In an instant, the surroundings became quiet.
The Emperor, the priests, the crowd, the trash, and even the lions all gaped in amazement.
I was the only one who kept my composure in this dire situation.
I clasped my hands together and stared at the floor with a miserable expression.
How much time had passed like that? asked the Emperor, who had come to his senses belatedly.
“The father has changed? What on earth does that mean? How can a father who isn’t even his child change?”
He urged me to tell him more, and after pretending to hesitate for a few moments, I finally opened my mouth.
“The goddess said that the Duke of Veloce had two sons.”
“Two? I thought the Duke of Veloce had no brothers?”
“Yes, that is what the world knows. I also knew that. But the goddess has revealed the whole truth to me.”
“What on earth is the truth?”
The Emperor asked with a puzzled look, and I opened my mouth again with a heavy face.
“It is said that my grandfather, the former Duke, had a second son. He was an illegitimate child whom he secretly raised.”
“What, an illegitimate child?”
“His Highness the Duke of Veloce?”
“That’s ridiculous, how could that be!”
“How can His Highness the Duke have an illegitimate child? I can’t believe it!”
Not only the Emperor but even the crowd expressed their shock.
That would be so, considering what kind of person Maitland, my grandfather and former Duke of Veloce, was.
He is the man who has been ranked number one in the ideal husbands desired by women in the Catalonia Empire for 20 consecutive years.
A clean private life that doesn't even tolerate one-night stands, let alone the government.
No matter how busy he is, he is a family person who always eats dinner with his family.
A romantic gentleman who sent flowers every single day to his wife who was suffering from the aftereffects of menopause.
To him, an illegitimate child?
How can one easily believe it?
I feel so guilty that I did something rash and got so angry about the trash that I started to feel guilty.
'I'm sorry, Grandpa. But I can't just sit by and let your son try to kill me. I'll do my best to make sure your honor isn't tarnished.'
While I was asking for forgiveness in my heart, the impatient Emperor could not stand it any longer and kept nagging me.
“Why are you silent? Is it really true that Maitland Veloce had an illegitimate child that he kept hidden? The Princess must answer quickly!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I quickly fixed my expression and nodded shamelessly.
The Emperor burst into laughter at that.
“Oh, my, an illegitimate child to the honorable Maitland. How could this be...”
It seemed even more absurd because the Emperor, who had been in frequent conflict with my grandfather due to his personality of not being able to speak his mind, had acknowledged my grandfather's private life.
It was an inevitable choice, but I couldn't stand by and watch my grandfather's reputation be tarnished any longer, so I quickly set out to clean things up.
“But Your Majesty, that was not something my grandfather did on his own.”
“What are you talking about? Are you saying that the mother of that bastard deliberately barged into Maitland’s bedroom?”
“I’m sorry to say this, but it is true.”
“Wow, I can’t believe it. How could something like that happen when Maitland isn’t that sloppy?”
The Emperor shouted as if he couldn't understand, and I hastily added my words.
“The goddess told me that 42 years ago, my grandfather happened to meet a woman while passing through a village near the capital.”
“Is that woman the mother of an illegitimate child?”
“Yes. She was a slave in her mid-twenties who was traded in the slave market. She was very skinny because she had not eaten properly, and her face was clearly showing signs of weariness. My grandfather felt pity for her and paid the slave trader to get her out of the auction house.”
“Hmm, Maitland would be quite apt to do that. He’s a very sympathetic man, despite his high position. Tsk, useless.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue as if he couldn't understand and hurriedly looked at the crowd.
As it was a high cliff, the distance from the crowd was quite long, so unless I shouted loudly like I did, they wouldn't have heard me at all. However, since the Emperor was very sensitive to public sentiment, it seemed like he was concerned.
After mumbling for a while, I finally realized that my words had not reached the ears of the imperial people, and I let out a short sigh of relief.
I secretly glanced at the Emperor and continued speaking.
“Yes, my grandfather was a man who could not just pass by the poor. So he brought her to the inn where he was staying and gave her food and a room. He even gave her a small amount of money so that she could rest as much as she wanted and leave for wherever she wanted when she recovered.”
“Hmm, he did a good job.”
“Yes, it was definitely a good thing on my grandfather’s part. However, it was the beginning of a series of misfortunes. When she found out about my grandfather’s social status, she mixed a poisonous drug into his food and jumped into his bedroom in an attempt to improve her social status.”
“Oh my, poor Duke.”
“He's been caught by a really bad guy.”
“Why is it that I feel sorry?”
My words drew sighs here and there.
It seemed regrettable that something done with good intentions led to bad results.
The Emperor sighed deeply and asked as if he had the same thoughts.
“So that night he had an illegitimate child?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. My grandfather was very angry, but he could not abandon the child who had already been born. So after consulting with my grandmother, he provided them with a house and living expenses. The lowly slave and his child experienced a life of luxury they had never enjoyed before.”
“They look like these bad guys!”
