TPITT - Chapter 220

Elijah came in just as the floor was being covered with rose petals. He held his breath and delivered the message.

“Your Majesty, everyone is gathered.”

“I’m going out now.”

Brigitte put aside her hobby and went into the living room.

Several people were sitting around the table.

The Marquis of Lemkal, the Marquis of Belteor, his fiancé Antonio Belteor, the bookkeeper Countess Fritz, her sister and brother-in-law, the Third Prince Theobald, and the Fourth Princess Hesia, were all among Brigitte's closest confidants.

“Please meet Her Highness the Third Princess.”

Several people came together to pay their respects to Brigitte. Among them, Brigitte took the Marquis of Belteor.

“Thank you for your hard work on your long journey.”

“Haha, His Majesty has called me, so even if my old man’s body breaks, I must come.”

The Marquis of Belteor himself would have traveled by teleportation, whether he had traveled the hard way on a tablespoon or a sky ark. The Marquis of Lemkal muttered something inaudible, and his face twisted.

“I came running in a hurry because I thought it was a chance to advance into central politics, but I’m not really proud of it.”

“Oh my, how dare you say such a thing. Marquis Lamekal says something that is not befitting of his dignity.”

“Anyway, please keep telling me that you’re a snake.”

“Please tell me I’m sociable.”

The southern arms dealer and the central detective were getting acquainted. A woman at the table stepped in to prevent any unnecessary confrontation.

“Please don’t fight, your two gentlemen.”

She was a vassal who had served Lamekal for generations and was also Brigitte's bookkeeper, Countess Fritz.

Brigitte's earlier suggestion that the Homunculus Legion has a command structure was also from her mind. She's a good and helpful person, someone Eve would want to have in her corner.

Count Fritz opened his mouth again.

“As you know, Her Highness's forces have been considerably reduced, and we must make up for our losses by filling these vacancies with our own. Marquis Lamekal already has no more nobles he can recruit, and it is best to fill them with yours, Marquis Belteor. It would be nice if Marquis Lamekal would welcome Marquis Belteor, as he is now fully on our side by his marriage to Lord Antonio Belteor.”

“Ahem.”

Marquis Lamekal coughed in vain, and Marquis Belteor continued to grin.

It was Brigitte who changed the mood to something serious.

“Is your military business going smoothly?"

“Of course. We, the Southern Alliance, will be at your service. You will become the hero of the nation by slaying the Demon Dragon, and everything will fall into place again.”

It was a satisfactory answer. In fact, it was the part where Brigitte was risking her life.

At the Marquis de Belteor's side, Antonio sat calmly. Brigitte was sensitive to anything that benefited her aside from her personality, so she willingly extended courtesy to her fiancé.

“It’s been a while, Lord Belteor.”

“It is a grand event, Your Highness. This is the first since the banquet celebrating the return of the 7th Princess.”

“I hope you’ve been doing well.”

“Yes. I have been well, thinking of Your Highness.”

The Marquis's third son, trained from childhood to be Brigitte's only companion, whispered his love in every expression, look, voice, and gesture.

However, Brigitte was not impressed, preferring a handsome boy with a wild side to a dapper one.

Then Brigitte turned to Marquis Lamekal.

“A very lucrative imperial commissioned project will begin soon. Your Excellency, please prepare.”

“Hehehe, don’t worry. I’ll handle it well like I always do.”

“What we're doing isn't good enough. You're going to have to do better than that.”

“Yes. I will keep that in mind,” the Marquis of Lamekal added cautiously.

“Lemieux, the Fourth Empress has told me that there seems to be a need for a crackdown inside the palace.”
“Oh my god......

Brigitte lowered her eyes. In fact, she felt it too.

To build support among her siblings and to facilitate the Knights' operations in the War on the Demon Dragon, Brigitte had long sought to enlist the imperial family.

However, the events of the Great Catastrophe in District 13 resulted in the severe reprimand of the First Empress Roxandra, who had supported Brigitte, as well as the dismissal of Chancellor Charnley, greatly reducing Brigitte's political standing.

If she had any brains, she would have realized that it would be to her advantage to tread carefully between Eve and Brigitte, rather than to align herself with Brigitte early.

The 4th Princess Hesia and the 3rd Prince Theobald added their opinions on the matter.

“Even so, I hate Iselle's attitude. She's always the first to come to me, but now she's avoiding me, making excuses of one sort or another.”

