Episode 54. A Reliable Backing
The morning sunlight streamed diagonally across the study window: The Duke's household had been in an uproar from the moment Martha left to meet the Empress until her return.
Claude had waited in hushed anticipation for Martha, who had returned late the previous evening, and sought her out as soon as morning dawned. Martha had dressed briefly and headed to the study. Claude was seated at the head of the table, and the Duke of Ashford sat opposite him with his arms crossed. Edward sat at the corner of the table, holding a teacup in both hands. Leon sat upright in a seat near the window. All four were waiting for Martha.
As Martha entered, Edward leaned forward first. It was the movement of someone who had been worried since last night.
"Was everything okay? At the Empress's quarters?"
As Martha sat down, she briefly looked back on yesterday. The Empress's reception room. That terribly bitter tea. The moment her hand instinctively reached out upon seeing the hem of her dress caught in the chair. The times her inner thoughts nearly spilled out three times. Her heart sank when the Crown Prince pulled her behind the curtain. There had been quite a few things that had happened, too many to say nothing major had occurred.
"I was a bit late because I ran into the Crown Prince on my way."
Claude's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"Did the Crown Prince speak first?"
"We ran into each other in the hallway, and he offered to escort me to the Empress's quarters. We ended up talking about this and that for quite a while."
The Duke of Ashford spoke with his arms crossed.
"That's unusual. Why was the Crown Prince there?"
As she listened, Martha recalled the look in the Crown Prince's eyes from yesterday. It was a look of concern. It was a look devoid of calculation. That, ironically, made Martha even more cautious. She had learned through her own life that the more innocently someone tries to get close to you, the more wary you must be. Because good intentions often led to bad results.
"It seems His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has vaguely sensed the various matters, too. He seems to know that something is amiss, but it didn't appear he was directly involved in the Empress's plans. He also seemed to be distancing himself from the matter."
The Duke of Ashford nodded. Leon watched Martha in silence.
"How was the Empress?"
Claude asked, his voice filled with concern.
"Do you know what the Empress said when I returned a little late?"
Edward looked at Martha.
"What did she say?"
Martha paused for a moment.
"She asked, 'Did you poop?"
The study fell silent. The Duke of Ashford was the first to suppress a laugh. Claude turned his gaze to the window. Edward pressed his lips together. Leon remained expressionless, though the tips of his ears turned slightly red. Martha continued,
"When I told her I had put in some effort to pray for the Empress's prosperity, she smirked."
Edward finally bowed his head, his shoulders shrugging. Claude cleared his throat repeatedly.
"She seemed to like me."
Edward raised his eyebrows, and the Duke of Ashford crossed his arms even tighter. Claude barely changed his expression, but his eyes were different. Only Leon remained the same. Martha continued.
"Seeing the contract our ducal family made with the Golden Lion Merchant Guild, she seemed convinced we were on her side. She said that which side we stand on is important, and that it wasn't too late."
"So, it was an attempt at persuasion."
"It was both persuasion and a warning. But as long as that delusion persists, we have time. As long as Her Majesty the Empress considers us to be on her side, she won't mess with us rashly. At least until the hot springs are completed."
Claude asked.
"How are you going to use that time?"
"We can extract whatever information we can through the Empress, and in the meantime, gather more solid evidence. The evidence presented to His Majesty the Emperor is still weak. It must be clearly established that the Empress was directly involved in this matter. A conversation overheard by chance in the hallway yesterday won't suffice as evidence."
Duke Ashford spoke slowly.
"Then how about asking His Majesty the Emperor to proceed slowly until more evidence is gathered?"
Martha nodded, then paused. Holding her teacup, her gaze fixed on a spot on the table.
"That would be a good idea, but..."
"What is bothering you?"
"I'm worried about the Viscount Werner and Count Strauss families."
The study fell silent again. Martha continued speaking, slowly as she set down her teacup.
"While we are buying time, those families are still under pressure from the Empress's side. Even if the witnesses are in military facilities, the families themselves need to hold out, if standing on our side means putting themselves in even greater danger..."
