Jerald was silent for a long time after reading the letter. The servants were restless when they saw Jerald’s expression. It wasn’t until a long time later that one of the servants was brave enough to ask.
“Your Majesty, is it really a letter from the usurper?”
“…Yes,”
Jerald replied, maintaining a stoic expression.
“They have Countess Rosewell.”
“Oh, my God…!”
“They want me to give up the throne if I want to save the countess and the child in her stomach.”
“How dare…!”
“It’s nonsense, Your Majesty.”
“…”
But Jerald didn’t add anything to their outrage, and it was this attitude that made them uneasy.
He wasn’t going to accept the ridiculous offer, was he? Finally, one of the uneasy servants quickly spoke up again.
“Your Majesty, I think you should go to the meeting first.”
“…That’s right.”
Jerald replied briefly and rose from his seat. But before he could take a single step, he stumbled.
Alarmed servants quickly rushed to his aid, calling out,
“Your Majesty!”
“It’s all right,”
Jerald responded calmly, but he didn’t seem very well to the observer. They eventually had to keep an eye on Jerald as he traveled to the conference hall in a nervous mood. And when Jerald arrived at the conference hall, ignorant nobles greeted him.
“The sun of the empire, I greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“Let’s sit down.”
The table was cleared, and Jerald immediately brought it up.
“I understand we have no urgent business today.”
“No, Your Majesty, we don’t.”
“Well, it just came up, an urgent agenda.”
The aristocrats all looked at Jerald with a puzzled expression. Soon, shocking news came out of Jerald’s mouth for them as well.
“Everyone knows that it was Lord Akkad Bachell who kidnapped Countess Rosewell.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, of course.”
“The usurper was behind it.”
“What?”
“Your Majesty, what…!”
“A letter from the usurper arrived earlier.”
Jerald recited the contents of the letter in a relatively calm voice.
“If I want to save Countess Rosewell and our child, I must give him the throne.”
“Where did you get that…!”
“That is nonsense, Your Majesty.”
“It’s not even certain, is it?”
“That’s right. You also have to keep in mind the possibility that they lied.”
“That makes sense.”
Jerald nodded, his expression grim.
“There is no evidence anywhere that they have the countess alive.”
As he said this, Jerald glanced at Duke Gennant, whose face was as expressionless as his own.
“But that’s not what matters now.”
“Then…”
“The usurper is alive somewhere in Limburg, and he dared to write me such a letter.”
Jerald continued in an angry voice,
“From this day forward, the entire force of the palace will be mobilized to find her. I want my lords to join me in this endeavor. The first to bring her home will be rewarded accordingly.”
“At your command, Your Majesty.”
“And if I may add.”
Jerald’s eyes drifted to Duke Gennant.
“If there are any noblemen here who are in league with the usurper, I hope they speak up before it’s too late.”
“…”
“If it is discovered that you have even the slightest connection to the usurper, it will mean the destruction of three generations. However, if you change your mind now, you may be spared.”
Jerald said the last words coldly.
“I hope you choose wisely.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Those words were directed to Duke Gennant, weren’t they?”
After the meeting, he went back to the central palace, and Jerald’s servant asked. Jerald nodded.
“A trap has been laid for him.”
“If it is a trap…”
“We must find a way to contact Countess Rosewell.”
Jerald said in a firm voice,
“She’s a clever woman, maybe she’s figured out where his home base is by now.”
“…”
“We need to get her to communicate with us somehow, so we can win.”
Limburg was too large to search the entire empire. There had to be some sort of lead.
“It would be great if the Duke Gennant changed his mind and gave us the information of his home base, but I doubt the usurper would have given him such information, even if they were in cahoots. At best, it would be a place of deception.”
“That’s right. As a usurper, they cannot trust him lightly.”
“Still, it would be nice to know, though.”
Jerald murmured with cynicism,
“I don’t particularly expect him to spill the beans, and I’m sure he’s aware of the difficulty we’re having finding the usurper’s home base.”
If it were that easy, Jerald would have found him in the first place when the usurper was in power. Because it was not easy, they had troubled Pristin and Count Lamont’s family so much.
