CH 83

The bloody atmosphere inside the Imperial Palace was still there. Still, she wasn’t as nervous as yesterday.

Because she’s not alone. 

There was Cartal, her father,next to her. 

Serdel and Cartal, who arrived at the dining hall under the guidance of the Viscount Chapelta, first came and saw the Emperor sipping wine, and immediately showed courtesy.

“Enough, come here and sit down.” 

The Emperor personally poured wine for them as soon as they were seated.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,”

“Drink comfortably,”

He pushed the plate with cheese to the front of Cartal.

His tone was still hard, but the atmosphere was a little softer than yesterday.

“There is still a long way to go before the meal is ready, so let’s have a quick bite. And, for the Young Lady—” 

The maid prepared refreshments in front of them when the Emperor pointed it out with his chin.

“Because it’s before the meal, the quantity is small, but it will be good for simple enjoyment.”

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty.”

She couldn’t help but hold the fork as he stared at her.

She put a little cake in her mouth. The cream was heavy and hard, but the right sweetness was good.

It went very well with the blueberry jam inside. She drank a sip of tea right away.

The combination that went well in her mouth was fantastic. She liked it so much, should she eat half of it? 

“Your Majesty the Empress has arrived.” 

The Emperor’s forehead became stiff at the report of Chamberlain.

Before his mouth could even utter a sound, a beautiful middle-aged woman with beautiful golden hair, pure white skin, thick eyebrows, rich eyelashes, and golden eyes, came with her heels ringing.

Her elegance was enhanced by a gorgeous dark purple dress.

At first glance, there was even a sense of tension between the two royals.

Then a young man followed.

Tall and skinny with short reddish-blonde hair blended with red and golden colors.

The clear facial features were as beautiful as a mixture of the Emperor and the Empress, but he was the 1st Prince, Jayden, who somehow had a mean impression.

“Your Majesty, I’m a little late.”

The Emperor didn’t smile at the Empress’s smile.

Through the cold and hardened atmosphere, it was clear to see at once that she was an uninvited guest.

“Ah, Count Robbesta. Congratulations. Did you find three mines this time?”

“Thank you, Your Majesty Empress.” 

“I have been very blessed with the Count. Again, congratulations. You have no idea how happy I am.”

With a frank greeting, her gaze naturally turned to Serdel.

“I see Your Majesty the Empress, I’m Serdel Robbesta of Count Robbesta.”

“Yes, nice to meet you. Have you been on an expedition? You probably don’t have excellent swordsmanship like Dame Addis, but how amazing is Young Lady’s bravery, who went out for the family. I thought it was pretty cool.”

She praised her with a kind expression, but the Empress’ snake-like eyes examined her from toe to tip.

“You’re very adventurous, very much like the Countess. She would always look at the world with curious eyes. Come to think of it, your appearance is becoming more and more alike to hers.”

Startled.

Words that she never thought she would hear at a place like this flowed out of the Empress’s mouth.

“As if she came back alive— oh my, I made a mistake. I said so much as someone who didn’t get along well with her.”

With a low-pitched voice.

Goosebumps ran down her back for some reason at the content and tone with such vague intention.

When she glanced at Cartal, there was a dark shadow around his stiff eyes.

His outstretched arms even trembled violently.

Like a person who has a sudden shock.

It was her first time seeing him like this.

Surprised, Serdel quickly grabbed his hand.

The warmth of the touch startled him as well, but he didn’t push her away.

No, rather, he held Serdel’s small hand as if it were a lifeline.

“Empress.” 

The Emperor, who drank his remaining wine at once, put down the glass until it made a loud noise.

“If you are here to celebrate, just congratulate them.”

It’s not like he’s raising his voice, nor does he have any particular emotion in his voice.

But the warning itself was enough to give a sense of intimidation.

The Empress’ eyes trembled.

At the same time, the chef and the maid pushed the trolley in at the right time.

The Empress and the 1st Prince were seated.

The cutlery was placed according to the number of people as if it had been announced before coming here.

“How was the exploration? It must have been very dangerous for a weak woman like the Young Lady to participate.”

Breaking through the quickly sinking atmosphere, the 1st Prince asked Serdel.

Seeing him arrogantly raising his chin as if asking her to tell some stories, Serdel opened her mouth.

