Chapter 630: Warning
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 630: Warning
The Imperial Palace.
After enduring a series of tedious and complex protocols, the members of the Kingdom’s diplomatic delegation finally laid eyes on the late-arriving new Empress of the Empire in the palace’s magnificent banquet hall.
Celicia Leopold.
She stepped forward into the spotlight, her posture regal, her chin slightly tilted.
Unlike the previous emperors who favored extravagant, floor-sweeping crimson robes when receiving foreign guests, she wore only a specially tailored white court gown of fine gauze that elegantly traced the lines of her slender waist.
Yet, this did not diminish her majesty in the slightest. On the contrary, the way the pure, flawless gauze draped around her only served to emphasize her noble coldness. Atop her silver-white hair, a crown as delicate as a hair ornament sparkled brilliantly, outshining the multitude of bright magic stones in the hall and making it difficult for anyone to look at her directly.
"Well?"
While bowing, Hertz whispered to Milne beside him.
"Peerless," Milne replied, his eyes burning with even greater intensity. "In both temperament and beauty, she far surpasses the rumors of the Third Princess, the Ice Witch."
"She is the Emperor now, after all," Hertz said with a faint smile as he stroked his beard. "Are you confident?"
"I will do my best."
Milne took a deep breath. As soon as the formal greetings concluded, he seized the opportunity to speak first. "Respected Her Majesty the Empress, I am—"
"Are you the head of this delegation?"
Celicia’s cold, beautiful eyes swept over him, suddenly cutting Milne off.
Milne stiffened, pausing in awkward silence.
"Respected Her Majesty, I am the head of this delegation, Hertz Usman. Please forgive our late arrival," Hertz quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "As for this young man, he is the Seventeenth Prince of our Kingdom, His Highness Milne. He simply admires Your Majesty so much that he became a bit overeager to speak."
"I see. I was wondering why things seemed different from what I was told."
Celicia looked at Milne and offered a polite, formal smile. "My apologies if I caused offense, Prince. I simply saw that the first person to speak from the Kingdom did not match the description of the head of the delegation in my reports. I feared some impudent person was breaking protocol; I didn't realize it was a Prince."
"No... it was my slip of the tongue. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness." Milne forced a smile, telling himself it must have been a misunderstanding rather than the Empress intentionally targeting him.
"What crime has the Prince committed? Today is a banquet to welcome you all. Let us not speak of such dampening matters."
Celicia clapped her hands lightly, signaling the start of the banquet, and took her seat at the head of the table.
Everyone attending the state banquet took their seats. Those qualified to sit at the same table as Celicia were either key figures of the Kingdom’s delegation or high-ranking officials of the Empire.
Hertz took the opportunity to scan the room. He discovered that after the recent political upheaval, there were indeed many important figures in the Empire he knew nothing about.
For instance, there was a young, stunningly seductive woman. Judging by her seat, her status was even higher than that of Marquis Angus. Yet, his intelligence reports hadn't mentioned a single word about a woman with such striking features. He had no idea who she was.
And on the other side, a radiance of Holy Light... Had even the Church sent someone to this banquet?
Hertz was slightly shocked. He mused to himself that as the Empire’s power gradually waned, the Kingdom’s status had indeed become extraordinary.
Celicia also noticed the two uninvited guests. Her eyes narrowed slightly in displeasure. "You two... I don't recall inviting you to this banquet."
"What does it matter? Surely, with my status and identity, I am qualified to attend?" Anna rested her cheek on her hand and smiled radiantly. "After all, we are here to ensure Her Majesty doesn't do anything... excessive."
"Exactly, exactly!" A voice echoed from within the shimmering Holy Light.
"That is a pity, then. You won't be able to monitor anything today. You are simply wasting your time."
Celicia huffed softly, unwilling to bicker with those two "philandering cats" in such a setting. She turned her attention back to the banquet itself.
However, Hertz, who was keenly observing everything, felt a spark of excitement in his eyes.
Just as he had speculated! The Empress and that high-ranking mysterious woman were at odds. The internal leadership of the Empire was indeed fractured!
And by the looks of it, the Empress wasn't even on good terms with the Church!
As Hertz shifted his focus back to Celicia, he suddenly noticed that the seat beside her was empty.
Hertz immediately exchanged a look with Milne, who had noticed the same thing.
"Your Majesty," Hertz coughed twice, asking tentatively, "I heard you have a fiancé. On such an important occasion of diplomatic relations between our two nations, why do we not see any sign of him?"
"Hmph."
At the mention of him, Celicia’s expression instantly turned cold. "Why should I let him attend? He’s nothing but a playboy who disappears to flirt with women the moment I look away! Even if he died out there, it would have nothing to do with me!"
