Chapter 10

“T-that, what do you mean…?”

“Repeat what you were muttering.”

Neil instinctively sensed it. Evan’s expression hadn’t changed, but his entire demeanor had shifted. The lack of emotion on his face was even more unsettling. Flattened to the ground before Evan, Neil felt like crying. Inside, he desperately called out for Diana, but of course, his thoughts would never reach her.

“I-I was so startled, I forgot what I said… If you give me a moment, I’ll remember…”

“You mentioned something about a social gathering.”

“Oh, right! Yes! The social gathering! That’s definitely what I said!”

Now remembering, Neil answered quickly.

“Social gathering! Yes! And then I mentioned Lady Diana’s husband candidate!”

“Yes, that husband candidate.”

“Pardon?”

“Why is my aide looking for a husband candidate?”

“Well, um… that was just my guess. She said she’d be attending a social gathering, and since it’s not a common thing for her, I thought maybe she was going there to find a husband. It was just my own assumption.”

Neil sweated nervously, worried Diana might get dragged into this. He didn’t know why Evan reacted to his mumbling, but his survival instinct was telling him something had gone very wrong.

“Which social gathering?”

“I heard it’s the one hosted by the Christine Marquisate!”

At the mention of Christine, silence fell over the corridor. Finding this odd, Neil cautiously raised his head.

“If it’s the Christine Marquisate, then it’s hosted by the Marquis’s daughter?”

“Yes. That’s what Lady Diana told me. She said Lady Christine invited her.”

Come to think of it, didn’t he hear that the Marquis’s daughter and His Majesty had known each other since childhood? Recalling what Diana had said, Neil forced a smile.

“Well, maybe Lady Christine planned to let you know too, Your Majesty? I heard the two of you are very close friends.”

“Not at all.”

“Yes, of course! I’ll keep quiet.”

Ruined, totally ruined. Neil had tried to change the mood with all the courage he could muster, but Evan’s firm denial made him bow his head again. Meanwhile, Evan muttered,

“So the Marquis’s daughter invited her. Interesting.”

“…….”

“Interesting.”

Evan’s lips curled in a cold smile, while Neil felt no amusement at all. Trembling on the floor, Neil desperately wished for Diana to hurry back.

*   *   *

A dark room, with not a single ray of sunlight. There, people had gathered by candlelight. It was a meeting, but not one filled with laughter and chatter. Tension filled the room. At last, a voice broke the silence.

“So what do we do now?”

No one answered easily. Those gathered kept silent. The man, frustrated, raised his voice again.

“I mean the statement from the last noble meeting. Wasn’t it clear? He said anyone who defies him won’t be spared. And now, no one—commoner or noble—can move around at dawn? Isn’t this openly showing suspicion toward the nobles?”

During the Prince’s Rebellion, it wasn’t only the princes who fought. Nobles had quietly supported their chosen princes. And when Evan, who had the least noble support, became Emperor, the nobles who supported other princes reacted in two ways.

Some were anxious, fearing Evan would punish them for backing other princes, so they kept a low profile. Others, however, still refused to accept Evan as Emperor.

The people gathered in this room all had one thing in common: they were nobles hostile to Evan. Whether family of the princes or their supporters, they recalled Evan’s words from the last noble meeting.

“It might be reasonable for commoners, but to apply this to nobles means he suspects something.”

“Hah, it’s just youthful bravado. He’s hot-blooded, so he can say things like that in public. Special street patrols? Ridiculous.”

“Still, it’s suspicious that he suddenly makes such bold statements. Wasn’t he quiet after becoming Emperor? Maybe he’s suddenly found some powerful backing…”

“What backing? Who in the capital could be more powerful than the Duke sitting here?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Arthur in the center. They all agreed.

“That’s right. No matter how capable, no one can match the Duke.”

“Exactly. No need to worry about that.”

Arthur listened to their words, then quietly spoke.

“No. There is someone.”

“…….”

“The Christine Marquisate.”

No one objected, falling silent. As Arthur said, among the nobles of the capital, the two greatest powers were undoubtedly the Daian Dukedom and the Christine Marquisate.

“But it doesn’t matter. Christine only moves for money.”

During the Prince’s Rebellion, while nobles fiercely competed, the Christine Marquisate was the only one to remain neutral. In fact, they profited by buying and selling weapons—the only noble house to benefit.

They weren’t enemies, but neither were they allies. Truly, the Christine Marquisate was a double-edged sword. But Arthur didn’t care much about that.

“The Emperor knows that about the Marquis family too. They don’t trust each other, so it doesn’t matter.”

Still, Evan’s words at the noble meeting bothered Arthur. After quietly sitting on the throne, was the Emperor finally showing his claws? Arthur’s eyes glinted coldly.

“But we can’t leave an unqualified Emperor on the throne forever.”

“…….”

“Actually, this works out well. We can take it as a declaration of war.”

Arthur’s words stirred the group. Finally, someone spoke.

“But aren’t there no princes left?”

“That’s right. There were no surviving princes at the time.”

The Prince’s Rebellion had taken a heavy toll. There wasn’t a single prince left for them to support.

“There may be no princes, but there are still those with royal blood.”

“Excuse me?”

“In the Karbel Grand Duchy.”

“……!”

The atmosphere changed at the mention of that house from Arthur’s lips.

“As you know, the late Emperor’s brother, the second prince, married the Grand Duchess of Karbel. Then he went north.”

“That’s right. But the second prince…”

“No. Now his son has inherited the title of Grand Duke.”

“…….”

“Grand Duke Kahil Karbel. The son of the late second prince and the Grand Duchess.”

Arthur’s words brightened the group’s faces.

“That’s right. He has royal blood and the title of Grand Duke of Karbel. He’s perfectly qualified.”

“But will he join us? This is a serious matter.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”

In fact, there had been subtle conflict over succession between the late Emperor and his brother, the second prince. When the late Emperor took the throne, he sent his brother far north.

Arthur was sure that the second prince’s ambition for the throne had influenced his son as well.

“And let’s be clear. We’re not defying the Emperor—we’re gathering to restore the true Imperial Family.”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

“The Duke is correct.”

Everyone agreed with Arthur. Watching them, Arthur’s lips curled coldly.

Let’s see how long he can struggle in that seat.