Chapter 9

“Yes, that is…”

“Speak.”

The guest continued to hesitate as though something was troubling them.

Junpei, realizing what was on the guest’s mind, slowly shook his head.

“Surely you don’t mean that foolish Mia Lisicha wrote the threatening letter herself? The same woman who likes to steal the forks Grand Duke Uliel has used?”

“She must have done it to clear herself of the accusation of being the blackmailer. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain the identical handwriting.”

Junpei fell silent, lost in thought.

“What should we do, Lord Junpei? Now that the woman has been cleared of the blackmail accusation, they’ll begin searching for the real culprit. I’m afraid the Grand Duke Uliel’s reach may extend to you as well.”

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Junpei’s leather shoes circled the pond several times. Throughout that time, his guest remained standing silently on the gravel.

Eventually, Junpei’s leather shoes came to a stop.

“Did she recognize you?”

“No.”

The guest hesitated before continuing.

“That’s actually what I find strange. If she realized someone had forged the threatening letter, she should have felt something was off when she saw my face at the Uliel residence.”

Junpei’s thin upper and lower lips pressed tightly together.

Only after pacing around the courtyard for quite some time did Junpei finally speak.

“For now, continue watching the Grand Duke Uliel and that woman. I’ll read the Book of Prophecies and seek the will of God.”

The guest bowed deeply.

“Yes, Lord Junpei. I will do as you command. I have always been your loyal servant.”

A short while later, the guest disappeared along the path between the lattice-patterned windows.

Junpei parted the long folds of his silk robe and pulled out a small, hand-bound-looking book from inside his clothes.

Its yellowed pages were densely covered with characters that did not belong to this country.

Yet Junpei seemed to have no difficulty reading them.

After studying the book for a long time with wrinkles forming across the bridge of his nose, Junpei pressed a hand against his brow.

“Mia Lisicha. Other than the fact that she’s Valentina Lisicha’s older sister, there’s hardly any information about her.”

He snapped the book shut irritably.

The title was written on its cover in the same incomprehensible characters.

Junpei frowned as he read the title aloud, almost as though reciting an incantation.

“The Moon That Reflects Your Face.”

The Imperial Palace was a place that never changed.

It stood proudly at the center of the capital, shining as though it could never fall.

It remained the same even now, long after the Emperor had been confined to his sickbed.

Asad had just passed through the imposing palace gates.

He walked down the corridor toward the audience chamber with steps that clearly showed how little he wanted to be there.

“Young people shouldn’t be walking slower than this old woman.”

Behind him appeared an elderly woman shriveled like a withered rose.

“Lady Morin Freidiel.”

She barely reached Asad’s chest in height, but the light in her eyes was still as sharp as ever.

“In the Imperial Palace, you keep your mouth shut, hold your chin up, and walk quickly. Didn’t the former Grand Duke Uliel teach you any of that?”

Her sharp tongue had not dulled with age.

Asad smiled gently and extended his arm.

“I must have embarrassed my late father by falling short of his expectations. Allow me to lend you my arm, Lady Morin. Would you teach me another lesson today?”

“Hmph.”

Morin snorted and lightly placed her hand on Asad’s arm.

Although her words were covered in thorns, she actually had quite a fondness for Asad, whom she had watched grow up since childhood.

The two walked down the corridor together, exchanging light conversation.

“I heard that a hot spring was recently discovered along the boundary between our two territories, but apparently your people are preventing ours from entering.”

“You must have received an inaccurate report. The hot spring was clearly discovered within Uliel territory. It would be better for you to distance yourself from subordinates who cannot even conduct a proper survey.”

“Is that so? There are many patients in Freidiel territory who need hot-spring treatments. Perhaps the Grand Duke could show some mercy and allow us to use it together?”

“If you show us the mercy of providing a certain amount of herbs that grow exclusively in Freidiel territory free of charge, I’ll consider it.”

Asad answered without batting an eye.

Morin lamented at his watertight response.

“What an insolent little brat. If you weren’t the son of a rebel, you would have been perfect as a match for my granddaughter Sigrid.”

Asad merely smiled faintly while keeping his gaze ahead.

By then, the two had entered the Imperial Palace’s audience chamber.

A court attendant waiting at the entrance announced loudly,

“His Excellency, the Head of the Uliel Family, and Her Excellency, the Head of the Freidiel Family, have arrived.”

“You’re late.”

Junpei Masabiel greeted the two with a frown.

The woman standing beside him merely gave a silent nod.

She was Rosaim, the second daughter of House Sadipiel, with her red hair pulled high and tied into a single ponytail.

As the heir to her family, she was famous for being a woman of few words.

