Chapter 15 – The Fall of the Imperial Family (Part 6)

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Before departing for the North, Reubellina asked Sandy to check the luggage again.

“Leaving just like this. Isn’t it too much?”

“Pardon? What do you mean, too much, Your Grace?”

“I mean, Tartenon saved their lives, and they didn’t even say thank you!”

“Shh! Your Grace!”

“Let them hear if they want! And what’s with the princess? Thanks to whom did she become the successor, and she keeps her mouth shut! This is why you can’t trust people to change…!”

“Your Grace! Please!”

“Hmph! Please what!”

It wasn’t Speraum Castle, but since she was in a place where people knew her personality, Reubellina spoke freely as she used to.

“Is being a princess everything? Is being an emperor everything? These people might not even be alive if not for Tartenon…!”

“Reubellina.”

“Oh my!”

Startled by the voice calling her name from behind, Reubellina jumped. When she turned around, she met Tartenon’s curved eyes.

Reubellina cleared her throat and asked Tartenon.

“Did you hear everything?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you always appear when I say such things!”

“Isn’t that better?”

“What?”

“That way, you won’t hide anything from me.”

Tartenon’s eyes softened. Faced with his smiling eyes, the surprise in Reubellina’s eyes completely disappeared. She smiled back at him and asked.

“Is it time to leave now?”

“Duke Asillious hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Oh, right.”

Reubellina sighed in relief, realizing she almost left without saying goodbye to her father. Despite worrying so much at the banquet, she couldn’t say a kind word to Duke Asillious, who greeted her with a bright smile upon returning to the mansion. It was because she felt wronged.

Even though she worried, she couldn’t say anything nice when she found out he was safe. She ended up speaking grumpily and awkwardly exchanging words, making it hard to face him.

“If we go to the North now, we don’t know when we’ll return.”

“We’ll come back.”

“Yes, we will.”

Tartenon smiled. Reubellina placed her hand on her cheek, which was starting to heat up. Her palm grew warm.

From some point, Tartenon’s smile made her freeze and unable to think of anything else. Though she was well aware of her changes, Reubellina tried to ignore them. Many things happened since coming to the capital, but the best among them were the people camped outside Duke Asillious’s mansion.

They showed no intention of leaving. The mansion’s doors were locked due to people trying to get some time to talk with Tartenon. This situation had been unchanged for a week since the banquet ended. They hurried to return to the North because of this.

Reubellina saw her father’s carriage entering through the main gate and went to greet him with Tartenon.

“Reubellina!”

Seeing her father running towards her with a bright face, she smiled and handed her a document.

“Look at this!”

“What is it?”

“Your Grace, please see this too!”

“What is it?”

She opened the envelope handed by the Duke with Tartenon. A dazzling piece of paper appeared with a word written on it.

“Amnesty?”

Reubellina slowly read the paper handed by Duke Asillious. Still, nothing changed.

“Is this amnesty what I think it is?”

“Yes, it is.”

“This, what the…!”

Sandy hurriedly covered Reubellina’s mouth as she was about to shout.

“Mmph!”

“Oh dear, a bee was about to land on Your Grace’s lips.”

There couldn’t be bees in this cold weather, but Reubellina let it pass.

“Amnesty!”

She wanted to shout for money instead, but there were too many eyes watching. The fact that Duke Asillious had returned from the palace was known to other nobles. She didn’t want to be accused of insulting the imperial family by the nobles peeking inside. Reubellina calmed her breathing.

‘I knew it! I knew this would happen!’

Even though they saved lives, all they got in return was a single piece of paper, an amnesty. It wasn’t even a pardon for any crime. Except for treason. 

‘What kind of cheap amnesty is this?’

Reubellina gritted her teeth at the paper. However, Tartenon looked at it with interest.

It was the first time an Emperor had given something so favorable to the North, so Tartenon was willing to accept the amnesty. How to use this amnesty was up to Tartenon.

‘Anything except treason, huh.’

Understanding it as permission to do anything except overthrow the Emperor, Tartenon’s eyes gleamed. Reubellina, meeting his seemingly pleased gaze, spoke in a slightly sharp tone.

“What’s so good about it?”

“His Majesty gave us such a precious thing; how could I not be pleased?”

“…That’s sarcasm, right? It better be.”

Reubellina gritted her teeth. The people of the North were so naïve that they needed to be taught step by step.

‘Exchanging a life for a piece of paper is utterly worthless!’

Reubellina was sure that if Tartenon had been in business, he would have gone bankrupt by now. With her golden eyes glinting, Duke Asillious, who had the same eye color, led her inside. Tartenon followed.

As soon as they entered the reception room and closed the door, Reubellina couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“What is this, Father! Who asked you to accept this!”

“What could I do? They were giving it.”

“How could they give such a thing! I can’t forgive it. The reward for saving their lives is just this? Even if they gave us mountains of gold coins, it wouldn’t be enough!”

“I’m fine with it.”

It was Tartenon who stopped the agitated Reubellina.

“Fine with it?! That’s not how you calculate. Don’t you know the saying, ‘Repay kindness twice and revenge tenfold’? How can they repay kindness like this! And the Princess didn’t even show up!”

