[CHAPTER 79]
Eventually, Rision guided Dianu Ortensa to a table where the floor plan of the Arasas Embassy Residence was spread out.
He briefly explained the discussions that had taken place so far.
Dianu stared silently for a long time at the paper marked with pins.
Ravelan Arasas, who had come down after hearing the news, observed her with the gaze of someone studying an interesting creature.
It was not so much about what she would say, but about her very existence being fascinating.
In many ways, Rision felt uneasy.
Deep down, he hoped that Dianu would fail to come up with any plan this time.
He hoped that, just this once, she would not display that dazzling brilliance of hers.
So that she would not be placed in even greater danger.
“Your Majesty. There is a chessboard over there. Could you hand it to me?”
Without taking her eyes off the floor plan, Dianu spoke as if she were unaware that she was sending the Emperor on an errand.
Rision obediently brought the chessboard from a nearby table and presented it to her.
Ravelan watched the two of them with an expression full of pure curiosity.
Dianu opened the chessboard and placed the Black King and Queen side by side on the spot labeled “Dining Room.”
Next came the White King, Queen, Knight, and Pawn.
Thus, six people gathered at the Arasas Embassy Residence.
After finishing the arrangement, Dianu looked up, her eyes sparkling.
Her slightly excited expression was undeniably cute, but Rision could not bring himself to smile.
“The Black King and Queen are the ambassador and his wife.”
She then pointed at the White King.
“The only one who can keep them occupied is His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Rision parted his lips slightly.
It felt strangely as if her thoughts were being transmitted directly into his mind.
No.
That cannot happen.
Ignoring the alarm bells ringing in Rision’s head, Dianu continued in an excited voice.
“And there is someone His Highness can confidently bring into the embassy residence without arousing any suspicion.”
Ravelan cut in with a chuckle.
“The fiancée.”
“Exactly. Lady Elpenlira can also enter the embassy residence as His Highness’s partner.”
“Introducing the woman who will soon become his fiancée is reason enough.”
“They would not be able to refuse, if only to confirm whether His Highness is serious about this marriage.”
That was the reason the White Queen existed.
Next, Dianu pointed at the Knight.
“And if Lady Elpenlira can enter, then Sir Edric Loisen can enter as well.”
“No matter how important the Arasas Embassy Residence is, they cannot demand that a princess come unguarded.”
After finishing that explanation, Dianu took a small breath and looked at Rision.
Her gaze carried a hint of pleading.
In her hand was the Pawn.
A fragile-looking white piece.
“And I can enter too.”
“No.”
The word came out before he could think.
But Dianu did not yield.
“Please hear my plan to the end.”
“There is nothing more to hear. No.”
As Rision steadied his breathing with one hand on the table, Dianu suddenly asked him a question.
“You already figured out what my plan is, didn’t you?”
“……”
“You may have even considered it yourself at least once.”
She truly was far too clever.
That was part of why he loved her, yet at times it was also deeply distressing.
Watching the silent battle between the two, Ravelan stepped in at the right moment.
“I want to hear it to the end. The plan.”
Dianu, as if she had been waiting for his support, poured out her entire plan.
After listening to her explanation, Ravelan raised one eyebrow and turned to Rision.
“It sounds plausible.”
His head throbbed.
Rision shook his head, one hand on the table and the other pressing against his forehead.
“It is not plausible. The risk is too great.”
“You mean Nixandor, and then Belua, finding out that the engagement between the princess and me has been finalized?”
“If we plan to eliminate both of them soon anyway, that much risk seems acceptable.”
“That is not all.”
The most dangerous role in this plan belonged to Dianu.
Rision could not accept that.
Suppressing the boiling anger and sorrow inside him, he spoke.
“If it were not you, Miss Dianu… if we sent someone else instead—”
“It is something only I can do.”
“Who else can pretend to be Her Highness’s chaperone and speak Arasas at the same time?”
There was no one.
Ellaris would immediately be treated as a suspicious presence, and Countess Ornin did not speak Arasas.
“You do know this is not a novel, but reality, right…?”
“So what. I just need to play my role well, don’t I?”
“That may be true, but… are you really all right with playing the role of His Highness’s fiancée?”
