It took some time to understand Princess Jasper's words.
"What... are you talking about?"
Prince Norton's voice cracked and trembled.
"His Highness suddenly collapsed this morning. And three hours ago... he passed away."
Princess Jasper calmly explained, staring at the floor.
"Brother!!"
Prince Norton hurried into the bedroom.
With Princess Jasper's permission, we were able to cautiously step into Prince Calvain's bedroom.
Just as Princess Jasper had said, Prince Calvain was already dead.
His face didn't look sick or in pain at all. He seemed to be in a deep sleep.
"Oh, how could this be...!"
Prince Norton knelt before the bed, holding Prince Calvain's hand with both hands, tears streaming down his face.
Rosie went to Prince Norton's side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to comfort him.
It was truly unexpected news.
Linel and I couldn't hide our bewilderment.
The purpose of our visit to the Pasha Empire had suddenly changed.
We had come as a congratulatory delegation, but now our roles had shifted to a condolence delegation.
Prince Norton shed tears quietly for a while, seemingly slowly coming to terms with his brother's sudden death.
After some time, Prince Norton raised his head and looked at the imperial doctor in the bedroom.
"What was the cause?"
"His Highness suffered a sudden heart attack."
"Heart attack? Didn't he have any pre-existing conditions?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I'm sorry to inform you, but His Highness has been complaining of frequent chest pains lately."
"And yet you haven't taken any action?"
As Prince Norton rebuked the imperial doctor, Princess Jasper stepped forward.
"He did complain of chest pains, but his condition wasn't serious."
"He's about to become Emperor. You should have been more careful about his health!"
Prince Norton responded to Princess Jasper's words, but his gaze remained fixed on the palace doctor.
"I understand your desperation. But what can we do? Your Highness, you must pull yourself together."
Princess Jasper spoke as if her husband had died.
"You are quite calm, aren't you?"
Prince Norton's words were harsh.
A bitter smile briefly crossed her face.
But then she composed herself and replied calmly.
"You are the heir to the throne. Please gather your composure today and prepare for the state funeral starting tomorrow."
"What on earth happened to my brother?"
Prince Norton's eyes were filled with suspicion.
"Your Highness, if you want to hold the funeral, the coronation, and the wedding with Rosie without a hitch, you must hurry. If you delay, there will definitely be trouble."
Princess Jasper turned her gaze to Rosie and said.
Prince Norton and Rosie decided to stay at the main palace.
After offering a brief word of comfort to Prince Norton, he and I boarded the carriage again and headed to the East Palace, where the distinguished guests were staying.
Raphael, Stiane, and Sharon were waiting at the entrance to the East Palace.
“Madam, are you alright?”
Sharon asked with a worried look.
Judging by their expressions, it seemed they had already heard the news of Prince Calvain’s death.
“Then, I’m fine.”
“What about Her Highness Rosie?”
“She will stay at the main palace with Prince Norton.”
“Oh, yes...”
“I’m so surprised. What has happened all of a sudden, Your Majesty?”
Raphael was clearly flustered.
“Hmm. I see.”
“You’re coming to see... yourself?”
Raphael looked around and asked secretly.
“Yes. He wasn’t seriously ill; he just seemed to be asleep.”
Linel replied with a complicated expression, and Raphael and Stiane quietly nodded.
"The Princess will be deeply grieving. I heard she was planning a wedding ceremony along with the coronation ceremony."
Raphael said, sighing repeatedly.
I suddenly remembered Princess Jasper's face as she delivered the news of Prince Calvain's death.
Her expression was far too rational and elegant for a woman who had lost her husband overnight.
Could it be because she still hasn't come to terms with Prince Calvain's death?
The shock was too great?
What would I have done if I were her?
I looked up at Linel and briefly imagined.
The mere thought of him lying in bed, seriously ill, brought tears to my eyes. Moreover, if he had suddenly collapsed and lost his life, as Prince Calvain had, I probably wouldn't even be able to stand.
But Princess Jasper was far too calm...
The way Princess Jasper was looking at Rosie with a somewhat uneasy gaze also bothered me.
As my thoughts trailed off, we arrived at the floor we'd been guided to.
"This is the largest and best floor in the palace. Our distinguished guests are also satisfied. All the rooms are spacious and very luxurious."
Sharon commented on the VIP suite as we walked down the hallway.
