The air in the office grew chilly. However, some of the ministers remained unyielding and continued to raise their voices.
"But if it is true, this is not a simple matter. If it is a survivor of the rebellious Rubis family, wouldn't it become a spark that threatens the Empire!"
Calix's gaze shifted coldly.
"Then bring the witness here personally."
Not long after the order was given, the door burst open noisily. A man with a bent back was led in by soldiers. It was the village head of Grimford.
As the old man, his fingertips trembling with tension, knelt before the Emperor, the ministers urged him in unison.
"Speak up! Was the face you saw definitely that of a child from the Rubis family?"
The village head swallowed dryly and nodded.
"Yes... that is correct. I merely answered because someone asked. It is just that the face from long ago... was the same as the face in my memory."
Calix lowered his gaze and gestured. A small portrait brought by the servant was placed in his hand. He immediately thrust it in front of the village head's eyes.
"Do you recognize this face?"
The village head pointed at the painting with trembling fingertips.
"...Yes, he was a child who lived in the village. I merely testified; that was all there was to it."
His voice cracked, and his eyes were stained with fear. Calix shifted his gaze as if indifferent.
He spotted a bruise on the inside of the village head's collar.
Although it looked neat on the outside, dark marks had spread throughout the inside of the clothes. They were not visible here and there, but they were clearly traces of torture.
Just then, the door opened, and a woman dressed in splendid clothes entered. It was Fabiana.
'You said you were going to recuperate, but did you actually go to Grimford?' Calix looked at Fabiana with cold eyes.
A picture-perfect smile hung on her face, but the calculation hidden behind it was clear.
Fabiana lowered her head and calmly opened her mouth.
"Your Majesty, given how escalated the controversy has become, it seems necessary to conduct an absolutely thorough investigation. Is there not one way to do that?"
The ministers' gazes all turned to her at once. Fabiana pointed at the village head with a relaxed gesture.
“All we have to do is have the Lord of Talamand face this old man. If the testimony is true, what clearer evidence could there be than seeing it with one’s own eyes?”
The words were reasonable, but anyone could guess what the true intention was.
As soon as Fabiana finished speaking, a commotion arose among the ministers. Everyone seemed ready to chime in immediately, saying that the method was correct.
However, Calix's voice settled firmly, cutting through the commotion.
"There is no need for that."
Silence fell. Fabiana raised her gaze and looked directly at the Emperor, but a subtle coldness hung over Calix's expression.
"Summoning a lord of the Empire to align his words with those of a mere old man is nothing but an insult. There are sufficient ways to reveal the truth. Dragging someone out without reason is not the law, but merely a political scheme."
The air sank at the firm tone. The ministers exchanged wary glances and could not step forward any further, and Fabiana, too, had no choice but to slightly bow her head, without losing her suppressed smile. However, her eyes still gleamed fiercely.
After a brief silence, Calix slowly rose from his seat.
"I will investigate this matter personally. Therefore, do not speak of unnecessary rumors any further."
It was a firm declaration. However, as if sensing an uncertain future, the anxiety and tension among the ministers deepened even further.
***
Odelia, having handed the child back to Judith, quietly left the room
The hallway was still overflowing with the sounds of people's congratulations and laughter. However, Damian's face, as he waited for her at the corner of the stairs, was the exact opposite.
"Odelia"
She turned her head at the low, subdued voice. Damian's gaze was strangely heavy.
"Bad rumors are circulating about you... They originated from the Imperial Palace."
Odelia stopped in her tracks. Her fingertips twitched slightly, as if catching her breath.
"What kind of rumors are they?"
Damian hesitated for a moment, then continued firmly.
"The story that you are the survivor of the Rubis family."
Odelia took a slight breath, then quietly composed herself as she faced Damian.
At her lack of denial, Damian's eyes wavered.
"...Could it be true?"
Damian's voice was closer to shock than suspicion.
He was a close associate of Calix and had been close to Odelia for a long time. However, he had never known until now that she was the survivor of the Rubis family. He had never once sensed such a hint.
Only then did Damian realize why Calix had cared so much for Odelia—that attitude of reacting to even the slightest remark and stepping forward to shield her in the face of danger.
All the pieces fit together, yet there was something else he could not understand.
Why had Calix tried to hide such a crucial truth, even from me?
He stared straight at Odelia for a moment, but could not continue speaking in the face of her unreadable, calm expression.
Odelia lowered her gaze for a moment, then calmly opened her mouth.
"I thought it was a truth that would eventually come out. However... the fact that it is being revealed at this time weighs on my mind."
Judith has just given birth to a child. Talamand has also barely passed the transitional period and entered a stable phase. They are just gradually regaining their true selves, but such a past could shake everything they have built up so far.
Odelia clenched her fingertips tightly and wore only a calm expression on her face.
However, within her rapidly beating heart, anxiety was spreading as if the peace she had maintained until now were about to crumble away.
Odelia took a deep breath and pressed her lips together.
"If it is a story that leaked from the Imperial Palace... what did His Majesty say?"
Damian hesitated for a moment and then answered.
"His Majesty said he would investigate personally, but it seems there is strong opposition from Lady Fabiana's side."
Fabiana put forward the justification that she must personally investigate for the sake of the imperial family's prestige. However, as anyone could guess, her true intention was clearly to bring down Odelia herself.
Voices were divided even among the ministers. Those who supported Calix advocated for caution, saying, 'We cannot make a conclusion without evidence,' while those who sided with Fabiana spread a hardline stance, saying, 'We cannot let the embers of Rubis simmer like this.'
Now, Odelia's name was no longer just a rumor, but was being raised and dropped like a sacrifice amidst the flames of a power struggle.
Odelia lowered her gaze, feeling her fingertips stiffen. She could not deny the fact that the shadow of the Imperial Palace was now stretching all the way to Talamand.
Silence fell for a while. Damian stared at Odelia with a stern face, then finally spoke in a low voice.
"Odelia, won't you remarry me?"
His voice was closer to calculation than emotion.
"It is the surest justification to protect the power of the Lord of Talamand, and a means to give the center the impression that this place is secure."
Above all, since it was Fabiana's side that first brought up the Empire's ancient law of levirate marriage, it was not an entirely impossible proposal.
However, Odelia remained unfazed. She calmly shook her head and opened her mouth.
"Thank you, but... I won't do that."
It was a short answer, but precisely because of that, a resolute intent could be read.
"However, if you don't do that, it could become dangerous. If marriage is burdensome, just on paper..."
Damian's warning was not merely his brother's concern.
It was said with Fabiana's forces, the gaze of the Empire's ministers, and all the repercussions that the name Rubis would bring about in mind.
Odelia's gaze wavered for a moment, but she soon shook her head quietly and calmly.
"I know. Still, if this is the path laid out before me, I must bear the burden. I hope that the Marquis and others do not get caught up in this."
Odelia's voice was low but clear. It was firm, yet contained a quiet determination to willingly shoulder her own share.
Damian stared into that gaze and was speechless for a moment. In fact, faced with her firmly established attitude, he felt as though he had said something unnecessary.
He soon let out a short sigh and let out a bitter laugh.
"...Right, I knew it. I suggested it too hastily."
In his words, withdrawing the previous proposal, there was a sense of resignation, as if he had confirmed an answer he had known for a long time.
Yes, he knew it would be an answer like this in the end. After all, Odelia was a woman who always chose her own path.
At that moment, what flashed through his mind was the Emperor's gaze.
He felt as though he could now vaguely understand why Calix couldn't let her go. However, at the same time, that fact came to him as nothing but a bitter answer.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment