Chapter 34
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Divine ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Just as Daphne started wondering, Cyan approached her slowly.
“Thank you.”
With tear-filled eyes, he said, “Thank you so much, Daphne.”
“…”
“If it weren’t for you, I would have…”
Choking up, Cyan couldn’t continue.
He prided himself on caring more about his wife’s health than anyone else.
But he didn’t. He was a worse husband than his nephew.
When Cyan’s face began to blur with tears.
“Um, sorry, Uncle.”
Daphne said with an awkward expression,
“Could we postpone this till later?”
“What…?”
As Cyan looked at Daphne with tear-filled eyes, Daphne awkwardly smiled.
It was awkward to receive thanks, but more than that…
“Well, I’m hungry.”
“…”
“And I did tell the servants to prepare a meal, and most importantly, soon…”
“Sister!”
At that moment, the sound of rushing steps and a childish voice was heard.
It was Ermano and Julios. The twins clung to Daphne on both sides.
“…I told the children that we would have a family meal together.”
Cyan mumbled.
The twins, clinging to their sister’s dress, looked up at Cyan and said, “Huh?”
“Are you crying, Uncle?”
“Did you cry?”
“…!”
Cyan quickly turned his head. But it was already too late to hide it.
“You’re not supposed to cry.”
“Not supposed to cry.”
Ermano and Julios laughed playfully. Then Daphne raised an eyebrow and asked.
“Julie, is it ‘suppose’ as in ‘supposed’, or ‘suppose’ as in ‘supposing’?”1Totally making up a somewhat English equivalent but it’s basically a spelling question.
“…”
When the difficult spelling question came up, Julie abruptly closed his mouth.
The twins quickly quieted down. Daphne smiled and patted their heads.
At that moment, there was some movement on the stairs. Daphne looked up.
Livnell was slowly coming down with the help of the maids.
After confirming that everyone was gathered, she widened her eyes as if she couldn’t believe it.
Instead of her uncle, who hadn’t wiped away his tears yet, Daphne approached Livnell first.
“You’re here, Auntie?”
“…Daphne.”
Livnell muttered absentmindedly.
“Really… everyone’s here.”
“Yes. The whole family is here.”
At the mention of family, Livnell bit her lip as if overwhelmed.
Daphne, who had been smiling, noticed Livnell’s hand still on the railing.
‘Here…’
Daphne suddenly remembered the escort she had received from Luciel. She reached out her hand to Livnell.
“Shall we go?”
“Oh…”
Livnell blushed at Daphne’s escort-like attitude.
‘Was Daphne always this cool?’
“…Yes. Let’s go, milady.”
Responding to the escort, Livnell shyly nodded her head and placed her hand on Daphne’s palm.
Then, Daphne looked at the other family members and said.
“Now that the main character has arrived, let’s begin.”
“Wow!”
“I’m hungry!”
The twins seemed excited by Daphne’s words and ran ahead.
“You’ll trip if you run like that,” Lyas said, lightly scolding the twins as he followed behind.
Daphne handed Livnell’s hand to Cyan, her partner.
However, Cyan’s eyes were reddened.
“Darling, are you crying again?”
“I… no, I’m not crying. I’m not.”
“First, wipe away your tears and then say that…”
The couple went inside while wiping away tears.
Daphne followed them with a smile and suddenly turned around.
“I’ll close the door.”
Since it was a place only for family members.
The knights obediently stepped back.
She reached out and grabbed the handles of the wide-open doors on both sides.
There was still a lot to do.
Flora and Spencer had to be dealt with properly.
‘But first, let’s have a meal.’
The head chef here is the best.
With a smile, Daphne closed the door.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
The afternoon sun bathed the palace in warmth, but the atmosphere inside the court was as cold as the north chill.
Kurtison, the Emperor of the Empire, regarded the man across from him with a somewhat guarded expression.
Although his gaze could be called intimidating, Lyas remained impassive.
Kurtison cursed under his breath.
The carriage bearing the Peregrine emblem arrived at the palace early in the morning.
To the bewildered knights, Lyas Peregrine confidently announced that he had come to see His Majesty.
Normally, an audience with the Emperor was not granted so easily. However, the Emperor had no choice but to admit him.