"This is it."
Raphael pointed to our room and opened the door.
The room was far more luxurious than my room in the Lapion Palace.
It rivaled even the bedrooms in the Empress's Palace.
"There's about an hour left until dinner time. Shall we bring tea?"
“No, Sharon. I think it’s better to just rest now.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Then please let me know if you need anything.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After Sharon and Raphael left, I sat on the sofa with him.
“Something completely unexpected has happened.”
“Yes. What on earth is going on all of a sudden... The host of the Emperor’s coronation has changed.”
Linel said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“So Rosie will become Empress?”
I asked, leaning my head against his shoulder.
While Prince Calvain’s sudden death was a sad thing, Rosie’s ascension to the Empress of the Pasha Empire was cause for celebration.
“I hope so.”
“...What do you mean?”
“If Prince Norton becomes Emperor, the ministers here won’t readily accept Rosie as Empress. The positions of Grand Duchess and Empress are different.”
“Are you saying the ministers here might oppose Rosie?”
“Perhaps.”
After hearing Linel’s words, I began to feel uneasy.
If Prince Calvain ascends to the throne as planned and the wedding is successfully held, Prince Norton will be elevated to the title of Grand Duke.
Consequently, Rosie was also expected to become Grand Duchess.
As Linel had mentioned, the positions of Grand Duchess and Empress are distinct.
Although it was a state wedding, Rosie was from the concubine's family of the Lapion Empire.
The fact that the wife of a royal family, removed from the primary power, was a concubine of another nation might be the subject of gossip in society, but it wasn't something the ministers would discuss.
However, if the Empress were from another nation's concubine, it would be a different story.
Furthermore, if Prince Norton already had Rams, and Rams's biological mother was a Princess of the Kingdom of Shattonil, it would become known...
Trouble could ensue.
Linel seemed to be concerned about this, too.
His anxiety grew even before he could recover from the exhaustion of the long journey.
He worried about whether Rosie would be able to handle this situation.
Three days had passed since arriving in the Pasha Empire.
The funeral proceedings began swiftly the day after Prince Calvain's death.
The funeral for the Prince, who died suddenly just before the Emperor's coronation, was simpler and brief than expected.
Although it wasn't a state funeral, it felt somewhat odd. While it wouldn't be unusual for a noble family, the fact that the funeral for the Prince, who was about to be crowned Emperor, was held in a single day felt a bit premature.
As it turned out, in the Pasha Empire, all funeral arrangements for the imperial family, excluding the Emperor, were entirely under the jurisdiction of the spouse.
Therefore, all of this had been decided by Princess Jasper.
After the funeral, the atmosphere in the Pasha Empire's palace was solemn and unsentimental.
It was clear that many ministers were secretly displeased with Prince Calvain's ascension to the throne.
The aftermath of Prince Calvain's violent removal of the First Prince and his marriage to his sister-in-law, Princess Jasper, was clearly evident.
Fortunately, most of the ministers who had been hostile to Prince Calvain were sympathetic to Prince Norton.
However, this goodwill did not extend to Prince Norton's consort, Rosie.
Some ministers even openly displayed hostility toward Rosie.
The day after the funeral, the right to the throne was immediately transferred to Prince Norton.
The congratulatory delegations from each country had agreed to attend the coronation ceremony of the Emperor who had suddenly passed away.
However, the coronation ceremony was scheduled to take place within a few days, taking into account the schedules of the congratulatory delegations.
Since all the necessary preparations for the coronation ceremony would have been completed anyway, only the main character would change.
“I heard there’s a party before the coronation, so you should also wear a dress this time.”
“Yes, Melanie already found the most famous dress shop in the Pasha Empire. Thanks to her, I’ll be able to choose comfortably with the other concubines.”
They no longer felt like concubines, but like friends to me.
“You should wear the prettiest one.”
“What if the other concubines chose it first?”
“Snatch it. What’s the point of bragging?”
“I don’t want to brute force it. There’s a better way, why bother?”
“What?”
“Just ask if you don’t want to be in-laws.”
“Yes, that’s a very sophisticated and refined way to do it.”
He said sarcastically, pinching my cheek.
While I was having tea time in the VIP room with Linel, Raphael relayed news from the main palace.
