Chapter 5: The Truth Revealed (1)

Several days passed without much notice.

Larie often drifted into thought because of Terian, but it didn’t stop the flow of time.

“Uhmah! Mmama!”

The room adjacent to the empress’s bedroom had been filled with child-safe items. It had effectively become Rui’s playroom. At first, Larie found using such a luxurious space for that purpose to be quite overwhelming.

But Rui’s activity levels had only continued to grow.

Watching him crawl around the playroom with such energy always made her heart soften.

Even now, the child was enthusiastically playing with the toys handed to him by the maids. As soon as Larie entered the room, he recognized her and smiled with his bright eyes folding into crescents.

That single look was enough to make all the unease that sometimes overwhelmed her disappear entirely.

“Shall we go to the other room, Rui?”

The maid who had been watching Rui quietly stepped back.

Larie gave her a grateful glance before gently picking Rui up.

He had grown significantly heavier by the day. Today especially, he seemed noticeably heavier than even yesterday.

Was it just her imagination?

“You’ve gotten a lot heavier, Rui.”

It used to be easy to lift him up high to meet his eyes, but now, it was difficult with her strength alone.

Rui still loved going to the lake.

At night, perhaps from growing pains, he had begun to fuss without reason.

But every time she gently rubbed his little arms and legs, he would soon fall asleep with soft breaths.

“I’ll help with your hair, Your Majesty.”

When Larie moved to the sitting room attached to her bedroom with Rui, a maid approached cautiously.

She had refused all such service at first, but gradually, reasons were added.

For instance, keeping her hair neat so it wouldn’t get in the way while caring for the child.

The maids were quickly learning how to gently guide Larie to accept their help.

“I shall look after the young prince, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

As if waiting for that moment, the Marchioness of Incarze stepped forward and took Rui into her arms.

But the expression on her face shifted subtly as she held him—her gaze hardening in a curious way.

“Hmm…”

The change in the seasoned caretaker’s expression frightened Larie. She had just noticed Rui’s sudden growth herself, making it all the more concerning.

“Is something wrong?”

“N-no, Your Majesty. It’s just… His Highness seems to be growing rather quickly…”

“Ah…”

So it wasn’t her imagination—Rui really had gotten heavier since yesterday.

As Larie’s expression darkened, the nanny quickly smiled to reassure her.

“Better to grow quickly than slowly, so please don’t worry yourself.”

Larie, more than anyone, knew that to be true, and she nodded. The Marchioness of Incarze had raised four children of her own and served as the imperial palace’s head nanny. If anyone could be trusted with such a judgment, it was her.

Still, the unease that had crept into Larie’s heart wouldn’t disappear so easily.

If Rui was suddenly growing in line with his true age… it was only a matter of time before the truth of his parentage was discovered.

“……”

Suppressing her expression, Larie sat down at the vanity. As a maid gently tended to her hair, she fixed her gaze on the sky beyond the mirror.

Over the past several days, Larie had been lost in thought. Was leaving the imperial palace truly the right choice? And if she did leave—how could she do it?

She still couldn’t fully grasp Terian’s true intentions.

This man who no longer seemed to hate her… it left her deeply confused.

Had he not declared his hatred for Trompérie? The blood in her veins would never change. Whatever his motives, they were fated to remain parallel lines, never meeting.

Terian, too, seemed constantly conflicted. Though he may have sought her out in error, the right path was likely for her to disappear from his life once more.

Still, Rui always lay at the center of her hesitation. When she was alone, she could throw everything aside and flee to the forest—back then, she had nothing to lose.

When she thought only of Rui, it was true that the abundance of this place was hard to ignore.

But she believed that material wealth alone wasn’t what raised a person—after all, she had grown up that way.

The new moon was drawing near.

Recalling the pain that had followed her all her life, Larie’s expression darkened.

“It’s finished. Is it comfortable?”

“It’s fine.”

At this crossroads, Larie felt keenly how much she needed information.

Her daily life appeared free enough, but ever since she entered the empress’s palace, she had been cut off from the outside world. Any attempt to go far brought knights trailing behind her in the name of escort. Even the absence of others in this vast palace seemed like a calculated danger.

She also feared that her family might discover she was here. She had overheard in the town’s marketplace that Tromperie’s fortunes were waning, but she wanted to know the full picture. If they learned of Rui’s existence, there was no telling how they might try to use him.

As she slowly rose from her seat, her gaze drifted once more out the window. The lake visible at a glance was, as always, gently rippling with waves.

The area around the blessed lake was the only place free from watchful eyes. She’d heard it was considered sacred ground—entry strictly controlled, but no soldiers were posted within.

Her eyes naturally turned to the forest that encircled the lake.

“Do you need anything?”

The head lady-in-waiting spoke in a concerned tone, seeing her staring outside in silence for some time.

While thinking about the outside world, something suddenly occurred to Larie.

“……Is there anything like a newspaper or bulletin?”

In noble households, news bulletins were occasionally delivered—mostly filled with advertisements for luxury goods aimed at nobles, or updates on foreign social circles.