Morin casually responded to Junpei’s criticism.

“It isn’t easy for an old woman to move around, you know. It’s been a long time since the heads of all four great families have gathered in one place.”

The audience chamber where the four heads of the great families stood was extremely lavish.

A carpet with a deep red sheen divided the room in half, its far end reaching the golden imperial throne.

Four marble pillars stood proudly on either side of the throne, supporting the ceiling.

They symbolized the four great families that served as the pillars of the Empire.

Above them, stained-glass windows engraved with sacred symbols absorbed the sunlight.

Anyone standing before the throne had no choice but to squint in the bright light.

It was said that the architect had designed it that way so that anyone standing there would understand just how insignificant they were before the supreme majesty of the Imperial Family.

At this moment, that applied even to the heads of the four great families.

“His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince, has arrived!”

At the attendant’s announcement, Junpei was the first to drop to one knee.

The others followed suit and paid their respects.

The hem of the Crown Prince’s long silver hair and robes brushed past the noses of the family heads with a soft rustle.

He eventually stopped before the imperial throne.

At some point, the Crown Prince had begun sitting on the throne without hesitation while receiving audiences.

Even though he had not officially ascended the imperial throne yet.

“Rise.”

Morin was the last of the four to rise, letting out a strained groan as she pushed herself upright.

The Crown Prince then began speaking.

“I summoned you here today to move up the date of the debutante ball.”

Asad’s eyebrow twitched.

A woman with pale green eyes flashed through his mind.

No way.

Junpei immediately responded as though they had rehearsed it beforehand.

“That is an excellent idea, Your Highness. There is nothing better for silencing those who are voicing irrelevant complaints.”

The Crown Prince stroked his chin in satisfaction.

“In one month, the Imperial Palace will host the debutante ball. As always, I want each of you to hold your own balls in succession afterward. I wonder which family’s ball will be the most impressive this year.”

The heads of the families quietly bowed.

Then Asad’s voice echoed through the audience chamber.

“With Her Majesty the Empress no longer here, who will be overseeing this year’s debutante ball?”

“Grand Duke Uliel, I didn’t realize you were so interested in balls. You’re usually nowhere to be seen.”

A quiet chuckle followed.

It was obviously Junpei Masabiel.

Having never enjoyed the Emperor’s trust, he made no attempt to hide the fact that he had allied himself with the Crown Prince, the Empire’s new center of power.

“Kisha Astrid will be overseeing the ball. According to the rumors, she also had a relationship with you, Grand Duke Uliel.”

Asad quietly lowered his head.

It was obvious that the Crown Prince was watching for any change in his expression.

When Asad gave no reaction, the Crown Prince gave a cynical smile before looking weary.

“Then you may all withdraw.”

The meeting ended rather anticlimactically considering that all four great families had been summoned so noisily.

But as the Crown Prince was about to rise from the throne, Asad couldn’t swallow the question that had risen to the tip of his tongue.

“How is His Majesty the Emperor’s illness?”

The Crown Prince sharply turned his head.

His piercing gaze fixed on Asad before suddenly transforming into a smiling expression.

“His Majesty is fortunate indeed. He has a loyal subject like Grand Duke Uliel.”

There was a faint edge to his words.

“His Majesty’s condition has not improved significantly. If there is any improvement, naturally, I will be the first to inform all of you.”

After the audience ended, Asad walked back through the corridors with complicated thoughts filling his mind.

The person occupying the largest part of those thoughts was Mia Lisicha—that absurdly bold woman.

So her ridiculous prophecy was true.

“…Grand Duke. Grand Duke!”

“Yes?”

Asad suddenly returned to reality.

“I’ve called you several times, Grand Duke Uliel.”

“Yes, Lady Morin. Forgive me. Please continue.”

“I was speaking about the transfer of duties to the executor. A low-ranking nobleman named Lisicha has submitted a petition asking for his confiscated estate to be returned.”

Ah. Mia Lisicha’s shameless father.

Remembering that unpleasant face, Asad asked,

“Yes. And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and’? Under Imperial law, property granted by the Imperial Family cannot be confiscated.”

“You mean the Lisicha residence was granted by the Imperial Family?”

Something felt strange.

Morin took out a document.

“Look at this copy of the register recording the Imperial Family’s rewards.”

Asad took the document from Morin and skimmed through it.

According to the record, exactly ten years ago, the Imperial Family had granted House Lisicha both a lower noble title and a residence.

Ten years ago.

That was undoubtedly around the time the rebellion in Uliel territory had been suppressed.

But there was another reason Asad was startled.

As though unable to believe what he was seeing, Asad pointed to a particular section of the document with his finger.