Chapter 12 – Part 9 

Petitions were coming up one after another.

Leonard looked around at the nobles with a stern expression.

Viscount Landerk ruffled his hair.

“Your Majesty, even animals don’t harm their parents. If there’s even a slight possibility that what Marquis Salvatore said is true, you must consider leniency.”

“Marquis Salvatore claims to be the Emperor’s biological father, but that was said while he was being held for treason. His sentence cannot be commuted on the basis of a word for which there is no evidence; rather, he should be punished more severely for misrepresenting an untrue story as fact and for dishonoring the imperial family.”

“But wasn’t it true that Her Majesty had him as an advisor in the past? According to the servants at the time…”

At the council meetings, there were constant discussions about Marquis Salvatore’s punishment.

It seemed that those who sided with the Marquis had already secured the testimony of the servants.

Leonard listened to the dizzying chatter with his jaw clenched.

It was almost comical to watch them talk like fish out of water.

“……So, Your Majesty, the punishment of the Marquis is something you should consider with great care.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but it was an undeniable fact that the imperial authority was weaker now than it was during the early days of Emperor Heinrich’s reign.

The audacity to utter such words was irritating.

Heinrich was a hero who saved a crumbling empire, but he was also a man who never warmed to anyone.

He was the one who, without hesitation, drew his sword in the council meetings and challenged anyone to dare to oppose him like his parents, who had been beheaded.

Now that the feared emperor was dead and a younger man had taken his place, it was only natural that those who had been hiding their heads in the sand would begin to raise them.

Moreover, Beatrice died, and Marquis Evan, who should have been a supporter of the imperial family as the Empress family, suddenly committed treason.

‘No wonder he was looked down upon.’

It was two years of being alone, with no father and mother to advise him, no empress or brothers to rely on, and no heir to succeed him.

Two years of searching for Tenere’s whereabouts, identifying and weeding out the courtiers, planting men in the marquisate to keep an eye on them, and ignoring the voices that repeatedly called for a new empress and an heir.

It was no wonder, then, that he had begun to show signs of weakness.

“Viscount Landerk, your mother once had a knight of the Viscounty as her mistress.”

Leonard said, his jaw still set tightly.

Viscount Landerck was among those who gathered at the Marquis’s manor when Marquis Salvatore was taken into custody.

As one of the Marquis’s closest confidants, it was likely that he had known about this even before he was taken into custody.

“And Viscount Piazza. It was rumored that your mother was too intimate with the former Viscount Landerck.”

Leonard raised the corners of his mouth slightly as he looked at the two. Their uneasy looks pleased him.

“The two of you should get along in the future. There’s a chance you might even become siblings.”

“Your Majesty!”

“And who else was there, Count Zeppolin?”

Leonard turned his head, and the nobles fell silent in unison.

The nobles of the Emperor’s faction quickly chimed in.

Leonard gave a curt nod and turned to Marquis Salvator’s seat.

Callian, who was sitting there, politely nodded when their eyes met.

* * *

When Tenere returned to the Rose Palace, Leonard was waiting for her in the garden.

He looked around the garden, which had yet to bloom, and turned quickly at the sound of her voice.

“Daddy!”

Joshua squealed as soon as he saw Leonard.

He was still a little worried about falling, but being a kid meant running around without worrying about his parents.

“Yes, Josie.”

Leonard scooped the child up deftly, and Tenere trotted over to him.

Joshua reached for the bouquet his father was holding.

“Flowers.”

“Yes, these are flowers.”

As the child licked his lips, Leonard plucked a stem from the bouquet and handed it to him.

Joshua gripped the stem with both hands and opened his mouth with a gasp.

Tenere quickly stopped him.

“You can’t eat it, Josie.”

“Eh.”

At this age, they touched and put everything in their mouths to satisfy their curiosity.

Even though Tenere had repeatedly told him not to eat the flowers, the soft petals looked so tempting.

Tenere returned her attention to the child and turned toward Leonard.

“Isn’t it time for you to attend to your duties?”

“I’m just here for a moment.”

Well, technically, he’d been on a break.

Without further adieu, Leonard handed Tenere a bouquet of yellow daffodils.

Tenere took it without hesitation.

As she bent down to smell the flowers, the child followed her mother’s lead and pressed his nose to the buds.

After watching them for a moment, Leonard spoke.

“I’ve heard back from my grandfather, and he’s ordered a search.”

“We need to find it quickly.”

