In the Emperor's quiet office,
A middle-aged man with platinum hair closed his eyes with a bored face.
On his desk, all of Duke Brant's works were written in detail.
“It's becoming more and more of a nuisance.”
If he continued like this, Duke Brant would be difficult to control
In any case, it was not clear whether the Crown Prince, Franz, would respond well if he had a negative attitude.
The treasury servant approached the disturbed emperor with a letter on a golden tray.
Sensing his presence, the Emperor opened his eyes and stared at the letter seal.
The coat of arms of the Duke of Brant and the coat of arms of the Imperial Family were stamped at the same time.
“That little girl”
The Emperor said as if it didn't matter.
He obviously allowed the marriage because she claimed that she would act as a guardian of the duke's family, but there was no important content in the letters that Cornelia sent every day.
'It will be the same this time'
Despite thinking about it, the Emperor decided to read the letter again.
“Open it.”
The servant opened the seal with a paper knife and politely handed the letter to the emperor.
The Emperor's purple eyes slowly moved left and right, but for a moment, his eyes were fixed on a certain sentence.
[Therefore, I would like to inform you of Duke Brant’s weaknesses, which is why His Majesty the Emperor sent me to marry into the ducal family.]
He thought it was a joke this time, but this turned out to be a win.
A feeling of interest arose in his eyes, which had been bored all the time.
“That bold thing”
The Emperor looked at the chamberlain and said,
“Tell the princess to come to the palace next week.”
The servant, who came out of the emperor's room, spoke to the princess's servant who was waiting.
“His Majesty asked the princess to come to the palace within a week.”
“Okay.”
After bowing his head, Sardin left his place.
The maid, who was hiding behind a pillar and carefully listening to the conversation, hurriedly headed somewhere.
The maid soon entered the wonderful room and told the lady what she had seen.
“His Majesty the Emperor asked Duchess Brant to enter the palace within a week.”
At these words, the silver-haired, lavishly decorated middle-aged woman narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrows.
"Everything is fine.
I was going to call her, but she came to the Imperial Palace alone.
It seems like a sign that things are going well.
Isn't that right, Madeleine?"
Then the person across from her put the tea cup down.
She looked like a middle-aged woman like a daughter.
“All thanks to the usual grace of Her Majesty.”
The Empress laughed with pleasure at her niece's kind words, and then sighed.
“How nice it would be if you were my daughter instead of that gra.”
Upon hearing these words, Madeline's green eyes lit up with deep joy.
She quickly smiled and answered politely.
“I'm sorry that my aunt always overestimated me.
However,
Cornelia is a good daughter, isn't she?
Then the Empress laughed hard.
“Yes, it is definitely useful in times like these.”
I got ready to go out early.
'It's finally the day of the decisive battle'
Given His Majesty the Emperor's reliable nature, there would definitely be an uproar if she was late.
Therefore, I was about to leave after completing all the preparations so that I could arrive at the Imperial Palace an hour early.
The problem was that the servants, who usually didn't care about me, were annoying.
“Ma’am, where are you going at this early hour?”
'You weren't interested in me until now, but now you're wondering where I'm going?'
I heard that when I went out a few days ago, there was a commotion because no one knew where I was.
In other words, their actions should be to monitor me according to Eric's orders.
'It is not my business to be reprimanded by those who have ignored me so far.'
I ignored the servants who were following me and headed to the carriage.
At that time, someone urgently followed me and blocked my path.
"my lady!"
My eyes narrowed as I confirmed who it was.
"What do you do?"
My voice was cold.
Randon had never seen me as the mistress of this palace, nor did I remember him ever respecting me.
When she heard that Randon was demoted from butler to servant as punishment, she felt sorry for him.
'Well, I think he's trying to stick by me, tell Eric, and go back to being a butler.'
However, Randon's tone was polite.
“Are you going out early?”
“What do you care when I plan to go out?
Besides,
Aren’t you just a butler now?”
