Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Family Dinner (2)
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“You must be Veil.”
A calm, intelligent voice.
A height slightly taller than Lydia’s, paired with a sensual figure.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness the Imperial Consort.”
At first glance, she was just a beautiful princess from the East.
But once you heard of her accomplishments and reputation, you couldn’t let your guard down.
She was the woman who had been strategically married off to the Emperor.
The one who had turned the barren eastern capital into the empire’s commercial hub.
Then, in the year Vanessa turned thirty-five, she handed all her territories over to fifteen-year-old Lydia.
And she herself retreated to the shadows, becoming a mysterious figure who met no one.
For the vanished Imperial Consort to invite someone into her domain for the first time.
Was I the lucky first guest?
“Now I’m just an ordinary woman, so relax and take a seat.”
Vanessa smiled sweetly, like any woman in her early twenties.
She had Lydia and me sit side by side across from her.
Up close, she felt more like an older sister than the princess’s mother.
“I’ve heard all about your exploits. You saved my daughter’s key supporter from an assassin, didn’t you?”
“I was merely repaying the grace Her Highness the Princess bestowed upon me.”
I neatly credited everything to the princess’s merit.
But the Imperial Consort pressed on relentlessly, as if she already knew everything.
“Yet you refused every reward she offered, even turning down the invitation to join the Eastern Knights?”
She held a golden goblet.
She swirled it lightly, fixing me with her red eyes.
“Then it’s as if you were never in her debt to begin with…”
A sharp remark that struck like a dagger.
“Isn’t your repayment a bit excessive for that?”
Following Lydia without serving her directly.
To the Imperial Consort, that must have seemed suspicious.
“I have dedicated myself to the empire. Thus, I can aid Her Highness the Princess as a leader, but I cannot become her possession.”
I tossed out my standard excuse, the one I always used.
Wrapped in patriotism, this magical alibi had swayed everyone so far.
But.
The Imperial Consort was no pushover.
“If you’ve dedicated yourself to the empire, shouldn’t you stay put in the Security Bureau? Why volunteer as the Southern Duke’s guard?”
Her questions from the start had been aimed at uncovering my backing.
‘No need for me to hide it, really.’
Vanessa was at odds with the Crown Prince’s mother, the First Imperial Consort.
No reason to conceal my schemes from someone with the same enemy.
Better yet, sharing my intel with a heavyweight like her would build trust.
“Because I want Her Highness Lydia to grow strong and prosperous.”
The princess in her school uniform, listening silently beside me.
At my words about her, her red eyes widened like a cat I’d just met.
“You want my daughter to prosper? Why? She has nothing to do with you.”
Still brimming with suspicion, Vanessa smiled.
But a chill emanated from that smile.
“The Crown Prince intends to carve up the empire and revive the annexed nations.”
I pulled the copied letter from the Chancellor out of my bosom.
And boldly showed it to the two royals.
“Once His Majesty the Emperor passes, he’ll purge the existing imperial family with his followers and dismantle the empire.”
Lydia and Vanessa verified the Chancellor’s handwriting.
Realizing the truth, mother and daughter’s expressions grew grave.
“Rosanna… I knew she was ambitious, but her endgame is utterly absurd.”
“She probably craves ‘revenge’ against His Majesty the Emperor.”
Vanessa and Lydia shared the same habit, resting their chins on their hands in unison.
“Yes, Rosanna married him to preserve her nation. But her homeland fought on regardless of her wishes and was forcibly annexed in the end.”
“No matter the process, she must resent the father who toppled her country.”
The princess pieced together Rosanna’s motives from her mother’s words.
“To thwart this plot, the Chancellor of the Imperial Court asked me—a neutral Swordmaster—to help.”
I extended my palm.
And briefly revealed golden mana to Vanessa.
“So we could bolster other imperial family members to counter their faction.”
Vanessa stared blankly at the radiant golden mana rising from my chest.
Swallowing hard, she truly grasped that I was a Swordmaster.
Swordmasters were rare in this vast empire—only six in total.
But they were all in their forties or fifties, mostly nearing retirement.
For someone just turned twenty like me to appear was a shock.
“Do you believe me now?”
Lydia had known my power from the start.
She’d been listening quietly, but something felt off, so she leaned in close.
“That means you’re helping other princesses besides me?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I answered with a matter-of-fact look.
Her face twisted immediately.
“Ha.”
Offended, the princess clamped her lips shut.
Vanessa spoke up on behalf of her sulking daughter.
“Was pulling the Southern Duke to our side for the same reason?”
“Exactly. I merely added a spoon to the plan Her Highness Lydia devised.”
Vanessa nodded, accepting why I’d helped Lydia all this time.
“Then one final question.”
She composed herself into a calm, serious expression.
“Are you doing all this solely because of the Chancellor’s orders?”
Her ultimate question to me.
“Are you just a puppet dancing on Mosian’s strings?”
It felt like she was testing my ‘vessel.’
A weak response here could breed distrust in the alliance.
