Chapter 30

The bustling merchants, tapping their boats, left the Ivory Palace, and the maids organized the purchased goods. Once the maids who had finished organizing retreated, Dian was left alone in the room. Her heart began to stir strangely. It was definitely not like this a moment ago. When she was choosing and confirming the purchases, with the merchants' encouragement and praise, and the maids' flattery, everything was fine. But now, with those who treated her like a queen gone, her time as a queen had come to an end. Dian took a deep breath, trying to calm her stirring heart, but when it wouldn't settle, she began to pace restlessly. The emperor had come and gone suddenly last night. And then he came again. It was a peculiar action. When he returned, he didn't touch her at all, just slept. He didn't seem to have any intention of explaining where he had been or why he did this. So she couldn't ask. Why did he suddenly do that? Why did he suddenly smell her nape and ask questions he had never asked before? Her heart, which had been stirring, seemed to drop. A terrifying thought flashed through her mind, and she couldn't hold back, running out to call for Lorraine.

"Lorraine, Lorraine!!"

"Yes, Lady. Did you call me?"

"Go to the Empress's palace immediately and bring one of the maids here without being noticed, quickly!!"

"Yes, yes!"

* * *

Dian, who had been pacing restlessly in the room, rushed to Lorraine as soon as she returned and grabbed the shoulder of the maid from the Empress's palace.

"Y-Your Highness!"

"Did His Majesty go to the Empress's palace yesterday?!"

"Yes, yes?"

"Did His Majesty! Yesterday! Go to the Empress's palace?!!"

Intimidated by Dian's fierce pressure, the maid trembled and told her what she knew.

"Yes, he did."

"…How many times."

"Um, well…."

"How many times!!!"

"Twice! Twice, Lady."

Dian groaned, feeling her hair stand on end. Fear washed over her. In the struggle between wanting to know and not wanting to know, Dian barely managed to compose herself.

"When did he come? Tell me both times."

It was a growling sound.

"Both times were in the evening. The Empress was taking a bath before bed, and he came right after. Then he left, looking angry, but came back less than an hour later. He left again after less than twenty minutes."

"What time did he come the second time?!"

"Around ten o'clock."

"…Ten o'clock."

"Yes, around that time."

The maid nodded confidently. Dian, who had been gripping her shoulder tightly, slowly let go, and the maid, cowering, slowly backed away. Dian, standing there dazed and drained, turned abruptly and returned to the bedroom, lying down with her head on the pillow where Karl had slept, and took a deep breath. Her heart kept pounding. Dian's eyes trembled uncontrollably.

"He went to the Empress's palace and then came here. And with that face, he went back to the Empress. With that face."

Her purple eyes filled with excitement, her breathing rough. I know that face of yours. It's mine alone. It should be mine alone. Why, why? Why did you rush to the Empress's palace with that face?! Dian, seething with anger, tore at the pillow. After a while, she suddenly jumped up and ran to the mirror, looking at her own face.

"My wrinkles have increased. No luster. His Majesty likes my skin."

She should have called a skincare specialist instead of a merchant. Her hands, which had been feeling her waist, moved to her lower abdomen. Her flat stomach had no fat at all. It was this slimness that she didn't welcome.

"Why don't I have any? Why not at all?"

The royal physician had said that neither she nor the emperor was infertile. They were both healthy, he had assured her. It was a fact confirmed by several people.

"But why…."

Dian muttered in a desperate tone, praying with all her heart, tears streaming down her face. Please, I need to have a child. Please save me.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Empress's palace.

"A maid from the Ivory Palace took one of our maids."

"Seems she has some questions."

"What should we do?"

Adele, who had been writing continuously, stopped her hand and looked up at the question. Lady Gis, who had been helping with the order, met her gaze with a cold, snowy face.

"Should we hire new maids?"

"Do you know anyone?"

"I'll look for reliable people."

