A question that everyone predicted but no one could dare to ask. Even Arpad never directly asked his father about this. But Hylia asked the emperor directly. Was he really going to put his son aside and make Ludwig the next emperor? The emperor frowned at her and asked her back.
“Why would you think I would do that?”
“Everyone knows this. It is Your Majesty who arranged the marriage between me and the Archduke in the first place.”
The emperor did not even raise an eyebrow while having this conversation with his son in front of him. Hylia, standing next to Arpad, was not at all discouraged in front of such an emperor.
“There is no way you would give him Duchy Delphine unless it was to raise him as a rival to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“…Did the princess do this because she didn’t want to give up the Delphine family to him?”
Hylia blinked her big eyes and muttered her harsh words under her breath.
‘Of course I don’t like it! To be honest, I wanted to punch the emperor in the face at least once for arranging that marriage!’
But her mouth smiled and she said something else.
“How could such an important decision be made based on such personal feelings?”
“So?”
Hylia, who had been standing quietly next to Arpad, took one step forward. She stood in front of the emperor’s throne. And then she got down on her knees with the utmost respect and raised her head.
“How much does his majesty know about his nephew?”
“Did you just tell this Emperor that he doesn’t have eyes for people?”
She smiled and made no reply. But this silence was soon her affirmative answer.
‘I actually heard something like that.’
That too to herself.
“In many ways, my son was better than me. The same goes for how we see people. If it weren’t for the madness…”
“Phew!”
She could hear Arpad unable to hold back his laughter from next to her. Although it was lowered, the giggling sound was like broken glass, fluttering across the throne room floor. Instead of being swayed by Arpad, Hylia calmly said all she had to say.
“I have rarely seen Your Majesty up close, so I have nothing else to say. But I can say no to Ludwig.”
It was rude. But the emperor crosses his legs and supports his chin with his hand. His expression showed that he was more interested.
“It sounds like the princess knows Ludwig well?”
“Because he has been close to me as my fiancé for three years.”
In fact, Duke Delphine’s residence was almost like a honeymoon home for Ludwig and Evangeline.
‘I was the only one who didn’t know that.’
“It seems like the Ludwig you saw is not fit to become an emperor.”
“Yes, he is narrow-minded, has an inferiority complex, and is only ambitious, even though his abilities do not match.”
Beside her, Arpad burst into laughter again.
“Ahaha! Very poignant. Isn’t it true that the way she talks doesn’t match her appearance?”
He seemed very happy. The emperor frowned and agreed with his son on at least one thing.
“The princess certainly has a very aggressive tongue despite her appearance.”
‘Thanks to someone, I went through so much trouble.’
…Hylia had a hard time swallowing the answer. Her objective judgment was that, to be honest, the emperor’s share seemed to be quite a bit part of her own hardships. She added an anecdote that she knew.
“I am narrow-minded and know little, but there was a problem with the internal affairs of the Delphine family’s territory.”
Ludwig was currently in charge of the internal affairs of the Duchy of Delphine.
“The manager misappropriated some funds and failed to properly manage the weir and reservoir, but Ludwig appointed the manager again the following year.”
“Why?”
“The new manager candidate was critical of raising rents next year. Because the harvest was poor. On the other hand, the manager who committed embezzlement agreed to raise the rent because he had weaknesses.”
“…”
“It’s a small thing, but looking at how he handles small things can tell you how he would handle big things.”
Hylia concluded her words by looking directly at the emperor with straight eyes.
“Your Majesty will know very well what will happen if he becomes the emperor who decides the affairs of the entire empire.”
The emperor did not answer right away, but brushed the stubble on his chin with his fingertips. The answer that came out after a moment of silence was to affirm Hylia.
“Your point is certainly correct.”
“Then…”
“Even so, this Emperor’s judgment doesn’t change.”
“Are you saying that someone who decides public affairs based on private greed is fit for an emperor?”
