Bladin's Demand
* * *
“Oh my, what an honor to have such a distinguished guest in this humble place!”
Even though I was hardly a welcome visitor, Ebony came running out barefoot to greet me right at the front gate.
“I’ve been waiting for you. Please, come this way, Duchess.”
She had been waiting. The very person who had caused this entire mess was shamelessly smiling at me with her whole face.
Though she only held the title of countess, the mansion—built in the days when the Bladin family had been dukes—was grand and imposing, far surpassing the residences of other nobles. Yet after the family’s fall from grace, it showed signs of neglect, with worn and shabby corners visible everywhere.
The countess’s study that she led me into was an utterly gloomy place. Thick velvet curtains with seams bursting open in several spots, windows that had never been repaired. Cold gray stone walls and portraits of Bladin family members hanging throughout the room caught my eye.
“I’ve been using my father’s room without changing a single thing. It’s my way of honoring the old man who used to grind his teeth every night before falling asleep in here.”
Ebony cackled as she guided me toward a creaking chair. I spoke before I even sat down.
“I’ll be direct. Tell me what you want.”
“I really like how straightforward you are. Smart choice. Dragging this out would only prolong your suffering.”
Crossing her legs, Ebony leaned toward me with a sly smile.
“There’s only one thing I want. I think you already know what it is without me having to say it.”
“Restoring the ducal title, isn’t it?”
“Exactly right.”
Ebony clapped her hands together lightly.
“But to come straight out with it like this is a bit surprising, Duchess. If you use the amnesty, you wouldn’t have to return the ducal title to us at all.”
“The Regentera ducal couple is innocent. So the amnesty isn’t necessary.”
“Wow, that’s some incredible confidence, especially when all the evidence has already come out. Well, whether you use the amnesty or not doesn’t matter to me. As long as I achieve my goal, I’m satisfied.”
She was the kind of person who would commit this kind of dirty deed as many times as it took to reclaim the ducal title. After all, she had been raised and sent out for exactly that purpose.
In any case, it was a title I would have to restore someday. It was also something the late Marchioness Lilche had anticipated.
“So, are you satisfied with that?”
“Hmm, well. Probably?”
Probably? In a situation where her family’s safety was on the line, I didn’t want to hear such a vague answer. When I frowned, Ebony tilted her head and muttered.
“Bladin will probably be satisfied, but I’m not sure if Ebony will be.”
“What kind of answer is that? Stop playing around and speak plainly.”
“I’m serious. I’m a fighting dog my father raised to wage war against your family. So if I bring back the ducal title for the Bladin family, I’ve done my part. Oh, but it’s not like I was forced to do something I didn’t want to. Fighting with you was thrilling and fun.”
As she reminisced about the past, Ebony’s face was genuinely filled with joy.
“Among the people of the Bladin family, I’m the only one who can secure the ducal title from your house. I didn’t want to be someone who simply inherited the count title from my father. I wanted to be the one who restored Bladin to a duchy. That way, even after I die, my siblings won’t dare tarnish my name.”
“The question was short, but the answer was unnecessarily long. Just give me the main point.”
“Now that I’m actually about to get the ducal title back, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do next.”
Looking thoroughly bored, Ebony leaned back deeply into her chair.
“I’ve never once thought about life after this.”
“I’m not interested in your future.”
“Right, of course you aren’t. I’ve been thinking about this so much lately that I ended up rambling to the wrong person.”
The hazy look in Ebony’s eyes returned to normal after a moment.
Ebony Bladin was a thoroughly self-centered person. She was different from us, who thought and acted with our family’s honor and relatives at the center.
Giving her back the ducal title wasn’t such a bad move for me either.
Her half-siblings would bite at her even more fiercely to seize the restored ducal family. For her, the ducal title was something she absolutely had to reclaim, yet it came with unpleasant side effects.
Besides, Ebony was pragmatic and proactive, yet she somehow seemed strangely tired of life. Once she obtained the ducal title, she might try to avoid any dangerous political entanglements with me as much as possible.
That would mean she might no longer stand with Karina and Illid. If that happened, it would be an incredibly fortunate turn of events for me.
“Anyway, Bladin will be satisfied with this much. But you roughly understand how many interests are entangled in this situation, don’t you? I’m not sure if everyone involved will be satisfied.”
“Are you talking about Archduke Illid?”
“Yes, well, there’s him, and of course His Majesty the Emperor as well.”
Ebony deliberately put strength into her somewhat weary voice.
“Since the uncle and nephew share the same goal, you only need to visit one of them. Once this matter is successfully settled, we won’t have to sit face to face like this anymore. I’m really looking forward to that day.”
