By that time Frey had just left for the imperial palace with her children.
In the round table conference room of the imperial palace, the meeting of the elders was in full swing.
However, since the atmosphere was more serious than the previous meeting of elders, the lower-ranking officials in charge of assisting the meeting quietly killed their presence.
They whispered in small whispers while preparing tea and water in the small pantry room connected to the meeting room.
“Certainly, since His Highness Grand Duke Prause is here, it would be nice not to talk about the beauty of a waitress at a bar.”
“I know. I feel like my productivity has increased.”
Before the Grand Duke consistently attended, the existing council of elders had a strong feeling of the ‘stagnant water between them’.
It was because the fact that they were eligible to participate in the Council of Elders meant that they came from a very powerful family.
Even if someone made a mistake, they were busy looking at each other and covering it up.
However, the atmosphere suddenly cleared when Grand Duke Prause, who seemed unwilling to associate with vulgar jokes or collusion, entered.
High-ranking aristocrats would have dried up their blood, but it was a very welcome change for low-ranking officials.
They served freshly prepared refreshments in an impeccable manner.
Originally, it was a rule to prepare refreshments before the meeting of elders, but this was because an unexpected guest appeared near the end of the meeting.
“Thank you.”
Tahar winked at the lower officials and took a sip of tea.
As usual, he planned to carry out government affairs as the crown prince today and discuss how to resolve this difficulty with the empress.
But his mother didn’t respond to his offer to drink tea as if she had heard rumors.
‘Is it because of her mood? My mother seemed to be trying to distance herself from him lately.’
‘I’m still bothered by that, but to make matters worse, this morning, the council made a request to the council of elders. ‘
[Please review the qualifications of the next emperor.]
‘How dare the chairman from a commoner….’
Tahar, who has been on the edge of his seat lately due to his plummeting approval ratings, became sensitive to the limit.
That’s why he came to hear what the elders were going to talk about at the request of the council.
At least if he’s in front of them, they’ll notice.
However, it was Tahar’s idea that if he showed his face, the council’s request would be ignored.
“I think His Highness the Crown Prince also heard about the council’s request.”
Daniel spoke in a calm voice without any disturbance.
Tahar frowned as he put the teacup down.
“Yeah, of course, I heard it. It’s a newspaper, and it’s information that commoners circulate among themselves, and it’s more strange if I don’t know when it’s been making headlines for days.”
“Then, according to Imperial law, I must ask you some questions at the council of elders.”
The elders broke out in a cold sweat.
The previous Grand Duke, at least, didn’t compete with the next emperor!
‘Due to Lady Frey’s use of the right of absolute obedience, His Highness the Grand Duke doesn’t care about the imperial family.’
‘Did Her Highness the Grand Duchess use the right of absolute obedience to use Grand Duke Prause like this?’
It could no longer be ignored that the people demanding Tahar’s explanation continued to hold rallies in various places in the capital city square.
The nobles who attended the council felt instinctively.
That it was a situation where a riot might break out if they tried to cover up or use force.
“haha. Now that you’re here, let me ask you a few questions, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
The one who broke the silence was the head of Count Aren, who had maintained a close relationship with the Duke of Gelon for several generations.
“Of the qualities required of the next emperor, the most important is, of course, legitimacy and truthfulness.”
“You are right.”
“Can His Highness the Crown Prince prove that he is of His Majesty’s lineage and that he received the education of an heir who is not ashamed of his lineage?”
Count Aren was implying that Tahar, the first son of the emperor, who had been trained as an heir for a long time, was the right person for the next emperor.
His remarks meant that Frey, who had never been trained as an heir, was not qualified to inherit the throne.
“I swear to God I can prove everything you said to be true.”
Several nobles clucked their tongues inwardly at the level of questioning and answering that resembled high-stakes poker.
Daniel opened his mouth instead of Count Aren, who was about to ask another question.
“Since the story of bloodline came out, I will ask you, Your Highness. Are you sure you didn’t know about the crime of your mother and the Duke of Gelon, His Majesty?”
“……”
Tahar’s hand, which was hidden under the table, gained strength.
He suppressed his anger and broke free.
“Grand Duke Prause. I’ll answer your question, so don’t stare at me with such scary eyes.”
