IWBCAS 26

Episode 26

Reina was extremely nervous.
Blair—the one person who would use her being the Saint to the fullest—was coming to the palace.

“He’s coming here?!”

She silently begged,
‘He must be tired. Please just send him to rest. Please… please!’

But Emperor Eckarter crushed that hope with a smile.

“Bring him in. He’s back in the capital after a long time—he should say hello.”

‘Damn it!!’

Reina cursed inwardly. Nothing ever went her way.
Now she was about to meet the villain of this world face-to-face.

She waited nervously until Blair appeared.
The moment she saw him, she held her breath.

He had dark black hair, similar but colder than Karlhail’s.
His gray eyes were completely emotionless.
Though he still looked a little tired from travel, he gave off a strong aura of power, just like a royal.

It was just like the book had described him.

Blair entered with perfect posture and bowed.

“Father, Mother. I greet you.”

“You’ve worked hard, Blair,” the Emperor said warmly.

Then Blair looked at Karlhail.

“It’s been a while, Uncle.”

“Yes, it has.”

Standing beside Karlhail, Reina quickly knelt and bowed.
But Blair didn’t even glance at her. It was as if she were invisible.

‘Can he… not see me?’

Then she realized it.
To Blair, she was just a background character—like a servant or maid.

‘Actually, that might be a good thing.’
It was better not to get noticed by such a dangerous man.

“Did everything go well with your task?” the Emperor asked.

“Yes, Father. I brought the agreement from the Duchy of Ankleyte.”

Blair gestured to his attendant, who handed a scroll to the chief servant Marcus, who then gave it to the Emperor.

As the Emperor read through the document, he looked surprised.

“They agreed to send more tribute goods—and even increased the amount? Were they okay with this?”

“This benefits the Empire. The Duchy gladly agreed,” Blair replied confidently.

Reina held back a smirk.

‘Gladly agreed? As if.’

There’s no way the Duchy would sign such an unfair deal happily.

‘If they did, they wouldn’t go to war with the Empire years later…’

Yes, Reina remembered.
In the future, the Duchy of Ankleyte would go to war against the mighty Empire—even though it was like throwing an egg at a rock.

This unfair treaty would definitely be one of the reasons.

‘The Emperor must know that… or maybe he just doesn’t care as long as it benefits the Empire. Like father, like son.’

The Emperor smiled and praised Blair.

“Well done. You’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you, Father,” Blair said, smiling faintly.

Then the Emperor mentioned something unexpected.

“Good thing you returned early. You’ll be able to attend Karlhail’s wedding.”

“Uncle’s wedding?” Blair repeated, clearly surprised.

“Yes, he’s getting married. He even brought his fiancée today to introduce her.”

That’s when Blair finally looked at Reina.

“My uncle… getting married? How very interesting.”

His expression clearly asked: What kind of woman would marry Karlhail?
Blair squinted and looked Reina up and down like a snake.
His gaze was so uncomfortable that Reina struggled to keep a polite smile.

Then, unexpectedly, Empress Isabel spoke.

“Oh right, Lady Reina will be attending the hunting competition too.”

“Ah, yes. Karlhail will finally have a partner at this year’s hunt,” the Emperor added.

‘Hunting competition? What’s that?’
Reina tilted her head in confusion.
The original novel must’ve skipped that part, probably because it wasn’t romantic or spicy.

Before she could ask, the Emperor looked at her expectantly.

“You’ll attend too, right, Lady Reina?”

She couldn’t say no to the Emperor.

“Of course, Your Majesty. I’ll attend.”

The Emperor looked pleased.

“Wonderful. Then maybe Karlhail will finally get a handkerchief.”

“He always carries an empty sword sheath—it was quite sad. It’s good he has a fiancée now.”

Reina forced a smile as the two royals laughed.
‘Handkerchief? Empty sword sheath?’
She didn’t get it at all. She’d have to ask Amy later.

Then Empress Isabel made another suggestion.

“How about offering something special as a prize this year, Your Majesty?”

“Something special?” the Emperor asked.

“Karlhail is attending this year. Instead of jewels like last year, offering a unique prize might make the competition more exciting.”

The Emperor thought it over and nodded.

“Good idea, Isabel. Do you have something in mind?”

She glanced briefly at Blair—just for a second, but her eyes flashed.
Then she smiled like a blooming flower.

“How about the island of Flontine in the South? It’s been empty for years. Seems like a good choice.”

Reina was shocked.

‘An island? They’re offering an island as a prize?!’

Even Karlhail said it was so expensive that even he couldn’t buy it.

Blair frowned at once.

“It’s just an annual hunt. Isn’t offering land a bit too much?”

“But we can’t leave Flontine island abandoned forever. It’s been over ten years,” Isabel replied sharply.
“Unless there’s a reason why the island shouldn’t be given away?”

‘What’s going on?’
The tension between the Emperor, Empress, and Blair was obvious.

Still, the Empress continued to push for the island to be the prize.
Reina could tell something felt off.

The Emperor looked at Isabel seriously for a moment, then nodded.

“Why not? As you said, there’s no reason to leave it empty.”

“Father!” Karlhail tried to stop him.

But the Emperor had already made up his mind.

“Isabel is right. We can’t keep the island unused forever. You shouldn’t stay tied to it either.”

He looked at Karlhail with a softened expression.

“Since Karlhail is attending, it’s a good way to draw attention to the event.”

Blair didn’t look happy, but he didn’t argue again.

“Marcus, issue a royal order. This year’s prize will be the island of Flontine. I expect many will participate.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Isabel seemed very pleased.
To lighten the mood, she spoke to Reina directly.

“Lady Reina, you seem quite interested in the prize.”

“Me? N-no, I…” Reina looked away, startled.

In truth, she was interested.
The warm southern island sounded perfect to live on after a divorce.

“It is a fine prize. You’d even get a title. If you had sons, they could inherit it.”

“I see… Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if Duke Karlhail won and gave you the island as a wedding gift?”

“A… wedding gift?”

Reina didn’t understand at first, and Isabel sighed.

“Surely you weren’t going to skip the wedding gift? It’s tradition for the groom to give a heartfelt present to his bride-to-be.”

‘Wait, that’s a thing? First time I’m hearing about it!’

“I hope Duke Karlhail wins the island and gifts it to Lady Reina. That shouldn’t be too hard for him, right?”

She looked at Karlhail expectantly. Reina, too, glanced at him hopefully.

But Karlhail said nothing for a moment.

“…….”

“Isn’t that right, Duke?”

Finally, he answered.

“…There will be many strong competitors. Winning won’t be easy. But I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, do your best, Duke.”

Isabel and Karlhail exchanged a strange look.

Though Isabel smiled, her lips trembled ever so slightly.
Reina noticed.

‘What’s with this mood…?’