~Chapter 09~
‘Did I just hear a faint rustling…?’
At that moment, a small bird flitted up from the bushes.
‘Was I just being too sensitive?’
Izaya let out a small sigh of relief, thinking she had imagined it.
“Come now, tell me what’s going on!”
At Duke Lauchen’s sharp prompting, Izaya exhaled and began speaking.
“You know, Father… how hard I’ve tried to get along with my husband, just as you instructed.”
“I know. So… His Majesty hasn’t warmed to you, has he?”
“He hasn’t. But I’ve grown exhausted by his unchanging selfishness and arrogance.”
‘Was this just a petty marital quarrel?’
For a moment, the Duke paused in his reproach.
‘Well, that brat does have an annoyingly prickly personality.’
The Emperor treated all nobles harshly, but especially him—the father-in-law—he was bluntly insolent and sharp-tongued.
‘If he had only produced an heir, I would have taken action long ago.’
At this age, the Emperor’s youth was particularly irritating.
According to imperial law, conjugal relations for producing an heir could only begin when both spouses had reached the age of majority at nineteen.
Izaya gently grasped his hand.
“You know… you’re the only one I can rely on, Father.”
“I understand, but… Izaya—”
“Right now, I can’t bear to look at the Emperor. Even if only temporarily, please allow us to sleep in separate rooms.”
Her request was simple, yet precise. The Duke, seeing how far she had come, realized it was better to feign agreement and give her time rather than forcibly reunite them.
“Of course. Your father stands by you. Do as you wish.”
Izaya’s crimson lips curved into a soft, graceful smile.
“Thank you, Father.”
A foolishly obedient, yet clever daughter—so useful.
Satisfied with her negotiation, the Duke spent a few more moments in casual conversation before noticing the evening growing dark.
“Time’s getting late. I should be going.”
“I’ll see you out.”
“No need. You rest; you’ve had a long day.”
Once left alone in the reception room, Izaya’s smile widened.
‘That was a perfect little arrangement.’
She remembered the despair she had felt when hearing that part of her mother’s inheritance—the gold mine—had failed. Excavation yielded nothing, leaving only losses.
But now that burden had been handed off to Duke Lauchen, the suffering was his to bear.
‘Soon, he won’t dare ask for the estate back even if the mine fails. It only looks worthless on the surface.’
Yet that estate was actually one of the most valuable pieces of the Duke’s holdings.
‘And now I can use it to make money.’
Her satisfaction was fleeting, however, as she remembered there was still one more issue to address.
She called to her maid, “Melanie, come to my room.”
Duke Lauchen strode toward the carriage waiting at the palace entrance.
He beamed as he looked at the mine’s certificate, then spoke to his aide.
“Stop by the jeweler and bring all the new ornaments. And find a very fine stallion soon.”
Even without further explanation, it was clear these were gifts for his family.
“Yes, sir,” the aide replied.
“And prepare a surprise for the Empress’s palace soon. She won’t see it coming.”
The aide nodded without question.
‘No matter how stubborn she is, she’ll return to the palace if I send an assassin. I have no worries there.’
The Duke had no intention of letting Izaya sleep separately for long.
‘It’ll be easier to produce an heir if we share a room.’
At that moment, someone blocked his path.
A striking young boy with an arrogant gaze—none other than the Emperor himself. The Duke’s smile vanished.
‘On a day like this, I have to run into that brat?’
The Duke bowed carefully, observing proper protocol.
“Your Majesty, the Sun of the Empire. I hope you are well.”
The Emperor, however, glared without a word.
‘Still insolent.’
Though the young Emperor’s pride was no surprise, the Duke had not expected such blatant defiance.
Attempting diplomacy, the Duke smiled.
“Perhaps it is late, Your Majesty. You must be tired. I shall take my leave.”
Just as he turned, the Emperor called sharply.
“Duke Lauchen.”
The Duke froze.
“Do not think of doing anything reckless.”
“Pardon, Your Majesty?”
Before the Duke could finish speaking, the Emperor brushed past him and walked away.
Only after the Emperor disappeared did the Duke realize he had been threatened.
‘Could he have overheard what I said?’
He quickly dismissed the thought.
‘Impossible. He wouldn’t understand the codes my aide and I use. He was probably just being difficult.’
Still, he ground his teeth in irritation.
‘He’s getting bolder.’
The Duke turned to his aide.
“Prepare a gift for the Emperor. Soon.”
Meanwhile, Melanie made her way to the Empress’s palace.
‘What will happen to me now?’
She had escaped punishment for now, but with the Duke drawing lines, she could not hope for any further help.
And she could not know what the Empress might decide as punishment.
‘It’s fine. As long as I remain in the palace, she won’t give me anything too harsh.’
Entering the Empress’s chamber, she saw Izaya smiling gracefully.
“Your complexion looks good today.”
Melanie responded weakly, trying to muster courage.
“Did you… summon me to mock me?”
“Do you really think I would summon you only to laugh at you?”
Her calm voice carried an almost mocking edge.
Melanie’s face flushed with shame.
“W-What is your business with me, then?”
“You’ve already forgotten what happened earlier? You need to be punished.”
‘Yes… that’s right.’
Melanie braced herself, ready for whatever punishment the Empress would deliver.
Izaya’s smile deepened.
“Your brother is imprisoned under false charges, yes? I hear he embezzled funds from your family’s trading house…”
Melanie’s eyes widened in shock.
‘Wait… is she planning to punish even my brother?’
She had always acted for her sibling’s sake. But now, it seemed her brother might suffer because of her.
“Yes, but we’ve long since severed ties with him…” Melanie feigned indifference, drawing a clear line between herself and her brother.
“How curious,” said Izaya. “Both siblings charged with embezzlement. Quite the coincidence.”
Melanie’s eyes widened in disbelief at the Empress’s knowledge.
Izaya continued, smiling.
“You embezzled the funds to cover your brother’s bail, didn’t you?”
‘How could she possibly know that?’
Melanie forced herself to remain calm, aware that panicking would only draw her deeper into Izaya’s trap.
Izaya’s lips curved with a hint of amusement.
“But what’s strange is… there shouldn’t even be bail for a life sentence.”
Melanie gasped.
“Impossible! I’m sure the sentence was reduced to ten years!”
Izaya handed her a document. Melanie froze as her eyes scanned the paper.
The charges against her brother had been changed—his sentence now read life imprisonment.
Melanie’s face twisted in shock.
‘She tricked me.’
“Follow my instructions for five years, and I will help reduce your brother’s sentence.”
The Duke later brought Melanie into the palace as the Empress’s chief maid. Occasionally, he even sent letters written in her brother’s handwriting and promised to cover half the bail.
She had trusted him completely, believing that the embezzled funds were going to help her brother.
But it was all part of the Duke’s cunning manipulation.
‘So he used me to steal the money I embezzled…’
Feeling defeated, Melanie faced Izaya, who said coldly:
“Why so silent? With my authority, I could do whatever I wish to your imprisoned brother.”
