I Decline the Ex-Boyfriend of the Regretful Male Lead (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 161

By the time Hertian and I returned from Kursia, the capital nobles had all arrived at the Imperial Palace.

Hertian and I hurried to attend the noble assembly as well. Everyone was already seated in the chamber, their faces sour as they waited for the Empress to speak.

“Has Her Imperial Majesty gone mad? To summon us all here before the palace has even been restored?”

“More than that, she shows us no consideration whatsoever. She called us for an engagement ceremony with only two days’ notice, dragged us into that incident, and now issues another compulsory summons?”

The nobles’ discontent blazed like a wildfire, yet the Empress remained silent, lips tightly shut.

Only when Hertian and I took our seats did she finally lift her closed eyelids. Her bloodshot eyes glared at us as if ready to kill.

“So you’ve come. Duke. Duchess.”

The corners of her mouth were turned upward in a smile, which felt strangely unsettling.

She rose from her seat at once. As everyone waited to hear what she would say, her voice rang out loudly.

“Nobles, listen well. There are rumors that the Duchess here has colluded with Kursia, our long-standing enemy, exchanging vast sums of money.”

The chamber stirred at her words. Aside from the elders of the noble houses present at the meeting, the rest—who had been unaware of this—seemed shocked by the unexpected news.

The Emperor closed his eyes tightly, as if he had already known.

“And what evidence is there that Her Grace the Duchess accepted a large sum in collusion?”

“There is evidence. It will likely surface immediately upon investigation. Moreover, several nobles here already knew of this collusion beforehand.”

The Empress’s eyes scanned the crowd and locked onto the elders. They shrank back, avoiding her gaze.

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