Now that the plan was in place, all that remained was to wait.

Vain and greedy nobles had been aiding the Marquis, but all of that was based on the assumption that Isaac was Leonard’s father.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just cut them off if I have to.”

Leonard smiled. Tenere paused for a moment, then asked.

“……what?”

“Here.”

Leonard flicked his own throat.

Tenere’s eyes widened in surprise, as if cutting one’s throat was just as inappropriate as cutting anywhere else.

“Your Majesty, that’s…….”

“I’m not kidding.”

“…….”

“If anything goes wrong, I will decapitate the Marquis on the spot.”

Emperor Heinrich knew Leonard might not be his own blood, but he didn’t abdicate him.

That meant he recognized him as the next emperor, and no one would dethrone him against his will.

“…Your Majesty, people might accuse you of tyranny. It could affect your reputation…”

“Then Joshua will become the saint in my stead.”

“Your Majesty.”

When Tenere looked at him reproachfully, Leonard laughed and took her hand.

“If there is no fear for the imperial family, ignorance will spread among the subjects. It won’t be good for you and Joshua either.”

Although clumsy threats often invited resistance, firmly suppressing them to the point where they dared not even raise their heads was not such a bad tactic.

Leonard placed his fingers on Tenere’s hand and gently brought them to his lips.

Indelible affection was clear in his golden eyes.

“I will not let anyone touch you again.”

Neither Tenere nor Joshua would dare lay a hand on them.

‘I wouldn’t mind getting blood on my hands for that.’

“I love you, Tenere.”

Tenere remained silent. She did not whisper words of love back, but she did not let go of his hand either.

It was a behavior he’d grown accustomed to by now. However, when he thinks of her running towards him and hugging him, his nervousness and impatience subside.

Yes, there was nothing to worry about now.

Just waiting for her to love him back.

* * *

It was more than two hours before Leonard returned.

Joshua, who liked to play the same game over and over again until he got tired of it, played hide-and-seek with his father for an hour and ball for another.

He’d snack on a cup of burned chocolate and bounce up and down with excitement.

“His eyes were wide. I guess it hit him in the mouth.”

Tenere laughed softly, remembering the child flapping his arms in a dance.

Laura giggled along with her.

“Should I arrange the flowers and put them in a vase?”

“Please.”

She had received flowers just yesterday, but there was plenty of space for vases in the palace, so it wasn’t a problem.

Since they were bright yellow, they would look very cheerful in the bedroom.

“It’s the Rose Palace, so it should smell like roses, but these days it’s just flowers, since you bring them so often.”

Tenere laughed at Laura’s comment.

Handing the bouquet to the maid, Laura quickly scooped the child into a quick hug.

“But I have a question, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been thinking; why do you always call His Majesty ‘Your Majesty’?”

Tenere paused at the unexpected question.

When she didn’t answer, Laura added.

“He calls Your Majesty the Empress by your first name.”

As if the question didn’t mean much, Laura laid the child down and checked his diaper.

Tenere made eye contact with the child, spoke a few words, and then looked up.

“Because I can’t address the Emperor so casually in front of others.”

“But wouldn’t His Majesty be pleased if you called him by his name or a nickname?”

“Do I seem too harsh?”

“Oh, no, I’m not; I’m just curious.”

Laura checked his clean diaper and put his pants back on.

Joshua yawned, his little mouth wide, a little tired after two hours of running around.

Tenere watched Laura put the child to sleep absentmindedly.

‘Will I look strange to others? ‘

As Eric had said, Leonard had been coming to the palace every day.

Not only did he bring flowers, but the gifts he sent at every opportunity could now fill an entire room.

She, on the other hand, still draws the line at addressing him as “Your Majesty.”

It wouldn’t look good for the Emperor and Empress to have such a big difference in how they treated each other.

‘… … It’s not that I don’t like it, though.’

That he had been in denial about his love for her, or that he had come to realize it late in life, was not unacceptable.

Besides, she herself had read Beatrice’s diary and immediately rushed to him and embraced him.

So why hadn’t she reciprocated his love until now?

She knew that if she told him she trusted him and that she loved him too, it would all be over.

She also knew how happy he would be if she called him by his name or a nickname.

Why couldn’t she bring herself to do it?

‘What should she do?’

Tenere looked at the sleeping child and remembered her brother’s words.

But wasn’t it a clear fact that Joshua was a prince, and she would inevitably become Empress again and live here?

So in the end, it was a pointless question.