Juno furrowed her brow. She was annoyed; Marquis Trish, even in death, was troublesome. He’s no different from the emperor and the crown prince.
Juno first read the letter from the royal family. She skimmed through the pleasantries and got to the actual content. “The emperor wants to see me.”
Peter nodded. “That’s for you to decide.”
In the past years, Juno received money from the royal family to repair things at a certain time. She had to once again fix those items.
Folding the letter, Juno said, “I think there’s more to it. He wants me to visit.” Usually, the objects that needed to be repaired were sent to the mansion, so Juno didn’t need to see the emperor.
“You don’t have to do them a favor.”
Juno was strong enough to let go of the emperor’s hand. There was no need to be stressed about him or the crown prince now that they were less valuable. Juno placed the letter on the table. I must concentrate on my research first. We can make a move once Jupiter wakes up.
She didn’t want to waste time trying to get rid of the emperor when her research was so close to being done. Besides, wasn’t she going to let Jupiter decide what to do with Prince Anton? As Juno was thinking about the crown prince and the emperor, Peter glanced at the other letter.
“You should look through that one as well,” he said.
Juno stared at it before taking out her letter opener. She didn’t want to acknowledge it, but she’d keep getting more letters otherwise. As she read through its contents, she became livid. It was the first time in years since she was this angry.
“You bastard,” she cursed. Juno crumpled the letter. The legal representative looked harmless, but his personality was something else. She knew the moment she saw his stubborn gaze. Juno laughed. “Is that what you’ll do?”
“Juno.”
She handed Peter the letter. “Look at it.”
John approached Peter as he read it. Peter smiled. “He’s quite clever, don’t you think?”
Juno glared at him before taking the letter. She pointed to the other piece of paper. “There’s the will.”
It was the copy she read while at House Trish’s residence. Juno drank the iced tea brought in by Hebe and chewed on the ice. She looked through the will again and was done reading after her cup was filled with water.
She scoffed. “If I don’t give a proper response, he’ll let the royal family know?”
“You do have a reason to meet with the emperor,” Peter said. He took the will from Juno’s hands and began to read it.
Juno continued to chew on the ice. She felt uneasy. “…It’s a little too coincidental.”
Peter answered, “You’re lucky I suppose. Right now, you’re allied with the emperor.”
Things would work out, but something was still off.
John asked, “My lady, when will you go to the Imperial Palace?”
Juno stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before saying, “Tomorrow.”
To ease her mind, she thought it was better to meet with the emperor as soon as possible. Peter nodded at Juno’s answer.
“Understood, my lady.”
Juno sighed. She was tired. Then, Hebe put a fork in Juno’s hand.
“My lady.”
“All right. Thank you, Hebe.”
“Hehe.” Hebe smiled beautifully before pulling up a chair and sitting down.
Poking her dessert with the fork, Juno said, “By the way, Hebe, didn’t you mention you wanted to be taller before?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I want to see you better, my lady!”
Juno hugged Hebe. He made her feel better, unlike the dessert. “How can you be so cute?” She forgot some unpleasant thoughts by just looking at him.
Juno decided not to think about tomorrow. Hebe’s refreshing laughter resounded throughout the workshop.
***
The next day, Juno visited the Imperial Palace and ignored the nobles who tried to talk to her. As soon as she entered the throne room, where the emperor was, she handed over the list brought by John.
“Your Majesty.”
“What’s the matter?” the emperor asked. It was clear she had something to say, but the emperor didn’t skip formalities. Because I haven’t seen him in a while.
“I have a favor to ask of you, Your Majesty.”
The emperor’s expression changed as if he was waiting for this. What a sly, old man. “I’ll listen to your request.”
“You must have heard that my father died.”
The emperor frowned. “Ah, yes. The marquis.”
“There’s a problem with my inheritance.”
“There is?”
She didn’t like the emperor’s widened eyes. Juno nodded. “I don’t want it.”
“I see.”
“However, I noticed some of the properties belonged to my mother’s family.” She didn’t like it, but now was the time to respect the emperor. Specifically, it was time to pretend she respected him. He received a lot of help from her, so even if it was a request, Juno’s request was an order. Respecting Juno’s order as a request was an act of politeness. “My father’s property, which he said he’d give to me if I received the inheritance, belongs to the royal family.”
That was what the will stated. If Juno didn’t take care of her younger sister, everything that belonged to her parents would belong to the royal family. Juno wasn’t in a position to be threatened by anyone, which made the legal representative more impudent. Juno suppressed her agitation. All I have to do is please His Majesty. She didn’t enjoy this, but he won’t refuse Juno’s request.
“…So, what do you plan to do?”
“I hope Your Majesty would sell my mother’s properties to me.”
“I see.” The emperor, as always, began to appear interested.
“If you want anything, I’ll give it to you.”
The emperor smiled and nodded. Based on his expression, he wants something. I don’t think it will be a big deal. Juno waited for the emperor to speak.
“Yes, I do want something from you.” With a warm smile, he continued, “Wouldn’t it be good for you to inherit the marquis’s legacy?”
“…”
Juno stared at the emperor. Obtaining the inheritance meant taking care of the child. Despite Juno’s piercing gaze, the emperor didn’t take back his words.
“That daughter of theirs. Don’t you feel sorry for her?”
Juno restrained her anger, but this was the last time. “Since when has His Majesty been interested in orphans?”
“Hahaha, if you don’t accept the inheritance, everything will belong to the royal family.” No, he was putting pressure on Juno. “I’ll never sell the estate.”
“…For what the reason?” Juno asked.
“All I want is one thing. Please take care of the child.”
“Tell me or else I won’t be able to accept her.” Juno was willing to destroy her friendly relationship with the emperor if he didn’t reveal his reasoning. There would be a lot of work, but…
She wanted to focus her efforts on Jupiter, so she couldn’t afford to waste more time. She had been tolerating the actions of the emperor and Crown Prince Anton for this reason, but now that the emperor was like this, Juno wouldn’t put up with them anymore.
Did he read her mind? After hesitating for some time, the emperor spoke. “That girl is not the marquis’s child.”
Juno was stunned. The marquis wasn’t the father? Am I hearing this correctly? “…I beg your pardon, what did you just say? Whose child then?” Her head began to ache.
“…I can’t tell you.”
But the answer was right there. Why would the emperor care so much in the first place?
“Is she a child of the royal family?”
“…”
She couldn’t believe it. “Did my father know about this?”
“Yes.”
Lilith cheated on him with someone from the royal family in order to have a child. So much for true love. Juno narrowed her eyes at the emperor. “Is she Your Majesty’s child?”
“Hm.”
His pretentious smile and politeness already disappeared. Juno said, “…You won’t be happy if I become your enemy.”
However, he didn’t cower since he was the emperor. “You also won’t be happy if I was your enemy.”
“Your Majesty, you need me for a lot of things.”
“…I know. That’s why I’ll make it up to you.”
Absurd. Juno said, “I don’t need compensation.”
“Yes, of course. However, if you help me, I will repay the favor.”
Whose child was this? It can’t be His Majesty’s child. He had many illegitimate children, so summoning them to the palace was easy. There was only one case where he’d be this desperate despite the girl not being his child.
“She’s not a child of Your Majesty since a servant hasn’t been sent for her.”
“…”
A child only an emperor would love.
“Is she the daughter of His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“…”
His silent affirmation was enough. Juno was speechless. That damn crown prince had another accident. She sighed, remembering his engagement ceremony was around the corner. Isn’t this his third engagement? The first and second engagements were annulled because of the crown prince. If this fails, he’s done for.