“Are you saying that you drove a nail into the chest of His Excellency the Great Duke and the kind Great Duchess, who were no different from your benefactors, and then went to sleep with both legs stretched out?”
“These are some really bad things!”
The crowd, which had suddenly transformed into an audience watching a play, responded enthusiastically, and I threw a bigger topic into the mix.
“But their greed did not end there. The two sons wanted to succeed to the ducal throne after their grandfather and to achieve that ambition, they killed the legitimate heir to the ducal family.”
“What, what did you say? Murder?”
The Emperor's face turned pale at my shocking remark, and the crowd also covered their mouths in disbelief.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Duke’s heir apparent was murdered 13 years ago. By them.”
I sobbed, pointing to the trash with its mouth wide open at the bottom of the cliff.
Then the Emperor asked, stammering.
“Ha, so you’re saying that Maitland made his illegitimate child succeed his as the legitimate heir?”
“No, Your Majesty. My grandfather did not know that the legitimate heir had been murdered, nor that an illegitimate child had taken his place.”
“What? How could he not know that!”
“At that time, my grandfather was a little confused after sending my grandmother away. And the goddess said that my biological father and the illegitimate child looked so much alike that it was hard to tell them apart.”
“Ha, what is that..."
The Emperor shook his head as if it were nonsense, and the crowd began to murmur again.
“Hey, wait a minute. What the hell is this? Someone, explain it to me!”
“So the Duke of Veloce, no, the man killed the real successor to the Duke of Veloce and took his place?”
“How could this happen..."
The crowd looked at the trash in utter disbelief.
“That, that is nonsense! No, Your Majesty. An illegitimate child born from a slave, the murder of the legitimate heir. This is all a sham, Your Majesty!”
Only then did Trash come to his senses and hurriedly wave his hand.
“I am definitely the legitimate heir born between the previous Dukes and the Duchess! In the first place, there are no illegitimate children in our Veloce duchy! It’s all a lie made up by that woman, Your Majesty!”
The trash man banged his chest with both fists and claimed his grievances.
The Emperor, who had been looking embarrassed, turned his head towards me and asked.
“Saintess, is there any evidence to that statement?”
Evidence? How could something like that exist?
But I looked straight into those eyes.
“Your Majesty, I am now conveying the words of the goddess Hethel.”
“Hey, if you pretend to be a goddess like that..."
But the lion, unable to stand watching, tried to stop him.
“Shut up. If you move your mouth wrong here, I’ll stuff a hundred humans in your mouth every single day."
I couldn't see anything anymore.
The Emperor, the priests, the crowd, the trash, and even the lions all gaped in amazement.
I was the only one who kept my composure in this dire situation.
I clasped my hands together and stared at the floor with a miserable expression.
How much time had passed like that? asked the Emperor, who had come to his senses belatedly.
“The father has changed? What on earth does that mean? How can a father who isn’t even his child change?”
He urged me to tell him more, and after pretending to hesitate for a few moments, I finally opened my mouth.
“The goddess said that the Duke of Veloce had two sons.”
“Two? I thought the Duke of Veloce had no brothers?”
“Yes, that is what the world knows. I also knew that. But the goddess has revealed the whole truth to me.”
“What on earth is the truth?”
The Emperor asked with a puzzled look, and I opened my mouth again with a heavy face.
“It is said that my grandfather, the former Duke, had a second son. He was an illegitimate child whom he secretly raised.”
“What, an illegitimate child?”
“His Highness the Duke of Veloce?”
“That’s ridiculous, how could that be!”
“How can His Highness the Duke have an illegitimate child? I can’t believe it!”
Not only the Emperor but even the crowd expressed their shock.
That would be so, considering what kind of person Maitland, my grandfather and former Duke of Veloce, was.
He is the man who has been ranked number one in the ideal husbands desired by women in the Catalonia Empire for 20 consecutive years.
A clean private life that doesn't even tolerate one-night stands, let alone the government.
No matter how busy he is, he is a family person who always eats dinner with his family.
A romantic gentleman who sent flowers every single day to his wife who was suffering from the aftereffects of menopause.
To him, an illegitimate child?
How can one easily believe it?
I feel so guilty that I did something rash and got so angry about the trash that I started to feel guilty.
'I'm sorry, Grandpa. But I can't just sit by and let your son try to kill me. I'll do my best to make sure your honor isn't tarnished.'
While I was asking for forgiveness in my heart, the impatient Emperor could not stand it any longer and kept nagging me.
“Why are you silent? Is it really true that Maitland Veloce had an illegitimate child that he kept hidden? The Princess must answer quickly!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I quickly fixed my expression and nodded shamelessly.
The Emperor burst into laughter at that.
“Oh, my, an illegitimate child to the honorable Maitland. How could this be...”
It seemed even more absurd because the Emperor, who had been in frequent conflict with my grandfather due to his personality of not being able to speak his mind, had acknowledged my grandfather's private life.
