Episode 48. At the Imperial Palace
It was morning. Five people had gathered in the reception room of the Duke of Valois. Claude, Martha, Prince Leon, the Duke of Ashford, and Viscount Werner. Martha had placed the documents on the table and was checking them one last time. Gunpowder evidence, details of the Golden Lion Merchant Guild's illegal activities, records of damages to the Viscount Werner family, and witness statements from the Count Strauss family. She checked them one by one in order, meticulously verifying that nothing was missing.
Claude said.
"This is enough. We're done."
Martha closed the documents and said.
"Indeed."
Just then, Martha glanced to the side.
Viscount Werner was sitting with his hands resting on his knees. He was trying hard to feign composure, but his hands on his knees were trembling slightly. His legs were trembling as well. Martha asked.
"Viscount, did you have breakfast?"
Viscount Werner replied.
"I couldn't eat much because I was nervous. I forced myself to eat just a little."
Claude looked at Viscount Werner and said.
"Will you be alright?"
Viscount Werner said.
"It's alright. My legs are just shaking a little. They should be fine once we leave."
Martha said.
"It's natural for your legs to tremble. But you must hold back in front of His Imperial Majesty."
Viscount Werner nodded and said.
"I will do my best."
Martha thought to herself. She wondered if he'd be okay. It must be his first audience with His Imperial Majesty. Well, it's her first time as a Princess, too. She had met him before as a lady-in-waiting.
The carriage departed. In front of the main gate of the Imperial Palace. As Martha stepped out of the carriage, she looked at the palace. I've come. The palace I used to frequent as a lady-in-waiting. Back then, she only entered through the servants' entrance, but now she's entering through the main gate. Oh my, the world is truly a strange place.
Claude, Duke of Ashford, and Viscount Werner were escorted inside first. It was their turn to have an audience with His Imperial Majesty first. Martha and Prince Leon decided to wait in the garden. An imperial attendant stood before Martha and Prince Leon and said.
"I will escort you to the garden."
Martha had already started walking ahead. The attendant spoke in a flustered tone.
"Let me guide you."
Martha walked on quickly, paying no heed.
"This is the way. Go down this corridor and turn right, and you'll find the garden. I've missed this path."
The attendant walked faster to catch up with Martha. Martha walked even faster. The attendant walked even faster to catch up again. Martha walked even faster. The scene turned into the two of them walking side by side down the corridor at a brisk pace. The attendant was pressed right beside her, his eyes fixed on trying to get ahead at all costs. Martha paid no heed to that, walking straight ahead.
Prince Leon followed behind, watching.
"What a strange woman."
They arrived at the garden. It was a spacious and quiet garden. The last summer flowers were in bloom before autumn arrived. The sound of a fountain could be heard. The distinctive scent of the Imperial Palace garden filled the air. Martha sat on a garden bench and looked around slowly.
"I used to pass through this garden as a lady-in-waiting, but now I sit here as a Princess. It brings back fond memories."
An Imperial Palace maid approached cautiously and said.
"Would you like some tea?"
Martha replied.
"August is when white tea leaves from the northern high mountains arrive at the Imperial Palace, so please give me those. This is the time when they are freshest and most fragrant."
The palace maid froze. Prince Leon looked at Martha. Martha spoke while looking at the garden.
"What are you looking at?"
Prince Leon asked.
"How do you know?"
Martha replied.
"You learn as you live."
Prince Leon remained silent. The tea was served. It was white tea. Martha closed her eyes and opened them as she took a sip. That's right, this is the scent.
She used to envy this fragrance so much when serving tea to the noble elders.
Now she's drinking it herself. Prince Leon also took some tea and drank it.
The garden was quiet. Only the sound of the fountain could be heard. Just then, there was a sound of footsteps on one side of the garden. A palace maid passing by stopped upon seeing Martha and Leon. She was a woman in her early fifties. Her posture was upright, and her gait was graceful. She was a senior maid who had worked at the Imperial Palace longer than Martha. There was an aura unique to someone who had spent decades in the Imperial Palace.
The senior lady looked at Martha, her gaze wavering for a moment before she bowed politely.
"I greet you, Princess."
Martha looked at her and thought. She is still exactly the same. Her face, her gait, and that upright posture. But suddenly, something occurred to her. Wait. She heard she had passed away early from tuberculosis. Has that time not arrived yet? How many years might be left?
Martha suddenly looked at the senior lady-in-waiting with a serious expression.
"Excuse me. Have you been feeling tightness in your chest when breathing lately, or have you been coughing more frequently?"
The lady-in-waiting spoke in a flustered tone.
"Huh? Oh, I have been coughing a bit sometimes lately..."
Martha said.