* * *
“Announce her.”
“Your Majesty, the Duchess of Winteara has arrived.”
Even at Head Maid Sophie’s voice, no reply came from the Emperor’s chamber. I couldn’t guess what this silence meant, and my anxiety only grew.
A moment later, His Majesty’s locked voice granted permission to enter.
The path leading to the inner part of the room where His Majesty waited. The regular sound of my footsteps on the marble floor felt like self-hypnosis.
“Your Majesty.”
I could see His Majesty’s profile as he sat on a golden chair, gazing out the window. He looked much older and more haggard than before. Yet suddenly, I saw Primos’s face in his. To think of him in such an awful situation. It felt strange.
“I have just come from meeting Countess Bladin. The conversation with the countess has been successfully concluded.”
I waited for His Majesty to say something, but his gaze remained quietly fixed outside the window. I didn’t have much time. I couldn’t afford to waste my emotions simply waiting, so I continued.
“Countess Bladin has told me what she wants. Now it is Your Majesty’s turn to tell me. What do you desire from me?”
“You should have asked first why I did it.”
The first words His Majesty spoke after a long silence were unexpected.
“Shouldn’t you be angry with me first, Ishtel?”
“Since I already know why Your Majesty made that choice, what would be the point of asking?”
“You say you know why I did it?”
“Yes.”
At my short answer, His Majesty let out a hollow laugh as if he found it absurd.
“How curious. Go on then, tell me. Why did I do it?”
“Because Your Majesty hates me and is wary of my family.”
Despite my calm voice, my heart pounded as if it would burst from tension.
“So please tell me. What should I do, Your Majesty?”
It wasn’t as if I had no idea what His Majesty might say.
‘He might tell me to give up the position of Crown Princess.’
His Majesty had always been extremely reluctant to see a Regentera produce a crown princess. Even before Karina entered the palace, when my relationship with him had been amicable, he had never been pleased with my background.
So this might be the opportunity for him to remove me—and the Regentera family—from the position of crown princess.
However, what His Majesty said was—
“Marry Illid.”
The worst possible scenario.
“After announcing that it was a decision you made yourself, hold the wedding. And not long after, I will announce Illid as the crown prince.”
My heart plummeted with a thud, and it felt as though my ears had gone deaf. For a while, my mind went completely blank as I wondered if I had misheard.
“Your Majesty…”
His Majesty’s stubborn expression showed that his words had not changed in the slightest. My voice trembled so much that even continuing was difficult.
“Your Majesty. Is what you truly desire for Illid to become crown prince, or for the Regentera family to step back from power?”
This time, His Majesty gave no answer.
“I know very well. Your Majesty has never wanted a crown princess from our family. But the Regentera family is no longer what it once was. My grandfather passed away long ago, and recently even Marchioness Lilche has left this world.”
“……”
“My older brother does not possess the same abilities as Grandfather. I believe Your Majesty has already noticed that he is not capable of leading the family. The Silanda County, my brother’s in-laws, has also lost its head and is in turmoil.”
“……”
“As for Yulian of the Lilche family, as Your Majesty has seen up close, he is closer to a rigid knight than a seasoned politician. Neither the Regentera nor the Lilche and Silanda families that supported us will be the same as before. Even without Your Majesty’s concern, power will naturally return to the imperial family. Therefore, I beg you to reconsider.”
His Majesty, who had been listening silently, slowly closed his eyes as if his head ached. The red cloak draped over his shoulders rose and fell with his breathing. I took another breath and continued slowly.
“If you intend to elevate the Bladin family to a duchy, I will agree without complaint. Our family has tormented Your Majesty’s maternal family for far too long. I wish to end that conflict in our generation.”
Cold sweat broke out on my hands, chilled by tension.
“Therefore, I humbly ask that you conclude this matter here, Your Majesty. I earnestly beg you.”
At last, His Majesty opened his closed eyes and spoke to me.
“Illid is a good child. He will become an excellent emperor for the empire, and a good husband to you.”
“Your Majesty…”
There were words surging up from within my chest. But I had never spoken to His Majesty in this way before, so they wouldn’t come out easily.
The emotions rising from my chest spread through my throat and heated my eyes. A very long time ago, something His Majesty had once said to me came to mind.
“Before the two archdukes came to the imperial palace. Do you remember what you said to me? You told me to let you know if I ever came to cherish one of your nephews. That you might even make that nephew the crown prince.”
And the moment I spoke the next words, the tears I had been holding back finally spilled down my cheeks.
“Your Majesty, I love Hellion.”