back in the documents.
Despite noticing the faint crack in Declan’s expression, she showed no sign of having noticed.
“I’ve said all I needed to say, so you may leave now.”
****
On the day she received approval for ownership of Ricata from the Empire, Sienna tried her best to appear as if nothing was unusual.
She merely smiled awkwardly without giving a proper answer when Jeremiah asked playfully how she felt.
There was no way to express it in words. Her heart just felt strange.
Upon regaining ownership of Ricata, she naturally acquired Parma citizenship.
While her name without the Maloney surname looked somewhat empty, her heart felt more fulfilled than ever.
Gaining a new identity naturally made her heart swell. She began to harbor expectations about her future life in Parma, but soon realized it had been a naive hope.
Even after everything was resolved, the hostile attitude of Parma’s nobles toward her remained unchanged.
She maintained a reasonably amicable relationship with Lady Kershaw, whom Jeremiah had assigned to help her become accustomed to Parma quickly.
Although their first meeting wasn’t particularly good, perhaps due to her nature of not holding grudges, she provided quite attentive assistance by teaching her about Parma.
Even so, the ostracism from others besides Lady Kershaw was severely blatant.
A prime example was their complete refusal to include her in noble gatherings at the Parma court.
Even Lady Kershaw was dumbfounded by the nobles’ behavior, saying, “We’re not children, what kind of behavior is this?” But Sienna accepted it calmly.
Rather, things had been too smooth until now.
Though this repeated situation was certainly not pleasant, she knew that openly showing such feelings would ultimately be presumptuous complaining. Therefore, instead of becoming discouraged, she spent most of her days shut away in the library.
Even though she had successfully obtained citizenship, she was still ignorant about many aspects of Parma.
Although Parma’s legal code followed the common code of the Kralto continent like the Empire, there were several differences. The culture of this land was also completely unfamiliar to her.
So it was actually for the best. Rather than facing humiliation unprepared, she could take this as an opportunity to improve.
With that single-minded determination, Sienna buried herself in books at the library every day.
That afternoon as well, while the nobles had gone to the state council meeting, she was alone in the library, immersed in her studies. Suddenly, a shadow fell over her head.
As she looked up instinctively, Sienna’s eyes widened as soon as she recognized the man standing beside her.
“What brings you here?”
“Just. Playing hooky?”
With that halfhearted answer, Jeremiah plopped down in the seat next to Sienna.
“What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be discussing state affairs at this hour?”
To this casual question, Sienna turned her head away again and answered cynically.
“As you can see, it seems I’m not yet at the level to participate in such gatherings.”
When Jeremiah clicked his tongue as if he understood, Sienna, feeling unnecessarily defensive, explained:
“It’s true that I still have many shortcomings. I should work harder.”
At her excusing tone, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
He had just happened to have a gap in his schedule and came to the library to kill time. Though it wasn’t an intended meeting, seeing her sitting alone in the middle of the library, he easily understood the situation.
Regarding Parma’s nobles, they originally had poor feelings toward the Empire.
No matter how much Sienna had brought documents beneficial to Parma, the influence her ancestors had exerted on neighboring countries for generations couldn’t disappear overnight.
Moreover, wasn’t she the open lover of a man who had once cast fear over the small kingdoms on the Kralto continent?
Exclusion was certainly not justified, but Jeremiah was not unaware of the psychology of those who ostracized her.
In the silence that descended, only the occasional sound of paper being turned could be heard. After watching her quietly with his chin resting on the desk, Jeremiah let out a soft exclamation as if something had just occurred to him.
“Come to think of it, have you heard about the border issue?”
At this casually asked question, her hand, which was about to turn a page, twitched slightly.