“No. I joined this cause because I truly wish to protect my homeland.”
I answered the princess’s—no, her—question humbly.
But she inhaled deeply, deeming it too rehearsed.
“What will you do after safeguarding the empire?”
Vanessa spread her palm.
She gestured to the lavish feast and golden utensils on the table.
“You could live comfortably off the rewards or take a title and become a noble.”
Vanessa gazed at me with a subtle smile.
Her eyes said to drop the flimsy pretense.
I’d shown enough courtesy—it was time to reveal my true heart.
“Nothing in particular.”
I turned from the radiant royals.
And gazed at the peaceful city sprawling beneath the palace.
With my memories of my past life.
I’d come to understand the value of peace.
Lazy mornings taken for granted.
Children’s laughter.
Church bells and the scent of baking bread.
When all these familiar joys vanished under the Crown Prince’s blade.
The emptiness I felt was beyond words.
So my ultimate goal was to live out my days in this cozy tranquility.
“To forever behold the empire in peace, just like now.”
Lydia and Vanessa watched me in silence.
Especially Vanessa, eager to glimpse my desires.
“You’re the second person like you I’ve met in my life.”
Realizing my sincerity, the Imperial Consort smiled faintly.
“In a world where protecting one’s own life is a struggle… to want to safeguard a great nation.”
Her eyes softened as she looked at me.
Then her gaze fell on the Emperor’s clothes I wore.
“You truly resemble him.”
I’d aimed to seem utterly ambitionless.
Yet I ended up hearing this bizarre claim of resembling the Emperor.
“He once told me his dream was an absolute nation free of war.”
Vanessa glanced between me and Lydia sitting side by side.
Coincidentally—or not—the Third Princess wore a matching shirt-and-tie set.
“And you came wearing that outfit, of all days.”
Lydia looked up at me steadily.
Feeling the weight of her gaze, I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“I sincerely apologize for doubting you earlier. Lydia’s eye for talent has sharpened.”
“I told you, she’s a good prospect…”
Meeting eyes with the girl a year younger than me, Lydia whipped her head away.
She fiddled with her necktie.
“That’s all the questions. Let’s eat comfortably now.”
Finally deeming me an ally, Vanessa handed me a golden goblet.
“It’s liquor I brewed myself.”
A sweet honey scent wafted from the cup.
I nodded, inhaling it.
“It smells even better, probably because Your Highness the Imperial Consort brewed it.”
“Heh… yes. He loved the liquor I made, too.”
I sipped the liquor, catching its faint floral aroma.
Sweet on the tongue, smooth going down.
Definitely a taste His Majesty the Emperor would love.
But…
At the finish, an artificial tang stung sharply.
“How’s the taste?”
“Sweet, and it makes me languid.”
“It’s violet wine. It relaxes tense body and mind.”
Vanessa spoke with a leisurely smile.
“He always sought me out after hard days. And we’d share this wine.”
“I see.”
I drained the cup without a second thought.
Pleased, Vanessa refilled it every time it emptied.
“Even the strongest man, like the Emperor, needs someone to lean on.”
Vanessa gazed warmly at her daughter, Lydia.
Then, as if sending a signal, she winked one eye.
“…”
The Third Princess pursed her lips in displeasure.
But soon, obeying her mother, she began untying her twin tails.
“So, what do you think…?”
“Of what, Your Highness?”
Vanessa rose from her seat.
She approached gracefully between Lydia and me.
“You’ll toil for the empire, aiding various royals for now…”
The Imperial Consort placed her hands lightly on our shoulders.
She turned us in unison to face each other.
“But let your heart rest here in the East.”
I met eyes with Lydia, her hair now loose and flowing naturally.
It made her seem more mature.
Like a grown, beautiful woman.
“…”
But she clearly disliked this contrived setup.
Her mother’s ploy of loosening the mood with wine irked her.
Catching on, I lifted the corner of my mouth.
I looked at Vanessa and declared boldly.
“My apologies, but for rest, my office sofa suffices.”
Office sofa.
Her smile froze at the pathetically mundane excuse.
“Pfft…”
Lydia, on the other hand, smirked as if she’d expected it.
Covering her lips with her hand, she smiled shyly.
“Even Mother makes mistakes sometimes.”
The princess pushed away the fancy liquor goblet on the table.
She placed a slice of watermelon from a plate beside me and said.
“Our Veil prefers familiar spots over the flashy palace.”
A single natural fruit slice, devoid of artifice.
I ate it without suspicion, nodding.
She eyed the liquor she’d given me suspiciously.
But at me devouring her daughter’s watermelon, Vanessa smiled meaningfully.
“Hmm… is that so?”
The Imperial Consort approached Lydia.
She whispered something secretly.
The Third Princess nodded.
Gazing at me intently, she made a polite request.
“Veil, could you step out for a moment?”
“Step out?”
When I asked back, Lydia smiled faintly.
“Yes, Mother and I have some ‘private mother-daughter talk.’”