Chapter 53
“I have something I want to ask. Can you give me the most objective answer possible?”
At Eluana’s cautious question, Alex responded immediately.
“I will do my best.”
His reply was stiff and curt, yet warmth lingered in his tone. As Alex stepped closer, Eluana sat up and hugged her pillow.
“What kind of position does the heir to House Spes actually hold?”
“Do you mean in comparison to the Imperial Family?”
Eluana gave a slight nod, and Alex began to explain.
“It’s comparable to that of a prince or princess, excluding the crown prince. In terms of public status, that is. Politically, it’s different. While the futures of imperial princes and princesses are uncertain, the heir to House Spes has a secure one.”
“So, it’s somewhere between a crown prince and a regular prince?”
“In terms of status, yes. However, who you support, Lady Eluana, could shift the entire imperial balance. Everyone would want to win your favor.”
“And if that favor is already leaning toward someone else, they’d want to eliminate me, wouldn’t they?”
“At the moment, they likely don’t know you’re set to be the heir. But just being the full-blooded sister of Lord Louis—who’s the most likely successor—puts them on edge.”
So that’s how it is.
“Once I’m officially named heir, they’ll really want to get rid of me.”
“But we still have time to prepare.”
“What do you mean by ‘time’?”
“You haven’t had your debutante yet.”
Seeing Eluana’s puzzled expression, Alex kindly elaborated.
“According to imperial law, you cannot be officially recognized as heir while still a minor. You need to make your debut in society first.”
Eluana nodded, absorbing the information. Her debutante was scheduled for the first day of the Flos Festival. Just as Alex said, there was still time.
“Until then, I suppose I’ll have to endure Prince Regis’s rudeness. But once that’s done, I can punch him in private, right?”
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Alex’s lips.
“Even before your debut, I think punching him once—so long as there’s no evidence—would be perfectly fine. It’s not like he can go around bragging that he got hit by you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Still, whatever I do, it becomes a problem.”
Alex hesitated for a moment before pointing out what she’d overlooked.
“It becomes a problem if their strategy changes.”
“Strategy?”
“You are the empire’s only duchess. Prince Regis’s earlier talk of marriage could actually become real.”
A chill crawled down her neck. Her grip on the pillow stiffened. She didn’t even want to imagine such a thing. But she didn’t panic. She had enough trust in Duke Spes now.
“Father would never allow that.”
“Of course not. However, to reject a proposal from the Imperial Family, one must have a valid reason. Though House Spes holds enough power to rival the crown, the Imperial Family is still the Imperial Family. Currently, there’s a three-way power balance between the Emperor’s faction, the noble faction, and House Spes. Rejecting a marriage proposal might push the other two factions to join forces.”
“You mean it could put our house in danger?”
“The Duke won’t care about that.”
Which is exactly why it could become a problem.
“There haven’t been any other marriage proposals from the crown before?”
“House Spes usually preemptively arranges engagements with a suitable vassal house before the crown can intervene. It’s a defensive measure. Once the engagement is no longer useful, it’s broken off and replaced with a more strategic match.”
“Complicated. I’ll have to think about that, too. Tell me about the princes and princesses.”
Alex made a curious face for a second but then began to explain what he knew.
“As you may already know, the First Prince is arrogant and cruel. Rumor has it servants frequently die in his care. Yet he’s still considered the most likely to inherit the throne—mainly due to the backing of the Marquis of Pegimul.”
“Is he brilliant, despite his temperament? A genius at imperial governance? Can he sniff out financial irregularities like a hawk or something?”
“On the contrary, he’s… quite dull.”
So he’s both cruel and stupid.
“If he becomes emperor, he’ll ruin the empire.”
“Most likely the empress would handle the actual governance.”
“Don’t tell me… he’s a mama’s boy, too? Seriously?”
Alex’s face stiffened. He didn’t respond, unsure whether he could agree out loud. Mistaking his expression as worry for the empire, Eluana said:
“Prince Regis won’t become emperor. I won’t allow it.”
Her questions continued. Alex ended up telling her more than she expected. The next topic was the death of the Second Prince.
“The Second Prince was poisoned when he was four.”
“That’s insane. Who poisons a four-year-old?”
Eluana slammed the pillow in her arms with her fists. She knew he had died young, but poison? She suddenly recalled the stew she nearly ate a few hours ago.
“More precisely, his toy was laced with poison. The culprit was never caught.”
The thought of a child younger than Louis dying from a poisoned toy gave her chills. No amount of power could justify such a thing.
“…The Empress?”
