Chapter 7
“Hey, Jiselle!”
Chef Koon called out to Jiselle, who was carrying Anel’s luggage with a disgruntled expression.
Jiselle turned her head abruptly, as if annoyed.
“Do you need something?”
“How is the young lady?”
“How would I know?”
Jiselle was as irritating as ever.
Having lost her father due to her engagement, the whole world was urging her to marry her fiancé as soon as possible. Even Jiselle, who believed that Anel could not be unhappier than herself, was sympathizing with her now.
Even the power to drop a passing emperor or the beauty that could make the flowers in the splendid garden wither did not seem enviable at the moment.
“But still, as the future Empress, she needs to recover a bit.”
“Others can do it, not me. I wouldn’t do it even if they offered me a fortune.”
“Really now. Even if you offer a fortune, do you think the Empress will pay attention to you? Your half-and-half attitude is all over the palace!”
Ignoring the chef’s argument, Jiselle continued on her way.
I must be crazy to answer back. Sleeping in a bed stained with the blood of a hundred people right after ascending the throne.
Jiselle rolled her eyes. For the first time, she genuinely empathized with Anel’s sadness.
The chef, after spitting on the back of the distant maid who had gone too far, resumed speaking.
“Whatever it is, the Emperor must have some scheme. We lowly beings could never understand the schemes of a person like him.”
The young servant just nodded, not really comprehending.
Yes, the Empress, Johannes DeNega, must have her own reasons. Reasons beyond the imagination of beings like us.
He, a man who had risen from being a mere bastard to the Emperor.
The man, who was being eagerly anticipated by everyone, was now closing his eyes in boredom. Despite the fierce waves of opposition crashing around him, Johann showed no reaction. Instead, he seemed to be enjoying a sweet melody, a smile playing on his lips.
From the contributors who played a significant role in elevating him to the throne to the majority of nobles who closed their eyes to his not-so-rebellious rebellion, everyone was now united in expressing their dissenting voices.
“Please reconsider, Your Majesty.”
“Not any other lady, but Anel Morata is… Her father is a person exiled for the crime of rebellion. The daughter of a traitor cannot become the Empress.”
“That’s correct. This issue is directly related to the honor of the empire.”
“Moreover, Lady Morata has a history of a previous divorce.”
“It was even an engagement with Duke Samuel Gears, who was the former Crown Prince. Your Majesty, if this is a marriage chosen not to grant too much power to the Empress, it would be better to choose a lady from the Hanmihan family, with no apparent drawbacks.”
Only then did the eyelids, which seemed absolutely unmoving, begin to tremble.
Among the nobles, rare emerald-colored pupils were revealed.
The perfect emerald color indicated their legitimacy.
The support from the assembly was also due to his bloodline.
The daughter of Duke Magnon, Mariabella Magnon, the sole illegitimate child born between her and the Emperor.
In fact, calling Mariabella Magnon an illegitimate child was cautious, as she had been engaged to the Emperor.
If the empire had not needed a marital alliance due to its weakening power, he would have been in deficit.
The only controversy had been that, even though they were engaged, Lady Magnon became pregnant before marriage.
However, considering the Emperor’s notorious and lustful nature, no one dared to throw stones at Lady Magnom.
“It’s unthinkable that anyone would have predicted the engagement to be called off.’’
Both the bride and groom came from families with impeccable pedigrees.
They were the oldest and most prestigious families in the empire.
The Magneum Duke’s lineage surpassed even the royal family of Cartar in legitimacy, according to the imperial citizens.
Had he not been a bastard, he could have been the most legitimate emperor in history.
Because of this, when the nobles, who were fervently expressing their opinions upon seeing his green eyes, noticed the potential danger, they immediately fell silent.
They were aware that he could easily become one of the hundred nobles who had lost their heads.
“Everyone, watch your tongues.”
John, as if truly unable to bear the boredom, slouched in his chair.
“Firstly, Duke Morata was banished not for treason but for embezzlement of the state’s property. Won’t you correct that, Viscount Tons?”
“The tone was affectionate, but within it gleamed a sharp knife.
Viscount Tons immediately bowed his head in apology.
