The Emperor entered the prayer room, then closed the door and scanned the surroundings.
There were only a few people, and the person he was looking for was standing guard at the entrance to the room.
Avoiding the eyes of others, he quickly handed the message to the temple knight who had planted it there earlier and whispered to him.
“Deliver this to Count Art Oakley at the Academy.”
“Your order, Your Majesty.”
The temple knight answered in a very low voice like an emperor, then placed the letter in the chest of his robes with a resolute expression.
The letter contained several bequests to his youngest son, Oakley.
First: He must not return to the Imperial Palace even after completing his studies at the academy.
Second: to gather his forces abroad until such time as Count Hansrüde prepares Dirk for official inclusion in the imperial family.
In short, the message was ordering him to prepare well to overthrow the Crown Prince.
What a pathetic state the Emperor is!
Alisto has controlled the Imperial Palace for so long, and his eyes are everywhere, that the Emperor finds it difficult to deliver a single message to his true son.
Although he has another son, Gerold,...
That boy sided with his mother and his maternal brother, and did not provide his single father with an ounce of assistance, so he was out of the calculations.
The Emperor was wary of Alisto and openly feared him.
Although he is known to the public as the 'Emperor's illegitimate son', the truth is that Alisto is not an illegitimate son, but rather the son of a wife who is not related to the Emperor by a single blood relation.
Twenty years ago—
The Emperor did not have a single child with his wife, the former Empress Camilla.
As time passed, a rumor spread.
She says that he has a sudden son from Onisia, whom he has been meeting secretly.
It was not long after the rumor spread that the Emperor divorced Camilla, who did not have children despite her old age, and married Onisia as the new empress.
As if to prove that the son she had given birth to was his, he officially incorporated Alisto as an Imperial Prince and at the same time installed him as Crown Prince.
But this rumor, which seemed logical, was in fact nothing but a lie spread by the Emperor so that he could make Onisia his empress.
At that time, Onisia already had a husband whom she loved.
Alisto had a roof to protect him and one friend, his father.
They were a happy and flawless family.
Until the Emperor discovered Onisia, and committed a heinous act to possess that beauty.
Then, in front of her husband's dead body, she was forced to agree to a marriage she did not want, just to save her son's life in exchange for her own.
To make matters worse, she married the enemy who killed her husband.
After that, her life as Empress was beyond a shadow of a doubt horrific.
It wasn't enough that she had to live in the palace and protect Alisto alone without support...
She was also forced to give birth to a child she did not want from the Emperor.
This child is Gerold.
The child she could never love.
But the Emperor, who was the cause of all this misery, completely lost interest in her as soon as she gave birth to his child, as if he no longer needed her.
As time passed, he fathered another illegitimate son abroad.
This new son is the person the Emperor is currently preparing for inclusion as an official prince.
Count Art Oakley.
***
After the Emperor had fully entered the prayer room—
The Empress ordered the lady-in-waiting to follow her as her shadow.
“Tell me when His Majesty finishes his prayer and leaves.”
“Your Majesty.”
The Empress left her companions and headed alone to a place in the depths of Sol Temple, called the 'Crystal Garden'.
In the Crystal Garden was an extremely huge glass greenhouse.
The greenhouse was filled with rare flowers and trees that only grow in the southern regions, and butterflies flew in it throughout the four seasons.
Outside the greenhouse, there were countless types of shrubs, with beautiful round shapes that seemed to be cared for daily without interruption.
In this quiet, fairytale-like place, waiting for the Empress was High Priest ‘Calavis’, who had left a moment ago claiming to have a meeting.
Empress Onisia sat slowly, contemplating the well-arranged garden.
“It's beautiful”
The Crystal Garden was a place to which Calaves paid special attention.
The praise for the place he took care of so diligently made his shoulders shake with pride.
“The gardener sent by His Highness the Crown Prince is really working brilliantly.
He is diligent.”
However, while he was talking about the garden, Calaves' gaze was fixed on Onisia.
He didn't look away from her even once.
It was as if his eyes were tied to it.
Did the Empress feel this?
naturally.
She has never been unbeautiful since she was born.
Her brilliant beauty attracted attention wherever she went, and the reason why a commoner woman became an empress was because of her beauty that was mesmerizing to the point of cruelty.
A body resembling the ruler of legends.
The eyes of the beautiful woman who almost shook the corners of the country were a mysterious golden color.
Wherever she looked, it seemed as if golden dust was scattered with sparkles.
At least, that's how it seemed in Calaves' eyes.
The Empress raised the teacup with an indifferent expression and muttered.
“Sol Temple has not received state patronage for a long time.
Sol Temple must have been dissatisfied.”
It was a small mutter, as if she was talking to herself.
However, Calaves strained his hearing and tilted his body to fully catch that sweet voice.
Before she could complete her next sentence, he made his objection clear.
“Resentment!
This is unbelievable, Your Majesty.”
“……”
Empress Onisia stared at Calaves, who denied it.
The latter felt that he might have made a mistake in responding, so he changed his words.
“A little,...maybe we feel resentful?”
It seemed like it was the correct answer.
Onissia's lips moved again.
“I understand.
Originally, ‘Sol’ was the official religion of the empire, and priests were also positions appointed by the empire, but they were not highly regarded.
The previous emperors were indifferent.
The Sol Temple should regain its prestigious status under the patronage of the empire as soon as possible.”
Goosebumps—
The hair on Calaves' head stood up.
When he felt that exciting sensation of drowning in a swamp, the corners of Empress Onissia's eyes, who had been maintaining an indifferent expression the entire time, curled up softly.
“I assume the High Priest agrees with me?
The period of estrangement has gone too long.
We must return to being one family as we were before.”
However, she placed an envelope on the table.
“These are personal expenses unofficially sent by His Highness the Crown Prince to the Grand Priest.
Later, the budget of the Sol Temple will arrive which will be officially paid from the Imperial Palace.”
Calaves surreptitiously opened the envelope.
'Bill McGerty Hotel'.
It was a title deed for an ultra-luxury hotel with more than 400 rooms.
It was a huge sum that could not even be compared to the bribes or donations he sometimes received from nobles.
Calaves realized with certainty: ‘The Empress is now planning to swallow up the Sol Temple.’
Calaves placed the envelope with a serious expression.
“Hm, I never asked for anything like this.”
“I know”
The Empress put down the teacup she was holding with a soft voice and said in a calm tone: “I know that, and yet it is like this.
If the High Priest does not accept this, I will feel anxious.
Don’t make me worry.”
“……”
Calaves was dissatisfied with the borders drawn by the Empress, but in the end he was forced to accept the circumstance.
He couldn't dare to make a beautiful woman's heart feel anxious.
In fact, the High Priest Calaves had a slightly distorted belief.
It is that a person who is born with extreme beauty is a person who has received a lot of blessings from the ruler.
Maybe for this reason, he is particularly weak in front of beautiful women (or maybe he is just justifying himself because he only likes beautiful women).
In any case, by his standards, Empress Onisia was the most blessed woman in the world.
Of course, she should have been treated in a way that befits her, and this treatment included helping her so that she would not be upset.
And of course, Bill McGerty's hotel ownership was the final blow to his wavering heart.
After making sure that Calavis had taken the envelope, Onisia got up from her seat as if her task had been completed.
Then she left the Crystal Garden with a face that did not hold the slightest worry about what would happen next, and without any further commandments or words.