“Your Majesty, Prince Norton has requested to see you in the audience room of the main palace to discuss matters.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know the exact details because they haven’t been relayed, but I hear that Emperor Katria of the Delroy Empire and Grand Duke Martins have already arrived at the main palace.”
“Seeing that Prince Norton is trying to include representatives from various countries who came as a congratulatory delegation to the meeting, I think there must be something we need to help with?”
Linel said, pressing his temple with my hand.
“Could it be something about Rosie?”
“I think so,”
He said, kissing the back of my hand, he was holding.
“I hope it’s nothing serious.”
“I hope so... well, we’ll find out when we get there.”
He looked like he had something to say, but kept his mouth shut.
We put down our teacups, got up, and headed to the main palace.
When we arrived at the main palace’s audience room, Emperor Katria of the Delroy Empire was already there, as expected.
I had met Emperor Katria the day after arriving at the imperial palace of the Patsha Empire.
It had been only a few days since we met in the conference room of the East Palace, where the distinguished guests resided, to discuss the events surrounding Emperor Adrian and Roxana's deaths, as well as the wyvern issue.
As Linel had predicted, Emperor Katria seemed wary of me, the Wyvern Lord, but she declared that she was committed to peace, as long as we didn't use the wyverns to incite war with the Southern Continent.
I assured Emperor Katria that I had no intention of using the wyverns for national gain or power.
True to her generous nature, Emperor Katria readily opened her heart again.
However, her expression in the audience room today was somewhat revealing.
"I guess Your Highness Zelda doesn't know yet?"
Emperor Katria asked quietly as she sat next to me.
"What?"
I asked back, and she seemed to have expected that.
At that moment, Grand Duke Martins, who had arrived at the main palace before us, entered the audience room with a troubled expression.
“Your Majesty, there has been a disagreement between you and the ministers regarding Prince Norton’s marriage.”
Emperor Katria nodded deeply as she listened to Grand Duke Martins.
It seemed that Emperor Katria had already known about this.
“It was meant to be,”
Linel muttered, rubbing his eyebrows.
He seemed to have expected this, too.
Grand Duke Martins hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“It seems that the ministers here are planning to make Princess Resilia... Empress.”
“What, what?!”
That was ridiculous!
I stood up from my chair without realizing it.
"What... are you talking about?"
Prince Norton's voice cracked and trembled.
"His Highness suddenly collapsed this morning. And three hours ago... he passed away."
Princess Jasper calmly explained, staring at the floor.
"Brother!!"
Prince Norton hurried into the bedroom.
With Princess Jasper's permission, we were able to cautiously step into Prince Calvain's bedroom.
Just as Princess Jasper had said, Prince Calvain was already dead.
His face didn't look sick or in pain at all. He seemed to be in a deep sleep.
"Oh, how could this be...!"
Prince Norton knelt before the bed, holding Prince Calvain's hand with both hands, tears streaming down his face.
Rosie went to Prince Norton's side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to comfort him.
It was truly unexpected news.
Linel and I couldn't hide our bewilderment.
The purpose of our visit to the Pasha Empire had suddenly changed.
We had come as a congratulatory delegation, but now our roles had shifted to a condolence delegation.
Prince Norton shed tears quietly for a while, seemingly slowly coming to terms with his brother's sudden death.
After some time, Prince Norton raised his head and looked at the imperial doctor in the bedroom.
"What was the cause?"
"His Highness suffered a sudden heart attack."
"Heart attack? Didn't he have any pre-existing conditions?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I'm sorry to inform you, but His Highness has been complaining of frequent chest pains lately."
"And yet you haven't taken any action?"
As Prince Norton rebuked the imperial doctor, Princess Jasper stepped forward.
"He did complain of chest pains, but his condition wasn't serious."
"He's about to become Emperor. You should have been more careful about his health!"
Prince Norton responded to Princess Jasper's words, but his gaze remained fixed on the palace doctor.
"I understand your desperation. But what can we do? Your Highness, you must pull yourself together."
Princess Jasper spoke as if her husband had died.
"You are quite calm, aren't you?"
Prince Norton's words were harsh.
A bitter smile briefly crossed her face.
But then she composed herself and replied calmly.
"You are the heir to the throne. Please gather your composure today and prepare for the state funeral starting tomorrow."
"What on earth happened to my brother?"
Prince Norton's eyes were filled with suspicion.
