~CHAPTER 38~
Elpenlira was straightforward.
She didn’t know how to beat around the bush or hide her feelings.
If she wasn’t convinced of something, she couldn’t tolerate it, and very few people could convince her.
No matter how hard her etiquette tutors tried, they couldn’t change her temperament.
One of the many reasons Lision was grateful to have been born the eldest son was this.
If Elpenlira had been born as the emperor’s firstborn and heir, the palace would never have known peace.
“I still haven’t forgiven you, Brother. Even if you didn’t do it on purpose, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re the one who sent Edrick into danger.”
Lision silently nodded.
It wasn’t because Edrick was her lover that he had sent him.
But it was true he had sent him even though he was Elpenlira’s lover.
And he still hadn’t been able to avenge him properly.
“And I can’t believe the claim that Arasas wasn’t the one who killed Edrick. There’s no proof.”
There was no evidence that the Arasas imperial family was innocent, but there was evidence that Duke Belhua was the real culprit.
The reason Lision couldn’t show that evidence to Elpenlira was simple.
If she found out Belhua killed Edrick, she would go after him herself.
And Lision doubted he could stop her if she charged at Duke Belhua with a dinner knife in the middle of a banquet.
“But separate from what you did wrong to me… I don’t want you to be unhappy.”
Lision, who had been listening like a suffering monk, froze.
Elpenlira’s eyes flashed.
“Brother. Are you going to get married?”
It was phrased like a question, but it wasn’t one.
Even so, Lision answered honestly.
“I should.”
“To whom?”
“…I’m not sure.”
“Are you going to marry Adelaissa?”
Only an hour ago Lision had wanted to slit Duke Belhua’s throat.
Just imagining him as a future father-in-law made him feel like vomiting everything he had eaten the night before.
Even aside from that, he could not marry Adelaissa.
Pregnancy and childbirth were dangerous even for healthy women.
“Lady Adelaissa cannot become empress.”
“Because her father is a bastard?”
“Lira.”
He warned her in a low voice, but Elpenlira didn’t care.
“If that were the issue you wouldn’t have allowed her to be close to me.”
“Lady Adelaissa is an excellent young woman without any faults. That’s not the problem.”
He couldn’t discuss another woman’s ability to bear children in front of his unmarried little sister.
With a frown, he rephrased the truth.
“She’s frail. If she becomes empress she’ll be under constant strain. Her health will get worse.”
Elpenlira finally closed her mouth, clearly recalling the late empress who had died sickly and unable even to attend her son’s coronation.
Lision took her hand on the table.
“Why are we suddenly talking about my marriage—”
“Then what about marrying the princess of Arasas?”
That was even worse.
“You said if I didn’t marry him, you’d marry that princess instead.”
Her finger pointed at the overturned portrait with faint reproach.
Lision leaned back deeply in his chair.
Until a few years ago he’d thought he would marry one of Rabelan’s sisters someday.
Whoever ascended first, the remaining crown prince would marry the other’s sister.
This would guarantee permanent peace between the nations.
That had been their agreement.
The problem was that Kazalos’s young emperor had died before the old emperor of Arasas, and Lision had ascended first.
And by then Elpenlira had already fallen in love with someone else.
It would have been fine to welcome an Arasas-born crown princess.
The emperor would shield her, and someone who had grown up in the Catalos palace would face little resistance.
But for Lision, who had already been emperor for six years, to marry an Arasas princess was another matter.
“…It would be difficult in reality.”
The high nobles dragged even the smallest quarrels between Arasas-born and Catalos-born subjects all the way to the emperor.
Even if he forced an Arasas princess into the role of empress, her every action would become a political burden.
The partner who should have been his greatest ally would instead become his biggest weakness.
He felt empty and exhausted.
Lision forced his heavy eyelids to lift.
Elpenlira was studying him with an unreadable expression.
She spoke as if reciting lines she had memorized.
“If I do what you want…?”
“…What?”
“If I marry Rabelan Arasas, what will you do?”
For a moment he wondered if he had misheard.
