IWPU 36

Evan lowered his head toward me. He was deeply apologetic for not being able to properly carry out the first order I had given him.

It wasn’t that Evan lacked ability. The order I had given him was simply that difficult.

Still… there’s something I absolutely need to know…

The documents Evan handed over contained fairly detailed information about the western region, which was otherwise almost unknown. It included salt and raw mineral distribution routes that ordinary people would never know about, as well as the names, characteristics, and family relations of the lords governing western territories. It was obvious at a glance how much effort Evan had put into it.

When I said the information was insufficient, what I truly meant was that there was almost nothing about the Deisha Ducal House—the very thing I needed most. Perhaps that was only natural. The current Duke of Deisha had long lived in seclusion. The house itself had essentially begun with him. There was almost no known information about the Duke, and even less about his current life.

The Duke of Deisha was a man who had missed the chance to reach the highest position when it was right before his eyes. People called him the “unlucky prince.”

The Duke was, in private, the Emperor’s cousin. His father had been the elder brother of the current Emperor’s father. Had he been born just a few months earlier, he might have become the Emperor instead of the Emperor’s cousin.

The Duke’s father had been the Crown Prince under the previous Emperor. According to rumors, he was a man gifted in both civil and military affairs. His only flaw was that he had no heir.

On the other hand, the current Emperor’s father had been quite indulgent. He reportedly had many children besides the Emperor himself. The current Emperor also had many children—like father, like son.

In particular, the current Emperor himself had been born out of wedlock before his father’s coming-of-age ceremony. It would have been impossible for a minor to be married, so he was not officially registered in the royal lineage until much later.

Fortunately, his mother was an unmarried noblewoman, so he avoided the stigma of being a bastard. Even so, it seemed he carried a complex about his birth. He desperately desired a legitimate son born of the main consort.

The First Prince was sixteen years older than the Crown Prince. Before the Crown Prince was born, the First Prince was effectively the heir apparent. Most nobles—including the First Imperial Consort—believed he would inherit the throne. The Empress had no children, and the other princes had weaker influence.

Even so, the Emperor did not grant the title of Crown Prince to the First Prince. He still seemed unwilling to give up on having a legitimate heir from the main consort.

The current Emperor had three official wives. His first wife died before he became Emperor, leaving only a daughter. His second wife, the former Empress and mother of the current Crown Prince, became Empress when he ascended the throne. However, she only bore a single son after a long time. His third wife was the current Empress, who had no children yet.

To the Emperor, the Crown Prince was the only legitimate son born of the main consort that he had long desired. That was why he was so determined to pass the throne to him.

Unlike the current Emperor, who had many children, the previous Emperor had only two sons: Lloyd, the Crown Prince and father of the Duke of Deisha, and Bishop, the Prince and father of the current Emperor.

Lloyd had no children for a long time. Meanwhile, Bishop had many children, including the current Emperor. It was inevitable that concerns about succession would arise. Lloyd had even considered giving up on having his own child and selecting an heir from Bishop’s sons. One of those candidates had been the current Emperor.

Then, as if by miracle, the Crown Princess became pregnant. The previous Emperor rejoiced and held a grand national celebration. But the happiness did not last.

Before she could give birth, Crown Prince Lloyd died in a horseback riding accident. The child in her womb became a posthumous heir—that child was the Duke of Deisha.

Deeply shaken by his eldest son’s death, the aging Emperor fell ill and eventually passed away. Just before his death, he bestowed upon the unborn child not a royal surname, but the name “Deisha,” along with the title of Duke.

It was a necessary decision. By that time, Bishop’s sons—already trained as heirs—had grown into adulthood, while the unborn child had not even been born. To protect him, the Emperor did not even register him in the royal lineage.

The Emperor’s decision proved wise. After his death, a brutal struggle for succession broke out. The eventual victor—the current Emperor—killed all his half-brothers. He went so far as to eliminate even his sisters, erasing every trace of potential opposition.

The Duke of Deisha was the only surviving “non-royal royal” in that blood-soaked era. Since his name had never been recorded in the royal lineage, he was not officially considered royalty. Those not recorded in the royal genealogy could never inherit the throne.

