“Cassian!!”
Then, the Emperor's scream rang out...
“Are you crazy for stealing a sacred stone?
And are you trying to hide it?”
“Your Majesty, please calm down.”
“Do you think I can calm down now?
Empress, protecting Cassian like this won’t fix anything!”
“I know, but Prince Cassian is still young…”
“Young man!?
It has been a few years since his coming-of-age ceremony was held, so how can you say that!
When it could become a diplomatic issue.
This is what Princess Alexis herf entrusted to us!”
The Emperor was angry and criticized Cassian without hiding his emotions.
However, Cassian spoke more calmly than Duke Gamotti.
“Your Majesty the Emperor.”
I bowed before him without the slightest sign of trembling.
“It seems that Her Majesty the Empress and Duke Gamuti have misunderstood something.”
"misunderstanding?"
“Yes, the stone sent by the Anden Kingdom was emitting a wonderful light just like you said.
My assistant, Lady Salis, also saw it.”
"then… ".
The Emperor's voice softened somewhat.
Then it was the Empress who felt embarrassed.
I internally snickered at the sight of the Emperor having calmed down when he should have been angrier…
‘His Majesty the Emperor has suffered greatly from Cassian.’
Transactions that took place before the national wedding and all administrative matters that took place before that..
The Empress often doesn't know anything about it.
“The report was delayed a little because we had to rush to conclude an agreement with Princess Alexis, due to a recent unpleasant incident.”
Cassian said that and took out a letter with the seal of the Andan Kingdom.
“What an unpleasant matter.
Also, what kind of agreement was reached?”
“I apologize for not being able to inform Your Majesty in advance due to time constraints.
However, since it is a task entrusted to me and authority has been given to me, solving the problem is the priority—”
“No need to explain now, please explain first, Cassian.”
“That was six days ago.
An attacker broke into the Winter Palace annex where the exhibits were stored.”
"attacker?"
“Yes.
Just the day before, Duke Jamoti asked our knight very carefully about the security situation.”
Cassian looked at the Emperor with eyes that held deep meaning.
He added: "We have strengthened security measures around the areas in question, so the incident passed without any major problems.
But of course, there were items stolen."
“Were there any stolen items?”
“Rest assured, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor suppressed his anger, and continued to calmly listen to Cassian's words without getting angry...
"What they stole was fake.
But shouldn't the culprit who did this ridiculous thing be arrested?"
“You offered bait, is that what you meant?”
“Yes, just as Her Majesty the Empress said, I trust myf.”
Cassian looked at the Empress and Duke Gamuti with a polite smile…
“They said it was a rare metal, so we didn’t tell them in advance because we thought the first exhibition today would go smoothly.”
Duke Jamotti's face had already turned white.
“I thought that since she cares about me this much, she would cover up this mistake first and ask about it later, but it seems that Her Majesty’s concern for me was greater than I thought.”
In short, it was revealed that the Empress and Duke Jamoti were the ones who hastily created this gruesome drama.
Naturally, it was not the emperor who could not understand the meaning.
The Empress quickly opened her mouth with a disapproving expression.
“Your Majesty, I was just impatient.
I was wondering if the Anden Kingdom had ignored the prince and our empire...”
“Hmm, you should have called that out!”
“I was wrong, Your Majesty.
Thanks to Prince Cassian’s acumen, the misunderstanding has been resolved, so I feel relieved.”
The Emperor's face softened slightly at the soft voice.
However, Duke Gamuti, who immediately caught fire, seemed to have different ideas from the Empress.
“Your Majesty!” “What if Prince Cassian was lying to avoid this situation?”
That stupid man!
Although I did not have the talent of mind reading, I was able to guess that the Empress was thinking this way
It was only for a moment, but her elegant face became like the face of a ghost.
“Did you say it was a lie, Duke Gamotti?”
It was not only the Empress who felt nervous.
Knowing that this place had already become a place to reveal the wealth of the imperial family, the Emperor turned his anger into coldness and asked:
“You seem to have a lot of confidence in what you are saying.”
“Well, this is…”
Only then did Duke Gamuti suddenly realize what he said, and his face changed from white to pale blue…
“I am very happy to hear that you have such great interest in the imperial family and this empire.”
