The reason Declan came to the Imperial City must be because of the previous incident with the messenger.

Since the king’s direct messenger committed the grave crime of insulting the Emperor, Declan, as his master, had the obligation to explain himself.

If he didn’t, the consequences might have affected both Declan and the House of Roengreen.

Judging by his bright expression, he seemed to have already had a successful conversation with the Emperor about the matter. Vanessa found even this aspect of his competence detestable.

He was the kind of person who could whisper whatever words would please others and fabricate sincerity at will… that was who Declan Roengreen was.

“I was so worried about you, Vanessa. I feared something terrible might have happened to you… But thankfully, Duke Drake showed you mercy. I’m so relieved, truly relieved…”

Speaking thus and expressing gratitude to the Emperor and Jurgen, Declan appeared like a caring older brother genuinely happy to see his sister alive.

Of course, Vanessa knew it was all an act. She sneered inwardly while glaring daggers at Declan.

Rage boiled in her heart. The intense anger that had never subsided since she was sold off like stolen goods to Leroy…

If she could, she wanted to strangle Declan to death right then and there.

“Vanessa, how have you been? Are you unwell anywhere?”

“…Get your hands off me.”

Being in the Emperor’s presence, Vanessa could only quietly growl while restraining herself. Declan withdrew his hand from her shoulder and put on an extremely worried expression. A mask so perfect it was chilling.

“…I see you still resent me.”

Muttering as if troubled, Declan looked at Vanessa with sympathetic eyes. He repeated the same excuses he had made several times before.

“Vanessa… I truly believed Leroy would cherish you. After all, he was genuinely smitten with you. I never dreamed that you would suffer because of him… I had no idea.”

Vanessa let out a bitter laugh in disbelief. It would have been less awful if he had simply apologized sincerely by saying ‘I’m sorry for using you for Roengreen’s benefit.’

But Declan always added excuses. As if Vanessa’s misfortune wasn’t his fault, and everything was Leroy’s doing.

He hid his vile nature behind excuses and thoroughly played the role of ‘a brother who cares for his sister.’ Vanessa couldn’t stand how despicable that was.

“I’ve heard about you. They say Duke Drake intends to marry you. Though quite unexpected… I can understand if your beauty has captivated him as well.”

As he spoke, Declan glanced sideways at Jurgen who stood slightly behind Vanessa. Vanessa also turned back briefly and met Jurgen’s expressionless eyes. By any measure, it wasn’t the face of a man in love with a woman.

“But Vanessa, I want you to return to Roengreen. Wouldn’t it be better to be near family? Glena misses you terribly. And Mother… her health has been declining recently, and she longs for you deeply.”

At the mention of their mother’s poor health, Vanessa unconsciously flinched, revealing her reaction. Declan didn’t miss this vulnerable moment. He immediately poured out his words.

“Please return to Roengreen, Vanessa. Your homeland is where you belong. And you should fulfill your filial duty to Mother as well.”

It was his attempt to manipulate her psychology by playing on her concern for her mother and her longing for her homeland.

Vanessa wavered for a brief moment but soon regained her composure and thought,

‘I can check on Mother’s health through Duke Evanwood. As for Glena… I don’t even need to worry. Declan will be coddling her like a precious jewel.’

Having reached this conclusion and steeled herself, Vanessa looked straight at Declan and spoke.

“Of course I want to return to Roengreen. If I could. But not through you, Declan.”

“…Addressing your brother as ‘you,’ how informal you’ve become, Vanessa.”

When Declan subtly pointed this out, Vanessa sneered and responded sarcastically.

“Ah, sorry. It makes my skin crawl to call you brother. Why don’t you stop trying so hard to appear like we’re loving siblings? We both know we’d like nothing better than to strangle each other.”

“……”

Declan silently sighed and slowly ran both hands over his face. Then he spoke as if deeply troubled.

“You must be misunderstanding something, Vanessa. Just because you resent me doesn’t mean I hate you too. While it’s true that Leroy caused a rift between us… I want us to be close siblings like before. Won’t you understand my sincerity? If we continue to be hostile and fight, both our late father and our ailing mother would be saddened.”

