Chapter 68

Prince Ancheze is gravely ill...!

The unbelievable news spread through the palace, and with unusual speed, it was deliberately disseminated from the capital to the surrounding provinces and even to other countries.

Many people sensed some sort of manipulation behind the rapid spread of information that should have been kept secret, but the core of the government was tirelessly spreading the rumor.

They actively provided information to the spies of other countries they had identified, doing everything possible to ensure that the information reached as far and as quickly as possible.

This commotion was orchestrated to lure Empress Via, but they wanted to avoid the rumors about the prince's health becoming a confirmed fact among the various countries.

Therefore, they needed to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, Sais was summoned by Deputy Ammon the day before the rumors about the prince's illness began to spread.

"Capture Empress Via?"

Sais's eyes widened at the sudden words. After all, "capture" was not a term to be used for royalty.

"Yes. You are to wait all day at the store where Empress Via came looking for you before.

When the empress hears the rumor that her brother is gravely ill, she will desperately want to see him.

I want you to capture the empress there..."

The deputy seemed to realize he had chosen the wrong words.

"Hem. Anyway, I want you to secure her so she doesn't escape."

Sais thought that "secure" should be "protect," but that was a minor point.

Before accepting the order, Sais had something he needed to confirm.

"Empress Via has always been so devoted to her brother. If she hears he is gravely ill, she will undoubtedly return.

But what do you plan to do after she returns?"

Absolute obedience to orders is a knight's duty, but Sais did not want to distort Empress Via's life needlessly.

That's why he mustered the courage to ask, and the deputy softened his gaze reassuringly.

"I can't explain the details now, but Prince Celtis is involved in this.

Do you think he would allow anything to harm Empress Via?"

So, Sais continued to stake out near the store every day, but unfortunately, Empress Via did not come there.

It seemed she had gone directly to the Antore Knight Order, and Deputy Ammon, who had set up a net in advance, quickly protected Empress Via and took her to the emperor.

In the streets, the rumor was that Empress Via had returned urgently from her retreat in Galacia upon hearing the news of Prince Celtis's illness, confirmed his stable condition, and then moved into the Crystal Palace, her former residence.

A few days before Empress Via's return, her maids had been preparing the Crystal Palace, and Sais was immediately reassigned as a guard knight, but for some reason, he was forbidden to see Empress Via.

"Why?"

Not being allowed to see his master, who had finally returned to the palace, was too harsh a treatment.

When he protested with tears in his eyes, Deputy Ammon sighed heavily.

"The emperor hasn't seen her yet. It wouldn't be right to let you see her first."

"Haven't seen her yet?"

Sais tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Basically..."

Sais's jaw dropped at the deputy's reluctant explanation.

It seemed that Empress Via had returned to the palace with such urgency that she had nearly collapsed, but when she learned it was a ruse, she was furious.

She declared she didn't want to see the emperor or her brother for a while and retreated to the Crystal Palace.

It seemed reasonable at first, but Sais wondered if it was really so.

Empress Via could get angry, but it was unlike her to sulk for so long.

So, Sais immediately went to gather information from Empress Via's maids.

Since they had supported each other during her difficult times, Sais was on good terms with them. When he asked what was going on, the reason was surprisingly girlish.

She didn't want to show the emperor her unkempt appearance, with her hair, skin, and nails not properly cared for.

Sais was speechless that the emperor was being kept waiting for such a trivial reason.

Empress Via's thought process was sometimes incomprehensible to Sais.

It wasn't until more than twenty days after Empress Via's return that the emperor lifted the "wait" order. A few days before that, Lord Roffman had already met with Empress Via.

The emperor must have had something to say, but Sais also couldn't understand why Lord Roffman was allowed to see her before him.

On the day the emperor summoned her, Sais finally got to see Empress Via when he accompanied her to the imperial palace.

When she saw Sais's face, Empress Via smiled happily, but surrounded by maids, they couldn't exchange words. The next day, when he went to pick her up, she spoke to him for the first time.

"Ebeck, you've caused me so much worry."

Sais swallowed the lump in his throat, overwhelmed with emotion, but then she whispered, "Actually, I sold the Ebeck family crest. I'm sorry," and he nearly stumbled.

Is now the time to say that? Sais thought to himself.

"No... It's fine. You don't need to apologize."

When he heard she had returned by connecting borrowed carriages from Sinya, Sais had a feeling something like this had happened.

He had given it to her to help in times of need, so he didn't mind how she used it.

"Since I gave it to you, it's enough that it was useful."

When Empress Via returned to the Crystal Palace from the imperial palace, Sais was generally the only one assigned to guard her.

The maids, including Mrs. Renal, visited the imperial palace early in the morning to prepare for Empress Via's needs but returned to the Crystal Palace while she had breakfast with the emperor.

So, they generally traveled alone, and taking advantage of the privacy, Sais heard many stories about her time in hiding.

When he asked how she had survived after fleeing from Toua, she replied, "It was thanks to Lord Glouk."

Apparently, when she fled the palace, Lord Glouk Morgan had given her a bag of small, easily disposable gemstones. She laughed and explained that she had taken them when she fled at night, which helped her cover her immediate expenses.

The conversation never ran dry, and fortunately, Empress Via began to be summoned to the imperial palace every night, so Sais could hear more stories each time he picked her up.

On the fifth night Empress Via spent with the emperor, an unbelievable piece of news spread through the palace.

The Round Table Council had officially decided to make Empress Via the new empress.

Sais felt as if he were in a dream.

He finally understood why Mrs. Renal had smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about the empress," when he was concerned about Empress Via's future.

The core of the government had spread the rumor of the prince's illness to protect Empress Via and bring her back to the palace to make her the empress.

Sais was appointed as the head guard knight of the empress, and in conjunction with this, he was granted a hereditary noble title.

His new surname was Kamie, and he would serve the empress as Sais Kamie.

Incidentally, Deputy Ammon explained to him in private that the noble title was awarded for the merit of presenting a family-crested emblem to Empress Via when she was in the city.

This is the last chapter. Thank you for reading.