If she were to say so, Lady Gis would replace the staff faster than anyone else. But Adele couldn't easily give her permission. Her mouth felt rough, as if she had eaten gravel. Could anyone she called now be completely trusted? It would be better to know whose lackey they were.

"No, it's fine."

"?"

"It will be noisy for a while if we expose this. Let's wait and see. Since you are the one assisting me, it doesn't matter what the maids tell Dian Poitiers."

"Yes, I understand."

"Let's continue what we were doing."

Adele was writing a concise document. While the Empress recorded the detailed basis for her orders according to the palace law, Lady Gis was busy with calculations. Adele wrote the final value, which Lady Gis had confirmed several times, into the order. When Adele elegantly put down her quill, Lady Gis respectfully offered the seal with red ink. The Empress, for the first time since arriving in Echmont, pressed her seal firmly. Reading the document with the red seal from the beginning, Adele sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"My first order as Empress is this…."

Despite her self-deprecating words, her eyes shone with determination.

* * *

That afternoon, in the council chamber.

"…Therefore, the residents of Count Calvin's territory are currently evacuating to Count Barutolt's territory, and Count Barutolt and Viscount Orleans are holding the line in the middle to stop the monster. A level 3, flying-type gargoyle has been confirmed in Count Calvin's tower."

Theseus looked coldly at Renoux Poitiers and Duke Despoin, who were sitting opposite him. Renoux listened to the man's report with a bored expression. As expected, the moment the man finished his report, the count began to mock.

"Level 3 estimated. Who estimated that? Didn't you see a grym instead of a gargoyle? Gargoyles aren't that easy to catch. What can a bunch of knights do without a mage?"

Deputy Commander Henri Jacque, who had been listening, jumped up in anger.

"Did you finish talking?! If you can distinguish and judge so well, why are you sitting here?!!"

Renoux's eyes flared with anger at Henri Jacque's roar. As he was about to rise, striking the table, Duke Despoin held him back.

"Stop it, Renoux. His Majesty is here."

Duke Despoin's intervention made Renoux exhale roughly and sit back down.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty."

Whether he heard the apology or not, the emperor showed no reaction. Since the meeting began, he had been staring at Lionel with a rigid face, a gaze that seemed to be glaring. He had always disliked him, but today it was particularly grating.

"What do you think, Minister of Defense?"

At the cold question, Lionel turned to face the emperor. Karl, with his elbows on the table, leaned forward.

"Answer well."

The many eyes in the council chamber turned to Lionel, but he showed no sign of wavering.

"Before I answer, may I ask a question to the two heads of the mage corps?"

Karl pointed to Duke Despoin and Renoux as a sign of permission, and Lionel spoke as if he had been waiting.

"Count Poitiers, may I ask one thing. What is the most important criterion for classifying a tower as level 3 or 4?"

"…The presence of a flying-type monster."

"Isn't a grym a flying-type monster?"

Renoux shook his head in exaggerated annoyance.

"Don't nitpick. Just because a grym is a flying-type, the tower is level 3? People who don't know might say that, but gryms rarely appear in level 4 upper towers."

"Even if you still claim it's level 4, do you agree that it could also be level 3?"

Lionel asked and then continued in a clear tone, looking around the room.

"The day the tower came to the palace, I was leading the knights, waiting for the mage corps. The tower was getting closer and closer. But then, someone unexpected appeared."

Karl's eyebrows twitched. Unconsciously biting his lower lip, he glared at Lionel. The inexplicable discomfort, which had been contained in a transparent membrane, began to burst. Lionel, ignoring the intense gaze of the emperor, continued.

"It was the Empress. She appeared suddenly and said, 'I can handle a level 4 tower alone.'"

Actually, she had said, "A level 4 close to level 5, I can handle it alone," but Lionel intentionally omitted the first part. The people from the Baldur family and the knight families nodded in agreement, listening to his words.

"And as you all know, she destroyed the tower alone. In a way no one had ever seen before. She rode the updraft before the tower touched the ground. As a result, not a single monster came out of the tower, and there were no casualties."

