45. The Empress Dowager’s Suspicion (1)

Edward was quite shocked by the news of Herwen and Ariella’s romance, followed by their engagement. However, Edward did not ask Duke Nox about the matter. He believed that Duke Nox would handle things well, keeping his personal and official matters separate.

But all day long, Duke Nox sighed deeply with that same expression. The other advisors spent the whole day watching him warily. Edward could no longer stand the situation.

“Duke Nox, do you have any other opinions?”

Duke Nox, staring absentmindedly into space and sighing, was startled by Edward’s voice and quickly straightened up.

“Do as Your Majesty wishes. You’re going to do as you please anyway, aren’t you?”

Edward frowned slightly. He turned his head with a hardened expression, not responding. The advisors, who had been watching both the emperor and Duke Nox, began to back down from their opposition to importing food at the sight of Edward’s displeased face. In the end, the large-scale import of food to prepare for a poor harvest in the Hallaren region was decided, and they wrapped up by agreeing to begin planning for it starting the next day.

“Duke Nox, do you have a moment?”

Duke Nox stopped as he was about to leave, nodded, and sat back down.

Once they were alone, Edward, propping his chin on his hand and gazing at Duke Nox, spoke up.

“I know you’re very upset.”

“I’m not upset. Not at all…”

Duke Nox replied sarcastically. Edward’s eyes narrowed.

“Since the engagement between Herwen and Lady Nox was decided, haven’t you been making everyone uncomfortable?”

“Haa… To be honest, Your Majesty, I resent you. If you had hurried to appoint an empress sooner, Ariella would have been in that position. And because of the empress, Your Majesty’s reputation wouldn’t have been dragged through the mud.”

‘So it’s all because of me?’

Edward had thought Duke Nox’s complicated expression was due to his own inner turmoil, but it turned out to be resentment toward himself, and he let out a hollow laugh.

“I’ve watched Your Majesty since you were young and devoted myself to you. Just before Her Majesty the Empress passed away, she asked me to look after you. I tried to keep that promise. I served you with all my heart and sincerity. I had no other motives, but as a father, I did want to see my daughter in an exalted position. But now, everything has gone wrong.”

“So you’re saying it’s all my fault? That you resent me now?”

Edward asked in a low voice.

Duke Nox was struck by a chilling sensation, and it didn’t take him long to realize what he’d dared to blurt out to the emperor in a fit of anger. His face quickly turned bright red, as if it had been burned.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

Edward’s gaze darkened as he looked at Duke Nox. He stared at him for a long time before turning away and letting out a long sigh.

“Take a break for now. Come back when you’ve sorted out your feelings. Don’t make things uncomfortable for everyone else…”

Duke Nox lowered his head and bit his lip.

***

The weather grew even hotter.

It had reached the point where just standing still made sweat pour down. Fortunately, the places where the imperial family stayed were kept cool by magic devices, so they didn’t fully feel the outside temperature. Still, even a brief trip outdoors made it hard to breathe.

When they went out, it wasn’t Larael who suffered, but Sasha and Joanna, who had to fan Larael. Because of this, Larael had recently avoided going out.

Sasha and Joanna constantly praised the magic devices that cooled the air. In their home county, such expensive devices were out of the question.

Larael was already used to them, but under normal circumstances, this would have been her first time experiencing them. So, whenever her maids talked about them, she nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

The head maid had been busy ever since receiving the emperor’s vacation schedule. She was selecting who would accompany them to the summer palace and was already preparing the empress consort’s luggage.

It was Larael’s first time going to the summer palace as well. The thought of a summer vacation so different from before made her heart flutter. She didn’t show it, but she was counting down the days.

“Your Highness, it’s time to visit the Empress Dowager’s palace.”

Lillian, who had been standing at a distance, approached to announce the schedule when the time came.

Larael, who had been in a good mood just imagining her vacation with Edward, suddenly felt her spirits sink.

As soon as she entered the Empress Dowager’s palace, she noticed the air was much cooler than her own quarters. It was so chilly that Larael, dressed in a thin gown, shivered slightly. The Empress Dowager, unable to stand the heat, used twice as many magic devices as any other palace.

“I greet Your Majesty the Empress Dowager.”

Larael bowed, and the Empress Dowager greeted her with a smile.

“I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t seen you at all.”

“Yes.”

Larael nodded.

She knew there must be a lot to handle, especially with preparations for Herwen’s engagement. It was understandable.

“You kept requesting to see me, but I couldn’t help feeling like you were just keeping an eye on my movements. Don’t take it too personally. Living in the palace makes one much more suspicious.”

“I’m not offended. I just wanted to offer comfort, thinking Your Majesty must be feeling troubled. Your suspicion was correct.”

The Empress Dowager laughed out loud at those words, but her gaze grew sharper.

“I never imagined I’d have to go through an engagement twice. I hope this will be the last one. Still, having done it once before makes it a little easier.”

In truth, even though she said that, the engagement ceremony between Herwen and Larael had been so awkward it was hardly worthy of being called a ceremony. All they did was exchange gifts and share a meal in front of the Empress Dowager, who glared at Larael with fierce eyes.

The Empress Dowager looked directly at Larael, curling her lips into a smile. Larael, undaunted by the gaze, nodded calmly.

“It’s fortunate that you’ve met a good person. This time, he’s truly worthy of your status…”

The Empress Dowager leaned back, giving Larael a meaningful look.

‘Did she just say that herself?’

“By the way, I heard that you and he met at the opera house because you invited him, is that true?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The Empress Dowager sighed, her half-closed eyes suddenly snapping open to look at Larael.

“It seems the information must have leaked from Lady Nox’s side.”

Hearing something new, Larael looked at the Empress Dowager in surprise.

“From Lady Nox’s side?”

The Empress Dowager watched her expression carefully, not missing a thing.

“Did you not know that Lady Nox and Herwen were meeting?”

“No, I had no idea.”

“People who have been hurt by love often fall in love again quickly because of their loneliness. I only mention this because I thought you might feel hurt. But looking at you now, it seems I don’t need to worry about you at all.”

“I was surprised as well, but I’m actually relieved that His Grace the Grand Duke found stability so quickly.”

The Empress Dowager, hearing the empress’s calm reply, remained unconvinced.

According to Herwen, there was no way Larael could know about their relationship, but she kept thinking, ‘What if?’ It didn’t seem like a coincidence that the two met at the opera house thanks to the empress consort’s invitation. Even if Larael hadn’t intended it, it was odd that she planned for all three of them to see the opera together.

Was it really not surprising that her former fiancé met a new woman in such a short time—and that woman was Ariella, someone she was close to?

Larael always seemed excessively calm, as if she knew what was going to happen.

Now that she thought about it, was it really a coincidence that they wore the same dress and met by chance at the tea party?

She suddenly remembered how the empress consort had given her a dress as a gift. Still, there wasn’t enough evidence to turn her suspicion into certainty.

“Seeing how composed you are, I don’t think there will be any trouble even if an empress is brought in.”

At the Empress Dowager’s probing remark, Larael’s calm face turned pale. This time, she couldn’t pretend to be unaffected. She had always thought of this as her final duty, but hearing it said like this made her heart pound with anxiety and a feeling of dread.

“Are you feeling unwell, Your Highness?”