Chapter 19

Eric came to a halt, standing rigidly in place.  

The faint thread of reason he had been holding onto was on the verge of snapping entirely.  

Leopold’s question was, in essence, an admission that he had approached Euphrasia knowing full well she was Eric’s partner.  

‘How dare he.’  

Although the delegation was composed entirely of the Kingdom of Kettlin’s nobility, as protocol dictated, it wasn’t particularly impressive upon closer inspection.  

It was common practice not to send truly high-ranking or important figures as envoys, in case of unforeseen incidents in foreign lands.  

Eric quickly scanned the man who had dared to utter such insolent words.  

Was he barely an adult? 

There was certainly a youthful air about him.  

At best, he was likely the heir to some borderland estate or a newly appointed knight.  

Unless he was royalty from Kettlin, of course.  

A surge of humiliation rose within Eric at the thought of being mocked by a young upstart from a small island kingdom.  

“I don’t know what you mean by that question, but I don’t care to find out.”  

Eric’s face twisted with irritation.  

“She is the mother of my child, the biological mother of the next heir to the Herrington duchy. Do you need further explanation?”  

As the words left Eric’s mouth, a faint crack appeared in the mask-like smile Leopold had been wearing.  

Eric smirked triumphantly as he noticed the slight tremor in Leopold’s pupils.  

“What’s the matter? Could it be that you never imagined the lady you fancied might already have a child?”  

His voice dripped with smugness.  

Leopold’s head drooped, and his body began to tremble slightly, as if the shock was greater than expected.  

‘A brat from some backwater kingdom, behaving recklessly without knowing his place. Surely he’s not crying?’  

The now utterly defeated man no longer held Eric’s interest.  

With a scoff, Eric turned away and left without hesitation.  

Even after Eric departed the terrace, Leopold remained frozen in place, trembling.  

However, contrary to Eric’s expectations, Leopold’s face, hidden as it was, bore a wide, sinister grin.  

The thrill coursing through him only made his body shake harder.  

‘So, there really is a child. And contrary to the rumors, Duke Herrington seems quite attached to the child.’  

Leopold vividly recalled the argument between Euphrasia and Devonie, where the topic of the “child” had come up.  

His true purpose in provoking Duke Herrington had been to gauge how the Duke regarded Euphrasia and her child.  

After all, Duke Herrington was a figure of immense power.  

If either Euphrasia or her son aligned with his expectations, and if he could recruit them to his side—along with the Duke’s influence—he would finally be able to mount a proper counterattack against his half-sister, Isabella, who had been suffocating him for so long.  

The first step, then, was clear.  

‘I need to establish a proper connection with her.’  

If he wanted to act before Sir Albert, who had begun to grow suspicious, there was no time to waste.  

Even if it was only a sliver of a possibility, the fact that it existed was enough to satisfy Leopold for now.  

Leopold’s eyes gleamed sharply as he lifted his head.  

Without hesitation, he strode out of the now-empty terrace.  

Inside the banquet hall, a unified cheer echoed loudly.  

“To the eternal pinnacle of the Lockvela Empire, His Majesty Carian Lockvela, the blazing sun! Glory to His Majesty and the Empire’s future!”  

From the central staircase on the second floor, the Emperor, Carian, descended slowly, a faint smile on his lips and a long line of attendants trailing behind him.  

Bianca approached confidently and naturally fell into step beside him.  

The Lockvela Empire’s nobles, who had been mingling freely in the festive atmosphere of the banquet hall, now bowed deeply to the Emperor who had appeared.  

The delegation from the Kingdom of Kettlin followed suit, and Leopold hurriedly halted to pay his respects to the Emperor.  

“Raise your heads.”  

Having descended the stairs, Carian surveyed the crowd with satisfaction.  

“This banquet is in honor of the hero who ended the tedious border war with a decisive victory for the Lockvela Empire—Duke Herrington.”  

His voice carried an air of authority.  

“I, as Emperor of the Empire, express my gratitude for his exceptional abilities and loyalty to the Empire.”  

Carian’s gaze swept slowly across the room.  

By now, the Duke should have stepped forward to stand by his side.  

The fact that he hadn’t, whether out of obliviousness or deliberate defiance, only made him more irksome.  

“Duke Herrington.”  

Finally, Carian spotted Eric standing in a corner of the banquet hall and called out to him sternly.  

Reluctantly, Eric raised his head and approached the Emperor, a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.  

“Your Majesty. My accomplishments are but minor feats. As the great Lockvela Empire’s ruler, all glory rightfully belongs to you, Your Majesty.”  

