Chapter 37
Dietrich arrived at the palace a step ahead of Ciela. The moment he stepped down from the carriage, the Emperor’s attendant approached him.
“His Majesty is waiting for you, Duke Creimann.”
“……”
At the words that the Emperor was waiting, Dietrich pressed his lips together and gave a nod.
The attendant walked ahead to lead the way, and Dietrich followed behind.
The attendant halted abruptly in front of a door.
“You may go inside.”
When he opened the door, Dietrich stepped in. The door closed, and Dietrich lifted his gaze.
“You’ve come, Duke.”
“I greet Your Imperial Majesty.”
“There’s no need for such formalities here. Sit.”
When Dietrich offered his bow, the Emperor shook his head and gestured for him to sit. Dietrich took his seat, and the Emperor sat opposite him.
The Emperor was dressed in very casual attire, and the meeting place was not the official audience chamber but his private office.
Soon, an attendant came in, set down tea, and withdrew.
“Please, have some.”
“……”
At the Emperor’s invitation, Dietrich took a short sip of tea. That was all. He didn’t touch the cup again.
The Emperor frowned at that, though only for the briefest instant. Then, with a leisurely air, he spoke.
“First of all, congratulations on securing trade with the Western Kingdom. Thanks to you, the Empire will prosper even more.”
“Thank you.”
“But I am curious. How did you manage to find a passage into the Western Kingdom?”
The Emperor asked with an expression of innocent curiosity, though his eyes remained sharp.
Dietrich, however, replied with practiced composure, as though he had prepared the answer in advance.
“Thanks to a capable advisor.”
“An advisor?”
The Emperor’s eyes sharpened, and an image of a certain woman flickered through his mind.
But the answer that came was not what he expected.
“Rick Henamun. He offered me counsel.”
“Rick… You mean the second son of House Henamun? Yes, he was a clever man indeed.”
The Emperor leaned back and studied Dietrich, as though to probe his intentions. But there was not a flicker of disturbance on Dietrich’s face.
The Emperor parted his lips again.
“I have always placed my hopes in you. You led us to victory in war, and now you’ve secured trade with the Western Kingdom. You never disappoint me.”
The Emperor gazed at Dietrich with a look so deep that, to an outsider, it would have seemed he truly cherished the duke.
But Dietrich’s expression was cold, utterly so. Because he knew every word was a lie.
The Emperor loathed the Duke of Creimann. The Duke of Creimann did not follow the Emperor.
It was a fact known to every central noble. Yet both of them wore masks, hiding their true feelings behind feigned fondness and courtesy.
Dietrich, being poor at such deceit, disliked the imperial palace all the more.
But what he hated most was—
“If only you were my son, I would have cherished you far more than your predecessor ever did.”
That.
The way the Emperor pretended otherwise, only to dig into old wounds to hurt him again.
“Isn’t it so? The late duke, no matter how gifted you were—even if he called you a ‘monster’—he abused and ignored you. In the end, to keep the house from passing to you, he cast you out to that barren battlefield.”
“……”
Dietrich made no reply. His golden eyes, frozen cold, merely stared at the Emperor.
Nor did the Emperor look away. A suffocating silence filled the room.
Then the Emperor shifted topics.
“By the way, I hear House Creimann is sponsoring something this time.”
Dietrich’s hardened gaze turned toward him. The Emperor toyed with his teacup as he continued.
“It’s a curious thing. You, offering sponsorship? I don’t recall you ever doing such a thing before.”
The Emperor tested him with the question. After a brief pause, Dietrich replied.
“House Creimann intends to begin charity work going forward. Supporting an orphanage is only the first step.”
“Quite a noble explanation.”
The Emperor smiled.
Charity work, he said.
Even so, something did not sit right.
“As it happens, the woman who runs that orphanage was one I myself had intended to grant special patronage. Yet I hear from a messenger that she declared she would accept no other sponsor than House Creimann. Why is that? Isn’t it better to receive as much support as possible?”
Dietrich brushed his fingers over the teacup. It had gone lukewarm.