The Emperor was so angry that he laughed.
In this atmosphere, no one dared to make a sound
The Emperor swallowed his unpleasant feelings and then ordered Cassian in a low voice.
“Prove your innocence.”
So completely that no one can refute it.
It was not possible that Cassian did not know what the Emperor was aiming at.
He answered as if he were like someone pledging loyalty to the Emperor.
“I will gladly obey your orders, Your Majesty.”
“Do you really want to give up your head, brother?”
“Calm down, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Duke Jamotti was feeling more afraid than ever...
The way the fair ended today had already faded from his memory.
“I'm sure you clearly heard how much His Majesty praised that woman's son, right?”
“Yes, yes...”
Every time I hear it.
Every time the Emperor said a word, I felt like I was really suffocating...
[You really prepared well and carefully, Cassian.
There were a lot of exhibits, but there wasn't even a single error.]
[This is an exaggeration, Your Majesty.]
[I can see at a glance what the most precious thing in the Anden Kingdom is!
I wonder which artists our empire should be interested in as well.]
[Thanks to Princess Alexis who prepared the exhibits so well.
Also, as you know, my assistant, Miss Saliss, is very meticulous.]
[Such humility!
Don't you know that having good advisors is also within your scope of success?]
[Thank you.]
[For the sake of the empire, it is more important than anything else that you take into consideration the character and benefit of the person who will be with you, of course this is my son.]
Not just the last words, but so many words of praise, one after another, that it was heartbreaking just to hear them.
Maybe he tried to praise Cassian more in order to cover up the shameful incident that happened to the imperial family today..
This increased the empress's humiliation.
Of course, it was only natural that anger would be directed at Duke Gamotti, who had “failed to do his job properly” and had even spoiled the Empress’s arrangements.
“Can't you do one of these things right?
How long do I have to guide you and teach you one thing after another?”
“I apologise.
Her Majesty the Empress.”
It wasn't like this when he was young.
Duke Gamotti could do nothing but bow to the relationship of power with his sister that had been turned upside down over the decades.
No, he had no choice but to rely on her.
“I wasn't good enough.
Please tell me how I can survive this situation.”
Duke Jamotti ed, reaching the point of misery.
He and his sister, the Empress, knew better than anyone else that Prince Cassian's ability to handle matters was devilishly perfect.
Now that he had the evidence, it seemed there was no way to escape without the Empress' help.
Even though they had been through so many things that they had used people for, he couldn't even dream of expecting that Satan would be able to back them into a corner like this..
“What should have died came back to life...”
Duke Gamuti held his breath for a moment.
Even though she knew she was referring to Prince Cassian and not herf, the Empress's words felt like she was hurting herf.
“About ten years ago, Prince Cassian began to change...”
Perhaps this was after Prince Cassian returned from his first trip.
Maybe it was before that..
There were many times when Prince Cassian counterattacked and tortured them as if he was encroaching on them, making them feel as if it had been decades rather than years..
Jingle-!
While Duke Gamuti was deep in thought, drawing patterns on the wallpaper or with his eyes, the Empress smashed one of the teacups.
Seeing this, the Duke actually felt relieved...
This means that it is time for the Empress to organize her thoughts somewhat and calm her emotions.
“That's enough.
I cannot let my brother's foolish behavior destroy the Duchy of Jamoti that I have carefully built.”
The Empress let out a heavy breath and opened her mouth.
“Prepare to fire your second nephew.
I don’t think this smart person will be able to destroy the Duke’s family over something like this.”
With a grim smile, the Empress combed and arranged her disheveled hair.
“This is our fault, so we have to give what we have to give.”
“Well, Your Majesty, however, he is Your Majesty’s nephew as well!”
“Who's trying to save you?”
The Empress let out a cold voice
“Be prepared to leave him for a few years.”
Duke Jamotti swallowed his saliva...
“I'll take care of it, sister.”
The Empress spoke while tapping Duke Jamoti's forehead with her finger as he bowed his head.
“May the Sacred Stone deal with the temple fail.”
“Yes, yes...”
“I'm sure you can do this easy task right.”
Duke Gamuti had no choice but to bury his head in response to the words that were clearly pathetic.