"You must do exercises that are good for your lungs. Practice deep breathing in and out every morning and evening. Also, eat bellflower root and pears often. Since the palace is poorly ventilated, get some fresh air outside from time to time. Don't eat cold foods. You need to keep your body warm."
The senior maid spoke, completely frozen.
"Ah, yes..."
Martha looked at the senior maid and said,
"You must do this. Understand?"
The senior maid nodded flusteredly and continued on her way. Prince Leon looked at Martha. Martha muttered to herself while drinking her tea.
"Oh dear, how silly of me."
Prince Leon said.
"Do you know her?"
Martha took another sip of tea and said.
"Well, I think I might know her."
Prince Leon looked at Martha. Martha drank her tea while looking at the garden. Prince Leon watched Martha from beside her, then looked straight ahead. The garden was quiet.
A moment later. A servant came and escorted them to the audience seat. It was His Imperial Majesty's office. The moment the door opened, Martha looked inside His Imperial Majesty Emperor Heinrich Moncler. He was in his mid-fifties. He was a man with broad shoulders and a sharp gaze. He exuded the aura of someone whose position as Emperor was completely ingrained in him. Yet, there was also a hint of weariness within that. It was the look of someone who knew that the position of Emperor was no comfortable one.
Looking into that gaze, Martha thought, 'He is still the same. Has time bypassed him? He doesn't seem much different from when I saw him from afar long ago.'
Emperor Heinrich looked at Martha and Leon and said.
"Please sit down. It is uncomfortable for me to stand."
Although the atmosphere seemed likely to be heavy, His Imperial Majesty made the seat comfortable first. As he sat down, Heinrich looked at Claude, the Duke of Ashford, and Viscount Werner and said.
"I listened carefully to what you said earlier. And..."
Heinrich looked at Martha.
"I heard that the Princess of Valois took the lead in this matter."
Martha spoke.
"It's not so much that I initiated it, but that I started it because I felt wronged."
Heinrich looked at Martha and chuckled.
"That's exactly what I relate to. I can't stand being treated unfairly, just like you."
The atmosphere lightened slightly. Martha said.
"Does Your Majesty also have many grievances?"
Heinrich replied.
"Every single day. The position of Emperor is full of injustices."
The Chamberlain spoke from the side.
"Your Majesty..."
Heinrich said, looking at the Chamberlain.
"I understand, I understand."
Heinrich looked at Martha and said.
"So, how do you resolve grievances, Princess?"
"I resolve them through work. As I sort things out one by one, the grievances just disappear. But I do have a strict rule: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!"
Hearing this, Heinrich glanced at Martha for a moment and burst into laughter.
"That's a good method. Maybe I should try that, too."
Claude and the Duke of Ashford looked at each other. As expected, that ability to instantly put even a stranger at ease. The Emperor looked at Prince Leon, then back at Martha, and spoke.
"By the way, I hear you've been meeting with our Pierre quite often lately?"
"What? What do you mean..."
Upon hearing this, Prince Leon, who was standing beside him, froze even more than Martha. Duke Ashford spoke hurriedly.
"Your Majesty, what are you talking about at a time when we are discussing the nation's crisis?"
Heinrich said.
"Why? What's wrong with it? I'm curious."
Duke Ashford said.
"Your Majesty!"
Heinrich said, looking at Claude.
"Claude, what do you think? What does it look like?"
Claude thought for a moment and then said.
"I am curious, too."
Duke Ashford looked at Claude. Claude looked into the distance. Heinrich looked at the three of them and said.
"Look, this is what friendship looks like. Seeing us behaving like this even in a place like this. There is a reason why I have gotten along so well with these two since we were young."
Duke Ashford said.
"Your Majesty, let's talk about gunpowder first..."
Heinrich raised his hand and spoke.
"Alright, alright. Let's do it."
Heinrich's expression changed. Prince Leon took out the Imperial Sword and placed it on the table. Heinrich took it and examined the hilt. He touched the lion emblem with his hand. Then, he carefully turned the hilt. A leather pouch emerged from inside. Heinrich opened it and looked inside. The office fell silent. There was silence for a long time. The silence was heavy. One could not read what His Majesty the Emperor was thinking as he looked at this from his face. His expression was completely closed. Then he opened his mouth.
"There have been signs lately that the Empress's faction is trying to expand its power. But I did not expect it to be to this extent."
Silence. Heinrich said as he set the sword down on the table.
"I need to think about this first. I will sort out how to reveal this and call you back."
Claude nodded. Heinrich glanced at Viscount Werner for a moment.
"Viscount Werner."
Viscount Werner spoke, tensing up.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You must have been very scared while holding this sword alone. It is not an easy task, but you did a great job. Thank you."
Viscount Werner froze. Heinrich's words were brief. Yet, there was something contained within those brief words. It meant that Heinrich knew how long Viscount Werner had endured this alone. Viscount Werner spoke.