Her face rose in his mind, and a smile touched his lips unbidden.
Then he fixed his features once more and gave his answer, his eyes locked on the Emperor.
“Because someone, knowing her ties to House Creimann, might use sponsorship as a pretext to approach her improperly.”
The words felt as though they were aimed directly at him. The Emperor fell silent for a moment, then sneered.
“You are more suspicious than I thought, Duke. Might it not be that some truly wish only to help?”
“Then they can help elsewhere. Sierra Orphanage is not the only place in need.”
“……Have you never considered that such a stance might be selfish?”
“House Creimann will spare no expense in support.”
The meaning was clear: his house’s sponsorship alone would exceed all others combined.
The Emperor had no rebuttal. But soon he steadied his expression and asked again, this time with hidden intent.
“And why, I wonder, do you concern yourself with Sierra Orphanage so deeply? As you said, many places need help, yet you seem to focus solely on that one. Could it be that you are connected with its headmistress?”
Though Dietrich had already credited Rick Henamun’s advice, the Emperor’s suspicions remained. He found Dietrich’s connection with Ciela questionable.
Confronted directly, Dietrich’s eyes lowered. His golden gaze glinted strangely.
When he looked back at the Emperor, his eyes were more resolute than ever, as though guarding something precious.
“She is certainly a good person, but not one with whom Your Majesty need suspect any improper bond.”
At least, not on her side. His own feelings were of no importance.
“It is nothing more than a relationship between benefactor and beneficiary.”
“I see……”
Dietrich’s stance was unwavering. His words carried neither tremor nor falsehood.
Then, without warning, he rose. The Emperor tilted his head up to follow.
“Since I’ve paid my respects, I shall take my leave. I will see you at the banquet.”
He bowed and departed.
The Emperor, displeased at being dismissed without reply, nevertheless let him go. He had gleaned enough for now.
He mulled over Dietrich’s words.
“Rick Henamun’s counsel, and no special connection with the headmistress.”
Reasonably considered, it was more plausible to believe in Rick Henamun’s clever strategy than in the help of a fallen noblewoman of no standing.
Even so, the Emperor could not shake the suspicion that something more was at play—enough to make Dietrich deny the Emperor himself the right to sponsor her orphanage.
“Perhaps she could prove to be Duke Creimann’s only weakness.”
Shortly after, as an attendant entered to clear the tea set, the Emperor asked,
“The banquet is soon. Where is Saeid?”
The attendant looked troubled.
“I believe he is hiding away somewhere alone.”
“Pathetic. To sulk over a single harsh word—what a worthless prince. Find him and bring him at once.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Just as the attendant was about to leave, the Emperor halted him.
“Ah, and we should plant some eyes in the banquet hall.”
The Emperor’s lips curved in a sly smile.
“Have them stick close to Ciela Feyrunt and sound out her thoughts on her relationship with Duke Creimann.”
He was curious now—whether she truly was nothing to the duke.
“As you command.”
When the attendant left, the Emperor tilted his head slightly, a meaningful smile tugging at his mouth.
Meanwhile, as Dietrich stepped out of the office, his expression was frigid.
—“Isn’t it so? The late duke, no matter how gifted you were—even if he called you a ‘monster’—he abused and ignored you. In the end, to keep the house from passing to you, he cast you out to that barren battlefield.”
A dry chuckle slipped past Dietrich’s lips.
“Monster… it’s been a while since I heard that.”
Before the war, he had heard it countless times. But ever since leading them to victory and returning alive, none dared say it before his face.
Instead, they only looked at him with greater unease, whispering that he truly was a monster.
He knew well why the Emperor had suddenly brought it up. No one desired his pain and despair more than the Emperor.
Dietrich lifted his eyes to the sky.
Her words came back to him, as though to soothe his gloom.
—“Of everyone I’ve ever met, Your Grace is the kindest and strongest.”
Suddenly, he missed her.
He quickened his pace.
At any rate, by nightfall, he would at least be able to see her from afar.
