RTM 08

According to Nadan’s report, rumors that Roveleta and Kallias had kissed had spread throughout the entire imperial capital.

Since many people had attended the Alexandros Grand Duke’s funeral, there were numerous eyewitness accounts, which gave the story credibility and made it easy for people to gossip.

There were already whispers that the death of the Alexandros Grand Duke couple might have been caused by Edward. If the two were indeed lovers, then it provided a plausible motive for the murder of the Grand Duke couple. It was even a romance born between sworn enemies.

An impossible romance between opposing noble factions!

Moreover, one was an illegitimate child who could not even be registered in the family registry, while the other was a tragic young lady who had lost her mother early in life and carried an air of sorrowful beauty.

The gossipmongers added embellishments to the rumor, and as a result, it was widely believed that Roveleta had desperately clung to Kallias and kissed him at the funeral.

Coincidentally, while the rumors were spreading, neither of them appeared in social circles, which only reinforced the claim that they were avoiding public appearances because the rumors were true.

“So the rumor was twisted that badly?”

“It was. What people saw and what ended up spreading are completely different. Now the captain is said to be the most famous hopeless romantic in the capital, madly in love.”

“Is it really that bad?”

Kallias couldn’t believe it. Barely a week had passed.

“Actually, there have already been rumors among the servants that the young master has been bewitched by a witch, so I’ve been trying to silence them.”

“You don’t need to be careful with me. Tell me exactly what’s being said.”

When Adam hesitated, Nadan quickly rattled off everything in one breath.

“The former head should never have accepted an illegitimate child. The family is being punished for immoral deeds. He’s a disgrace who will ruin the family. Things like that—though they phrase it differently each time. And that woman is a bit unpleasant, but she has money and status, so they think she’s not bad for the captain. What do you think?”

“…Remember how we treated Lady Remington when she came to pay respects. We should not be casually recommending such a thing in good conscience.”

“Ah, that was just the Alexandros people acting emotionally because they were distressed. And none of our people said anything at the time.”

After an all-night review of documents from the Alexandros Grand Duke’s household, they found no direct connection to Edward’s faction.

Nadan had been asked to gather information from the past six months, but they had examined at least a full year of records from the Grand Duke’s household.

There had been no major changes compared to the time of his father. In fact, aside from trade established before the kidnapping incident, most new dealings were related to Western region business conducted at Henry’s request.

The external intelligence Nadan gathered showed much the same. There had been almost no direct contact—only indirect trade-related exchanges. Even those were limited to cases where resources were difficult to replace within the empire.

“I disagree with Nadan.”

The head butler, Adam, firmly objected.

“As you heard, the young master’s reputation within the estate is poor. Not only that, but even among collateral branches, opinions are unfavorable. It is said that some have submitted petitions to His Majesty the Emperor, agreeing with something the Crown Prince once said.”

“So even the disqualification notice today is due to that influence?”

“That is likely the case. How about attending the banquet invitation that came with it and having an audience with His Majesty yourself?”

Kallias fiddled with the invitation to the imperial banquet. He had never attended even a proper social gathering, let alone a palace banquet.

Noble gatherings felt suffocating. He thought he was used to being pointed at and insulted, but the thought of attending a banquet still made his chest feel tight.

‘I need to understand the Emperor’s intent. And…’

He wanted to see Roveleta.

She had told him, while revealing information about the hidden passage in the ritual chamber of the offering hall, that she would not be able to visit Mikael for a while due to social obligations. Since that day, Mikael had been begging to send her letters.

‘There are more than enough reasons to attend.’

Kallias made his decision.

“I will attend the imperial banquet.”

“An excellent decision. I will prepare appropriate attire first.”

The butler withdrew with a pleased expression.

The banquet hosted at the imperial palace was a monthly event held regularly by the Empress.

This time, unusually, even the Emperor attended. Not only did he attend, he also gave the opening remarks and remained seated with the family for the first time in a long while.

“It has been a while since the whole family gathered.”

At the Emperor’s words, Henry’s expression stiffened. As if to spite him, the Empress clung to the Emperor.

“That’s right. The boys have grown into men now, so they’re shy. But being together like this as a family is such a blessing.”

Her words were full of pretenses. Nothing about her had changed since childhood. When the Empress acted sweet and virtuous in public, the Emperor was pleased.

“Henry, try some of the tea and refreshments I prepared.”

Smiling, the Empress personally pushed a cup and plate toward Henry. How many times had such “hospitality” contained poison?

Not enough to kill outright. At most, it caused stomach aches or prolonged illness that left one bedridden for days.

“You’re still so stiff. Refusing food personally offered is discourteous.”

At the Emperor’s interruption, Henry picked up the teacup. It likely wouldn’t kill him.

But he had no intention of truly drinking it. He merely wet his lips while looking straight at the Emperor, then set it back down.

“Thank you for the drink.”

At the same time, Henry stood up and left the seat.

“Look at that. Henry still disrespects me as his stepmother.”

The Empress feigned tears, dabbing at her eyes as though crying.

The Emperor’s gaze followed Henry rather than her. Henry was closely attached to his maternal grandfather, Grand Duke Neuberic. Several nobles gathered around him, bowing and flattering him.

Grand Duke Armande was seen shaking hands with Henry, laughing. They looked quite close as they whispered into each other’s ears.

Then Kallias appeared and greeted Henry.

“Five Grand Ducal houses in the empire, and three of them are gathered around Henry.”

There were five major Grand Ducal houses that formed the backbone of the empire. The remaining two did not openly support Henry, but neither did they side with the Empress or Edward.

“As long as His Majesty remains, it is fine. But if he so much as looks away for a moment, I fear how much Henry will disregard me. Even now, the Grand Dukes are pledging loyalty to him, as if His Majesty were not even present.”

Recently, Henry had already committed acts that made it seem as though he were the Emperor himself, disregarding imperial authority—for instance, summoning the Alexandros illegitimate child.

Officially, it had been justified as mobilizing the closest forces to save the Alexandros Grand Duke couple. But there were subtle inconsistencies.

The Emperor found it unsettling. However, since Henry had not yet crossed the line, he only kept him under watch.

“Has Prince Henry come down, but Prince Edward still hasn’t appeared?”

“I heard Grand Duke Armande is planning to marry his daughter into Prince Henry’s family. Looks like it might be true—he’s practically pushing his daughter forward.”

As Lady Remington pointed, Lord Remington’s eyes followed.

“Roveleta, watch closely. You must behave as elegantly and beautifully as that if you want Prince Edward to favor you.”

“Father, stop it. My sister is too foolish to properly seduce a man. Wouldn’t I be better?”

“Isabella, you would indeed be better. But your sister has been acting innocent, while rumors say she secretly seduced another man behind everyone’s back. I’m ashamed.”

“Hmm, that’s nonsense. I told you already—it’s just rumors. My acquaintance was at the funeral and said they only exchanged greetings.”

“Oh my, coincidentally, my acquaintance also saw them at the funeral openly kissing—the noble lady and that illegitimate child. There were more than one witness. Everyone in the empire knows already.”

“Still, the fact that the invitation came to Roveleta from the palace means Prince Edward still has feelings for her.”

“That’s not certain. In my opinion, Roveleta is not fit to marry Prince Edward. Maybe Isabella would be better.”

In the previous life, Roveleta would have desperately refuted Lady Remington’s words.

The Empress had always tested and mistreated her, yet she was frequently summoned, so she believed she would eventually marry Edward.

But now she had no lingering feelings for Edward, so no matter what Lady Remington said, it sounded no different from birds chirping.

“Ah—Prince Edward is coming down too. Get ready, Roveleta!”