Furious, Reubellina stomped her feet. Sandy, who appeared with a glass of ice water from somewhere, handed it to her to calm her down. Drinking the cold water in one gulp made her neck tighten. As she massaged her neck and tilted her head back, Tartenon brushed her hand away and massaged her neck himself.

The large man’s hand almost covered Reubellina’s neck entirely. As he gently and carefully moved his hand, Reubellina kept spewing her anger.

“This is why you shouldn’t deal with the imperial family! They don’t know how to be grateful no matter what you do for them! Isn’t that right, Father?”

“Reubellina, that’s blasphemy against the imperial family…!”

“Blasphemy, my foot! Are you going to take what I just said and tell the palace? Can’t I even say this much in my own house?”

Reubellina shouted with fire in her eyes. Her golden eyes were so wide open that they gleamed fiercely. Duke Asillious flinched and his neck shrank.

“No, absolutely not.”

“Imperial family, my foot! Are they kidding me! They should’ve given us money! An amnesty? What nonsense! Let’s see how comfortable that throne will be!”

Vowing to torment them and cut the funds to the imperial family in half, Reubellina ground her teeth.

Once her fiery anger subsided a bit, Duke Asillious offered her a seat.

“Sit down first. There’s more to discuss.”

“…What is it?”

Her voice was still a bit grumpy but much calmer. Both Reubellina and Tartenon sat in the chairs prepared at the table. Duke Asillious took his seat last and gestured to the servants. At his signal, the servants in the reception room exited.

After confirming that only the three of them remained, the Duke began to speak.

“It’s not just that; the situation in the palace has become a bit complicated.”

“Complicated? How so?”

“The nobles who respect the old customs want the second prince to ascend the throne.”

“There are still those who support that fool?”

Tartenon spoke bluntly. Reubellina nodded, not hiding her displeasure. However, Duke Asillious’s stern expression remained unchanged.

“There are rumors that Prince Inferno has changed a bit due to this incident.”

“So what? He’ll just go back to his old ways.”

Duke Asillious shook his head lightly at Reubellina’s words.

“The problem is that more nobles believe Prince Inferno should be given a chance now that he’s come to his senses.”

“Those people really have nothing better to do. What about Princess Selena? Is she just standing by?”

“Of course not.”

“Then it’s almost decided. The Princess isn’t someone to be underestimated.”

Reubellina’s eyes gleamed as she declared to the Duke.

“But the Princess’s image isn’t very good.”

“Anyway, the second prince can’t beat the Princess. How many years has she been navigating the social circles?”

Selena had managed the social circles in place of Stella. It was called socializing, but it was essentially a small political arena. Surviving in that fierce environment, where one had to engage in the same political maneuvers as the officials, without tarnishing Stella’s name meant she had exceptional skills.

This was an aspect both Tartenon and Duke Asillious overlooked. Sometimes, power struggles among women were far more terrifying.

‘But they wouldn’t know.’

Reubellina also survived through scheming. Princess Selena would be the same.

‘No, she’s probably better than me.’

At least Reubellina had money in her hands. It was far from enough to dominate social circles with just the status of being an imperial. The fact that the Princess had become a leader in the social circles indicated her exceptional ability to handle people.

“His Majesty supports Princess Selena.”

“You’re stating the obvious. What if supporting the second prince leads to the same fate as the deposed crown prince?”

Though she said it casually, Reubellina pinpointed the Emperor’s greatest concern accurately. Duke Asillious admired Reubellina’s keen insight into the situation.

“As expected of my daughter!”

Before he could continue praising her, Reubellina stopped him.

“So, which side are you going to support, Father?”

“I intend to support the Princess.”

“You made the right choice. I support the princess too.”

Reubellina declared. If anyone other than Princess Selena ascended the throne, it would be disadvantageous for the North. At the recent banquet, the North had expressed its support for Selena. Whether it was Reubellina’s will or Tartenon’s, Selena and the North were already in the same boat.

“The second prince is still bedridden, so he can’t compete with the Princess.”

“I heard Bellaruse was executed for that incident.”

The day after the incident, Bellaruse was executed in front of everyone. It was a natural result, as she not only committed a crime but also tried to frame an innocent high-ranking noble.

The execution ground was filled with citizens cursing Bellaruse, and the Emperor personally attended. However, Reubellina and Tartenon did not go. There was no reason to.

Bellaruse, along with the Emperor and the deposed crown prince, were accomplices in the plot. Yet, only she, the one with the lowest status, had to die while being ridiculed by others. Feeling strange about it, Reubellina quietly stayed at the Duke’s mansion.

Noticing Reubellina’s bitter expression, Tartenon gently stroked her shoulder. Recognizing the comfort in his touch, Reubellina pressed her cheek against the back of his hand. It was a small gesture but brought great comfort.

“You don’t need to worry about the second prince.”

Tartenon stepped forward to speak.

“Why not?”

“Because with His Majesty’s personality, he’ll never ascend the throne.”

Tartenon’s eyes shone coldly as he suggested they hurry back to the North.