"Your Highness, if you want to hold the funeral, the coronation, and the wedding with Rosie without a hitch, you must hurry. If you delay, there will definitely be trouble."
Princess Jasper turned her gaze to Rosie and said.
***
Prince Norton and Rosie decided to stay at the main palace.
After offering a brief word of comfort to Prince Norton, he and I boarded the carriage again and headed to the East Palace, where the distinguished guests were staying.
Raphael, Stiane, and Sharon were waiting at the entrance to the East Palace.
“Madam, are you alright?”
Sharon asked with a worried look.
Judging by their expressions, it seemed they had already heard the news of Prince Calvain’s death.
“Then, I’m fine.”
“What about Her Highness Rosie?”
“She will stay at the main palace with Prince Norton.”
“Oh, yes...”
“I’m so surprised. What has happened all of a sudden, Your Majesty?”
Raphael was clearly flustered.
“Hmm. I see.”
“You’re coming to see... yourself?”
Raphael looked around and asked secretly.
“Yes. He wasn’t seriously ill; he just seemed to be asleep.”
Linel replied with a complicated expression, and Raphael and Stiane quietly nodded.
"The Princess will be deeply grieving. I heard she was planning a wedding ceremony along with the coronation ceremony."
Raphael said, sighing repeatedly.
I suddenly remembered Princess Jasper's face as she delivered the news of Prince Calvain's death.
Her expression was far too rational and elegant for a woman who had lost her husband overnight.
Could it be because she still hasn't come to terms with Prince Calvain's death?
The shock was too great?
What would I have done if I were her?
I looked up at Linel and briefly imagined.
The mere thought of him lying in bed, seriously ill, brought tears to my eyes. Moreover, if he had suddenly collapsed and lost his life, as Prince Calvain had, I probably wouldn't even be able to stand.
But Princess Jasper was far too calm...
The way Princess Jasper was looking at Rosie with a somewhat uneasy gaze also bothered me.
As my thoughts trailed off, we arrived at the floor we'd been guided to.
"This is the largest and best floor in the palace. Our distinguished guests are also satisfied. All the rooms are spacious and very luxurious."
Sharon commented on the VIP suite as we walked down the hallway.
"This is it."
Raphael pointed to our room and opened the door.
The room was far more luxurious than my room in the Lapion Palace.
It rivaled even the bedrooms in the Empress's Palace.
"There's about an hour left until dinner time. Shall we bring tea?"
“No, Sharon. I think it’s better to just rest now.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Then please let me know if you need anything.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After Sharon and Raphael left, I sat on the sofa with him.
“Something completely unexpected has happened.”
“Yes. What on earth is going on all of a sudden... The host of the Emperor’s coronation has changed.”
Linel said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“So Rosie will become Empress?”
I asked, leaning my head against his shoulder.
While Prince Calvain’s sudden death was a sad thing, Rosie’s ascension to the Empress of the Pasha Empire was cause for celebration.
“I hope so.”
“...What do you mean?”
“If Prince Norton becomes Emperor, the ministers here won’t readily accept Rosie as Empress. The positions of Grand Duchess and Empress are different.”
“Are you saying the ministers here might oppose Rosie?”
“Perhaps.”
After hearing Linel’s words, I began to feel uneasy.
If Prince Calvain ascends to the throne as planned and the wedding is successfully held, Prince Norton will be elevated to the title of Grand Duke.
Consequently, Rosie was also expected to become Grand Duchess.
As Linel had mentioned, the positions of Grand Duchess and Empress are distinct.
Although it was a state wedding, Rosie was from the concubine's family of the Lapion Empire.
The fact that the wife of a royal family, removed from the primary power, was a concubine of another nation might be the subject of gossip in society, but it wasn't something the ministers would discuss.
However, if the Empress were from another nation's concubine, it would be a different story.
Furthermore, if Prince Norton already had Rams, and Rams's biological mother was a Princess of the Kingdom of Shattonil, it would become known...
Trouble could ensue.
Linel seemed to be concerned about this, too.
His anxiety grew even before he could recover from the exhaustion of the long journey.
He worried about whether Rosie would be able to handle this situation.
***
Three days had passed since arriving in the Pasha Empire.
The funeral proceedings began swiftly the day after Prince Calvain's death.
The funeral for the Prince, who died suddenly just before the Emperor's coronation, was simpler and brief than expected.