However, other nobles were all thinking the same as the viscount.
I mean, really, the Grand Duke was exiled for such a reason?
Shocked by betrayal, they loaded the fallen old man onto a carriage and sent him to a mental hospital in the north.
With nothing left for the one who had been forced into a choice.
Should he make his daughter the empress and die, or just walk the path of extinction?
“I apologize, Your Majesty. I will rectify it immediately.”
Johan slowly looked around at the nobles.
Some needed to be dealt with more thoroughly. Take time and proceed slowly.
Anyway, if things needed to be sorted out, it would be better to start with those who couldn’t keep their mouths shut.
He remembered the faces of those who had just spoken.
“Anel Morata will become the empress.”
…!”
he atmosphere in the room changed during the meeting.
Everyone present tried to read the Emperor’s mind.
It was evident.
However, Johann said nothing.
Without giving any clues, the three influential nobles quietly pondered.
The Emperor’s close relative and the most significant support, Duke Magnem.
Following Duke Magnem’s promotion to Grand Duke, Marquis Magrot, who was elevated to fill the vacancy – the right-hand man of Magnem.
The only one who has remained neutral throughout and, thanks to that, has survived, Viscount Rodyan.
All three had sworn allegiance to the Emperor.
They had vowed absolute loyalty to the new Emperor, forgetting the past.
However, that loyalty was not for the Emperor.
It was just a qualifier to survive for the moment.
Even though all three men were bowing to the Emperor, they always held something else in their hands.
So, it had to be gauged.
The inner thoughts of that young beast.
“…”
Among them, the one wielding the best-forged sword was Duke Magnus, who until recently had been playing the role of his father.
Upon receiving the Emperor’s notice to settle his longtime friend Duke Morata, Kalfen Magnus suspected that something was afoot.
The beast he had nurtured was finally revealing its fangs.
He had raised it, and he had dedicated himself to the imperial court, but Johan had always been an unpredictable entity.
It had been that way from the beginning. At the age of ten, when he was told that his fate lay with the imperial family. At twenty, when he was asked where his loyalty truly lay.
Johan remained consistent.
“Wait, Father.”
“It was just a waiting game.’’
All he heard was to wait, as he would handle everything on his own, and all you had to do was wait behind.
Karlpen never thought he would become someone else’s pawn.
He had never been someone’s pawn for a lifetime, and he had never been the one making the moves.
Not that he ever thought he would become just a suitable piece.
“But is there any value in prolonging this issue?”
However, Johann treated him strictly as nothing more than a small piece on a vast board.
There had never been a moment when Karlpen was given insight into Johann’s intentions or plans.
Karlpen’s role was simply to remain still and execute Johann’s orders when given.
“No, Your Majesty.”
So, Karlpen Magnum, the Grand Duke, answered obediently.
It wasn’t the time to provoke his emperor now.
“If you say so, Your Majesty.”
At that moment, Lord Rodian, who had been silent, spoke up.
“How will you handle Empress Hwangbi?”
At his words, everyone immediately became alert.
If they couldn’t change the empress, then perhaps they could change the empress’s position to Hwangbi!
The nobles were putting in effort to send their daughters to become the new tyrant of the empire.
Since Empress Hwangbi was already infamous and powerless, the position of Hwangbi wouldn’t be a bad choice.
Lord Rodian also had a daughter full of ambition.
His foolish daughter had been pestering him for months, expressing her desire to marry the new emperor.
Normally, Lord Rodian, who would never have stepped into such a situation, moved because it was his duty as a father.
He sighed inwardly.
To reject such a formidable son-in-law would be to abandon his duty as a father, especially when he couldn’t prevail over his daughter.
“I suppose we must follow tradition.”
The word “tradition” swept through the hearts of many.
Traditionally, the emperors of Stein had two empresses.
It meant that the likelihood of one’s own daughter becoming an empress was higher than having at least one.
“But, slowly.”
It meant not to hurry.
The nobles bowed deeply.
They dared not rush the emperor.
Instead, someone else would have to be rushed.
The new owner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prey thrown to the hyenas,
the empress.
