"Mother, you must not go. How can you leave your son alone overnight without saying a word...!"
Juan cried out.
His eyes were swollen, and his voice was hoarse like the sound of metal because he had shed tears all night.
The usually gentle and dignified appearance was nowhere to be found, and the Third Prince completely lost his temper.
"Your Highness, you should come to your senses at times like this. This kind of appearance would not be desired by the Western Empress. Please, uh, even if you look at this old man..."
The Count of Montfort took the coffin and raised his collapsed grandson.
'His Majesty is watching. If Juan is out of His Majesty's sight, we will be finished.'
This is because he noticed that Juan's tearing cry was gradually filling Perdiccas II's eyes.
'Catherine, you ugly thing. How could Father and Juan make such a choice to live?'
The Count also had his hair turned white overnight.
His face was deeply wrinkled, as if decades had been carved all at once.
As if he doesn't remember his old self, who laughed at Empress Eleanor's father, Eratosthenes.
'Western Empress making such a choice..."
Whispers leaked out from all over the funeral home.
Compared to the funeral of Empress Eleanor, who also ended her life by suicide, the end of the Western Empress was much more shabby.
Neither the number of nobles present, nor the amount of harmony offered, nor anything could match Eleanor's funeral.
"Hmph. It's because you have committed a crime. Did you see the 1st Prince sparing his enemies? Didn't you take responsibility before the 3rd Prince's faction was slaughtered?"
Embarrassment and surprise. And there was a mostly cold silence.
"She laughed at the late Empress for raising someone else's child, but her own child, who was so pampered... Tsk."
Empress Eleanor and the adopted son, without a drop of blood, the 1st Prince Cesare, did not even care about the Emperor's anger and did their best to honor the state.
But now, the biological son that Western Empress was so proud of seemed to be busy with grief.
"If that's the case, I'll raise an adopted child. Oh, was I talking too much?"
People giggled that this contradiction was ridiculous.
They were once people who did not dare to breathe properly in front of the Western Empress.
But now, they mocked her death without hesitation.
"Why is the air so cloudy?"
Perdiccas II frowned, spat out phlegm.
The tip of his nose was ached by the strong scent of scented candles blooming throughout the funeral hall.
"I can't take it anymore, Eastern Empress, my jade body is in a state of confusion a nd will retreat first, so you should finish it off. We didn't have much to say to each other anyway."
Eastern Empress was at a loss for words.
Angelique pulled her mother's sleeve slightly from the side, and she finally came to her senses and accepted.
"Yes, yes. Your Majesty... Leave this place to me and rest in peace..."
No matter what, she is a woman who has been with him all his life.
Seeing the Emperor turning away from the funeral hall, saying that the scent of scented candles was annoying, the Eastern Empress didn't know what to say.
Is that man really made of iron?
"Mother, he must be saying this out of the blue. Is he the one who would be polite to the useless Western Empress or Juan?"
After completing the ceremony on behalf of the Emperor until the end.
Turning to her mother, who was staring blankly at the coffin of the Western Empress, the fourth Princess Angelique said.
"I felt it painfully when I was kicked out to a remote area. The only thing that matters to the Emperor is himself."
Angelique's voice was filled with cold sarcasm.
"If it doesn't benefit, it doesn't matter whether it's family or blood."
"Angelique, this mother is scary."
The 4th Princess wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders without realizing it.
Once again, she trembled at the heartlessness of the Imperial family.
"Don't worry. Still, not everyone in Katzen is as heartless as the Emperor. It will be different when the First Prince ascends the throne."
"Cesare, doesn't he also have the blood of Katzen?"
"But he has Valdina's daughter by his side."
Yes, Valdina's daughter, Medea, changed everything.
The 1st Prince, and even the phase of this empire.
Angelique looked up.
Under the sunny sky, the sun burned golden.
"Everyone is waiting for that day right now."
***
Imperial Palace.
The 1st Prince Palace, which boasted a relatively quiet place away from the imperial palace, has not been able to settle dust on the carriage recently.
