The palace staff, already accustomed to the Emperor appearing unexpectedly, did not change their expressions. The guards at the office saluted him.
Entering his office and closing the door, Hayden put the bag on his desk and unpacked it.
“Your Majesty, that can’t be…!”
Simon, famously unflappable, was aghast. The scepter and orb filled with blue gems would surely be symbols of the Perseus Emperor, unmistakable to anyone knowledgeable in the court.
“Our Lu personally looted the Catat Imperial Treasury. Good enough considering it was brought over by the Calleta envoy, don’t you think?”
“I’ll call the Treasury Keeper. And, Your Majesty, you shouldn’t yet refer to the young lady as ‘our.'”
Hayden paused from detaching his cloak’s clasp and looked at him.
“Not yet?”
“No, not yet. At least not until she makes her social debut.”
Hayden pondered briefly, then scowled as he removed his cloak. It fell gracefully around him, his posture impeccable, his large and unadorned frame naturally exuding royal dignity and nobility.
“The moment of her debut will be a war.”
“You mean to go to war with Calleta then?”
“No, there will be a war among the men vying for the young lady’s heart.”
Hayden said, elongating the sentence. He loosened his stifling collar.
“As long as you don’t participate, Your Majesty, it won’t escalate to war over a lady from Calleta.”
“I will participate.”
Hayden abruptly said and sank into his office chair. His long-booted legs elegantly crossed. Though the posture was rather casual, his inherent imperial dignity made it seem nothing but graceful.
“I will win.”
“Why fret then?”
Simon Kainberg responded absently, wondering who the current, mostly symbolic, Treasury Keeper was.
For 430 years, since Carlos had emptied the treasury, the position of Treasury Keeper had been a meaningless honorary role. What could one manage without any treasures?
However, during Hayden’s reign, as he reorganized all royal-related positions, the role of Treasury Keeper was filled by someone more appropriate.
Having many competitors who are serious is annoying, but it’s even more so when there are many who will just poke around without sincerity.
“Ah, I see.”
There will definitely be nobles curious about Lu, who is from Caleta, and will nonchalantly poke her to see. Simon nodded without sincerity and moved on to the next topic.
“Do you have any other orders?”
“Meet the treasurer first.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
If you’re not as sincere as His Majesty in approaching Flache’s grace, you should know to step back. That’s something that needs to be socialized to some extent in society.
Simon Kainburg, who considers looking at even these aspects as part of his job, immediately called the manager.
[Star Icon]Before a grand funeral for the five surviving members of the 47-member royal family was held, a ten-day mourning period was announced. And during that period, reporters continually loitered around the palace and the Caleta embassy.
Although it wasn’t as shocking as the news that the Emperor had quickly ended the conquest and suddenly brought back the bodies of the royals, there were still topics of discussion.
Among them, the most eye-catching was the sudden change in the Caleta ambassador.
“It’s clear what Emperor Perseta has done.”
Aldwin Rochester, who had been in charge of the ambassador’s escort, closed his mouth after saying just that. He seemed angry, his chest heaving.
Eliza Barcoba, a lady of few words by nature, intended to stay silent, but here, no one else would take Aldwin’s comment. Martin just silently stood in one corner, and the newly hired young maid Lucilla didn’t dare make a move.
“Is the Emperor that bad?”
At Eliza’s question, Aldwin nodded.
“You saw it, too. Dragging Rustica around like that. Even our media described it as ‘draining blood,’ so what more is there to say?”
“The Emperor did do that. But in the end, isn’t it Duke Gennes who makes the choice?”
Aldwin looked back at Eliza.
“What do you mean?”
“Duke Gennes is a mature adult who knows how to judge. If she rebelled, she’d either be imprisoned or assassinated.”
But the official document from the Caleta Empire only said that Rustica Gennes had left the empire, and so she was dismissed, and Aldwin Rochester was appointed the new ambassador. The newly appointed Aldwin kept his mouth shut.
“Duke Gennes chose this. And His Majesty knows that, too.”
Eliza looked at Aldwin, who was gritting his teeth.
“How can that be…”
Had she, born into nobility, always dreamed of unchanging loyalty? Eliza, who had walked the path of an assassin, speculated that might be the case.
“We just follow orders. And Duke Gennes is a traitor. We knew coming here that the chances were high this would happen.”
Everyone knew why the company excluding the Caleta ambassador was so harsh. Rustica Gennes was a strawman not worth mourning if she died.
In other words, if it seemed like she would betray them, those present here should have intervened before things got out of hand. But it happened before anyone noticed.
“The Rustica I know is not like that.”
“What you know isn’t everything.”
How can he claim to know everything so easily? The nobility. Shaking her head, Eliza left the reception room.
Now Aldwin Rochester is the Caleta ambassador. That oily-tongued man will likely carry out smooth diplomacy even in Perseta, where they are hostile towards Caleta. Then, Eliza just needs to act in the shadows and properly execute the traitors.
It’s time to start making contacts with people who were forcibly abducted from Caleta and brought here. They will be used to deliver a sledgehammer to the traitor. Ah, of course, a poisoned dagger would be more suitable.
Eliza had no regrets toward Lu. If that was her choice, Eliza would simply make her pay the proper price for it. It was Eliza’s duty, driven by her deep patriotism for Kaleta, that had brought her this far.
‘Her Majesty will give me a special command soon.’
The assassin quietly waited, collecting information from the outside. Of course, there were many irritating claims from the Pertheta side among the incoming information, but Eliza chose to ignore them for now.
‘Pertheta will argue so historically.’
They will belittle and insult Emperor Carlos Arthur Ingram. But to Eliza, a knight of the Kaleta Empire, Pertheta was nothing more than kidnappers and invaders. All nothing but nonsensical, forced claims.
[Star Icon]Three days after the news of the change in the Kaleta embassy adorned the newspaper, another new article swept through. One was news that those of a more sensitive disposition among the nobles had already noticed.
Former Kaleta Ambassador Rustica Gennes had been publicly identified as the eldest daughter of Baron Ethan Arthur Gennes and Baroness Milene Gennes, as many had suspected. Additionally, there was one more official announcement from the Chaleta palace.
The bodies of the five royals were discovered by former Kaleta Ambassador, Her Grace of Plache, Rustica Gennes…
His Majesty the Emperor, ‘The merit of the Her Grace of Plache is very great.’
On the sixth day of the mourning period, nobles who had been quietly gathering in Chaleta found reading newspapers more entertaining than ever before. The average income of the newspaper-selling boys and girls had more than tripled that week.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