“……”
“The notebook of a maid named Maria was found, but it has not yet been revealed whether it is directly related to Her Majesty the Empress.”
It hasn’t been revealed.
Daniel’s eyebrows crinkled slightly as Tahar tried to get away with an absurd excuse.
“It’s a pity that I didn’t know about the Duke of Gelon in advance. However, when I knew that, I immediately ordered the duke to be severely punished.”
Tahar was no fool.
He knew that he could no longer save Duke Gelon and that once he became emperor, he could undo everything.
Tahar took advantage of Daniel’s dumbfounded look to quickly sort out the situation.
“I know very well what the Grand Duke meant by questioning me, but the fact that my position is a little shaken by the surrounding situation doesn’t mean that your wife is qualified to inherit the throne.”
When Tahar himself mentioned Frey’s succession, the Elders became agitated.
“So Grand Duke. Don’t think of handing over the Obelir Empire to an unqualified person because you are blinded by personal feelings.”
“……”
“Because I don’t have divine power, I have to work harder. I want you to imagine the era of peace and prosperity that I and my transcendent daughter, Lydia, will open.”
As soon as Tahar finished speaking, the bell rang from the clock.
The elders were grateful that the nerve-racking meeting time was over.
‘Duke Prause can’t say a word.’
‘Well, If you use political moves against Prince Tahar, that means you’re going to fight Lady Lydia, too.’
‘Because Lady Lydia, the first Transcendent born in the imperial family since the founding of the country, is greatly loved by the people.’
Even Grand Duke Prause would not be able to touch Lydia Obelir carelessly.
As if it didn’t matter what the Elders thought, Daniel glanced out the window.
Thanks to the transcendentalist’s excellent eyesight, he could see Prause’s carriage pulling in in the distance.
He nodded in agreement to Count Baines about continuing the conversation at their next meeting.
Then, he spoke in a small voice to the prince who was about to get up.
“Everyone seems to think that His Majesty Tahar treats Lady Lydia harshly and educates her harshly out of love for her.”
Daniel’s eyes flashed with a vicious aura.
“For the next meeting, I will bring the scroll that Lord Carlton was carrying.”
“What now…”
“A scroll that exploited Lady Lydia’s power and mixed it with the Fog of Fall.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“If you didn’t realize your child was being drained of her power, I’d call that neglect of your child.”
“…..!”
“see you then.”
Daniel walked past the greatly agitated Tahar and left the conference room.
* * *
‘Damn it, I was wondering where the Duke of Gelon put that scroll…!’
As soon as Tahar came out of the meeting room, he headed for the palace.
The leisurely smile he practiced tirelessly to show to the elders had long since disappeared from his face.
‘The Grand Duke had a foxy side. Knowing about the scroll, but not telling everyone, he must have intended to insult me.’
‘A clever fellow.’
If Grand Duke Prause revealed the scroll, it would cause irreversible damage.
The fact that he exploited Lydia’s ability as a transcendent.
The fact that he mobilized the forbidden substance, Fog of Fall, to use the child’s ability.
‘Shit. If I let this all get out….’
There will be no avoiding public opinion trials.
Tahar felt the back of his neck stiffen and searched for Lydia somewhere in the palace.
‘yeah, it’s not over yet…’
Lydia, who was suffering from a high fever while making the scroll, was cured, so Lydia just had to cover it up.
‘Let’s take Lydia to the council and have her testify that using that level of power has no effect on the transcendent.’
It was around the time that Tahar’s eyes began to flash with madness.
“Are you okay?”
Garnet, who was spending time in Lydia’s room, sensed something was wrong and blocked his way.
“Get out of the way, Garnet. I have something to say to Lydia.”
Garnet looked at Lydia behind her.
Even as an adult, Garnet was afraid, so for Lydia, a child, Tahar’s eyes would be so frightening.
“I don’t know what you want to say to Lydia, but first have a cup of tea and calm down—”
“Garnet! I told you to get out of the way!”
Tahar’s bloodshot eyes flashed and he shoved Garnet hard.
“Mama!”
Bang—!
Lydia reflexively used the transcendental power to attack Tahar.
* * *
