The Emperor's Misunderstanding
Is there anything more unfair than being reprimanded for something you never even did? A heavy, oppressive solemnity filled the air. It felt like watching a political hearing staged by scheming politicians engaged in empty debate. I wanted to shout my innocence right then and there, but the moment I saw that fierce, flushed face, I immediately lowered myself in submission. After all, the person before me was the absolute ruler of the empire, wielding unchecked power.
“No, I’m telling you it’s a misunderstanding! Those damn suitors just assumed whatever they wanted and started spreading nonsense!”
“……”
Elizabetta, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, passionately defended me in a heated voice. Yet even so, the emperor—with his notoriously intimidating expression—remained unmoved. What could possibly be bothering him so much? On second thought, my very existence must be the problem. In the emperor’s eyes, I probably looked like a thief trying to snatch away the daughters he had raised with such care. He was likely fighting the urge to smash a marble table over my head.
‘The scandal with Ludmilla started because of those nosy reporters’ wild speculation, and the one with Elizabetta is all because of those cursed suitors! I’m the real victim here!’
First the Second Princess Ludmilla, now the Third Princess Elizabetta. This was why fake news was so terrifying. Just how far were they going to drag me through the mud before they were satisfied? The citizens of the empire were no doubt already calling me the Princess Hunter. And the Hohenberg family would be reduced to some bizarre noble house that kept producing nothing but rakes.
“Her Highness Elizabetta is right…! I swear, I never had even the slightest intention of doing anything like that!”
“What did you just say?! You scoundrel!!”
I lifted my head to proclaim my innocence. In response, Elizabetta—who had been defending me—suddenly turned her anger on me instead.
“Pardon?”
“You said you would protect me with such a serious voice…! And yet you dare toy with a princess’s heart?”
Elizabetta’s face flushed crimson as her fists trembled. She looked exactly like a heroine abandoned on her wedding night, shaking with a sense of betrayal. What exactly had I said? I couldn’t quite remember. The situation at the time had been far too urgent. I recalled trying to comfort her when she was overcome with despair, but I didn’t think I had said anything that could be so easily misunderstood.
“What?! He played with our Liza’s heart! So he really is a womanizer!”
The emperor, who had been silently watching, roared in fury. The situation was rapidly spiraling out of control. Before long, I had earned the brand-new title of Trash Who Toyed With a Princess’s Heart. Elizabetta’s ambiguous words only made the atmosphere even more deadly. My heart clenched at the sight of the emperor gripping his armrest with white knuckles. Given that I was already on his bad side, it was only natural for Barbarosa to be enraged by this misunderstanding. If I died, who would look after Lu?
I was already starting to worry about what would happen after my death.
“Your Majesty, I have returned victorious from the Fugh Kingdom…”
Just as I waited in a state of near-enlightened resignation for my punishment, the only savior capable of untangling this mess finally appeared. It was the Second Princess, Ludmilla Draig Valtaria. The moment I saw her imposing figure—fresh from subjugating the threats in the Fugh Kingdom—I felt a deep wave of relief. I was certain she would become a reliable ally.
“……”
“……”
Our eyes met briefly as Ludmilla entered the audience chamber with majestic presence. She immediately blushed and turned her head away. Something felt off. An inexplicable sense of dread washed over me.
“Is this… because of Lord Edanant?”
“Indeed! I intend to punish the scoundrel who has repeatedly deceived the Valtaria imperial family with his scandals!”
Barbarosa answered his resolute second daughter’s question without hesitation. My guilt was all but confirmed. It was a verdict as swift as a witch hunt. His expression was more terrifying than ever, as if declaring he would show no mercy whatsoever. I finally understood why the ministers who handled the empire’s internal affairs trembled before the emperor’s wrath. Facing such a fearsome face would naturally make anyone shrink back.
“That would be an unjust measure. Even though his relationship with the Hohenberg family has become unpleasant, is Lord Edanant not the hero who saved the empire? Public and private matters must be clearly distinguished. Your Majesty, I beg you to show generosity… and consider the marriage proposal in a positive light.”
“Ahem!”
Ludmilla’s face gradually grew redder as she argued the fairness of the verdict. Even while earnestly trying to persuade her displeased father in a firm voice, she kept stealing glances at me. Had her sincere plea worked? As her desperate appeal continued, the emperor’s boiling rage slowly subsided. As expected of a doting father who was endlessly merciless toward his subjects but endlessly gentle toward his daughters.
“It is true that this fellow saved Liza from a vicious demon. Taking that into special consideration, I will forgive the unpleasant scandals circulating in society… but making him her companion is a matter that must be considered with great care, is it not?”
“Pardon?”
I nodded, recalling how Ludmilla had once pushed so hard for me to become her younger sister’s new fiancé that we had even boarded the train to the capital together. Why was she so determined to make me her sister’s partner? I couldn’t begin to guess the reason, but I could tell it was her true intention.
“Y-you’re really serious?! You want me and Edanant to…!”
