At one time, I wanted to be recognized as a good daughter, but the Emperor did not treat me as a family member
Also…
She quickly put on a bitter smile.
‘For a girl who was so useless in his eyes, she should be great now.’
However, if there was something better than the Empress, the Emperor considered me his bloodline, in other words, something his own, so she knew how to imitate and court her father.
And because of his personality I was able to use him.
“It is a great honor for my father to praise me.”
The Emperor laughed at the title “My Father,” which was issued for the first time today...
“It's been a while since you've done something extraordinary, so I have to give you an award, if there's anything you want, let me know more.”
Unexpectedly, her entire eyes opened at his words of surprise, and then she smiled.
“There is something I need, but now is not the time.”
“What is it?”
I replied as if I was waiting.
“Money and royal treasure!”
Is it because I came up with an unexpected answer?
The Emperor's reaction was lukewarm.
“Money, is that what you need?”
“Yes, and I would like the money to be transferred to a pseudonymous account at the Imperial Bank, because it is easy to use.”
The Emperor seemed to think for a moment, but I was the one holding the handle...
He acted as if he was giving away an award by expressing my action, but in the end, the Emperor had no choice but to listen to my request to get what he wanted.
“Of course, I will send someone soon.”
Even when I got married, he gave me a dowry, flawless.
'Well, I made a living wage with this.'
After getting what I wanted, the tea tasted so sweet...
‘His Majesty the Emperor is alive for the next eight years, and until then I must live safely under his shadow…’
I put down my teacup, imagining the peaceful future that would unfold before Damian and me.
After a while, the Emperor rose from his seat.
“I have to go now, Reinhardt is waiting.”
I stood and bowed my head to the Emperor.
“Thank you very much for this day, may the protection of the Great Founding Emperor always be with His Majesty the Emperor, and I wish you well until the day we meet again.”
It was an ordinary greeting, but the emperor did not like this, so he said a word.
“Be careful when returning...”
Of course, I was thinking back carefully.
'I'm afraid to eat all the peach pies here...'
If she could eat the hard-to-find peaches these days like this, she would devour the emperor's share.
But I had to get up before I finished eating the peach pies here.
It was because someone came to me as soon as the private meeting with the Emperor ended.
“The Duchess of Brant, Her Majesty the Empress awaits you...”
I frowned and looked at the Empress's maid of honor.
'I tried not to go, pretending I had forgotten, but I never thought she would go this far...'
This was the time when the sun was slowly sinking towards the horizon..
If I returned home later, Eric would obviously think that I might have pulled some tricks in the Imperial Palace.
‘I think this will cause a bit of a headache if that guy is careful…’
However, in the current situation, it was impossible to return home blindly.
There's nothing I can do, now that it's like this, I have no choice but to finish as quickly as possible and go back.
“Guide me to Her Majesty.”
She took a hesitant step towards the Empress's palace.
Eric, on the other hand, was looking at his watch with a stiff face.
The clock showed five o'clock.
'You're late...'
When she said that she was going to the Imperial Palace since early morning, he wondered if anything special would happen.
Cornelia usually returned quickly when she went to the Imperial Palace, and he was relieved to know that four knights, including Shadow Guard Janet, were accompanying her.
But when she didn't come home later than expected, he started to feel nervous.
'Maybe something happened on the way back, right?'
There was no way anyone around the capital would dare harm the Duchess.
Moreover, even if there was such a person, as long as Janet, the excellent knight, was accompanying the shadow, no one would be able to touch Cornelia.
However, since there was nowhere he could see Cornelia, he still felt uncomfortable.
'Why haven't you come yet?'
Then he heard a knocking sound.
“Your Excellency, it's me.”
It was Zeno, the assistant who was not only in charge of the office but also in charge of the affairs within the palace which was supervised by the butler.
“Come in”
Upon Eric's approval, Zeno cautiously opened the door and entered.