“Anyway, if my prediction is correct, the usurper will eventually send evidence that Pristin is alive to our side. Until then, we just need to do our job.”
“Will you be okay?”
After listening to Jerald’s plan, the servant asked anxiously. Jerald stared at him as if he didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Countess Rosewell, I mean…”
“Oh.”
Jerald looked thoughtful for a moment, then spoke.
“It might be better now.”
“What? What do you mean…”
“I’m expecting him to be accommodating, at least until I express my wishes, because he can’t treat a pregnant woman like that.”
Her early pregnancy meant there was a high chance of miscarriage, which made Jerald nervous, but also gave him hope that they wouldn’t harm her easily.
“That way, her value as a hostage wouldn’t be compromised.”
But that was Jerald’s hope. Perhaps his uncle was far more cruel than he realized.
But he could only hope, and trust, that there was still some rationality in his cruelty, and that he would not play his last hand lightly.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
And Jerald’s predictions were exactly right.
“Ashulla.”
Pristin hesitated and called out to the maid who had taken care of her for more than ten days.
The woman whose name was called approached Pristin.
“Yes, Countess Rosewell. What is it?”
“It’s almost dinnertime, right?”
“Yes. Are you hungry?”
“Yeah. I’m strangely hungry today.”
“I’ll bring a lot of food today.”
“There, more than that.”
Ashulla stared at Pristin with an expression of wonder.
“I’m craving strawberries.”
Pristin asked cautiously,
“Do you think we can have them at the next meal?”
“I’ll talk to the chef.”
“Thank you,”
Pristin said softly, with a friendly smile in her eyes.
“Ashulla seems like such a nice person, going out of her way for me.”
“No, Countess. I heard you’re pregnant, and I’ve heard that when you’re pregnant you crave new foods, so I’m sure the kitchen will understand.”
“That’s very kind of you to say.”
Pristin still smiled with her eyes and clasped Ashulla’s hand, who looked slightly ashamed.
After a while, Ashulla went out and Pristin was left alone. Only then did Pristin lose her smile and sigh deeply.
‘Today marks my thirteenth day in here…’
Pristin had been doing well in her confinement. At first, of course, she had found the situation deplorable and terrifying, but she had gotten used to it.
She couldn’t starve herself because she had a child in her belly, and she knew she had to get out alive.
She only hoped that the news of Jerald’s abdication to the usurper would not reach her until she arrived safely.
‘Now I just need to figure out where we are…’
For the past thirteen days, Pristin had kept to herself. She hadn’t pestered anyone to let her go. She’s been as friendly as she could be to the two maids who took care of her, hoping to win their favor and make them relax.
To make them feel compassion and sympathy for the poor pregnant woman who had been kidnapped all this way.
‘Maybe I should overeat my lunch today and make an excuse to go out for a walk.’
It was so difficult to get a sense of where this place was from inside, and even if she did know where it was, it wasn’t clear that it would be of any particular use to her, but maybe it would come in handy. In any case, under the circumstances, even the slightest bit of information seemed desperately needed.
“I brought your meal, Countess.”
Soon, Ashulla came into the room with Pristin’s meal. In line with Pristin’s previous request, Ashulla brought a meal that was a little too much for one person.
Just by looking at it, Pristin realized it would be a little overwhelming to finish, but for today’s plans, she was willing to give it a try.
Pristin said to Ashulla with a big smile, as if she were really pleased,
“Thank you, Ashulla. You came quickly.”
“And I brought the strawberries you wanted for dessert.”
“Thank you so much.”
Pristin spoke to Ashulla in a rather exaggerated voice.
“I think it’s very comfortable to stay here because of Ashulla.”
“I’m sure it’s no more comfortable than where you were, though.”
Ashulla spoke to Pristin in a wistful tone,
“Just hang in there. I’m sure you’ll be able to go back as soon as we’re done with the transfer.”
“…Okay. Thank you.”
Pristin smiled awkwardly and nodded. Someone might find it strange to hear, but even if she could go back like that, Pristin didn’t seem happy or joyful at all.
