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nChapter 129

nProofreader: somnium

nGayan wasn’t the type to feel especially humane towards his subordinates.

nBut he himself was a knight from the bottom up. He knew very well that all of the members of the Guard were those who risked their life for what was important, whether it was for fame or the future of their children.

nAnd everyone is here as a result of their own achievements.

nIt’s not for standing there to block the throwing of dirt.

n“If you use force to suppress the protesters now, you will lose your cause. Heresy is the main issue at the temple, but what the protesters are angry about is that they tried to sacrifice innocent children.”

nSaid Gayan.

n“The use of force will only exacerbate Sir Lawrence’s image as the murder of innocent children in the past, entangled in human trafficking.”

n“Damn it.”

nLawrence uttered angrily.

n“You said that Tia appeared at the temple?”

n“The wording is inappropriate. She didn’t go for interrogation.”

n“Isn’t that the purpose of interrogation in reality? I heard they asked for her cooperation in the investigation of the Old Books and Old Language manuscripts at the Rosan Mansion.”

n“Ancient books are just the old collections of the Marquisate of Rosan. Since Grand Duchess Evron is the Marchioness of Rosan, it is only natural for the temple to ask the Grand Duchess for her cooperation.”

n“It doesn’t make sense, doesn’t it? If you really want to know about the books in the library, it’s normal to call the butler. The old butler next to Tia would probably know all the scribbles in the books.”

n“…….”

n“Isn’t that an attempt to place some of the blame on Tia?”

n“Even if there is such an attempt, the opponent is Evron.”

nGayan said without emotion.

n“It’s not something that can be forced by pressure from the temple. It is said that the Knights escorted her to the temple with full armor today.”

n“Do Sir think that since Tia went voluntarily, you think there is no problem?”

n“That’s right. If there is a problem, Evron will be the first to respond. Grand Duke Evron is not one to throw his wife away on this matter.”

nEven if there is a desire to do so, the time has not passed yet enough for the news to be delivered.

nAnd the Knights of Evron were not the kind of people who could follow the current atmosphere and treat their mistress as they were judged, even if they didn’t have orders.

nAnd Gayan knew one more thing.

nThe reason Artizea voluntarily participated in the investigation was because she had sympathy with the Emperor.

nAfter reading the long letter from Artizea, the Emperor said to Gayan:

n“Tia wants to meet Bishop Akim.”

n“Are you talking about Grand Duchess Evron? I thought she has disconnected herself from Lady Miraila.”

n“Can separation between parents and children be so simple? It’s two different things from being quiet when nothing’s going on, and being completely ignorant when her mother is in trouble.”

nThe Emperor sighed.

n“Tia is planning to donate the Rosan mansion to the temple and turn it into a monastery.”

n“Isn’t this the home of the Marquisate?”

n“So, it would be worthy of being used as a negotiation material. Tia said to turn the Rosan mansion into a monastery, and then we could finish it by putting Miraila under pension there.”

n“Are there any prospects? Bishop Akim is not an easily controlled man. Will he just finish with a mansion?”

n“It’s not just a mansion. She will probably have to hand over more property. I don’t even know if I should take some of this load off……. Still, it seems that Tia’s donation so far is considerable. She put a lot of effort into staying close to the temple, so it can’t be ignored at all.”

nThe Emperor’s words were very hopeful.

n“Tia will be fine. She’s such a smart kid. The temple won’t be able to ignore Grand Duchy Evron, as she’s been tangled up in the Western business lately. Because of her love story with Cedric, she has a good reputation among the common people.”

n“That is a reasonable statement.”

n“Rather than me, it looks better for Tia to come forward in many ways. I will make up for it later, so I told her not to worry about it.”

nHaving said that, the Emperor paused for a moment. And for a moment he put his gaze in the air and murmured.

n“I wish I had one such a nice child, that would be great.”

n“Your Majesty….”

nThe Emperor had a tired face.

nThat day the Emperor did not say a word about Lawrence.

nIt wasn’t clear whether it was because he had no expectation or if he thought it was inappropriate to speak about him to the person from Lawrence faction, Gayan.

n‘It didn’t go well.’

nThat day, Gayan thought so.

nGayan knew that on the first day of the incident, the Emperor had made Lawrence the first to hear the news.

nEven if Lawrence knew it first, he wouldn’t have been able to solve the case. How can he solve a problem that even the Emperor could not do?

nBut he should have at least pretended to fight the temple. Unlike the Emperor, he must have been able to do something because he was her own son.

nHe could claim all this to be a conspiracy to siphon off Miraila, or, like Artizea, try to reduce the situation by negotiating.

nHe could also go to comfort her.

nMiraila was wrong. Sir Keshore said she couldn’t meet Lawrence, but it was on Lawrence’s side that actually refused to meet her.

nSince Sir Keshore had some sympathy for Miraila, he even deliberately gave contact to Lawrence from his side.

nLawrence’s choice was to sever ties with Miraila more thoroughly, and to prove that he had no part in the curse at all.

nIn the end, Lawrence was just showing what he was going to do with his helpless parents.

nYoung as he is, he may not have realised it, but it was a very important matter for the elderly such as the Emperor or the Empress.

n“Even if he gets the approval of Her Majesty the Empress, the temple is standing up next….”