It was the first time her mouth had ever formed Rabelan’s name.
He feared ruining the moment if he spoke too quickly.
When he didn’t answer, Elpenlira slowed her words like she was helping a slow student.
“If I marry Rabelan Arasas, will you marry the one you love?”
“The one I love?”
“…Why would I marry someone I love?”
“What?”
The siblings stared at each other, eyes wide.
Elpenlira spoke first.
“Of course you marry someone you love.”
“No. That’s for people who can afford to. Lira, I’m the emperor.”
“So?”
“I can’t choose an empress just because I like her.”
He could hardly believe he was having this conversation with Elpenlira.
He felt like an astronomer explaining why the sun stayed in the sky.
But Elpenlira planted both hands on the table, baffled.
“So you’ll marry someone you don’t love just because she’s a suitable empress?”
“If she’s a good empress, she’ll be someone I can respect. And eventually—”
“No, not that. I mean the kind of love that makes your heart race, that makes you want to offer the whole country for that person and not regret it!”
It was rare for Lision to be overwhelmed by someone else’s intensity.
He stood up, staring blankly at his fuming sister.
Elpenlira’s expression twisted with disdain.
“Or will you marry for duty and love someone else in secret?”
The answer to that was crystal clear.
Lision frowned hard.
“Marriage is sacred. It’s the highest duty.”
Elpenlira folded her arms, satisfied at least with that.
“Then of course you must marry the one you love. You only get one chance.”
“…”
“You are Catalos, and Catalos is you. What other qualification does someone need to be empress besides being the person you love?”
She placed one hand on her hip and pointed at him with the other.
It was rude, but he couldn’t correct her.
“Find a love worth my sacrifice, Brother.”
Her green eyes, identical to his, shone as if they could pierce through him.
“I won’t sacrifice for the country. But for your happiness… who knows.”
* * *
Father, I’ve suddenly come into a large sum of money.
Father, you won’t believe this, but I have become the princess’s tutor.
Father, I’ve moved to an estate with a vineyard, just as you wished.
Dianu drew long lines through the sentences she had rewritten several times already.
She had been working on a letter to her father for an hour after finishing dinner.
But she had made no progress.
She didn’t know where to begin explaining the money she had received, or how much she should even say.
First I’ll send Father some of the pension… And how much should I give Berik?
Her younger brother, Berik Ortensa, was attending a boys’ school in the capital.
After graduating from university, he would marry a young lady and continue the family line like other noble youths.
If Dianu set aside a generous amount for him, they could avoid a marriage based only on dowry.
But if he gets money too early, it might spoil him…
Berik lacked seriousness.
After some thought, Dianu wrote an ordinary letter instead.
As Viscountess Ornin had advised, it was better to consult the Erbinjel legal advisor before informing her family.
And it wasn’t the only letter she hadn’t written.
She glanced at the reply she had been avoiding for two days.
It was from Grand Duchess Ellaris Erbinjel.
Dianu,
This is sudden, but there is someone I want to introduce to you.
You may have heard of the Ballyh Count family.
Their third son is a very fine gentleman.
He is twenty-four and currently serves as a naval officer.
The Countess told me he saw you at Fir Tree Palace the other day and fell in love at first sight.
His Majesty also said he is perfectly suitable for you.
If His Majesty says so, he must be an excellent young man.
Why not meet him before the end of the season?
If you wish, I will be your chaperone.
I wait for your reply.
The enclosed sketch was drawn by his sister.
– Ellaris Erbinjel.
No matter how many times she read it, the conclusion was the same.
Grand Duchess Ellaris Erbinjel wanted to arrange a marriage for her.
With a count’s son, no less.
The young man in the pencil sketch was flawless.
His navy uniform alone would have set many young ladies’ hearts alight.
And such a man had fallen for her at first sight and wanted to meet her with marriage in mind.
But Dianu could only sigh.
His Majesty said he suits me…
Had Lision really said that?
In front of the grand duchess, who was asking about a young man said to have fallen for Dianu, did he really say they were a good match?
She wondered why he would bless another man’s path toward her—
