Then Cornelia took a sip of tea and opened her mouth.
“Your Majesty, the tea smells very good, is it white tea made from leaves?”
Then the Emperor put down the teacup and said, “Princess, I did not call you to evaluate the tea.”
“Ah, the tea smells so good that I made a mistake without realizing it.”
Finally, Cornelia let out a small sigh and said, “His Majesty the Emperor must have been upset that I had not communicated with him all this time, right?”
“Honestly, I was upset, however, I am glad that you finally called me.”
They were soulless words, to anyone's eyes, but Cornelia happily accepted them.
“Thank you for saying that, actually, I was wondering if it would be okay if I called you since I have nothing and, as Your Majesty already knows, I have been longing for the Duke.”
The Emperor, who was listening to Cornelia's words, expressed his doubts.
"You were craving?
So, are you saying you're not into him now?"
“Yes, now I know, no matter how hard I try, I will never become the Duchess of Brant.”
The Emperor's brow narrowed.
It was because these words could only be understood as indicating that he had neglected the princess.
Even though she was a foolish daughter who had voluntarily entered the Brant family, she was still his daughter by blood.
“What do you mean?
Are you now saying that Brandt ignored you...?”
Cornelia was surprised by the Emperor's voice, which sounded somewhat angry.
I quickly nodded slowly.
“Yes, I have been treated worse than any guest for the past five years.”
“Worse than the guest!!!!?”
“Yes, I have reached the point where I wondered whether the lower people thought that the Duchess was Madeleine von Argen, and not me.”
The Emperor's brow narrowed, and a gloomy question quickly came out of him.
“Did Argen and Duke Brant’s daughter commit adultery?”
The Schwanhild Empire, where the founding Emperor Siegfried and Empress Odette had a particularly good relationship, adopted monogamy and completely forbade infidelity with anyone other than one's spouse as provided by law.
If they committed adultery against the princess, it would be an excuse for the Emperor to directly step forward and punish them.
However, Cornelia responded with a bitter smile instead of confirmation.
“So far, there is no clear evidence to convict them of infidelity, all I want to say is that they are close enough to keep me on edge.”
Only then did the Emperor understand Cornelia's intentions and raised one corner of his mouth.
“In the meantime, I tolerated the two of them being close because of work, but it is true that Arjen’s daughter was not careful just because she was related to the Crown Prince...”
“From now on, let's keep an eye on Arjen, wouldn't that be weakness?”
At the direct question, Cornelia nodded slowly.
“Of course, I will definitely look into their weaknesses as long as Your Majesty promises to listen to my circumstances.”
“You dare put conditions on me?”
I don't know about ordinary parents and children, but in the imperial family, even if they are children, they don't look at the emperor with such arrogant words and actions.
It was because the Emperor, who was supposed to control all situations, being dragged away by someone else meant that he was incompetent.
However, even though he knew his daughter was using him, the Emperor was curious rather than displeased.
'Yes, I think it's better to listen to her first and then make a decision.'
“So what is this condition?”
I finally got it!
Cornelia said quietly, hiding the fact that she wanted to laugh.
“I intend to leave the Duke of Brant’s residence soon.”
A puzzled look appeared on the emperor's face who was indifferent to these words.
"What do you mean …?"
But Cornelia didn't care.
“At that time, I want His Majesty the Emperor to hide me from Duke Brant...”
The Emperor's eyes widened.
“You are leaving the Duke’s house, so I must hide you!?”
The Emperor's face slowly turned as he looked at Cornelia.
“Do you dare to play with me now?”
Even though Duke Brant was out of control, and was acting as he pleased...
But what if Cornelia disappears...?
It was clear that Duke Brant would complain about the princess's behavior and hold the imperial family accountable.
‘Furthermore, what if he finds out that I, Cornelia’s father, hid Cornelia?’
It was clear that Duke Brant would use this as an excuse
To protest against the royal family and incite the nobility.
The Emperor looked at his daughter who spoke without thinking...
