“Why?”
Gregory, the acknowledged illegitimate son of the Emperor and the presumptive heir who had received the title of Crown Prince, was not pleased with the recent state of the Imperial Palace. His father seemed to be going mad.
“It’s a royal order.”
The attendants and knights who guarded and followed the Emperor never let him beyond this door.
Only those permitted by the Emperor could enter this door and meet the Emperor. Gregory was not among them.
The Crown Prince, who dared not defy the Emperor, came face to face with Grand Duke Lusenford, who was walking from behind. He was one of only three in the empire who used the same title.
Unlike Gregory, he was tall and had a physique that suited the thick and long-sleeved coat or cloak unique to the royal family. He didn’t need to decorate with flashy shoulder badges or fringes like Gregory.
Above all, Lusenford’s unique attire, which draped a cloak over one shoulder and fully exposed the other broad and firm shoulder and thick arm, accentuated his strong masculinity.
So Gregory always felt intimidated by the Grand Duke, who was seven years older than him.
“Has the second sun of the empire arrived first?”
The Grand Duke is as sharp as a knife in his manners. That’s why it was harder to deal with him.
The eight years that the Emperor had been trying to see a successor from the Empress were all because of the overly talented Peon. The Emperor did everything he could, but the Empress didn’t bore another child after Peon.
“It’s been a while, Grand Duke.”
Unlike Peon’s low, thick, and powerful voice, Gregory’s voice in response still hadn’t shed its boyishness. So he flinched inwardly for no reason.
“Yes, it’s been a while. You seem to have come to pay your respects to His Majesty.”
“I was curious about Her Majesty the Empress’s condition.”
Gregory knew that a Crown Prince should have more dignity. He naturally thought of the Emperor’s gaze, which sharply scrutinized and evaluated him.
Gregory involuntarily shrugged his shoulders. Everything was burdensome, so he suddenly felt a surge of resentment and irritation. He was really doing his best.
“Yes. Everyone is worried.”
Peon nodded his head. Despite his mother being in a coma, he looked very calm.
As the Emperor compared Gregory to everything, it seems that Peon knows how to control his emotions. Gregory asked Peon, who was much bigger than him.
“Is the Grand Duke okay?”
“Are you talking about me?”
“I’m asking because you seem no different than usual.”
For Grand Duke Lusenford, Peon, it’s not that it wasn’t sad when the Empress fell. He was sad, but Peon felt a greater sense of liberation than sadness.
He even thought it was better this way. His mother’s life must have been like hell, so wouldn’t she be more free if she fell into a coma?
Perhaps, after being tormented by the Emperor, Peon also seemed to be out of his mind. To survive in this hell, anyone had to be a little crazy.
“For anyone, a mother collapsing is a shocking thing.”
The Grand Duke quietly replied. The conversation between the two naturally stopped due to the newly appeared Duke Ostein.
“Please enter, Your Highness, Duke.”
Just as they were about to exchange greetings, the attendant came close. The words ‘Crown Prince’ were not included in his words.
Yes. There are only two people who can enter that door where even the Crown Prince cannot enter. Duke Ostein and Grand Duke Lusenford.
One is the owner of the Ostein Duchy recognized by the previous Emperor and a member of the royal family, and the other is the Grand Duke recognized by the current Emperor, so his dignity is great. It was not something that the Crown Prince should be pushed back, but it was not something that the Crown Prince could ignore.
Leaving Gregory alone, the door closed tightly again.
****
The Empress, who was expected to wake up soon, continued to be unconscious, and the nobles held their breath and watched the royal palace, unable to dare to hold a noisy party or concert.
Everyone prayed for the Empress’s recovery. Even though the Empress, who committed adultery and couldn’t even show her face at official events, was confined, they had to humble themselves because the Emperor, who had absolute power, was nursing her directly.
And those who had the privilege to enter the royal palace naturally wanted to flock to the royal palace, but even that was not easy.
The Emperor, who was already waiting in the Altein Palace, had his half-brother and his daughter, and the Grand Duke Lusenford, and he didn’t need any other guys. With the Crown Prince anxiously making an ‘official audience request’, not to mention about those below him as well, thus he got angry.
