The Weakest Link
Empress Lillian was, without a doubt, the weakest link in the aristocratic faction.
She was not a blood relative of the Schwaben family, nor was she entirely under Ezekiel’s control due to her status and position. Above all, the results of the previous timeline suggested that she did not fully align with the Schwaben agenda.
Therefore, that was where the foundation had to be shaken.
Upon hearing Olivia’s words, Ferdinand looked at her with a face mixed with bewilderment and shock. He wondered what on earth she saw in him to entrust him with such a conversation, but there was something he was even more curious about.
“Assuming I cooperate… and assuming what you say is possible, why would you do such a thing?”
“I am a person of the Andex Count’s household. Does it seem so strange that I would want to grant His Majesty the Emperor even a shred of freedom?”
The Emperor was, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner.
Every servant and attendant in the Imperial Palace was in the grip of the Empress—or, more accurately, in the grip of the Schwaben family, who borrowed her name. The Schwaben faction likely knew exactly how many bites the Emperor took during his meals. Conversely, even if there were loyal subjects outside who followed the Emperor’s will, there was no way to convey secret orders.
To say the Emperor was in seclusion was an inaccurate expression. He had simply stopped speaking, refusing to issue imperial decrees that would never be fulfilled or to reveal his true intentions.
The forces that would have taken up his cause and fought back were gradually dwindling. After the assassination of the late Empress, Duke Klaus had fallen ill with grief, and the royalist faction had no central figure. Even if they tried to oppose the Schwaben family, once the Emperor passed away, power would inevitably return to the Schwaben faction through Princess Roella.
That was what Ferdinand meant when he said his family was destined for ruin anyway. Once Duke Klaus died, the Zeppelin Count’s household would naturally fall as well. Yet, that did not mean he felt any inclination to betray them now and cling to the Duke of Schwaben.
The Andex Count’s household must have been in a similar position, so what were they trying to do now?
Furthermore, it was ambiguous to even call this woman a person of the Andex Count’s household. At best, she was a distant relative.
As Ferdinand stared at her in silence, Olivia brushed a stray lock of hair behind her shoulder and smiled.
“If I fail, it will simply be a case of a theater director attempting to seduce a noble person with a honey trap.”
“If that happens at the Lich Theater, I will not be uninvolved.”
“Then will you just sit by and watch your house fall into ruin without doing anything?”
“…….”
It seemed she knew that he could not do that—or rather, that he did not want to.
Ferdinand had felt stifled for a long time. It was an unavoidable reality that the royalist faction lacked a focal point and that the elderly Duke Klaus was bedridden. But surely, they had to at least struggle.
Until now, the resistance of the royalist nobles had amounted to nothing more than opposing the politics of the Schwaben Duchy. It was not that no one had thought of meddling in the Imperial Palace, but everyone had been too afraid to dare touch it.
Olivia spoke with a cold expression.
“If you choose a path where you cannot even arrange a meeting with Duke Klaus, and have no intention of seeking the Emperor’s will, then there is nothing I can do. I will look for another path. You wouldn’t have the initiative to report me to the Schwaben Duchy, anyway.”
“You are wounding my pride.”
“Isn’t it the truth?”
Because the mockery of a beautiful woman stung to the bone, Ferdinand replied bitterly.
“The Lady’s eyes are accurate. You have chosen the right person, as I am not even capable of reporting you.”
“Then, will you help me?”
“Before that, I want to know the concrete plan. If you succeed in cutting off the Empress’s limbs, what do you intend to do? Simply inserting a few servants will not be enough.”
“That depends on how far the Empress falls… but at the very least, I intend to be prepared to replace the head maid or the chamberlain.”
That role would have been played by the Count of Andex. Ferdinand was surprised by the fact that there was a new movement within the royalist faction, and at the same time, he realized how desperately he had longed for it.
“I understand. And….”
He let out a long sigh and said.
“I will inform Duke Klaus as well.”
It was unlikely that Duke Klaus would rise from his sickbed to get involved, but it was the proper thing to do.
Olivia hesitated for a moment before adding one more thing.
“Please be sure to tell him that the daughter of Gisela wishes to see him.”
“I understand.”
Ferdinand replied without knowing how important that issue was. He had not thought the Duke would agree to meet her, even if Olivia’s parents had a connection to him.
8. Waves of the Heart
After the music salon ended, the Empress’s chambers became even quieter than before.
The maids were deeply disappointed. On the day the salon was held, Empress Lillian had seemed to be in a good mood, and the performance had been excellent. Thus, many had expected similar salons to continue.
Only when there was more work to do could the maids increase their own influence. However, the Empress had seemed even more depressed ever since.
“I have grown old.”
Lillian sat in front of the mirror and muttered as if complaining. The maid who was brushing her hair quickly replied.
“What on earth are you saying? Your Majesty is still young, and you are the most beautiful woman in the Empire.”
“That’s right. In fact, even when you are with the Princess, you look like sisters.”
Added the maid who was kneeling by her side, trimming her nails.
However, Lillian did not respond to those words.
The person in the mirror had aged. As the maids said, she maintained her beauty… honestly, she might even look more beautiful than in her youth when she had nothing, but she still felt that she had aged.
The beauty of youth was something that could not be kept, no matter how hard one tried. If she stood next to those young actors, Sion and Luna, she would likely look noticeably older….
‘What kind of thoughts are these?’
Lillian stroked her cheek, trying to shake off the thoughts.
But ever since she saw The Curtain Opens, she kept thinking of her own girlhood. It was as if the heroine of that opera was her.
She, too, had been the daughter of an ordinary carpenter in the countryside. She had been told she was pretty since she was young, and eventually, she caught the eye of a noblewoman passing through the village during a trip and became her personal maid.
The mistress cherished her, and the pay was good. City life felt incredibly glamorous to a country girl. Several young male servants working in the same mansion courted her, and on holidays, she would pick one of them to go on a date.
Lillian loved to dance. She enjoyed going to dance halls with her dates, and she often visited theaters to watch performances. Then, she fell in love. Her partner was a young professional dancer who performed at the dance halls.
He taught her difficult dances. They met at the dance halls and went on dates outside. Eventually, she even performed on stage a few times as her lover’s partner.
She never thought it was an improper thing to do. She was just dancing on stage what she had danced as a guest. The extra income was nice and receiving praise was joyful, but more than that, she enjoyed dancing with her lover.
However, her mistress found out and was furious.
“I kept you by my side because I thought you were a modest and fine girl, not because I wanted to keep an entertainer. A maid who acts as a spectacle for others.”
She was kicked out of the house without a chance to make excuses.
For a while, she lived with her lover, but love was not eternal. The man soon left to find a wealthy new lover, and Lillian was left alone.
She could not return to her hometown. When she left to become a noblewoman’s maid, she had cut ties with her parents, who had opposed it.
After that, until she caught the eye of the Duke of Schwaben, she wandered from place to place as a third-rate dancer.
And now….
‘If only I could go back to that time….’
Lillian looked into the mirror, lost in such thoughts. It was a ridiculous thing. What she missed most right now was not her parents in her hometown, nor the comfortable days as a noblewoman’s maid, but the burning passion of those days.
While watching the opera, she felt as if she had become one with the heroine, understanding her state of mind. The flutter of the moment she fell in love, the sorrow felt when her lover’s heart moved elsewhere, and the tragic sweetness of a love she could not stop despite it all.
She thought that she would never be able to feel any of those things fully again. Yet, as she thought this, she looked at the lily she had received from Sion Miller.