In fact, if Peregrine had not come to them first, he would have sent a message himself.
Yet, despite requesting the audience, Lyas remained silent.
His stance was clear: he would not speak unless the Emperor made the first move.
Sensing the tension, the attendants quickly placed tea cups on the table, but no one touched them. Eventually, the Emperor spoke.
“How is Lady Peregrine and her child?”
“Contrary to concerns, both of them are safe. The child in her womb is also fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
The Emperor was truly relieved.
If something had happened to Lady Peregrine, the mother, or the child in her womb, the consequences would have been unpredictable.
However, he didn’t call Lyas for such a simple report. Speaking in a low voice, the Emperor asked.
“What about Flora Salertale and the court physician?”
“The physician simply followed Flora’s words and claimed ignorance. Flora Salertale insisted she acted alone.”
Lyas stared at the Emperor, speaking firmly.
“Truly loyal, wouldn’t you say?”
“…”
The Emperor couldn’t say anything.
Flora Salertale was a favorite of the Empress Dowager, his mother.
The reason Flora Salertale could become Miss Peregrine’s tutor in the first place was because of an incident at a party hosted by the Empress Dowager.
At the party, Lady Peregrine was accused of trying to poison another aristocratic lady, but no one believed her protests of innocence.
Enraged that such an incident could occur at her party, the Empress Dowager demanded justice…
So, as a solution, the imperial court assigned Flora to Lady Peregrine as a monitor.
In this role, Flora committed despicable acts against the Peregrines.
From Peregrine’s perspective, it was not strange at all to think that his mother, the Empress Dowager, was behind it all.
‘That must be stopped.’
The Emperor spoke in a firm voice.
“Let’s get to the bottom of it. What do you want?”
“It is the prerogative of the loser to show their hand first.”
The Emperor’s brow furrowed.
“Are you insulting me?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
Lyas looked at the Emperor with a neutral expression.
“If I intended to do more harm, I would have done so already.”
“(Little) Duke2He’s technically the successor to the Duke. There doesn’t seem to be a term for that in English though..”
“Peregrine is currently abiding by the rules.”
The Emperor, who was about to erupt in anger, paused at Lyas’ words.
“I hope Your Majesty recognizes that we are also exercising restraint here.”
Lyas said and stared directly at the Emperor.
The gazes met and clashed in the air.
However, as Lyas had said, in the current situation, the Emperor was the loser. He closed his eyes with a sigh.
If the one making that statement had been anyone else, their head would have been cut off long ago. But the Emperor couldn’t issue any orders.
It was revealed that Flora Salertale, who had received the favor of the Empress Dowager and the temple, had tried to poison Lady Peregrine.
As if that wasn’t enough, she had also extended her malice to a child still in the womb. There was nothing he could say.
‘Just when I thought I had Peregrine on a leash…!’
The Emperor tightened his grip on the armrest.
The time when magic was classified as a godsend was long gone.
Peregrine, who had been a guard against evil, was now called the agent of evil.
It was not an exaggeration to say that they wielded the most powerful authority in the empire.
‘I cannot lose to Peregrine.’
“…The imperial family deeply regrets the atrocities committed by Flora Salertale. Reduce the restrictions on the delivery of mana stones from Peregrine’s territory.”
“…”
“Furthermore, the punishment for Flora Salertale shall be left to you. The rest of the matters will be handled by this seat, so you need not worry.”
Representing the heroic lineage and sitting on the throne, the empire had to maintain neutrality between the temple and the nobility.
According to custom, the empire should have put Flora Salerteil, a member of the temple, on trial for punishment.
Yet the imperial family not only lifted the restrictions on mana stones but even handed the right to directly punish a temple-affiliated person to Lyas. This was a significant concession on their part.
“That is not enough.”
However, Lyas responded coldly.
“Then what else do you want!”
The Emperor shouted in frustration.
Did he want a newly-discovered mana mine? Or perhaps an enormous reparation?
It would be a relief if it was something that could be resolved with money.
The Emperor anxiously waited for his response. Finally, Lyas spoke.
“At the Empress Dowager’s party, did my niece really poison someone?’
“…!”
“I demand a reinvestigation.”
Lyas’ green eyes flickered.