Eric’s words flowed smoothly, as if his tongue had been oiled, but the look in his eyes as he met the Emperor’s gaze was far from respectful.  

Having left the terrace, Eric found Euphrasia slumped on a sofa in the tearoom’s lounge, looking utterly dazed.  

He was just beginning to consider how to recreate the circumstances of that night naturally when the Emperor appeared.  

“Take me to His Majesty.”  

Euphrasia’s eyes sparkled with excitement, as though the moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.  

“You told me to personally retrieve the Elixir of Truth, didn’t you? Surely you could at least arrange an introduction to His Majesty?”  

Moments ago, she had been awkwardly avoiding eye contact with him, and just before that, she had been curled up on the sofa, looking helpless.  

Yet the instant the Emperor arrived, she was filled with determination.  

Eric let out a dry laugh.  

The realization that their reasons for attending the banquet had been different from the start left him feeling hollow.  

“Let’s go together.”  

The Emperor, who had been in the middle of praising him, happened to call his name at that moment.  

With no choice but to approach the Emperor alongside Euphrasia, Eric struggled to hide his growing irritation.  

Meanwhile, Carian was equally displeased.  

“And the young lady… I don’t believe we’ve met.”

The Emperor’s tone carried a hint of displeasure.  

For him, it was bad enough that the Duke had brought a woman who was essentially his lady to a royal banquet.  

That he had done so in the presence of the Princess, whom Carian had intended as a match for the Duke, was even more galling.  

What’s more, the woman had the audacity to meet the Emperor’s gaze directly.  

The attention that had been focused on the Emperor shifted to Eric.  

The hall, filled to the brim with people, buzzed with astonishment and disapproval as they took in the sight of Euphrasia standing beside him.  

Clearly, they were all thinking the same thing as the Emperor.  

“I would like to formally introduce my partner. Lady Euphrasia Olden of the Count Olden family.”  

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty, at this glorious banquet celebrating the Empire’s victory.”  

Ignoring the stares, Eric continued his introduction, and Euphrasia lifted her dress slightly as she curtsied.  

“Ahem, very well.”  

Carian cleared his throat and glanced sideways at Bianca.  

Though he knew he had done nothing wrong, he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious under his daughter’s gaze.  

Bianca’s lips were pressed into a tight line.  

“This is unpleasant.”  

The Princess directed her sharp words at Euphrasia, her reaction so unexpectedly harsh that even Carian was momentarily taken aback.  

“How dare you lie in the presence of His Majesty?”  

Eric had always known Bianca to be a Princess of impeccable composure in public, despite her reputation as the “Mad Princess.”  

He frowned, puzzled by her uncharacteristic behavior, and was about to step forward when Bianca spoke again.  

“I understand that the previous head of the Count Olden family was infatuated with your mother and took you into the family despite having no blood relation to you.”  

Bianca’s words echoed those of Devonie, as if they had been directly lifted from her mouth.  

“Your Highness?”  

Euphrasia’s face showed confusion as she struggled to process Bianca’s accusation.  

“Do you truly believe it is appropriate for you to stand before His Majesty as a lady of the Count Olden family? Such audacity.”  

“Princess Bianca, I must ask that you refrain from further reproach of my partner.”  

Unable to hold back any longer, Eric spoke in a warning tone.  

He could see the flicker of amusement beneath the Princess’s seemingly angry gaze.  

A bad feeling began to creep over him.  

“So, Duke Herrington, you were already aware of your partner’s origins. You don’t seem surprised. Then again, it would be stranger if you didn’t know, given how widely the rumors have spread.”  

“Yes, I was aware. But, Your Highness, does her origin truly matter that much?”  

“Of course, it does. Allowing a woman of unknown origin to attend a royal banquet, let alone claim the name of a noble family before His Majesty, is a punishable offense.”  

Eric clenched his teeth.  

He had never heard of such rumors, but that was beside the point.  

The priority now was to shield Euphrasia from the Princess’s malice.  

Bianca’s accusations, however, were not without merit.  

If the rumors were true and Euphrasia was not of Count Olden’s bloodline, then she had no right to remain at this gathering.  

‘She’s flustered.’  

Eric observed Euphrasia’s reaction and made a quick decision.  

Exhaling deeply, he met the Princess’s gaze and spoke deliberately.  

“Let me reintroduce my partner. Euphrasia Herrington, Duchess of Herrington. The mother of my child, the lady of the house of the Herrington duchy, and a rightful noble of the Empire. Is that clear?”