Chapter 71

Lizzie made sure that Hestine was sleeping and left the room.

“Ha… It’s not like I’m trying to soothe a baby….”

A cold voice came out of her mouth.

“That baby is not Hestine, right?”

Lizzie turned her head in surprise at the low voice heard behind her back. Berkian, the successor to the Duke of Valkyr, stood at an angle leaning against the wall. He looked down at Lizzie with disapproving eyes.

Lizzie cried, bending over quickly.

“No! That’s not what I meant….”

“Tsk. Shut up, it’s noisy.”

“…….”

Lizzie felt a cold sweat running behind her back at the sharp voice.

“Did Hestine go to bed?”

“Oh, yes! I was on my way out after checking if she’s asleep!”

“Hmm, it’s too early for her to go to bed.”

Berkian smoothed his chin and murmured curiously.

Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief in her mind, thinking, ‘I made it through.’

As if laughing at Lizzie, Berkian warned her.

“I know you’re bossing around the servants with Hestine on your back.”

“…….”

All of Lizzy’s movements stopped as if she had been frozen.  She couldn’t even breathe because of the tension.

“I don’t care about that. But if you’re going to boss around Hestine….”

Berkian glared at Lizzie with a fierce look, blurring the end of his words. It was both a clear warning and a tacit approval.

After giving her consent, bossing around the servants. Lizzie struggled to keep the corners of her mouth from rising.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Berkian’s eyes narrowed. There was a twisted smile around his mouth.

“You can go now.”

“Yes!”

Lizzie turned hurriedly and fled. Berkian stared at the ugly back and turned his head with a short click of his tongue. His eyes are now on Hestine’s bedroom. He entered the bedroom without hesitation.

Click~

Hestine, awakened by the appearance of someone entering the room, slowly rose and opened her mouth.

“Lizzie?”

“It’s me, Hestine.”

“Ah…! Brother!”

Hestine hurriedly tried to get out of bed. Berkian stopped Hestine and approached the bed.

He flopped down beside Hestine and laid Hestine back down.

“Brother?”

“I can’t let you stand up again after waking you up.”

“Well, actually, I’m not that sleepy”

“Then why did you go to bed so early?”

“Well, Lizzie said I needed enough rest….”

Hestine murmured quietly, glancing at Berkian’s countenance. Berkian said with a quick click of his tongue.

“You’re acting pretty stupid.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing. By the way, I want to know how you are doing these days. Is it too tiring?”

Hestine’s cheeks were reddened by the question of concern for her.

“I’m fine! Thanks to the care of so many people, I’m living comfortably.”

“That’s a relief.”

Berkian gently swept Hestine’s cheeks with his index finger and smiled mysteriously.

“Oh, come to think of it, I heard a rumor.”

“Rumor?”

“Yes, there’s a rumor that a prophet has appeared. You heard that, right?”

For a moment, Berkian’s face hardened at the word prophet.

The prophet.

He was annoyed by the words about the pretentious prophet. He quickly returned to his original expression and said, holding Hestine’s hand.

“You don’t have to worry about rumors like that.”

“But the prophet…. I’d like to meet that person.”

In an instant, strength entered Berkian’s hand, which was holding Hestine’s hand.

“Hestine, you shouldn’t meet a person who does that. You might get cheated.”

“Oh… I see.”

“Yeah, but where did you hear the rumor?”

I’m sure the information that goes to your ear is well managed.

Berkian swallowed his last words and stared at Hestine. Hestine thought for a while and finally opened her mouth.

“I don’t remember the name, but… I think I heard it from a red-haired maid. I was bored, so we chatted for a while….”

“Red hair. Does her eyes go up?” 

“Oh! That’s right! And she had some freckles and was a couple inches taller than me!”

Hestine opened her eyes wide as if she remembered and explained the detailed description.

“You know it well”

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I’m well aware of course.

He could not have known because she had been called into the room several times and  because of her scrawny appearance she was easy to remember.

“I’m the owner of this mansion, so I have to memorize their faces.”

“Oh, you’re my brother. I hope to memorize the faces of the servants soon.”

Berkian smiled as he looked at the innocent face of Hestine. 

“You don’t have to worry about that because you have work to do. Oh, my. I talked too much. Go to sleep.”

Berkian’s lips clung and fell on Hestine’s forehead. With a good night kiss, Berkian slowly stepped out of Hestine’s room and called the butler.

