Jeremiah had recently become aware of his feelings. That was right after Karina had barely woken up from the hostage situation where she was almost killed.
Even after becoming aware of them, it was not easy to admit them. However, the moment he found Karina in the mine. In a place where he was not, outside his fence. When he realized that Karina could be in danger again at any moment, he felt an unbearable anxiety. When Revals told Karina that she was a shameful Grand Duchess who did not receive the protection of the Grand Duke's family, unlike Karina who had been calm, he was overcome with explosive anger. And when he saw Karina crying in his arms, he could no longer deny his feelings.
However, that did not mean that all of his underlying suspicions and feelings of betrayal toward Karina had disappeared. However, he still did not want to divorce Karina. He had never really thought about divorce. No matter what, he wanted to keep Karina close to him, watch her every day, and keep her in his sight. Even if he made a hundred or a thousand concessions and got a divorce, this was absolutely not the way to go.
'Absoluteness!'
Jeremiah's stern expression didn't soften.
"Phew."
Jeremiah let out a breath he had been holding back, suppressing the emotions that were surging as if they were going to explode. He took a deep breath, slowly collected his emotions, and returned to the carriage. On the way back, he spotted Karina talking to Mikhail from afar.
"!"
His gaze was fixed on Karina's face, which was smiling brightly at Mikhail. Jeremiah's fist clenched tightly without him knowing it. He had worked hard to calm his emotions, but he was once again overcome with emotional turmoil.
'You've never smiled so brightly in front of me before.'
Jeremiah's eyes sparkled and jealousy boiled over him.
By sleeping on the streets and finding new routes, they were able to arrive at the capital earlier than planned. They ended up staying at a private mansion owned by the Colesberg family in the capital. This was a residence that the Colesberg family of the previous generation had purposely prepared in the capital so that they could stay there when they had business in the capital.
"I thought it would take about five days, but it only took three. When the road is paved, it might be faster to travel to the capital from the north."
Jen said with a satisfied expression.
"Well, is that really a good thing?"
Karina muttered in a questioning tone. Rather, the road between the capital and the north was long and rough, so the Emperor's pressure had difficulty in influencing the north. But now that things were different, the influence the imperial family was trying to exert on the North would probably be different. Of course, this was not good news for the North.
"Yes?"
Jen tilted her head as she heard Karina muttering.
"It's nothing. Please help me pack my bags."
"Yes, I'll make sure it's perfect, so don't worry."
Jen answered briskly. Karina had to enter the palace right away without even taking a breath. She had to meet the Emperor. Of course, with Jeremiah.
Karina stopped by Mikhail before going to Jeremiah.
"Selena and Hasten?"
Before coming here, Karina had also separately told Selena and Hasten to come to the capital. They had to come to the capital to have a chance to contact the Dark Lord based in the capital. Of course, she had also made Selena promise to her so that she would not have any other thoughts and act alone.
"I just got a call that they arrived."
They had said they would depart a day later than Karina and her party. Since they were fugitives from the capital, they needed to prepare a separate, forged identity. It took about a day to prepare it.
'If you come by horse instead of carriage, it will take two days.'
The impact of the mine collapse was greater than Karina had expected since they arrived similar to them.
"First, tell them to find out about the dark forces operating out of the capital. Also, tell them to find out how to place a request."
"If you say dark statue, are you talking about the dark statue that you went looking for but failed?"
Mikhail also remembered. It wasn't a complete waste for Karina, since she had met Selena and Hasten.
"That's right."
"Is there any reason why you are looking for that dark statue separately?"
"I have a request I would like to entrust to them."
To be exact, it was to find out information about the wishing potion.
"Is it really necessary to leave it to that dark figure? I think someone like Karina could easily do what's necessary without going through a place like that."
If it was a normal request, Mikhail's words were correct. However, in the past, Karina had obtained the wishing potion through a person called 'Perso', the owner of the dark statue. She had to meet that person.
"It's a request that can only be done there."
"Now that you mention it, I'm really curious about what kind of request you have. Could you please let me know?"
Karina smiled and answered Mikhail, who was secretly pushing her.
"You'll find out when the time comes. Anyway, tell them so."
When Jen and Karina didn't come over, Mikhail made a show of giving up and answered.
"All right."
After breaking up with Mikhail, Karina went out to look for Jeremiah. No, she tried to look for him. But Jeremiah was standing right outside the door.
'That's surprising. How long have you been here?'
Karina asked in surprise.
"When did you come?"
"Now."
Jeremiah answered shortly.
'You didn't hear what I just said, did you?'
Karina thought back over what she had said Inside. It wasn't something particularly important, but it bothered her. However, she hesitated to ask if he had heard it. He might not have heard it, but she didn't think it was necessary to make a fuss. Karina kept her mouth shut, pretending not to know.
"If you're ready, let's go."
"Yes."
As Karina took the lead, Jeremiah followed her.
