Adelia put down the tea she was drinking.

“Places with family are always fun by nature. It’s not because of me, but because it was originally a fun place.”

Adelia drew a clear line. Unlike her usual witty responses, when Adelia drew the line instead, Ariana was taken aback and looked at the Emperor.

The Emperor silently shook his head.

“Thank you for yesterday. Tell me if there’s anything you want.”

“Is it really alright? I actually do have something.”

Adelia rummaged through this space and pulled out several document envelopes.

[Noble Family Tax Settlement and Merchant Guild Record Discrepancies.]

Last time it was Part 1, this time it was Parts 1, 2, and 3, three in total.

Adelia placed them on the table.

“Several noble families have underreported their profits from trading with our merchant guild to the imperial palace.”

“Those scumbags.”

“Is that bad?”

Ariana tilted her head.

“Of course. For example, while they bought wheat from our guild for 1 gold coin, they recorded half the price in the report submitted to the imperial family. This means the nobles’ income is recorded lower, and their taxes are also set lower. When unreported black money is generated, it’s difficult to trace. This has remained a common practice among nobles since it can’t be discovered without checking with the merchant guild.”

Adelia explained kindly. Hearing this, Ariana clenched both hands and trembled.

“Bad people!”

“So what do you want me to do with this?”

“Please impose fines on several noble families, including Count Vita. In such cases, the fine is usually set at the amount of tax they should have paid, so they’ll have to sell all their jewelry and even their townhouse.”

Adelia continued speaking calmly with a smile.

“Count Vita has been borrowing money from people using my name. It’s time to cut him off and crush him. I want to start by drying up his money supply first.”

Adelia was saying she would begin her revenge. Noticing this, the Emperor frowned. Just when he was starting to think he wanted to keep her by his son’s side, she was preparing to leave.

While he could try to delay the timing, keeping Adelia wasn’t his role.

“It’s earlier than expected.”

“I would have forgiven them if they showed regret, but there was absolutely no sign of that.”

“How about waiting a bit longer?”

“I realized there’s no need for mercy towards people who still treat me like an object.”

When Adelia put it that way, the Emperor couldn’t stop her anymore. After all, she had entered the imperial palace for revenge in the first place.

It was her matter to deal with, and it would be overstepping for a third party to interfere.

However, he couldn’t process things quickly without resistance.

“It will take some time. Even though you provided it, we need to verify the facts.”

“That’s why I attached the merchant guild documents as well. I organized everything to make verification easy, so even with ample time, it should all be processed within 2 weeks.”

The Emperor opened the document envelope with a sour face. Like she said, the documents were neatly organized. For each family, there was a comparative analysis of the reports submitted by the families and the merchant guild’s records.

It only needed checking of the numbers, without verifying anything else.

“Thorough.”

“It’s something I’ve been preparing for.”

The Emperor didn’t like it, but he couldn’t not process it. He was the one who told her to ask for what she wanted, and there was no justification to delay the work.

Ariana, who was sitting quietly on the Emperor’s knee, peeked up and looked at the Emperor. The Emperor slightly shook his head with an apologetic face.

Her already chubby cheeks puffed up even more.

“Then…… when it’s over? Will Sister leave?”

“I suppose so. That was the contract.”

Though cruel, it was reality. This contract would end in three years at most, or in a few months at least. Even if they divorced, they wouldn’t be on bad terms, but it would be difficult to see each other daily like now. Adelia felt regretful about that too.

Ariana couldn’t say another word, her hands trembling.

She hadn’t heard much detail about Adelia’s family history. But she had accidentally seen the marks left on Adelia’s back, and after hearing that not all families in the world are kind, she could roughly guess.

She knew too well that it wasn’t her place to interfere.

“Can’t you…… not go?”

Ariana opened her mouth with difficulty. It was pitiful to see her looking up at Adelia with large eyes that seemed about to spill tears at any moment.

Adelia didn’t answer. Instead, she smiled faintly and stroked Ariana’s hair.

