CHAPTER 16…………………………………….
“From now on, you’ll need to learn the duties of a sovereign.”
“Pardon?”
The emperor’s eyes gleamed sharply as he let out a hearty laugh.
“Terence, my son. I’m thinking it’s about time I bring you into the imperial register.”
How much time had passed?
Even after listening to the emperor’s rather long-winded explanation, Terence remained silent.
“You don’t want it?”
“It’s sudden. Please give me a little time to think.”
“What’s there to think about?”
The emperor clicked his tongue, but Terence still didn’t speak.
An imperial prince.
The moment the emperor acknowledged Terence, he would become one.
It would be a lie to say he’d never imagined it, but he had never believed it would truly become reality.
Still, perhaps now was the right time—now that the House of Duke Birode had lost power due to Cassius’s sudden rise.
Cassius had begun expanding his influence at an alarming pace starting a few years ago.
Rather than remaining merely a “powerhouse of the frontier,” his original position, he extended his reach into various other fields.
It was as though the goddess herself favored Cassius; every venture they challenged succeeded without exception, and the other families that had once dominated those fields suffered heavy blows.
Among them, the House of Duke Birode—already struck by ill fortune in its territory—now stood on the brink of handing over the title of the empire’s most powerful family to Cassius.
As a result, the empress’s authority was no longer what it once was. Even more so after discord arose between mother and son over the issue of her son courting a woman of orphaned origin.
“Do you truly not covet the throne? Others are desperate for it because they can’t have it.”
“……”
In truth, he didn’t particularly desire the throne itself.
But if he were to step forward, how would the empress—who despised him so deeply that she frequently sent assassins after him—react?
And how would his younger brother, who had enjoyed everything given to him since birth as if it were only natural, respond?
That was a little—no, quite—interesting.
Still, was that curiosity great enough to be worth enduring all the trouble that would come with accepting this offer?
It was something to think about.
The moment he accepted, an entirely different life would unfold before him. A choice he could neither retreat from nor undo.
Just as Terence resolved to take some time to weigh both sides more carefully—
“If you ascend the throne, you can have anything else as well! Is there truly nothing you want?”
Something he wanted. Something worth becoming an imperial prince for?
Without context, a powerless face surfaced in his mind.
Tap, tap—
The fingers that had been drumming on the armrest stopped.
What was I just thinking…?
Terence shook his head, scattering the thought. Ridiculous.
Why, of all times, did that woman come to mind without any reason? Someone he hadn’t even known for very long.
His thoughts returned to the original subject. And yet, strangely, the deliberation ended sooner than he himself expected.
His heart had tilted.
“All right. I’ll become an imperial prince.”
“Oh! So there is something you desire?”
“……Well. A little.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. You, who never had even a shred of greed.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s not that I desire something. I just want to rise to a higher position and help someone who’s in trouble.”
The emperor wore an odd, disbelieving expression.
“You? Wanting to help someone? Who is it?”
There was someone. Someone sighing because she couldn’t get a divorce.
“Let’s save that for later amusement.”
“Tch. That’s no fun.”
Even so, the emperor looked to be in very high spirits.
High enough that, if asked now, he would probably grant most requests.
“More importantly, Father.”
Terence smiled, using a form of address he rarely spoke.
“I went to the marketplace and heard an interesting story.”
The next day.
The emperor’s direct inspection corps stormed the Imperial Central Court.
They practically turned the place upside down, uncovering corruption among the officials.
About a dozen corrupt officials were exposed, most of whom had taken bribes from noble houses.
And here.
“Huh? What’s this?”
While sorting through the belongings of one official who had been bribed by the House of Duke Cassius, an inspector found something.
A single divorce petition.
Cassius’s town house.
“This incident is deeply disappointing.”
Duke Cassius, seated behind his desk in the study, rebuked his son coldly.
“……I have no excuse, Father.”
Liandro could only lower his head and stare at his shoes.
“To think what demands His Majesty might make under the pretext of this… tsk.”
Yesterday, without warning, a massive inspection had targeted the Central Court.
Many families were implicated, but the one the emperor had been most wary of lately was Cassius.
That morning, the emperor summoned the duke and casually broached the topic.
“It seems your son dearly loves his wife.”
“It is entirely my fault, Your Majesty.”
“No, no. I’m not here to reprimand you. How can love be controlled? But still… how should I put it. Isn’t it rather unseemly?”
“……”
“Trying to hold onto someone who wants to leave—honestly. It makes me wonder whether you can truly shoulder the name of the great Cassius.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“I’m not blaming you, I told you. In any case, for your sake, I’ll let today’s matter slide.”
There was no way the emperor would simply let Cassius’s fault go. He would surely demand a much greater price later, using it as leverage.