"The 1st Princess likes kumquats, right?"
The nobles of the 3rd Prince's faction knocked on the door of the villa.
He was one of the wealthy people who was known for his strong finances in the city.
"Just in time, a specialty arrived from my farm... I thought of Her Highness' health."
"Get out of here. Are you trying to curry favor just with food?"
Beside him, another nobleman bowed down. He smiled and held out the box.
"This is a tiara, encrusted with sapphire diamonds that have been carefully crafted. If you wear it at the coronation, or rather, whenever Your Highness wants, it will be an honor for our family to keep it for the rest of our lives."
Their expressions shimmered as they dropped their flattery.
"Sir Neril, you wear a sword, right? There is a family heirloom that has been passed down from generation to generation, and I would like to give it to you."
"My Lord, the Marquis, admired Miss Saya's beautiful character. You want to make Miss Saya his foster daughter. Do you have any thoughts?"
As they approached Neril and Saya, the Crown Princess's close associates, they tried to match their affiliations.
"When, when will the Western Empress faction do anything to pressure our Highness?"
Even though it wasn't enough to fill the warehouse in the villa, Saya grumbled as she looked at the pile of gifts that had sprung out on the other hand.
The Katzen nobles were very quick to change their stance.
Now, they are bowing down and not even being able to look at Saya, a mere maid, in the eye.
The time they tried to alienate Medea now felt like a long time ago.
"No matter what, we are the face of Your Highness. Even at moments like this, we must not show weakness."
"That's why they can't even say anything about His Highness the First Prince and only come to visit us."
The 1st Prince's ruthless temperament was not gentle enough to accept those who changed their minds belatedly.
In particular, the nobles belonging to the 3rd Prince's faction persistently visited the villa as if they were never going to hold the funeral of the 1st Prince, trying to find the trown way to live.
"After His Highness Cesare threw one of the high-ranking members of the Third Princes faction upside down into a ditch, the number of those who hung in front of the Palace was definitely reduced."
"Still, there are many. Now the mercenaries on the Facade are openly going back and forth to the villa. Isn't that right, Gallo?"
It turns out that the weapons dealer who rules the continent is also the head of the First Prince, Cesare, but is it the most likely to be stuck in a ditch?
"Yes, that's why you should have killed that nobleman. He doesn't look like a boss, that's why he's such a pain in the ass."
"Gallo, come to your senses. If that were the case, would they have found a separate palace instead of the imperial palace? Even Her Highness said that the tide is turning in our favor, so we shouldn't act rashly."
"If Her Highness said that, what... I have to listen to her."
Terence's words made Gallo scratch his head.
"Organize the play that will be held this time. You have to catch the nonsense fish well. Is it when you are so idle?"
"Oh, I understand! We played together, but why did you only say anything to me?"
***
Outdoor garden in the villa.
The outdoor theater inside was filled with golden candles.
A secret space that is rarely allowed to enter the outside has been opened. An outdoor stage was set up in front of it.
It was a stage for a masked play performed by the 1st Princess, to which artists were invited.
"What is the theme?"
"It was one of the legends of the continent... Is it the story of the Queen of Dawn and the Black Dragon?"
"The story of the Queen of Dawn who saved the world by sharing her light with a human hero."
The attendees nodded.
"That's right. After the death of the Western Empress, the atmosphere in the imperial palace was very ugly, so Her Highness held such a fun event to soothe people's hearts."
They praised the 1st Princess, saying that she also had the appearance of an Empress.
Today, the Western Empress and the Fourth Princess also attended the event and graced the occasion.
It is safe to say that almost all the powerful families who ruled Katzen were present.
Since the funeral of the Western Empress had not long ago, everyone wore a black veil or a white chrysanthemum on their chest.
However, it was difficult to hide the lively and exciting atmosphere.
"Why the hell do you only tell me the topic and keep everything else a secret? No matter how much I begged you. I thought I was dying of curiosity. Is it a new play?"
Princess Angelique complained playfully for a while,
"Start the play!"
They quickly fell into the play.
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