IWAP - Chapter 73

He reached out and held me in his arms. A familiar spearmint scent wafted softly from his embrace.

"If only I could, I’d want to get married right away, even tomorrow." 

"There is something that needs to be taken care of before that, isn't there?" 

"Damn it." 

He gritted his teeth. I burst into laughter in his arms. He hugged me even tighter.

"Please, I beg of you, never do something as dangerous as this again."

He pressed his lips against the crown of my head and whispered softly. His voice was intricately laced with worry, anxiety, and other emotions.

"I can certainly protect myself." 

"Haa, I wish you were a woman who couldn't do anything at all."

He pulled me away from his embrace and gazed intently at me.

"Look only at me with eyes as clear as jewels." 

His lips landed on the corner of my eye like a feather.

"If you would just call my name with these sweet lips, I wouldn't mind dying right now."

I gently closed my eyes as I watched his face slowly approach.

***

The report from Evan was short. However, the weight within it was by no means light. The butler, who had been standing before me, naturally lit the candle prepared on the desk.

The flames blazed, and the candle wax dripped down in drops. As the report was placed against it, the oil-soaked paper was instantly consumed by the flames and turned to ash.

“What about my father?”

"He left for the Imperial Palace first." 

Listening to the butler's answer, I brushed the ash off my hands. The blackened ash swirled in the air for a moment as if dancing, then fell to the floor.

As I tried to stand up while rubbing the ashes on the floor with my shoe, the butler quickly moved and pulled out a chair for me. As I left the study with the butler, Landt was pacing in front of the door with an anxious look on his face.

"Landt."

“Sister!”

At my call, Landt approached with a beaming smile. His large eyes were filled with worry for me.

Although he had grown big enough to be a little taller than my eye level, Landt was still my cute and delicate puppy.

As I stroked the hair of Landt, who was hesitating at a distance of about a hand's length, he automatically pulled my hand and rubbed it against his cheek as if he were being cute.

Habitually, I pulled and stretched the child's soft cheek with my fingers. The smooth, elastic skin stretched like a sticky rice cake, then returned to its original shape when I let go. The dark brown eyes widened in surprise.

"I thought this was history class?"

"But..." 

"Are you skipping work?"

"No!"

The child puffed out his cheeks as if he felt wronged. I raised my finger and tapped Landt's bulging cheeks.

I could guess why the child had been pacing in front of my study from early morning with a worried look on his face.

A summons arrived at the Imperial Palace for me yesterday evening. The meaning of the summons was different from the invitations I usually received from the Emperor or Crown Prince Sis.

As a prime example, while an invitation could be refused, a summons could never be refused. If one received a summons but failed to enter the palace on the designated date, it would be considered an insult to the Emperor; therefore, it was a grave matter where not only the individual but also their family could face the crime of disobeying the Emperor's command, potentially leading to the extermination of the entire family in the worst-case scenario.

There was only one reason for the palace to send a summons. It was to order attendance at an official meeting held at the Imperial Palace. Although the official meeting where the summons was issued was called an official meeting, in reality, it was no different from a public trial held at the Imperial Palace.

Trials within the imperial family in this manner occur only when a member of the royal family is at the center of the case. This system was established because ordinary laws could not be applied to members of the royal family. While any high-ranking noble holding a title of Marquis or higher was granted the right to attend meetings as an observer, only members of the royal family listed in the imperial register were permitted to convene the meetings.

It was customary for the organizer to oversee the overall proceedings of the meeting, but occasionally, if the organizer was unable to conduct the meeting, a proxy could be appointed.

The host of this meeting was the Empress, and the topic was the disqualification of me as the Crown Prince's fiancée.

Landt, who keenly sensed my mood, looked at me with a face that seemed about to cry. I ran my fingers through his fine navy blue hair again.

"Don't worry, just study hard in class. I'll be back before dinner time."

“Really?”

I patted the top of the child's head, speaking with sparkling eyes, with my palm, and smiled as if to reassure them.

"When did I ever lie to you?" 

"No!"

"So, wait patiently." 

Landt nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright, time to go study, right? The teacher is waiting." 

"... Yes." 

Landt slumped his shoulders and obediently went up to his study. I waited until the child completely disappeared from sight, then moved my feet again at the butler's urging.

The door opened, and a carriage bearing the imperial seal appeared. The knight who had been waiting for me in front of the carriage approached me, placed his arm over his chest, and bowed his head slightly.

"I, the 1st Royal Guard Knight, Isnal Hwirn Lionel, will safely escort the Young Lady to the Imperial Palace."

I was puzzled that he was here when he should have been by the side of Crown Prince Sis, but I didn't ask because there were too many eyes watching.

Even to this day, Sis was publicly known to be in critical condition. It was to catch the culprit who had blinded the First Consort and played a trick on my words, as well as to gather evidence.