Hertz was overjoyed. He stole another glance at the surroundings and found that when the Empress spoke so disparagingly of her fiancé, the room remained silent. Even Marquis Angus, the grandfather of that Muen Campbell, kept his head down and said nothing, clearly not daring to speak up. His delight intensified!
Internal division, disrespect toward the Church, and the Empress clearly disliked her fiancé. It seemed his guess was correct: she had only been forced to accept the engagement to bridge internal conflicts and stabilize the situation.
With just one banquet and a bit of probing, he had uncovered so many issues... The current Empire was practically riddled with weaknesses!
Hertz and Milne locked eyes again, both seeing the pleasant surprise in each other's gaze.
The Empire’s weakness was undoubtedly beneficial, both for the Kingdom and for their own private ambitions!
"Then..." Hertz seized the moment to continue, "Regarding the suggestion our delegation submitted along with the official letter, Your Majesty..."
"Oh? Are you referring to the exchange program you mentioned, Lord Hertz?"
Celicia nodded slightly. "That is a good thing. Between two nations, especially among the younger generation who are the pillars of the state, mutual exchange is necessary to spur growth. I naturally have no reason to refuse."
"This... Your Majesty is most wise."
Hertz frowned slightly. What he really wanted Celicia to bring up was the matter of the marriage proposal. A matter of such magnitude couldn't possibly be handled like a storybook where someone kneels and proposes in front of everyone. If they truly annoyed the Empress, forget the proposal—the entire delegation would be in danger.
That was why they had submitted the request early with the official letter, to give her time to consider.
But seeing her current attitude of intentional avoidance...
"Heh, is she still waiting for a better price?"
Milne, who had also seen through it, let his lips curl into a faint smile. He analyzed the situation quietly: "As we expected, someone in that position will always prioritize interests. She brought up the exchange to gauge our value. Now she’s intentionally giving me the cold shoulder, likely to keep the initiative in her hands. An old negotiation trick."
"Then the rest will depend on you," Hertz whispered beside him. "If it comes down to the exchange competition, I won't be able to help you."
"Rest assured, Teacher Hertz. I will not let you or the Kingdom down."
Milne puffed out his chest confidently, his gaze sweeping over Celicia at the head of the table. "As I said before, I will give those fools of the Empire—including Muen Campbell—a little taste of what a true genius looks like!"
"Very good. I have always believed in you." Hertz nodded with satisfaction.
In truth, his ability to lead such a large delegation to the Empire as the head envoy relied heavily on his status as the Seventeenth Prince’s mentor. As long as he completed this mission successfully, he would be able to take another step forward in the Kingdom’s political landscape.
Therefore, his interests were completely tied to Prince Milne’s. He wanted him to succeed more than anyone else, and he believed he could.
After all, Prince Milne was special. As his teacher, Hertz knew better than anyone how terrifying his talent truly was!
But in comparison...
Hertz’s gaze drifted to the young girl beside them who, despite being at such an important banquet, remained silent with her head bowed. His brow furrowed.
His other disciple, Seviel, had seemed much more lackluster lately.
She was originally one of the leading figures of the Kingdom’s younger generation; otherwise, she wouldn't have represented the Kingdom in the Holy City trial.
But... ever since returning in defeat from that trial, she often spent her time dazing off. She wasn't even as diligent in her cultivation as before. When asked, she said nothing, and the Church had heavily obscured the details of that trial. He had no idea what had happened.
Well, whatever. Now is not the time to lecture her.
Hertz shook his head, preparing to say a few more flattering words about the Prince to the Empress to leave a better impression before the exchange.
"I have heard that Lord Hertz is skilled at teaching and has many excellent students under his wing?"
Before Hertz could speak, the Empress unexpectedly steered the conversation in that direction herself.
Hertz had lost count of how many times he had felt lucky and delighted today. Believing the Goddess was truly smiling upon him, he suppressed his grin and spoke with a balanced tone of humility and pride.
"Your Majesty overstates it. Only a few of my students are currently capable of being useful."
"Lord Hertz need not be modest. The names of your students have reached even my ears here in Belland. For example..."
Celicia lightly swirled the red wine glass filled with grape juice, her lips curving into a soft, gentle smile.
Milne puffed out his chest, standing even straighter.
"For example, the Miss Seviel under your tutelage is said to be quite exceptional."
"Eh?"
For a moment, not only were Hertz and Milne stunned, but even the daydreaming Seviel looked up in confusion. She stared blankly at her surroundings, and after confirming there wasn't a second person named Seviel, she pointed at herself.
"Me?"