Hoo. Irritation seeped into the duke’s sigh.
At a time when he needed to avoid any blemish to firmly establish his heir, such a mishap—
Worse still, the favor in question concerned Liandro’s private life, making it all the harder to deflect.
“So, what do you plan to do now?”
He tossed that morning’s newspaper onto the desk before his eldest son.
A third-rate paper known for celebrity gossip. In the corner of the front page, the headline stood out clearly.
“Exclusive! Rumors of discord between a noble couple of a prominent family—divorce after just two years of marriage…?”
“It’s only a matter of time before your name is mentioned. At a time when we must watch the emperor’s mood, it would be unreasonable to put more pressure on the press.”
The rumors had been spreading quietly ever since the commotion with Idel in front of city hall a few days ago.
Cassius’s power had merely kept them from surfacing.
“Now that the divorce petition has been filed, it won’t be long before the trial begins.”
Due to the overwhelming workload of the Imperial Court, a long time usually passed between filing a suit and the first hearing.
But the emperor had subtly shown interest in this case.
He seemed to find Cassius’s loss of face amusing.
In that case, the trial date would surely be brought forward.
Considering the various procedures in between, the duke estimated the trial would begin in about two weeks.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. You wouldn’t have let things get this far without some plan.”
Liandro bit his lip hard, then spoke in a hoarse voice.
“I’ll stop the trial.”
“With His Majesty already involved, how do you intend to do that?”
Liandro answered resolutely.
“I’ll persuade Idel before the first hearing.”
“If persuasion were possible, it wouldn’t have come to this.”
“No matter what you say, Father, my resolve won’t change.”
“This is the result of leaving things to you to handle as you pleased.”
“This time will be different.”
“Don’t go barging in again only to be humiliated in public like last time. Stay home and reflect.”
“I refuse.”
The duke’s eyes—so similar to Liandro’s—sharpened.
“I’ve indulged you too much, and now you’re completely out of line.”
“I have never once in my life been treated that way by you, Father.”
“You brat—”
Just as the tension between father and son was about to turn ugly—
“Stop it, both of you!”
The door to the study burst open and Riena rushed in.
“Dad, please stop scolding my brother!”
At his youngest daughter’s pleading, the duke looked troubled.
“This is none of your concern.”
“But my brother was just trying to do his best.”
“Riena, go outside.”
“Dad!”
This time, however, the duke didn’t give in to simple pleading.
His pride had been badly wounded by losing face before the emperor.
“……That’s so unfair. You say it’s a family matter, yet I’m not allowed to be involved.”
Riena pressed her lips together tightly and put her hands on her hips.
“If you keep acting like this—”
She widened her round eyes and dropped a bombshell.
“I’m not eating lunch!”
“What nonsense is that!”
“Skipping lunch?!”
The Duke of Cassius and Liandro cried out almost simultaneously.
Riena turned her head away despite their attempts to stop her.
“I won’t eat dinner either!”
Skipping lunch and dinner.
It was an unprecedented situation.
Riena had threatened to skip meals before, but never two in a row.
The duke’s face twisted with worry for his daughter.
“That’s foolish. You’ll only harm yourself!”
Liandro chimed in.
“What if you collapse?!”
Even Lehaim, who had been eavesdropping outside, rushed in.
“That’s right! You’re too delicate—this is dangerous!”
All three of them knew perfectly well that skipping two meals wouldn’t normally cause serious harm.
But as always, common sense never applied to this precious girl.
“Dad! If you don’t want me to starve, then please trust Liandro one more time.”
“Riena……”
“Or I really won’t eat!”
In the end, the duke raised the white flag.
Rubbing his stiff brow, he spoke to his eldest son.
“Do as you please.”
After the three siblings left their father’s study—
“Brother Liandro, do you have a plan?”
To Riena’s question, Liandro replied without much confidence.
“I’m not sure. I’ll just have to apologize sincerely.”
“Be careful. It looked like sister-in-law was much angrier than we thought.”
Lehaim cut in.
“Come to think of it, you went to see her yesterday, right? How was it?”
“Uh, well… actually… she even said things she didn’t mean, just to say she hated me.”
“Really?! Wow, she must’ve hated you a lot to lie like that!”
Liandro’s expression darkened heavily.
“I’m sorry, Riena. You had to hear things you didn’t need to because of me.”
“No, it’s okay. I was shocked at first too, but when I thought about it, there’s no way that’s true. You know how close sister-in-law and I were.”
“She went too far. She could’ve just cursed at you—why say things to Riena too?”
“Either way, if you want to change her mind, you’ll really have to do well.”
“But how… Every time I meet her, things only get worse.”
“Hmm, how about this?”
“What is it?”
Riena smiled slyly, bent down, and whispered something into Liandro’s ear.