“Did you call me?”

“I’m looking for a red-haired maid.”

“If it’s red hair… You mean Lorraine?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s the name, I’m sure. Find her and kick her out.”

The butler was confused by the sudden order, but did not express it.

“I see.”

“Take care of it neatly. Don’t let me see her again.”

There was no hesitation in Berkian’s voice. The butler swallowed his dry mouth in the cruel eyes of his little master. He didn’t dare ask why. If he asks the reason here, he’ll be more likely to be reprimanded for covering the girl. The butler simply nodded and had no choice but to obey his orders.

“Yes, leave it to me.”

***

The emperor sat on the throne and gripped his throbbing head.

“Is this the answer of the Duke of Valkyr?”

The emperor’s voice contained anger to the point where it made them shiver just by listening. The ministers, who swore allegiance to the emperor, bowed their heads with a deep look.

“Is it three?”

Until just a few months ago, there were 20 ministers in the audience room. But there are only seventeen people who are bowing in front of him now. The other three clung to the Duke of Valkyr.

The emperor tried to punish them in his own way, but the Duke of Valkyr stepped in. They gathered with faith and trust without a contract, so they could not be considered as traitors.

“Haha… That’s funny.”

“Your Majesty, the power of the Duke of Valkyr is growing too fast. I think we need an alternative.”

“Alternative? Marquis Yoturus. Do you think I’m not responding because I don’t know that?”

The Marquis of Yoturus sighed quietly at the sharp emperor’s response. It’s not that he doesn’t understand why the emperor reacts like that. The emperor made several attempts to suppress the rising name of Valkyr.

He pressured the Valkyr duke several times under the pretext of tax evasion, smuggling, monopoly, and unfair trade, but Valkyr’s power was never weakened. If this momentum continues, the game of power will not be reversed unless the Valkyr family tries to commit treason.

Fortunately, there were many nobles and people who were dissatisfied with the duke’s recent move. However, this could also be reversed at any time if the saint comes forward and shows a miracle.

Even if you don’t believe in miracles, if you witness them in front of your eyes, you will have the faith that you don’t have.

“As long as the Duke of Valkyr has the saint, it will be hard to suppress the power of the Valkyr family.”

The emperor patted his armrest and recited it quietly.

“…then why don’t you make the Valkyr’s young lady as your concubine?”

One minister made a careful proposal. The emperor’s eyes became sharp.

“The Duke of Valkyr will not be satisfied with that. He will demand to give her the place of the empress.”

“If we can attract the saint, it would not be a waste to give up the position of empress.”

It certainly makes sense at all. However, the risk was too high. The empress is the mother of the empire and the seat of another ruler. In a tug of war between the emperor and the Valkyr family, if the emperor was defeated, the imperial family might fall to the bottom of the Valkyr family.

“That’s the last resort. It’s not the time yet.”

The emperor’s decision put the ministers back in agony.

How can we break this situation?

“There’s been talk of prophets in the capital recently.”

The emperor became interested in the words of the Duke of Petron.

“Prophet? Tell me in detail.”

“It may be a rumor, but there was a story that a prophet appeared around the duchy.”

“The principality?”

“Yes. Strangely enough, they predicted the third and fourth disaster even before the temple announced them.” 

“Faster than the temple….”

“And some foretold that the catastrophe of Zephyros would be accelerated. Rumor has it that they are the same person.”

A prophet who predicts disaster and a saint who can defeat it. Maybe it’s a good way to lower expectations for the saint.

“And…”

“Do you still have more?”

“The one who predicted the disaster of Zephyros attended the masquerade with the Grand Duke.”

For a moment the emperor was taken aback.

Does Ivan have something to do with the prophet?

Then why didn’t he tell me himself?

I’ll have to ask. Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to write any letters lately.

The emperor’s face showed signs of discomfort. The face of the woman who once had Sorne’s name came to his mind.

Wait. Ivan attended a masquerade with the woman who foretold the disaster of Zephyros?

The emperor’s keen intuition guessed the prophet’s identity.

“I’ll look into it in detail.”

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“No, I think I know who the prophet is.”

The faces of the ministers were astonished.

“Did the Grand Duke have already reported it?”

“No. First of all, you can go now. I’ll call the Grand Duke separately.”

A significant smile hung over the emperor’s lips.