The Emperor’s Price
It had been a long time since Ezekiel had visited the Emperor’s quarters in person.
Helmut kept smoothing his collar, feeling deeply uncomfortable. While it was Sophia who had been managing the Empress and thus bore the primary responsibility for this incident, Helmut, as someone who oversaw affairs within the Imperial Palace, could not claim to be entirely uninvolved. Furthermore, he had known about the relationship between Zion Miller and the Empress, yet he had trusted Sophia, believing it to be a minor issue, and had even covered it up at his own level. Ezekiel had not interrogated him, but he was certainly aware of the fact.
As a man who bore the surname of Schwab, his position was different from Sophia’s, but he could not help his lingering unease.
The two had to wait quite a long time in the reception waiting room. Even though everyone in the Imperial Palace was said to be under the influence of the Schwab family, they could not simply disregard the etiquette due to the Emperor. No, it was not that it was impossible; rather, it had been a policy passed down since the time of Ezekiel’s grandfather not to act in such a way.
Emperor Albrecht had once said as much to Helmut with a calm face. Helmut had willingly endured his petty retaliations, but he had not expected the Emperor to do the same to Ezekiel.
He must think that I won't change my plans just because of a little unpleasantness.
That would have been a correct judgment if he were dealing with the previous Duke, but it was ambiguous when dealing with Ezekiel. It was not because Ezekiel lacked composure, but because he looked down on the Emperor even more than his predecessor had.
Ezekiel had engaged Helmut in small talk while sipping tea with a relaxed attitude, but as time passed, the expressions of the attendants grew increasingly anxious. It was only after Ezekiel’s teacup had been refilled twice that they were finally granted entry.
"Duke Ezekiel of Schwab and Sir Helmut Schwab are admitted for an audience."
Emperor Albrecht was sitting comfortably on the throne in the reception room. The vast room was decorated magnificently, yet an air of desolation hung about it. Though it was cleaned thoroughly, because so few people ever entered, the sofas installed over a decade ago still looked brand new.
"Welcome, Duke of Schwab, Sir Helmut."
The Emperor looked at Ezekiel with a face that bordered on lethargic. It had been a long time since their last audience, but Ezekiel only bowed his head slightly.
"It has been a long time, Your Majesty."
Helmut usually adhered to etiquette, but now he stood half a step behind Ezekiel and merely bowed his head slightly as well. He could not show the highest level of respect to the Emperor in front of his master, Ezekiel.
The Emperor did not invite them to sit. He did not show hostility in his expression, but in truth, they were not on terms to sit face-to-face and converse with smiles.
Ezekiel got straight to the point.
"I assume you have heard of the scandal currently circulating in the public sphere."
"I wouldn't know. It has been a long time since any outside news reached me."
"That cannot be true. There must still be loyal subjects of Your Majesty remaining in the Imperial Palace."
"It is the truth. Since we light the fireplace in winter, I can bring in a newspaper to read and burn, but it is difficult in the spring and summer. You might not know this, Duke, but newspapers are quite bulky, so it is not easy to burn them with something like a candle."
Emperor Albrecht said this with nonchalance. That very attitude was proof that he was indeed hearing outside news, and it meant he had not yet completely lost his sense of self as an Emperor.
Ezekiel frowned slightly, but he did not bother to press the issue. In a situation where he could not immediately remove the Emperor, there was no point in interrogating him without evidence. Instead, he stated his business simply.
"Please sign the decree to depose the Empress."
"Twenty years ago, I signed a decree to appoint her Empress according to your will, and now I am to sign a decree to depose her according to your will? Her face is already fading from my memory, but I am very curious whose wife that woman is."
"Empress Lilian committed adultery and fled the Imperial Palace, dragging the honor of the Imperial Family into the dirt."
"You are wrong, Duke of Schwab. The honor of the Imperial Family was already dragged into the dirt when I impregnated another woman before the mourning period for my late wife had even ended."