It did not seem like the First Prince's consort had orchestrated this plan. She was too emotional to plan a systematic scheme, and it was too sloppy to be attributed to the First Consort or the First Prince. If they had intended to kill me from the very beginning, there would have been no room for Sis to intervene. No matter how I weighed it, I could only conclude that the First Consort had lent her support to the plan started by the consort. From her perspective, with Sis caught up in an unexpected situation and hovering between life and death, there could be no better opportunity than this.

It would have been perfect if Sis were to die right now, but like a viper, she chose a more certain hand rather than leaving everything to luck. She intended to strike me down while Sis was unable to move. After all, even if Sis were to get up and leave, the Elliot family, who would have been his hands and feet, were already gone, putting Sis in a disadvantageous position in many ways.

"Thank you, Count Lionel." 

"I have come here as a knight, so please call me Sir."

"Very well, Sir Lionel."

He was just like a rigid and inflexible person. I let out a chuckle at how starkly different he was from the sly Sis. I took Count Lionel's outstretched hand and boarded the carriage. He watched me take a seat inside with an unreadable look in his eyes.

"Do you have something to say to me?" 

"No, Young Lady. Please rest well on your journey."

'The. preparations. are. complete.'

Just before closing the carriage door, Sir Lionel's lips moved silently. He had brought a message from the Sis.

The door closed, and I was left alone in the carriage. Not long after, the carriage started to move. I took a deep breath and clenched my fist slightly.

All possible preparations were complete. Now, only the decisive battle remained.

***

Act 14 Trial

"Lady Bjornne Rossa Elliott." 

As soon as the attendant finished calling my name, the door to the hall where the meeting was being held opened. Upon entering, I saw semicircular tables set up on a platform about a hand's width higher. Most of the seats were occupied, but the Emperor, the royal family members, and my father were nowhere to be seen.

As I entered the hall, everyone's eyes were focused on me, and a servant who had been waiting on one side approached and guided me to a seat.

"This way, Lady Elliot." 

"This is my seat?"

"That is correct, Young Lady." 

The seat the attendant guided me to was in the very center of the inner semicircle. Lacking even a chair, the spot looked just like one prepared for interrogating a prisoner. I let out a hollow laugh at the overly blatant seating arrangement.

The venue and layout of the meeting varied entirely according to the organizer's intentions. This meeting was in the name of the Empress, but there was no one who did not know that the First Consort was behind it.

"The Sun of the Empire, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, is entering." 

At the shout of a servant, all the seated nobles rose to greet the Emperor. Behind the Emperor followed the Empress, the royal family, and my father, the Prime Minister.

A slight wrinkle formed on my father's brow as our eyes met. It was a change so subtle that others would not have noticed, but I was the only one who could sense that he was in a bad mood.

Starting with the Emperor taking his seat, the royal family and nobles took their seats one by one. My father also took his seat in the prepared chair without taking his eyes off me. I smiled at him, conveying that I was alright.

“Start the meeting.”

"Your Majesty, I humbly ask to speak before we begin the meeting at this place." 

The eyes of everyone attending the meeting, including the Emperor, turned toward me. Receiving their gazes all at once, I straightened my body and stared only at the Emperor.

"Lady Elliot, what do you mean by 'this place'..."

When a noble attempted to rebuke me, the Emperor raised his hand to stop him. It was not the benevolent face he had shown every time we met in the palace.

And understandably so, for he was the Emperor leading a vast empire. The unassuming demeanor he had shown me could not possibly be the Emperor's true nature. He was not the future father-in-law who doted on his prospective daughter-in-law, but the Emperor commanding the immense nation known as the Empire. After a brief silence, the Emperor opened his heavy lips.

"I permit it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

I bowed in gratitude for the Emperor's permission. Although the faces of some nobles were filled with dissatisfaction, the Emperor's order had already been issued. Despite their grievances, no one was bold enough to stop me.

"I, your humble servant, dare to ask Your Majesty."

I paused for a moment and scanned the audience. The people attending the meeting were nobles of the First Prince's faction and the Crown Prince's faction, who occupied half of the nobles.

At first glance, it seemed like a fair ratio, but in reality, it was not. Naturally, the First Consort and all the nobles belonging to the aristocratic faction did not want me to become the Crown Princess. However, just because they were nobles belonging to the Crown Prince faction did not mean they unconditionally approved of me becoming the Crown Princess.

Becoming the Crown Princess meant becoming the future Empress. The position of Empress was the highest position a woman could attain and held power second only to the Emperor.

Everyone is bound to drool over the top spot. Most of the nobles aligned with the Crown Prince here had daughters of marriageable age. They simply couldn't show it openly because I held the absolutely advantageous position.

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