The Emperor's Invitation
Until now, the Emperor had never once shown any interest in Roella. One could say that the only thing he had done to fulfill his responsibility as a father was to officially acknowledge her and include her in the imperial lineage without denying her existence.
That had not been a wise move. If he had managed to win even Roella over to his side, the power structure of the Imperial Palace would be different today. Knowing this, the Schwab Duchy had poured all its efforts into ensuring that no affection could ever bloom between father and daughter when Roella was young.
Though, as the Emperor showed absolutely no interest in her, those efforts had ultimately become unnecessary.
Therefore, it was unlikely that he was now trying to cajole his successor into some political scheme. Roella was more of a Schwab person than an imperial one, and she was deeply infatuated with Ezekiel. The Emperor surely knew this as well.
'Has he had some sort of change of heart?'
The Chief Chamberlain kept his eyes lowered, struggling to empty his mind. Thinking was not his role. He was merely there to serve the Emperor comfortably and report what he had directly seen and heard. Because he did not think, the Emperor had kept him by his side for a long time, and the Duke of Schwab had also granted him considerable autonomy. He knew he was a buffer zone. He had to remain that way, even for the Emperor’s own sake.
He replied respectfully.
"I shall deliver the message."
"Very well."
Albrecht answered, casting his gaze outside the carriage. If he had been asked for the reason, he had intended to lie and say he was trying to play the part of a father, but he was relieved that he hadn't been asked.
"I have a favor to ask of you."
He had sat side-by-side with Olivia on the bench, talking for hours. Albrecht had heard how she had survived, and the story of how she had grown up happily in the Lutgarth County.
And he had finally earned the chance to offer her an excuse. That his relationship with Lillian had never been his true intention, and that he had missed her and Adelaide all this time.
Olivia had listened to his excuses with a gentle face and believed him. Instead of the baby hair he had let slip through his fingers, he now knew what the warmth of his living daughter felt like.
However, at the end of that conversation, she had spoken to him with a gentle demeanor, yet with eyes that were chillingly cold.
"It is fine if you say you cannot grant it. Princess Roella is also a daughter to you, Father. Regardless of the circumstances, I believe it is natural to feel a sense of responsibility."
"No, I never..."
"But it is difficult for me and Princess Roella to be together. You understand, don't you?"
Albrecht nodded. He did not consider Roella his daughter. When she was first born, he had felt guilty, wondering what sin the baby had committed, but even then, he had not thought of her as his daughter.
Roella was a daughter of Schwab in a much more fundamental sense. His only daughter was Olivia.
"Count Lutgarth is in the capital for the pledge ceremony. But the Imperial Palace is trying to put Princess Roella forward as a proxy instead of you, Father, so it is being delayed."
"Sir Helmut must have done that."
"It is unthinkable to entrust the pledge ceremony itself to Princess Roella, but I was wondering if we could compromise by having the celebratory banquet hosted under the Princess's supervision."
Albrecht looked at Olivia with a puzzled expression. He wondered what value that compromise held for her. Even if it were just the celebratory banquet, having Roella take the lead on something in the Imperial Palace would be giving her an opportunity to solidify her position as the mistress of the palace.
It didn't make sense to give up such an opportunity just to hasten Count Lutgarth's pledge ceremony. Even if the ceremony were delayed, the inheritance rights of the Count's only son would not be shaken.
"I have a plan."
And Olivia explained the details.
'It is what she desires, so I must do whatever it takes.'
He slowly closed his eyes and erased all expression from his face. If he could not protect his daughter and light up her path, he certainly could not be the one to stand in her way.
Although Emperor Albrecht was in a state of virtual confinement, he was not completely ignored within the Imperial Palace.
If it had been a message going outside, it would have been blocked by the Imperial Guard, but they could not stop a messenger going to a Princess. Since it had not happened once in the last 20 years, even the Captain of the Guard was momentarily flustered and failed to take appropriate measures.
Caroline, too, was at a loss, standing before the attendant who had brought the Emperor's message.
"What is it?"
Pushing past her as she hesitated at the door, Roella stepped forward and glared at the attendant. The attendant bowed politely to her and spoke.
"His Majesty the Emperor wishes to dine with you this evening, if you have no special engagements."
Upon hearing those words, Roella was so dumbfounded that she couldn't close her mouth for a moment, letting out a few hollow laughs.
"Now of all times?"
She voiced the question that no one else dared to speak aloud. The well-trained attendant maintained a soft, expressionless face, keeping a respectful posture.
Roella slammed the door shut. Even so, she couldn't treat the Emperor's messenger like that, so Caroline quickly whispered to Hermine, a maid nearby.
Since she couldn't open the door again in front of Roella, Hermine quickly ran to another room. It was to go out into the hallway without Roella knowing and convey a request for them to wait for an answer.
Roella returned to the table, huffing with undisguised anger.
"It's ridiculous, really. After kicking Mother out, now of all times."
"Please don't be like that, Princess."
Caroline quickly clung to her side, stroking her shoulder as if to calm her down, and led her by the hand back to her seat.
The attendants began to fan her again. Roella put another piece of the fruit she had been eating into her mouth, chewed it a few times, and then looked for water. She needed something refreshing.
Caroline said in a soft voice.
"Princess, I think it would be best if you met him."
"Hmph!"
Roella just snorted.
A father's affection had never once been given to her.
Furthermore, she was born with a temperament sensitive to the direction of power. She liked and admired the former Duke of Schwab, a capable man of influence, far more than the powerless Emperor, and in reality, it was the former Duke who had been kind to her, rather than the father whose face she barely knew.
"I don't know what kind of scheme he's trying to pull now, but I'm not interested."
"If His Majesty the Emperor is trying to... plot something, wouldn't it be better to meet him?"
At this unexpected perspective, Roella opened her eyes wide and looked at Caroline. Caroline smiled at her.
Even among the forces under Schwab, not everyone thought the same way, nor was everyone mindlessly loyal to Ezekiel. Caroline had ambition as well.
She wanted the position that the former Head Maid Sophia had once held. The position of the actual mistress of the Imperial Palace.
Of course, even if things stayed as they were, Roella would become Empress, and she would be able to hold a certain degree of power as the Empress's Head Maid. Considering Roella's careless personality, it wasn't difficult to guess that she would leave most of the work to her. In fact, it wasn't much different even now.
But why should she be satisfied with what was given and just let things happen? If she could hold power as Roella's proxy, the more Roella's influence grew, the more she would benefit.
The current Roella was too indifferent to politics. This was a problem stemming from the fact that she had no rivals as the sole heir to the Imperial family, while at the same time, she was not the person who would actually become the Emperor. She was just relying on everyone Ezekiel had placed around her.
Caroline herself was included in those 'people placed around her.' However, she wanted Roella to use her rights and power more actively. So that she could become a force with even greater power within Schwab.
This was a good opportunity.
"Wouldn't it be better to find out what kind of plot His Majesty the Emperor is trying to hatch using you, and then inform the Duke?"
"Ah... but if I don't respond, won't it be useless anyway?"
"That is one way, but the Princess wouldn't be able to take credit for it."
Caroline whispered as if trying to entice her.
"It is far more advantageous to find out in advance and respond in kind than to do nothing at all. The Duke will be pleased as well. This is something only you can do, Princess."
Roella blinked. Caroline's words sounded plausible.