'She's stupid, but I thought she was smarter when she was younger...'
However, he is greedy to want something so big from a daughter, a humble woman who is not even an heiress.
So the Emperor calmly explained to his daughter.
“If you agree to this condition, it seems like weakness to us.
If you leave the palace recklessly, you will definitely be wrong.”
Soon, as if considerate, he said this to his daughter.
“Why don’t you cite infidelity and pressure him under the pretext of divorce?”
Cornelia shook her head.
“No, it's impossible like I said, not only is there not enough evidence, but they both have extremely good reputations in the social world.”
When the Emperor nodded, Cornelia continued.
“If you just listened to my circumstances, you would definitely be able to create a weakness for Duke Brant.”
“We also tried to create Duke Brant's double, but it all failed, how could you do something that we couldn't do!”
Cornelia then hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
“Because I’m pregnant with his child.”
At that moment the Emperor smiled for the first time on his face...
It must be because he finally understood his daughter's will.
'Sure, it would be different if Cornelia gave birth to his child..'
Right now, the Brant family was unanimously supporting Eric, the family master.
Even if Eric, the family master, had changed, it was obvious that someone from the subsidiary families would become the family master and perhaps even more hostile to the imperial family.
However, if Cornelia, the wife, safely gave birth to a child, the child would unconditionally become the first-class heir.
In other words, that by using Cornelia's child, the Brant family could be transformed into a pro-Imperial family force.
'There's one problem...'
The Emperor wiped his smile and immediately stared at his daughter..
“How do you plan to get out of the Duke’s house and avoid his surveillance?
Even today, I know that there are Brant Knights following you...”
“Yes, it will not be easy, but I have a trick that will allow me to succeed, if the Emperor will help me.”
'As expected.'
She said she was asking for help, but in the end she used him as her father to fulfill her will.. but that smart look wasn't so hateful
'As expected, this little girl looks like me..'
For a moment, regret flashed in the Emperor's purple eyes.
'It would have been nice if it had been a boy...'
The Emperor's view of Cornelia quickly changed to a clearer one.
'It's a useless idea...'
In any case, the presence of a daughter is a tool to make a strong contribution to the family.
The situation was the same for the family of the empire.
Besides, she was a being who needed to be taken care of when needed, so there was no need to give her affection.
The Emperor opened his mouth with an indifferent face.
"what can i do for you …?"
After hearing the Emperor's words, I thought,
‘As expected, he will act like this..’
The Emperor wanted to pressure the Duke of Brant, who was supported by the people and the nobility, to strengthen imperial power, which had been weakened since the war with the northern Cretan barbarians.
If he knew that Brant's successor was in my womb, it was clear how he would act...
'He's trying to get his hands on this child, it must be a way to control the Brant family.'
If I had tried to hide the child's presence and escape, the Emperor would have taken the child by force.
'Then I prefer to use the Emperor…'
I revealed for the first time that I had my eye on the Brant family's situation, and made it seem like I had changed a little and wanted to get away from the Brant family.
Then I revealed the existence of my child to the Emperor...
This way, even if Eric tries to harm me and my child, the Emperor will try to protect my child and make him Duke of Brant.
Because he was sure that I, who hated Eric, would cooperate with him, and when the time came, he was planning to use my child to take over the Duchy of Brant.
Sure enough, I raised the corner of my mouth at the image of the Emperor moving according to my thoughts.
‘Now, while the Emperor is alive, I can hide and protect myself and my child.’
The realization that I have gained since childhood, is to make good use of what you have.
This is still very useful.
Having already envisioned in my head how to use the Emperor, I opened my mouth without hesitation,
“First, move public opinion.”
“Public opinion, what kind of scandal are you specifically trying to create?”
I told the Emperor some of my plans, modified to make them heard.
“Well I...”
Then the Emperor smiled as if he was enjoying,
“If that happens, it will be difficult for him to evade responsibility, excellent.”
The corner of my mouth involuntarily raised at the generous compliment.
'Am I okay with this?'