MFWSP 81

Chapter 81

“Your Majesty, please have some more tea.”

With practiced grace, the Empress poured tea into the Emperor’s cup.

A medley of strong scents from dozens of herbs filled the air, but the Emperor didn’t flinch.

“Hmm. I feel a bit more at ease.”

“I’m told that Your Majesty’s cough has lasted so long that it may never fully heal.”

The Empress spoke with a look of concern.

“Fortunately, the tea my brother developed helps soothe it.”

“I’m aware of Lord Ludes’ loyalty.”

The Emperor leaned back comfortably in his chair.

“By the way, I’ve grown quite fond of the scent in the Empress’s quarters these days. It’s the same one as before, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Empress gently wiped the Emperor’s lips with a handkerchief. Her tone and gaze were so soft that none of her usual sharpness remained.

Twenty years ago, the Emperor had fallen in love with that angelic demeanor.

To others, Rienne Ludes was a strong and composed woman, but in front of him, she was just a tender lady—something that had ignited his passion.

Of course, her stunning beauty, capable of shaking the empire, played a role too. To maintain her appearance from her twenties, the Empress had tried every method available—and the result was a graceful beauty almost unchanged from twenty years ago.

“This fragrance is from the Tilly Trading Company. They say it’s made with only the finest ingredients and is already popular in the North.”

“The North has always had a talent for perfumes.”

“Since it includes a fruit scent Your Majesty favors, I ordered it right away.”

“Yes, I like how it masks the strong smell of the tea.”

The Empress smiled quietly.

The Emperor had always visited her quarters frequently, but ever since this scent from Tilly had been introduced, he practically resided there.

Not only was the fragrance pleasant in itself, it also subdued the tea aroma that the Emperor typically disliked.

Seeing the Emperor growing tired of tea had made the Empress anxious. So when she heard about Tilly’s offering, she’d been delighted.

The Empress discreetly observed the Emperor’s face. He certainly looked in a better mood than usual.

In other words, now was the perfect time.

“Your Majesty, may I ask for a favor?”

“What is it?”

The Emperor opened his eyes and turned to face her.

“You’re aware that assets from Baron Frey’s estate are gradually going up for auction?”

The Empress spoke with a soft smile.

“Many have shown interest, and so have I.”

“You?”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow.

“Are you thinking of participating in the auction yourself?”

“There’s a small mine I’ve had my eye on. It’s a good property—not a jewel mine, but still sizable.”

“If the Empress says it’s good, then it must be.”

The Emperor nodded as he always did when listening to her.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

The Empress beamed like a girl.

“But Baron Frey’s circumstances are so urgent that the auction date has been moved up. It’s been difficult to prepare funds on such short notice.”

“Funds? Can’t you receive help from the Marquess of Ludes?”

The Emperor asked curiously.

Until now, most of the Empress’s expenses had been funded by her family rather than her personal wealth.

“My brother was eager to help. But our father’s health suddenly took a turn for the worse… He’s busy caring for him and couldn’t manage this too. In fact, I’ve had to use a lot of my palace allowance on my father’s treatment.”

She spoke with a deeply sorrowful expression.

Of course, it was a lie.

The real reason the Empress and House Ludes were low on liquid assets was because of Balthazar.

After a recent victory in battle, many nobles who once supported Balthazar had shifted their allegiance to Carciel.

Meanwhile, Balthazar had been acting like a fool, offending his remaining supporters.

As a result, the Empress and House Ludes had been spending lavishly on gifts and secret meetings to win nobles back to their side.

Naturally, this cost significant money and effort.

Even allowing Grace Serbe a private audience recently had been part of that strategy. And by a stroke of luck, Grace had brought a highly profitable investment opportunity.

The Empress had agreed to her proposal on the spot and suggested they invest together.

Though additional money had been spent to expedite the auction process by bribing officials as Grace requested, it was worth it—owning that mine would bring immense profit.

But to do that, cash was needed.

Both the Marquess’s estate and the Empress herself could raise it by selling assets, but she knew an easier way.

“That’s unfortunate. Send the royal physician to the Marquess of Ludes.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. But that’s not the favor I was hoping for.”