Thanks to that, Grand Duke Lusenford, and Kaela, with her father, could go in and out of the royal palace.
The excuse was to pray for the Empress’s recovery, but in fact, she always came to the royal palace because she could no longer see her father confronting the Emperor.
‘It’s a relief. It’s really a relief that His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t care about my father because Her Majesty the Empress collapsed.’
Maybe she could live longer than the average lifespan of a Lusenford warhorse. She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Then someone pretended to know her.
“Oh my, who is this? Isn’t this our princess?”
The Ravalley mother and daughter were walking towards her. Maria Luisa Ravalley, the Duchess of Monde, who is known for her refreshing personality and generosity, was a friend of the Empress and often took care of Peon when he was young.
Because of that, Beatrice Ravalley became Peon’s first love and the only childhood friend. Whenever Kaela went to the royal palace, Peon was always with Beatrice.
In front of Beatrice, who is praised as the beauty of the century, Kaela felt like she had become some object placed in this gallery.
That’s probably because Kaela completely lost her presence in front of Peon. In addition, the self-esteem that was burned and burned until only black ashes remain raises its head from within.
“Ah, you’re getting prettier and prettier. It’s been a while.”
Every time this happened, Kaela realized once again that this is reality. A clear sense of inferiority makes her realize that this is not a dream.
The pain that stings to the bone stems from the unrecognized self-esteem as a wife, resentment, and something indistinguishable whether it is jealousy or inferiority.
There was no clearer signal than this clear pain. It’s funny. Maybe God really pitied her.
Kaela smiled like the twenty-one-year-old princess.
“Yes. It’s been a while, Duchess of Monde. Lady Ravalley.”
Around this time, the Duchess of Monde had a lot of strength in her shoulders because her daughter had become the flower of the social world.
If she could marry her daughter to a good husband, she had hoped that she could escape the financial situation that was so poor that she had to tear down the castle and sell the construction materials.
Seeing the Duchess of Monde, whose face was as bright as a full moon, and Beatrice Ravalley, who was beautiful without any decoration, something black and hot surged inside her again.
“Hello, Kaela.”
Seeing Beatrice’s attitude, which was strangely prickly, the person whom she’d seen continuously since young, it was clear that she was holding onto the incident at the Altein Palace. Kaela closed her mouth because she didn’t want to call her ‘sister’.
“How is Her Majesty the Empress? I couldn’t even go see her. Was His Majesty very angry?”
Listening to the Duchess of Monde’s coquettish voice, Kaela fell into contemplation.
No matter how much she came back to life, the winner would still be Beatrice and the Emperor, who are now standing quietly, waiting for the shameless and uncultured mother to speak on their behalf.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never been in there.”
“No, you’re a royal family who frequents the Altein Palace. Don’t you know that?”
But in the Crania Empire, it was impossible to die peacefully without trying.
The Duchess of Monde, who knew about her daughter being kicked out of the Altein Palace, was deliberately speaking sharply. Even if Kaela wasn’t the one who kicked her out, Kaela was an easy target, so she was expressing her discomfort towards her.
“The one nursing Her Majesty the Empress is His Majesty the Emperor, isn’t it?”
“Oh, I thought you might know something because His Majesty the Emperor cherishes you so much.”
This is a common way of belittling at the noble level. Kaela had been subjected to this so often that she didn’t even feel the value of responding.
She used to respond diligently and even counterattack together. But in the end, Kaela was the one who ended up looking ridiculous.
A woman without a reliable family and a husband who doesn’t acknowledge her was always miserable. There was no affection or memory from childhood in married life. Peon was the first to dismiss that affection and memory.
“Even if you’re a royal, yet you’re in a situation where you can only sit still. We’re no different, right?”
Kaela didn’t want to answer the stubborn words that wanted to somehow belittle her and confirm that we’re in the same situation.
If she’s not smiling, her face looks cold, so even if she just looks at her, the Duchess of Monde would understand what she’s thinking.