That was the reason he survived. But the blood in his veins was undeniably royal. Hence, people called him the “unlucky prince.”

Before he was even born, he was sent to the western territory that became his domain. His mother, the Crown Princess, was said to have died when he was still young. The western Deisha lands were far from the imperial capital. Upon hearing the news, the Emperor only sent an envoy.

All nobles with titles in the Empire were required to visit the capital twice a year—on New Year’s Day and Founding Day—no matter what. Missing two consecutive years without valid reason resulted in automatic loss of title. Even high-ranking nobles were not exempt. It was essentially a form of license renewal.

Yet the Duke of Deisha had lived his entire life in his domain and never once visited the capital. And yet, his title was never revoked—because of the previous Emperor’s will.

To protect the Duke, the previous Emperor created multiple safeguards and struck a deal with the current Emperor. In exchange for preserving the Duke’s life, the Emperor granted him immunity from all crimes except treason.

That was why the Duke could retain his title without ever visiting the capital.

In the present, I had never met the Duke of Deisha. But in that past life—I had.

He had never left his domain his entire life. Even his coming-of-age ceremony and social debut were held there. And yet, he came to the capital once—for his daughter’s debut into high society.

Very few people had ever seen his face. And yet no one doubted his identity as the Duke of Deisha.

Because he had the same golden eyes as the Crown Prince.

Golden eyes were the symbol of the royal family. Aside from the Crown Prince, no other child of the Emperor—including the current Emperor—had inherited them.

I was eighteen then, in my second year of marriage to the Crown Prince. The Duke’s daughter was my age—the upper limit for a debut into high society.

She was beautiful. Long hair that flowed to her waist, a slender figure, a delicate face that evoked protective instincts in men, and a clear, untroubled smile.

She was everything I was not.

Perhaps that was why I disliked her from the very first moment I saw her. I hated her ever-present smile, as though she were always happy. I despised how she would shed clear tears at the slightest reprimand, her large eyes trembling. It felt both fake and disgusting.

I sensed an inexplicable threat from her.

And my intuition was correct.

“Iris Hill Deisha.”

That was the name of the woman the Crown Prince loved.

“…My lady. Lady Elient!”

Evan’s voice snapped me back to reality. I realized he had approached without me noticing and was now kneeling beside me, looking at me with worry.

“Are you unwell? Should I call a physician?”

I pressed my temple and shook my head. Just thinking of her made those emotions from back then surge up unexpectedly. I forced her image out of my mind and took a slow breath. My stiff body loosened, and warmth slowly returned to my frozen fingertips.

Evan still looked concerned.

“I think we should call a physician.”

“I’m fine.”

“But…”

“It’s just a migraine I’ve always had. It’s not serious enough to call a doctor.”

At some point, I had begun to suffer from migraines—something neither Bionne nor Eziah had ever experienced. It was likely due to everything happening all at once recently.

The things left behind by my maternal grandfather, my meeting with the Emperor and First Imperial Consort, and the Crown Prince’s changed behavior—none of it was simple.

At least my coming-of-age ceremony had gone smoothly.

The First Imperial Consort had attended in the end. It was an event hosted directly by the Emperor, and even she could not skip it. The Emperor remained present throughout, and no noble dared act out under the gaze of the highest authority. Outwardly, the ceremony was peaceful.

The Crown Prince’s beloved must have also had her coming-of-age ceremony this year. She was older than me. In two years, she would come to the capital for her debut.

To avoid marrying the Crown Prince, I would either have to bring her to the capital before the wedding or delay the wedding until she arrived.

Neither option was easy. The Emperor wanted the marriage to happen as soon as possible. There was a limit to how long I could stall for two years.

Bringing her to the capital was equally difficult. She was a duke’s daughter, and the Duke of Deisha never left his territory before his daughter’s debut. There was practically no way to bring them to the capital two years early.

Whichever method I chose, I needed information first. There was almost nothing known about the Duke of Deisha and his daughter before their arrival in the capital.