***
Karina and Jeremiah entered the palace to meet the Emperor. The place the Emperor called them was the audience room in the central palace. They were guided to the audience room. In the palace hallway, expensive paintings, beautifully carved statues, and antiques that were hard to put a price on were lined up at regular marble intervals. Even the pedestals supporting them were made of expensive, high-quality marble.
'It was fine until I came.'
When it became real that she was actually going to meet the Emperor face to face, she became nervous. Karina glanced at Jeremiah with an anxious face. However, Jeremiah's face was expressionless as if he had no emotions.
'Yeah. I'm not the type of person to get nervous over something like this.'
Karina made up her mind to do well on her own. Then suddenly a question occurred to her.
'But why the audience room of the central palace?'
The audience room in the central palace was usually used to welcome royalty or important envoys from other countries.
'Is that how you treat the head of the Colesberg family?'
Soon, Karina lost interest in this matter, thinking it had nothing to do with her. She swallowed her doubts and quietly followed the chief attendant who was in charge of guiding her. When she arrived at the audience room and entered, the interior was so large and spacious that it felt magnificent.
In the distance, Karina could see the Emperor sitting on a golden throne on a high staircase. He looked down at them with his chin resting on his hand, looking arrogant and haughty, like a God looking down on the earth from above. Around him, the knights of the palace guarding the Emperor were standing in their uniforms. If it had been anyone else but Jeremiah, the atmosphere was so sharp that she would have been quite scared and intimidated.
Karina and Jeremiah walked across the center of the audience room to the front of the platform and paid their respects.
"You're here."
A low, heavy voice greeted them.
"Your Majesty the Supreme Emperor of the Havellion Empire."
Jeremiah bowed his head with a formal greeting.
"Your Majesty the Supreme Emperor of the Havellion Empire."
Karina also bowed her head in greeting, following Jeremiah. Then the Emperor turned his eyes to Karina. Karina frowned at the unpleasant gaze scanning her. Fortunately, she had her head down, so the Emperor could not see Karina's expression. After a long time, the Emperor's mouth opened again.
"Raise your head."
As the Emperor spoke, Karina and Jeremiah raised their heads. This was not the first time Karina had faced the Emperor. She had met the Emperor with her father, Marquis Millainer before she married Jeremiah. Even then, the Emperor gave off an unpleasant and uneasy vibe.
At the time, she had been nervous about meeting His Majesty the Emperor in a private setting for the first time in her life, and the topic of the meeting was related to her and Jeremiah's marriage, so she had not been able to properly pay attention to it. Looking back now, it was even more unpleasant and awkward than then. Karina wished that this audience would end quickly. At that moment, someone walked out from the stage.
"...!"
Karina looked at the man's face and was shocked.
'Father?'
The one who came out from there was the Marquis of Milliner. When Karina looked at him with an expression asking why he was there, the Marquis opened his mouth.
"I have asked His Majesty to allow me to accompany the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Colesberg, who are coming to see him. I also wanted to see my married daughter after a long time. I hope it won't be uncomfortable for me to be with you."
Marquis Milliner asked Jeremiah, not Karina. Karina didn't even say a word of greeting.
"..."
Jeremiah made no answer, but the emperor did not wait for his reply.
"I sent you a letter asking you to come early because this New Year's is special, but you didn't receive it?"
The Emperor's voice was clearly displeased as he asked that question.
"I'm sorry."
Jeremiah simply replied without any explanation or clarification. The Marquis, with a stern expression on his face, added his words.
"By the way, didn't the escaped convicts who escaped from prison take our Karina hostage?"
'Our Karina...'
Karina snorted inwardly after hearing the Marquis' words. The Marquis thought of Karina as nothing more than a political marriage tool that would raise the family's status and bring benefits, even though she was his own daughter. Nevertheless, he pretended to love and cherish his daughter very much. Since she had been like that since she was young, it was not surprising that the Marquis was now acting hypocritically as if he was worried about her. It was just disgusting.
"Is it because the Colesberg family in charge of the North failed to catch the escapees that the incident happened?"
Jeremiah bowed his head again at the emperor's question.
"I have no face."
"..."
Karina glanced at Jeremiah with a trembling expression. The Emperor and the Marquis, who only openly criticized each other even though they knew it was true, were second to none, and it was very strange to see Jeremiah just listening to such words.
"I heard that even the monsters in the North are running wild these days. Isn't that because you haven't been able to deal with them properly?"
The corners of the Marquis' mouth widened with laughter as he talked like that.
"That's what the Grand Duke's job is to do in the North. If you can't do that one thing right, what's the point of the Colesbergs existing?"
"..."
Karina thought that this time Jeremiah would not take it lightly, as he was putting his family at risk. However.
"It was my fault. I apologize for causing trouble."
Jeremiah answered with a familiar, completely indifferent expression.
'What is this situation?'
Karina's eyes widened in wonder. And then, realization flashed through her mind. The Emperor had not called them to the audience room of the central palace to treat the Grand Duke and his wife better. He had used the majesty of the Imperial Family and the Emperor to suppress Jeremiah.
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