“Yes, it was very dangerous. The aura of the forest was quite rough and difficult to breathe, and the monsters that appeared suddenly were very strong. Even if you deal with them more will appear again, if you deal with those, then even more will appear again. To the point it’s like a black stream. Afterward, monsters will also fall from the sky.” 

“Oho! Falden must have had quite a hard time. No matter how much combat experience you have, you are bound to be embarrassed in front of such an unexpected situation.”

“Everyone had a hard time. Except for one, Duke Blendard.”

Serdel said with a smile. 

There was nothing good about Falden’s name being mentioned in a place like this.

The 1st Prince would want to degrade him at any cost, fearing that this incident might increase his position, but there was a high possibility that she would only be in trouble if she matched his rhythm.

“He was certainly the best knight in the Empire, and he was very strong. How can he move so fast without a drop of blood on his body?”

She naturally focused on Belters.

He was a man of power. In a position like this, he was fit to be used as a shield.

“The Duke of Blendard, well—”

The 1st Prince held up a glass of wine and muttered anxiously.

“Isn’t there anything else besides the Mana stone Mine? It is a place famous for the unknown forest, so there must have been a lot of strange things.”

“I was expecting that too, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. However, I was lucky enough to be able to bring what I had taken up in advance because it is a famous forest that is so dangerous, and I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

“Oh! What is that?”

“A monster corpse.”

In response to the 1st Prince, she looked at the Emperor.

He probably thought of a deal with Wizard Tower at once.

‘It’s always a place where monster corpses are needed for research.’

However, Wizard Tower refused to participate in the Elbash Forest Expedition.

They were not asked to intervene directly even though they supplied suitable products to the visiting nobles since they were unwilling to be used in political battles.

If Falden’s secretly raised wizard had not been granted permission to work under his orders from a higher level.

‘Perhaps this time he moved without a wizard.’

Therefore, the wizard tower must be looking forward to their findings by now.

The fact that being born and raised in the Elbash forest would create a different constitution than being born and growing in an ordinary forest.

Because they can imagine the possibilities easily.

‘In other words, I have a card in my hand to move the high wizard tower.’

“I had a hard time bringing hundreds of them.”

The 1st Prince’s forehead was crumpled.

He pushed the plate aside as he felt uncomfortable with the steak in front of him.

“I have no idea how good the magic stone is when I open their chest. Blood and organs, too.”

The hand of the 1st Prince who was about to drink wine stopped.

As if the flowing red wave in the glass had suddenly bothered him, he put it down quietly, avoiding the gaze of everyone else in the room.

Unlike Falden, who has a strong fighting propensity, the 1st Prince had no talent in swordsmanship.

Of course, there is no way he has had experience in subjugation.

He’d never even seen a monster corpse up close before.

It seemed ridiculous that such a man would try to find fault with Falden.

On the other hand, the Emperor’s eyes were still as soon as he understood why she had brought this up.

The same goes for the Empress.

“I want to pour a glass of wine for Young Lady.”

The Empress blinked at the 1st Prince at the same time he said those words.

After a moment of hesitation, he gave the order.

“Bring me some white wine.”

The Chamberlain quickly handed him an uncapped wine bottle.

Serdel, who was handed a drink by the 1st Prince, had no option but to drink it.

It’s not to her liking.

“It’s good to have such an opportunity.” 

The 1st Prince’s arrogance was increased by Serdel’s short smile.

The moment he was about to say something,

“I’m glad it suits the Young Lady’s liking.” 

The answer came from the Empress’s mouth.

“Young Lady. I have precious tea leaves, so please come and taste them sometime.”

“Yes, I will. Your Majesty, the Empress.”

“It would be nice if you could come and talk to me often, and the Countess was once very close with me. Dame Addis is an imperial knight, so it would be good if Young Lady would visit me often.”

“I’ll try to make time.”

“Don’t do that, maybe tomorrow—”

“Now that the meal is over, I wish we could go somewhere quiet.”

The Emperor, who rose from his seat, cut off the Empress’s interest in Serdel.

“The Empress should go too.” 

Afraid that she’ll cut in on him again. He moved first, blocking her in advance to prevent any more interference.

Cartal and Serdel also immediately got up.

“Then I’ll see you later.”

The greeting ended like this.

Serdel turned away from the Empress, and followed in the footsteps of the Emperor with Cartal.

Her insides feeling heavy.