Chapter 103

Alexis began to seriously consider how to give Kathleen the best time at their second wedding.

‘People.’

After thinking through Edith’s words a few times, the kind of wedding she wanted gradually began to take shape.

There was only one guest on the bride’s side at their first wedding. And that person was her biological father, Everton Winston, but did not arrive for the ceremony.

At that time, he was busy with his mission and was informed that he would arrive late in Meyer. Back then, he did not attach much importance to the wedding, so he didn’t give it much thought, hence the Duchess of Walten had a wedding without any relatives.

Alexis pondered over the piece of paper in front of him and pulled the rope.

Shortly thereafter, Emily opened the door and entered.

“You called, Master?”

“Sit there.”

“Pardon?”

Emily looked like she was doubting her ears. It was not surprising because Alexis gestured to the sofa used for entertaining guests.

Emily, who had never approached that area except when cleaning as a servant, seemed to doubt that Alexis was pointing the wrong way.

“I told you to sit on the sofa.”

Alexis set the quill and paper down on the table in front of the sofa. Emily hesitated then sat across from him.

“I have something to ask you.”

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

“I’m going to write invitations.”

“Invitations? Are you talking about wedding invitations?”

“Yes.”

“……The master himself?”

Alexis’ head moved up and down for a moment. Emily was shocked and her mouth hung wide open for a second, then she came to her senses when she saw his brows wrinkle slightly.

Emily was able to guess what Grand Duke Walten was going to say.

“Kathleen won’t be coming down to Meyer until the wedding, so I’m going to make a list and send it out first.

“Okay, then I’ll help you make a list of guests you might want to invite.”

After nearly a decade of service, Emily was able to tell and quickly said.

“At the previous wedding, we also had so much to prepare, so I couldn’t see the lady the night before. She must have been very lonely back then.”

Emily said as she hurriedly grabbed the quill and moved her hand.

“I hope that many people will be by her side at this wedding.”

The face of Alexis who had been looking down at her with his arms crossed contorted faintly.

“Should I call him too?”

“Yes.”

Emily answered firmly. She had just written down “Joseph Delafos Eilat.”

“The madam will be delighted if the priest is there.”

“…….”

What she said was not wrong. Alexis knew very well that Kathleen had depended on him a lot, and had felt sorry and grateful. That was why he arranged his dispatch to the South so that he could come and go to Meyer frequently.

Still, that didn’t mean he liked him, who played the role of Luci’s father and Kelly’s husband.

A strange bond existed between Kathleen and Joseph. Alexis hated it. He wanted Kathleen to hold such precious emotions only for her husband, himself, and not towards the priest.

In the same vein, now that she was not with him, he would wake up shivering in the middle of the night. Although he knew that his wife would no longer disappear, whenever he saw the woman who had watery eyes in his dreams, he would struggle to breathe. It was probably a mistake that he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Joseph was nothing but an existence she was grateful to without any other feelings.

‘……I can’t help it.’

It was a problem that could not be solved unless he turned back time. Alexis decided to accept reality. After all, she chose him, not Joseph.

He let out a long sigh.

“Keep writing.”

“Yes.”

Emily continued to fill in the paper, and Alexis’ face changed every minute he looked at it.

***

“What did you say, brother?”

Peter asked as if she couldn’t believe her ears. He was starting to get used to it as this was the second time after Emily. Alexis held out a paper without a word.

“I told you to help me with the wedding invitations.”

“Then this is…….”

Peter still couldn’t hide her startled expression, she took the paper and opened her mouth.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“Why not?”

“But, it’s the wedding of the Grand Duke, and if commoners attended, it will probably be talked about.”

“Is there anyone in the social world who has not talked about the Grand Duke of Walten?”

“That is true.”

While scanning the list of unconventional invitees, Peter could not hide her concern. Alexis declared.

“If Kathleen is not happy then the wedding is meaningless.”

The people that were being invited through Peter were the villagers of Osole. They were Kathleen and Joseph’s neighbors when they lived in hiding.

