Chapter 35
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Divine ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
The Emperor’s face hardened.
“A reinvestigation? How dare you demand such a thing?”
“From the beginning.”
Lyas’ gaze sharpened.
“If Your Majesty had believed my niece’s words that she did not poison anyone from the start, it would not have come to this.”
“The situation…!”
“The situation Your Majesty mentioned ultimately led to my niece hanging on the brink of death.”
“…”
“So, wouldn’t it be right to uncover the root of that?”
It was a resolute attitude that would not back down no matter what.
The Emperor swallowed his saliva.
In fact, a reinvestigation could have been easily done.
However, the reason he couldn’t simply say so was because the Emperor also had something on his mind.
His mother, the Empress Dowager, was rejected by the current Duke Peregrine and harbored hostility towards him.
She used to whisper to her young son all the time that no matter what, he must possess a strong imperial authority that could stand above the Peregrines.
‘Which means…’
Could Mother have really…?
The Emperor couldn’t bring himself to continue his speculation.
But if he were to refuse the Young Duke’s demand now, it would appear as if he were admitting to the crime.
The Emperor pondered with a troubled expression.
Lyas stared at him with an unwavering face.
Confusion, denial, and perhaps a slight suspicion was evident on the Emperor’s face.
Lyas also was not certain that the Empress Dowager was truly the culprit. There was no evidence.
Even if a reinvestigation were to be conducted and it turned out that the Empress Dowager was indeed guilty, the Emperor would not send his own mother to trial.
‘But there will be consequences.’
It could be money, or it could be a newly-discovered gold mine with skyrocketing value.
But Lyas was convinced. What the Empress Dowager would lose would not be either of those.
‘It would be her son’s trust.’
That would be the ultimate cost.
Lyas’ goal was not to drive a wedge between them.
Just as the Empress Dowager had done to Daphne, he only sought to sow doubt in their minds.
Lyas leaned back in his chair. There was a sense of ease about his whole body. The answer had already been decided, so there was no other choice.
After a while, the Emperor sighed and replied.
“…I never knew you cared so much about your family, Young Duke.”
“I am just glad that you understand how I feel.”
Lyas lightly responded to the Emperor’s accusation.
The Emperor looked at Lyas angrily but extended his hand.
It was a gesture of affirmation.
“Thank you for your decision, Your Majesty.”
With that, his business was concluded. Lyas, astutely noticing the end of the conversation, rose from his seat first.
“Well then, I shall excuse myself to check on my family.”
With impeccable courtesy, Lyas made his leave from the hall.
“Oh my.”
“…”
However, he unexpectedly ran into an unwelcome acquaintance.
A woman with neatly-arranged gray hair was looking at Lyas while surrounded by several noblewomen.
She was the Empress Dowager, Hela.
At first glance, she appeared to be a middle-aged noblewoman, but she was far older than that.
People often remarked, ‘How do you manage to look so young?’ and each time, she gracefully waved off the question, saying there was no special secret.
Everyone envied Hela’s beauty, but Lyas judged her differently.
He saw her as someone who was obsessed with youth, unable to fully embrace adulthood despite her age.
“I greet Your Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
Regardless of his assessment, she was still the Emperor’s mother. Lyas greeted her slowly.
The noblewomen behind her chuckled softly, saying, “Oh my.”
“It has been a while, Lyas, Young Duke of Peregrine.”
Hela approached Lyas with a smile.
“Didn’t you promise me last time? That you would visit the palace more often. I’ve been waiting so long.”
Bringing up a promise that Lyas had never agreed to, she affectionately took his arm.
Lyas’s brow furrowed slightly.
This was one of the main reasons he disliked Hela.
“Your face seems a bit gaunt. Are you eating well?”
It was because she acted so familiarly, as if she was his mother.
Hela laughed softly and gently grabbed his arm.
“It’s actually perfect timing. I was about to enjoy tea time with my friends. Why don’t you join us? We can prepare some tea to your liking, Young Duke Lyas…”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I have much work to attend to.”