The Emperor tilted his head, confused.

“It’s not? Then what is it?”

“It’s about the investment funds. Since my brother can’t help, I thought to draw from my palace allowance in advance. But the royal treasurer refused.”

“……”

“I sent a maid as usual, but they refused without reason. I had to go myself—and even then, that insolent man denied me.”

The Empress spoke with deeply wounded eyes.

“……”

The Emperor silently stared at her.

“When I asked him why, he claimed it was by Your Majesty’s orders. Apparently, a few days ago, you visited the treasury and told them to ‘follow the rules from now on.’ He interpreted that as meaning he couldn’t give me any funds either.”

She looked at him with a pitiful expression.

“You mean… you want state funds for a private investment?”

The Emperor finally spoke.

His tone was as gentle as always, but for a moment, his eyes seemed sharper than usual.

“That’s correct, Your Majesty.”

The Empress responded. She had long decided it was better to act boldly when making requests of the Emperor, so she sat up straight.

“It’s nothing serious. I can replenish the funds next month. After the victory in the Kahnab War, the royal treasury is in no shortage, is it?”

“That may be so… but isn’t this investment a personal one?”

“Pardon?”

The Empress blinked rapidly.

“…Yes.”

The profits from the mine purchase were to become part of her private funds. Thus, the buyer had to be her, not the royal family—and Duke Serbe would join as a co-investor.

She couldn’t say all that out loud, but wasn’t it obvious?

“……”

The Emperor stayed silent for an uncomfortable amount of time before finally speaking.

“Rienne, I can’t use royal funds to support your personal investment.”

“…What did you just say?”

The Empress stared at him, stunned.

“The royal family has rules.”

The Emperor spoke in the same gentle tone he had used when he first fell in love with her twenty years ago.

His eyes, too, grew clearer and more intense—just like they had back then.

The Empress shook her head in disbelief.

“If things like this keep happening, other nobles might raise concerns. It wouldn’t be a good precedent for future generations either. It was even brought up in the recent subcommittee—”

“Are you… refusing my request?”

A chilling premonition crept in.

The Emperor was behaving strangely, like someone outside of her control.

“Rienne, you’re not destitute. If you sell some of your assets—”

“Your Majesty…”

The Empress’s mind raced.

Why was he doing this all of a sudden? It was as if he had changed—or rather, returned to who he once was…

She lifted her head, a decision forming.

If it’s come to this, she’d use every weapon at her disposal.

“You’ve changed.”

Her voice was cold, her eyes glinting with barely restrained resentment.

“Am I still fit to be Empress if Your Majesty won’t trust me with such a modest sum?”

“Rienne!”

“Or is it that, in Your Majesty’s heart, the late Empress Veronice still takes precedence over me?”

She uttered the line that had always convinced the Emperor before.

“Did you treat her this way too?”

“Don’t twist things! I told you—I’ve only ever loved you!”

The Emperor grabbed her hand with a pained expression.

“I told you Veronice wasn’t even worthy to touch your feet!”

His pupils trembled violently, but he still didn’t give in.

“It’s just… this is what an Emperor must do. You may disagree, but it’s the right thing.”

Still, the words she needed never came.

“…Your Majesty.”

The Empress felt as though all strength drained from her body.

Her heart thudded anxiously.

She stared into the Emperor’s eyes once more.

It wasn’t her imagination—his characteristic imperial violet eyes were visibly sharper.

“…Understood, Your Majesty.”

She finally responded, dazed.

For now, she had no other option.

“I’ll take care of the mine myself.”

She would have to secure the funds through another, less legal, method.

There was no longer any point in provoking the Emperor—it wouldn’t lead to a favorable outcome.

In the end, only one path remained.

She reached out and refilled the Emperor’s teacup.

“You’re upset because of me. Please, drink.”

“…Thank you. We should both calm down.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Thanks to the Tilly scent, I can drink tea comfortably even in large amounts.”

The Empress made up her mind.

She would increase the dosage of poison the Emperor was consuming.

And to mask its smell, she would order more of that fragrance from the Tilly Trading Company.