Chapter 49

“Ryzen.”

He placed the empty cup on the table and called out to his aide in a low voice.

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Prepare to de-register Mariel Chartus.”

The random order took Ryzen by surprise. He never questioned the reasons behind his master’s orders in the slightest, but this time he couldn’t help but wonder.

One unexpected thing led to another.

‘Why in the world…’

There were specific reasons why his master had chosen the current Grand Duchess as his marriage partner.

And what was requested regarding the secret agreement with the Emperor had already been prepared.

It was just a matter of putting it into action at the right time.

Ryzen began to speak cautiously.

“Your Highness, if that happens, Mariel Chartus’ status will be downgraded.”

When a family is de-registered, the family name will be removed. Her status will be lowered from noblewoman to commoner. But Calix responded casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Her biological father is Claud Loctorin.”

Claud, who was Adele’s first husband, was the only direct descendant of Viscount Loctorin. However, he fell in love with Adele Chartus and married her, becoming Claud Chartus.

The first heir of Loctorin abandoned his own family line, leading to a forced succession to the other side of the family.

But the main problem was with the genetic disease in the Loctorin family.

The disease manifested itself in an irregular manner. Because of this, many people in the Loctorin family lived short lives, and Claud himself died early because of this.

From the time Claud married Adele nineteen years ago until now, the head of the Loctorin family had changed a whopping four times.

To make matters worse, last year, an epidemic broke out across the Loctorin territory, killing all the blood relatives who were eligible to take over the family.

“One thing, the Viscounty of Loctorin…”

“The family line has not yet been obliterated.”

Family names were usually kept for a year in case any blood relatives appeared, and the estate, land, and titles were to be returned to the royal treasury after that.

“And Mariel Chartus is also of Loctorin bloodline.”

“Do you intend to let her inherit the House of Loctorin? But Mariel Chartus is too young.”

Under Imperial law, both men and women must be 18 years of age to reach adulthood before inheriting the family line. If the lawful heir was a minor, a guardian was required.

“There is no suitable guardian, is there?”

To become a guardian, one had to at least be from the same bloodline or a legal family member. This rule was created because too many people wanted to take over the guardianship of a person’s property or have other plans.

“You know that there is a perfect person for this position around.”

Ryzen, who had been thinking for a while, opened his eyes wide.

“Do you mean Her Highness?”

Ryzen was extremely confused.

When you become a guardian, you effectively have the authority of the family head, such was the case with Philip Chartus now.

When Asella becomes Mariel’s guardian, she will also become the head of House Loctorin.

And this was something that had never been allowed to any previous Benvito Grand Duchess.

“She is a woman who received her successor’s education from Adele. She won’t be perfect from the get go, but she’ll get better.”

Ryzen gulped hard. He could not dare to guess his master’s intentions.

“Will the Emperor allow the succession? I’m sure he’ll try to make a secret deal to benefit from a yet non-existent human weapon.”

“I’ll just take in a child who is not even ten years old. I don’t care if he will create a fuss over it.”

He didn’t seem to care about the Emperor’s objections. Thanks to that, it was Ryzen who grew agitated.

“Your Highness, the Emperor has his eye fixed upon the next special ability holder from the Chartus family.”

“So I’ve often heard that he didn’t like my marriage. I thought that guy Fernandez was on drugs when he sent a congratulatory envoy.”

Calix was sarcastic as he spoke the name of the Emperor with confidence.

“Information indicates that he was using the Imperialist nobles to apply pressure on the temple.”

The temple, the counterpart to the Imperial power, was the thorn in the current Emperor’s side. And Chartus, the family line that was said to have been blessed by the goddess Hernia, was inseparable from the temple.

Now that it was in Philip’s hands, there was a complete absence of communication…

“It’s fine now because she hasn’t yet awakened her abilities, but Mariel Chartus is already a target.”

Benvito’s informants had already noticed and reported that Mariel had the Emperor’s dog attached to her a month ago.

Calix’s red eyes sank coldly.

“Yet he is only the Emperor’s dog. Deal with every last one of them before we enter the duchy.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Ryzen, who had answered politely with a bow, asked for confirmation.

“Shall we leave a mark?”

He meant that he would deliberately make it obvious to the Emperor that it was the Grand Duke’s doing. Calix twisted one side of his lips.

“Certainly.”

By now, the fact that Mariel Chartus was leaving with him must have reached Fernandez’s ears. Then there was no reason to avoid or hide it.

It was to make an example out of it.

That Mariel Chartus was under his protection…

“Please send Mariel to the Academy.”

A voice floated to the surface for a moment.

Calix slowly made his way to the garden.

Before he knew it, evening darkness had fallen over the land, and the area was dimly lit. She had been to her sister’s place a while ago, so she must have finished her preparations by now.

“Please keep your promise…”

There was even a hint of desperation in her quiet, lake-like eyes.

The woman’s blue eyes constantly wavered as if she couldn’t believe him, but she had no choice but to hold onto him.

Calix turned and walked toward the door. Ryzen called out to his master in confusion.

“Your Excellency, where are you going?”

Calix, who was about to grip the doorknob and turn it, stopped his movements for a moment.

Her mouth curled into a strange smile, creating a soft impression that only lasted a moment.

“To pick up my wife.”