“Sister Karola and Brother Winfried also refuse to see me, saying they are sick or need to focus on their studies.”

From Brigitte's perspective, it was something that must have made her feel that the discipline of the villa had collapsed. Action was essential.

A mocking sneer escaped his twisted lips.

“We'll have to get Iselle to come to her senses first. If you set an example, your sister and brother will learn from it.”

“Retaliation against Iselle... No, would just swinging a whip be enough?”

“Of course not.”

Hesia's question was met with an immediate negative. Brigitte had an idea.

“We need to block them from having any other thoughts at all.”

“How?”

“I'd better make her realize that she can't expect to be rewarded for choosing an option other than me.”

Eve would be perceived by everyone as evil, incapable of brotherhood or sisterhood. The role model for this evil, of course, was Brigitte herself.

As it happened, Count Fritz suggested it.

“I think it would be good to use Her Highness the 6th Princess.”

“Stephania? ...Ah. That’s a good idea.”

The sister's grief and anger at losing her beloved brother would have been a destructive tool.

A plan just right for writing Stefania off occurred to her. Brigitte smiled coldly.

***

Waking up earlier than usual on this particular day, I was the first to arrive at the Emerald Hall of the main palace after getting ready.

Rubio was the next to enter the hall. We exchanged casual greetings, as we had often crossed paths during our joint investigation of the human trafficking cartel.

“Welcome, brother.”

“Oh, Eve! Nice to meet you!”

“Thank you for your hard work investigating the human trafficking cartel.”

“Thanks to you, it ended easily. That guy named Alben Redmon was just like you, very smart.”

“Alben would be very happy to know that my brother praised him.”

While the siblings were having a warm conversation in the bean curd house, Hesia and Stepfania came in together.

“Meet Brother Rubio.”

The two women ignored Eve's greeting and passed by, only greeting Rubio.

“Oh, Yes. Hesia, Nia, come and sit down.”

The airflow in the large room quickly became stale. I glanced over at Stefania, not bothering to find a topic of conversation.

She looked much thinner than when I saw her at Derek's funeral.

'Brother Derek's brother and Sister Nia were very close.'

Moreover, wasn't he a promising prospect who was firmly believed to become the Duchess's husband? The loss would be great.

The sight of Stefania sitting next to Hecia made me uncomfortable as I thought of the truth of what Brigitte had done and covered up.

By then, the last person stood on the threshold. It was the eighth Princess, whose beauty was considered a treasure of the empire.

“Oh, Rosie, I'm so glad to finally see your face!”

“I’m glad you look healthy, Rosie! The rumors about you being crazy weren’t true after all. I believed them.”

As soon as they discovered Rosenit, Hesia, and Rubio pretended to be happy.

The protocol was for the imperial family to bow first, but Rosenite didn't react to being greeted first. She continued to stare at the person in front of her.

It was the silent, still gaze on me. I felt a strange sensation as I stared directly into the eyes I hadn't seen in my last life or in this one.

'Rosie.'

After a month of sleeping the death sleep, my half-sister woke up looking decidedly changed. Whereas before she had used her loveliness as a weapon, albeit a slightly poisonous one, now her sickly beauty was tinged with a deep venom.

At that time, Rosenite greeted me with a weak gesture and voice.

“It’s been a while, brothers and sisters. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Her words were directed at everyone, but her gaze remained fixed on me. I returned the stare in silence. We both looked like we had a lot to say.

At this point, the onlookers also sensed something was amiss. They sized up the situation, wondering if there was something between us if we had fought.

Then, Desmond II appeared, refreshing the ambiguous atmosphere.

“Everyone is here.”

“Meet Father.”

Dezmond II looked delighted when he discovered Rosenite's face. He spoke as if introducing her.

“As you can see, your lovely sister Rosie has overcome the curse of the demon dragon and is back among us again. We were worried about her after her awakening, but the great sage said there is nothing wrong with her. Still, she has only been out of bed for a short time, so you'll have to take extra care of her.”

“Yes, Father.”

The other imperial family also left the responsibility of taking care of their younger siblings.

Rubio, Hesia, and Stefania. answered in a daze, but Desmond II did make a public speech.

“Rosie, honey.”

“Yes, Father.”

“While you slept, Eve took great care of you, visiting you every day to keep you strong and to keep you from having nightmares.”

“... My sister?”

Rosenite's ruby eyes flickered. I felt an intense gaze on one cheek, but I looked away as if I didn't notice.

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