Chapter 71

The Bellum Knights were an order founded after Ian Hart ascended the throne.

Its members were those who had caught his eye.

Among them were noble sons, commoners, foreigners, and even former slaves.

A knight order formed solely of those deemed qualified, regardless of birth, gender, or status.

As Ian Hart said, it resembled the makeup of Liana’s personal guard.

“It seemed that would be more comfortable for your knights as well.”

Indeed, compared to staying among the imperial palace knights, who were mostly nobles, it would be better for her guards to remain with the Bellum Knights, where status mattered little.

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

“Think nothing of it.”

Receiving her gratitude with a soft smile, Ian Hart glanced toward the door.

Liana also turned her gaze there, sensing the presence approaching the tearoom a little later.

“Your Majesty, Count Chadwick has arrived.”

At the attendant’s call, Liana looked back at Ian Hart.

Count Chadwick.

He was a figure she had already learned about before coming to the Empire.

“I was going to tell you, but he came sooner than I expected. May I let him in?”

“Of course.”

With a small shrug and a nod from Liana, Ian Hart called for the man to enter.

The heavy door swung open, and in walked a middle-aged man with dark green hair, exactly as Liana remembered from her research, moving with a posture fit for a textbook.

“Your Majesty, I have completed the task you entrusted to me and have returned.”

He bowed deeply to Ian Hart first.

Then, lifting his head, Count Chadwick’s eyes met Liana’s. His eyes, lined with age, softened into a warm curve.

“It is an honor to meet you for the first time, Your Highness. I am Deorn Chadwick, steward of the Imperial Household.”

The Steward of the Imperial Household.

Though the title was different from Roen’s, its meaning was easy to grasp — he was the one overseeing the imperial palace’s affairs.

In short, Ian Hart’s closest aide.

“A pleasure, Count Chadwick. You must be the father of my lady-in-waiting.”

At her words, he widened his eyes slightly before smiling gently.

“Yes. Though she is lacking, my daughter has been blessed with the honor of serving Your Highness.”

At Ian Hart’s order to be seated, tea and refreshments were prepared for the count as well.

When Liana glanced at Ian Hart — her eyes asking, Does he know as well? — Ian Hart answered aloud.

“That’s why I wanted to introduce him to you today.”

“Ah, I see.”

But then she thought, If so many people know, can this still be considered a secret…?
Still, all twenty-five of her guards already knew the truth of her marriage.

They hadn’t been told the details, but they at least knew it was a marriage of mutual interest.

Of course, my knights would never speak carelessly of it.

After all, they had sworn a knightly oath bound by blood to her.

“Princess.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll explain who knows about the contract between you and me within the palace. There are people you don’t know yet.”

At those words, Liana’s expression grew more solemn.

“In the Empire, five people in total know. You already know Bernian, Kion, and Marquis Delcaron, so we can set them aside. You’ve just met Count Chadwick, so now you know of him as well.”

“One left, then?”

“Petches Torca. You’ll almost never meet him, but he’s the one who prepared the contract we’ll be using.”

Hearing that, Liana recalled when she had first accepted Ian Hart’s proposal — he had told Bernian to ask someone named Petches to prepare the contract.

Judging by that, it was no ordinary contract.

Could he be a mage?

But Petches Torca turned out to be a rather different figure.

“Petches Torca is an alchemist. He rarely ever leaves his home, so you will hardly see him.”

Liana’s eyes widened.

“…An alchemist?”

“Yes.”

An alchemist!

Alchemy — a discipline once spread from the East, now practiced only by a rare few.

She had never in her life seen an alchemist, or the art said to transmute metals into gold.

Their mysterious and eerie craft had made them famous in name, but they were so few in number, and often hid their identities in secluded places underground, that encountering one was nearly impossible.

“How fascinating…”

“I’ll introduce him later. He’ll be bringing the contract soon.”

Noticing her curiosity, Ian Hart reassured her, and Liana smiled awkwardly, nodding.

“In any case, Count Chadwick is trustworthy. If you need anything, you can relay it through him.”

“It is my honor,” the count said with a genial laugh.

Unlike his daughter, Laura Chadwick — Liana’s newly appointed lady-in-waiting — his demeanor was different.

If Laura was like supple reeds, Count Chadwick was more like firm bamboo.

“If you require anything, Your Highness, please call on me at any time.”

“Haha, I’ll do that.”

“…Your Highness.”

After hearing her reply, Count Chadwick hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.

“Please, I must ask you to lower your speech. For one destined to be Empress soon, to receive honorifics from me — this old man’s heart can hardly bear it.”

His gentle yet humorous tone spoke of etiquette.

Liana’s eyes grew troubled at that.

Ian Hart, meanwhile, merely observed the exchange in silence.

“But I haven’t even gone through the marriage ceremony yet. Isn’t it too soon?”

As steward of the household, Count Chadwick held one of the highest posts among the nobility.

Even as an earl, his rank wasn’t so low that he could be casually spoken down to by a princess from a tributary kingdom.

If Roen were fully sovereign, things might be different.

But Liana had no wish to create unnecessary friction.

However, Count Chadwick was unexpectedly firm.

“Once Empress training begins, the marriage can no longer be annulled. Thus, it would not be wrong to already call you the Crown Empress.”

He explained earnestly why she should change her manner of speech.

“To be frank, most nobles currently in the central court — particularly those of the noble faction — are not pleased with your presence, Your Highness.”

“I suppose that’s only natural.”

Of course, they would have preferred to make their own daughters Empress.

Though Chadwick mentioned the noble faction specifically, surely many among the imperial faction bore the same ambition.

And now, suddenly, the princess of a vassal state was to seize the position of Empress — how could they possibly welcome her?

Seeing Liana listening carefully, Count Chadwick chose his words with care.

For they could easily be taken as offensive.

“No one dares openly defy His Majesty’s decision, but they will certainly nitpick, interfere, and create obstacles wherever they can. The more leniently you treat them, the more brazen they will become.”

From that, Liana understood what he truly meant.

“In other words, they might look down on me and dismiss me.”

“…That is one way of putting it.”

Count Chadwick slowly agreed.

To some, the difference between using honorifics or not might seem trivial.

But when dealing with nobles — who valued appearances above all else — even the smallest detail mattered greatly.

All the more so because Liana, a mere princess of a vassal kingdom, was taking the Empress’s place over daughters of far more powerful families.

“For now, I understand about lowering my speech.”

Putting aside her discomfort, Liana chose to accept his counsel.

Then, befitting his station, Count Chadwick went on to explain in detail what would be expected of her.

“After you have rested from your travels, there will be a ceremony in which wine made from sacred grapes is shared. From that day forward, you must begin your Empress training.”

She already knew a little about this, having read the documents Bernian had sent on her journey here.

Before marriage in the Empire, a simplified ritual was held, followed by three months of training for the future Empress.

The training included mastering the palace’s affairs, the etiquette expected of an empress, and other matters of conduct.

Bernian had emphasized that how well one completed this training was considered very important.

Ian Hart, however, had said that if she disliked such an outdated tradition, he could abolish it entirely — though thankfully, at her strong objection, he had not followed through.

“Of the five instructors, the post of Imperial Elder is currently vacant, so we have had to recruit someone from a cadet branch of the imperial family.”

“…I see.”

In Erkal, where the harem system was still firmly in place, Imperial Elder referred to the Empress Dowager or Grand Empress.

But now, in the current imperial family, there was no one left but Ian Hart.