nAmalie said so in a relaxed manner.

n“It does not mean that the possibility has completely disappeared. Legally, he still has to become the Empress’ adopted son. But the situation is already at this point.”

n“Hooo.”

n“Even if he get ahead of Grand Duke Roygar, it will be difficult to establish the imperial power properly.”

n“From the day of the coronation, he will face resistance from the temples and citizens.”

n“Right. And Sir Lawrence is not one who can break through it on his own. I want to be a dignitary, not a nanny.”

nGayan couldn’t help but agree.

nGayan is ambitious.

nEven if he felt skeptical of Lawrence’s humanity, he would have stood next to Lawrence if he still thought Lawrence was the closest person to the throne.

nBut now he thinks it’s a good thing he’d put one foot forward in advance. It’s far better to line up ahead of time than to turn around after things have happened.

nLawrence said in a cold voice, as if he had guessed Gayan’s innermost thoughts.

n“You’d better not think of betraying me just because I’ve become like this, Sir Gayan.”

n“What are you talking about all of a sudden ….”

n“Uncle Roygar holds grudges long. He can’t accept Sir. Those under him despise men like you.”

n“…… .”

n“It’s not over yet.”

nSaid Lawrence.

n“What are you going to do?”

n“I sent a message to Viscount Hoden, who had gone south, to return to the capital as soon as possible.”

n“…… .”

n“The Empress did not have any involvement in this matter.”

nThe social circles watched every move to see what kind of attitude the Empress would have.

nHer husband’s old mistress, who was pretending to be a socialite, was caught cursing her.

nAt this point, even if she had decided to forget the past, resentment and anger would rise again.

nBut the Empress was having fun in the Empress’ palace as if nothing had happened.

nIt’s not that she’s pretending it’s okay, she really doesn’t seem interested in Miraila’s situation in any way.

nShe met her old friends and resumed her hobby, which she enjoyed in her past days.

nIn particular, she spends most of her day personally teaching culture and etiquette to the three children from Viscounty Pescher.

nThings got to this point, and no one paid any attention to Viscounty Pescher.

nEven if they actually had an interest, they were not in a position where they would be able to argue about Viscounty Pescher to the Empress. Isn’t she the one who almost got cursed?

nGayan said to Lawrence.

n“Do you still think there is a chance to be Her Majesty’s adopted son?”

n“Because there is no other way. Things could have been better if my mother was gone.”

nGayan tilted his head slightly. He agreed that there was no other way.

nBut just because Miraila became absent didn’t mean that the Empress would think better of him.

n“It turns out that Tia was not as favored by Her Majesty as I thought. I thought she had the time, so she proceeded slowly, but maybe it was impossible for her to get likened by Her Majesty at all.”

n“Yes.”

n“Then it would be better to clearly show the gain and loss. I know how much Her Majesty is obsessed with the former Duchy of Riagan, so I’m waiting for Viscount Hoden.”

n“You need information to do anything. Do you intend to replace the Duke of Riagan?”

n“Yes. I told them to find out if there are any remaining descendants.”

nIt was a hopeless story in Gayan’s opinion.

nLawrence’s side face looked like a gloomy statue.

nHe hasn’t acknowledged it yet, but maybe he was feeling it.

nThat his day had already gone dark.

n***

nOn the other hand, Grand Duke Roygar’s face was in full bloom. He’d never felt so good lately.

n“Sister-in-law, take a drink.”

nMarchioness Camellia felt uneasy about it.

n“You have an unpleasant face, Sister-in-law.”

n“In times like these, you have to be more careful, Your Grace.”

n“Do you think I am doing something wrong?”

nGrand Duke Roygar said with a smile. Marchioness Camellia said cautiously.

n“His Majesty will not punish Dowager Marchioness Rosan for her treason. I’m afraid there’s going to be a headwind.”

nGrand Duke Roygar officially spoke in support of the temple.

nAll the officials under his influence insisted that Miraila be punished for treason.

nSeveral journalists and intellectuals who quoted his words made the same argument.

nThis is not the impulsive mistake of a foolish woman, but a conspiracy to murder the Empress.

nOther than that, there were several conspiracies moving, such as the scaremongering.

nFor Grand Duke Roygar, it was a win-win.

nMarchioness Camellia said with a dark face.

n“The temple will formally put Dowager Marchioness Rosan on heresy. If Lawrence becomes the Empress’ adopted son, it is not impossible to ascend to the throne. There is no way the Archbishop would crown the children of an excommunicated. They will simply never host a coronation.”

n“They can’t do that, sister-in-law.”

nGrand Duke Roygar said firmly.

n“The influence of the temple is not going to last long. It’s different from the old days. Once you become the Crown Prince, you will eventually be recognized if you ascend the throne even if the Archbishop does not preside over the coronation. Or it would all be of no use if the Emperor himself took the crown off his head and put it on Lawrence’s head.”

n“His Majesty’s heart is departing from Lawrence. Even if you’re not in a hurry…….”

n“That feeling of leaving will not come to me.”

nGrand Duke Roygar said.

n“Or, are you worried about Grand Duchess Evron?”

nMarchioness Camellia looked at him with a bewildered gaze.

nGrand Duke Roygar looked at her with shadowy eyes.

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