When Declan mentioned their deceased father, the color drained from Vanessa’s face. Her navy blue eyes blazed with fierce hatred. Forgetting that she was in the Emperor’s sanctuary, Vanessa snapped at Declan.

“How dare you mention Father? You, who broke your promise to Father and sold me to a tyrant? It wasn’t because of Leroy, it was all your fault! Stop pretending you don’t know your crimes, Declan! You despicable hypocrite!”

As Vanessa, unable to contain her fury, tried to lunge at Declan, someone firmly held her back. After struggling and panting for a moment, Vanessa realized she couldn’t move an inch and irritably turned around.

Jurgen stood right behind her, holding her tightly as if embracing her.

“Let go…! Let me go, Duke!”

“This is His Majesty’s sanctuary. Control yourself.”

When Jurgen warned her in a low, calm voice, reason gradually returned to Vanessa’s eyes. Taking rough breaths, she soon steadied her breathing and closed her eyes, biting her lips firmly.

When she opened her eyes moments later, she appeared relatively composed. Jurgen, seemingly judging that she was now alright, released her, and Vanessa bowed deeply to the Emperor with a rather humble attitude as she spoke.

“I sincerely apologize, Your Majesty. I committed a grave discourtesy in Your Majesty’s presence.”

In response to Vanessa’s proper apology, the Emperor answered with his usual benevolent smile.

“No, don’t worry about it. It must be complicated family matters. However, regarding Jurgen’s marriage… I cannot help but intervene.”

Speaking thus with a gentle smile, the Emperor looked like a grandfather lovingly watching his mischievous grandchild. Since with his appearance he appeared to be only in his early twenties, there was quite a disconnect between his physical appearance and actual mental age.

“You brought the princess here to get permission for marriage, didn’t you? Jurgen.”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

Jurgen answered the Emperor’s question in a monotone voice while bowing his head. Seeing such indifference from someone supposedly seeking permission for getting married, the Emperor laughed incredulously and continued.

“Well then, tell me. Why do you want to marry Vanessa? Your attitude seems too detached for someone who’s fallen for her. There must be a valid reason for wanting to keep by your side a former queen who should rightfully be executed, a princess whose homeland is requesting her return.”

“…Don’t you already know? Is there any need to ask?”

Vanessa was greatly surprised to see someone respond to the Emperor in such a manner for the first time in her life. With a glance, she saw that Declan was also shocked.

However, what’s even more surprising was the Emperor’s reaction. As if not at all bothered by Jurgen’s audacity, he smiled kindly and replied.

“Of course, I already know the reason. How could I not know what’s in your heart when I consider you like a son?”

“……”

Jurgen seemed somewhat displeased by the Emperor’s words. But it was impossible to tell exactly which part had upset him.

“And the princess… must be curious about what you’re thinking, Jurgen. Well, would you like to know?”

“……!”

Since the question sounded like he would tell her if she wanted to know, Vanessa quickly raised her head to look up at the him.

As the Emperor was about to speak again while smiling playfully at Vanessa, Jurgen’s irritated voice cut in.

“That’s enough. Didn’t you promise me?”

Vanessa was shocked almost to the point of fainting that Jurgen would dare speak in such a way—even if he was highly favored by the Emperor.

Veratir Barbaroc was an immortal being so deeply connected to the Lavinian religion that he was called God’s representative, and no one in the world knew his true origin or age.

“Ah… Yes. I forgot. This is what happens when you live too long.”

The Emperor looked at Jurgen with affectionate eyes, showing no signs of anger.

By this point, Vanessa was beginning to suspect that Jurgen might be the Emperor’s secret biological child. Declan too was looking back and forth between the Emperor and Jurgen with an expression of complete incomprehension.

The Emperor turned to face Vanessa and spoke in a somewhat more serious tone than before.

“Then, let me change the question. Vanessa Roengreen, what do you want to do? Do you wish to marry Jurgen? Or would you prefer to return to your homeland with your brother?”

Finally sensing this was the main point, Vanessa took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“I…”