Once the engagement was revealed to Ambassador Nixandor, there would be no turning back.
That was something Dianu worried about even more than her own safety.
Elpenlira avoided Dianu’s gaze and muttered.
“Well, it is something I would have to do eventually anyway.”
“If it helps put that Belua man on the gallows, then we should use whatever we can.”
Every time she spoke the name of the Belua Duke, Elpenlira made a gesture as if spitting out something filthy.
“Or maybe beheading?”
“Even for a traitor, a noble is still a noble, right?”
“I have not thought about it that far…”
“If it were up to me, I would ask my brother to have him torn apart in the marketplace.”
“I am holding myself back.”
No matter that the target was the Belua Duke, Rision would never permit such a punishment.
Dianu remained silent, knowing this was how Elpenlira vented her frustration at being unable to take revenge herself.
Elpenlira tightly grasped Dianu’s hand, her eyes shining.
“Once this is over, we will be a real family, right?”
“A family…?”
Even now they were closer to sisters than teacher and student, but Dianu could not see how executing the Belua Duke equated to becoming a “real family.”
“I have always wanted an older sister.”
“Of course, I love my brother more than anyone in the world, but there are things only women can understand.”
“Well, yes… I suppose so.”
“I do not have a younger sister either…”
Perhaps she wanted to say that surviving hardships together made them no different from sworn sisters.
That certainly suited Elpenlira’s sensibilities.
Yet somewhere in her heart, a quiet voice whispered that it might not be only that.
* * *
Although he had permitted the plan to proceed, things remained awkward between Rision and Dianu.
It was not because he treated her coldly or avoided her.
If anything, he was trying very hard to treat her as he always had.
Yet at times, the way his gaze lingered, or the way his hand absentmindedly touched her hair, revealed his turmoil.
Normally, she would have waited until he sorted out his thoughts.
But with something important ahead of them, this atmosphere would not do.
Ravelan had already sent a letter to Ambassador Nixandor.
It stated that he had secretly visited Catalos, finalized the engagement with Princess Elpenlira, and wished to dine with the ambassador and his wife before departing for Arasas.
The promised date was tomorrow.
By now, the anti-Arasas nobles, including the Belua Duke, would have learned that the imperial marriage was imminent.
What kind of gears were turning beneath the surface was impossible for Dianu to know.
Regardless of how Rision felt, there was no turning back now.
The only answer was to secure evidence to eliminate the Belua Duke as quickly as possible.
“Hello, Viscount.”
Determined to resolve the awkwardness with Rision at least once, Dianu visited the Imperial Palace.
As always, the female viscount of Calamere, who sorted those permitted to see the Emperor from those who were not, looked up at Dianu over her glasses and gave a professional smile.
“Good afternoon, Miss Ortensa. It has been a while.”
“His Majesty is inside, correct?”
“May I go in?”
“I would appreciate it if you did.”
“He is not in a very good mood today.”
Like Neyron Berdian and the Chief Chamberlain, people treated Dianu as if she were a magical remedy for Rision’s mood.
What should I do. This time, I am the reason he is in a bad mood.
Thinking that, she walked toward the office.
Then she noticed the gazes of the palace officials she passed lingering a little too long.
If it were only one or two, she would have ignored it, but almost everyone did the same.
…They must have heard the rumors.
They had seen Dianu coming and going from the Imperial Palace as if it were her own home, so believing such rumors would have been easy.
Perhaps they even thought all of her visits until now had been for that sort of reason.
The thought of countless people entertaining vulgar fantasies about herself and Rision was deeply unpleasant.
It cannot be helped. I will have to get used to it…
If the plan succeeded and the Belua Duke was eliminated, at least the stares would no longer be so blatant.
As Rision’s “official” lover, she would be sheltered by his authority.
A bitter taste filled her mouth.
Before opening the door to Rision’s office, Dianu took a moment to compose herself.
He already spends every day worrying about me. I should not give him more to worry about.
She took several slow, deep breaths and put on the brightest smile she could manage.
When she knocked, a tired voice told her to come in.
Dianu opened the door with a wide smile and stepped inside.
“Good morning, Your Majesty!”
