Chapter 145: Chapter 145

There was something I was agonized about for a long time when I decided to reject my relationship with the imperial family after returning from my past. Namely, if I rejected fate as the empress because it was certain that Jiun would come, I was worried that the noble faction would increase their power. Of course, I could not insist on finding another candidate among the daughters of the pro-emperor faction members to replace me, for she would repeat the same fate as mine.

Then I suddenly thought that Jiun had no particular abilities. Even if she could be the empress with the full support of the noble faction, there was no possibility that she could carry out her job as the empress properly. In such a situation, it would be enough to select someone from the pro-emperor’s faction to assist her even if that candidate were not the emperor’s concubine.

That’s why I could tell my father proudly that I wanted to be the successor of my family because I had a solution. But my father didn’t know that.

Looking at me with a curious expression, my father said with a faint smile, “Tia.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“You are recognized as the child of God’s prophecy, but if you refuse, that woman will be the crown prince’s wife. But the emperor’s woman is not the empress alone. It’s quite simple if you give up the position of his official wife. There are lots of candidates among the pro-emperor’s noblewomen who can be the crown prince’s concubine to watch over Jiun and wield power.”

‘I see. My father shares the same with me on this.’

However, unlike me, who couldn’t have them repeat the same fate as mine, I didn’t think of sending any lady from the pro-emperor faction to the crown prince, but my father didn’t know much about my past.

Wait a minute. I feel something strange.

I clearly told my father that I was accused of treason while telling him about my past.

If that’s the case, did he say it knowingly?

When I looked at him in surprise, he said with a bitter smile.

“… While I was living as a loyal vassal of the imperial family in the past, I didn’t lead a clean life all the time. Of course, there are few ancestors of my family who lead clean lives.”

“…Daddy.”

“I have no intention of marrying you off to the crown prince. As I see that the dark-haired woman actually appeared, I think that your dream is not unusual. No matter who takes on the role of his wife, I’ll make sure you are not concerned about it. So, don’t worry. First of all, only care about the meeting tomorrow. ”

“Sure, Dad,” I said with a nod. Like he said, what was urgent for me right now was the conference to be held again tomorrow morning. I could imagine how angry the noble faction who were so happy to know I was not the child of God’s prophecy would be at the fact that there was a stumbling block called ‘Lady Monique.’

‘Tomorrow they are going to attack me from every angle.”

My father was right. Tomorrow’s meeting was far more important to me than the agenda regarding the emperor’s concubine, which could wait a little more.

The next day I left the house with my father wearing the same dress embroidered with the crest of the family and the crest brooch.

Arriving at the conference hall, I passed by Jiun sitting in the same seat as yesterday and headed to the head table.

“Good morning, Lady Monique.”

“Hi, Marquis Enesil.”

“So, are you psyched up for the meeting today? I guess the meeting will be most hostile towards you,” said the golden-haired young man who arrived first and sat in his seat. Although he didn’t have much experience attending this kind of meeting, he seemed fully relaxed.

While I was having a conversation with him for a while, the protocol officer announced the arrival of the emperor and the crown princess. Everyone showed their due manners to them at the head table.

As soon as the meeting started, Duke Jenna, who asked for the right to speak, said to the emperor, “I have a request for you, Your Majesty. I beg your approval.”

“What is it, Duke Jenna?”

“I would like to have the woman sitting there, Jiun Graspe, as my foster daughter.”

‘What?’ My eyes popped out before I knew it.

Is he serious? Granted that his proposal had political intention, it was really hard to understand why he offered to adopt her as his foster daughter because he always emphasized the purity of his family line and as a result he never adopted any of his relatives as his foster children. Besides, Jiun’s family background was unknown. How could he adopt her as his foster daughter?

All the nobles including myself were astonished. Even the emperor at the head table was stunned. But the duke himself was as calm as ever, as if nothing happened to him.

“Like the high priest said, if there are two children of God’s prophecy, it means that the two women deserve to be the crown prince’s wife. This is nonsense. Moreover, the abilities of the two women are similar. One woman has the divine power, although it’s not complete, while the other woman can hear God’s prophecy.”

“Hmm, so what are you going to do?”

Duke Jena responded in a very serious look, with his purple eyes sparkling strangely.

“In this situation, it is inevitable that Lady Monique has the upper hand. First of all, she is the daughter of the marquis and enjoys the full support of her family, and she even has the authority to substitute her father in contingencies. Hmm, that’s weird. The right to represent one’s family is originally given to the person who succeeds the family. I think the marquis knows it very well. Then, how can he give his daughter the right to represent him because she is actually mentioned as the crown prince’s fiancee?”

“… ”

“Anyway, the woman who suddenly appeared is inferior to Lady Monique in terms of her status, so she does not have the same qualifications as Lady Monique. If she is also a child of God’s prophecy, she shouldn’t be disadvantaged at least because of her status, so I would like to adopt her as my foster daughter, although I’m bothered by her unknown family background.”

I felt more and more creepy at his remarks because my original plan was based on the assumption that Jiun didn’t know anything about the empress’s job.

If she was adopted as his foster daughter, Duke Jena would certainly teach her harshly to seize power to take control of the internal affairs of the Imperial Palace. In addition, the duke would obtain the official status to control her as much as he wanted. If so, there was no way to stop the noble faction from monopolizing the national politics. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to stop Jiun from being adopted as his foster daughter under any circumstances.

Duke Lars, who was silent for a moment, opened his mouth with a low voice.

“If it is your goal to have her obtain the same qualifications, I can accept her into my family, too. If she joins my family, the No. 1 family in the noble hierarchy in the empire, she will gain much more power because your family is ranked No. 4.”

“Well, that doesn’t make any sense. She is a commoner at best. Even if she is adopted as the duke’s foster daughter, she can’t have the same qualifications as Lady Monique, a great noble family’s daughter,” said Earl Whire.

This time Earl Genoa said, “Earl Whir has a point. Didn’t this woman suddenly appear?

As we don’t know what kind of woman she was, we can’t dare compare her to Lady Monique just because she is given a status as the duke’s foster daughter. She can’t be called the same child of God’s prophecy as Lady Monique. First of all, Lady Monique heard God’s prophecy much earlier, and she has been doing a fine role as the crown prince’s fiancée since her birth, right? So, I cannot recognize her equality with Lady Monique because we haven’t verified her qualifications.”

“Ha, noble blood? When did Lady Monique have noble blood? ”

At that moment, all eyes were fixed on Duke Jena. Suddenly, my heart started pounding.

I felt my fingertips become cold, and the blood of my body circulated rapidly.

‘No way, no way! I hope he won’t say what I’m concerned about.’

His cold purple eyes stared at me. At the moment, I met his gaze, he made a sarcastic smile. My heart sank.

“How can lady Monique mixed with a vulgar blood be called a noble woman?”

There was silence in the conference hall. Everybody was shocked.