"So you are Miss Seviel?"
Celicia’s gaze instantly landed on Seviel. She looked her up and down, lingering specifically on certain parts of her figure, before nodding. "As expected of Lord Hertz’s top disciple. Your reputation is well-deserved. One can tell at a glance how excellent you are. Hmm... with a face and figure like that, I suspect most men would find it difficult to resist your charm."
"Thank... thank you, Your Majesty."
Seviel bowed in confusion. Although the Empress was clearly praising her, why did the words feel so strange?
And...
Seviel stole a glance around. For some reason, she felt like someone else was watching her, yet she couldn't trace the source of the gaze...
Aside from the delegation, she didn't know anyone at this banquet. Was it just her imagination?
"With such an excellent disciple, Lord Hertz must be very proud."
"I thank Your Majesty for the praise."
Though he didn't know why the Empress was praising Seviel so much, as her teacher, Hertz accepted the compliment with a sense of shared glory. "But compared to Seviel, I have an even more outstanding student—"
"I feel that Miss Seviel and I share a certain affinity."
Celicia suddenly waved her hand, cutting Hertz off. She smiled and said, "Why don't you stay behind after the banquet, Miss Seviel? I would like to have a private word with you."
"Huh?"
Now, the group was even more bewildered.
Hertz exchanged a look with Milne for the third time, but this time it wasn't out of joy—it was pure confusion.
Why did the Empress seem... more interested in Seviel than in the genius and handsome Prince Milne?
*
After the welcoming banquet—which seemed full of substance but was actually entirely composed of empty pleasantries—concluded, Hertz and Milne sent the rest of the delegation back to the embassy while the two of them waited outside the palace.
Seviel, of course, had no right to refuse an Empress’s request. She was currently inside the palace for her private audience.
"What is going on?" Milne frowned. "Why is the Empress so interested in Seviel? Could it be that she likes..."
"Unlikely." Hertz waved it off. "I’ve never heard any rumors to that effect. She’s probably just interested in Seviel herself."
"Then..."
"Don't be so impatient. We’ll know once Seviel comes out."
Soon, Seviel emerged from the palace, still looking dazed and walking with unsteady steps.
The two men rushed to meet her.
"What did the Empress talk to you about?"
"It... it wasn't much of anything." Seviel scratched her head. "Just very normal topics between girls. What colors I like, what kind of clothes I wear, what kind of boys I like... very ordinary things."
Milne asked urgently, "That’s all you talked about?"
"Oh, right. She also gave me a few books. I was a bit overwhelmed at the time, so I haven't had a chance to look at them yet."
As she spoke, Seviel pulled out several books.
The two men craned their necks to look...
The first book: Maintaining One's Purity.
The second book: The Scum Man Prevention Manual.
The third book: Incorrigible.
The fourth book: Seeking One's Own Destruction.
The fifth book: Detective Case Files: The Case of the Noble Scion Dismembering His Mistress.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Hertz was also baffled. He consulted with Milne. "Could there be some deep political subtext we aren't aware of?"
"I have no idea," Milne replied, equally confused.
Only Seviel, staring at the books, seemed to think of something. She couldn't help but shudder.
Impossible. It should be impossible. Aren't the rumors saying their relationship is terrible?
Just as she was thinking this, someone stepped forward and addressed her. "Miss, someone would like to invite you for a chat."
"Who?"
The group looked up in confusion again. Not far away, an unmarked black carriage had stopped.
As the curtain fluttered, a glimpse of a stunningly beautiful face—one that could never be forgotten once seen—was revealed.
"She looks like a high-ranking official of the Empire. Perhaps she has something important to discuss with us. Seviel, go see," Hertz said solemnly.
"..."
With an increasingly bad premonition, Seviel walked stiffly toward the carriage, only to emerge again shortly after.
"What did she say to you?"
"No... nothing. Much the same as the Empress. Asked me what kind of boys I like and such..."
Seviel’s expression was already somewhat numb, but her heart was racing. Impossible, absolutely impossible. They couldn't possibly know that I like...
"Miss Seviel."
Once more.
"Someone wishes to see you."
"..."
Under the shocked and uncomprehending gazes of Hertz and Milne, Seviel was summoned by a major figure for the third time that day.
This time, after Seviel boarded the carriage and saw that familiar, cute face, she finally couldn't hold it in and cried out:
"You... Liya... No, Her Highness the Saintess?!"
"Heh, Seviel."
Inside the carriage, Liya puffed out her cheeks and stared at Seviel with narrowed eyes. She let out a cold laugh. "I didn't expect you to chase him all the way to Belland. You really are a lingering ghost, aren't you!"