The Emperor said this with a sneer. Helmut quickly interjected between them.
"Your Majesty, please, I beg you to accept this. The situation is dire. The scandal spreading now is not merely in the realm of rumors. There are even diplomats who witnessed it firsthand. It is an incident that has caused the prestige of the nation to plummet."
"The prestige of the nation, you say."
The Emperor let out a dry laugh. Helmut bit his lower lip.
There was no way the Emperor would care about prestige. His prestige had already ended when he was defeated by Schwab and confined to this palace with his hands and feet severed. The only ones who believed he was a true Emperor were the commoners who knew nothing of politics.
Nevertheless, he had to step forward himself this time. No matter how great the influence of Schwab was, no one other than the Emperor could declare the deposition of the Empress. In fact, if the Emperor were to shield the Empress and oppose Schwab in this situation, things would become even more complicated.
The most powerful force Schwab currently possessed was Princess Roella. The relationship between the Emperor and the Princess was so distant that it was hard to call it a father-daughter relationship, but it would be troublesome if the Princess’s heart were to lean toward her father because of Empress Lilian.
Ezekiel said coldly.
"State your requirements."
"Well. It is not that I have any inconveniences in my daily life. If I must choose, I suppose I need a woman. A woman who can bear another heir."
"That is a request I cannot grant."
To ensure such a thing would never happen, he had poisoned the Emperor’s meals. However, as he could not confirm whether it was effective or not, he had not forgotten to thoroughly remove the presence of women from the Emperor’s surroundings.
Perhaps the Emperor had not been speaking in earnest, for he let out a dry laugh. He stared into the void, lost in thought for a moment, before slowly stating his true condition.
"I wish to go out."
"Where do you wish to go?"
"To the Imperial family tomb. It has been a long time since I saw my parents. And my wife. And my daughter."
He spoke as if it were nothing, but the Emperor’s turquoise eyes were sunken in deep sorrow.
Ezekiel stared at him intently. The Emperor neither laughed nor changed his words. Ezekiel nodded.
"Understood."
It was not a wish he couldn't grant.
Contempt and a sense of looking down on him welled up in Ezekiel’s heart. This should have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an Emperor to broaden his scope of movement, yet he intended to waste it on something as trivial as visiting a grave?
"Then, trusting that you will sign, I shall take my leave."
Having achieved his goal, he rose from his seat. He gave the Emperor a slight bow and exited the reception room. Helmut also bowed politely to bid farewell and followed in his footsteps.
Left alone in the reception room, the Emperor sat for a moment before rising. He looked at the Chief Attendant and asked.
"Do you think I am foolish?"
"How could I ever dare to think such a thing, Your Majesty?"
"Well, I suppose I am foolish."
Though he was someone touched by the hands of Schwab, having spent so much time together, he had grown somewhat fond of him. Thinking that was why he was saying such meaningless things, the Emperor headed toward the door that led from the reception room to his own quarters. The attendant opened the door for him.
He had been foolish twenty years ago. Though he had been crushed by sorrow and despair, he should not have forgotten to protect himself. He should have been suspicious of his surroundings, and even the wine cup handed to him as a gesture of comfort.
He had had no relationship with Lilian. He had been introduced to her at a ball as a lady from the Principality of Ranier, and they had only danced a few times over the course of several months.
But she had easily poured out her loneliness to him, even though they had only just met. It had seemed a bit amusing, like some ignorant squirrel or a small animal, that she would do so even while knowing he was the Emperor. When he told his wife that, she had pinched his side. He had begged her, saying he had just thought the woman was strange and hadn't actually taken a liking to her.
He had accepted the wine cup she offered out of carelessness. She was a woman who seemed helpless and harmless. All her interests were focused solely on private matters, and she didn't seem to know the political significance of the fact that the Empress from the Duke of Klaus family and the only Princess had died.
So, he had accepted her comfort purely.
His memories after drinking that cup were hazy. When he woke up, Lilian was in his bed.