He trailed off. It wasn't that he was trailing off; it was that no more words came to mind to protect them. Edward, who had been listening quietly beside him, also kept his mouth shut tight: It was then that Leon spoke for the first time.
"How about we ask His Imperial Majesty for permission and send a few military personnel to those families unofficially? Not as an official dispatch, but so that we can stop them the moment the Empress's side attempts to move directly."
Claude looked at the Duke of Ashford. The Duke thought for a moment and nodded.
"I am telling His Imperial Majesty two things at once. A request to delay things a little until we gather more evidence, and permission for the unofficial deployment of troops to protect the victimized families. Both things together."
"Is that possible? Then I will keep the Empress in check in the meantime."
Martha said. Her voice was calm, as if she felt relieved.
"I will keep her interest piqued with the hot spring story, and keep pretending to like it. Because the time when Her Majesty the Empress is at ease is the safest time for us."
Claude looked at Martha. He looked at her for a long time. It was the look of a father gazing at his daughter, but something else was mixed in it. It was trust. Though not spoken aloud, it was contained within. Claude was not the kind of person to look like that. Not usually, but lately, he occasionally looked that way.
"Understood."
It was a short answer. That was enough for Martha. It did not take long to tidy up the room. Claude rose first, and the Duke of Ashford followed behind. When Edward said he had to return to the Imperial Palace, Claude suggested they go together, and the Duke of Ashford said he would accompany them to meet His Majesty the Emperor.
The sound of the three leaving filled the hallway before fading away. Only Leon and Martha remained in the study. Leon did not move from his seat. Martha began organizing the documents on the table. Her hands moved naturally. Leon touched the teacup in front of him and glanced at Martha.
"With the Crown Prince... nothing happened."
It was a statement, not a question. Yet the answer. It was the question she had been waiting for. Martha answered as she neatly stacked the documents.
"There wasn't."
Leon remained silent for a moment, then continued.
"It seemed like the Princess didn't know that the Crown Prince was interested in you."
There was a sting in those words. Martha sensed it. However, she decided to pretend not to know. It was easier to feign ignorance. For Martha, right now, ensuring the Valois ducal family remained safe and steadfast was more important than the innocent love story of these young men. But Leon, expecting an answer, felt he could not just sit by and watch.
"I know."
Leon looked at Martha.
"And yet you just let it slide?"
"There are people who grew up receiving proper attention, and there are those who didn't. His Highness the Crown Prince is the latter. That is why he rushes toward anyone who stands out like that "
"It's like a grandchild's antics."
Leon looked at Martha. It was a long silence.
"A grandchild "
"That's how it felt."
"The Princess is nineteen."
"My body is nineteen."
Martha closed her lips after spitting those words out. For a moment, the words that had just come out of her mouth replayed in her ears. Her body is nineteen. She tried to find a moment to correct herself, but Leon already had the look of someone ready to accept and process the remark. Martha naturally changed the subject.
"More importantly, if it is true that His Highness the Crown Prince is completely detached from the Empress's plans, obtaining information through. He is indeed a viable option. After all, He is someone close to the Empress."
"You mean using the Crown Prince?"
Rather than using him. Martha paused for a moment to find the right words.
"If His Highness the Crown Prince learns things he is unaware of, wouldn't it be good for His Highness himself?"
"Because His Highness, his position on the day the Empress's plan is revealed is an important matter for him as well."
Leon's expression did not change as he listened. It didn't change, yet it was different. It was the stillness of someone deep in thought. Then Leon brought up a different topic.
"Princess."
Martha looked at Leon.
"You went into the Empress's chambers alone yesterday, didn't you?"
"Because it was a place where I had to enter alone."
"I know."
Leon glanced out the window for a moment before turning his gaze to Martha. His eyes were different from before. They were expressionless, but there was something within that blankness. They were the eyes of someone who had been about to say something but decided to change it to something else.
"Do not push yourself."
Martha looked at Leon.
"Bearing everything alone in front of the Empress. It seems you intend to continue doing that, just as you did yesterday."
"Oh, come on, that's nothing. My body is nineteen, but wouldn't it be fair to say my mind is a hundred?"