"... Thank you, Your Majesty."
His gaze was different. He was not the man who had been trembling his leg in the carriage earlier. His eyes had relaxed. Martha watched this and thought. That one word is enough. His Imperial Majesty knows that.
Heinrich closed the documents and spoke as if to change the atmosphere.
"I also heard about the Valois hot springs. That they are being built with money from the Kreuz family."
Martha said.
"Yes. It is going well."
"That... what is that... can't I somehow rip off the money I received from the Kreuz later? Those Kreuz bastards are so unlucky."
The office fell silent.
Heinrich continued.
"I can't stand the sight of my wife, so do you think I'd want to see the people in that household? The whole family is a thorn in my side. And what about the Duke of Kreuz? Every time I meet him, the way he looks at me, as if testing me for something, is just so repulsive."
Martha burst out laughing as she listened. She giggled. Heinrich laughed along with her. The Chamberlain spoke from the side.
"Your Majesty... maintain your dignity... Your Majesty... please..."
Heinrich looked at the Chamberlain and said.
"Alright, alright."
Martha snapped back to reality, trying to suppress her laughter. It was a scene where Prince Leon was suppressing a smile as he looked at Martha. Claude looked up at the ceiling. Duke Ashford gazed into the distance. Heinrich looked at Martha and spoke.
"My Lady. I am aware that the House of Valois is rising again. And that you are at the center of it."
"I merely did what was natural."
His Imperial Majesty looked at Martha for a long time. Something passed through his eyes. She is desirable; she seems familiar, too. Her eloquence, too.
Martha broke out in a cold sweat as she received that gaze.
'Your Majesty, you may have seen me before. I was a lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Palace, you know. But I can never admit that.'
Heinrich said.
"Thank you for your service."
Martha and her party bowed respectfully and left the audience chamber. As they left the palace gates, Martha walked beside Viscount Werner and glanced at him. Viscount Werner's footsteps wavered as he stepped out of the palace gates. Martha lightly took Viscount Werner's arm and spoke.
"Viscount, just a little longer. You need to get to the carriage."
Viscount Werner said.
"Yes, yes. But my legs have been trembling for a while now. I forced myself to hold it in before His Imperial Majesty, but now that I'm out, I'm trembling even more."
Martha said.
"It's because everything is done. Just hold on until we get to the carriage."
Viscount Werner said.
"It's a relief the carriage is right there."
Upon arriving at the carriage, Viscount Werner placed his hand on the door and barely managed to climb aboard. Inside the carriage. Five people sat down: Claude, Martha, Prince Leon, Duke of Ashford, and Viscount Werner. As soon as Viscount Werner took his seat, his tension completely released, and he leaned back against the backrest. Then, as if he had shaken off everything, he said.
"I'm alive."
Prince Leon looked at Viscount Werner in silence. The carriage remained silent for a while. Claude spoke.
"That's good."
It fell silent again. Then, the Duke of Ashford looked at Martha and spoke.
"Serena, it seems the time for a choice has finally come."
Martha looked at the Duke of Ashford.
"What do you mean?"
"Leon or the Crown Prince?"
Martha replied dismissively.
"We have a long way to go, so please get some sleep."
The Duke of Ashford said.
"No, I'm serious. The Crown Prince is interested in the Princess. But our Leon is the same way. It's right to settle this quickly."
Martha looked out the window. The Duke of Ashford continued.
"But whatever happens, if it's not our son, it's not the Crown Prince either! Absolutely! I won't hesitate to go to war."
Claude said.
"If you say one more word, I will stop the carriage, so please walk."
The Duke of Ashford said.
"Duke Claude, there is such a thing as a father's heart. You have Edward, too. You understand!"
Claude said.
"I am just coming back from an audience with His Majesty the Emperor. Get a grip."
The Duke of Ashford said.
"Still, this is an important matter. Leon, what do you think?"
Prince Leon looked straight ahead.
"...Father."
"What is it?"
"Go to sleep."
The carriage fell silent. Viscount Werner looked out the window and watched the scene silently. Martha looked out the window and thought.
Now His Majesty the Emperor is making his move. We have done everything we could. The next step is His Majesty's.
The carriage sped along. The Imperial Palace receded into the distance.
[Lucy's Secret Shock Journal - Episode 48]
The Princess visited the Imperial Palace today.
I heard a rumor that a palace attendant, while trying to guide her, had a walking race with her.
His Majesty the Emperor said that the Kreutz family is unlucky. The Princess burst into laughter.
Inside the carriage, Duke Ashford asked the Princess, "Leon or the Crown Prince?" And then he said, "If it's not our son, it's not the Crown Prince either!"
The Chief Chamberlain must be having a very hard time. I wonder why I feel like someone is looking at me.
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