Her blue eyes, calm as a waveless sea, drew a gentle arc. Seeing that melancholic smile, Ariana couldn’t add anything more. She just bowed her head deeply so that the red waves wouldn’t be visible.

Adelia’s touch stroking her round pink head was so warm.

* * *

“Father, what is this?”

“It’s from Adelia. You should check it.”

After meeting with Adelia, the Emperor passed those documents to Lucian. Lucian received them with a frown.

“Why……”

“She said she’s starting. That child joined hands with you for revenge, so I suppose the time has come.”

“It seems earlier than expected.”

“I agree. She’s a child with drive, so it looks like things will be finished within this year.”

The Emperor implied that Adelia would likely leave soon. While doing so, he secretly glanced at his son who was fixing his gaze on the documents.

“……”

Lucian was silently staring at the documents. His usually blazing red eyes were slightly subdued today.

“Anyway, it would be good to suppress those who’ve been climbing up lately, including Count Vita’s family. Select appropriately from the noble faction families and make it public.”

“Yes…… I understand.”

Lucian nodded reluctantly. The Emperor’s words weren’t reaching his ears well. Though his eyes were on the documents, he wasn’t really reading the text.

‘Leaving……”

That was the contract. It would end either after three years when she received her title, or earlier if she removed the Count’s family and became Countess Vita.

But now that she was actually leaving, somehow his heart wasn’t at ease.

It felt suffocating as if his throat was blocked, and his heart seemed to sink.

The documents he gripped tightly with both hands became creased. And there were even more creases on his face.

The energy flowing from around him intensified. Though Lucian wasn’t aware of it himself, the aides working in the next room could experience the strange sensation of sweat running down their spines.

The only one smiling in that vicinity was the Emperor. The Emperor covered his upturned corners of his mouth with his hand like a beast that had discovered something interesting.

‘Like father, like son.’

Fumbling in front of an obvious answer, wracking his brains unable to find the name of his emotions.

The corners of his mouth crept up seeing how much his son resembled himself.

‘Though there was no need for him to take after me in this too.’

The Emperor leaned back in his chair and looked at his son.

The emotion filling those red eyes seemed like looking at himself from back then. It took a long time to find the reason for the emotions that confused him. He spent countless times denying, avoiding, and making futile efforts.

But the end was so brilliant and beautiful that even those times of heartache became precious.

‘Still, I hope he suffers less.’

Looking back, every moment when Ariel was alive was precious, but he was much happier after realizing the name of his emotions.

The Emperor hoped his son, who took after him, wouldn’t follow the same path as he did.

But since he seemed to have already entered the beginning of that path, he should help him take shortcuts instead of wandering.

The Emperor barely suppressed his rising smile.

“It seems Adelia didn’t tell you.”

“About what……”

“Obviously about finishing her revenge and leaving the imperial palace. Since the contract was with you, I thought you would know, but seeing your face looking like you’ve been hit, I guess not.”

“……I haven’t heard anything.”

“Well. I suppose she didn’t mention it since it was just a contract to leave once the revenge is complete.”

The Emperor brought up the topic lightly. His tone was casual as if there was nothing between them.

But it wasn’t wrong. When Adelia’s revenge was complete, they were in a contractual relationship where they could divorce at any time. When Adelia who had completed her work, wanted to leave, they couldn’t forcibly keep her either.

‘He needs to know reality to understand his feelings.’

Based on experience, a strong shock was the best way to realize emotions. It was a bit cruel, but there wasn’t much time.

“That’s right……”

The Emperor’s thoughts were effective.

Like ripples spreading on calm water, small cracks began to appear on Lucian’s face that had been maintaining a poker face.

“Until that matter is finished, focus only on that and the founding festival, not other things. Think of it as a short break since many things will change once it’s over.”

“I understand.”

The Emperor pulled the work Lucian had been doing towards himself.

Thanks to Adelia’s thorough preparation of the documents, the work didn’t take long. The same went for the founding festival. All Lucian had to do was focus on security and protection.