Lyas politely rejected and pulled out his arm.
“How busy can you be that you can’t even spare a moment for tea? I am a bit disappointed.”
Hela covered her mouth as she smiled gracefully. She was accustomed to easily brushing off such refusals.
Lyas narrowed his eyes. There must be a reason why this woman was so persistent.
Quietly, Lyas shifted his gaze. He looked back at the path he had walked and then in the direction Hela had come from.
Tea time was held in the garden, which was in the opposite direction of the hall.
In other words, she had led all these noblewomen to this distant place for a reason.
‘She seems to have roughly figured out what’s going on.’
It was not polite to refuse a noblewoman’s invitation. As a descendant of a prestigious hero family, he had to set an example. For Lyas, this was akin to a creed.
However…
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
His creed was not important enough to force a smile in front of someone who had possibly threatened his family.
“Following my father’s taste who dislikes flowers, I, too, am not particularly fond of them.”
“…!”
The noblewomen beside her gasped quietly.
It was a well-known story that Hela, the Empress Dowager, had an unrequited love for Lyas’ father, the current Duke of Peregrine, before her marriage.
Rumors even circulated that the letters and flower bouquets sent in her name were enough to fill the whole Peregrine’s garden.
So, saying, ‘My father dislikes flowers, and I, too, dislike flowers’ was a very blatant refusal, meaning, ‘I don’t want to spend time with you.’
Hela’s face cooled noticeably. However, as if nothing had happened, Lyas continued speaking.
“Also, my family isn’t in a good state.”
“Oh, my, what happened?”
The noblewomen’s eyes widened as if in surprise. But their expressions were sparkling, like they were anticipating an interesting rumor.
“Yes.”
So, Lyas tossed them a good piece of bait.
“It seems that there have been several small monsters roaming around recently.”
“Oh, my goodness. That’s serious. I can’t believe there are monsters in the capital…!”
“Don’t you need to take action to subdue them?”
The noblewomen spoke with worried expressions.
In the midst of their conversation, Lyas quietly lowered his gaze.
Hela’s face was rigid. It was the face of someone who had guessed something.
“Don’t worry. We will definitely catch them.”
Lyas opened his mouth, staring at the faint fear that had appeared on Hela’s face.
“They dared to touch Peregrine, so they must pay the price.”
Then, there was tension in Hela’s hand holding her fan.
But this agitation did not last long. Hela smiled gracefully and looked at Lyas.
“You’re having a difficult time in many ways, Young Duke Lyas. I’ve inconvenienced you while you’re busy.”
She took a step back from Lyas.
“Well, then, I should get going now. Thank you for your hard work, Young Duke Lyas.”
With that, she passed by him along with the noblewomen.
Lyas stared at her back with a cold gaze before turning around and walking in the opposite direction.
As he exited from the palace, Peregrine’s knights greeted Lyas.
However, there were quite a few others gathered besides his knights. Lyas raised an eyebrow.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing but…”
“Oh, hello, Young Duke Lyas!”
One of the knights from the palace greeted him loudly.
“I’ve admired you for a long time, Young Duke! I also want to walk the path of a Magic Knight… If it’s not too much to ask, may I ask for a sparring session?”
“W-We would like to ask you as well!”
Their voices trembled slightly, but it was admirable to see them muster the courage to pursue their dreams.
“I cannot do today.”
However, Lyas’ response was the opposite of their hopes.
A sense of resignation passed over the faces of the knights.
“Well, it would be too much…”
“Since you’re so busy…”
Then Lyas nodded and said.
“Yes, I’m going to have dinner with my family. If I’m late, my niece will scold me.”
“…What?”
However, everyone present was taken aback by the unexpected reason.
“D-Dinner…?”
“No, you’ll get into trouble…? The Young Duke…?”
“Yes. My niece has a fiery temper.”
“Fiery…”
The dumbfounded knights gave up muttering and just hung their mouths blankly.
Edited!