Although it wasn't a state funeral, it felt somewhat odd. While it wouldn't be unusual for a noble family, the fact that the funeral for the Prince, who was about to be crowned Emperor, was held in a single day felt a bit premature.
As it turned out, in the Pasha Empire, all funeral arrangements for the imperial family, excluding the Emperor, were entirely under the jurisdiction of the spouse.
Therefore, all of this had been decided by Princess Jasper.
After the funeral, the atmosphere in the Pasha Empire's palace was solemn and unsentimental.
It was clear that many ministers were secretly displeased with Prince Calvain's ascension to the throne.
The aftermath of Prince Calvain's violent removal of the First Prince and his marriage to his sister-in-law, Princess Jasper, was clearly evident.
Fortunately, most of the ministers who had been hostile to Prince Calvain were sympathetic to Prince Norton.
However, this goodwill did not extend to Prince Norton's consort, Rosie.
Some ministers even openly displayed hostility toward Rosie.
The day after the funeral, the right to the throne was immediately transferred to Prince Norton.
The congratulatory delegations from each country had agreed to attend the coronation ceremony of the Emperor who had suddenly passed away.
However, the coronation ceremony was scheduled to take place within a few days, taking into account the schedules of the congratulatory delegations.
Since all the necessary preparations for the coronation ceremony would have been completed anyway, only the main character would change.
“I heard there’s a party before the coronation, so you should also wear a dress this time.”
“Yes, Melanie already found the most famous dress shop in the Pasha Empire. Thanks to her, I’ll be able to choose comfortably with the other concubines.”
They no longer felt like concubines, but like friends to me.
“You should wear the prettiest one.”
“What if the other concubines chose it first?”
“Snatch it. What’s the point of bragging?”
“I don’t want to brute force it. There’s a better way, why bother?”
“What?”
“Just ask if you don’t want to be in-laws.”
“Yes, that’s a very sophisticated and refined way to do it.”
He said sarcastically, pinching my cheek.
While I was having tea time in the VIP room with Linel, Raphael relayed news from the main palace.
“Your Majesty, Prince Norton has requested to see you in the audience room of the main palace to discuss matters.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know the exact details because they haven’t been relayed, but I hear that Emperor Katria of the Delroy Empire and Grand Duke Martins have already arrived at the main palace.”
“Seeing that Prince Norton is trying to include representatives from various countries who came as a congratulatory delegation to the meeting, I think there must be something we need to help with?”
Linel said, pressing his temple with my hand.
“Could it be something about Rosie?”
“I think so,”
He said, kissing the back of my hand, he was holding.
“I hope it’s nothing serious.”
“I hope so... well, we’ll find out when we get there.”
He looked like he had something to say, but kept his mouth shut.
We put down our teacups, got up, and headed to the main palace.
***
When we arrived at the main palace’s audience room, Emperor Katria of the Delroy Empire was already there, as expected.
I had met Emperor Katria the day after arriving at the imperial palace of the Patsha Empire.
It had been only a few days since we met in the conference room of the East Palace, where the distinguished guests resided, to discuss the events surrounding Emperor Adrian and Roxana's deaths, as well as the wyvern issue.
As Linel had predicted, Emperor Katria seemed wary of me, the Wyvern Lord, but she declared that she was committed to peace, as long as we didn't use the wyverns to incite war with the Southern Continent.
I assured Emperor Katria that I had no intention of using the wyverns for national gain or power.
True to her generous nature, Emperor Katria readily opened her heart again.
However, her expression in the audience room today was somewhat revealing.
"I guess Your Highness Zelda doesn't know yet?"
Emperor Katria asked quietly as she sat next to me.
"What?"
I asked back, and she seemed to have expected that.
At that moment, Grand Duke Martins, who had arrived at the main palace before us, entered the audience room with a troubled expression.
“Your Majesty, there has been a disagreement between you and the ministers regarding Prince Norton’s marriage.”
Emperor Katria nodded deeply as she listened to Grand Duke Martins.
It seemed that Emperor Katria had already known about this.
“It was meant to be,”
Linel muttered, rubbing his eyebrows.
He seemed to have expected this, too.
Grand Duke Martins hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“It seems that the ministers here are planning to make Princess Resilia... Empress.”
“What, what?!”
That was ridiculous!
I stood up from my chair without realizing it.
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