Lionel looked at Duke Despoin and Renoux in turn, emphasizing his words.

"A method never thought of in Echmont, right?"

The helplessness of watching the Empress destroy the tower alone and leave the garden leisurely, despite leading the mages to the tower, brought a surge of resentment to Renoux's throat.

"Indeed, Sir Lionel Baldur. You seem to be favored by the Empress. You know so much."

As Renoux mocked Lionel with a growl, Theseus frowned and glared at him, and a few others scolded him to be careful, but Lionel remained extremely calm. In fact, it was Karl, not Lionel, who was shaken by Renoux Poitiers' words. The face of Adele, who had pushed him away with arrogance, came to mind. The emperor roughly rubbed his forehead. Lionel Baldur, the way he talked about the Empress as if he knew her well, was unbearable. The emperor asked Lionel in a sharp voice.

"Is that your answer to my question?"

Despite the emperor's hostile question, Lionel answered calmly.

"The Empress said that when a flying-type monster appears, level 3 measures should be taken. She advised Count Calvin to evacuate to another territory and provided funds for that reason."

The council chamber buzzed at this.

"The Empress advised Count Calvin?"

"I heard she gave him gold."

"Ah, that's why…."

"I didn't know."

Duke Despoin, who had been observing the situation, leaned back, tensing his jaw. Lionel, after observing the commotion for a while, met the gaze of Duke Despoin, who was watching him.

"I'll ask the same question the Empress asked me. Why is the Echmont mage corps just watching the current situation? Do you have no intention of rescuing, or is it beyond your capabilities?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Duke Despoin's eyes flared with anger. But Lionel was faster than the mages' protests. He stood up, facing the emperor, and said firmly.

"As Minister of Defense, I answer the emperor's question. Rescue them. If it's not beyond your capabilities, send the mages immediately and rescue them."

As Lionel stood up, Henri Jacque and a few others from various families also stood in agreement. In the heavy silence, Theseus, who had been sitting next to Lionel, also stood up and spoke.

"I want to hear the Empress's opinion directly."

"For the same reason, I believe the legitimate Empress should be given the appropriate authority. What is the basis for the rejection of the supplementary budget?"

Following Theseus's words, Lionel also brought up the issue of the Empress's palace supplementary budget.

"Now that you're in the government, you're quite fond of mentioning the Empress."

Renoux's low mockery was clearly heard by everyone, and Theseus, rarely losing his temper, shouted at him.

"Watch your mouth, Renoux Poitiers!"

Renoux shrugged and mocked him even more, and the council chamber became noisy. The Echmont people, known for their hot tempers, soon began shouting at each other. Duke Despoin's side took the opportunity to hurl harsh criticisms at Lionel, and the shouts of those who opposed them turned the council chamber into a market. Amidst this, Lionel, the center of all the topics, sat down as if he hadn't heard anything. His attitude was so detached that it felt like boredom. Despite hearing the insult of being the Empress's lover, his face didn't waver, and his breathing was steady. As if it were a matter of course. Karl, who had instigated the fight, was furious at this.

"Indeed, this is why people should be well-chosen."

The sudden words of the emperor made the people who had been shouting together fall silent. In the oppressive silence, the emperor openly glared at Lionel.

"Even commoners say that a wife should support her husband… You should understand the situation while dating."

It was an overt criticism. A statement that buried the Empress, who was not present, and a way to avoid the reasonable questions Lionel had asked. Renoux subtly smiled, and Theseus clenched his fists tightly, grinding his teeth. Just as a fragile silence settled, a hurried sound was heard, and a servant rushed into the council chamber and went straight to the emperor. Karl, who had been leaning back in his chair, sat up straight and looked at the servant. The servant took out a stiff document board from his bosom and handed it to the emperor. As Karl read it, his brows soon twisted in a mess. It was an order with the Empress's seal clearly stamped.