It was an inevitable choice, but I couldn't stand by and watch my grandfather's reputation be tarnished any longer, so I quickly set out to clean things up.
“But Your Majesty, that was not something my grandfather did on his own.”
“What are you talking about? Are you saying that the mother of that bastard deliberately barged into Maitland’s bedroom?”
“I’m sorry to say this, but it is true.”
“Wow, I can’t believe it. How could something like that happen when Maitland isn’t that sloppy?”
The Emperor shouted as if he couldn't understand, and I hastily added my words.
“The goddess told me that 42 years ago, my grandfather happened to meet a woman while passing through a village near the capital.”
“Is that woman the mother of an illegitimate child?”
“Yes. She was a slave in her mid-twenties who was traded in the slave market. She was very skinny because she had not eaten properly, and her face was clearly showing signs of weariness. My grandfather felt pity for her and paid the slave trader to get her out of the auction house.”
“Hmm, Maitland would be quite apt to do that. He’s a very sympathetic man, despite his high position. Tsk, useless.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue as if he couldn't understand and hurriedly looked at the crowd.
As it was a high cliff, the distance from the crowd was quite long, so unless I shouted loudly like I did, they wouldn't have heard me at all. However, since the Emperor was very sensitive to public sentiment, it seemed like he was concerned.
After mumbling for a while, I finally realized that my words had not reached the ears of the imperial people, and I let out a short sigh of relief.
I secretly glanced at the Emperor and continued speaking.
“Yes, my grandfather was a man who could not just pass by the poor. So he brought her to the inn where he was staying and gave her food and a room. He even gave her a small amount of money so that she could rest as much as she wanted and leave for wherever she wanted when she recovered.”
“Hmm, he did a good job.”
“Yes, it was definitely a good thing on my grandfather’s part. However, it was the beginning of a series of misfortunes. When she found out about my grandfather’s social status, she mixed a poisonous drug into his food and jumped into his bedroom in an attempt to improve her social status.”
“Oh my, poor Duke.”
“He's been caught by a really bad guy.”
“Why is it that I feel sorry?”
My words drew sighs here and there.
It seemed regrettable that something done with good intentions led to bad results.
The Emperor sighed deeply and asked as if he had the same thoughts.
“So that night he had an illegitimate child?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. My grandfather was very angry, but he could not abandon the child who had already been born. So after consulting with my grandmother, he provided them with a house and living expenses. The lowly slave and his child experienced a life of luxury they had never enjoyed before.”
“They look like these bad guys!”
“Are you saying that you drove a nail into the chest of His Excellency the Great Duke and the kind Great Duchess, who were no different from your benefactors, and then went to sleep with both legs stretched out?”
“These are some really bad things!”
The crowd, which had suddenly transformed into an audience watching a play, responded enthusiastically, and I threw a bigger topic into the mix.
“But their greed did not end there. The two sons wanted to succeed to the ducal throne after their grandfather and to achieve that ambition, they killed the legitimate heir to the ducal family.”
“What, what did you say? Murder?”
The Emperor's face turned pale at my shocking remark, and the crowd also covered their mouths in disbelief.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Duke’s heir apparent was murdered 13 years ago. By them.”
I sobbed, pointing to the trash with its mouth wide open at the bottom of the cliff.
Then the Emperor asked, stammering.
“Ha, so you’re saying that Maitland made his illegitimate child succeed his as the legitimate heir?”
“No, Your Majesty. My grandfather did not know that the legitimate heir had been murdered, nor that an illegitimate child had taken his place.”
“What? How could he not know that!”
“At that time, my grandfather was a little confused after sending my grandmother away. And the goddess said that my biological father and the illegitimate child looked so much alike that it was hard to tell them apart.”
“Ha, what is that..."
The Emperor shook his head as if it were nonsense, and the crowd began to murmur again.
“Hey, wait a minute. What the hell is this? Someone, explain it to me!”
“So the Duke of Veloce, no, the man killed the real successor to the Duke of Veloce and took his place?”
“How could this happen..."
The crowd looked at the trash in utter disbelief.
“That, that is nonsense! No, Your Majesty. An illegitimate child born from a slave, the murder of the legitimate heir. This is all a sham, Your Majesty!”
Only then did Trash come to his senses and hurriedly wave his hand.
“I am definitely the legitimate heir born between the previous Dukes and the Duchess! In the first place, there are no illegitimate children in our Veloce duchy! It’s all a lie made up by that woman, Your Majesty!”
The trash man banged his chest with both fists and claimed his grievances.
The Emperor, who had been looking embarrassed, turned his head towards me and asked.
“Saintess, is there any evidence to that statement?”
Evidence? How could something like that exist?
But I looked straight into those eyes.
“Your Majesty, I am now conveying the words of the goddess Hethel.”
“Hey, if you pretend to be a goddess like that..."
But the lion, unable to stand watching, tried to stop him.
“Shut up. If you move your mouth wrong here, I’ll stuff a hundred humans in your mouth every single day."
I couldn't see anything anymore.
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