The emperor had slightly graying blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He was a sturdy old man with sharp features, but the signs of illness on his face were unmistakable, giving him an air of fatigue.
Everyone in the imperial family had blonde hair and blue eyes. Not just me, but Hugo and my brother too.
The emperor, who had been discussing matters of state with his advisors, furrowed his brow when he saw us suddenly barging in.
“What is going on?”
Hugo was gasping for air, supported by a close maid. Earlier, I noticed that he had wet himself, but it seemed he had quickly changed his pants before coming here.
“Your Majesty! What in the world is this?”
Anna cried out tearfully in front of the emperor.
“Princess Ivnoa stabbed Hugo with a sword!”
The emperor had never remarried, and my grandmother, the empress, had passed away long ago. This left Anna as the only adult woman in the imperial family, a rather ironic situation.
Anna wailed.
“She tried to kill my brother all of a sudden! The princess must be mad, just like her mother!”
The emperor let out a disapproving sigh, unsurprising given that this was happening in the middle of his state affairs.
“What is the meaning of this?”
He asked me in a low voice, looking directly at me.
“I’m asking what this concubine is talking about. You explain it yourself, Ivnoa.”
I folded my hands politely, smiling serenely before responding.
“What she’s talking about, well…”
The room was packed with people due to the ongoing council meeting.
This was the first time I had appeared before so many people.
All eyes immediately turned to me.
I continued in a soft tone.
“Well… it seems Her Highness the Concubine is genuinely worried about me. As someone without parents, I’m truly fortunate to have her concern.”
Anna, taken aback by my unexpected response, glared at me with wide eyes.
“What nonsense are you spouting, princess?”
“Well, as you know, no member of the imperial family can suffer physical injury within the palace.”
Without losing my composure, I explained kindly.
“No matter how much you stab someone in the stomach with a sword, not a drop of blood comes out…”
My words were elegant, but the content was not.
In fact, Hugo was only gasping for breath without any wounds.
Even if there had been an injury, it would’ve healed right away.
Of course, being impaled by a sword, even briefly, wasn’t exactly pleasant.
“So, to say that I tried to kill Brother Hugo implies that he’s not of imperial blood.”
The conclusion was clear: “I didn’t try to kill Hugo.” I was confident in my ability to twist words like this.
“No matter how worried you are that I might resemble my criminal mother, there’s no need to drag your own child down with me.”
I smiled at Anna and nodded my head.
“I truly appreciate your excessive concern, Your Highness the Concubine.”
Everyone’s eyes were now fully focused on me.
Many of them were seeing me for the first time.
After all, I had spent most of my time in seclusion after entering the palace, as my brother had immediately left for war.
“But of course, it’s clear he’s really my brother… He looks just fine. Congratulations.”
Anna glared at me with venom and shouted.
“Fine? Of course, he’s terrified! If you suddenly stab a child with a sword, of course, they’d be shocked! If you have eyes, look at how Hugo can’t even breathe properly!”
Regardless of her outburst, I calmly responded in my usual soft tone.
“Oh, it’s just that a young child was playing with a child’s sword…”
“Young child? Hugo is only four years younger than you!”
“Wow, that’s wonderful news!”
I clapped my hands joyfully, as if I were genuinely happy.
“Crown Prince, who is only four years older than Hugo, is currently on the Eastern Front, fighting far more dangerous enemies with his sword, isn’t he? It’s truly fortunate that Hugo isn’t there. Otherwise, he would’ve collapsed within five minutes due to shortness of breath.”
Anna flinched and fell silent.
My brother had shown great talent in naval warfare since he was young, frequently going to battle.
Hugo couldn’t even compare. Especially now, with only a year since my brother left the palace.
‘Has she realized it?’
I glanced at Anna, who had gone quiet.
‘The more of a fuss she makes, the worse it looks for Hugo.’
In this situation, Hugo was only going to be compared to my brother.
As always, Kayan’s assessment of me was right.
I excelled at staying calm and wrapping my words in circles to silence my opponents.
‘This is my first time trying this in the palace, but I think I’m doing pretty well.’
But Hugo was slower to understand the situation than Anna.
Breathing heavily, Hugo shouted,
“She tried to harm a prince! She must be punished! She should be stripped of her sword and exiled to a distant land!”
Hugo was a fool, but it was Anna behind him who was the real threat.
I could never forget how black magic had flourished under Anna’s influence in my previous life, growing to the point where even Kayan, a sword master, had to give in. All because she wanted to make her son the emperor.
“Oh dear, I guess I really did hurt Brother.”
I immediately put on a regretful expression and let my shoulders droop.
“I didn’t realize he was such a coward, and I played around with a child’s sword, causing him to suffer a nervous breakdown. It’s really my fault, isn’t it?”
At that, the emperor gave a low warning.
“Enough.”
The emperor’s health was in very poor condition.
Originally, my brother was supposed to ascend the throne as soon as he came of age.
However, a problem arose on the Eastern Front, and the emperor publicly declared that he would pass the throne to my brother as soon as he returned victorious from the war.
‘But his health is clearly getting worse.’
I stared at my grandfather, thinking to myself.
‘Honestly, it’s surprising that he’s lasted this long—eight years since then.’
On the day I returned, the day Simon openly betrayed me, the emperor was in a coma.
All Simon had to do was kill my brother and me, who were within his grasp, and Hugo would have taken the throne immediately.
‘Thankfully, for now, His Majesty is still overseeing the affairs of state.’
The emperor especially valued intelligent people, surrounding himself with capable individuals.
Because of this, Anna couldn’t openly expand her power or commit foul deeds.
‘Of course, she could still assassinate me and cut ties to cover her tracks, though.’
The emperor expressed his displeasure sternly.
“Why has such a trivial matter caused this much fuss during a council meeting? It’s bothersome and embarrassing to have everyone gathered here for something so insignificant. Tsk, I suppose I’ll have to hear the full story first.”
I had no personal relationship with the emperor.
I spent my childhood away from him, and even after coming to the palace, we hadn’t grown close.
However, I knew he wasn’t an unreasonable man.
My brother once told me about the emperor’s personality.
“He often mentions how uncomfortable things are. His habit is to continuously point out what displeases him while setting the tone.”
“Oh really? He seems quite magnanimous, but I didn’t know he had such a negative outlook.”
“But don’t worry. You only need to listen to what he says at the very end. It usually starts with a tongue click, and that’s when he’s being sincere.”
So, I quickly explained my side of the story.
“I only went into the room because I wanted to see the Crown Prince, but Hugo accused me of stealing something. He called me a thief.”
“A thief?”
“Yes. I’m innocent.”
I lowered my eyes pitifully as I continued.
“You can search me right away if you like. I was dragged here straight from the Crown Prince’s room.”
□ ■ □ ■ □
If you want to support the translation and the translator, Please buy a coffee~ ( ＾ω＾ )