“I am asking because there is no one acquainted with them other than you. I heard that there were a lot of people in the village who helped her adjust well.”

“Yes. They did.”

“In that village, Joseph pretended to be Kathleen’s husband, so wouldn’t it be misleading to invite them to the wedding?”

Alexis’ jaw strained when he said the word ‘husband’. Peter nodded quickly.

“All right. Then I will inform them properly and invite them so that they do not misunderstand.”

“Thank you.”

It seemed that Grand Duke Walten had become a completely different person from the Duke Walten of the past, so Peter felt unfamiliar yet proud. Kathleen won’t be hurt anymore.

“Then it would be good to bring them to Meyer in advance since the date until the wedding is tight.”

“Osole is not far from Meyer so you don’t have to rush. I think there is a matter we need to discuss first.”

Peter, who was in a hurry, sat back down at the nuance that discouraged her.

“What matter did you want to talk about?”

“Are you going to continue wearing men’s clothes?”

“…….”

Peter did not readily answer the rather straightforward question. Alexis continued speaking in a calm tone.

“If you want, I will help you live as a woman. There is nothing in the imperial law that says a princess cannot inherit the throne.”

There was nothing she could not do if Grand Duke Walten was willing to help her. If the public’s suspicions are confirmed to be true, there will be confusion and backlash for a moment, but it will not be difficult to put them to sleep if the highest-ranking noble who holds all the military powers of the empire agree.

Of course, it wasn’t that Peter had not thought about going back to being a woman for nineteen years. However…….

“No, you don’t have to.”

Peter was the first to speak out the thoughts she had been organizing from the moment of Count Hopewell’s rebellion.

“I will live like this. As a man, as an emperor with no blemishes in his legitimacy.”

“Will you not regret it? To live hiding your true self.”

“I must not be a woman if I want to wield strong imperial power.”

Peter said sternly.

There has never been a female emperor in Trivellian history. It was the same in the days of the dynasty before the empire. Therefore even nobles think that only a prince could become the emperor, and the code of law was enacted that way.

“There is nothing in the imperial law that says a princess cannot inherit the throne, but it is true that she has no priority over a prince in every way. So I plan to completely revise the succession method for future generations. To give priority to birth order regardless of gender.”

In the next generation, there should be no need for a newborn child to lie about their gender. And there should be no imperial family member who would recklessly give birth then abandon children on the pretext of serving the empire.

“I believe that you will support me.”

“I will.”

There was no hesitation in the answer that came. Peter smiled at the thought of having a most reliable ally.

Alexis checked the time and stood up. Time was running out when he remembered the list of things Emily had told him he needed to do for the wedding.

“I’ve got to go now. I have a lot of work to do.”

“Yes. Go ahead. I will reach out to the people of Osole right away.”

“It is also difficult to enter the South without the emperor’s permission, so send someone there as well.”

“All right. Kieran has agreed to take on Joseph and Edith, so let me tell him.”

Alexis, who was about to leave the office without a second thought, stopped when he felt something alien to his sibling’s words.

“Kieran?”

“Viscount Schenberg.”

“Since when did you start calling him by his first name?”

“I didn’t. It’s a slip of the tongue.”

“…….”

“You must go quickly, brother.”

His younger sister’s face, who was sending him out in a hurry, was calm. However, Peter’s eyes shook slightly, contrary to her nonchalance.

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

He didn’t think she would be able to answer properly if he probed further. Alexis left the Imperial Palace for now.

“Your Highness! We decided to send the nanny to the young master.”

Viscount Rylent, who was waiting, approached and reported.

“Now that Emily has explained the plan, she will tell the young master without the Madam knowing.”

“Did you make her leave for Carmine right away?”

“Yes. She swore firmly that she would not let the Madam find out.”

Viscount Rylent said proudly as he recalled the time he and the nanny worked together to squeeze out the perfect excuse.

“Please do not worry. I will report on the progress of the reception as we go.”

“Do so.”

Alexis listened to Viscount Rylent’s report with a serious look and headed to the Grand Duke’s residence.

***

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