Tromperie, who had made their fortune in commerce, made the most use of such bulletins as a valuable source of information.

Though Larie had never been formally educated, she’d learned through observation how her family used these bulletins.

She figured she might at least be able to gauge how much Tromperie’s influence had changed since the past.

“Oh, you must mean the newspaper,” the lady-in-waiting said quickly, as if she understood exactly what Larie was referring to.

“Newspaper…?”

At the unfamiliar word, Larie tilted her head in confusion, prompting the lady-in-waiting to explain cheerfully. She looked pleased, perhaps because Larie—who often seemed bored—had finally shown interest in something, which made Larie feel a twinge of guilt.

“It’s something that’s become quite popular among commoners recently, and apparently it’s become a bit of a topic of conversation.”

To Larie’s surprise, the bulletins once sparsely distributed to noble households had now become widely circulated among the common folk of the capital.

“I happen to have one with me.”

“Thank you.”

True to her word, the lady-in-waiting promptly returned with a few sheets of paper.

They were properly formatted, featuring news about a prominent murder case in the capital and gossip from noble social circles. Here and there were advertisements—the bulletins’ original purpose—still included without fail.

In a way, it was exactly the information Larie needed.

Her eyes quietly lit up when she saw how clearly the influence of her family had diminished in the advertisements.

***

“……According to them, the Kingdom of Alfrang allegedly bombed one of their forward outposts.”

“And why would Alfrang do such a thing?”

“A staged act, no doubt. Just a pretext to reignite the front line, which has been quiet since last winter.”

The ambitions of Shupetania, who had once invaded Laxtreen, seemed to know no end.

After Larie’s disappearance, it hadn’t taken long for Shupetania to invade a small kingdom called Alfrang.

But for the past two years, the war had dragged on without clear progress.

“That’s correct. The Kingdom of Alfrang is already engaged in peace negotiations—they’ve denied having any reason to bomb anyone.”

The ministers exchanged insights from their various informants, engaging in animated debate.

Then, one official from the treasury turned slightly to glance at Baron Tromperie, who was seated silently in a corner.

“Baron Tromperie, do you have any insight to offer?”

“What do you mean by that?”

The baron’s expression was far from pleasant. Though he was still managing to hold his position, there were now visible flaws in his attire and accessories—subtle signs of decline.

The atmosphere in the council chamber had changed considerably since two years ago. The number of nobles who once clung to his wealth had noticeably dwindled.

Naturally, the baron’s influence on political decisions had waned along with his status.

Even the treasury official who addressed him now had once been a beneficiary of Tromperie’s wealth.

“Surely no one here is unaware of how… ‘close’ Baron Tromperie is to Shupetania,” the minister said, his sarcasm barely concealed.

Those who had realigned themselves with the Emperor’s rising power were now desperate to prove their loyalty, often with such pointed remarks.

“……Urgh.”

Baron Tromperie’s face turned a mottled mix of red and blue in response to the aristocratic insult, composed entirely of veiled slights.

Emperor Terian, seated on the throne, watched the spectacle from above with cold detachment before shifting his gaze to the opposite side of the room.

He had no interest in watching petty nobles jostle for dominance.

More importantly, today’s council included one key agenda item.

“What are the anticipated risks if war resumes?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. According to the documentation compiled by the Ministry of State…”

As the ministers straightened their postures and began reading from the documents before them, Terian continued to silently fight off the flood of thoughts spinning in his head.

Rumors had begun to leak from the Empress’s palace—subtle hints that someone now resided there. Terian had never expected to completely suppress the whispers; after all, her return had been executed in haste.

As long as the fact that it was Larie who now occupied that palace remained hidden, enough smoke could be thrown to obscure the truth. It would buy him time.

If I treat the child well… perhaps she’ll think being at my side is better than with her family. That rift must’ve formed because of the child in the first place.

“Next. Speak.”

At the Emperor’s command, a delegate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stood. He looked a bit uneasy, clearing his throat before addressing Terian.

“The Empire of Rassium has expressed its intent to dispatch an official delegation.”

“The reason?”

At last—the issue Terian had been waiting for was brought up. Still, he feigned ignorance and asked for the delegation’s purpose.

The mood in the chamber shifted. Rassium bordered the Kingdom of Alfrang and had reason to be affected by the war, but sending a diplomatic mission seemed a bit excessive. Whispers and speculation rippled silently through the room.

The delegate swallowed hard before replying.

“…They did not clearly specify the purpose of the visit.”

A cold stillness swept the council chamber. Ministers exchanged tense glances. That kind of ambiguous diplomatic approach carried its own meaning—and everyone there knew it.

Most notably, such vagueness was often employed when a previously rejected matter was being reintroduced for reconsideration.

“……”

“……”

The Emperor had already refused a political marriage proposal from Rassium once before. And it was no secret that he’d been engaged in a long struggle with the missing Grand Duchess—Tromperie’s daughter. Everyone knew how strangely stubborn Terian had been in refusing a divorce.

Resting one elbow on the armrest of his throne, Terian slowly turned his piercing gaze toward the foreign affairs official.

“…They did not specify the nature, you say…”