The emperor tapped his armrest and answered in an ice-cold voice.
“It would be better than someone who goes crazy and randomly kills people.”
“…!”
Arpad stopped laughing at this cold, even cruel, answer. His vertically long irises became thinner, and his life became darker.
“Your Highness!”
Arpad did not stop despite Hylia’s reprimanding calls. The emperor also did not lose. The deep murderous lives of a rich man born with dragon blood clashed in the throne room. For a normal person, just being stuck in this position would have been enough to make him feel like he was being strangled. However, Hylia jumped up and grabbed Arpad’s wrist.
“Your Highness! Please stop it!”
When he saw that, the emperor’s expression was astounding.
‘What? Moving around like nothing happened in the midst of the two royal families? She doesn’t look like someone who has trained that much.’
This was possible because Hylia actually experienced her own death three times. However, neither the emperor nor the crown prince could know this fact. After Hylia desperately tried to stop him, Arpad gave up his kill intent as if he had no choice, and control of the situation passed back to the Emperor and Hylia.
Arpad took a step back. Because he wanted to see how she would overcome this situation.
“As expected, the reason His Majesty thought that way was because he was concerned about His Highness the Crown Prince’s mania.”
“Yes.”
Although everyone knew this, something that had never been publicly discussed was made concrete for the first time out of the emperor’s mouth. Arpad furrowed his brow in displeasure, but did not bother to point out the unfairness. Because he wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t go crazy.
Hylia smiled and spoke calmly.
“Then your Majesty now has no reason to worry about His Highness the Crown Prince. The problem of mania has been solved.”
“…what?!”
* * *
The emperor was so shocked that he unknowingly lifted his butt off his throne and sat down again. Even Arpad could feel himself staring at her in shock. Hylia ignored this and smiled brightly as she continued speaking.
“Because I am now by His Highness Arpad’s side.”
“…”
The emperor, who had been looking for something to say for a while, was finally able to ask.
“Arpad’s madness was cured because you were by his side?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
She said something very shocking with an innocent expression and a friendly voice. The emperor burst into laughter as if he was dumbfounded.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Even I have never heard of a person being able to overcome the madness that comes from dragon blood.”
Arpad was still staring at Hylia like a frozen pillar of salt. Hylia ignored Arpad’s intense gaze for a moment, focusing only on the Emperor. Anyway, the person she needed to persuade now was the emperor.
“I don’t know if Your Majesty will believe this… The night before my wedding, I had a dream.”
Hylia clasped her hands over her chest and lifted her head again. Just a moment ago, she was looking directly at the emperor, but now it was different. She heads further upwards. There is only one thing higher than the emperor’s throne.
‘Dragon Artanus Statue.’
A piece of art made of gold and ivory, with red diamonds for eyes. It was a symbol that asserts with all its might that the beginning of this empire was the dragon. Hylia declared, looking up to it reverently.
“Because Artanus appeared in my dream and spoke to me.”
“…!”
“He gave me his blessing and said that as long as he is by my side, no dragon descendant will suffer from madness.”
* * *
Dragon Artanus’ blessing. She claimed before the Emperor that she had received it.
‘This should be enough justification for our marriage to be recognized.’
It was a marriage that was achieved by destroying the marriage decided directly by the emperor. Naturally, more authority was needed to support this. There was only one authority that was stronger than the emperor.
‘God or dragon.’
In particular, the Istrid Empire was a country that boasts of being a descendant of the golden dragon Artanus. Moreover, Artanus had declared.
─The abundance of the Plains of Artanoa will continue as long as I and Istrid’s descendants sit on the throne.
The plains of Artanoa, a granary located in the center of the continent, had enough abundance to feed the entire continent. So even if you search not only the empire but the entire continent, no one will be able to tackle you if you use Artanus as your ally!
So, was this really true? Artanus appeared in her dream and gave her a blessing?
‘Of course it’s bullshit!’
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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