CH 20

“Yes? That much?”

The Grand Marchioness explained to the startled daughter-in-law.

“Think about it. Isn’t she going to become a Grand Duchess? Besides, the Great Feudal Lord is so fond of her that he gave away his only daughter’s belongings.”

“Ah, my goodness… that’s right.”

The Marchioness also agreed.

“We need to explain it well to the Great Feudal Lord and make it clear that it wasn’t a mistake on the part of the Marquis Lannister.”

“Yes. And Marianne, that cheeky child, must be punished properly. Being expelled from the sorority is not a punishment.”

The face of Illasia, who had only been listening, turned pale.

Even before her official debut, Illasia knew how disgraceful and fearful it was to be kicked out of a sorority.

‘But even that much can’t be called a punishment…’

Marianne had really done something too big.

*

When Lilian fell.

Cedric was on an inspection tour of Cantacun, the direct jurisdiction of the Emperor, for some reason.

Cantacun Islands was a state land owned by the imperial family located at the southernmost tip of the empire.

All nobles in the empire formally swear an oath of allegiance to the imperial family and serve one emperor.

But that didn’t mean they recognized each other as equals.

The feudal lords with private soldiers didn’t only attack the emperor, but whenever they wanted to, they waged war against each other.

Depending on the time, even the seven electors became six, or so it was said.

Unable to endure the decline of national power and the devastation of the country due to frequent wars, the imperial family designated the Cantacun Islands as a neutral zone and began to actively encourage ceasefire negotiations.

If you’re going to fight, have a fight rather than a war!

If nobles in a disputed area decided to negotiate in a neutral place, the emperor directly protected them and act as the mediator.

The national seal was also especially stamped on the contents of the agreement between the parties.

The contents of the agreement were generally like this.

[As the Emperor’s friend, Count Mo, and the Emperor’s vassal, Marquis Mo, made a gentlemanly agreement, the content is certified in the name of the Emperor.]

[In the name of the Emperor, the innocence and faithfulness of a certain knight is guaranteed.]

[In the name of the Emperor, Viscount Mo’s right to rule is recognized as legitimate.]

When the Emperor signed the luxurious gold leafed agreement and stamped the national seal, the agreement were put on a velvet case and even a golden quill for signing were given to the parties free of charge.

To put it bluntly, it was a name-worthy business with the lowest capital.

The problem was that even though it was almost an alteration, it worked well for nobles who were full of honor.

The nobility rushed to find the emperor whenever they have a problem with each other, and as time went on, a trend of recognizing the ruling power of the imperial family was formed.

Truly two birds with one stone.

The imperial family was not satisfied there and began to develop the Cantacun Islands, where nobles began to gather, as a resort.

As long as you came to make an agreement, take a rest in a nice place, see good things, eat delicious things, and clear your mind.

…however, pay for it.

Now, that system had made the place bustling with nobles all year round, all of them staying for the purpose of showing off their wealth, even if there’s no specific agreement to be made.

It was a goose that laid golden eggs, but Cedric was not in a good mood when he was inside the goose’s stomach.

Extremely so.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“I don’t know.”

Islar’s villa study located in Cantacun.

Cedric snorted and looked out the window.

“It’s the emperor’s front yard.”

“To be precise, it’s a front yard that has ‘yet’ to be dominated.”

The current emperor committed an immoral act of killing his brother and taking the throne, but the Crown Prince could not be dealt with.

In addition, a shocking rumor was spreading in the capital that he would soon marry his sister-in-law.

‘Is this how it’s summed up?’

Succession without even the slightest justification.

Survival of legitimate heirs.

Even the reputation crawling on the floor!

The position of the new Emperor was very unstable, and stabilizing the capital was not enough.

So he had not yet reached out to Cantacun.

“Isn’t that why you deliberately held a meeting here?”

And so, the nobles of the Crown Prince’s faction proudly held a meeting in Cantacun.

Cedric’s expression, who had attended that important meeting, was not very good at the moment.

“I couldn’t properly take care of Lilian’s sorority debut.”

“Yes, so you bought a bunch of presents, didn’t you?”