“Yes, but I still think it is my duty to know where the lady is when she goes out...”
I twisted the corners of my mouth.
“So, you haven't done your homework properly yet, have you?”
I thought if I said this, he would move away.
But what is this?
Randon knelt in front of me.
The problem was that he was in front of the cart.
“Get out of the way now!!”
“Because I am foolish and immoral, I did not respect you much.
Please allow me to make up for my mistake.”
'He usually doesn't care about me, so why the hell would he do this?'
I'm sensitive because it's an important day, but I felt disturbed when...
A man who didn't want to look at me blocked my path.
“Now get out of the way-!”
In an instant I raised my voice.
“Cornelia”
Before I knew it, Eric was approaching me.
'That's why I tried to go quickly, but it's getting annoying...'
He looked at the cart and asked me,
“Where are you going early in the morning?”
I furrowed my brow.
'Now, will he control my actions openly?'
However, unlike Randon, he was not an opponent who would step aside just because she was intimidating, and I was at a disadvantage the longer I waited before meeting face to face with the Emperor.
“To the Imperial Palace”
In response to my answer, he called out to four knights.
“Accompany the Duchess.”
I'm going to my parents' house, but they're openly monitoring it, so I wanted to leave them.
However, going to the Imperial Palace was the first priority.
The moment I sighed and was about to get into the carriage-
“Hold it”
He extended his gloved hand again.
With a dissatisfied expression on his face, as if he didn't really want to.
I ignored that hand and got into the carriage.
I could see he was smiling, but I didn't care.
“I will go”
The servants lowered their heads in unison.
“Ma’am, please be careful.”
It was something I really wanted to hear before.
But surprisingly now there wasn't much interest.
'Yes, because I intend to live like Cornelia, not like the Duchess.'
Although I was lost in thought for a while, the scene I could see through the carriage window had changed before I knew it.
The carriage gently rolled its wheels and entered the doors of the Imperial Palace.
'This place is still the same'
Usually, when people think of their parents' home, they think of it as a cozy place where they can lean back and escape to at any time.
However, even though I was born and raised there, this vast space was never home to me.
After watching the familiar but uncomfortable scene through the window, the carriage door opened.
“Hello, Duchess of Brant.
Allow me to guide you.”
It was a welcome speech that revealed my status, and the way I was treated was as an outsider, not a member of the imperial family.
In the end, I twisted the corner of my mouth.
'Well, it was me who made my value that way.'
A stupid, obsessive princess, blinded by affection.
For this reason, the Emperor must have considered me since childhood as an instrument of a political marriage and not a member of the family.
And taking advantage of this, she eventually took the position of the Duchess of Brant.
'It was stupid that the only thing I worked so hard to get was such an unimportant position.'
At that time I was smiling bitterly.
"Oh my god, who's here?
Cor!"
When I heard the name I didn't want to hear, I turned my head.
Madeleine was standing there smiling brightly and the Empress with an expressionless face.
For a moment, something from the past flashed into my mind.
The image of the Empress who always ignored or hated me
Whenever I greeted her, I called her my mother.
'If I say hello anyway, you'll hate it.'
Since I was on my way to a meeting with the Emperor, I didn't want to collide with her.
'She doesn't call my name first, so there's no need to approach her.'
Until now, she had approached first because she was a family member, but originally, it was not polite for a lower-status person to open their mouth unless the higher-ranking spoke to them first in the imperial palace.
'Well, now there are very few people guarding in front of her.'
It was the same with Madeleine.
She always called me “Kor” in a friendly way first, but I hated that nickname, which meant crow.
However, she always deliberately called me first in crowded places and feigned ignorance.
As if she had forgotten my status as a princess.
'At first, I thought she didn't know, so I told her not to use that strange nickname, but it was useless.'
After staring at Madeleine for a while, I saw the Empress looking at me disapprovingly.
'I'll have to disappear soon'
I gently bowed and passed the Empress.