Then he handed the papers to the Duke and said: “This is a document from the Marquis of Argen, tell me to give it to you before signing the contract.”
Eric, who received the document, raised one corner of his mouth...
“Did he really want to terminate the contract before?
Seeing them work so hard is weird.”
The reason behind the Marquis's rush to sign the contract with such good conditions was the monopoly on high-quality jewelry.
Although Marquis Argen's jewelry making business was the best, there were definitely competitors.
He promised to set the price of jewels higher than the market price,
Except for the serious one, and considering the family, it's a good case.
'But...'
“Sir...?”
When Zeno's words stopped his thinking, Eric erased his emotions and opened his mouth.
“Well, we will definitely go ahead with the contract tomorrow.”
That moment…
-Beep!
A white hawk entered through the window
‘This!!!!’
Eric quickly extended his arm to steady the hawk, then looked at the letter tied to his leg.
Quickly getting up from his seat, Zeno panicked and followed his master.
“Your Excellency, where are you going?”
Eric then stared at Zenon without any excitement and opened his mouth.
“Information Syndicate”
“Yes?
Why did the Information Guild suddenly…”
“Before signing the contract, there is something I must do to Marquis Arjen.”
After he finished speaking, Eric threw the paper he was holding into the fireplace...
[Miss Arjen and the Empress have invited the Duchess to the Empress Palace.]
The short message sent by Janet, Cornelia's escort, was swallowed up by the flames without a trace.
“But Your Excellency, if there is something, wouldn’t it be better to send knights?”
At the assistant's words, Eric shook his head vigorously...
“No, I will go directly, protect the palace Zenon.”
At Eric's words, Zenon sighed and lowered his head.
“Okay, sir..”
After leaving the office, Eric walked at a brisk pace without realizing it..
A space lavishly decorated with marble and gold.
When I was young, I always felt afraid when I entered the Empress's Palace.
“Why are you so late!”
Ignoring the words of the Empress who started screaming upon seeing my face, I pointed at the rejected person.
“I thought you were alone, but there are uninvited guests?”
Then the Empress frowned and said:
“What a bad thing to say, Madeleine is your cousin, what are you talking about so rudely?”
“Ah, I think my cousin talking about me behind my back is less rude.”
“You keep saying that...!”
When the angry Empress tried to raise her voice, someone stopped her.
“Auntie, I'm fine”
Madeline smiled at me, “I don’t know why you misunderstood this, but you seem uncomfortable with me, so I’m leaving.”
Anyway, it was really surprising that she was even pretending in this situation.
However, this was just my opinion, some people here
They looked at Madeleine with admiration as if she were a saint.
I think my bad words will spread again in the social world.
The source must be these maids, well, it's not like this happened for a day or two, bad rumors are spreading a lot, and anyway if there is a revolution, most of the people here will die.
Therefore, being generous and kind, I should be patient but I should not put up with this.
“Daughter of Marquis Arjen, even though you are my uncle’s daughter, I would like you to maintain formalities in the Imperial Palace.”
In other words, don't make a fuss without knowing where you are, and leave quickly.
Madeline's face turned bright red, probably because she was still young and her anger was not easy to control.
But in the end, she left the room without saying a word.
After all, the person with the highest status is the highest ranked.
However, I was destined to argue with the Empress, who had a higher status than me.
‘It's an unfavorable battle, but if I win, things will be fine…'
Once I got in and sat down, I got to the point.
“So what are you going to tell me?
Your Majesty the Empress.”
Perhaps the Empress, who was very upset, did not want to talk too long with me, so she said something.
“Sell your eastern land to Franz for a million gold coins.”
“A million gold coins?”
“Yes, this is not free, and being a sister should do a lot for him, right?
Moreover, the land is not completely necessary for you, who lives happily in the Brant family, and also a million gold coins is not a small amount of money.”
How would you like to sell the few things I own to my younger brother, who still has a lot of property, and land that will later become a major prize, at a price well below the market price?
'Does anyone in this family even have a conscience...'