CH 80

“Huh?”

“I asked if you wanted to go to the Imperial Palace.” 

“No, not exactly?”

I answered hesitantly but Dietrich’s hard expression didn’t relax. 

‘I mean, sometimes he’s in an uncontrollably bad mood.’ 

I tilted my head because it was a little difficult to understand his feelings. 

“Either way, you have to be officially recognized.”

I thought of Yuric and Veronica who were waiting for us in their frozen state. 

Whether Dietrich knew of the guilt occupying the corner of my heart or not, he pressed on his temple and answered. 

“I’m going to be recognized so don’t worry. The Emperor is a cowardly human being who lacks patience.” 

Even though there were no ears listening, he had no qualms evaluating the Emperor whom he should be loyal to. 

‘It’s only natural that the Emperor openly favors the Euclids.’

And as if proving his poor evaluation, the Emperor soon walked to the mansion.

We had to greet her suddenly as she came without saying that she was arriving. 

The Emperor, who appeared gracefully stepping on the red carpet on the front door of the mansion, found me and smiled brightly.

I wanted to run away, but since she had already found me, I had no choice but to greet her. 

“Greetings to Your Majesty, the only sun of the empire.”

“You’re still a cute kid.”

“Thank you for your compliment.”

I bowed my head, trying to avoid the Emperor’s deep gaze. Dietrich, who summoned Baal and stood next to him, stepped forward with his hand in his pocket.

“How disrespectful! Can’t you greet Her Majesty, Dietrich Lagrange?!” 

It seemed that Dietrich’s cheeky attitude displeased the Emperor’s guards. As if he had forgotten his earlier fear, he waved a huge spear and raised his voice. 

“Have you decided?”

Dietrich opened his mouth indifferently, not paying attention to the knight. The Emperor answered, raising the corner of her red lips as if she was in disbelief. 

“Are you asking if I will accede to your threat?”

“Yes.”

“Are you acknowledging that you threatened me to stage the war of roses in the middle of the capital?” 

I opened my mouth, debilitated by the Emperor’s words. I was wondering about the correspondence with the Imperial Palace which seemed to have frequently come and gone, it turned out it was something like that.

‘Well, if a rose war would start in the capital, it would be a waste of money.’

The Emperor seemed to want Dietrich to be in trouble, but he shrugged his shoulders uncaring of his attitude. 

“I don’t like lies. Even more obvious lies such as that Hermann Euclid never used his abilities in the capital.” 

I felt guilty when he said he hated lies so I surreptitiously glanced at him. The Emperor gently waved her fan to hide her laughter. 

“How does the Duke know that Hermann had used his abilities in the capital?” 

“Your Majesty is not the only with ears in the capital.” 

“Well, that’s fine. Instead, there’s one condition.”

I reflexively hid behind Dietrich at the word condition. The Emperor was nowhere to be seen as I hid behind his wide back. 

“I’m not going to hand over that child in your hands, Your Majesty.” 

“Yes, I know you won’t. The condition is–”

The Emperor did not repeat the nonsense of asking for me. Soon, there was a rustling sound as if something was being pulled, and then it stopped.

“Ah, I forgot about her. Tell her to come in.”

‘Huh? Who else is coming?’

I poked my head out at the sound of the front door opening. The dazzling sunlight poured through the cracks of the open door. 

“......Charlotte?”

The woman, with her shiny silver hair tied up high, as if she had crushed the moon and sprinkled it over her head, stood next to the Emperor with dignified steps like that of a goddess. 

I suddenly wondered why Charlotte appeared here. 

‘Did the Saint have a relationship with the Emperor? Was that the setting?’

The sun god was the state religion of the empire and the only god worshipped by Charlotte, if so it would only be natural. 

“We meet again, Your Grace.”

Charlotte smiled and asked for a handshake as if she was close to Dietrich. As he looked at the fine, white hand extended in front of him, he let out a small high. 

“What the hell are you up to?”

“Up to? I just looked for a way to repay you for finding my wallet.”

“I told you there was no need for you to repay me.” 

‘Wallet?’

Charlotte’s lost wallet was definitely a keyword in the original. Because at their first meeting, Dietrich had helped her. 

‘But back then, Dietrich obviously didn’t help her.’ 

It was I, and not Dietrich, who helped Charlotte when she was in crisis in Saint-Dena. Were the twisted settings at that time restored to their original state while I was away? 

I peeled my eyes wide open and focused on the conversation between Charlotte and Dietrich. Recognizing that I was looking at her with surprised eyes like a rabbit, she looked back at me bursting out in laughter. 