“Come to think of it, it seems a bit lacking.”

“What you just bought is about the dowry of an ordinary Count’s daughter.”

“Isn’t Lilian a Marquis’ daughter?”

The absurd sophistry made Allen give up further reply.

It was then.

Thud thud.

“My Lord, this is Dunkel. The main castle sent a letter.”

The voice of the knight who politely knocked on the door was full of tension.

“It’s black.”

“!”

In Turin, the weight of the matter was indicated according to the color of the letter worn on the falcon’s ankle.

Black meant it’s an urgent message that needed immediate confirmation and reply.

“Give it here.”

“Yes!”

Cedric’s fingers hurriedly unwrapped the curled letter.

‘What?’

The more he read the contents, the more Cedric’s expression hardened.

It wasn’t just his expression that stiffened. His atmosphere was also unusual.

With his long experience, Allen easily deduced that the master was furious.

“My lord?”

“Let’s go back.”

Crumpling up the letter and throwing it away, Cedric kicked off his seat.

Allen picked up the crumpled letter and opened it.

It was written in his mother’s familiar handwriting.

[To John Moha, left hand of the Elector of Turin.

I have few words because the matter is urgent. The young lady collapsed during her Sorority debut. I’ve heard that one of the young ladies in attendance has done a great disrespect. And the doctor said that the lady’s condition is not serious.

I request you to return soon.

Yours sincerely, Mrs. Hayworth.]

***

Dunkel, a loyal knight, was riding his horse very nervously.

A few hours ago, after a black dispatch arrived from the main castle, the state of the Lord was strange.

‘His atmosphere is ferocious and he’s rushing…’

Was Turin under attack, or was there an emergency?

‘Seeing as I met a merchant on the way, I don’t think so…’

Surely there’s something.

Dunkel shook off his complex thoughts. He was a sword, not the master.

“We will soon enter the magic tunnel!”

“Tell them to speed up.”

“Yap!”

“Speed up!”

“Run!”

Fortunately or unfortunately, there was a magic tunnel between Turin and Cantacun.

This tunnel, built in the ancient and magical era, was a tunnel that could cover a distance that would normally take two weeks in a couple of hours.

In fact, because of this tunnel, Turin had no choice but to be constantly exposed to the invasion of the imperial family for generations.

It was also one of the reasons why Turin didn’t declare war even after losing their lord.

‘It prevented the Lord from even taking revenge…!’

Dunkel grieved at the tunnel’s existence to the point of grinding his teeth.

Even if they put aside all their grudges, the fact that there’s a passage close where the imperial army could attack at any time within two hours gave him goosebumps.

‘Even dog poop can sometimes be used for medicine, so this time, even this shady tunnel is helpful…’

It’d be best to get rid of it if possible, but the problem was that it’s a relic from the magical era, so there’s no way to destroy it at this time.

Even he, a mere knight, was so disturbed, so how would the Lord feel?

Dunkel glanced sideways at the back of the young Lord running ahead.

Cedric, unlike him, seemed unbothered by useless thoughts, and was only concentrating on getting the horse to run ahead all the time.

The group ran like that for a couple of hours without stopping.

As soon as he passed the outer castle of Turin, Cedric barely ordered his knights to disband and disappeared into the inner castle like the wind.

“What the hell is going on…”

Dunkel involuntarily muttered. Allen, who had just gotten off his horse, answered as he packed his things.

“It’s about the Lady.”

“Ah.”

Cedric’s love for his sister was already well known throughout the castle, to the extent that the loyal knight immediately understood.

His dear little sister was greatly insulted on one of the most important events of her life, her Sorority debut.

‘Besides, she collapsed right after.’

Allen himself was quite angry, so Cedric’s anger must have been unimaginable.

There was a strange tension floating in the castle.

It was because Lily, who had collapsed at the Marquis’ residence, finally woke up but fainted again as soon as she returned to the castle.

Mrs. Hayworth blamed herself the most.

‘It’s all my fault.’

She resented herself for not paying attention to Lily’s struggles with not being able to wake up from a while ago and her eating habits.