"I know it is something that must be done."
Leon looked at Martha. His gaze did not waver.
"I am telling you not to overexert yourself."
Martha accepted those words, which were filled with Leon's worry and concern. She had endured a long time in the Empress's chambers. Enduring the Empress's sharp gaze, listening to Duke Kreuz's grating tone, and constantly kept her inner thoughts from escaping her lips. She thought she could handle it all alone. Because it was something she had to do. Because it was only natural. But hearing the words, "Do not overexert yourself." Was it because she was nineteen, or was it because even a long-lived person is helpless against such words? She felt something rising up to her throat. Martha pressed it down firmly. Turning her gaze toward the window, she said.
"...I understand."
"Is that all?"
"What else is there?"
"Like thank you."
Martha looked at Leon. Leon looked at Martha. Between them. The sunlight streaming through the window hung diagonally.
"Thank you, Young Master Leon."
Leon returned the words. He rose from his seat.
"I shall go."
He walked toward the door. He placed his hand on the doorknob. And he stopped there. Facing the hallway, Leon spoke.
"Princess, have you eaten?"
Martha watched Leon's retreating figure. He had been waiting, holding the doorknob without turning around. He did not mention that he seemed to have eaten nothing during the meeting in the study earlier. He simply asked. Martha watched his retreating figure for a moment. Something welled up again. It was clearer than before. It was an emotion that was difficult to name.
"I haven't eaten yet."
Leon completely let go of the doorknob he had been holding. Then he turned to look at Martha.
"...Then please hurry and eat."
"What about Prince Leon?"
"I haven't gotten there yet, either."
"Then please eat with me."
There was a brief silence. Leon looked at Martha. Martha looked at Leon. It was a moment of simply looking at each other, neither calculating nor avoiding one another. Leon placed his hand on the doorknob again, gently opened the door, and escorted Martha.
"I will."
The hallway leading to the kitchen was bathed in sunlight. The sound of footsteps walking side by side echoed quietly. Martha walked ahead, and Leon followed half a step behind. There was no conversation. Yet, it wasn't awkward. Strangely, it wasn't awkward.
As Martha stood in front of the kitchen door, she said.
"Helena said she was making stew this morning. Stew is the best remedy when your stomach feels a bit off."
"Does your stomach feel off?"
"The tea Her Majesty the Empress gave me was too bitter. It was an oddly bitter tea. You know the Gentian we sell? It was several times more bitter than that. Is that why she's so young?"
Martha gently pushed the kitchen door open and peeked inside. Helena was standing in front of the stove. A fragrant aroma filled the air. The scent of a stew simmered for a long time with meat and various herbs. Martha spoke in a low voice.
"You have to watch Helena's every move. She doesn't like it when you come in at times other than mealtimes."
Leon thought as he listened to that low voice. There was a day when, the first time he met this woman again, she told him to eat some nourishing food because his face looked sallow. He was dumbfounded at the time. That was the very first thing his ex-fiancée said to him. He even thought it was rude. Now, those words didn't sound rude. He wasn't dumbfounded either. He just thought, 'So this is the person.'
Leon followed Martha and pushed open the kitchen door.
[Lucy's Secret Shock Journal Episode 54]
The elders gathered in the study this morning.
Shock No. 1: The Princess told the elders that the Empress had asked, "Did you poop?" Duke Ashford stifled his laughter. Duke Claude looked out the window. Young Master Edward bowed his head. Young Master Leon's ears turned red.
Shock No. 2: The Princess said the Empress was "a reliable person," but the look in her eyes didn't suggest she thought that at all. It was frightening.
Shock No. 3: All the adults left, leaving Young Master Leon alone. Much later, he ate stew in the kitchen with the Princess. Helena whispered to me that the Young Master had eaten two bowls.
Shock No. 4: As the Young Master left, he said, "Thank you for the meal." The Princess replied, "You can come eat again tomorrow." The Young Master stood frozen in front of the door for quite a while.
After he left, I looked at the Princess's expression. It was a warm look. However, she didn't seem to realize it herself.
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