Chapter 89

"Sebastian, isn't there any precedent for this!"

This was the first time Conrad had raised his voice to Sebastian, the most senior of the senior ministers. Having returned home in the middle of the night after running away, Conrad was now making unreasonable demands to the accompanying retainers.

"By precedent, do you mean the imperial permission for the izakaya to use the banned vanilla, as mentioned earlier?"

"That's not it. That's not it, Sebastian. I mean breaking off the arranged meeting."

Sebastian shook his head, his face showing that he thought Conrad was being unreasonable.

Sebastian, a legal scholar from a university rather than a hereditary noble, was known as an old minister who was said to remember all the precedents related to the empire, from ancient to modern times. Known as the former emperor's confidant, he had been passed down with the imperial throne. He was also a sharp-witted official who was renowned in neighboring countries.

"Your Majesty, this is not just your personal problem. It is a problem for the empire."

"Indeed. The empire's problem is the emperor's problem, and the emperor's problem is the empire's problem."

"Stop making childish and unreasonable arguments. If you break off the arranged meeting with the Princess Regent, it could lead to war."

The current king of the Eastern Kingdom, Yugo, is young. The real power is held by the Princess Regent and her officials.

In other words, refusing the arranged meeting with Princess Regent Celestina de Orlia would be like smearing mud on the face of the Eastern Kingdom itself.

"…Can we win?"

"If it comes to war, I have no intention of losing. However, it would be meaningless."

Sebastian seemed to be unsure of Conrad's true intentions. He seemed to believe that Conrad wasn't seriously suggesting starting a war just because he disliked the arranged meeting, but he couldn't figure out the cause.

He couldn't possibly imagine that it was because Conrad had fallen in love at first sight with a noblewoman he had met just yesterday.

In Sebastian's world, which revolved around the law, there might be room for guessing motives, but the word "love" seemed to have no place.

But there was no one else Conrad could rely on except Sebastian.

More than the arranged meeting, he wanted to see Celestina again.

"Sebastian, I want you to listen without laughing."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I haven't laughed in about thirty years."

"That's right."

Conrad ordered the attendants to leave, looking at Sebastian's serious face, which was saying something almost humorous.

"…Sebastian, I have fallen in love."

At Conrad's words, Sebastian's hawk-like nose twitched, as if he was holding back something.

"Is that so? Congratulations."

"Are you congratulating me?"

"Better late than never. A life without love is like a painting without color."

"Given your strict nature, I thought you would scold me."

"Your Majesty, despite appearances, this Sebastian was once a well-smiling young man who deepened his knowledge of the world's secrets with the ladies of the world, up until thirty-one years ago."

Hearing this ambiguous statement, Conrad's lips relaxed. He realized he had been angry all day.

"So, Your Majesty. Even if it's late, love is still love. How should we proceed?"

"Will you support me?"

"Of course not. It's to ensure the success of the arranged meeting. If you go into it with your current feelings, you'll only upset the other party. If meeting her once helps you calm down, then that's fine."

"That's what you mean."

"That's exactly what I mean. After all, the other party is Princess Regent Celestina de Orlia, a political prodigy born of the <Hero King>. Even the rational Emperor Conrad V might be able to handle her, but the love-struck Conrad would be no match."

After saying what he wanted to say, Sebastian smiled for the first time in thirty years.

"So, what is the name of the woman who held the key to Your Majesty's heart, which has been closed for thirty-seven years? Please confide in your loyal servant, Sebastian von Hohenbach."

"…Her name is Celestina."

Gathering his courage to confess, Sebastian's hawk-like nose twitched again. He had always wondered if Sebastian was holding back laughter.

"Is it the same Celestina? If it were the same person, it would save us the trouble of searching."

"That's not the case. This isn't a love story."

"‘Reality is stranger than fable.’"

"Bedeker?"

"Unfortunately, it's Clovinckel."

Quoting the poet, Sebastian was already pulling out the noble yearbook from his luggage.

Published annually by the Imperial Heraldry Office, it listed all the nobles in the empire. It generally included the names of their children, but there was no index.

"The name Celestina is more common in the Eastern Kingdom, so it's not that common in the empire. But that alone won't narrow it down. Oh, I found one… but she's fifty-nine years old."

"I think she's between seventeen and twenty years old."

Sebastian's hand stopped flipping through the pages.

"The other Celestina is definitely nineteen years old."

"That's why I'm telling you to stop talking about the other Celestina. Are you planning to become a love poet instead of a legal scholar?"

"I dabbled in it a few times during my poor student days. Forging Clovinckel's love poems and such."

"Clovinckel doesn't sing love poems."

"That's why they're valuable. I made the parchment look so authentic that they might still be circulating."

While saying things that were hard to believe, Sebastian's hand didn't stop. Dozens of Celestina candidates were quickly listed, and Conrad examined each one.

However, there were no portraits in the yearbook, so the information to narrow it down was insufficient.

"The mother of this Celestina has fiery red hair."

"I think it could be her father's genes. What do you think?"

"…When I first met her, she was already bald."

The number of Celestina candidates, initially in the dozens, was reduced to ten, then five, then three, and finally none.

"There are some suspicious candidates, but their territories are far from the ancient capital."

"A dead end, then."

Perhaps the assumption that she was a noble was wrong.

If she were a merchant, of a different status, or a noble not listed in the yearbook or from another country, this method wouldn't find her.

"There is a way. It's too early to give up."