“……?”
Elizabetta spoke while biting her lower lip hard, as if trying to suppress her embarrassment. Once her respected older sister approved of the marriage talks, she herself began to waver.
“D-don’t tell me… you were discussing a marriage between Liza and Lord Edanant?”
Ludmilla’s eyes widened as she lifted her head. Her voice was filled with shock. Her beautiful ruby-like face flushed with utter astonishment. Then who on earth had she been thinking of? Surely she hadn’t considered her eldest sister, who was already married. Having rushed back from the battlefield, she must have jumped to the wrong conclusion without thinking.
Ludmilla bowed her head in an obviously flustered manner. Even her neck and ears had turned bright red. She seemed so embarrassed she could barely lift her head. If someone placed a teapot on her head right now, wouldn’t the water boil furiously? The thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Just what kind of misunderstanding had Ludmilla come up with?
I looked at her with questioning eyes, but the princess stubbornly maintained her silence. She simply quickened her pace. I had to widen my own stride to keep up with her.
“It’s nothing but baseless rumors started by those suitors who love making things up. If the imperial family continues to officially declare that none of it is true, the stirred-up public opinion will eventually calm down.”
“……”
Was this how a husband felt when his wife suspected him of cheating? This was not something I could just let slide. I had to somehow soothe Ludmilla by dramatically asserting my pure intentions. The thought ‘Is she jealous?’ briefly crossed my mind, but I shook my head. For now, I needed to focus entirely on calming the Red Dragon, regardless of whether it was true or not.
“It is true that I once thought you would make a fine match for Liza. Did I not say as much to you before you left the Hohenberg County?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“But now that it has actually come to this… I don’t know what to do. It really is a terrible change of heart.”
“……”
Ludmilla let out a heavy sigh. It wasn’t directed at anyone else. It was a sigh aimed at herself for so cunningly flipping her own heart. Eventually, she turned her head and our eyes met. She wore a complicated smile tinged with distress, as if expressing her tangled emotions.
“I am a woman of such terrible fickleness. And quite troublesome, at that.”
“That can’t possibly be true.”
I shook my head with a bitter smile at Ludmilla’s self-deprecating lament. Then I reached out to her.
“The Ludmilla I know is nobler than anyone else. Did you not volunteer to save the Fugh Kingdom, which even the ministers in the audience chamber had given up on? If Your Highness had not gone to war, a truly tragic outcome would have occurred.”
It was nothing more than a poor country without resources. A remote region with no special products or advantages whatsoever. That was why the Valtaria Empire had turned its back on five million lives. All except for one person—Ludmilla. The one who should be revered as a noble hero was naturally Ludmilla herself. She had chosen to devote herself even though she knew she would gain nothing from it. That was why I felt genuine respect for the noble Red Dragon.
“You really are skilled at touching a woman’s heart. You sound just like a playboy.”
“Pardon?”
“Hehe, it’s nothing. Your eloquence is so impressive that it was merely a jest.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve regained your spirits.”
Ludmilla gave a faint smile and took the hand I had offered. We walked down the corridor together. If someone appeared, I would have to let go immediately, but for just a little while, I decided to hold her hand.
The scandal caused by the suitors who had refused marriage talks with the imperial family gradually died down as the Valtaria imperial family repeatedly declared that none of it was true. Emperor Barbarosa’s fury also subsided like a wildfire doused by a sudden downpour.
I had barely made it through the crisis. There shouldn’t be any more problems coming my way. I spent my time leisurely, sucking on nong-jjuk candy with Lu. The Valtaria imperial family would soon bestow a massive reward upon the greatest contributor to the subjugation campaign. Of course, the greatest contributor was the Holy Sword user who had confronted a demon to save Elizabetta.
Land? A title? Or an enormous monetary reward? Anything was fine. Since he had saved their youngest daughter, whom they had raised like a precious jewel, the reward wouldn’t be stingy.
“I have brought good news for Lord Edanant.”
A girl dressed in pure white clerical robes visited the villa as soon as morning arrived. What was this familiar situation? Could it be that fake priestess again, here to deliver some “good words”? If she hadn’t been the First Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, I would have slammed the door shut without hesitation. Though I frowned slightly at the sudden visit, I eventually welcomed her as a guest.
“You have not yet received baptism, have you, Lord Edanant? How about taking this opportunity to do so?”
“I-I’m fine…. There’s no need to do it now, after all this time.”
She wanted me—the one who worshipped a forgotten god—to receive the Earth Mother’s baptism? Was she trying to kill me? The moment I received it, I would be pulverized by a Divine Clash. The saintess’s bright smile somehow felt incredibly ominous today.
“Of course, you have no right to refuse. The cardinals of the Holy Kingdom made the decision arbitrarily. They said it was lamentable that the Holy Sword user had not received the Earth Mother’s baptism. It really was quite a high-handed decision, wasn’t it?”
“……”
Yes. Extremely so.