“You, I mean, we met again as well, Princess. Thank you for helping me back in Great Market. Although it’s a pity that you took the necklace.” 

“You say it like that when I bought it with money, miss.” [Anissa added the “yo” for formal speech but there’s no equivalent in English so I added “miss.”] 

For some reason, Charlotte was treating me with respect, so I guess I have to do the same. She laughed softly and waved her hand in front of Dietrich again.

When he didn’t accept the handshake until the end, she withdrew her hand without any sign of being embarrassed.

“After that, I met the same man again and was in a difficult situation. Then the Duke saved me.” 

‘....Dietrich did?’

I could hardly believe what she said. Because he was never someone who would go out of their way to help others. 

‘Is it the original’s setup?’ 

Because Dietrich and Charlotte would eventually become lovers. 

I nodded my head, feeling unpleasant for no reason.  

“Is that so?” 

“Yes. I came today to repay that day. I came to apologize in Hermann’s stead who misunderstood what I said and caused chaos in the mansion.” 

It was unknown whether Hermann really misunderstood or whether Charlotte had conveyed the incident in a strange way. I watched her face intently and slowly blinked. 

‘No matter how I look at her, she has a good aura.’ 

Charlotte’s pure white aura with a tinge of blue was so clean that it would safe to say it was perfect. Like a person who has never harbored any malice her entire life. 

She smiled gracefully and friendly crossed her arms with the Emperor. 

“In return, I worked hard to persuade Her Majesty. I preached how worthy the Duke is to be the Grand Duke of Lagrange and how he has the right to the title.”

The Emperor responded with a proud smile as if Charlotte was her own daughter. 

“That’s right. I was greatly persuaded by Charl’s words. I thought the Duke was too young to lead the Grand Duchy.”

‘Lies. It’s because the Northern army is large and powerful and you’re afraid of the power of the shadows.’

I didn’t know why Dietrich needed Charlotte’s persuasion and the Emperor’s approval to become the Grand Duke, but when she said she helped, I nodded my head begrudgingly. 

“Is that so?”

“Yes, instead I have a favor to ask Her Majesty and His Grace.” 

Was there nothing free in this world? 

I was extremely suspicious of her intention, but I made an effort to smile at Charlotte’s good and clean aura. 

‘All right. Anyway, she’s the female protagonist. She’s not a bad person.’ 

“The Northerners don’t believe in Hera, do they? It’s because there are many people who worship the devil.” 

They didn’t particularly worship it. Unlike the sun god, who didn’t show itself unless a priest with strong divine power appears, the shadow demons often appear out of nowhere for no reason. 

For the Northerners, the shadow demons were a force that exists in reality. Some people were eaten when repairing a dam or when great power was needed. 

As my expression hardened with hostility, Charlotte, who was looking alternately between Dietrich and me, added with an apologetic expression. 

“Oh, of course, I don’t mean to criticize their ignorance. Benevolent Hera loves the lost lambs.” 

“Of course, of course. Hera is a merciful god. That’s why she loves the righteous Euclids.” 

The Emperor nodded her head eagerly as if she sympathized with Charlotte’s words. 

‘The phrase ‘Euclid’s marionette’ wasn’t wrong.’

It seemed that they had a great reputation as the family believed to be loved by the only God in the Empire. 

I laughed silently at the Emperor’s words and waited for Charlotte’s next words. However, the Emperor opened her lips first. 

“Yes, anyway, for that reason, Charl wants to do missionary work in the North.” 

“What?”

At the Emperor’s declaration, Dietrich burst into laughter. Like he couldn’t believe it even after hearing with his own ears.

“Are you crazy? Or do you want to insult me?” 

Charlotte approached as if protecting the Emperor in front of Dietrich, who frowned as if displeased. 

“I’m not trying to insult you. Please don’t misunderstand the Emperor’s words. I will never do anything that crosses the line. I have no intention of forcing my belief unto people.” [1] 

“There’s no need for the sun in the northern wilderness.”

“Don’t you want to be approved as the Grand Duke?”

At Charlotte’s question, Baal muttered inappropriate words such as ‘Oh, God.’ and felt his forehead. He was melting slowly in her divine energy. 

“Please accept me as Lagrange’s guest. That is the condition Her Majesty has made.” 

T/N: [1] I have no intention of forcing my belief** unto people. 솔리스교 - Solisism/Solipsism; I’m not quite sure what this is, maybe religion? Two words come up - solecism and solipsism. I’m still not sure what Charlotte meant here, but I took the most ‘logical’ which is solipsism. Basically, a really self-centered idea (?)

Solipsism is the philosophical idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist outside the mind. Wikipedia.