“That’s the widespread suspicion, but no one says it out loud. The Third Prince, meanwhile, is the son of a Baran Kingdom royal. His support in the empire is weak, so he was sent to study abroad early.”
“So he chose survival.”
“If he doesn’t return by the age of eighteen, that’ll be his path.”
A wise decision, in a way. It was still a choice. As an imperial prince, he could live comfortably in the Baran Kingdom.
As Eluana nodded slightly, Alex continued.
“The Fourth Prince’s maternal family is the northern House Arcas. Though far removed from central politics, they’re guardians of the Forest of Beasts and are widely respected. They have some support from the Emperor’s faction, but it’s minimal. His mother passed early, so he lacks strong footing in the palace.”
“He seemed to be under constant assassination attempts.”
“Until about five or six years ago, there were rumors of daily corpses being found in his residence. They said assassins came every night.”
“The palace’s security is that lax?”
“Residences of non-crown heirs like princes and princesses are less guarded than the Emperor’s palace. Usually, their maternal families supplement the guards. But Prince Kazar didn’t receive any support.”
“House Arcas doesn’t like him?”
“It’s not that—they simply lack knights. The Imperial Family assigns knights to them every year.”
“So if they send knights to protect Kazar, someone will use it against them. Accuse them of demanding too many troops, something like that?”
Alex looked down at her emerald eyes, fully focused on him.
Despite all she had been through, she showed no fear—only calm observation of her circumstances. He found himself speaking more than intended. Duke Spes or Noah or Dave wouldn’t tell her the truth about her enemies.
‘Don’t worry. Shall I just get rid of them?’—That would be Duke Spes’s response. ‘Should I eliminate them? I think it’s for the best.’—That would be the conclusion.
Alex was now curious to see what kind of decision this young lady, who faced reality head-on, would make.
“That’s correct. Eventually, the culprits were caught, and it turned out to be the work of three concubines. Now, only two imperial consorts remain—the mothers of the Third and Fifth Princes.”
“So they actually found the culprits? Must’ve been sloppy.”
“Strangely enough, the one who found the evidence and exposed them was none other than the Empress.”
Eluana’s lovely brow twitched.
“Then it might not have been the real culprit.”
“That’s possible. But the assassination attempts did decrease after that. Around the same time, the Fifth Prince was born. With the Emperor’s favor focused on him, the Empress’s influence grew. And the Emperor’s faction split—so it benefited the Empress.”
“So Kazar’s survival is convenient for now, but he’ll need to be eliminated eventually?”
“That would be accurate.”
‘Poor Kazar,’ she thought.
The night they encountered each other, the assassins had recognized Kazar and still attacked without hesitation. Even though harming a prince was a serious crime, they hadn’t waited for permission.
“And the princess?”
“She rarely appears in public. Unlike Prince Regis, she is said to be quiet and composed.”
Having learned all this about the imperial family, Eluana fell into deep thought. Alex quietly returned to the door, as if not wanting to interrupt her.
How much time passed?
Eluana, lost in her thoughts, suddenly flinched when she heard the door open wide. With a stormy presence, Duke Spes entered the room.
Startled by his abrupt entrance, Eluana blurted out without thinking,
“Father?”
At that word, time stopped for Duke Spes.
The word “Father” rippled through the air like a shockwave, turning into a storm inside him. Finally regaining movement, the duke stood before her. He gently brushed away a strand of hair stuck to her cheek, and with a damp voice, said,
“I’m sorry for putting you in danger.”
“I’m fine,” she replied awkwardly, flustered by the word she had accidentally used. It felt embarrassingly intimate.
“What should I do with them?”
Duke Spes asked. Whatever she said, he would do.
He had waited a long time for Stella. Her dream had been to erase Kantio from the empire. She had succeeded in escaping—and he knew she would never return. Yet still, he had waited. Because waiting was all he could do.
But instead of Stella, the one who returned was her daughter. Eluana—just looking at her made his chest ache.
My daughter.
He had been confident he could protect her perfectly, yet she’d ended up in danger. Just thinking of it sent waves crashing through his mind.
He would turn the empire—no, the entire continent—into an enemy if it meant keeping his daughter safe. The simplest solution was to eliminate every threat to her.
Eluana, staring up at her frozen father, spoke.
“Please don’t do anything until we have solid evidence. If you act now, people will start suspecting that I might really be your daughter.”
“They’ll come after you again.”
“I know. I’ll take my own revenge.”
Duke Spes met the firm gaze of his daughter. Gradually, he felt himself leaning toward honoring her wishes.
“That might not be a bad idea.”
“Which is why… I’m thinking of getting engaged.”
“What?”
“An engagement.”
Once again, time stopped for Duke Spes.
